Resolutions…no…Accomplishments
31 Dec 2008 1 Comment
in health & fitness, misc. ramblings Tags: Change, Goals, motivation, New Years Resolutions, stop smoking, Success, Weight loss, will power
Five years ago, I took a final puff of my cigarette, and as the clock struck midnight I threw it on the ground and stomped it out with the toe of my stiletto boot. That was my last cigarette. That was the end of my slavery to wasted money, unproductive smoke breaks, repeated bouts of bronchitis, and smelly clothing. I had made a New Years resolution, and I was determined to succeed.
Fast-forward to today, and I can proudly say, “I did it!” But so many times, we make resolutions that we don’t, or can’t keep – so what is the difference? If you want to lose weight, exercise more, spend less money, keep your house organized, or stop drinking so much – is there a formula for success? Is there a way to assure that you don’t fail?
Whether you make a resolution on December 31st or any other day of the year, there is one simple factor that determines its staying power…motivation. Call it will-power or determination, its your reason for making the resolution that will ultimately cause you to win or lose.
Just because it is New Years Eve, many of us, on the spur of the moment, make some grand announcement of a change we are going to make in our lives. We put no more than 5 minutes of thought into it, and often pick something that we think other people might want us to change. We have no plan of action and no support system in place. We seem to think that when the “crystal ball” drops at midnight that something magical happens to transform us. But really, the only thing that has happened is that we’ve set ourselves up for failure.
On the other hand, if you have something in your life that you truly want to gain control over, you must have a game plan. It doesn’t matter what day of the year it is, if you have a strong enough desire to succeed, you can do it.
The first thing you have to do is determine your motivation. Perhaps you want to quit smoking because your father has lung cancer. Maybe you want to lose weight to influence your overweight child. Maybe you need to start saving money to buy a new car. Find something that you can turn to when the going gets tough. Seeing your father go through chemotherapy will be pretty strong motivation. Keeping a picture of your dream car in your wallet might impede your thoughtless spending. Ask yourself, “why am I doing this?” If its not a good answer, then perhaps you should rethink your goals.
Second, have a plan of action. You can’t just decide to lose weight at midnight one day and expect to miraculously drop pounds a week later. This takes alot of planning and research. If you want to lose weight, you need a nutrition plan and an exercise schedule. If you want to get your house organized, you need to make a cleaning schedule and a blueprint of where to store things. You can’t just arbitrarily expect things to happen on their own. Think of your resolution as a job, and you need an employee handbook.
Last, and probably most importantly, you must have a support system in place. This might be as simple as enlisting your friends and family to be your cheerleaders. Having them remind you to eat healthy and praise your progress as you drop pounds might be enough. However, that could also backfire. If you begin to feel like you are changing only to please them, you might rebel and give up. Perhaps you need to use your religious faith as your support system. There are lots of motivating Bible verses like:
Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Prayer might be the one thing that holds you together. Ask for strength and a positive outlook. If you meditate, concentrate on what you are trying to accomplish. Surround yourself with helpful items, maybe putting motivational phrases on the refrigerator, buy only healthy foods, keep your running shoes by the door, or tape deposit slips for your saving account onto your dashboard. Whatever helps, do it!
Last but not least, keep your chin up! Expect to succeed, but also expect it to be difficult. If you flub up, don’t give up. You are going to have times when you backslide. You will eat too much one day, you will skip a workout, you will take a drag of a friend’s cigarette, but its not the end of the world. Wake up the next day and keep truckin’!
Today is New Years Eve. There is no law that you have to monumentally change your life today, and it most certainly is not a magical night. But, if you prepare and work hard, you can accomplish your goals. You will see that it is not change, but accomplishment that is the true magic!
Treat thyself as thy treat thou….car?
05 Apr 2008 Leave a Comment
in health & fitness Tags: exercise, health, nutrition, running, Weight loss
“Why are you on a diet?” “You don’t need to be on a diet. You’re too skinny already.” I am so sick of hearing comments like this. My children especially have been harping on me. “Why are you on a diet, Mommy?” I’m not. I just realized that we all seem to have our priorities incredibly screwed up.
About two years ago I felt like life was sometimes too difficult to even be worth it. I was working 12+ hour night shifts at a job that I really hated. I wasn’t sleeping well even on my days off. I’ve never had to worry about my size so I ate pretty much whatever I wanted – which was usually high sugar content foods, sweet tea, soda, fried foods, and whatever I could find in the vending machine at work at 2am. Many days (or nights) I didn’t eat at all because I didn’t have time.
I was plagued with chronic back pain. I had zero energy. I was extremely emotional. The smallest crisis would seem like Mount Everest to me – and believe me – with three kids, there is a crisis everyday! I felt like a hamster on an exercise wheel and I wanted off!
I had gone to a couple of doctors and was met with several unhelpful suggestions. I was taking sleeping pills to sleep and pain medication to make it through the day. I was told by one doctor that I had a low thyroid – another said I didn’t. The final straw was when a doctor wanted me to take anti-anxiety and anti-depression meds. I didn’t think I had emotional problems – I just felt like crap! Something had to give!
My step-mother has some major medical problems and she was blessed to have found a great physician. She suggested that I go see him. Almost as a last resort I agreed to make an appointment. I didn’t have high hopes. Upon arrival, his nurse took the standard measurements – height, weight, temp, etc… They did some blood work and the doc asked me what was going on. He then told me to come into his office.
