Like millions of people around the world January 1st holds a beacon of hope. The metaphorical slate is clean and the time of change is once again upon us. As women we struggle with our imperfections. Our self image (weight and fitness) is assuredly on top of that list and it is for me. We all know diet and exercise is the key to change, however this is never as easy as it sounds. I am here to lend my opinion and ideas to this matter.
I struggle with my weight and I suffer from short lived motivation in order to improve this fact. I get started and I am fully amped and ready to fight the good fight. Day 1 through Day 4 is a little tough, I try to pin point all my bad habits and conquer each one individually. For example when I am bored, I snack. When I am stressed or sad I snack or eat a second helping at dinner. If I have waited to long to make dinner I start snacking during the dinner making process (which is also a terrible habit). I have given up sodas just extra wasted sugary delicious highly caffeinated calories I so badly crave when I am in a energy slump...(sorry) but I have given them up all the same.I am not really a sugar person I don't eat sweets or make desserts so that's not to much of a problem for me. I like salty foods, like chips and dips, crackers and cheese, things of that nature. So I just stopped putting them in my shopping cart because if they never make it to the check out line they never make it to my waist line either.
So far there is nothing new with my approach to better health. I cut out the things that are bad for me and try to be more active and by active I mean exercise. I am not fond of exercise I have tried a lot of dvd's and invested in as seen on TV gimmicks. Most were not for me. I read a lot of books, so I have a lot of background information on nutrition facts and endless amounts of guru tips. I even bought a Wii and balance board in hopes that the games would keep me active and they did, for 2 weeks.
Before the end of the month I have retreated to my old ways and make plans to start over again at a future date. The self loathing begins and a good dose of comfort food soothes my soul. This is my cycle. I have sat in my apartment and thought about this cycle for two weeks. What was is that made me loose steam? Why did I not keep going? I know this needs to be a life style change but how can I make this happen?
After pondering what stopped me and trying to figure out just what would keep me going. It came to me; I started each time the wrong way. I wanted to fix all the negative aspects of my body, which was overwhelming and expensive. Let's face it we can't live in a happy bubble all of the time. Real life has its stressers. Work and bills make me to tired to exercise and my budges exhausted for new expensive healthy recipes. It would seem the chips are stacked against me. After reliving my former failures it all seemed to make sense. I need to start this process with positivity. If I was happy it would stand to reason that I would have longer sustainable motivation. If I think of myself and all the positive attributes as appose to all the negative this will encourage me to stay on track. I have also decided to treat myself as if I everyday is a success. I think for me realizing how I feel is really tied to how much energy and enthusiasm I have as well as the types of food I eat. I notice the connection. This is still a journey and I am not one to give up.
Now it is time to face the budget factor. I try to live my life to the highest extravagance I can afford because there is nothing fabulous about being broke. If you traveled down the produce isle lately you will know that the price of produce is astronomical and depending on where you live the price is even higher for foods out of season. So it took a bit of creativity but I have decided to simply make substitutions in recipes I already know. I sub ground beef for ground turkey. I use frozen veggies in soups and sauces. I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil and sea salt for table salt. The list of swapping this for that is long. There is a really good book called Cooking yourself thin that can give you a ton of examples. As for the time consumption of making new a detailed recipes I decided to cook two or three meals in one day and but Ziploc and Rubbermaid container to freeze the extra. The Ziploc containers actually have divided sections of 2 or 3 and this in convenient for portion control.
I no longer invest my own money in books and DVDs I check them out from my university and local library and what they don't have I can usually request through inter-library loan. The request can take up to two weeks to get to me so I request a few a week so by the time they arrive I am ready to add them to what I maybe doing on that week. This alone has saved me $20 to $50 each DVD fitness program. It's a good idea to have basic fitness equipment in your home fitness bands, yoga mat, dumbbells, fitness ball and anything else that you enjoy that covers the basics. I personally checked out yoga, pilates, belly dancing, Carmen Electra's Strip tease and ball room dancing. The variations are interesting and keep me moving which is the most important part. I also try to walk when I need to run errands like to the post office, library, the doctor's office, and light shopping.
Staying positive is key. Are there going to be bad days, sure. I need not feel guilty for being human. Over all healthy and happy is where I want to be. As the old saying goes; anything worth having doesn't come easy. So many cliches could be said but I think that just about sums it up.
My Tips:
- Get Happy- If you get positive you'll have more energy and motivation. Find more positives about yourself.
- Make Healthy food substitutions.
- Cook in bulk and use portion controlled containers to store food.
- Check out DVDs and books from the library.
- Mix up programs dance,Wii games, and walking. Keep it fun.
- Stay Positive even when your having a bad day find something to smile about!
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