How do you lay a foundation for a healthy life?

Over the years, I’ve made numerous l attempts to lose weight and what I’ve come to accept is that my success lies within my habits.  If I want to change the direction of my life or reach a particular goal, I need to let go of the habits that are keeping me from reaching my goals and adopt habits that will move me closer to my goals.

Looking at this idea from a health, fitness, and weight loss perspective, when I look back on those attempts to lose weight I realize that I was trying to do too much, change too many habits at once.  Part of the reason for that was that I never fully realized how many habits I would have to change in order to meet one goal.  Let me give you an example. 

I would decide to eat healthier.  Seems simple enough, right?  On the surface, it appears that eating healthier is just one habit.  But eating healthier involved the following:

·         Eating different foods                                                                                              

·         Shopping at a different grocery store than the one I was used to

·         Changing the amount of food I ate

·         Counting calories

·         Removing specific foods from my diet

See what I mean?  Adopting one “simple” habit really meant changing or adopting at least six different habits.  Whew!  That’s a lot to change, a lot of new habits to change all at once.  After a while, it’s a lot to keep up with.  I would have some success, but eventually I would fall back to my old habits. 

So that’s got me thinking a lot lately about the habits I need to establish in designing a healthy lifestyle.  I asked myself, “What can I do that will help me lose weight while at the same time support my health? What basic things can I do that serve as a foundation for the healthy life I’m creating for myself? What can I do that will not be a drain on my time or my wallet, will not disrupt my life, and be easy to implement?”  My thought process was that these habits would serve as a foundation and that I can build from there.  I was also thinking that if I went off the rails, I’d have a simple starting to point to go back to. 

So, I know you dying to know---what are they?  I like to think of them as the “five healthy habits I can live with” and I believe they will be instrumental in helping me to design a healthy life that I love and enjoy.  And they are:

·         Drink plenty of water

·         When I’m hungry, eat

·         When I full or not hungry, don’t eat

·          Move more---add more physical activity in the course of daily living

·         Get the sleep I need

I’m going to dig into each of these habits individually in separate posts and explain why and how I settled on them.  In the meantime, I want you to think about them and ask yourself:

·         Am I drinking plenty of water? 

·         Do I have a habit of over eating?

·         Do I purposely skip meals even when I’m hungry?

·         How active am I during the day?  Am I spending more time sitting than moving?

·         Am I getting enough sleep?

Again, I’ll explain in later posts why I believe these habits are a good starting point in designing a healthy lifestyle and how I think they can be very instrumental in helping you to reach your goals, and me as well.   But in the meantime, think on them and let me know your first impressions of them. 

Antoinette

Have you learned from the past?

The New Year is practically here and I’m pretty sure there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of women (men too) counting down the days until the 1^st (or the first Monday after the 1^st) to begin their new fitness and/or eating programs.  I was the same way for years and years and years.

If this is not your first rodeo, and your efforts did not lead you to the success you were anticipating, then let me ask you this:  Is the plan you are about to implement this time around the same as the one before? 

I ask because for years, my plan was always the same:  eat better and exercise 5 days a week.  Eating better usually meant cutting out or cutting back on sweets and/or try some new eating plan.  Exercising could mean going to the gym 5 days a week or using the new exercise program I bought or received for Christmas.  Seems simple enough, right?  That’s what I’d think too so I’d be really confused and disappointed in myself when two months later, my plan was out the window.  And you know what I’d do?  I would try one or two attempts to get back to my plan; give up; spend the rest of the year trying to not to gain too much weight; and start over on January 1^st of the next year.  Does that sound familiar? 

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started asking myself, “Why hasn’t this plan worked?”  The answers to that question (and there were many) helped me to see the internal and external obstacles I was encountering each time I started a new plan (which was really the same plan over and over).  This was not easy and it didn’t happen overnight but I can say finally that I’m finally able design a wellness plan that I can actually follow through on. 

So before the New Year arrives, take some time to think about why the previous plans did not work.  Was it the food, was it your schedule, was the food too expensive, did you dislike the workout program you started, etc?  Keep digging and once you have your answers, compare the plan you’re about to start to the previous plans.  Will you run into any of the same obstacles?  If you will, great!  You’ve discovered it in advance and you can make adjustments now. 

I want to know if this helped you.  Reach out to me on Twitter: @HustleFitOnline, or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancepartythrive/. 

Thanks and good luck!

Antoinette

Have you found a workout that you love?

Can I tell you something? I absolutely love, love, love to line dance! I started back in July of 2008 and I had no idea at the time that I would love it so much. It has become my major mode of exercise. The really cool thing about line dancing is the social element. There are parties and weekend long events that take place all over the country. And it's amazing to be a part of hundreds, even thousands, of people all dancing in concert with one another.

If you've been having trouble sticking to an exercise program, try line dancing! If you are a member of dancepartythrive.com, I've got some awesome line dance workout videos you can try.  It’s the perfect solution if there are no classes in your area or you want extra practice. If line dancing isn't your thing, try it anyway--you never know, I sure didn’t know I would love it so much!  I don't expect everyone to love it like I do but my point is, try something new.  Stop trying to stick to an exercise program that you haven't been able to stick to in years.  It could be you're having trouble sticking to that workout because you don't like it.  And guess what? That's ok! Go out and explore and keep exploring until you find an activity that you truly enjoy and would do if health, weight loss, and fitness were not a consideration. Good luck!!

