Time for an Attitude Adjustment

My son suggested we go for a walk yesterday. He was kidding. I did go, though. That’s three days in a row so it’s looking like I’m getting back to normal again. Just have to say that after not walking for over a week, Thursday’s walk made me realize how quickly we lose what we don’t use. Ouch!

I started to take some photos and realized the batteries in the camera were dead. That problem is solved now so I’ll have to get out there today and take some. I could’ve said, “maybe I’ll get out there and take some,” but I’m learning that thoughts and words have a profound effect on the outcome of our lives. By simply changing “maybe” to “I’ll have to” I’ve set myself up for success because I’ve told myself I’m going to do it. My attitude is completely different.  Instead of thinking of my walk as optional I’m planning the best time to go.

I used to hate exercising, but now I love it and the workouts I do now are more challenging. If anything, you’d think I’d hate it even more, but I took Chalene Johnson’s advice and started telling myself I love it. There are times when the workouts feel especially tough. Instead of thinking, “I can’t do this today. I just don’t have the energy,” I tell myself I can do it and that I’m fine. It may sound crazy, but it works. And not just with exercise. We can change our perspective on anything by replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

I’m realizing that I need to expand my ability to do this to other areas of my life. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking and talking about how I’m not organized or good at keeping the apartment clean because of my background. I’m not saying that those things weren’t true, but now I’m going to tell myself that I’m awesome at organizing and cleaning. Does that mean that suddenly everything will be perfect? No, but now instead of focussing on what I can’t do I’ll be looking for ways to be better.

In the past, I’ve had a pattern of starting things and then not finishing them. I think it’s fairly normal to not finish every single thing we start, but once I had given myself that label I became “the person who never finishes anything” which set me up for failure. Now I’m going to be “the person who follows through and finishes things.” No doubt the temptation will arise to quit things when they get hard, but now I know how to push through it. Instead of telling myself I might as well give up because that’s what I always do I can talk to myself the same way I would a friend who is tempted to quit something worthwhile.

The Golden Rule says treat others the way you want to be treated. I think there’s a flip side to that. Treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you. If a friend kept telling me I might as well give up because that’s what I always do or I can’t do something because I don’t have what it takes to succeed I would be seriously offended and probably wouldn’t be their friend very long. But that’s exactly the kind of stuff we tell ourselves on a regular basis. We need to learn to be our own biggest cheerleader and stop sabotaging ourselves. When the negative thoughts start to seep in and take over we have to make a conscious effort to fight them off. Thoughts are only as real as the actions we take because of them. If the thought crosses the mind of a successful person that they’re not successful does that make it true? Not unless they allow themselves to believe it and stop doing the things that have made them a success.

I dare you to try it. Identify something negative you continually tell yourself that keeps you from doing something you want or need to and start telling yourself the opposite. If you find yourself thinking it won’t work, you’re still doing it. Cut it out. Adjust your attitude so it’s positive. You CAN do this. Now I’m going to go for a walk, just like I said I would. 🙂

Health Tip: The Power of the Pen

Never underestimate the power of the pen (or computer). Whether you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle, or reach any kind of goal one of the most effective ways to do it is writing down what you’re doing and where you want to go. 

I’ve been working out pretty regularly for a while now, but when I weighed in last week I found that I really wasn’t losing weight like I had been before. The reason? I was getting slack with my eating habits. I had been sort of tracking what I ate on the bodybugg website, but was finding that by afternoon I wasn’t paying close attention to what or how much I was eating which made it difficult or impossible to track. I knew I had to take control of the situation and decided to start posting my daily food journal. Now I’m accountable to anyone who’s curious about what I’m eating which makes me think twice before I put something in my mouth. I’m not saying everyone has to post their journal, that’s just what it took for me. 

If you’re trying to lose weight, you should write down everything you eat unless you’re strictly following the eating plan that came with your workout or using the Team Beachbody meal planner which keeps track of everything for you. There are also lots of great apps that help you keep count of calories, etc. 

If muscle and endurance are what you’re after, write down your weights and reps or distance and speed each time you workout. If you don’t have a tracking sheet for your workout, you can print them out from the Team Beachbody website. They key is to have a record of what you’ve done so you can do more each time.

In all parts of life, not just with health and fitness, writing down what you want to achieve will help you stay focussed on what’s really important. Life is too short to waste time in uncertainty. If you feel like you don’t really know what you want out of life or how to achieve it I HIGHLY recommend doing this free 30 day challenge from Chalene Johnson, the creator of Turbo Jam, TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme and others. I promise you it will change your life for the better, no matter what state it’s in now.

By the way, in the week that I’ve been posting my food journal I’ve lost 5.6 lbs. : ) If you want to see what I’ve been eating or the photos I’ve been taking on my daily walks or read my ponderings on life, getting healthy and helping in the community you can check out the other categories in my blog. I do post some of the entries on the Team Beachbody website, but there’s much more here on wordpress. : )

Feeling sluggish? Have a drink…

If you’re feeling rundown and sluggish or have a headache there’s a good chance it’s because you’re dehydrated. An adult of normal weight needs about 8 – 8oz cups of water everyday. If you’re overweight, exercise or live in a hot, dry climate you need more. I struggle to remember to drink enough and wanted to share some great tips I’ve come across to help get it all in. These came from a recent FlyLady newsletter.

1.  Put up post-it notes to remind you: Bright red or neon. Any color to get your attention. Set up a reminder on your phone.

2. Get 4-16 oz bottles of water and set them out each morning. Refill each night.

3. If you have a hard time drinking water, use a pretty glass or favorite cup. You can also drink out of a straw. Try it. Water goes down much faster when you suck it up.

4. Keep a bottle of water in your car, by your chair, and by your bed. When you think you are hungry, drink a glass of water first.

5. If you can’t keep up with the number of bottles you are drinking then use rubber bands on your water bottle. Each time you refill your water bottle roll one up the bottle.

6. Drink water at the top of every hour and at the bottom of the hour. Set your timer to remind you to drink up!

I like to use a refillable bottle. No reason to create more waste. Find one that makes you smile. One of my favorites is from Old Navy and says “Caution Extreme Awesomeness” on yellow police tape all over a black background. I’ve also got the TurboFire one that they use on the workout DVDs.

Try and avoid drinking coffee, soda, energy drinks, alcohol, etc. as they can dehydrate you and give you a bunch of unneccesary extra calories. If you want some flavor in your water try adding a little lemon or lime juice. Figure out what works best for you and drink up! Have more ideas? Leave a comment!