I'm starting to feel like Winter will never end this year.
Every time Spring has peeked it's gorgeous head out for a weekend in Georgia, the next day is inevitably freezing, rainy & miserable.
But I actually love winter for a lot of reasons
Winter is the perfect time to start binge-watching new shows (and re-watching all the seasons of FRIENDS, Gossip Girl, and Grey's Anatomy...), it's the perfect time to snuggle up with a blanket and an entire pot of coffee while you read a great book. It's a perfect time to blog, or for me, write songs. Winter defines the word cozy in such a magical way.
But winter is a difficult time for motivation and healthy habits. I always end up feeling a little fat, unmotivated and insecure around this time of year. Because by mid-winter I have fallen off any wagon I tried to get on, I've eaten every casserole, cake and cookie I saw at Christmas, my body is like "work out...what's that?", I've had too much coffee, too much wine,
and I'm thinking to myself "why would I eat my veggies when Chinese Food pairs so well with my couch and all of my layers, boots and sweaters?"
And then right after all the regrettable holiday food decisions and the unfinished projects comes the New Year, when we start thinking back on all the mistakes we made and begin making promises to be better than we were last year.
Personally, I've always liked New Years Resolutions because I'm a dreamer. My ideal day consists of listing out all my hopes and dreams and the path to get there. But man, I always let myself down. And when I'm off the wagon I'm OFF THE WAGON. So I've noticed over the past several years that I'm constantly disappointed in myself, and it has a profound affect on my life.
It makes me feel judgmental of myself, which turns into judgment towards other people. It makes me smile less, have less joy. It makes me feel less adventurous, less interesting, always striving - and all because I'm not perfect yet.
But here's the thing:
I will never be perfect.
and you will never be perfect.
So why are we trying so hard to get there?
This year i made different resolutions.
Because I can't be perfect, but I could be interesting. I could be kind. I could make people feel amazing about themselves. I could have fun. I could be balanced.
I could simply be proud of the way I live my life.
One of my never ending resolutions
from the past was to lose weight. This year I decided that instead I should stay off the scale and simply improve my health. I started eating at home more and going on long walks every day instead of putting pressure on myself to starve and do intense workouts. Nothing against intense workouts if you like them, but that's just not my cup of tea every day.
Interestingly enough, the walks made me happy and I didn't dread them. And when they became a part of my routine, I actually started craving a more intense workout every now and then. So I decided to do what I call a "real workout, like with my muscles" about once a week. They range from 20-40 minutes and they make me feel like I'm accomplishing that goal of being balanced.
The crazy thing is that I went to the doctor last week and when I got on the scale I realized I had lost 20 pounds since the last time I weighed myself 4 months ago. Whaaaat.
That may not be your goal, and accomplishing your goals may not always be as easy as you'd like. But just changing your mindset from achieving the perfect body to achieving health (having a little grace with yourself) is the only way to really be happy.
I'm pretty sure I'm also happier because I'm not so hangry (hungry + angry) anymore...
Don't sit out on your life. You're already worthy, fun, beautiful (or handsome), and capable of smiling and making the day brighter.
A small step today is just getting your walk in
or maybe just scheduling one of the two workouts below for your weekend.
But keep it fun.
Because even if you get superskinny & superfit, but you don't treat your body with respect and seek out balance (plus you're always hangry), you won't be as happy (or nice) as you hope to be.
two workout options /
One (CLICK HERE) is a treadmill workout that I came up with when I hated working out. I knew I should do at least 20 minutes of cardio 6 days a week to be considered a "healthy" person (based on the statistic that people need at least 120 active minutes each week). This one is a shout out to you folks who still hate working out and you're counting down the minutes until you can be done. I'm still there most days.
The other (CLICK HERE) is a workout that I made up when I was in better shape than I am now, for you work out-ers. So even though it says to do 2 reps of each round, feel free to modify and only do 1 rep per round. Or heck, if you're feeling amazing try 3 reps per round. Go get 'em.
