Month: June 2019

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Get Fit Together Or Not

Get Fit Together Or Not

 

Did you decide that it’s time to get fit together? Or not . . .

Are you looking at your dude suddenly inspired to help him trim and slim back to the day he said “I do”?

Did you hear those wheels screeching and the rewind button just squeal in response and maybe even a roaring, “Oh no you didn’t!”

Thought so.

But if you’re like me and you are on a healthy kick and you suddenly want your man to join, it’s so difficult not to try, right?

What inspires you the most? Is it someone telling you that your attitude needs to change? Or is it someone that is always in a good mood and has a great attitude. Every. Day?

Positive thinking, positive living, and positive actions are a huge inspiration to those around us. It also starts a momentum for our own selves when we stay connected to our own positive energy. Our own need for change and need for improvement should inspire us to grow and in turn will inspire those around us.

Change takes time, especially the change of our health. It’s not easy for me to make a healthy decision when the one I love isn’t going after it with me. If I’m not focused on my personal need to change, sometimes I get upset and wrapped up in my partner’s lack of interest in changing in the same way and at the same time, as me.

Why do I want my partner to change? Of course we all want what is best for those we love. But going a little deeper, often times we want them to make the change with us to make it easier for us. It’s selfish at that point because we want him to carry us through the change to make it easier for us.

When someone else that we have to be with day in and day out isn’t onboard with what we think is better we tend to let that other person be our excuse for not changing. It makes it easier.

Well, his muffins are always in the pantry, (even though I eat most of them) so I can’t not eat them! It’s his fault!

If you want to change your man, you have to stop. Turn your focus back on your own journey to change, and let him come around in his own time.

 (For help with how to do this change stuff, check out my article Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last) Prove to him that you are strong and capable at accomplishing difficult things on your very own.

Improving yourself also makes you more attractive physically, but I’m also talking about internally, too. The true happiness within you, the excitement of self-achievement, shines powerfully to those around us. Men appreciate a woman that can be her own person.

Respect him and praise him. 

Men feel manly and powerful when their woman truly respects them. It gives them leverage and drive to prove they’re the man. If time passes and you’ve expressed that you wish he were in the boat rowing along with you, but he also recognizes your respect in not pushing it, he might just see how much fun you’re having in that boat and jump in to lead simply because he wants to prove to you that he can, just like you! If he’s competitive he might want to out row you, but that’s okay. Let him.

Appreciate him.

Truly. As he is. Shrek-like and all. Period.

Leave windows open and doors cracked. 

I don’t mean actual doors and windows. I mean, entice him. Invite him with your actions, not your words.

Leave a tail of crumbs behind you.

Figuratively, again. Leave good food out. Keep bottled water in the fridge. Bake healthy meals. Leave your gym shoes at the door. Leave reminders all over the place; reminders of your new change, and leave happiness out there for grabs, too. The enjoyment within you and your own accomplishments and your change, will give him little “crumbs” to taste for himself. If he likes it, don’t be surprised if he comes back for more than just a crumb.

Wow him with your changes by not quitting when the going gets tough.

Choose your talk time and words wisely.

When you do talk to him about your wishes, remind yourself why. Is it truly for his best interest and health, or is it just because you don’t want to do it alone? Leave judgment at the door, in the trashcan with the banana peels. Kindness goes a long, long way.

If he’s all about it and in it with you 110% of the way, encourage and be supportive. And have fun!

Men are born to care for, lead, protect and provide shelter and safety for us women. When we allow space for them to take that role as they were meant to, and when they are ready to, we empower them.

So, next time you get on a healthy kick and decide that all drinks need to hit the highroad and there will only be water in the house and in the car and at the office and…

….DO IT FOR YOURSELF.

There’s always a time and place for change. Sometimes our time is a different time than Shrek’s.

So be patient.

 

If you have comments or questions on this topic, or anything else, reach out! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to hang, you can reach me!

 

 

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9 Ways to Manage Your Time Like a Pro

 

 

Time management is important. It is also a skill that has been lost on a lot of people.

My boyfriend used to tell me that I try to fit too many things into one day. On these days, I would set myself up for disappointment when I didn’t accomplish everything I set out to do.

This is something that I have gotten much better at. I admit though, I’m good at fitting a lot into a small space or timeframe.

Partly, I attribute this habit to the hours and hours I spent on putting together puzzles when I was younger. I learned to fit things together, to patiently problem solve and make things work. I have to thank my mom for that. She’s a queen at making things work and accomplishing very much with very little.

Time management is one of my strong points. I have been asked many times: How do you DO what you do and still manage to do what you love? (i.e. paint, write a novel, play guitar, workout, etc.)

1. USE A CLOCK, A TIMER, SET ALARMS

From day one, I had my babies on a schedule, a very, very tight schedule. The schedule was by the clock, on the dot, daily, predictable and rigid. The days were habit forming and routine dependent.

