I know you've been there.....
You've scheduled your workout time,
You got your backside out of bed, brushed your teeth and your workout gear on.
You are headed out the door, or plugging the exercise DVD in,
but you just do NOT want to exercise today.
Ugh! What to do?
Hey! It happens to all of us.
Here's what I tell myself "I will just get through the warmup. If at that point I still don't feel like exercising, I can quit with no guilt."
And you know what happens, don't you?
Yep.
I stay and finish the workout.
Every time.
By then my blood is flowing and I'm in a better place. And, heck! I might as well, since I've come this far.
And often these wind up being some of my best workouts, full of energy and strength.
Some days it's harder to get going, but that doesn't mean that you are doomed to a rotten workout or a downer day. Give yourself the opportunity to try, first!
Showing posts with label habits. Show all posts
Showing posts with label habits. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2015
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Ever Wonder the Daily Habits of the Most Muscular Guy in the Gym?
Last year I did a blog titled Ever Wondered How the Most Muscular Guy in the Gym Lifts? on SparkPeople.com. I did it there and not here because my following here appears to be mostly female, and a lot of guys follow me on Spark. I've always felt a follow-up blog about some of his daily habits would perhaps help someone else looking to make the most of their physique. While the weight lifting is obviously what has put all of that muscle on Ivory, what he does day-in and day-out contributes heavily to his health and appearance, as well. It really is a whole package if you want to get results as impressive as his:
*********NOTE***** I am not implying that anyone else should adopt ALL of these habits! Even Ivory didn't take them all on at once. Like anyone else who has made lasting lifestyle changes, he implement these bit by bit over the course of years.
So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I have observed and/or wrangled out of Ivory about what it is he does on a day-to-day basis:
Dietary:
- Never drinks soda. Unsweet tea? Yes. The occasional sugar-free Rock Star before a workout? Unfortunately, yes. (This makes me batty!) But carbonated beverages? In three years I've never seen him ingest one.
- Never drinks alcohol. No kidding.
- Drinks a LOT of water, although, surprisingly, he does not keep a bottle with him when he works out. He either goes to the drinking fountain, or swipes some of mine. (He's nice, though, and refills it for me if it is low.)
- Rarely ingests sugar. I mean, hardly ever. Around the holidays he may have a piece of sweet potato pie or banana pudding, but sugar for the most part is not in his diet.
- Keeps white flour to a bare minimum. Maybe once every week or two he'll have pancakes (with sugar-free syrup) right after a workout, but almost every other starch Ivory eats is either potatoes or whole grain.
- Not afraid of carbs, but eats plenty of protein. Protein is the center of most of his meals, but he always has some kind of a starch and usually either veggies or fruit along with it.
- Loves his veggies!
- Keeps fruit consumption fairly low- perhaps a piece of fruit a day.
- Eats an extremely wide variety of foods.
- Stops eating when he is full. He'll leave half a plate of food because "I'm full"
- And, because everyone wonders this: Doesn't go anywhere near steroids or other stuff purported to help you gain muscle. Tried Creatine once, but it dehydrated him so bad that he wound up in the ER. About the only thing supplemental he takes is the occasional scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin when he remembers it. Really. (I made him pinky swear on this one.)
Exercise:
- Cardio is short (usually 20-30 minutes) but very intense. I'm tellin' ya, the guy is positively raining sweat when he gets done with a cardio session.
- Changes set/rep scheme and the exercises he does frequently.
- Hits every muscle group once a week.
- Takes more time to train shoulders than any other body part.
- Takes 1 day a week as rest day from gym. He typically lifts weights Mon-Fri and does cardio Mon, Fri, and Sat. Sometimes Tuesday.
- Gives full rest between sets. This way, he's able to put maximum effort into all of his lifting.
- Asks for a spotter when he goes super-heavy. If there is no one around to spot, he doesn't go heavy that day and does more reps.
- Does abbreviated movements on big lifts- stays in the tension.
- Always keeps good form. If he can't keep proper form, he lowers the weight.
Life in General:
- Keeps a relaxed attitude- What some would call stressful, he just accepts as life and rolls with it.
