Organizing your day shouldn’t be that difficult, but it seems to be a daunting task sometimes, therefore, it doesn’t get done. But funny thing, when I don’t take the time to make those little to-do lists and organize my day, it always ends up with a touch of pacing, a little of this and a little of that. At the end of my day, I really don’t see what I did, which is, to say the least, a total let down.
So I invented (I think?) a new system now that cuts the clutter and makes it easy and simple really. It’s quite effortless and genius if I do say so myself! I have a large stack of fun sticky notes next to my bed. At the end of the day, I write 3-4 things on one sticky note and stick it on my extra large calendar.
This is going to be a relatively short blog, but I wanted to share this with you because it is one of my favorite ways of doing the do, if you know what I mean! And I actually feel super accomplished with this little system. It works with meal planning, workout planning, chores, and all of those things that have to get done.
NUMBER ZERO
This system has to be easy, that’s the whole point. Keeping sticky notes in an easy place, (mine are on my night stand along with a pen) keeps it easy.
NUMBER ONE
Start with a master list. Or not. If it’s in your head, fine. Start jotting. If you have a large master to-do list on your phone or on paper, use that. Pick the top most important tasks and that is where you start.
NUMBER TWO
Sticky notes are a great way not to overload your day. Pick 2-4 tasks and that’s it. A sticky note can’t hold much more than that and neither can one day.
NUMBER THREE
Stick them in a good location, where you won’t miss them. I have a large, old-fashioned desk calendar tacked up on my wall, and I look at it daily. That’s where I stick my notes, because I know I won’t miss them!
NUMBER FOUR
If you like to visually watch your chores disappear, use more than one sticky note and put one to-do item on one note, that way you can easily toss it once that task is complete. If you do this, just remember 3-6 tasks max. (That is, if you’re me. But I realize you aren’t, so maybe you’re like superman’s cousin and can accomplish – and fit – 12 tasks in a day and on one sticky note!) Point is – be real with yourself and the other point is . . . don’t overload!
NUMBER FIVE
Prep for tomorrow. Cross off the items you accomplished today, (off of your master list) and make tomorrows tasks, stick ‘em an’ leave ‘em!
Happy planning ya’ll! If you have any cool adds to this little system, by all means! I’d love to hear them! If you have any questions, please reach out to me! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.
Have you ever tried to balance on one foot while holding onto a chair? Are you truly balancing? Balance doesn’t happen until we let go. I didn’t say balancing means you will never fall or that it is perfect the first time. But balance can’t be learned while holding onto a chair and never letting go.
Every day, we are subconsciously, and consciously, fed with things that are either overly perfect, or dramatically devastating. When comparing real every day life to either of these, real life becomes very weighty, and starts feeling out of control. It’s difficult to maintain balance in our minds!
The things we have to do, the lists we have to check off, and the deadlines we have to make, are physically easy to see, to touch, and to organize. But what about our inner peace, our minds?
Blogging about health and fitness keeps my mind focused on my own health and fitness. It makes my weakness super, glaringly clear, and in my face, all the time.
I know how to juggle mom life, follow a routine, change it up when I get board, workout at home, eat healthy, and drink plenty of water. I know how to make sure I am getting the right amount of sunlight for my vitamin-D and fresh air to calm my soul. I know how to meditate and “clear my mind of the clutter”, but. . .
. . . knowing, and doing are two different things!
It also reminds me that, no matter what I say, or what I do, real life is real life. It is easy to skip things when nobody is watching. But it’s also not that hard for me to do the do. What is hard for me though, is chillin’. (My boyfriend told me this yesterday).
I’ve had a rough past 5-6 weeks. I’ll just be honest. Even doing the do has been more difficult than usual for me . . . the mind clutter has been hefty!
The lack of balance between work and play.
That’s my problem.
Yesterday my boyfriend freed me of my chores and motherly duties and told me to go do something for me.
I decided to go hiking, but I was really upset when I walked out in nature and couldn’t quiet my mind. I needed to meditate, clear my mind, and let go of the tension, but it just would not happen. I ended up driving home early, frustrated and disappointed.
When I walked in the door, the house smelled glorious. Dinner had been made, the floor had been vacuumed and the dishes had been done. There wasn’t anything that I had to do. Suddenly, all the tension left, and clarity came. I thought how strange it was that it happened at home, once I returned. Not in the woods, not on my drive, not while I was alone.
