This healthy living stuff is HARD. I mean, really–it. is. hard. The health journey is just that: a journey, with starts and stops, peaks and valleys, and unfortunately we can’t always be in a peak.
So many things seem to get in the way: life, work, kids, marriage, and STUFF. Each of these things by itself can suck away your time but all of them together, especially that elusive *stuff*, can really sock it to you if your time management skills lag.
When the valley happens, and it’s bound to happen at some point, it is up to you to finally make that decision to get back in the game.
5 Tips for Getting Back In the Healthy Living Game:
- Schedule your workouts in for the week. We schedule everything else so schedule those workouts, too. If you plan ahead for them and write it down, then it is more likely to happen.
- Lay out your workout clothes the night before. Heck, wear them to bed if that’s gonna help you get out the door in the morning! If your plan is to exercise later in the day, then still lay them out the night before. It eliminates the “what am I gonna wear” crazies.
- Set a small goal. This seems so simple and we’ve done it before. Set small goals, work towards them, achieve, and rejoice. DO IT AGAIN. Set that small goal. It might be exercise 3 days this week for 30 minutes each time. Maybe it is to journal your food intake. Or to meditate 10 minutes a day to clear your head. Once the goal is set, do it.
- Pull out your favorite healthy meals and make them. Plan out what you’ll eat each day, and not just dinner. I make this sound as if it is so easy and IT IS NOT, especially if you are a busy family of 5 going in different directions at different times. However, having a plan is half the battle, portion control is the other half.
- Forgive yourself for having to re-start. You cannot un-change the past but you can take a step in the right direction right now. I am so guilty of beating myself up for not keeping with my runs. I have a list of excuses the length of my arm, and I may whine and complain, but none of that changes until I shut up and JUST DO IT ( sometimes again).
This entire list is important but the most important is #5, forgiving yourself and just getting on with it. I do much better with positivity than negativity. Should you find yourself in the position of having to get back in the game, take this short list and RUN WITH IT. No woulda-coulda-shouldas. If you continue to play that game, you’ll be in the same place you were yesterday, which is not where you want to be.
Put one foot in front of the other, and GET BACK TO IT.
This post is dedicated to me, myself, and I.