Some Days You Don't Win

There are always reasons to do less than your best. Reasons or excuses even, and sometimes it's damn near impossible to tell the difference. I would define a reason as something entirely outside of your control. Maybe you had a healthy lunch packed at work, but someone stole it out of the fridge or in the rush to get out the door you forgot it today. Perhaps you were planning on getting home to eat a meal and then an emergency cropped up and you either skipped the meal or ate fast food. Life happens.

Excuses on the other hand, are an easy trap to fall into. I was too tired and didn't make my lunch last night, and then I got up late and didn't make it this morning. This is usually followed by (in my experience) "then my coworker suggests (insert favorite junk food restaurant here) for lunch and I just couldn't say no."

Don't berate yourself, even if you got snagged by an excuse. Even if it happened for the last two weeks straight. Remind yourself of two things. 1. You ARE human and you have emotional needs on top of stress. 2. Missing your goal today doesn't stop you from making it tomorrow.

Here's a little story about making REAL changes.

A good friend of mine spent 20 years eating unhealthy, living unhealthy, and being overweight, occasionally obese, and perpetually unhappy with herself.

So she signed up for a Tough Mudder race, a year in advance of course. Or maybe we made the decision more like two years in advance, but had to sign up slightly later. The dating isn't incredibly important. First goal was dropping weight by calorie counting and starting a very slow exercise routine. Starting with long walks, graduating to fast walking with some light running/jogging intervals and she kept moving forward. She did a lot of bike riding and slowly started run workouts. We got together and ran a 5K. It was hot and sunny and messy, but she DID it!

It's now been three years and she's done TWO Tough Mudders in two different states with totally different climates. She's dropped at least 50 lbs at kept it off without crash dieting, without starving herself, and without spending hours in a gym every week.

Which isn't to say that she didn't work hard, especially at first. It was a total lifestyle change, but not into a gym rat or a total "health nut." Just to being a healthy young adult. She's still stressed, she still has weeks where she does NOTHING fitness related, but she's a whole new person.

I was there for her, helping her make healthy choices, and to bounce ideas off of. I would never say I was her motivating force or the tool that shaped her decisions. She made her own choices and decided enough was enough, but my husband and I were there to tell her she was doing a great job. Sometimes we had to tell her to take a break and eat a cookie, sometimes we had to remind her of her training goals. In the months leading up to both races every person in our running group had to take at least a week off at a time for various life/health reasons, but we got back up and did what we could when we could do it.

You haven't failed at your health until you're dead.

So my goal is to help you see your potential, and to give you some tips and tricks to make changes that YOU want to make. Everyone has different goals and every goal comes with several different paths to success.

Important points to note.

• Start small
• Small goals, small steps, small changes. You simply can't do everything at once, so don't try.
• Be considerate...
• ...of your body. Or realistic if you prefer. If you have terrible knees, training for the Ironman is probably not a safe or practical idea at this time. If you are lactose intolerant, put together meal plans without dairy.
• Use your friends
• Find someone to help hold you accountable. Now, they shouldn't have to rag on you, but it doesn't hurt to have a nudge in the right direction. Also, if you have friends that DO love nutrition or exercise, ask for help with ideas.
• Love yourself
• Being more healthy is a lifestyle change. It has to be a welcome one to work, you have to want it for you. At the same time, remember that you have years of habits to overcome. Don't look for perfection, look for an observable change in the long run. You might take 3 steps forward, 2 back, 4 forward, 5 back, and finally 3 steps forward again.  

 This week I failed at most of my goals. I DID get the Christmas decorations taken care of. Presents are wrapped, some are mailed, and my house is unpacked. Tomorrow we have a plan for getting house clean.

HOWEVER, I have failed to run, with both real reasons and excuses to blame. I have failed to do yoga with only excuses to blame.

Tomorrow, I start with more goals.

• Running at least twice a week
• It's been so long now that I have to start smaller
• Yoga once or twice a week
• I've had a bleeding scare with pregnancy plus I have an injured horse and family coming in town in 2 days - once a week would be fine just to get into a routine
• Strength training once a week
• This is going to be super gentle, but even just a few planks, a few push ups, and maybe some squats and arm curls is going to help slowly. Call it 15 min a week to start. Hubby can force me into this one.

 So that's it. I failed since my last goal set, so now I'm trying to use the internet to hold me more accountable, I'm setting smaller goals, and I'm using hubby to encourage. I know that I took more steps backward, so now I'm setting our forward again. If I accomplish anything, it is more than I did the week before, so it's all uphill from here!