Not only does this benefit you, but also a schedule is a must for young ones. Having a set schedule is the only way you can stay sane as a parent. Children need regularity and need to know what is expected of them as early as birth. On the plus side, this allows guilt-free time for mom (or dad) to have “me time”.

2. DO PUZZLES AND LEARN TO PROBLEM SOLVE

I know this may seem weird, but I’m telling you, spend about an hour on an old fashioned, cardboard puzzle. Before you know it, you’ll be trying to do that with your time. When I’m loading my dishwasher I will sit there for 5 minutes rearranging until that last dish or two has a spot.

Problem solving is how we identify a problem, develop possible solutions, and take the appropriate course of action. Good problem solving skills are necessary for maximizing your time and figuring out how much you can actually fit into the time that you have. It also helps you identify when you can be doing more than one thing at a time.

3. TIME MANAGEMENT WITH MULTITASKING

Not everyone is good at multitasking, but everybody can multitask, man and woman alike.

It is possible to fit your day together with multitasking, and therefore it’s possible to accomplish fantastic time management skills.

When I was a stay at home mom, I had days where I would set out to accomplish a whole lot.

For example: laundry, workout, mow the grass, make bread, make granola, go grocery shopping, pay some bills and if I got lucky, work on writing my book and go tanning, too.

You’re probably thinking this is impossible, especially since in the beginning, I had 4 sometimes 5 kids all under the age of 7.

 The trick to multitasking is to identify the task that can be started, and continue running, behind the second task you set out to do. (i.e. throwing in a load of laundry quick before taking a shower).

4. PRIORITIZE        

It’s all about setting up your day for success. Prioritizing.

When you’re in bed (or sometime shortly after you get up) and your day hasn’t started yet, make a mental run through of all the things you want to do.

Put the most important task at the top.

For me, I knew that if I wanted to make bread and do laundry, these two things take the longest amount of time, but work almost on their own. (As mentioned above with multitasking). So before I did anything else, I would throw a batch of bread in (I have a bread machine), and a load of laundry. After this, then I’d go about getting my day “started”. This way, once I finished breakfast and had my shower, I could switch laundry and I already accomplished several things with little effort by prioritizing and multitasking.

The key is knowing where to fit things in and when. It’s like a puzzle. If you piece together your day just right, you can really cut down on time. You can maximize the amount of things you’re able to get done in a short period of time, simply by prioritizing.

5. PLAN AND MAKE LISTS

This can be a simple plan that is only in your head, or a physical list on paper. When my day looks crazy, I’ll scribble out my list on paper. Otherwise I usually just piece it together in my head as I go, with a general direction at the beginning.

If you’ve got a very specific plan, or a loose plan, either way, this helps when you’re going about your day.

6. TIME MANAGEMENT WITH FOCUS    

Staying focused on the task at hand really cuts down on a lot of time.

Silence your phone; turn off the TV; close a door; go somewhere quiet…  Grocery shopping? Skip Wal-Mart. (Yeah, I just dropped the WM bomb). Do whatever it takes to focus on the task at hand.

7. SQUEEZE IT IN AND ARRIVE FASHIONABLY ON TIME

Some people are extra sensitive about their time so much so that they create large empty gaps in their day. These folks will arrive an hour or so before they’re actually supposed to be somewhere. These people struggle with multitasking and time management out of fear that it will make them late.  They also tend to only accomplish one single task in a day.

If you’re this type of person, use your timer or watch, make a plan, get out of your comfort zone. Understand that there are little things that can be done in the time that you otherwise may just be sitting doing nothing. And if you arrive exactly on time, it’s okay.

8. LOOK FOR HOLES

While you make your list or plan, look for places where you might have “holes” in your schedule or day. Utilize these tiny gaps in your day by filling them with smaller things on your to-do list.

Fill waiting periods with short to-do’s instead of waisting that time on social media.

9. ACCEPT THAT YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO GET IT ALL IN, AND ELIMINATE

It’s important to remember that some things, though you want to accomplish them, may not be that important and worth the exhaustion.

At the end of the day, focus on what you have accomplished instead of what you haven’t accomplished. It’s okay to leave some things for another day.

TIME MANAGEMENT BONUS POINT

One of the top number one time management skills I have found that works is early to bed, early to rise.

When you get up even just an hour earlier than usual, you’ll be surprised at how accomplished you feel during the rest of your day. Your day will feel so much more put together when you wake up at home instead of in traffic and at the office.

Now it’s your turn to tell me what you do to mange your time and get everything done. I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

 

 

 

 

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Quit the Routine Start an Excuse!

Routine

 

Have you ever thought that you might need to quit your routine? How it might need a little make-over?

Summer sort of snuck up on me, and I didn’t have a specific plan set in place. Suddenly, it was here and moving on without me and I felt like I was running to catch up! With school out, the routine changed, and everything just went bonkers.

This is the perfect set up for fantastic bad excuses.