Balance happens when we let go.
I expected and tried to create balance at a certain time, in a certain place, and in a specific way. When it didn’t happen, I thought, well this isn’t working. The fact that I was upset that it didn’t work made it even more frustrating. But when I got home and quit trying, it happened.
Now I’m not saying to quit trying. I’m saying, let go. Let go of the crutch that keeps you from gaining that strength, that inner peace, that center focus. We have to let go of what we lean on, of what we are holding onto that is keeping us back, before we can grow stronger in the next phase of our life, of our strength…
Vegan macaroni and cheese, cauliflower, sprouted, whole wheat bread, and salad with vegan nut-based cheese.
A Vegan’s Story
“You’re a Vegan?!” Her eyes bulged uncontrollably as a huff slipped from her gawking mouth. “What do you eat? ” She sneers. “Where do you get your protein?!” Her gaze slips away from my face and over my 100-pound body as if she’s searching for part of me to be abnormally … off. “Well, you look good,” she turns up her nose. “And you have 5 kids!? How!? Are they allyours?”
What am I supposed to say? No, I stole them so I could keep this body and have kids, too. “Yup, they’re allll mine,” smiles awkwardly to fill the gap.
“But how?” She’s serious!
I feel kind of guilty for being tiny, but only for a second. Then the feeling shifts into, I could show you how, if you want me to.
“I exercise regularly and I eat healthy…” Vegan style.
She crosses her arms and stares at me for 5 seconds before her expression softens.
“Yeah, I need to eat better.” She turns and flips her hair over her shoulder and I swear I see her trying to turn her wine into water. But I wish you could have seen her face. I couldn’t tell if it was judgment or doubt, or concern, or maybe a little of all three.
“What do you eat though? Lettuce?”
I get asked this alllll the time. “No. I eat everything you eat, just a healthier, homemade version of it. Pizza, lasagna, casseroles, burgers, ice cream, cake, steak (gluten steaks), chili, salad… tofu –”
Her expression is priceless. Her nose wrinkles and her lips pucker like she just ate a rotten tomato. “I can’t do tofu! But that’s great; you look amazing! I wish I could look like you, and to think you have so many kids! I only have one and look at me!”
There it is. She wishes, but she can’tdo…
It’s over. We part ways and we will probably never see each other again.
I have conversations similar to this all the time. People cannot understand how I have so many kids, look so healthy and fit, and am a vegan. It blows their mind.
THEY’RE ALL SECRETLY THINKING: “WHERE’S THAT PROTEIN? SHE’S PROBABLY MALNOURISHED.”
First, if you really, truly, want to be healthy and look good, stop saying, “I can’t.”
It’s about what your priorities are. If you really, truly want to look and feel amazing you can! But you cannot have your cake and eat it too, and expect not to be fluffy. (Haha, see what I did there?) Some things will just have to go, and in the same way, some things you’ll just have to add. Even if you don’t love it…. right now.
Yes, I am a vegan. I’m fit and healthy. Annnd, all 5 kids came from this body. No, I don’t just eat lettuce.
YES, I GET MY PROTEIN.
Along with this woman, and everybody else that asks me this question, protein seems to be the number one concern.
So where do I get my protein?
Honestly, this is the easiest thing in the world to answer. It’s in some veggies, some fruits, all nuts and seeds, and beans, and whole grainsare loaded to the hilt with protein.
In all actuality, it’s easy to get enough protein because, for one, our bodies don’t need as much as most people think, to be healthy. And two, it’s not just in meat.
The dietary reference intake for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day (USDA, 2010). In fact, the recommendation is that only 10-35% of our daily calorie intake should come from protein.
That’s not a lot of protein. I’m about to drop a load of wisdom on your heads right now. Protein isn’t the “be all end all”, for good health. It is easy to get enough. It’s easy to get too much, too, if you are not a vegan; and too much, is toxic to our bodies!
So don’t stress. If you eat a balanced diet of nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes and fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, you’ll be getting enough protein. Period.
In the next few blog posts coming up, I’ll be going into this topic in much more detail and I will help you along the way. This is just the beginning of the vegan journey. It’s simpler than you think. You won’t have to start eating the grass growing in your lawn or get an extra fridge to store your lettuce. All you’ll have to do is take the things you eat now and substitute a few of them for healthier, vegan, options.