He sat down next to me (not across the desk) and he hugged me. He was very blunt but basically just said “you’re not sick.” “Look at yourself,” he said. I was killing myself with my behavior and he pointed it out to me. “You are a young, beautiful, smart woman and if you don’t change your life, you are going to be on disability.” By the end of the conversation we were both in tears. It is hard to describe, but talking to him was almost cathartic. It was like he had held a magic mirror up and I could see not just my outer reflection, but my inner one as well. I saw that I was nearly dead inside. I had an epiphany and I had to change.
The next day I signed up with a personal trainer, bought some vitamins and restocked my kitchen with healthy food. My husband and I agreed that I could quit my job and help him with his business. I was determined to “fix what ailed me!”
It’s been about a year and half since that day in the doctor’s office and my life has changed immeasurably. I’m not saying it’s been easy. I’ve had my good days and my bad days. I’ve not been 100% faithful to the “program,” but I’ve come a long way.
My back only bothers me every couple of months now – instead of daily. I sleep on a normal schedule, and I sleep well. I feel happier and more in tune with my emotions. My husband agrees (though, he might have a less tactful way of saying that.) I have tons more energy. I’ve started running and I’m training for a half-marathon. I’ve lost about 10 lbs, almost four dress sizes, and three percent body fat. The best part for me is that I no longer take any medication on a daily basis.
So, what did I do that caused this miracle? I simply changed my way of thinking about life. Most of us have our priorities so mixed up. Look at our houses – most of us keep nice, neat houses with neatly manicured lawns. Look at our cars – some of them cost more than our houses and we put rims and seat covers and spend hours washing and waxing.
Would you ever take a bag of toxic waste and dump it in the seat of your car? Would you intentionally clog up the fuel lines until you car is barely running? Would you bush hog the flower beds in your front yard or paint graffiti all over your living room walls? Of course not! Most of us treat our homes and cars with respect. We treat them like they are our havens….our temples.
So why do we do these terrible things to our bodies? We fill ourselves up with sugar and caffeine and saturated fats. We don’t sleep right, we don’t exercise, we don’t relieve stress – and yet we expect our bodies to just keep chugging along. Would you expect your car to take you very far if you filled it with Crisco instead of super unleaded?
Sure, from the outside, your body might look like you take care of it. You get a weekly manicure, you use all the latest hair products. From make-up to designer clothing to push-up bras and teeth whiteners – we have so many “band-aids” that give us the impression of health. It’s easy to see the outside package and forget about the true foundation. The outside of your car might look like a brand new Ferrari, but if its got a twenty year old, rusted, go-cart engine – guess what? You ain’t gettin’ too far! You better look under the hood!
When you change your perspective about your body, you actually want to take care of it. You want to exercise and you want to eat well. You might think that Krispy Kreme tastes like heaven, but once you start respecting your body and caring about your health, you realize that all that fat and sugar actually tastes nasty. I know that sounds far fetched, but I’ve gotten to that point. Today I would rather eat a delicious ripe piece of fruit or a big bowl of fresh garden greens than fat-laden, over-processed Ben and Jerry’s. And those guys used to be my best friends!
When you weigh the long and short term benefits of everything you put in your mouth, it actually affects your taste buds. Here is a scenario: I am hungry. Option 1: I eat a Hershey chocolate bar. I get the immediate sugar rush, I have an instant increase in energy, it tastes really good, it satisfies my sugar craving, its easy to pick up at the store and I don’t have to cook or think or work – and its cheap. Yum! One hour later my blood sugar crashes lower than before I ate the candy bar, I’m grouchy, I need to eat again, and I’m extremely tired. Option 2: I eat a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with low fat swiss cheese. I can even add some fresh veggies to up the taste value. Its more work and prep time than the candy, but it only takes about 5 minutes to make a sandwich and once you’ve purchase the ingredients you can make several meals out of it. The best part is that the protein sustains your hunger so you don’t have to eat again so soon. The whole wheat sustains your blood sugar so you feel more energetic and your mood is better. The veggies add vitamin power and negative calories. So take your pick?
This is now my thought process before every meal or snack. It’s become second nature to me. I don’t have to think about not littering my trash – I just know to put it in the trash can. Now I don’t have to think too much about not littering my body – I just know to pick the healthier option.
In addition to eating healthier, I’ve taken up yoga. It helps me relieve stress, stand taller, release tight muscles. Experts say yoga even releases toxins from the body. I’ve learned to recognize when I am holding tension in my shoulders or breathing too shallow. Yoga is my daily tune-up.
Just by changing my habits, I’ve affected the habits of my children. They eat wheat bread without complaint. They eat an apple after school instead of cookies. They choose water instead of soda. And this isn’t because I force them – it’s actually become their choice! We are exercising together as a family – it’s healthy and gives us more quality time. My oldest daughter has even lost 10lbs!
I’m not trying to develop a system that will work for everyone. My daily routine might not work for others. My diet (re-word that – “daily nutrition intake”) probably isn’t perfect and I’m not saying you will one day love brussel sprouts. But, what will work for you, and everyone else for that matter, is a change in attitude. Learn to love your body and treat it with love and stop abusing yourself! You wouldn’t let someone else come up and just start beating on you – so don’t do it to yourself!
You don’t put your car on a diet. You just know you have to take care of it or it won’t run very far. It’s the same for your body. I’m not on a diet – I’m just taking care of my vessel! It’s the only one I’ve got!
11:50 PM -
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