I had someone ask me once "Ruthie, how do you eat so healthy all the time? Don't you miss the foods you love?"
My answer was a surprise to them... My answer is simple...
the secret is to CHANGE WHAT YOU LOVE.
Food and Fitness have this interesting relationship you know. Most people workout so they can eat whatever they want OR the eat whatever they want and feel guilty so they workout. There is this balancing act most people try to do when they are "going to finally loose weight". But the sad truth is... its doesnt work for the majority of people and as a result we have patterns of loosing weight and gaining it back again.
Why is it so hard to be successful?
Want to know my little secret to success?
CHANG WHAT YOU LOVE.
CHANGE THE FOOD YOU LOVE, CHANGE THE ACTIVITIES YOU LOVE.
It's really not that hard to figure out the secret but its really hard to be open to change. We don't like change do we? We like to know what tomorrow is going to be like. We like to be comfortable and not have anyone tell us what to do.
We have habits we formed from the time we were little kids, habits that make it hard for us to change what we love. I grew up LOVING cheerios, a huge addiction for me. I grew up loving coke, and I mean LOVE! I grew up LOVING being outside, I was a tomboy.
Can we change what we love? Sure! We do it all the time. I mean... I LOVED softball as a kid, do I still LOVE it? NOPE. In highschool I LOVED playing my clarinet, I still have it, do I still play? NOPE. I loved saltine crackers, do I today? no.
Reality is... the Key to Successfully transforming to a healthier lifestyle is within everyones reach. We need to find our inner spoiled brat and not take no for an answer. You know THOSE kids who say "mommy i want (bla bla bla)" and the mommy says "NO" and that little brat goes "wahwah wahwah and pesters the mom until they get what they want".
Ok... so we say we want to be fit, loose weight and feel good. We say we want to be around for our kids and our grandkids. We say we want to change our diet and be a good example. And then a friend or family member "brings you down", encourages you to eat things you are trying not to eat, suggests you watch tv with them instead of going for your nightly walk, discourages you from spending your money on gym memberships or workout videos, helps you stay up late watching movies so you have NO energy to get up the next morning for your walk. ... .......and what do you do, cave?
We all need a bit of brat in us you know. We dont have to be mean about it.... just firm and determined.
So... for those of you who are wanting to have real change come from your New Years Resolutions.... Here are a few tips for you :)
How do you change what you love? What works for me might not work for everyone... the key is to find what method works for you. I did it by picking ONE thing to focus on at a time. "this week I WILL walk 2 miles every other day. This week I will eat a Lara bar when i am craving a candy bar." Eventually you will be going about your normal day to day life and have a CRAVING for a walk or run... and a that craving you had for snickers you grew up with turns in a CRAVING for lara bars!
Remember that it will not always be hard work, one day you will wake up and find your unhealthy habits are gone and have been replaced with healthy ones you LOVE. The majority of the time I do NOT walk around feeling deprived. I truely LOVE smoothies and would choose a smoothie over a DQ blizzard! I LOVE working out... I L O V E running.... this coming from a gal who HATED to run.
If I can change what I love.... you can too!
Blessings!!!!
It's never too late to become what you might have been. -George Elliot
My answer was a surprise to them... My answer is simple...
the secret is to CHANGE WHAT YOU LOVE.
Why is it so hard to be successful?
Want to know my little secret to success?
CHANG WHAT YOU LOVE.
CHANGE THE FOOD YOU LOVE, CHANGE THE ACTIVITIES YOU LOVE.
We have habits we formed from the time we were little kids, habits that make it hard for us to change what we love. I grew up LOVING cheerios, a huge addiction for me. I grew up loving coke, and I mean LOVE! I grew up LOVING being outside, I was a tomboy.
Can we change what we love? Sure! We do it all the time. I mean... I LOVED softball as a kid, do I still LOVE it? NOPE. In highschool I LOVED playing my clarinet, I still have it, do I still play? NOPE. I loved saltine crackers, do I today? no.
Ok... so we say we want to be fit, loose weight and feel good. We say we want to be around for our kids and our grandkids. We say we want to change our diet and be a good example. And then a friend or family member "brings you down", encourages you to eat things you are trying not to eat, suggests you watch tv with them instead of going for your nightly walk, discourages you from spending your money on gym memberships or workout videos, helps you stay up late watching movies so you have NO energy to get up the next morning for your walk. ... .......and what do you do, cave?
We all need a bit of brat in us you know. We dont have to be mean about it.... just firm and determined.
So... for those of you who are wanting to have real change come from your New Years Resolutions.... Here are a few tips for you :)
- Make sure your close friends and family members know your goals and plans. TELL them you need them to be supportive.
- Make sure you have a plan that really works for you. Our days are busy, we let life get in the way. Figure out when your no excuses time is. 5am? 7pm? Pick a time and try your hardest to stick to it.
- Have a plan for fitness failure. So today you planned to get up at 5 and go for a walk at 530am. BUT the baby was up last night and you got about 4 hours sleep. Its now 6am, your in bed and the baby is sound asleep. What do you do? .... Plan for this by having a back up plan. So you can't get that morning walk in... but can you go this afternoon with the baby in a stroller? Another example: The whole day goes by and your exhausted and want to just go to bed without a workout.... make a deal with yourself that you will do atleast 10 puhsups and 10 situps before laying down... you will feel better for it.
Remember that it will not always be hard work, one day you will wake up and find your unhealthy habits are gone and have been replaced with healthy ones you LOVE. The majority of the time I do NOT walk around feeling deprived. I truely LOVE smoothies and would choose a smoothie over a DQ blizzard! I LOVE working out... I L O V E running.... this coming from a gal who HATED to run.
If I can change what I love.... you can too!
Blessings!!!!
It's never too late to become what you might have been. -George Elliot
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