- Is hardly ever in a hurry. For as fast as this guy moves during cardio, he kinda ambles around the rest of the time.
- Prioritizes taking time to do things he enjoys (coaching football, playing softball, going to his kids sporting events, fishing)
- Invests time in friendships.
- Keeps current on fitness information and is always willing to learn and try new things.
- Makes an effort to stand up strait- excellent posture.
- Lost weight when he needed to. Ivory told me that at 6'2" he weighed 330, if I remember correctly, for quite a while. It was affecting his health. The doctor gave him what-for, Ivory listened and started eating better and adding cardio to his exercise routine (he'd been lifting all along). He lost 50 pounds and the weight has stayed off. Gotta respect that.
Lastly, I feel compelled to point out that it has taken years of doing these same things, day in and day out, to get to where he is now. Genetically Ivory is indeed gifted, but the mounds of thick and well-defined muscle would not be there if he didn't work hard and stay consistent in his habits. So if you aren't getting the results you want in a few weeks or months, remember that it takes sticking to doing the right things over and over for many years on end to be able to carry this kind of a look well into your 40's (Ivory is 45), and beyond.
*********NOTE***** I am not implying that anyone else should adopt ALL of these habits! Even Ivory didn't take them all on at once. Like anyone else who has made lasting lifestyle changes, he implement these bit by bit over the course of years.
So here, in no particular order, are some of the things I have observed and/or wrangled out of Ivory about what it is he does on a day-to-day basis:
Dietary:
- Never drinks soda. Unsweet tea? Yes. The occasional sugar-free Rock Star before a workout? Unfortunately, yes. (This makes me batty!) But carbonated beverages? In three years I've never seen him ingest one.
- Never drinks alcohol. No kidding.
- Drinks a LOT of water, although, surprisingly, he does not keep a bottle with him when he works out. He either goes to the drinking fountain, or swipes some of mine. (He's nice, though, and refills it for me if it is low.)
- Rarely ingests sugar. I mean, hardly ever. Around the holidays he may have a piece of sweet potato pie or banana pudding, but sugar for the most part is not in his diet.
- Keeps white flour to a bare minimum. Maybe once every week or two he'll have pancakes (with sugar-free syrup) right after a workout, but almost every other starch Ivory eats is either potatoes or whole grain.
- Not afraid of carbs, but eats plenty of protein. Protein is the center of most of his meals, but he always has some kind of a starch and usually either veggies or fruit along with it.
- Loves his veggies!
- Keeps fruit consumption fairly low- perhaps a piece of fruit a day.
- Eats an extremely wide variety of foods.
- Stops eating when he is full. He'll leave half a plate of food because "I'm full"
- And, because everyone wonders this: Doesn't go anywhere near steroids or other stuff purported to help you gain muscle. Tried Creatine once, but it dehydrated him so bad that he wound up in the ER. About the only thing supplemental he takes is the occasional scoop of protein powder and a multivitamin when he remembers it. Really. (I made him pinky swear on this one.)
Exercise:
- Cardio is short (usually 20-30 minutes) but very intense. I'm tellin' ya, the guy is positively raining sweat when he gets done with a cardio session.
- Changes set/rep scheme and the exercises he does frequently.
- Hits every muscle group once a week.
- Takes more time to train shoulders than any other body part.
- Takes 1 day a week as rest day from gym. He typically lifts weights Mon-Fri and does cardio Mon, Fri, and Sat. Sometimes Tuesday.
- Gives full rest between sets. This way, he's able to put maximum effort into all of his lifting.
- Asks for a spotter when he goes super-heavy. If there is no one around to spot, he doesn't go heavy that day and does more reps.
- Does abbreviated movements on big lifts- stays in the tension.
- Always keeps good form. If he can't keep proper form, he lowers the weight.
Life in General:
- Keeps a relaxed attitude- What some would call stressful, he just accepts as life and rolls with it.
- Is hardly ever in a hurry. For as fast as this guy moves during cardio, he kinda ambles around the rest of the time.
- Prioritizes taking time to do things he enjoys (coaching football, playing softball, going to his kids sporting events, fishing)
- Invests time in friendships.
- Keeps current on fitness information and is always willing to learn and try new things.
