Getting Healthy
What I have found in my first few days of trying to be more active is that the key for me is to not THINK about it, and to JUST DO IT! It is no wonder to me why that was such a great marketing campaign for Nike. If I think about going for a run or jumping on the bike that can be the beginning of the end for me. The excuses instantly start popping into my head.
- I’ll do it in 30 mins.
- Shouldn’t I be working on something more important?
- I’m too hungry, I need to eat first.
- I just ate, I need to wait until I’m not so full.
- I’ve got bowling tonight… what if I’m too sore to bowl? (my personal favorite excuse I’ve used this far)
Just Do It!
What has worked for me is to not think at all. If thinking about a drink is the first stage of relapse, then, for me, thinking about working out is the first stage to procrastination. Now when the thought of exercise first enters my head I instantly go put my shoes on. Once they are on, I know I am doing something. I may not now what it is, but I basically have 3 options and they all require shoes. So far, this has really seemed to work for me.
I’m only going to weigh myself once per week, so I haven’t checked in on that yet, but I know I have been a lot more active than I was before the challenge and I feel great about myself EVERY time after.
Eating Healthier
Exercise has had another unexpected benefit. I think twice before I eat anything now. If I am going to put in all this work to exercise, I’m not going to undo it all with what I eat. I love to cook, and I love to eat, so it hasn’t been easy, but secret weapon I have come up with is smoothies. First thing in the morning I make a big batch of smoothies and have one for breakfast and one for lunch. My thought process is that if I have a smoothie for breakfast and lunch, I can pretty much eat whatever for dinner in moderation. So far this has been going well.
my Smoothie Recipe (makes enough for 2)
- 3 cups of plain yogurt
- 2 cups of fruit (frozen or fresh)
- anything else healthy you want to add (flax seeds, Omega-3, Kale, spinach…)
Tip – I have found that I go through a ton of yogurt making these smoothies, so I started making my own yogurt in my Instapot. It is super easy and you can find easy recipes online. I’ve started making it a gallon at a time and it lasts me about 2 weeks.
It probably helps that I really like smoothies, but the trick for me to not get sick of them is to make them with different fruit each time.
Social Media is a disaster
I just did a podcast on this (HR Ep 17 – The Prodigal Son), but what I have found early on in this process is that social media affects my mood way more than I’d like. It amazes me how much me looking at my phone can affect how good I feel.
- Has anyone looked at my post?
- How many people downloaded the latest podcast?
- How many “likes” did I get today?
The list goes on. I now know that my brain is looking for a shot of dopamine, which it does get every time I see a new “like”, but is that how I want to live my life?
The Four Agreements
Anyone that has listened to my podcasts in the past knows that I love The Four Agreements. For me, the most important one is Do Not Take Anything Personally. If I am truly striving to live by this agreement, then how many “likes” or downloads I get should not matter. I found myself running around a 6 or 7 on the happiness scale yesterday and the more I thought about it, it was all because I checked my daily downloads and had less than I was hopping for. That’s absolutely crazy! If I truly am trying to not take things personally, then none of that should matter. On the bright side, it’s something I should easily be able to correct right? Well as with most things these days I am striving for progress, not perfection. It seems it’s something I actually do a few times a day not even thinking about it. If my phone is in my hand it is something I just naturally do. I am going to make this one of the biggest things I work on over the next few days and I’ll let you know how it goes.
Recap
Overall I am happy with where I am and I think I’ll start to see some noticeable changes soon. If you have decided to join me along the way I hope your journey is going well and if you have any tips or wins you’d like to share I’d love to hear them. justin@hammeredrecovery.com
Now I am going to go put my shoes on because the urge to work out has hit me and I am not going to let it pass.
For more information visit HammeredRecovery.com or e-mail me at justin@hammeredrecovery.com