Personal Spring Health Challenge 2010

As you know I’ve had this little unofficial “lose weight, get in shape before December” sort of a challenge going for myself, but it’s been pretty difficult to keep it together and so I’ve decided to make it a little different. However, I do not want to put too much pressure on myself in case I struggle with it but basically this is how it’s going to work:

I’ve a had a particularly bad Winter in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and it’s not something you can just snap out of overnight, after all- old habits die hard. Instead, I’m going to make a list of goals and steps to achieve them. They’ll consist of smaller steps to reach the bigger picture because I’m really struggling to get my eating habits in shape. Everyday I’m going to set a mini-goal like “go one day without any junk food whatsoever” and just aim to achieve that particular goal, as opposed to setting a MASSIVE goal like “no more junk food at ALL” because that’s simply unattainable for me. I set these enormous goals and then fail because they’re unrealistic and feel really stink and my self-esteem and self-confidence just plummets… It’s not helpful at all.
Here’s a list of some of the goal I’m setting myself for day to day use:

• (As above) Go one full day without any junk food, such as ice cream, chocolate, confectionary etc.
• Be active for at least 30 minutes
• Do something nice for myself such as a muscle soak bubble bath
• Get at least 30 minutes of fresh air
• (For weekends and holidays) Learn how to garden and do it for 1 hour
• Learn how to cook a new, healthy recipe
• Try a new form of exercise
• Take the dog for a 1 hour walk
• Teach a friend a new form of exercise
• Attend a yoga class (although they are hard to come by in this small town)
• Do 1 hour of strength training
• Go one full day without any beverages other than water (although aside from water the only thing I drink is cranberry juice or Inka [a caffeine free coffee substitute])
• Implement a proper skin care routine
• Go one full day without bread (not because I’m against carbs, but because it presents the opportunity to be more creative with my food choices)
• Try a new healthy breakfast that I’ve never had before

Those are a few of the ideas I’ve come up with and I’ll add to my own personal list when I think of something else. I think these are far more attainable goals that I’ll be able to achieve and as I succeed in these, the bigger picture and the bigger goals will become far more attainable. I’ll also have rewards for success which aren’t food related, things like treating myself to a new bikini or a movie etc.

Oh! Something else I wanted to add to this post is a little nutrition/health tip which was pretty much my FUEL last year/beginning of this year when I was at my fittest and healthiest… GREEN TEA!!! I’m serious, that stuff is like liquid GOLD! It might not taste that great but you honestly get used to it and even start to enjoy it after a while. I love it and usually drink it like it’s crack but lately we haven’t had any and tonight we just bought some new tea bags. I’ve already had two cups in the space of like an hour. It’s so good for you, it’s antioxidant rich, it boosts your energy levels, I found it helped me maintain my weight and I truly believes it even helps with sugar cravings. I’ve also bought White Tea to try and I had a cup and I can’t even tell the difference between it and green tea, but I’ll chug it back until it’s all gone.

Anyways, that’s all from me for tonight folks! Tomorrow I’m spending the day GARDENING and getting our vege garden up to scratch Very exciting.

What I Learnt from “Winning By Losing”

As some of you may know, I’ve been reading Jillian Michaels’ book “Winning By Losing”. I just finished it yesterday and I flicked through once more when I was done to review and make notes on things I needed to remember. I thought I’d post my list on here for you guys to see as it might be helpful in some way. It was an excellent book and really really does help you to gain a positive frame of mind and the desire to make positive change. I like the way Jillian doesn’t make you feel bad about any of your past habits. She gives you the chance to start over completely new and forget the past as the past does not define you. I wasn’t made to feel guilty and self-ashamed about myself, I was just optimistic about the future and the person I’ve made the commitment to become.

• Shop the perimeter of the supermarket. This means fruit, vegetables, skim milk and lean meats.
• Become familiar with the way my body feels and responds to particular foods.
• Keep a food and exercise journal to plan meals, record what I eat and plan workouts according to Jillian’s recommendations.
• Keep up with my goals. Put them somewhere I can see and be reminded of them.
• Learn to make healthy food substitutions.
• Aim for 60 minute workouts
• Speak to people to help improve my support network so they’re aware of what I’m aiming to achieve
• Focus on behaviour modification, e.g. Don’t bring money to school so I won’t be tempted to buy junk food
• Rearrange my bedroom and life to suit the changes and help me get in and stay in the right headspace
• Perfect organisational skills to be able to fit everything into my life
• Count calories for the first 4 weeks or so to help me develop good habits
• “Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind”, I can’t eat junk food if it’s not there
• Focus on strong women in society as role models. There’s a strong woman in every area
• Remember to reward myself
• READ FOOD LABELS!
• Make checklists to prioritise
• Don’t be afraid to experiment with different forms of exercise and different foods
• If I slip up or fall off the bandwagon, don’t throw in the towel completely, get straight back into my usual habits and routine
• If I feel like snacking mindlessly, as myself if I’m truly hungry and do I actually NEED food?
• Make decisions about things in my life that may or may not be conducive to success
• Put in the work now and reap the rewards later
• Learn to cook for myself and how to shop for the right food
• Get up earlier to fit more into my day
• Refer back to book if I’m lacking motivation
• Make time for myself, so matter what it takes
• Cut back on computer and internet time

So there you have it! It’s a long list but it’s helpful to me. I wrote up my goals on a big piece of A3 paper and put them on my bedroom wall where I can see them everyday to help keep me motivated. I also totally cleaned my room and downgraded my bed from a king to a single!! I’ve been sleeping in a queen or a king for two years, so it’s a big of an odd transition, but I’m really happy and I achieved my aim of helping to feel like my mind is less cluttered. I also feel more independent now… oddly enough. It’s like it’s symbolic that there’s only room for myself in my goals.

 

This morning I went to the gym to do my first ever Jillian Michaels style workout. I worked my lower body and IT KILLED ME!! (In a good way ;] ) I was achin’ afterwards! My legs still feel like jelly and I’m so tired that I’ll go have an afternoon nap after this, but I can definitely see how her clients and the biggest loser contestants have such incredible results. Tomorrow I’ll focus on my upper body and then Sunday will be a cardio session.

Enjoy the rest of your Friday afternoon!

xoxo

A Letter To Myself

You need to stop being so hard on yourself, you know you have the ability to change and make a difference in your lifestyle for the better.
You CAN resist those temptations, you’ve proven it to yourself already! You CAN make a change, you’ve done it before.

You need to remember that true change and results takes time. It’s a slow process, all compiling of little baby steps. You’ve taken the first step by admitting there’s a problem. You’ve taken the second step by experimenting with different foods and plans to help improve your lifestyle.

The key is to know your limits. Know when you’re full and don’t push it from there, don’t eat just coz you are bored or want the taste of food in your mouth. Just stop, relax, breath and ask yourself if you really need that food.

Start looking to your family in particular for support and strength to help you make this change. Even though you’re not fat and your family tells you that, make sure they understand that it’s the psychological aspect that is most important. Maybe let them see that blog post you wrote the other day? Just get them to understand.

You CAN do this, You ARE strong enough and you ARE beautiful.

You’re taking steps to caring properly for your body which shows you’re already halfway there.