- Makes an effort to stand up strait- excellent posture.
- Lost weight when he needed to. Ivory told me that at 6'2" he weighed 330, if I remember correctly, for quite a while. It was affecting his health. The doctor gave him what-for, Ivory listened and started eating better and adding cardio to his exercise routine (he'd been lifting all along). He lost 50 pounds and the weight has stayed off. Gotta respect that.
Lastly, I feel compelled to point out that it has taken years of doing these same things, day in and day out, to get to where he is now. Genetically Ivory is indeed gifted, but the mounds of thick and well-defined muscle would not be there if he didn't work hard and stay consistent in his habits. So if you aren't getting the results you want in a few weeks or months, remember that it takes sticking to doing the right things over and over for many years on end to be able to carry this kind of a look well into your 40's (Ivory is 45), and beyond.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Respect Your Limitations
I so admire the people who can keep weight off without logging food. How much more convenient life must be without having to write it all down! But I'm not one of them.
Rarely can I let junk food in the house. It's just to hard for me to keep my mitts (and tongue) off of it.
I've had people question and challenge me on both of these issues. In years gone by I have let others bully me into bringing foods that were not in my best interest into my home when I knew I wasn't strong enough to resist them. I've also felt ashamed that I planned to log my food even after I lost my weight, despite knowing it would help me to maintain, because someone told me that wasn't a realistic way to live.
But not anymore: These are two limitations I've had to acknowledge and respect about myself.
I have a friend who does what is necessary to keep her body fat at a healthy level when she pays a trainer/coach to help her. It's something she has to work into her budget to stay successful. She's not weaker than anyone else. Quite the opposite: She is strong enough to recognize and respect her own unique needs and then implement them.
Another person I know has to to to Weight Watchers meetings and weigh-in on a weekly basis in order to not gain her weight back.
Some do best avoiding restaurants; others can't stay home because they eat out of boredom. Some do best if they plan their meals ahead, while others will rebel and overeat if their foods are strictly dictated: They do better with a little (or a lot) more give in their eating plan. Still others do better if they avoid things like white flour or sugar all together, while there are those who find success when they can indulge a little from time to time.
Your picture of success will not look like that of anyone else. This is a good thing and as it should be. You have to be true to your personality and respect your own limitations. Maybe these boundaries will change with time. Maybe they won't. But for lasting success in the weight loss and fitness game, you are going to have to be honest and true with yourself about what works for you.
If someone else doesn't like it? Well....... Let them eat cake........
Or not......
Rarely can I let junk food in the house. It's just to hard for me to keep my mitts (and tongue) off of it.
I've had people question and challenge me on both of these issues. In years gone by I have let others bully me into bringing foods that were not in my best interest into my home when I knew I wasn't strong enough to resist them. I've also felt ashamed that I planned to log my food even after I lost my weight, despite knowing it would help me to maintain, because someone told me that wasn't a realistic way to live.
But not anymore: These are two limitations I've had to acknowledge and respect about myself.
I have a friend who does what is necessary to keep her body fat at a healthy level when she pays a trainer/coach to help her. It's something she has to work into her budget to stay successful. She's not weaker than anyone else. Quite the opposite: She is strong enough to recognize and respect her own unique needs and then implement them.
Another person I know has to to to Weight Watchers meetings and weigh-in on a weekly basis in order to not gain her weight back.
Some do best avoiding restaurants; others can't stay home because they eat out of boredom. Some do best if they plan their meals ahead, while others will rebel and overeat if their foods are strictly dictated: They do better with a little (or a lot) more give in their eating plan. Still others do better if they avoid things like white flour or sugar all together, while there are those who find success when they can indulge a little from time to time.
Your picture of success will not look like that of anyone else. This is a good thing and as it should be. You have to be true to your personality and respect your own limitations. Maybe these boundaries will change with time. Maybe they won't. But for lasting success in the weight loss and fitness game, you are going to have to be honest and true with yourself about what works for you.
If someone else doesn't like it? Well....... Let them eat cake........
Or not......
Don't Jack With Your Program!
