Eat Well, Sleep Tight, and Work Hard

A good friend of mine sent me something (text is in purple) that she had seen, loved it and wanted to share it with me. After each bulleted point I have added my own thoughts.

1. Be respectful of your body at all times. It is disrespectful to feed your body more food than it needs. When you overeat you are bullying your body. Starting today, take responsibility for everything you eat by writing it down. Then look at it. This is how you become accountable to your Self. You are not out of control. There is nothing wrong with you. Do the Dignified Thing. Respect your Self. 

There is a saying: Your body keeps an accurate record despite of what you write down. Recently friends and I got the UP bracelet- Much like a Fitbit, but a little cheaper. This bracelet is pretty awesome and after about a week of using it, I am liking it quite a bit. Not only does it track my steps and sleep, but it allows me to input what I have eaten and keeps track of my calories. It is a pain to write down and input food- but I do better when I  write down what I'm putting in my body and it keeps me focused and on track.

   

2. Stop eating food that doesn’t feel good in your body. And stop pretending that overeating is a good way to comfort yourself.  Eat when you are hungry, stop when your body is satisfied. Eat delicious foods that energize you and give health to your body. And find a way to soothe yourself that doesn’t involve food.  

When I started personal training *A* taught me how to read labels. Did you know that stores are designed in a way that doesn't promote healthy eating. You stand in that checkout line and what is around you. Candy bars? Chips? Chocolate? Soda? These are impulse items and the retailers know it. In fact in college I worked in a retail  store and that department was called IMPULSE - no joke. They know that you are hungry and that a candy bar will taste good and is easy to grab on impulse. Don't do it. That food doesn't make you feel good. It gives you a little sugar rush and then you crash, feel tired and sluggish and you have consumed a few hundred empty calories.

3. Pay attention to what you think about your ability to lose weight. Take back your power. It’s absolutely possible to lose weight (and a lot of it), but only if you believe it’s possible.  Not believing is what keeps you stuck in the cycle of Cry-Eat Repeat.  

The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do. Mind over matter they say. So many times I was going to do it. I was going to lose weight. I tried and failed. Repeadily. I tried to do it on my own and I didn't stick with it. Do you believe in you? I believe in you.

4. Stop trying to lose weight.  Trying to lose weight is the enemy of losing weight. Trying means excuses. Trying means delaying and postponing. Weight loss comes from deciding and committing.  It comes from Integrity: standing up for the things you say are important to you. Say it → Mean it → Prove it. 

Don't make losing weight you focus. Focus on the little things. How do you feel after you have completed a workout (besides stinky, tired and maybe a little sore). Do you feel it? That feeling that yea, you just did it. You just took back a little bit of control. You just took that step. That HUGE leap. You went, you saw and you conquered. Along with the clean eating you are fueling your body the correct way and using that fuel to take back your control.

5. Breathe, sleep, eat with Dignity.  Dignity quite literally means you are worthy of love--especially your own.  Be unconditional with the love you have for yourself. No more rude, hateful, or mean self-talk.  No more excuses that justify body abuse or neglect.  Be a woman of Dignity. Starting today, talk to yourself and treat yourself in a dignified way. You are worth fighting for.

If you have read my previous posts you know how I learned to love myself almost a year ago. You have to treat your body the way it deserves, which means getting plenty of sleep. The average adult needs 7-8 hours of sleep a night. I would be one of the first to say- but there are only so many hours in the day, and I need to finish that one last, or just one more chapter. Sleep needs to be a priority. If you don't have it you won't have the energy to conquer those workouts. You can never get back the sleep you didn't get during the week on those lazy Sunday mornings. 

I feel bad... why?

Through out my weight loss journey there have been times when I have been places with people and they are eating sweets- high calorie, full or carbs and sugar deliousness, they see me and they say "I'm sorry to eat this in front of you." "Why? Don't feel bad I don't." The truth, I could eat those thing and I have on occasion and it has been worth every single calorie I took in. Do I want that ice cream or piece of cake, yea- it would taste great- but I also know what it does to my body and what my body will have to do in order to burn that off. As time goes on it has gotten easier to say no to those sweets to just pass and enjoy a glass of water and something I know wont send the scale back up. 

Its about choices and moderation. You have to allow yourself to cheat once in a while, otherwise you will become bitter and won't make any progress.  

Tis the season to be jolly… fa la la la la la la la BLAH! Blah is exactly how I have been feeling lately… The holidays mean sweets and treats are everywhere. This week I was feeling great. I was making good food choices and proud of myself. Then I jar of peanut butter fudge is delivered to my door. When I am ready to eat clean and be good, I can't have anything like that around. So the fudge went away. Out of sight and out of mind and dropped off somewhere else far away from me. 2 years ago Christmas I started working with one of my closest friends and personal trainer. If I can make it through the holidays… I can make it anytime of year. Keeping in mind.. it is ok to cheat once in a while… as long as its not all the time. 

Food

In times of stress I used to do one of two things. I would either eat- and eat a lot or I wouldn't. Both are bad. As I have traveled along this journey I think back about food. Yes Zumba®, Personal Training, and classes with Girl Power Fitness have been a huge part of me loosing the weight, but food also has played a role in it as well. 

At first I didn't change what I was eating that much. Overtime I had to. I was stuck at the same weight for months. I was working out, I was eating healthy, I was doing everything right I thought. I started working with a good friend, who is also a personal trainer. We changed how I ate and when I ate. We had to play with foods. I didn't know that even those foods I thought were good for me might have been causing me to maintain (and sometimes gain) weight and not loose it. Did you know that if you are "sensitive" to a food your body blots? By eliminating foods I was eating and adding them back in and closely monitoring my weight and workouts we were able to find what foods I should try to avoid or limit. It was amazing. I lost nearly 40 pounds in the time I worked with her. 


Over the last year since stopping the personal training I have gone up and down. Right now, I am up. The truth? Summer vacation hit and I stopped eating on a schedule. I attended cookouts and gave in to those cravings and I'm paying for it now. I have to own up to it and move forward. So its back to planning my meals, pre-making lunches for school and planning my workouts, telling my friend and personal trainer friend and following through. 

No excuses. Excuses don't yield results. Work does.