Now that I’ve debunked a couple of the “normal” concerns that I have heard time and time again, when you think vegan, what comes to mind?
I am really excited to launch into this new series on health and fitness (coming soon!). We’re going to dive a little deeper into what it means to be a vegan, how to be balanced on a plant-based diet, and how to see amazing gains in the gym even if you’re a vegan!
I’m also so incredibly stoked right now, because I’ll be featuring special guest, Jim Gurtner, who won championships as a bodybuilder on a vegan, plant-based diet. This is going to be super-duper inspiring, so click the link below and sign up for my emails to be the first to know when his story hits Balance8Life!
By the way – if you’re new to the thought of being healthy, but don’t know where to start, look no further! Setting goals is a good place to start. You can also go to my blog and explore my articles. If you start at the bottom and work your way up, I introduce each of the 8 methods for balancing a healthy lifestyle. I then show you how to set goals, make them last, and be consistent with them.
If you have any questions, please reach out! I love hearing your stories and questions! You can follow me on Facebook and Instagram, too, for daily motivation and healthy tips.
Consistency is the key to success. Whether you are new to a healthy lifestyle or have been doing it for years; Consistency is how we achieve lasting results.
Sometimes it’s just not easy.
Consistency means: steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.
Like I already talked about in my articles, How to Set Goals that Last and Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last, there are steps we have to take in order to reach goals. But just like walking, if you take one step forward and another step backwards then you don’t really reach your goals very quickly, or ever.
This is where consistency comes in. Now when I say consistency, I don’t mean consistently stepping through all your changes one after another. I mean staying consistent with the change you just made. As you take those steps towards your end goal, make each one stick before you go to the next. Once you see you are consistent with that one, add the next change, the next piece in finding balance in your life everyday.
Your goals should be realistic which will boost your ability to be consistent.
If you are 300 pounds and your goal is to be 100 pounds, your realistic “baby step”goal, should be to lose 5 or 10 pounds (first). When your goals are realistic, you get to see obvious, consistent improvement and can celebrate your successes a lot quicker, reaching one small goal at a time.
Consistency depends on solid promises.
Never make a promise to yourself, or anybody else, that you cannot keep. In Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last, the 5th step is TALK ABOUT IT. Talking about it makes you want to continue those good habits so that you don’t disappoint anyone, but we all have moments where we fail. Owning those moments and promising to do better, for yourself, is also important. Consistency isn’t always immediate, it’s a mindset; begin with consistency in your mind and when you miss it don’t lose that mindset, reset and keep pushing.
Once you have decided what you’re going to do, talking about your plans reinforces them and motivates you to take action. It also creates strength within you to do it again. This gets stronger and stronger every time you do what you said you were going to do.
I’ve seen this recently. My brother and I have been listening to a lot of podcasts about how to change the habits you do on a daily basis. He is a car salesman and the hours are long. Going to the gym can be a struggle.
My boyfriend and I just recently started going to the gym at 5am. Since Andrew works with my brother, and there just isn’t any better time to hit the weights, I told him he needed to get in the gym with us. Which, to say the least, was the last thing he wanted to do. Sleep or gym? I think we would all want to choose sleep.
Eventually, my bro did start coming, but he missed a day after his first day, went again, missed another couple days, but kept at it. Now he’s a regular 5am gym rat… who’da thunk?
My point is, he did miss a few days, but he stayed consistent in his mindset and he regularly told people at work that he was doing it, plus he posted every morning on Snapchat that he was. So he had the combined mental consistency, the “talk” and his actions followed. (Plus, he had us, which helped!)
If you are in the beginning stages of a change in lifestyle, and you SKIP one single day, at this moment, you’re weakening your mental strength.
Sometimes we miss a day because of unavoidable circumstances. Make sure that you are consistent in your thoughts, not just your actions. If you miss a day keep telling yourself “I am doing this thing every day”.
Once you allow yourself to miss a second day during your new habit forming stage, unless you have extremely strong will power, this is a potential set up for a third day, and the rest of your days to come.
Decide, commit, and don’t go back.
Consistency and lazy can’t be friends.
Change sucks. It hurts. It’s difficult. It takes energy. It takes dedication. You have to force yourself to put one baby step in front of another. Once you look back at how those little steps brought you to the top of the mountain, … ain’t nobody ever regretted the pain it took to see the view!
Bad days happen, but consistently push past them.
