Monday Morning Motivation: The Perfect Day

It's almost the end of February and this is when, as a fitness professional, I see people starting to drop off of their New Year's Resolutions....this is why I'm not a big fan of them. Every once in a while I see someone say, "this is my year!" And, by golly, it is!! They change everything and never look back. 

However, for the rest of us, each year is "our year" yet nothing ever truly changes. Why? Because our brains are tricky little creatures. It turns out that the mere act of setting a goal, temporarily satisfies that part of our brain that wants to achieve that goal. Read that again, I'll wait....

That's right, we don't have to actually achieve the goal to feel that sense of satisfaction, even elation, that comes from actually meeting the goal. We only need to "decide" to meet it. So, often times, setting goals becomes an emotional band-aid of sorts that soothes us and gives us hope and actually deters us from making change. 

So, what's the alternative? Instead of setting a long term goal (for example, losing 30 pounds by summer), resolve that for just today, you are going to do everything you can to feel good in every way. In order to do this, you have to tune into your body and mind and really pay attention to how things affect you. Here's an example of this in my own life when I'm on my game:

-I wake up at 5:00am. I don't have to do this. I could wake up at 6:30am and race around and get out of the door on time. However, I know from past experience that this sets me up for a day of elevated stress levels (which leads to emotional eating) and frenzied disorganization. So, instead, I slowly wake up, meditate and have some peaceful quiet time before I wake the rest of the house and start doing the morning duty. 

-I exercise. Not because I love it but because I've learned that it elevates my mood, curbs my appetite, makes the tight, achy feeling go away and lays the healthy foundation for the rest of my day. 

-I avoid sugar and other simple carbs, especially during daylight hours. Not because I don't love them. It's because I've learned that they slow me down, physically and emotionally. I've also noticed that it sometimes actually makes me feel grumpy after I eat it. I'm not sure why but it's a definite pattern I've noticed over the years. 

-I fast until around 1pm and then break my fast with something light and healthy. I don't do this to starve myself and I don't recommend this for everyone (every single person is different!). I do this because I've learned that eating early in the day destabilizes my blood sugar for the entire day which makes me feel constantly hungry and gives me brain fog. I've also learned that if I eat something heavy and/or a large amount of food when I do break my fast, that I get very lethargic and have digestive problems for the rest of the day. 

And all of these habits add up to me maintaining (and sometimes losing) weight. However, I don't directly do any of these things for this purpose. They become a side effect of my desire to feel my best each and every day. 

So, if your goals aren't quite cutting it for you as we zero in on the end of February...toss them! Try instead, to have the perfect day. The day you and your body are worthy of....and then do it again tomorrow....

Happy Monday!
Tammi

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