Balancing A Fit Lifestyle

Look at my crazy family in action and you'll know that humans are happiest when we move, laugh, enjoy...We ARE Bodies In Motion! Preserving and enhancing the ability to move freely and feel great is the goal of my company, Feel Better Fit

I am not trying to turn everyone into a body builder. Some individuals are born athletes or discover their passion for athletics or competitive weight lifting and that's wonderful. My purpose, however, is to improve lives through fitness educating, training and mentoring. Part of the process of change is learning and practicing; developing new habits and even cleaning and cleansing. It can be likened to taking a class. Eventually, the rigorous part is over and it's implementation time!

A big part of adopting the overall fitness lifestyle is being flexible with the dips and peaks of normal daily life. It's a lifestyle, not a job. In the beginning, change feels like a job because we're learning, sorting things out and developing new habits. All of this takes concentration and will power.

It's human nature to get caught up in this and get too focused; even become negative in our self evaluation. Avoid being harsh on yourself. Don't give in to discouragement nor fall into an obsessed mindset. The goal is self education and improvement. Adopt and adapt into a better overall way of living. Value your accomplishments and refuse to be self critical! You've come a long way! You've seen your body has some pretty amazing potential you weren't aware of!

Becoming and staying fit is like having a pet. It requires some commitment but it shouldn't rule the household. There's training involved and changes but eventually they become a daily routine. Some things get abandoned. Some become normal. Others are intermittent. It should enhance your life, not control it.

When your pet annoys you, you remember how much joy he/she also gives you and why he/she is around. Then you figure out if this is a passing moment of annoyance or something you need to address.

Haha, relationships with humans aren't much different I guess! Appreciating value in anything ENHANCES it's value and enjoyment of it! Focusing on the negative just takes away all the joy in life!

Back to the pet analogy - Jubilee was my best friend (chow) for many years. I never felt scared living out in the boonies, despite not having a man in the house. She was right there at my feet wherever I went and loved me endlessly! She didn't chew furniture, bark or mark the house. I had trained her not to touch food unless it was in her bowl and she NEVER did! She was very private so she only pooped in the woods lol! She was nearly a perfect dog!

Then she lost bladder control while sitting or sleeping. She was pretty old, so I went to the vet thinking I would find out that she had some incurable disease. I was prepared to face the painful task of putting her to sleep. BUT, she just needed a pill every day! Problem solved! I crushed it into a smidgen of canned food each morning and she lived on, as my best friend for quite a few more years.

Right after she died, for the first time ever, I felt scared leaving for work at 4am in the dark. It didn't occur to me me right away why I was scared. Then I realized Jubilee wasn't just my best friend, she was my body guard too. I still miss her "love" and companionship that she always gave immeasurably! No wonder kings had chows for pets!

So when your new "pet" - a healthier lifestyle gets in the way, set limits, put up fences, do some research or one on one training; get expert advice if needed. DON'T forget the benefits or let the "pet" rule your life! DON'T throw out the baby with the bath water! Clean things up in your mindset. It may be that you need to morph to the next stage of becoming fit. This may be maintenance or a new pursuit....or just slowing down a bit, if momentum has got you out of control! I can promise you that if you "lose" your fitness altogether, you will see all of the things about it that you took for granted! You will miss your "body guard"!

Life can be a pendulum swing. We're WAY out of whack in an area, so we swing WAY too far (mentally anyway) in the opposite direction. This is OK at first. It helps us to get away from bad habits and really feel the effects of change. However, we need to settle the pendulum into the center - get balanced! Take stock of the positive benefits of our learning experience and determine to be flowing and flexible always.

Life is fluid, not rigid! Growth is fun! Enjoy it! Don't focus on the workout you didn't do or the cookies you ate. Remind yourself that you used to sit on the couch and eat the whole bag after scarfing down Mac n Cheese for dinner. Now you have learned why to eat lots of veggies, drink lots of water and limit empty calories. You know cholesterol only comes from animal products and how much is a safe amount daily that you can ingest before running the risk of blocking up your arteries! You are aware of all the hidden garbage and empty calories that you didn't know existed in your diet. You'll still eat the foods that have them, but you will limit the intake. Ahhh...now you understand why he/she could easily say, "I'll just take a small slice. Thanks!" It was education and experience, not self control that inspired and empowered your friend!

You used to think you were weak and just not able to do physically challenging things. Now you know what you are capable of. You have learned that your body responds to challenging physical activity by adapting...becoming stronger!  You use to think you were "a bit of a glutton, with no self control" lol. Now you understand the blood sugar roller coaster that was affecting your system and telling you what to do! You know that some of those snack cravings were just thirst in disguise. You grew some new taste buds and found out appetites can be retrained to like new things! You know how damaging it is to starve yourself! You know muscles are your body engine and do not want to lose them. You've been freed by education and diligence! You can apply these principles in other areas of growth too!

You've learned tricks to cleanse your body when its stuck in a rut, on the sugar roller coaster or habitually eating badly. You've been enlightened about some of the myths. You understand better how the body machine works. You can take all this now and fly where you want with it! You'll probably eat salad dressing part of the time but now, when you do, you will likely have it "on the side". And when your pants get snug, you'll switch to lemon juice for awhile and start exercising again! The difference is that now you know how to safely do it!

Unless you're a gardener, you don't habitually plant gardens however you do cut the grass regularly and trim bushes and fertilize when needed. You may even spray some weed killer or spread some seeds!