Get up. Move on. Keep up the momentum! Don’t let one off day ruin your progress and keep you down. Consistency requires you to get up, push past the pain, accept that you’re not perfect, and repeat the times that you did well before.
Focus on the positive. We all have bad days. Life happens. The trick is to accept that life will get in the way sometimes. Recognize when it was really life and when it was a decision to find an excuse not to keep going. I talk about how to turn excuses into positive results in Quit the Routine Start an Excuse.
Set a two-week no break rule to solidify your consistency.
If you are about to take that first baby step, and you’ve done everything you need to set yourself up for the change, make a two-week-no-break rule. Get into the habit of your new decision and change. This way, you’re well on your way and when you take a day off or miss a day, you’re more likely to get back on it than if you take a day off two days in.
If you consistently want it, you’ll consistently go get it.
Period.
The title of this article is “Consistency Killed the Fat”, and I realize that I have mostly been talking about fitness, but, I am talking about any change!
If you are wanting to lose, or gain, weight, eat better, change your entire eating habits in a drastic way, drink more water, etc., any healthy lifestyle habit requires baby steps, and consistency for long-term results. It is very important to stick with it and stay consistent even when you don’t see a change. Change takes time. Without consistent persistence, change won’t happen.
Keep it consistently exciting by changing it up.
Boredom can ruin a great routine. Sometimes we have to break away from the routine, and find something to spice it up. If you’re tired of the gym and finding it difficult to keep going, get involved in something outdoors, or join a class in another location. There are options; Google and Pinterest are great places to find ideas!
Follow balance8lifedotcom, ’cause I am consistently here to motivate!
I’m here to help! I post something new every Wednesday. Doing things alone, making a change of any kind, takes a lot of work, so finding that someone that can help keep you focused is so invaluable. For quick on-the-go motivation, tips, and reminders, follow balance8life on Instagram here!
No matter where you are in your health-journey, keep up the good work! You’ve got this! I would love to hear from you! You can comment below, or, if you want to follow me on social media, come on over! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.
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 periodswithshort 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.
One day I received a folder for a new client.* She only had a few weeks to achieve very specific (and drastic) fitness goals. I assumed she was somewhat fit already and just needed a trainer to kick her butt a little harder to take her to the next level.
I was so wrong.
She was several pounds overweight, had several children, and had a new baby that was only a few months old. I knew it wasn’t physically possible for her to meet her goals by the set deadline she’d given me, she didn’t have enough time to condition herself. But she hired me as her personal trainer to get her there, so we worked. Unfortunately, she was unable to get through the first workout without modifying almost everything. Even then, some things she just couldn’t do.
Two days in, she skipped her workout. A week in, she called and canceled her training sessions.
Her goals were attainable, the speed at which she was trying to achieve them, was not.
As a result, she quickly became discouraged and gave up everything. Not just the training, but also her gym membership, the diet, and the goals she’d set.
I had another client* that had quit working out and decided he wanted to start back up but needed someone to be accountable to, so he hired me. He was used to getting up at a certain time, but decided he wanted to fit the gym in before work. He set his workout in the morning, 3 hours earlier than he was used to getting himself out the door in the mornings. This guy didn’t even make it to the gym the first day, or the next. Instead, he skipped it altogether because it was too hard, and canceled his entire training program.
Can you relate to the struggles either of these people had?*
In my last blog post I talked a little about how to set goals that last. (If you missed it, here it is). Right now, we are going to dig deeper on how to go about making big, drastic changes in a way that allows you to maintain those changes, and accomplish your end goal.
I have met many people over the time that I have spent as a personal trainer, all of them wanted to change their lifestyle and got very excited. The problem was that not all of them learned to pace themselves, they made drastic changes too suddenly. I don’t know a single one of these particular clients that are still on their lifestyle change journey.
Drastic change is something a lot of us need and desire, but don’t know how to do successfully. That’s what I want to help you do in the following steps. I can tell you these things but I’m not there to help you stay on track like a personal coach or a trainer might be; I want to give you the tools that I have used in my own life to achieve my goals!
1. DECIDE AND WRITE IT DOWN.
The first step is to decide what your desired change or goal is. It can be huge, it can even seem unattainable. This is where you don’t hold back with your dreams! Write your ultimate goal down and visualize yourself in that place!
2. BREAK IT DOWN AND SIMPLIFY.
Once you’ve written down what your huge, drastic, life-changing goal is, back it up a few steps and break it down.Write down the smaller steps that will get you there.
