How am I going to do it?*
Consistency, consistency!
We've probably all said to ourselves, "I'm going to start working out every day, and eating perfectly beginning NOW!" only to fail within weeks (for me, days... maybe hours).
It's really, really hard (read: impossible) to go from bad to perfect or even from bad to good in one fell swoop. I am going to take advantage of every life hack there is to make this as easy and as achievable as I can.
It's important to be present and accountable. Additionally, I want to work on replacing a few bad habits with good ones. For example: I love to have a glass of wine (or 3) with dinner. I've learned this makes me feel like I'm pampering myself. It's a reward for me. Giving that up also feels a bit like FOMO. So until I'm back at my optimal weight, I'm making fizzy water and herbal tea my go-to special pampering reward. Fizzy water goes in a fancy wine glass, and I brew nice teas in a lovely teapot and serve it on a tray with fancy napkins or something. The point is, I'm trying to make healthy habits the reward so I don't feel like I'm missing out. (Visualize: a scene where everyone is laughing, eating yummy bad foods and drinking cocktails while one schmuck is nibbling on a celery stick in the corner feeling left out and miserable. Now put a big red circle with a slash through that and you get what I'm going for).
Additionally, a few other things have happened recently that, coincidentally, will support this "Get Healthy" venture of mine. So without further ado, here is my plan:
1) Take before and after photos. Ugh. NO ONE wants this, but it's a great way to see my progress and give myself an extra push when I think maybe I'm not getting anywhere when I actually am.
2) Keep a food journal. Either by recording my food in MyFitnessPal or taking a photo of my food and keeping it it Day One. The important thing is this has to be done before eating to help ensure I'm being present about what I'm consuming.
3) Track my numbers. A calendar with stickers to track my work outs, a measuring tape for weekly body measurements and weighing in every 4 weeks.
4) Participate in The Whole Life Challenge. Yay! Thanks Mary and Amy!
5) Restart my The Morning Miracle (TMM) regimen. I highly, highly (did I say highly?) recommend this for anyone who wants to improve their life in any way at all.
FOOD PLAN:
Every body responds differently to different food choices. I have found, and am a big believer, in eating whole foods (Paleo is a good way to describe my optimal eating plan). Whole, grass fed proteins, leafy green veggies, seeds and nuts, no dairy, very little if any legumes. The best part is this way of eating is pretty brainless. There is no calorie counting or anything.
Cheat Day. I subscribe to Tim Ferriss's belief in the importance of a cheat day. "I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia." While I'm not a huge junk food eater, I like very much the idea of saving something special until Saturday and eating it with no remorse.
(NOTE: Tim's prescribed 4 Hour Body food plan is very similar to Paleo except that he includes legumes.)
*ok, I don't have time to edit this post so I'm just gonna publish it. I have a tendency to wait until things are perfect and if I do that, I'll never get these out so please forgive errors of logic or typing!
We've probably all said to ourselves, "I'm going to start working out every day, and eating perfectly beginning NOW!" only to fail within weeks (for me, days... maybe hours).
It's really, really hard (read: impossible) to go from bad to perfect or even from bad to good in one fell swoop. I am going to take advantage of every life hack there is to make this as easy and as achievable as I can.
It's important to be present and accountable. Additionally, I want to work on replacing a few bad habits with good ones. For example: I love to have a glass of wine (or 3) with dinner. I've learned this makes me feel like I'm pampering myself. It's a reward for me. Giving that up also feels a bit like FOMO. So until I'm back at my optimal weight, I'm making fizzy water and herbal tea my go-to special pampering reward. Fizzy water goes in a fancy wine glass, and I brew nice teas in a lovely teapot and serve it on a tray with fancy napkins or something. The point is, I'm trying to make healthy habits the reward so I don't feel like I'm missing out. (Visualize: a scene where everyone is laughing, eating yummy bad foods and drinking cocktails while one schmuck is nibbling on a celery stick in the corner feeling left out and miserable. Now put a big red circle with a slash through that and you get what I'm going for).
Additionally, a few other things have happened recently that, coincidentally, will support this "Get Healthy" venture of mine. So without further ado, here is my plan:
1) Take before and after photos. Ugh. NO ONE wants this, but it's a great way to see my progress and give myself an extra push when I think maybe I'm not getting anywhere when I actually am.
2) Keep a food journal. Either by recording my food in MyFitnessPal or taking a photo of my food and keeping it it Day One. The important thing is this has to be done before eating to help ensure I'm being present about what I'm consuming.
3) Track my numbers. A calendar with stickers to track my work outs, a measuring tape for weekly body measurements and weighing in every 4 weeks.
4) Participate in The Whole Life Challenge. Yay! Thanks Mary and Amy!
5) Restart my The Morning Miracle (TMM) regimen. I highly, highly (did I say highly?) recommend this for anyone who wants to improve their life in any way at all.
FOOD PLAN:
Every body responds differently to different food choices. I have found, and am a big believer, in eating whole foods (Paleo is a good way to describe my optimal eating plan). Whole, grass fed proteins, leafy green veggies, seeds and nuts, no dairy, very little if any legumes. The best part is this way of eating is pretty brainless. There is no calorie counting or anything.
Cheat Day. I subscribe to Tim Ferriss's belief in the importance of a cheat day. "I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia." While I'm not a huge junk food eater, I like very much the idea of saving something special until Saturday and eating it with no remorse.
(NOTE: Tim's prescribed 4 Hour Body food plan is very similar to Paleo except that he includes legumes.)
*ok, I don't have time to edit this post so I'm just gonna publish it. I have a tendency to wait until things are perfect and if I do that, I'll never get these out so please forgive errors of logic or typing!
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