“I WANT TO BE MY BEST VERSION OF ME”
We tell ourselves this time will be different. This diet will work. This exercise plan is doable. I can do this. I got this covered. On and on we go. And surprise, surprise! We start out with such high hopes only to once again be disappointed. Somehow in the light of day that 200 ounces of ice cold water a day just doesn’t seem that appealing! One more plate of steamed green vegetables is just not going to cut it! Well- you lasted a whole 60 minutes on this food plan! UGH! But before I completely stress you out and send you running for a bag of Oreo’s…WAIT! I am here to tell you it can be done. Not with a magic pill or some far-fetched eating plan. It takes hard work, dedication, and a lot of patience. It takes a commitment to change what you’ve tried ( and failed at ) in the past.
Repeat after me “I want to be my best version of me. These 9 simple words will become your personal mantra. Say them over and over. Tell yourself this time CAN be different. Do the best YOU can, Your efforts should be Your personal best, You are feeling better today than you did yesterday, and guess what? That is enough. Congratulate yourself. You are on your way.
What now?
- Begin by keeping a food diary for 1 week. Write down every morsel of food that passes your lips. And no, I don’t care what you were feeling when you ate it or how you felt after eating it, just write down what you ate. Plain and simple. And nothing to eat after 8:00 p.m. You will not starve, I promise. Perhaps you may even learn to distinguish between physical hunger and emotional hunger. The two are very intertwined. Yet so very different. If you are eating to fill an emotional void, you may well be eating and still not feeling satisfied. Food is never the answer to an emotional problem. It just perpetuates a vicious cycle of eating and feeling guilty and then eating some more! Buy yourself a book with calorie counts or go online. Figure out how many calories you are consuming. Then see if you can cut out wasted calories. Sodas? Swap out for non-caloric beverages. Make your food swaps as painless as possible. Aim for cutting calories where you can. Start a new food diary. Your goal? Eat fewer calories in week two than you did in week 1. Again- do YOUR best. Keep at it. Keep writing it down.
- If I am talking to the fitness novice begin moving your body for 20 minutes a day. For 20 minutes each day, MOVE! Try and break a sweat. Don’t scramble for the closest parking space available. WALK. See how empowering it is to know your body can get you to and from the car to the store’s entrance all on its own! If you are already moving, good for you. Now take it up a notch. Remember-YOUR PERSONAL BEST.
- If you have never tried meditation before try spending 5 minutes by yourself in a quiet room and meditate. Start by breathing in and out and focus only on your breathing. Try not to think of anything else. If your mind begins to wander, just go back to focusing on your breaths. In and out. If you are already meditating, try and add another 5-10 minutes to what you have already been doing.
- The last thing I am asking you to pay attention to is your sleep patterns. Are you getting enough sleep each night? Is it uninterrupted sleep? Are you sleeping too much? Again there is a fine line. Find what works for you. Are you waking up refreshed each morning? Sleep is a wonderful thing. Your body needs it. It is essential to begin each day with the energy you need to face your day.
I hope you are getting the idea. I am incorporating food, exercise, stress levels and sleep into one package. Our ultimate goal is to have all these factors in balance. One without the others is not enough. But, if you can say my food today was better than I ate yesterday, I exercised more today than I did last week, I set aside some time each day to sit quietly with no distractions , I am getting enough sleep each night, then I can definitively say “ YOU ARE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE”. How great is that? KEEP GOING! YOU CAN DO THIS! BE THE BEST PERSON YOU CAN BE!