For example, if you want to run a marathon, but haven’t been running in years, write down “marathon”. Then back it up and write, “10K” and again, “5K” and break it down even further, committing to 30 minutes of powerwalking or jogging, starting at 1-2 miles 4 days a week. Slowly build on this, working toward your first mile-marker goal. (Your 5K, etc.).
3. TAKE BABY STEPS.
Once you’ve written down your goal, and broken it down, decide where youbelieve is physically possible to start for you. Be reasonable. This is essential for making big changes in your life.This is where you have to be real.Now that you know what your end goal is, start at step one and focus on the small goals that will get you to your big goal.
4. PICK A START DATE.
Don’t decide to start today. Pick a Monday, or a date of your choosing, and mark it on your calendar. Commit to it.
5. TALK ABOUT YOUR DECISION.
Decide where you will start, and talk about it. Post your decision on social media; tell your friends, your coworkers, and your family. Tell them the date you are starting. Once you start to talk about it, it becomes a reality. No longer is it something you’ve personally decided; now everybody is watching to see if you actually do it. Now you’ve got a huge support group.
6. CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS WISLEY.
This sounds funny, maybe even a bit childish, but if you choose to hang around other people that are doing the same things you’re doing, you’re more likely to stick to your decision.
Believe in yourself and be patient with yourself. We live in a time of instant gratification. Nobody travels the world without first saving money, making a plan and packing his/her bags. It all takes time. Before you know it, you’ll be there, you’ll have succeeded in making your drastic lifestyle change, and before you know it, you’ll be making another goal.
Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear about your goals and how you either plan to accomplish them, or how you already did, and what you did to get there!
In our journey to a balanced lifestyle, moderation is crucial. Some people have incredible will power and can make fast, drastic, changes in their life successfully. Unfortunately, for most of us, this isn’t possible and leads to exhaustion and a quick, disappointing end.
Decide to run a “marathon” by power walking on your first day.
If you jump in with both feet and get absolutely ridiculous with your health and fitness (and diet) changes, you will quickly become discouraged and very likely, quit.
Good things comes to those who wait! Nothing happens immediately. The more you do at once, and the faster you pile on the expectations of your own growth, the more overwhelming it becomes.
When I started my lifestyle change, I found that setting aside just thirty minutes in my day to exercise, was all I could manage. I didn’t change my diet, I didn’t make water measurements, and I didn’t commit to working out for hours. Eventually all of these things fell into place in their own time, and they will for you, too. But you can’t start all at once. A successful lifestyle change takes time, patience, endurance, and a plan, with big goals to aim for.
A lifestyle change is a huge commitment. Setting goals and achieving them one small step at a time is where it’s at.
In my next blog post, I’m going to show you how to set goals for big, drastic changes in your life, by taking it one step at a time. With moderation, you’ll succeed. I promise.
I love being healthy. I want you to be healthy, too! But I understand that you might not know exactly how to get there, what it looks like, what it means, and what to do about it. So, again, I want to help you.
There are a lot of ideas and theories on how to go about being healthy, but this is what works for me, and this is what BALANCE8LIFE is all about. It’s about balancing these 8 wonderful things to obtain (and maintain) good health.
1 GOOD NUTRITION
This in itself can be so complicated with today’s diets. I mean, what the heck is an airatarian? “Those who only consume air and water in an effort to stop the slaughter of innocent plants and animals.” Yup, it’s really a thing. (I wouldn’t suggest it).
Balance is key in nutrition. It’s not about dieting, counting calories or making drastic, quick changes. Dieting is a means to an end that usually comes quick, with nothing to fall back on to continue a healthy lifestyle, and before you know it, you’re right back to where you were before: unhealthy. So let’s do something better. Let’s change our lifestyle.
A balance of fruits (yes, fruit is good for you), veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans), wholegrains, (yes, gluten and carbs are good, too) and if you must eat meat, white, lean meats, but believe it or not, meat is not necessary for good health. Quite the contrary, but… we’ll talk about that another time.
Annnnd…..That is where you start. ( I’ll help you with what good nutrition really looks like in other blog posts as we go).
