I missed Fitness Friday, Weight Loss Saturday, Sunday Funday, and Motivation/Mental Health Monday this week and for that I apologize. Friday was all about Foodie Pen Pals and Saturday I announced the winner of my first giveaway, but I spent most of the weekend babysitting for two of my favorite boys and finding little time for much else.
Now we are in the time of year when wearing white is frowned upon and few of us need to worry about our bikini bodies any longer. Cold weather and bulky coats are just around the corner, so it’s easy to start letting our health habits slip. Still, I have heard more than one person say in the past few weeks, “I want to get back on track after Labor Day.”
Isn’t that the way so many of us do it? Whenever we want to change something, we say we’ll start “tomorrow” or “Monday” or “after the holidays” rather than just starting today. Why is it we think we need a completely blank slate? What’s so bad about deciding to make healthy choices midday after the third (or seventh) munchkin (that’s a doughnut hole for you non-Dunkin Donuts folks) or at dinner time after a grease-laden pizza lunch? Just because a healthy choice was preceded by an unhealthy one doesn’t make its intrinsic value any less. Of course a day full of healthy choices is the ultimate ideal, but starting to live healthy now is always better than later.
Well folks, it’s here. Today is your day for change. Not even just today, but right now. Are you reading this while you munch on a sugary almost-midnight snack? Throw the rest of it away. Craving something crunchy tonight? Ditch the chips for cucumbers or carrot sticks. It’s time to stop living in the tomorrows and start living in today. This is Tough Love Tuesday and no one wants to hear your excuses, least of all YOU. If I had to put money on it, I’d bet you don’t like always putting off your weight loss or fitness goals. Now we are moving into colder months and it is so easy to say you will get on track after the holidays, but why wait? Get in shape FOR the holidays so you can give yourself the best gift of your life–your health.
I’m guilty too also not so innocent. After our road trip, I was pooped. I sat around and did basically nothing for days. I got in some activity while babysitting, but my half marathon training has been virtually nonexistent. I kept saying I would do it the next day, but the next day never came. I got up early on Friday and did strength training before I went to my internship training session, but that was pretty much it. The only thing holding me back was me.
Today was my first day back in class and at work for a total of 12.5 hours on campus (which is why this post is coming so late) and tomorrow is my first day at my internship. When I got home tonight I was incredibly hungry, but recognized that it was mostly from the frustration of having to get a replacement headlight on my way home and the guy at the auto parts store breaking the bolt for my battery in the process. So instead of grabbing the Sun Chips that were on the table, I sat down with a bottle of water and decompressed. Healthy choices, one at a time.
I’m not saying that starting right this instant you can never again have a gram of sugar or a potato chip. No one expects you to do that because it isn’t realistic, but doing everything you can to make healthier choices every day will put you on the path to overall health and wellness. I recently read a statistic that no state in the U.S. has an obesity rate below 20% (Colorado is the lowest at 20.1%), which means that at least one in every five people in every state is obese. That doesn’t even take into consideration those who are overweight, but not obese. If that isn’t troubling to you, it should be. Being obese or overweight increases your risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Coronary Heart Disease, Sleep Apnea, certain types of cancer, and a whole host of other medical issues.
Every time we decide what to eat or whether to take the stairs versus the escalator we have an opportunity to make a healthy choice and start reversing that trend. Don’t put it off another day, the time for change is now.
Amen, sister!
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Love this! I feel like sometimes we take an all or nothing approach. But just because we don’t work out one day and eat fast food for lunch, it doesn’t mean we should just throw our healthy habits out of the window and have a big bowl of ice cream for dessert too. Making just one healthy choice is better than nothing!
http://onehealthymunchkin.blogspot.ca