You know what I think is one of the biggest reasons people don't lose weight on a program? Because they don't follow the program in it's entirity. They do part of it, but not all of it. They hire a coach and do the exercises he says but don't follow the eating plan. Or do a pretty good job of following the eating plan 5 days out of the week, but go off the rails and eat whatever they darned well please two. Or follow the eating plan perfectly but don't exercise the way he tells you to. Or decide they're going to have rice with dinner even though the coach told them to just have asparagus and fish. You get the idea.
Here's the thing: With most programs, whether they are a company-owned plan like Jenny Craig or a pricey one made by a coach personally for you, your best success is dependent on doing ALL of said program. It's made to work as a whole. You take one part of it out, and like the gears in a watch, either the whole mechanism stops working or it isn't nearly as effective as if you did the program in it's entirety.
If you are working with a coach, I would advise to put blinders on and just DO it. Don't read Weight Watchers material if you are following Julie Lohre's program. (But if you are doing Weight Watchers, read ALL of the material.) Don't decide it's time to brush up on the Paleo diet or read "The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women" when you are paying Mike Davies to make a program for you. Why? Because in there somewhere is going to be something that isn't going to be what your coach or program has lined up for you. You will start to doubt the effectiveness of what they have you doing. And with doubt comes lack of enthusiasm. And with lack of enthusiasm comes lack of adherence. And with lack of adherence comes lack of results.
Commit to whatever plan you are doing in it's entirety. Focus like a laser beam, block everything else out, and just GO! Pick a plan, follow the WHOLE plan, and stick with it. You'll be the one getting the results while others are saying "This plan just doesn't work for me."
Here's the thing: With most programs, whether they are a company-owned plan like Jenny Craig or a pricey one made by a coach personally for you, your best success is dependent on doing ALL of said program. It's made to work as a whole. You take one part of it out, and like the gears in a watch, either the whole mechanism stops working or it isn't nearly as effective as if you did the program in it's entirety.
If you are working with a coach, I would advise to put blinders on and just DO it. Don't read Weight Watchers material if you are following Julie Lohre's program. (But if you are doing Weight Watchers, read ALL of the material.) Don't decide it's time to brush up on the Paleo diet or read "The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women" when you are paying Mike Davies to make a program for you. Why? Because in there somewhere is going to be something that isn't going to be what your coach or program has lined up for you. You will start to doubt the effectiveness of what they have you doing. And with doubt comes lack of enthusiasm. And with lack of enthusiasm comes lack of adherence. And with lack of adherence comes lack of results.
Commit to whatever plan you are doing in it's entirety. Focus like a laser beam, block everything else out, and just GO! Pick a plan, follow the WHOLE plan, and stick with it. You'll be the one getting the results while others are saying "This plan just doesn't work for me."
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
From Diet Soda To Water
This is a tough one, isn't it? Learning to make your main beverage (or your only beverage) water. Seems we all get hooked on diet soda at some point. I'm even going to venture a guess that a majority of the people I know struggling to lose weight are diet-soda-aholics. And since there is no 12-step program for this addiction, I thought it might be handy to share how I managed to kick my own heavy diet soda habit.
I think most of us begin drinking diet soda because it has a sweet taste and no calories. We like sweet. And we figure without calories it can't derail our weight loss efforts. No harm in a diet soda once a day, is there? Then we start drinking two. At home. And then make it our regular beverage when we drink out. And then we have it "only after noon" EVERY SINGLE DAY! And next thing you know, breakfast is over and your seeking out that sweet fizzy taste fix that only a diet soda would give you.
Of course, you wouldn't dream of drinking a regular soda with sugar in it because that.... THAT would make you fat. But this diet stuff? "Hey", you reason "It's got water in it and my body needs water. And it's not giving me any calories, and my body certainly doesn't need any of THOSE! And lookie here- It doesn't have sodium, or caffeine, either! I'm doing something good for my body by making this diet soda choice!". Yeppers- I've been there too, and said all of these things to myself, and more. (My favorite line I told myself when ordering a bacon cheeseburger and fries with a diet soda was "If they made a diet burger and fries, I'd order those, too." I was the champion of excuses!)