Excuses such as: “I’ll wait until school starts again,” “I didn’t have a plan,” “there’s just too much going on right now,” “I’ll wait for this new job to settle in”, etc. Before you know it, missing the gym is a thing, drinking more becomes a thing, eating excessive amounts of sugary treats is another thing, putting on weight, and covering up that summer body with fluff is also a thing. And all these things pile up and become an awful downward spiral that takes a lot more energy to fix than most of us want to put into it.

It’s time to quit this routine and start making legitimate, good excuses.

We all make excuses when we don’t really wanna do something. But… do you really want to fluff up? How do you really feel about your desire to get healthy and fit? Have you actually thought about whether or not you really want to be happy. What does that actually mean to you? What to you want?!

You are capable of following a routine that will change your life for the better and last a lifetime.

How many times do you think about starting a healthy routine (or habit) but make excuses because you just aren’t the routine type. Get out of that mindset. We’re all creatures of habit. We all follow some sort of routine.

What habits and routines could you replace that would get you closer to the vision you have of yourself in a year from now, or 5, 10 years from now?

Like I have talked about (briefly) before, setting goals that last means taking baby steps. Changing our daily routine is the same basic concept.

In ten years, your life will look exactly as it does today unless you take the first baby step in actively changing up that daily, stagnant routine.

It’s not having a routine that you’re not into; it’s changing the routine.

The best way to start changing the routine is to replace one thing you do regularly (drinking soda) and incorporate the new thing (water) into the routine you already have. Instead of changing everything at once, simply start with one thing at a time.

My goal with balance8life is to show you how to transform the bad routine into a good one. Before you know it, you’ll start to feel better and your health will improve. All it takes is that first step, but you have to take that first step and begin making good, legitimate excuses not to eat the wrong thing, not to stay up late, not to skip your exercise. These 8 methods work for me. They are 100% guaranteed to move you into a routine that will set you up for a healthy lifestyle.

 

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How to Drink 96oz of Water a Day

 

Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know how to drink water. I know. That sounds like a crazy concept!

Water is essential to our health for several reasons. Water cleans what we can’t clean in the shower or at the sink. The inside of our bodies need it just as much as the outside.

I was at the gym one day (actually, this has happened many days) and not long after I walked in, it smelled like body odor. Major BO. I mean, I get it, it’s the gym. People are working out, sweating, and getting their pump on, and everybody is going to smell a little funky. But I’m talking about the extra. I assume those of you who hit the gym regularly have experienced a similar scenario. You’re thinking, is it so hard to shower first and put on a little deodorant? Maybe think about the fact that other people have to… be around you?

This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous but imagine if these particular types of individuals used something other than water and soap to bathe in, like, for example, soda or tea. I know, I know, this is a crazy thought. But… would they smell any better? Would they be cleaner? Absolutely not.

Water is what we drink to wash the inside of our bodies.

We need water to help balance our body fluids, regulate body temperature, and increases brain power. Water provides energy, promotes healthy weight management, helps us smell and look good, scares away headaches, prevents kidney stones, staves off cramping, and so much more! If we don’t drink water, our bodies can’t function properly. If we think it’s crazy to wash our bodies in soda and coffee, (giggle) then why isn’t it equally as insane to “wash” the inside of our bodies with anything but water?

Doctor Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. of Preventive Medicine says that, “Water is the best liquid possible to cleanse the tissues both internally and externally.” She also says that, “four quarts of water are constantly circulating in the body as part of the blood.”

As you can see, water is vital on a daily basis. If we aren’t drinking water, and plenty of it, we’re going to have problems. And as a side note, what we put in our bodies actually does effect how we smell on the outside, too.

But how do you actually go about drinking enough water in one day? One 16oz bottle of water is not a problem, but 4-6 of those? (How much water is enough? Click here to find out!)

Here are a few things that have worked for me. I’d also love to hear more ideas from you! (Comment below and tell me your tricks!)

1. Set out six 16oz bottles of water at the beginning of your day

This makes measuring a no brainer and takes the guesswork out of it.

2. Drink more in the morning

Knock back 2 bottles of water while you’re milling about in the morning. This takes a good chunk off of what you’ve got to manage throughout your day.

3. Set a timer

Set a timer if you’re not used to drinking water and not usually thirsty, this will help remind you to pick up the bottle!

4. Use a 32oz water bottle

I like this because I know I only need to drink 3 in my day. I also like this because I don’t have to buy water and I can refill it and throw it in the dishwasher. My favorite is the 32 oz Nalgene water bottle because they are tough (I drop it often) and they don’t have a weird plastic smell.

5. Exercise 

When I workout, I drink more because I am sweating. It’s easy to down an entire 32oz water bottle in an hour of working out. Don’t feed your body with anything but water while working out. Water is the best and only hydrating fluid your body needs while exercising.

 6. Have it handy

Always have water in the car, at your desk, in your hand. When it’s there, you’ll be more likely to drink it.

7. Make it fashionable

If you’re one of those that like fashion, cute, pretty or exciting bottles, buy one. Make it fun!

I would enjoy hearing how you get your water in! Leave me a comment and give me some tips!  I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.