Let’s keep on keeping on…

Just a quick reminder, tips 1 to 4 were using the ME Method:

So let’s continue with Nals’ helpful tips to a healthier life…

5) Reward yourself when you achieve your mini goals.

Nals talks about celebrating your accomplishments by focusing on the real treats of life. 

So what does that mean? That means give yourself praise. Even for the small things. If you worked out, even though you really didn’t want to…celebrate that! If you lost 4 lbs this month, but your goal was to lose 10, you still did something right… so celebrate that! You get back on the wagon, and even after a fall… you’re back up… celebrate that!

How, you ask? I like to make sure I am using my employer benefits by getting those massages in. When I need an extra special treat, I will use the RMTs at the Spa. Why? Cuz I need to celebrate my goals I’m achieving! 

Rewards don’t need to be time consuming. It could be a simple text to a friend, letting them know: Hey, guess what? I have been working really hard and I lost a few pounds and it makes me feel good about my goals. Your good friends and support team will be happy to cheer you on and celebrate with you.

Nals makes a good point when she mentions trying to stay away from food rewards. Cheat days don’t work (neither do crazy limiting diets), so try to reward yourself with something besides food.

6) Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t achieve your goal that week.

As Nals says, this is a learning moment, not a failure. 

⇒ Check your SMART goals. Is it that your goals need to be adjusted? This doesn’t mean that they do, but it is a good way to reflect on them.

⇒ Do you need to plan for bumps in the road? We can’t always be focused on our goals. Many things get in the way, like work, kids, family emergencies. But how do we look ahead and see how we fit these bumps into our goals? 

Remember in the 1 to 4 tips when I said I was failing a lot and I needed to figure out what the heck was going on? First of all, I was totally beating myself up. And it got me nowhere except down. But I started to learn from it. (It took me way too long… but I finally got there!)  I realized looking too far down the road freaked me out. Overwhelmed me.

So now, I focus on 1 day at a time. I still can’t think long term (months down the road), but I can now start to see a week at a time.

7) Know when to push yourself and when not to.

Hello body, did you say something?  Are you listening to what your body is telling you? Nals and I have a good friend, who happens to be a personal trainer (good friend to have hey?).  She gave us the best advice once about listening to your body. She said that you want to feel your workout the next day but you don’t want to be so sore that you can’t move. A little soreness is a good thing, not being able to sit or stand is a bad thing.

A big part of listening to your body is also monitoring yourself when you are working out. As I said last time, I go to a kickboxing circuit and on each station I try to ask myself: can I push harder or is this pace good? I know when I’m flaking out or when I’m going over board, so I need to listen and adjust.

8) Don’t be ashamed to eat (when appropriately hungry) and to enjoy food.

Oh my gosh, I freaking love food, too. Especially good food. So I need to remember, not to overeat. For me, now I eat until I’m full… not stuffed. I’ll be honest, this takes some getting used to (and includes tip 7, listening to your body).  Here’s how I do this:

1. I don’t eat fast. This gives my body time to process the amount I have eaten already.

2. I don’t fill my plate. We have this tenancy to fill our plates to have every inch covered. But our North American plates can be huge.  You could even try using a smaller plate.

However, this is not the same restricting food.  You’re just changing your focus to a healthier portion.

3. I don’t have to eat all the food on my plate. I think this comes from our childhood: if you don’t eat everything that’s on your plate you won’t get dessert. Guess what? The sweet part about being an adult (!!), is that you still get dessert, even if you don’t finish your dinner. This drives my hubbers crazy! I always leave food on my plate and he always says: Kells it’s just one more bite, why can’t you finish it? And I always tell him: Cuz I’m full. That one last bite can be the difference between full and stuffed. And remember, we don’t want to be stuffed! (plus I like to save room for dessert!)

Again, I want to refer to tip #7, listening to your body. We all have different reasons we eat. I’m a boredom eater. If I’m lazying around the house, you better believe you will find me in the kitchen looking for food. But I have to ask myself: Are you hungry? And most of the time, no I’m not. I’m just bored and want to munch. A glass of water will do the trick and get me out of the pantry! I’m also a chocolateholic when it’s that time of the month. I feel that I just can’t get enough sweets. But again, I need to listen to my body. a little chocolate is fine…6 chocolate bars and a bag of chips is to much (even though I feel I deserve it cuz moon time sucks!).

Also make sure you are getting enough water! I try to make sure I have a cup of water handy. If it’s not handy then I’m not going to drink it. So I make sure I have a water bottle on my desk at work, or a glass next to me while I watch tv. It’s like the Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come! Same goes for water, if you pour it, you will drink it. You get it, right?

Speaking of food…do you have a good healthy recipe you wanna share? Please email us so we can try it and share it with others… with a credit to you as our inspiration, of course!

Do you have any food for thought?

How do you feel about the ME Method?

Or the Tips? Or how I rolled them out to fit my life?

Please leave a comment below!