Today, more often than we realize, our health and fitness is a back-burner option instead of a priority. We allow ourselves to become caught up in and dependent upon our daily routines. Without even noticing it we lose our sense of self within the very things we must do to survive each day’s chaos. As work, family, home, and volunteer commitments start to color our calendars, our personal care is often placed low on the list of priorities. There are three steps you can take towards a Fit-Minded life.
Why are we purposefully taking a back seat in our own lives while paradoxically trying to teach our children to carpe diem? This is a dilemma that is near and dear to my heart as a working mom of seven children who got lost in that chaos. We don’t have to accept a life lived in fast forward. Nor do we need to agree with the unpredictability of constantly juggling the work-life balance. Somewhere along the way we started believing and behaving with these truths. Today I work with many clients whose first step is not the exercise or the nutrition. It is the acceptance of their own value and worth to take that step. When we choose to matter in our own lives we remove the obstacles and begin to live on purpose.
One of the most life changing obstacles for me was a postpartum appointment after my seventh child. I realized that the perfect little routine I was trying to pull off was killing me slowly. Faced with hypertension, pre-diabetes, and a scale that glowed neon numbers almost to the 300’s, I needed a healthy life. Not just another fast fix option that would leave me feeling deprived, ashamed, unsuccessful, and frustrated. I needed something easy to understand. Accessibility was key. Complete support was an absolute. My goals needed to be realistic with a newborn, 6 more kids, a husband, and a graduate program all in my day to day. I needed to eat, to move, and believe again. These three actions are the foundation to a healthy life. They are the cornerstones and scaffolding for long lasting results.
Intentional eating
To eat with intention sounds simple, but it’s harder than you may think. There are so many different opinions about which foods will be beneficial. I have found through numerous personal attempts that coming back to the basics is what works for me and my clients. Taking the time to learn what each food group includes and how many servings of each my body needed to lose weight helped me gain control and allowed me to enjoy my relationship with food.
Moving with Purpose
Moving my body on purpose for at least 30 minutes a day was another step that empowered me. Once I understood why and how to fuel my body instead of fill it, my body was able to more effectively function every day. I enjoyed the strength and stamina that came with more nutritionally based choices in the grocery store and at home. A well feed body and an actively exercised one led me losing over 150 pounds. That weight loss uncovered that there was third component to living a healthier life and being happy doing so.
Choosing a Positive Mindset
Our mindset is a very powerful tool. We either grow or limit ourselves. Motivational speakers like Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard, Dean Graziosi, and Richard Branson share the importance of changing our stories in life. We can not achieve a different result without making a different choice along the way. Our physical health is no exemption. The active growth of our mindset will affect both nutrition and exercise over the long haul. It can often be the make or breaking point along the adventure to becoming healthier. For example, it is often said that abs are made in the kitchen. The food decisions we make in the kitchen will have a direct effect on our waistline no matter how much exercise is applied to the body.
What we eat, how we move, and what we believe in, guides our success in the FitMinded life. When we invest in the healthy life we want and make ourselves a priority we are also setting an incredible example to follow. As parents its often easier to allow that back burner mentality to take precedence in our lives. Even when it comes to something as imperative as our own health.
As a coach and trainer, I often have conversations with fellow parents that struggle to see themselves as a priority and one of the mindset tools I use is an exercise I call “the mirror”. I ask them about someone who is very close and important to them. As they are relaying who that is and why they are so valuable to their life, I jot down some of their answers. I then hand them a mirror and ask them to look into it. As they try to look into their own eyes, I repeat back to them the words of love, compassion, intrigue, commitment, and acceptance, that they were willing to give another. That mirror moment often catches their breath. It is a very startling realization to see that we deemed ourselves unworthy of the very love we give.
Embracing The FitMinded Life is not just about losing the weight. It is about being encouraged, equipped, and empowered to live your entire life. As you focus on eating foods that serve your body you will see the results you want. Once you move your body more consistently you will see the changes you want. As you choose to believe in yourself again you will be more effective in your life and the life of all those you love. It is never too late to begin again. This 3-step strategy is your opportunity to reconnect with recess and live a healthy life on purpose.
Your adventure begins here!
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