By Kelcee Lyons
Do the holidays stress you out more than they make you feel jolly? According to the American Institute of Stress, nearly 69% of people are stressed by the feeling of having a “lack of time” and perceiving a “lack of money”. If you feel that statement, I’m there with you. The majority of us have overcommitted to something in the past, whether it’s because we can’t help but be a helping hand or we underestimate how much time or effort that something will take.
Overcommitment can cause an all-time case of the holiday stress and guilt. You need to take care of yourself too! There’s nothing wrong with putting you first! Prioritize your self-care by becoming proactive, creating healthy habits, and simply moving. Future Fitness has a challenge for you – RECOMMIT TO YOUR FITNESS GOALS!
Become proactive
Since we know the holidays are approaching, we can cognitively prepare for them and be proactive instead of reactive. Are you a reactive person? Do you wait for things to happen and now you are flying by the seat of your pants trying to get things done? This is not always bad. You have learned to be flexible and just deal with life as it comes to you. However, sometimes when things “just happen” it may not work out to your advantage. This can cause you to be more stressed out, or even worse, cause you to become a victim of your own circumstances.
In one of Stephen R. Covey’s books called, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” he states, “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” Stop reading this and really sit back and think about what he was trying to say. Go ahead, I’ll give you a second.
Circumstances will be what they will be, but you will always have the power to decide how you react to said circumstances. Having a proactive mindset will enable you to act upon what you want your outcome to be! You may have ten plates spinning; get the kids to school, get to work, take kids to extracurricular activities, plan for that friendsgiving, cook dinner, get ready for the next day, tend to the spouse, your youngest child just came home and told you the school is having a bake sale and you need to make cookies by tomorrow. This would be a lot for anyone to handle! Take a breath. Regain your composure. Reading this gives me major anxiety.
If you are continuously living this type of day, you can fall into physical and emotional exhaustion. Why wait for the notorious New Year resolution when we can prepare for a less stressed holiday venture and healthier you now!
Keys to Prioritizing You
Let’s first start with ways to prioritize you. Although I may not be the best at this, I always try to think to myself, “if I’m not healthy, the people I love the most are not going to be healthy”. When you really think about that statement it tends to ring true. If you are not healthy how are your kids going to get to their soccer game?
People can tell if you are not healthy by the way your mindset is. Are you constantly finding something to be negative about? Someone compliments you but you find a way to turn it around? Who wants to be around a negative Nancy? No need to plan for friendsgiving because you have pushed everyone away. Here are 5 quick tips to prioritize you.
- Be mindful of what you say to yourself, even in your mind. The words we speak impact us more than we think.
- Set a time and space. Set aside 10 minutes in the morning to look at yourself and really appreciate who you are. Even better. After the kids have gone to bed, take a warm bubble bath with some relaxing music. Give yourself “me time”.
- If you know you are going to have a busy day, start planning it and stick to that schedule. If you are a person that has to write everything down, get yourself a planner and schedule specific tasks at specific times. This will help to keep you more organized and on schedule. Are you aware of how you spend your time? Use that knowledge to plan for the future.
- Set SMART goals. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Relevant. Timely. Using the SMART format helps you to stick to a specific task and get it done. For example, you have a goal to get fit. The SMART goal would be “I’m going to follow the Future Fitness Training app to run a 5k six months from now without stopping”. “A Goal is a Dream with a Deadline” – Napoleon Hill.
- Take action and always listen to your body to make sure you don’t overexert yourself with more stress so you can attain your fitness goals.
Becoming proactive is a habit in itself and another way to help you recommit to your fitness goals is to create healthy habits. A habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Start implementing the habits you want to have in place a few weeks from now so you’re ahead when January comes around. “Perseverance is the persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” Check out Future Fitness Trainings’ Client Testimonials for inspiration.
Create healthy habits
It takes an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. Begin creating a habit to achieve your fitness goals by starting today! To be specific, create eating habits that coincide with your fitness habits too. Get the word diet out of your vocabulary. The word ‘diet’ in our society, has unfortunately had a negative connotation. Instead, think of it as editing your plate. A lifestyle change to a healthier plan and one you can enjoy – without all of the processed foods.