2 EXERCISE
Exercise is not all about the gym. The gym is only a fraction of it. Exercise is simply doing something active for an extended period of time. You can do yard work, go swimming, ride a bike, climb a mountain, kayak, pole dance, etc., etc. So for those of you who hate the gym, or the people at the gym, there are always other options. Walking is simple, it’s a great place to start, it’s good for all ages, easy on the joints, good for people who’ve had injuries, and walking burns the same exact amount of calories per mile as running. Keep it real folks. Thirty minutes of sustained, increased, heart rate, 4-5 days a week will make a bigger difference than you think. Try it!
3 WATER
Drink your Water, my friends! Juice, tea, coffee, Gatorade, flavored water, alcoholic beverages, etc., etc., all of these drinks don’t count. Pure water is essential to our health. Our bodies are approximately 65% water. If we don’t drink it, our bodies suffer in ways you probably don’t even know. While you’re in your car, out to eat, relaxing at home… water! Drink it.
“Lack of adequate water intake is a burden to our body. As a result, the body reacts by keeping extra sodium in the blood to keep up the water level as much as possible. If this continues for too long, the body’s fluid and electrolytes (e.g. sodium, potassium, calcium, etc.) can become very imbalanced, with resulting severe health problems.” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine
4 SUNSHINE
Hello, beautiful! I’m a beach bum (when I’m not in my apartment 5 hours from the beach). Sunlight, (in moderation), increases circulation, and cardiac output is increased. Sunlight also increases the number and efficiency of blood vessels in the skin, it decreases blood pressure, and just 10 minutes in your day provides 100% of your daily dose of vitamin D needs, plus several other awesome things… bring it!
How many of you have gained weight after your babies and decided to make a New Years resolution, and went running 3 miles after not doing any physical activity for years, threw up afterward and did it again the next day, then was so sore and frustrated you quit? How about changing your diet? Have you ever cut out all carbs and gluten and drank only water for a day or two then quit because it was too hard? What about only eating rice with zero salt and eating that three times a day? This isn’t moderate. When we make all-or-none changes fast and-furious-like, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. Our minds and bodies can’t handle that much that quick, and without moderation in all things, we become imbalanced and end up very unhappy.
Moderation is needed in all things: family time, alone time, work, diet, exercise, electronics and TV, the list goes on. Little baby steps and balance is key to a successful lifestyle change for the better. Drastic overload in any area of life can end fast and hard with the end result being disappointment, injury, bad health, depression, or other negativities that can be avoided with moderation.
6 FRESH AIR
It seems like common sense, but air is the most essential element of life. We can live only minutes without air.
We also need fresh air for perspective. It helps to clear the mind and calm down our thoughts, and our ‘tudes.
Buddha had a lot of super awesome things to say about air, as well. One of my fave quotes is: “If the ocean can calm itself, so can you. We are both salt water mixed with air.”
Without it, how on earth can we function? Well, let’s take a look. We function with extra caffeine, which can ruin our sleep, so we take melatonin, on a mild scale and prescription sleep aids if that doesn’t work. And when you awake, you still feel tired, so you drink coffee. It is a vicious cycle.
But the good news is, it CAN be broken!
I’m not just talking about sleep, though. Rest in general; that peace of mind, the nerves and muscles relaxing, a day (or two, or more) off of work, all of this equals rest. Our bodies need rest in order to be healthy.
Just as high intensity exercise increases inflammation in the body and weakens the immune system, so does a highly intense lifestyle of stress weaken our brainpower and our ability to perform at our best. We cannot run marathons without rest, and neither should we run the marathon of non-stop hectic life without a break.
I realize that not every one of my readers is going to be in the same boat when it comes to meditation. I do challenge you though, to seriously think about why you may not like it (if you don’t) and try it out. Take your mind away from your self and meditate on the goodness that is around you.
Since nine-tenths of all illness start in the mind, it is important that we clear it of negativity. A cheerful attitude is good medicine; a broken spirit (guilt, evil thoughts, regret, revenge, etc.) saps our strength.
The body produces endorphins when we are happy. These help restore our physical health. The body also produces negative hormones when our thoughts are focused on our self and negative thoughts. Choose health by choosing carefully what you allow your mind to dwell on.
As we go on this journey to bettering our health I’ll be showing you how it’s done, so don’t worry if it seems too hard now. It really isn’t.
“Balance is not something you find; it’s something you create.”
