"Failure finds success in adjustment."--Unknown
The quote above is one I keep close on my path to any goal. If I am not finding success in a project or goal I'm working on, it can be easy to think the whole thing is going to flop and I should throw in the towel. That was my old way of thinking. These days, I remember this quote and the mentor who gifted it to me.
This particular mentor taught me that I may be doing 90-95% of everything exactly right, but that success lies in adjusting or tweaking a minute detail. This is true for any area of your life, whether it is a weight loss or fitness goal, a business or career goal, or a bad habit you are trying to break.
Anyone who follows my blog knows my healthy lifestyle has ten habits at its core. I've made youtube videos about the first seven habits already, with three more to come, if you want to see them for yourself. Anytime that I gain a few pounds or don't feel on top of my game, I do a habit check to see if I'm still following the Healthy Habits, or if I'm slipping.
I'm slipping a little.
My jeans are fitting a little tighter and I've put on about five pounds. At first I thought it was muscle, since I've been eating pretty healthy and going on regular walks. However, after comparing my current lifestyle to the Habits, I see there are a few adjustments I can make to get back on track. I want to share this as a reminder that life gets busy and complicated, and sometimes we need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves. We get distracted. We all fall off our game a little sometimes. Sometimes we need to take a personal inventory and refocus. It is much more effective to check our habits than it is to check the number on the scale.
So here is where I'm slipping, and I hope these insights can help some of you as well:
1. Drinking too much alcohol.
Broken Habit: Habit #5--Cut Out Junk and Processed Foods
It is summertime and everyone is BBQing. And drinking. It seems like everywhere I go lately I'm being offered a shot, drink or beer. The sun is out, I'm feeling good, eating good food, and I'm taking the drinks. A few too many of them, in my opinion. I think alcohol is okay in moderation, but it is toxic, plain and simple. It falls under the processed food category. Alcohol also slows down your metabolism for a couple of days after you drink. When I was taking off 40 pounds, I gave up alcohol completely because I knew it would seriously set back my process. Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I've been drinking here and there and it has been fine. Until summertime hit. No wonder my jeans feel tight. Alcohol is throwing my balanced system out of whack by lowering my metabolism!
Watch the Healthy Habit #5 video here:
2. Not enough sweat.
Broken Habit: Habit #7--Move Your Body
I've been working out consistently, but I haven't been breaking much of a sweat. I have been going for long brisk walks outside, doing yoga, and a little strength training, but I haven't been getting sweaty and red-faced by the end of my workouts. Now, consistently doing SOMETHING is better than nothing, but sweating it out is essential. Sweating is one of the main ways we release toxins from our bodies, and if we aren't releasing those toxins, then they are going to build up and place a toll on our system. So today I broke a sweat by challenging myself to 1000 high knees. Yes, 1000! It was hard and it took my mental willpower to finish, but the endorphins kicked in around 700 and I was so happy! I had forgotten how good if feels to push yourself mentally and physically, to the point where you can barely talk and are dripping with sweat. It is not attractive, but you feel DAMN GOOD! Intense workouts also rev up the metabolism for a good 24 hours, allowing you to burn far more calories than you normally would. Who doesn't want that?
Watch the Healthy Habit #7 video here:
3. Need to cut down my portions.
Broken Habit: Habit #4--Cut Your Portions
I have been eating A LOT of really delicious healthy food. So I thought I was doing ok. But, healthy or not, a lot of food is a lot of food. Instead of putting my fork down when I'm no longer hungry, I have been eating past that point until I'm stuffed. Just because I'm stuffing myself on foods like fruits, salads, hummus and oatmeal doesn't mean I'm not taking in more calories than I should. I look to hunger signals as our body's natural way of controlling our calories for us, but we need to participate in the process. We need to listen to those signals and follow them, or it doesn't work. So I am tightening the reigns this week and listening much closer to my body. When I'm not hungry anymore, the fork is going in the sink.
Watch the Healthy Habit #4 video here:
None of us are perfect all of the time. We are going to drink and eat too much, and skip our workouts. Occasionally. I won't beat myself up too hard. But when my jeans start pinching, it is a sign that I need to take stock of my current habits. I'm so glad I did. By going over the Healthy Habits, I was able to pinpoint where I need to make my adjustments to get back on track. If I was just slipping in one area, I probably wouldn't see major consequences, but this combination of habits that I'm lacking in right now is the perfect combination for weight gain. I've been slowing down my metabolism with drinking and less intense workouts, and eating more calories than my body needs. That equation equals an easy five pounds, and potentially more if I wouldn't have checked myself.
Hopefully, my personal experience can help you in some way. Are you putting on a few pounds or having a hard time taking a few off and can't figure out why? I encourage you to go through the Healthy Habits and see what you should be doing that you aren't. I would love to hear from you about your experiences too, so please comment!
I hope you all have a great week and take care of yourselves. Lots of love!
Monica
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