Now, we’re approaching the last quarter of the year, meaning shorter days, less sunlight, and loss of energy! Cardiologist, Dr. Ira Ockene’s research discovered that there is an increase in caloric intake during the colder seasons. Blame it on the traditions, the associations we have with food and its memories creates a strong link with what we eat. For me, the Fall days are for snuggles with my spouse by a fire with a cup of hot cocoa. Sweet things are a weakness of mine, you could call it my guilty pleasure. So if you’re like me, we’re topping that cocoa with cute mini marshmallows and a candy cane. When you add all of that all up, you get:
Hot cocoa = 36 grams of sugar
About half a cup of marshmallows = 25 grams of sugar
Candy cane = 10 grams of sugar
All of these in total equal about 71 grams of sugar. That hot cocoa alone exceeds the 50-gram recommended daily amount based on a 2,000 calorie diet. This isn’t a daily thing, but what we do today, affects the decisions we make tomorrow and onward. Instead of warming up that hot chocolate, try this heart-healthy version instead; mix cocoa powder with hot low-fat milk and a low-calorie sweetener, and if you prefer, add in fresh mint leaves as a candy cane substitute. If you want more food and meal inspirations for your fitness goals, meet with a Future Fitness Nutrition Coach.
When creating habits, remember KISS – Keep it Simple Stud
- Envision where you want to be. You can draw and color it if that helps you, which if you’re looking at it every day, it’s a great reminder and accountability to yourself.
- Set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. For example: My goal is to go to the gym 3 days out of the week and get a minimum of 150 minutes of physical exercise in a week. This lays out the terms of your fitness goals and you will know what you need to hit it. Eventually this will be your normal, and you’ll switch that mindset from, “I have to work out” to “I get to.”
- Make it fun! Grab a workout buddy, dance, take progress pictures, etc. Future fitness Training has a Loyalty Program where you can get paid to workout with friends!
- Find support, Future Fitness Training provides exclusive one-on-one coaching at our private facility. Schedule a risk free 7 day trial today to see if we’re the right support for you on your fitness goals.
When you have a plan and are excited about starting something, the likelihood of following through is extremely high!
Move
The temperature is dropping and for Texas, that means unpredictable days, but we only get the Fall season for a couple of weeks, so get outside! You can either get moving with the family, friends, or go at it solo. Each of us was born to move. Boost your energy by moving for at least 15 mins each day. ‘Healthy People 2030’ states that doing regular physical activity is one of the most important ways that people of all ages can improve their health. Physical activity can help delay, prevent, or manage many chronic diseases. Making movement a part of your day will eventually become habitual. You will become hardwired to get moving.
Healthy People 2030 also stated that children now spend more than seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen. Scary right?! This is the perfect excuse to get the family out of the house and get your body flowing in movement for the Fall season (and beyond that). You could tour a town, head to a farm to pick your own pumpkin, get lost in a corn maze, or try some activities listed below.
Get Moving with These Simple Activities
- Walking is the most underrated form of exercise we can get.
- Biking or hiking a trail
- Outdoor sports, soccer, volleyball, basketball
- Yoga
- Light cardio like the stationary bicycles, row machine, stair climbers, and air runners at Future Fitness Training.
“Success is not final, failure is not failure, but it is the courage to continue that counts.” On a side note, mistakes are inevitable, they are a part of life. We are always learning about ourselves and what we can do to be better. Mistakes are an opportunity to improve!
What matters is how you feel about you. When you’re consistent, it’s more difficult to break out of routine when you’ve created a habit out of being proactive and determining your circumstances rather than the other way around. For more resources on recommitting to your fitness goals, read our blog on 5 Reasons To Document Your Fitness Journey.
Lastly, get prepared this Fall for January! Are you taking on Future Fitness Trainings’ challenge by recommitting to your fitness goals? Check out our clients Testimonials and how they re-comitted to fitness.