Then a little lightbulb went off; "If there is no sugar, little sodium, and often no caffeine in diet soda, what IS in there? There has to be something, or else it would be.... well...... water." And the answer to that question? In a word- Chemicals. What good were chemicals going to do me? Because here I was, being careful with my diet (I was drinking diet soda even after I'd made significant progress in my weight loss), and still bathing my insides with chemicals via diet soda. Not exactly the healthiest thing I could do for a body I was trying to make healthier by every other means.
Sadly, it was time to start the very painful process of breaking up with Mr. Fizzy.
The first thing I did was move from diet soda to those fizzy flavored waters they sell. (The peach was my favorite!) This went on for probably a year or more. Then I started reading that carbonation (which makes the fizz) can cause calcium to leach from the bones, which in turn causes the bones to be weaker and more prone to breakage as I age.
Since being 80 and incapacitated with a broken hip didn't sound appealing to me, I ditched the carbonation and went with the flavored waters, no fizz. These stood in for a while. But then I started taking a look at the artificial sweeteners and some of the purported side effects from them (my aunt, who has Parkinsons disease, often wonders if her copious drinking of diet sodas didn't help her condition along), and figured it wasn't worth the risk to have those coursing through my body all the time,either.
So then I started drinking iced tea with artificial sweetener in it, but watered it down. A lot.
Eventually I managed to get it so watered down that the tea wasn't really tea anymore- it was just dirty water. At that point I let go entirely and went to strait water.
This doesn't mean I don't ever have a diet soda anymore, because I do. On occasion I'll have one as a treat, usually when I go to the movies with my family, who are all munching on candy. It gives my mouth something do to, and I don't feel completely left out. (Please don't ask me how I can feel left out when we are all starting strait ahead at a screen in the dark- This concept alludes me to this day. But the fact is that it happens.)
And when I go to restaurants I will often get a glass of unsweetened tea and sweeten it with Stevia packets I carry in a baggie in my purse. Stevia is the ground leaf of the Stevia plant, which is sweet. Much preferable to saccharine, sucralose, or any other artificial sweeteners, since Stevia is ground directly from a plant. Depending on the brand you buy (I use Stevia In The Raw), it can taste a tad bitter, but I can't stand unsweetened tea, so Stevia it is. And yes, I have turned into a baggie-carrying, chemicaly-paranoid fanatic.
Paying homage to my "if they made diet burgers" excuse (above), I'm using the "If I could hand them organic chicken to make my salad I would" excuse for the sweetener.
Anyhow, that's my story of how I kicked diet sodas and my reasons why. Maybe you are inspired. Maybe you are (I hope) thinking of artificial chemicals in a different way. And maybe you are rolling your eyes. But regardless, I hope you tell me what you think!
I think most of us begin drinking diet soda because it has a sweet taste and no calories. We like sweet. And we figure without calories it can't derail our weight loss efforts. No harm in a diet soda once a day, is there? Then we start drinking two. At home. And then make it our regular beverage when we drink out. And then we have it "only after noon" EVERY SINGLE DAY! And next thing you know, breakfast is over and your seeking out that sweet fizzy taste fix that only a diet soda would give you.
Of course, you wouldn't dream of drinking a regular soda with sugar in it because that.... THAT would make you fat. But this diet stuff? "Hey", you reason "It's got water in it and my body needs water. And it's not giving me any calories, and my body certainly doesn't need any of THOSE! And lookie here- It doesn't have sodium, or caffeine, either! I'm doing something good for my body by making this diet soda choice!". Yeppers- I've been there too, and said all of these things to myself, and more. (My favorite line I told myself when ordering a bacon cheeseburger and fries with a diet soda was "If they made a diet burger and fries, I'd order those, too." I was the champion of excuses!)
Then a little lightbulb went off; "If there is no sugar, little sodium, and often no caffeine in diet soda, what IS in there? There has to be something, or else it would be.... well...... water." And the answer to that question? In a word- Chemicals. What good were chemicals going to do me? Because here I was, being careful with my diet (I was drinking diet soda even after I'd made significant progress in my weight loss), and still bathing my insides with chemicals via diet soda. Not exactly the healthiest thing I could do for a body I was trying to make healthier by every other means.
Sadly, it was time to start the very painful process of breaking up with Mr. Fizzy.
