Today I would like to talk about persistence in what we are doing.
The reason why I chose this subject is that, we often happen to see our results much lower than we expected and it makes us feel sad and doubtful.
Sometimes changes enter our lives in "too slow" motion, so as the result we often tend to go back to our old ways as: IT'S NOT WORKING ANYWAY!!!!!
The truth is, that when you try to change your life and old habits by yourself it is a very difficult task and I am not going to sugar coat it for you - there will be times when it will get really hard to stay on track.
So if you have a possibility to join a support group or to do it altogether with your family members, I strongly recommend you to do that, as this will give you boost of motivation you need.
But what if you have no one to support you, what then?
How to motivate yourself to stay on track?
Well, it's harder but possible, but it will require from you self motivation and self appraisal, yes you've read it correctly:
Self appraisal is the key to your success.
So how to stay motivated?
First of all you need to tell yourself that you want those changes as you want to get healthy, and always remember to say thank you to your body for all years of supporting you in your daily life.
The next step is to look through all of your food in your cupboards and divide it into 3 parts:
- healthy
- so so,
- not healthy
Next step is to systematically keep choosing 1 item at the time from "not healthy" pot and replace it with a healthier option.
Why I say one at the time? Well, I know from my experience that, if I introduce to myself too many changes at once I tend to fail and go back to old habits much quicker (reason - it's too difficult, I say)!
Meantime it's good to add some physical exercises to your daily routine:
- At the beginning choose walking (the easiest option), set yourself a goal that no matter what, you will walk 1 hour each day/3000 steps/3 miles or so...
- Next thing is to get yourself a notebook/calendar in which every day you will add a note of your activities/food choices on particular day - so no cheating.
When it comes to food I call myself a "sugarholic" (I am aware that this word doesn't exist yet, but it matches perfectly to my condition).
It's not like I don't want to stop eating sweeties, but when I don't eat sugar my mood swings, my hands are shacking, I cannot focus and I really really get depressed and only think about food (junk food).
So, how I managed to stay away from sweeties?
- Firstly I decided that I will make myself a promise, that due to my self love and respect I choose to obtain myself from sweeties for particular amount of time.
I started from easy step, I decided that once a week on Tuesdays I will not be eating sweeties.
To make sure I keep my promise I started adding comments to my calendar +/- depends on day going (I am not a saint, so there were days I failed)...
- Next thing I did was to challenge myself more and to eat sweeties only every second day, and the next faze was to eat them only during weekends.
To make things work smoothly I hang my (handmade) calendar on the wall so I was passing it few times a day.
- My next challenge was to stop eating sweeties for 60 days in a row...
How did I manage?
Firstly I wrote down a note for myself that this was a promise given from Me to ME, that I was going to help myself with getting healthier.
I chose a very sophisticated name for it: "THE PROMISE"
Then I decided on starting date (after parties sezon).
Next thing I did was to write down numbers of days of My Promise (day 1 to day 60).
At the end of preparation time, I bought some healthier snacks, as I knew that when cravings would come, I needed to munch something in exchange.
I have succeed, and only 3 times I munched something from "forbidden" food, and what's more, it was the first time I did something for myself (and to no one else).
For the first time I was feeling powerful, loved and taken care of. It was a great adventure to find out that I can actually do it, that I can be a winner.
Small tip for you - if you break your promise and eat sweeties on some days -
DO NOT JUDGE YOURSELF!
You can say ok,we failed today, but I know you try hard, lets make sure we keep our promise tomorrow.
I deliberately use words We/I/You alternately, as:
- I - means my mind
- We - means my mind and my body
- You - means I am talking to myself.
You need to understand that your mind, body and soul exist separately but altogether, we need to pay attention to whole of us, as mind cannot live without body, and without a soul we wouldn't be even existing.
I must say, that once you make a promise to yourself, you will find more difficult to fail, as you would be failing yourself.
TIP:
What to eat in times of sugar crisis?
- Dried prunes - not only they are very sweet but also help with digestion (you will find yourself producing more gases but that's ok, because they will help you to clean your gut),
- bananas, cherries, mandarins, dark chocolate (at least 75% cocoa)...
I often have craving for crunchy snacks, so I choose nut snacks or when I feel really struggling, I choose whole grain low fat crisps...
What to do after 60 days?
You need to celebrate it!!!
I would suggest you to plan it before you start your 60 days, as reward will help you to stay motivated.
You can choose anything you want, but it must ne something special, so you could feel important, it can be movie/theater tickets, some nice trip, or simply going to the restaurant.
TIP:
If you want to reward yourself with "bad food", please make sure you do it once in a while, as old habits coming back easier than you think.
All permanent changes require time to settle down.
You can speed the process up by signing yourself to a gym/swim/or any exercise as it will help you to burn more calories at once.
I personally try to walk around 1 hour a day, as I am having troubles with other activities to settle down as a habit with me.
- I would like to finish my post with few positive affirmation, as you remember, positive attitude is a key to success:
- "I am feeling healthier and stronger with each day that passes
- I choose to breathe in relaxation and breathe out stress
- With each day, I am learning how to love my body
- My health is improving and so is my life
- Today I focus on the good things that are unfolding in my life
- Trusting my body is becoming easier and easier
- It's safe for me to be myself
- Healing is happening in my body and in my mind
- I am surrounded and protected in healing white light
- Everything I eat heals me and nourishes me
- Making small changes is becoming easier for me
- Healing happens with each baby step I take
- I am choosing progress over perfection
- I am guided by my intuition, I know what to eat and how to live my life" www.thelawofattraction.com
So heads up and don't give up, you can do it and you can do it well, all you need to do is believe in yourself.
In my next post I will share with you my knowledge about some herbs and how they can help us.
For now I wish you a pleasant night.
