How I Do It

I am often asked how I stay committed to my health and fitness. How I get out there every day and do something to better myself physically. How I manage to eat healthy and take care of myself most of the time. I say most of the time because I believe that it is ok to eat unhealthy things and be a little lazy every once in a while. Life makes it difficult to be on top of it all the time. Being hard on yourself about the slip ups isn’t healthy and will only make you unhappy and make living healthy seem like a chore.

 As I was out running this afternoon I was considering these questions. It was hot. I was dripping with sweat and every time the wind died down a little I thought I might melt into a puddle on the hot pavement. I kept going though and that was where I found the answer. I keep going because I have to. Taking care of myself, getting exercise even when I am miserable while doing it, is not an option. It is what I have to do to be healthy. We only have this one life. If we give in to the lazy voice in our heads then we will not live the best life that we are able. Why waste time being unhealthy, unfit and unhappy? My question to everyone is how can you not commit to taking care of yourselves?

It was not too many years ago that I had no idea how to take control of my health and fitness. I tried the quick fixes. Slim fast shakes that sounded easy but caused me to binge eat because I was just attempting to starve my body. Miserable with myself I felt like there was no way for me to take control. I tried fat burning pills. These sounded like a great idea extra energy and the fat will just burn away on its own. Awesome. Not so much though. Just a lot of jitters and not much else. Not to mention they felt extremely unhealthy and dangerous. It took a long time for me to realize what now seems so simple. Eat real food and move a lot and often. I got to where I am very slowly. Changing to a healthy lifestyle needs to be done with baby steps so that you do not feel overwhelmed or deprived. 

Start with something small. Cut out sugary drinks. I almost always only drink water. Your body needs water, a lot of water, so drink it! Drink it when you wake up. Drink it when you are bored. Drink it because you are close to a glass and a sink. Drink it because a lot of the time when you think you are hungry you're actually thirsty (for water!). I used to drink coffee often when I was out. Starbucks and I were pretty good friends. I slowly changed to green tea. I am not a big fan of it hot (probably because I refuse to add sugar!) but I love an iced unsweetened green tea and order them pretty often when I am out. It wasn't my favorite right away but after getting used to it it's more like a treat and I do not feel deprived of my sugary coffee. Another small step that is easy to take are eating fruits and vegetables. If you set your mind to it and make them a priority your body will thank you! There are so many to choose from. Don't use the excuse that you don't like them! Try different ones than usual, try them often. Change your tastes and thinking! 

Get active slowly. Choose something that you don't hate. Walk, jump, play a sport, take a class, get a fitness dvd that you like, join a gym, find a fitness buddy, get a pedometer and make it a daily competition with yourself to take more steps than the day before. Try things that you wouldn't usually try. You never know what you will enjoy unless you give it a try! There is no excuse to not take care of yourself. You are loved by so many which makes it a pretty big responsibility to take care of yourself! Don't forget to take the time to appreciate and take care of yourself.