I have always been a person that is obsessed with the number on the scale. Always. Even if I tell myself it is not about the number, or that muscle weighs more than fat. I still get on the friggen scale. Why? I guess I like the torture? Who knows. It is a constant shame game I will tell you that much.
For the last 5 years or so I have made some progress towards my health journey. It was prior to my wedding that I had an “ah ha” moment that something had to change. I joined my best friend at a local Zumba class. Dancing had always been something in the core of my heart so I thought I would try it out. I fell in love! The instructor was amazing and it didn’t feel like working out at all. It was fun, the music was great and I wanted more! It wasn’t too long after that the instructor opened a studio that included some additional types of workout classes. I was very intimidated by the variety of classes because I was not someone that worked out. You know, limiting belief #3 “I’m not an active person” (see my blog post on Limiting Beliefs). I gave it a shot and found a community that was just like me. Working mama who wanted to be healthy. Finding this community helped build my confidence and changed my perspective on health so much that it changed my life in a way that I could have never imagined.
Fast forward now and my health journey looks different. I have had two pregnancies and made it a priority to workout and stay healthy during each of them. Don’t get me wrong, I ate all the donuts for both but I also hit the gym and did the best I could right up until both due dates.
Currently I aim to work out 5 days a week. People often look at me weird when I say that knowing that I have two littles, a 17 year old and I work full time outside of my home. The truth is I make myself a priority and I get it done. My actual workouts are a variety right now which I really like otherwise I would get bored and most likely stop.
I am currently in a challenge with my husband and brother-in-law to complete 2,019 miles on our bikes for 2019. I have a stationary bike in my basement that allows me to take part in this challenge. I aim to get in 45 miles a week which is typically broken out into three rides of 15 miles a week. I also still attend a local gym for a couple of strength based classes a few times a week. While the nice weather is here in New England, I have been enjoying yoga on the beach once a week and I try to get out on my paddle board as much as I can. Both of these activities are not only for core and strength, but also for my brain. I don’t think I could be the best version of me without an opportunity to focus on my brain.
I am not big into gimmick diets, never have been. My eating is pretty simple in that I have pretty much the same foods every day during the workweek. On the weekend I am a little less focused, but still try to make healthy choices wherever I can. I would say the biggest rule is that if something is my weakness (ice cream, chips, etc.) I just don’t bring it in my house. I have zero willpower when it comes to bad for you food and I will eat all of it in one sitting. So instead, I just don’t bring it in. My family gets on me sometimes about the lack of treats in the house, so every once in a while I will buy something for the house (which I know I am going to access), so I just try not to do it all the time.
Honestly, I don’t deprive myself or punish myself when it comes to food. I feel like lately I have a pretty healthy relationship for the most part. When I want the ice cream, we make it a field trip and head out for an after (or before dinner) treat with the kids to the local ice cream stand. Or if I want a bag of Twizzlers to myself, I stop and get it on my way home from work and eat them in silence, by myself, with no one asking me for one. Yup.
I have recently recognized though that I use food as a source of celebration, or stress, so I am trying to work on this a little more but one day at a time. I’m not perfect.
So what’s the goal of this post? I guess the goal is to show you a couple of things.
- I was not an active person and sometimes still hate to categorize myself as one. But, I aim to be a healthy version of me every single day. My goal is not to hit a certain number on the scale, but to feel healthy. Whatever that might look like each day. I just want to feel full of so much energy and STRONG both physically and mentally. I want to be able to keep up with my children and one day my grandchildren.
- It is a lifestyle. It is not something that I have started and stopped over the years. It honestly is something I have worked on every single day for the last 6 years to do a little better in. Each year gets a little more focused. I learn something new and make changes and adjustments as needed. It’s not a fad it’s a lifestyle and it makes it more realistic for me.
- My life is busy but I still make it a point to make myself a priority. I need to. My family needs me to. Please know that life throws wrenches at me all the time and I have learned to just adjust where needed, without stopping it all together. PIVOT!
My advice to you today would be start with something small at first. Do something every single day that makes you feel good. Maybe focus on your food intake. Or determine an activity that you enjoy (you have to enjoy it or you won’t continue it) and just start doing it. Small steps are great steps forward in a healthy direction which will lead to huge accomplishments. Again, this has taken me 6 years and I still have to work at it every single day. My number one goal is that I make myself and my health a priority knowing it might look different in each season of my life.
Do something today your future self will thank you for. You owe it to yourself.
So tell me, what areas do you kick butt at and what areas are you currently struggling with around your own health journey?
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You know this all resonates with me!