Antoinette

P.S. I found a video of myself at the first line dance weekend event I attended, courtesy of I AM Kenny J Productions.  I found it on YouTube, but the song was removed due to licensing issues.  The song playing is The One by Mary J. Blige but more importantly, check out the looks on everyone's faces.  they are so into it!  

Holiday Madness!!!

The Holidays are coming!

Fall is here!  I don’t know about you, but once October gets here, the days and weeks fly by and the holidays are here.  Which means that pretty soon, we’re going to start seeing holiday health advice.  Most of it centered on what not to do or doing things we don’t want to think about doing during the holidays.  Things like watching what we eat.  Ugh--no mac & cheese, no sweet potato pie, no cake, and preparing healthier versions of our favorite dishes.  Things like working out.  Who has time to work out when there are parties and events to attend? On top of the extra hours you work to make extra money for holidays, finish projects, or meet your year-end objectives. 

The holiday season is the time to relax and enjoy life, not the time to restrict or stress yourself out—at least that’s how I see it.  So my advice is to start now.  Start adopting healthy habits now and when the holidays get here, you’ll be less likely to abandon them completely.  You’ll be able to relax and enjoy the holidays without guilt.  And if you start practicing healthy habits now, a funny thing is going to happen.  You will naturally change how you enjoy the holidays without giving it a second thought.  You’ll find that eating less and maintaining your exercise schedule or level of activity will not be as much of a challenge.  By the way, when it comes to eating less it might feel weird at first and you might even force yourself to overeat because it’s what you’re used to doing.  I know because that’s what I did!  But after a while, that feeling will pass and you’ll sail through the holiday season with ease. 

That’s my advice to holiday health--start now! When the holiday season arrives, you’ll keep doing what you’re used to doing.  And hopefully, you’ll enjoy those new healthy habits because it’s so much easier to do what you enjoy versus imposing restrictions on yourself because it’s what you think you should do.  

Shirley

What are you Thankful for???

November is the time of year when we are supposed to take a moment to be thankful for what we have.  Don't you think it is kind of funny that this implies that we only take time to give thanks in November during the holiday.  

Lately it seems that everyday at work is very stressful. My every thought is centered around when can I retire. You know how it is. On Monday you start thinking about the weekend and then on Sunday you start dreading the new week. We complain that we don't have enough money for all the things we want. It seems that everything is a hassle, from bad traffic to high prices. So we just complain and complain. Somewhere in all of life's craziness we have forgotten to be thankful for what we have. 

Maybe we should be thankful for having that job that makes us crazy and looking forward to retirement. Thankful for the car that requires that high priced gas. Thankful for our home, family and friends. Maybe we should take a moment to remember what being thankful means.

As hard as your life seems, there is always someone who's life is worse. So take a moment to be thankful for the things we take for granted everyday.

Shirley 

Embrace the Day!

Sometimes we need to think of ourselves first. What is it that you need to do to get to your happy place? As women we tend to focus on everyone else's needs and just let our own fall by the side. We need to learn that it's ok to not only think about what you want but to actively pursue what you want. Now is the time to finally take what you need.

I was divorced when my kids were very young.  So, they became my first priority. In everything I did, they were always first and foremost in my mind.  Now that my girls are adults I can look back and see that I planned very little me time.  My life has been truly blessed.  My daughters have grown into beautiful confident women, we are friends and do things together. I have also learned to do things just for me. Whether that is a manicure, pedicure or taking trips with friends.  I realized now that I did not have to wait for my kids to grow up, I could have been enjoying me time all along.

So remember take what you need now and be a happier healthier you. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us so make plans to enjoy your life's journey.

Shirley

WHAT HAPPENED, I AM LOSING MY HAIR!!!

Some twenty five years ago I decided to wear my hair in it's natural state. No more relaxers or any kind of chemicals. So after years of "Jerri curls & relaxers" I was free.  Now we know as we get older they tell us certain things are just going to happen because we're getting older. For example: at forty your eye sight changes. All of a sudden your eye doctor is mentioning "bifocals ".  Extra weight seems to have a permanent place on your hips no matter what you do to lose it. So I thought, " at least I will have my hair." Well after wearing extensions for several years, I noticed my hair was thinning at the top of my head. I thought it was the braids, so I stop wearing them.  However the area just seemed to get bigger and wearing wigs seemed to make it worst. I just figured it was another sign of getting older and I prepared myself for the bald look.

About a year ago my daughter attended a presentation by a dermatologist and said I see her. Of course I didn't because I figured what could she do for me. Basically I had given up. Fortunately for me my daughter signed me up for a consultation visit. Well it seems that it wasn't old age taking my hair but Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA). CCCA is a hair disorder that leads to the destruction of hair follicles, scarring and permanent hair loss (alopecia). This condition is seen most frequently in African-American women. It can progress very slowly with gradual hair loss with no symptoms or rapidly with tingling, burning, pain or itching of the scalp.  So it turns out that this it treatable if you catch it in time. So now,  a year later , my hair is growing back.  It's still a little thin on top but there's enough that I can put off shaving my head for a while and wearing wigs all the time. 

What I have learned is that sometimes we have to go back to the beginning and start over.  My advice from this experience is that if your hair is thinning at the top or sides go see a dermatologist. Your hair dresser, wigs or meaningful friends will not be able to help. Be proactive and you may end up keeping all your hair well into old age.  Don't be like me and wake up one day confused thinking "WHAT HAPPENED, I AM LOSING MY HAIR!!!

Shirley