The point is, you don't have to be an all out athlete or body builder to Feel Better Fit, but you will benefit if you continue to:

...cut the grass, fertilize, trim, weed, sow seeds and maybe you'll even plant a award winning garden once in awhile.

The naked truth is that I was a figure competitor and power lifter. I learned amazing things about my self and I will always be grateful for that. I am not either of those now! I go days or weeks without lifting a weight, taking a jog, hanging from my homemade suspension gear or making up dance/exercise routines in my dining room. I am still a fitness/movement/nutrition enthusiast! I recently started running again after months of inactivity and within a few weeks ran farther than I have ever gone! I set a new personal record for myself. If I had stopped exercising all together because I became self-defeating toward myself when life was too busy...if I had ignored the nagging desire to "hit the pavement" because I knew there would be some catch-up conditioning involved...I would've missed this milestone!

Why am I not always regimented? I have a life! I don't lose every benefit when I choose other activities or responsibilities. I still am active, fit and know what I am capable of! I miss it when I don't have time for it but it will be there when I return from other pursuits. I try new things and re-invent fun on a regular basis. 

Let fitness be your tool to free you, not your master to control you! Stay balanced! Stay positive! Keep improving and being a body in motion!

Celebrate Success! Learn From Mistakes!

Keep Going Forward!

Feel Better Fit!

Improve Your Will Power Management!

Will Power is like a muscle, in that, exerting it reduces capacity for use temporarily. On psychologytoday.com, Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. Associate professor of psychology at Carleton University, reports that multiple tests show participants ability to utilize willpower diminishes after a trying task.

Is it possible that the brain, like a muscle requires a period of recovery? What does this mean in practical application? How does this affect our ability to improve our diet or stick to an exercise regimen?

Establishing a habit requires will power. Much like physical energy output, the degree of the effort one can muster may be limited, especially if other areas in life are requiring self regulatory effort simultaneously. When making healthful living changes, the best choice is to keep them simple and realistic.

Small changes require less will power allowing us to see them through until they become mindless habits. Once established, willpower is no longer required and we can focus on the task of developing a new healthful change. More difficult tasks, like adhering to a new exercise regimen can be accomplished by utilizing all available resources. Limit your necessary output of self regulation by joining a group or hiring a trainer. Until the habit is firmly established, reduce outside stressors that may zap your will power supply.

Dr Pychyl also reports that will power like a muscle, may actually strengthen with use!

"Studies provided evidence that physical exercise programs led to decreased smoking, alcohol, caffeine and junk food consumption, and even reduced impulsive spending, watching television and the tendency to leave dishes dirty in the sink!" http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200902/self-regulation-failure-part-2-willpower-is-muscle

Gradually striving toward better activities and more healthful diet choices, you can confidently look forward to a more fit future, a stronger will power and a healthier, happier tomorrow!

Habits Create Stability In Our Unstable World

Have you ever used an exercise ball? When you first sat down, were you eyeing for an anchor to grab hold of? With hands on the ball, a few bounces will suddenly give you confidence. Your brain will find your body's center of gravity and your muscles will quickly, easily stabilize on this unstable surface.

We use our muscles and the ground beneath us to maintain our center of gravity and keep from falling when standing, walking or even jogging. We learned to center our gravity at a very early age and depend on it effortlessly most of the time.

Finding your center of gravity takes no thought. It is a successfully acquired habit!

hab·it1   /ˈhæbɪt/ Show Spelled[hab-it]
–noun
1.an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary (definition from dictionary.com)

When establishing a new habit, there is a time of learning and falling, much like a baby taking its first steps. Determination to get moving keeps the child trying and once the skill is mastered, a whole new world is available. The child has learned a "habit" of finding its center of gravity and now can do it without much thought. It's time to focus on bigger and better things!

Eventually, behaviors repeated require no effort and become "comfortable". We mindlessly "fall into habits" when our conditions are unstable, unreliable or requiring extra self regulation from us (see Will Power blog entries). An example would be "giving up on the new diet" (returning to familiar eating patterns) when other demands tax us. When we are stressed or focusing intently in any area, we will search for an anchor of one type or another. Our old established eating habits mindlessly comfort while we focus on a trying task.

Once enough effort is placed into developing healthful eating habits, they no longer require thought and we naturally maintain them while exerting energy in other areas. This doesn't mean we will never go back to bad eating habits. A trigger such as family holiday feasting may shift us back into the old eating style, however with a little will power and focus, we can easily return to our "better eating habits" again!

It's best to keep diet or exercise changes simple, possibly one small change at a time until it has become mindless. If we gradually add new habits guarding them until they are firmly established, we will ultimately reshape our lifestyle and like the baby who has mastered walking, each new habit will open up for us bigger and better things!

Adopt a child-like determination in your quest for developing good habits, with the surety that once created, they will be anchors for you in an ever-shifting world of uncontrollable circumstances!

7th Day - Old Habits Revive Quickly!

One third of my 21 days is done and I already feel like I've established the habit. (I know it won't be that easy, but I do feel like I'm on my way!) I suppose I can attribute that to having created a running habit in the past.

Once you have done something long enough to be habitual, a little effort will bring it back.

A habit from the past can be retrieved or revived. The neuro-pathways are there, they just need the dirt and weeds removed and a little new gravel laid down. This requires will power, however, the investment will provide a quick return. Much like riding a bike, one never really forgets. A few pedal strokes and your off!

Just the same, refusing to let my guard down, I'm going to focus on the 21 days and stick with it!