Making changes to your lifestyle can be very challenging and yet can reap priceless positive results (in many aspects) if you have the persistence to stick with those changes for the long haul. I will admit, it is hard work. Mostly, however, 80-90% of making changes is mental.
If you can envision what it is you really want for yourself, you can then go about brainstorming the necessary steps you will need to follow to reach your goals. You must first believe that you are capable of attaining your long-term goals, no matter how difficult. Having patience and not judging yourself is incredibly important too. Beating yourself up for not doing "enough" or "perfectly" will only lead to discouragement. Give yourself room to make mistakes or what I like to call "making room for when life happens." Sure, you may want to aim for working out 4-5 days a week at the gym....but when you have a cold, have something come up at work, really want to devote your time to spending time with a friend or engaging in a hobby, or even have tons of other things in life that need your attention...it's not always possible. Life happens.
I used to be that person that would feel bad or guilty if I didn't stick to a regimen with my exercise, but now I can recognize that my life is easier and more fulfilling when I am not self-critical. I remind myself that I am focused on leading a healthy lifestyle, and that is an ongoing endeavor.
It's important to look at the bigger picture; the little things don't matter as much. Case in point: I am one to exercise four times a week, which I have been doing since January 2010. I do something different every day, combining weight training with my cardio (which currently includes biking, running, and dancing). Last week I couldn't do these workouts because I had alot going on in other areas of my life, including being out of town for the weekend. While I was disappointed I couldn't do the workouts, I reminded myself that I did get exercise with doing 4 hours worth of walking on the weekend and also had a chance to relax/rejuvenate. You're doing something wrong in your life if you're not taking some time to enjoy and have fun! Although it was a bit hard to get back into my weight training after having lapsed a whole week without it, I reminded myself that I was totally out of shape when I first started this lifestyle change of incorporating fitness into my life back in January 2010....so if I have come this far (losing fat and gaining muscle; starting from a size 16/"large" clothing to my almost size 11"medium" clothing) I can only get better. One week is no big deal.
My newest lifestyle change challenge? Changing my diet. While I find myself having some resistance to it, I know I will appreciate the change in the long run just as I have with making fitness a top priority.
For the most part, I eat healthy....but after hearing what some of my family members are doing with their diet I am totally motivated and inspired to take my own diet to the next healthy level. My dad and stepmom recently did a 3 week detox to cleanse their body of toxins, clean out their gut,etc. They also had some bloodwork done to find out if there are any foods to which they are allergic. It's amazing how not consuming specific foods (or adding certain foods) can drastically change how you look and feel! They shared with me the results of their bloodwork and now that they know of certain allergies, they can make adjustments to their diet accordingly for optimal health! I must admit, I am very much inspired by their efforts and as such, am motivated to start making changes to the foods I eat as well (ie, going with a Paleo diet)!
Exercise and diet (ie, eating healthy, not a "diet") are more than just "healthy choices." They can make the critical difference for your overall well-being....sleeping better, feeling happier, feeling more confident with yourself overall, feeling more attractive, being more alert, feeling "lighter" (vs. heavy/bloated/weighed down/physically sick in any way), having more energy to do various other things you need or want to do, having better mental and emotional health, feeling more connected in your relationships, and having more fun/taking life a little less seriously. The list of benefits is bountiful.
So take a risk. Get inspired and inspire others while you're at it. You'd be surprised how easy it can be to get others to jump on your lifestyle change bandwagon.
1 comment:
I have made eating healthy and doing at least basic exercise a top priority for years now, but in a general way. For example, I very rarely, if ever, drink soda. Once you stop drinking it, you find you don't even want to go near the stuff. I also do not snack on junk food. I have a basic rule I follow: if hungry, then eat healthy food. This prevents you from ever taking in any large amounts of junk food. Oh, I will have some candies here and there, or eat out at a restaurant and consume burgers and fries and a shake maybe, etc...but only in small amounts or very occassionally. You'll never find me wolfing down an entire chocolate bar for example.
Another rule I have is a daily limit on any junk food I consume. For example, if I do, for whatever reason, drink a soda (say a rootbeer which I do very occassionally), I then do not eat any other sweets for the rest of that day. And if I eat any sweets, I won't ever drink any soda.
I also have a basic nutrients rule, which means I make sure to consume a base amount of certain healthy foods each day so as to make sure I am getting those nutrients, and so forth with other foods. For example, if I notice I didn't eat any or many vegetables that day, I will eat raw spinach leaves and raw carrots which is very nutritious combination.
I make sure to exercise regularly, doing both cardiovascular and at least basic resistance work so as to keep the metabolism up and not let the muscles atrophy.
What I find neat is how once this becomes ingrained in you for a long time, it is rather odd seeming when you realize that most people just eat whatever and pay no attention to nutrition or exercise whatsoever.
As a side tip, for consuming raw vegetables you may not like, put them into a blender mixed with fruits you like, add in water, and blend them up, then drink your fruit-veggie shake down. This allows you to consume things like saw broccoli, raw brussel sprouts, etc...in a quick manner, so you can get the benefits of the raw vegetable diet without it seeming like a chore. For example, you could mix raw brussel sprouts in with blueberries and rasperries and grapes, and see how that combination tastes.
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