Written by: Suzanne McCurdy
So you are ready to make a change, or perhaps you are already deep into that change and not quite sure how to balance your new healthy life with your old lifestyle?
At some point in modern society we have all slipped up and gone taken the fast route through the drive thru, popped that frozen dinner in the microwave, or just grabbed a bag of chips and called it dinner. It’s too easy not to have done this at some point, but now you don’t want that life.
You want to live a healthy life like generations before us, or you just want to keep your healthy lifestyle going without sacrificing some of your favorite past times with family and friends. Let’s face it, when we gather food is usually involved.
Food is welcoming. Feeding someone is a sign of caring so don’t stop! Just make some new wonderful stuff they wouldn’t even imagine. I love going to a friend’s party and finding fresh hummus and veggies, a rotisserie chicken and fruit for the spread! (Check out: Healthy Holiday Entertaining).
When there are healthy options available I can have that one drink, eat well, and not feel like I’m going to regret it in the morning. I don’t feel miserably full from junk and can laugh and dance with my friends. You would be surprised how happy people are when you put out something outside of the norm.
At some point we are all faced with questions, “I’m healthy and I’m being healthy, but why won’t this tummy go away?” or “shouldn’t my arms be tighter?” We are all faced with the healthy vs. vanity conundrum. Some come to an acceptance that those 8lbs of vanity weight really don’t matter and you stop worrying. Others of us really wish we could get a restraining order to force those 8 lbs. to stay as far away from us as possible.
The point is you have to choose. How important is it for you to look like the fitness model in the magazine? PS…they probably did a special diet and a possible water deplete before that shoot. It’s okay if you don’t want a six pack, that is not the definition of being fit. Decide what your definition of a fit life and body should look like and be happy with it.
Learn to appreciate the choices of those around you. It’s not a reflection on you that they choose to workout 2 hours a day to your 30 minutes, you are both being fit and healthy.
Still not sweatin’ the small stuff? How often do you let yourself get out of your comfort zone? Change is natural with as unnatural as it can feel. Think about the planet earth (corny but go with me here), we change each year, all the time: seasons (some parts of the world more than others), weather, even day to night. Change is truly natural.
Change is happening all the time even when we cannot see it. Long before those leaves change colors and fall off the tree change is happening within and we don’t see it, but that is where faith, persistence, and discipline come in. Changes are happening in your body long before it shows on the outside. We just have to go with it, accept it and let it happen. Learn to feel alive when you are outside of your comfort zone.
This leads me to stress. It should not be stressful to live healthfully. However we all do it, we stress over the number on the scale, over the size of jeans we are buying and the pinch of fat on our sides. However, what most people don’t realize is that stress is wreaking havoc in your body. While the world around us has changed from century to century and even decade to decade (hello let’s remember the 80s!) our bodies have relatively remained the same.
When we stress our internal systems have no idea that we have an abundance of food surrounding us or that we are really stressed over an email from our boss shortening an already short deadline. Our bodies go straight into survival mode! Our bodies only know one type of stress: “There is no food and a Sabre tooth tiger wants to eat us!” What does that mean? Store fat, stop all systems and conserve energy ASAP! This means your goals are now on the back burner, not by your choice, but by your bodies.
So while you have goals and you are a driven person and want to reach these goals, be proud of what you have accomplished so far. Even if that accomplishment is simply that you got up this morning and did the cardio you told yourself you would start today. You deserve to be proud of that.
You can find Suzanne at:
https://www.facebook.com/NutritionSnobclothing
http://www.etsy.com/shop/nutritionsnob