I was only ten minutes into my day and the kids were already wearing me out! My workout, that normally finishes at 8:30am, had not even begun and I was just sitting down to breakfast. In addition to that I hadn’t been able to drink my allotted amount of water before breakfast and I still wasn’t in workout clothes. Today was not looking good and the worst part of all was my mindset.
Our minds are very powerful tools, but how many times do we actually use the power of positive thinking?
When it really comes down to it, how much do we realize positive thinking effects our day? More importantly, how can you change your mindset to both improve your day and give yourself the extra boost to get in the mindset that you need?
The power of our mind isn’t a new concept. In A.D. 58, a man named Paul said something extremely relevant even to us today, “Do not imitate this world, but be changedby the awakening of your mind, that by challenging and changing your thoughts, you can recognize the path in which you should take, what your purpose in life really is.”
Following the norm, following the natural weakness of our own selves without tapping into the powerful tools we were given, weakens our day-to-day accomplishments . . .
. . . like filling up that mason jar of water and actually drinking it all before we leave the house for work.
It’s those simple, down to earth, every day (dare I say, mundane?) things that lead to greater triumphs in our daily lives.
I admit I did go back to bed, but only for a few minutes. I cried. I snuggled with my boyfriend and I told him I just wasn’t feeling good. It wasn’t my body that didn’t feel good. It was my mind. I told him that I just didn’t feel like I could be a mom today.
He said something to me that stopped me in my downward spiral to continuing on my bad day . . .
He said, “I know. But we have to do it. We are the strongest people they know”.
I started to think. If I don’t go out there with a smile and fake it till I make it, I will ultimately ruin their day and make it more difficult for themto have a good day. That is a lot of responsibility for one human!
I managed to drive them to school without lecturing, though I wanted to, and I managed to keep my tone calm. I hugged them all before they went to school and smiled, told them they looked and smelled great, and told them I loved them, and that I knew it would be a great day.
They laughed at me and said, “You just made that up.” And I said, “I certainly did not! The sun is shining, and it’s going to be a beautiful day!”
While I admit, inside, I was trying to convince myself of the same thing, but once I said it, I began to believe it. Seeing the kids leave for school with smiles on their faces reminded me of the power of positive thinking and positive words. Also, the results of our positive thinking can generate encouragement not only in our selves, but also in others, brightening the day for more than just us.
This morning, when I walked back inside, I did something as simple as making up my bed to put me on a productive beginning to my day. I knew that if I didn’t do that, I would probably get back in it and sleep all day long. I wouldn’t get my day going, would never work out, I wouldn’t blog, I wouldn’t make lunch, I wouldn’t feel good when I got up and I would be disappointed in myself.
Choose your own kick-start. Mine was making my bed. Yours could be completely different. The point is, make that first step.
Here are a few tips on how to will power your way through your day. It worked for me today, and all I can focus on is today, so let’s start with today!
THINK POSITIVELY.
Be grateful! It all starts in our minds. The number one way to begin the process of will powering your way through a bad day till it brightens up, is thinking positively.Nothing will change until you change your way of thinking.
SPEAK POSITIVE WORDS.
When we tell others how good we feel, we begin to realize how good we really do feel. It turns our focus to searching for the good because, if we say it, we end up showing it. Once we say it, somewhere in our subconscious minds, we start to realize that things really aren’t as bad as they could be. The mere fact that we are alive is a wonderful reason to think and speak optimistically.
KNOW YOUR GOALS FOR THE DAY, SIMPLIFY THEM, AND STICK TO IT.
If your goal is to workout and you know for a fact that doing it will feel like a major accomplishment for that day, then focus on that one thing only and do it. Decide what yourprimary goal is and break it into bits to help you get started.
ACT – EVEN IF YOU START OUT AS A ROBOT.
You have to force yourself to go through the motions here. You might feel like a robot. But immediately attack the things that are roadblocks to your accomplishments for the day. For me, I knew if I didn’t make my bed, I’d get back in it. I had the day off work, which means it’s my day to blog. I made my bed and opened my computer, turned it on, and set it dead center on my bed. Then promptly went and filled my jar of water and set it beside my workspace. As soon as I sat down, I pulled up my website. I will admit, I kept getting distracted with Instagram and Pinterest, but I kept coming backto what was most important until I finally silenced my phone and threw it across the room. (I don’t recommend that exact plan of attack).
ACCEPT THAT YOU AREN’T PERFECT
It’s okay if you don’t perform at your ultimate capacity today, but aim to tomorrow, and make it happen!