The first thing I did was move from diet soda to those fizzy flavored waters they sell. (The peach was my favorite!) This went on for probably a year or more. Then I started reading that carbonation (which makes the fizz) can cause calcium to leach from the bones, which in turn causes the bones to be weaker and more prone to breakage as I age.
Since being 80 and incapacitated with a broken hip didn't sound appealing to me, I ditched the carbonation and went with the flavored waters, no fizz. These stood in for a while. But then I started taking a look at the artificial sweeteners and some of the purported side effects from them (my aunt, who has Parkinsons disease, often wonders if her copious drinking of diet sodas didn't help her condition along), and figured it wasn't worth the risk to have those coursing through my body all the time,either.
So then I started drinking iced tea with artificial sweetener in it, but watered it down. A lot.
Eventually I managed to get it so watered down that the tea wasn't really tea anymore- it was just dirty water. At that point I let go entirely and went to strait water.
This doesn't mean I don't ever have a diet soda anymore, because I do. On occasion I'll have one as a treat, usually when I go to the movies with my family, who are all munching on candy. It gives my mouth something do to, and I don't feel completely left out. (Please don't ask me how I can feel left out when we are all starting strait ahead at a screen in the dark- This concept alludes me to this day. But the fact is that it happens.)
And when I go to restaurants I will often get a glass of unsweetened tea and sweeten it with Stevia packets I carry in a baggie in my purse. Stevia is the ground leaf of the Stevia plant, which is sweet. Much preferable to saccharine, sucralose, or any other artificial sweeteners, since Stevia is ground directly from a plant. Depending on the brand you buy (I use Stevia In The Raw), it can taste a tad bitter, but I can't stand unsweetened tea, so Stevia it is. And yes, I have turned into a baggie-carrying, chemicaly-paranoid fanatic.
Paying homage to my "if they made diet burgers" excuse (above), I'm using the "If I could hand them organic chicken to make my salad I would" excuse for the sweetener.
Anyhow, that's my story of how I kicked diet sodas and my reasons why. Maybe you are inspired. Maybe you are (I hope) thinking of artificial chemicals in a different way. And maybe you are rolling your eyes. But regardless, I hope you tell me what you think!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Hard Choices
There came a point about 3 years ago in my weight loss and fitness journey that I knew if I was going to progress any farther I would have to spend more time in the gym and cooking healthy foods. And in order to do that, I was going to have to give something up. After conducting a rather painful lifestyle self-examination, I realized what needed to go: Sewing.
I am a very good seamstress, if I do say so myself. I have been sewing for about 30 years now. Since I am a perfectionist, I wasn't happy turning out anything that didn't look positively beautiful. And perfection takes time. A LOT of time! I figured as long as I was putting the effort in, it might as well be right. And it was. Here are photos of just a few of my beloved projects:
But I had to get honest with myself and reevaluate my priorities. After some internal examination I decided the proper place to focus my energies and time was now on getting healthier for not only myself, but for my family. Additionally, I wasn't able to spend the time helping others like I wanted because my butt was stuck in a chair in front of a sewing machine manipulating fabric. So I finished up the last of my important projects and put sewing on the back burner. That was a couple of years ago, and I haven't regretted the decision since, although sometimes I do get a little melancholy about it.
This doesn't mean I don't ever sew, because in a pinch I do. And I am grateful for my sewing skills. For instance, I made a lovely fully lined wool trench coat for my daughter this winter- She is tall and willowy, and at almost 6 feet tall and 125 lbs nothing was fitting her. (This is not an exaggeration- literally NOTHING fit her even close to properly with those very long limbs.) Marching practices for the high school band would have been miserable without a warm and properly-fitting winter coat. I literally don't know what she'd of done if I couldn't sew. Here are a few of pictures of the project:
But other than the rare project, my sewing maching sits neglected in it's cabinet.
Another thing I have just recently given up is baking. This was an even harder one to abandon than sewing. Baking gives instant gratification and makes my family very happy! This in turn makes me happy! But I eat what I bake, and the stuff sitting around, even if I do avoid it, gets me thinking in a direction that is not good for my health. (I'm sorry, but my experience has been that even with healthier ingredients, it's very difficult to make baked goods that are truly good for you and taste good, too.) So, like sewing, unless it's for a rare occasion, baking is pretty much out of my life.
