Does It Really Take a Village?

When it comes to your personal goal of weight loss, what do you think you need in order to be successful? A gym membership? A personal chef or dietitian? A padlock for the refrigerator door?

Something really important that many of us overlook in all of our efforts to get healthy is simply this: support. You certainly know by now that truly getting healthy isn’t a simple task. It’s more of a process that helps you to develop an understanding of yourself and how you can be not only healthier, but happier. “Reality” shows such as The Biggest Loser are far from reality for most of us. However, we watch them and our hearts are filled. We’re led to believe that we should be able to accomplish the same things. Lose 10 lbs. in one week? Yeah! Contestants on these shows are focused on their weight loss 24/7, without a daily focus on work, family or any other responsibilities. They have personal chefs and trainers, not to mention the possibility of a $250,000 prize.

While it may not be realistic to shed weight at the same rate as reality TV show contestants, it is possible to build your own personal support system. You may not be able to go on hiatus from your job or hire a personal trainer or someone to cook healthy meals for you, but you can identify the people in your life who will help, guide and support you through this process.

Surrounding yourself with people who support you in your goals can be the difference between losing weight –yet again- and making a true commitment to leading a healthy life.

Motivate to Move

Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.
- Booker T. Washington

Why is it so difficult to find the motivation to exercise? That's sort of like asking why it’s so difficult to get motivated to do your taxes. If you don’t really love doing something, it's pretty difficult to muster the energy to actually do it. It's very easy to come up with at least a million things that are more important.

So what do you do? Your first step is to plan for it. Be as specific as possible.

1. When? Set a time for your daily workout, even if you can only plan for 10 or 20 minutes, just as you would for any other important appointment.
2. What will you do? Walk? Outside or on a treadmill? Go to the gym? Attend a fitness class? Do an exercise video? 
3. What will you wear? Lay out your clothes, especially if you workout in the morning. That way you won’t be bumbling around in the dark looking for your shoes. If you plan to exercise after work, throw your clothes in the car and change at the office if you can.

Don’t allow excuses to take over. The more specific you are, the more likely you’ll be to stick to your exercise plan. The more often you stick with it, the more it will become a habit. And one of these days, you just might start to enjoy it.

Taxing Yourself

April 15th isn’t a day most of us look forward to. Those who do are most likely bleary-eyed accountants. Did you know there are tax incentives to getting healthy? Count this among all the other convincing reasons for getting healthier.

And then there are the tax day freebies: Free coffee, donuts, cookies, and discounts galore on all your favorite junk food. So if tax day has you stressed out, you can head to just about any fast food joint to fill up on unhealthy food and calm your nerves about sending more money to Uncle Sam. Unfortunately for those who try very hard to be focused on making healthy choices, marketers are experts in picking up on one of Americans’ weak spots: Food as a remedy for when we’re stressed or unhappy.

How many times have you uttered the following, “I’ve worked hard; I deserve this.”

Let’s break it down. Do you really believe you deserve to fill yourself with unhealthy, high-calorie food that has minimal nutritional value? And if it makes you feel good when you eat it, how long does that feeling last before you start to feel not so good?

Where do you place value: In a buy one, get one free deal or that feeling you get from truly being healthy?

Embrace Your Success

We’ve all had those times when we’re on a roll. We’re eating right, exercising frequently and in general, making all the right choices. Been there? And then one day, maybe not so long after you get started, it happens. You see chocolate. Or your favorite kind of chips. So you indulge, thinking to yourself, I’ve been so good, I deserve this.

Then what happens?  Perhaps you feel guilty and that voice in your head starts berating you.  But then what do you do?  Do you allow the voice to take over and believe that you’ve just scrapped all the good work you’ve done?  Really? 

Or do you allow the voice to say his or her piece and move on?

This could be your pivotal moment. Maybe you recognize you can’t be perfect 100% of the time. Or, think of it a bit differently. So you ate something that wasn’t planned or you missed a workout, BUT you moved on and continued working hard toward your goals. Focus on what you are doing right, not all the things you think you’ve done wrong.  Mr. Webster, we might have a new definition of perfect.