One of the main discussion points in Weight Watchers Land is learning to develop healthy routines to help you lose weight and adopt new habits to keep the weight off. These are reoccurring themes because doing so actually does work.
Unfortunately, for many, including myself, sticking to new healthier and helpful routines is not as easy as it sounds.
Here’s an example: Everyone should start their day with a healthy, well balanced breakfast. Not only does this give you the fuel you need to start your day, it informs your body and mind how the rest of your day will go. If you start your day satisfied and content, you are more likely to make healthier food choices the rest of the day. If you're starving by lunchtime, or worse, have gone all day without eating (I’ve been guilty of this), you’ve pretty much invited trouble to be a pesky companion. When I’m that hungry, my brain shuts off and my mouth opens. I will eat everything in sight without any thought to how healthy it is or isn’t. I just don’t care. There are a lot of people out there who react the same way when they set themselves up for it.
Knowing this, how come so many people still don’t eat breakfast?
Here’s another example: Going for a thirty minute walk can significantly benefit your emotional and physical wellbeing. It can lower your risk of heart diseases, diabetes and stroke. It can relieve anxiety, depression and stress. And in combination with healthy eating, it’s an activity that can help you shed pounds and keep them off. This is encouraging news for those who don’t have a fitness routine or think that activity or exercise has to be a gasping for air, heart beating out of their chest, sweaty affair.
So in a day where we will give other people and obligations hours of our time, how come we won’t give ourselves thirty minutes to take a walk?
My biggest obstacle is myself. I will spend thirty minutes telling you the reasons I don’t plan ahead or take a walk. I’m busy with A, B and C. I have X, Y and Z on my mind. I promised L, M, N and O that I would do this or that. H*ll, if I cared half as much about myself as I do the alphabet, I’d be on to something. That, dear readers, is the answer to all of this. You must care as much about yourself as you do the rest of the people and things in your life.
In a well thought out, pre-portioned nutshell, not investing any time into taking care of you is the equivalent of not taking care of yourself at all.
The reality is, we all have plenty of things to do that take up our time. It's not always easy to squeeze me-time into the equation. But guess what? Me-time, to some extent, is non-negotiable. The whole concept of taking care of you is to take care of yourself! As I've said before, if you're in this to win it, you're either in 100% or you're not. We are responsible for the choices we make.
This is not to say that it is necessary to completely overhaul your life and say p*ss off to your everyday obligations. A little multitasking goes a long way. Do you pack your kid's lunch at night? Why not pack yours, too? Do you have an area at work where you can store healthy snacks and what not to get you through the day? Load that area up for the week. If setting aside a single chunk of time to go for a walk is not possible, break it up. Walk five minutes here and 5 minutes there a few times a day. When you're at work or out running errands, don't park on top of the entrance! Give yourself some space to use your legs. Even little things like these can become healthy and helpful routines and habits.
For my part, I've been focusing on getting into the habits of…
1) Tracking everything I drink or eat in my Weight Watchers Tracker immediately after I drink or eat it. If I have the time to consume something, I have the time to account for it. I know that not keeping up on my tracking opens that door to laziness and irresponsibility that has derailed me in the past.
2) Eating something for breakfast. This is a big one for me. I’m the kind of person who likes to get up, get out and start the day. I’ve got things to do. But I’m finding that I’m doing them better (and I’m a lot less hostile) when my stomach isn’t growling. Though I’m still not interested in making a production of it, there are items that I can grab and have on the ride to work that do the job without requiring a lot of attention. Right now I’m sticking to yogurt, a banana and milk. Convenient, easy to travel with, satisfying and they happen to be three of my daily healthy guideline requirements! Winning combinations.
3) I’m not quite where I want to be in the walking department. I long for the days when I used to strap on my iPod and hit the trails of my favorite park and wander around for an hour. My fall from grace (see last blog!) has left me without the stamina to do that just yet. But it’s a goal of mine that I would like to be ready for when the nicer whether returns. Until then, I’m doing things to get me back on track with that. If I’m out running errands, I will park further out and spend a little extra time walking around just to walk around. Every little bit helps!
As I get a firmer grasp on these routines and they become second nature, I will try and add more. And if something, somewhere down the line isn’t working for me, I won’t be afraid to look for an alternative that does. But most of all, and most importantly, I will take the time I deserve to stay on track so I can reach my goal. Isn't that what all this is about
This Month's Reality Check: Whatever you do or however you choose to do it, just be sure to put yourself on the list of things that deserve and need your attention during the day! That's a routine we could all benefit from!
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