When people say that living healthy is a lifestyle, they aren't kidding! I'm not saying you have to abandon ALL of your time-consuming or bad-for-you habits right now. I see skinny people who sew and healthy people who bake. I just can't be one of them. At least not for the time being.
Habits are formed gradually and new practices towards healthier living are best added little by little, as you feel ready for the the changes. The truth is that if 5 years ago you'd of told me I'd of all but stopped both sewing AND (bigger shock!) baking, I'd of told you that you were talking to the wrong woman. If you knew me back then, you are nodding your head in agreement. :-)
The moral of my story? Don't be afraid to reevaluate and be honest with yourself about what needs to exit your life. I can pretty much guarantee that over time, as you progress into becoming fitter and healthier, your life will look a lot different than it does today. And that's Ok. Giving up things that slow your progress is not giving in- It's being mature and honest enough with yourself to say "This isn't in my best interest anymore". Your family may balk a bit (my 15-year old is still asking for brownies), but eventually they'll come to accept and appreciate that you made the hard choices in not only your best interest, but theirs as well.
I am a very good seamstress, if I do say so myself. I have been sewing for about 30 years now. Since I am a perfectionist, I wasn't happy turning out anything that didn't look positively beautiful. And perfection takes time. A LOT of time! I figured as long as I was putting the effort in, it might as well be right. And it was. Here are photos of just a few of my beloved projects:
But I had to get honest with myself and reevaluate my priorities. After some internal examination I decided the proper place to focus my energies and time was now on getting healthier for not only myself, but for my family. Additionally, I wasn't able to spend the time helping others like I wanted because my butt was stuck in a chair in front of a sewing machine manipulating fabric. So I finished up the last of my important projects and put sewing on the back burner. That was a couple of years ago, and I haven't regretted the decision since, although sometimes I do get a little melancholy about it.
This doesn't mean I don't ever sew, because in a pinch I do. And I am grateful for my sewing skills. For instance, I made a lovely fully lined wool trench coat for my daughter this winter- She is tall and willowy, and at almost 6 feet tall and 125 lbs nothing was fitting her. (This is not an exaggeration- literally NOTHING fit her even close to properly with those very long limbs.) Marching practices for the high school band would have been miserable without a warm and properly-fitting winter coat. I literally don't know what she'd of done if I couldn't sew. Here are a few of pictures of the project:
But other than the rare project, my sewing maching sits neglected in it's cabinet.
Another thing I have just recently given up is baking. This was an even harder one to abandon than sewing. Baking gives instant gratification and makes my family very happy! This in turn makes me happy! But I eat what I bake, and the stuff sitting around, even if I do avoid it, gets me thinking in a direction that is not good for my health. (I'm sorry, but my experience has been that even with healthier ingredients, it's very difficult to make baked goods that are truly good for you and taste good, too.) So, like sewing, unless it's for a rare occasion, baking is pretty much out of my life.
When people say that living healthy is a lifestyle, they aren't kidding! I'm not saying you have to abandon ALL of your time-consuming or bad-for-you habits right now. I see skinny people who sew and healthy people who bake. I just can't be one of them. At least not for the time being.
Habits are formed gradually and new practices towards healthier living are best added little by little, as you feel ready for the the changes. The truth is that if 5 years ago you'd of told me I'd of all but stopped both sewing AND (bigger shock!) baking, I'd of told you that you were talking to the wrong woman. If you knew me back then, you are nodding your head in agreement. :-)
The moral of my story? Don't be afraid to reevaluate and be honest with yourself about what needs to exit your life. I can pretty much guarantee that over time, as you progress into becoming fitter and healthier, your life will look a lot different than it does today. And that's Ok. Giving up things that slow your progress is not giving in- It's being mature and honest enough with yourself to say "This isn't in my best interest anymore". Your family may balk a bit (my 15-year old is still asking for brownies), but eventually they'll come to accept and appreciate that you made the hard choices in not only your best interest, but theirs as well.
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