We all have our days. Just because we’re less energetic or less positive one day, doesn’t mean we have to focus on that negative energy. Put your focus on accomplishing smaller, less taxing undertakings for the day, set your goals at a reasonable and attainable platform, and push through, even though it’s not easy.
Accepting where you’re at is part of positive thinking and willing your way through a less energetic day. Even if that’s all you do, if you’ve kept a positive outlook on a lower energy day, that is an accomplishment in itself, that a lot of people don’t achieve.
LISTEN OR READ
Find a quote on Pinterest, a podcast, a YouTube video, or something that not only distracts you from your current state, but plants positive thoughts in your mind when it seems too difficult to do on your own.
Nourish and protect your positive choices and thoughts. Don’t allow outside influences to pull you down. If you don’t have the energy to summon your own positivity, go find it.
Once you’ve accomplished one thing, even if it is simply making the bed and showering for the day while squeezing in a positive podcast while doing these activities. Congratulate and compliment yourself for what you have done.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, NOT WHAT YOU HAVE NOT DONE.
Nobody can be you as well as you can. Keeping your focus on the task at hand, then admiring what you have done, gives your will power a pre-workout, so-to-speak, for the next task at hand.
FOCUS.
Over and over and over, until focus takes hold. You can do it. We all can. Will power isn’t easy and it is not going to grow over night. Try and fail, and learn, and try again until you succeed
For a little more on motivation, how to stay on course, and tips on how to make working out from home actually work, check out my article Five Ways to Stay Fit at Home!
There is a bight side to sunshine, in case you didn’t know. Sunshine is one of natures greatest gifts to our health.
Sometimes life just doesn’t make sense, though. Sometimes, even when you get your super duper, power, packed, nutritious, delicious, breakfast and your daily exercise, and even manage to drink your first 32oz bottle of water, you still feel . . . meh.
I know; I’ve been there.
Sunshine can help brighten up our mood even when our day started off sort of . . . bad.
There are just some days when we are off. And this happens to all of us, so there’s no judgment here.
I don’t know about you, but when I’m having an off day or two, my first thought is, “I need a trip to the beach for some fun in the sun!”
There’s always going to be that one friend who rolls their eyes, with that perfect skin, and never goes to the beach because sun is bad for your skin!
Is sunshine really bad for your skin?
Our universe is naturally giving to those of us who want to receive its gifts, and sunlight is one amazing gift that fits into the figure eight on our journey to a balanced, healthy lifestyle!
My twins were recklessly riding bikes down a paved driveway a few years back and fell, resulting in a broken arm and a trip to the ER.
The doctor put a bright colored cast on his arm and told me to go buy some calcium gummies.
So we did. And we played in the sun, too.
You know why?
. . . Because just ten minutes of sunshine provides the daily allotted amount of vitamin D that we need.
What you may not know about vitamin D is, that it aids in calcium absorption, in fact without it our bodies will not absorb calcium.
There are many, many reasons why sunshine is essential to our happiness as well as our health and wellbeing in mind, body and soul.
I find it ironic and sad that most people in our busy world today have to take a vitamin supplement simply because they’re way too busy sitting in an office chair to get outside in the sun for at least ten minutes of the day.
A trip to the beach would be nice, but ten minutes in the sun on your break is all you need for a happier, healthier you.
As we journey together through the figure 8 of balance for a lifestyle change that fits in our daily life of crazy busy, I’m here every step of the way, helping you find your sunshine.
But . . . I’m still up for a trip to the beach! Any takers?
Before I go, how would you like to take a look into the future? There are some awesome things coming up. Firstly, I would like to introduce you to an article I wrote called Balance8life in Motion. Here I show you how to live in balance, rotation through all 8 methods during your day for a balanced day.
I would also like to point out that this is one of my first articles, as I am a new blogger. But I have also been back around to revise, edit, fix and fluff. Here is a quick link to every blog article I have written, and will write in the future. I am sure that once my blog makes a few dollars, I will upgrade to an easier layout, but right now, this is all I got. So if you click on Blog, and scroll all the way down to the bottom, those are my very first articles. (I know, it’s a little annoying). The journey begins at the bottom and works up. I have all sorts of great beginners guides to healthy living, gym life and weight lifting, and healthy grocery shopping for newbs! Please explore, enjoy and share with your friends. Social media is the bomb diggity!
