exercise

Loving the skin you’re in

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Ever sit in front of the mirror and just look at you? Don’t freak out! It’s a great way to know when something changes. If you make a habit of just looking at you, you’ll begin to appreciate how amazing your body is and you’ll also notice if something changes because you’re checking it out on a regular basis. Another mama shared this with me and it made total sense. It’s a great step on the journey of loving the skin you’re in. I can think of a few more things that make me feel better about myself. Roll with me, ok?

november dump 014Exercise is a good one for me. That extra step in the morning makes me feel better about me. Working out makes me feel different about my body almost immediately. Which is great because the changes certainly don’t happen immediately. Le sigh…

I noticed  a while back that I was holding on to way too many clothes. As I started to go through them I realized some of them didn’t even deserve to be taking up space in my closet. They were too small, too big or just wasn’t something that made me feel how I want my clothes to make me feel. I like to get dressed without feeling like the frumpy mama. I don’t wanna get into the habit of being OK with my frump. So the best way to do that was to let some things go. Yep, that’s another  “feel better about me” move. Go through your closet and get rid of clothes that don’t make you feel good about you. Anything that makes you feel frumpy, lumpy and “ugh” have got to go. Only rock with stuff that makes you feel good. That could be as simple as jeans and a white tee (my go to simple look). Feel free to do this process with other things in your life. That could include people too. I’m just saying…

Remember that you’re here for a reason. You are all kinds of unique, special and beautiful. Repeat that until you believe it if you have to.

Treat your body well and it will return the favor. Make a commitment to eat and drink things that serve you well. Been slacking on skin care? Get back on the wagon with that. Those changes will be written all over you. It will show in how you look and how you feel.

Focus on the things you really like about yourself. What you focus on grows. If you only focus on what you think are your faults… that’s all you’ll see. You’re way more than your flaws! Give your awesomeness some love.

Stop listening to other people, including magazines and TV shows, that say what the ideal body is. Tell your inner and outer critic to “Shut Up”! I don’t believe in an “perfect size”, do you?

How do you show yourself some love? Share in the comments!

5 Ways to Make those Habits STICK

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There are some goals I’ve been setting around here. That’s nothing new. I’m the queen of having a goal. I always feel the need to have something to work toward. One of my goals is working on staying committed to my fitness. I have fallen off in a big way since having kids. Getting back on track has been slow going – but it’s going!

I was talking to my girlfriends recently and we all agree that we could be doing more. Whether it’s the things we eat or working out – more could be getting done. As for me, I’ve carved out some time in my day to work out at least 4 times a week. I want to get back up to 5 days. It’s been a while since I’ve been that girl though so I am pacing myself. The goal here isn’t for me to hit a certain weight or size. That was never my goal with working out. I did it because it is good for me. I like how it makes me feel. I like how it makes me look.  Working out in the morning sets the tone for my day too. Once I’ve sweat it all out, it’s a little tough for me to justify a glazed donut. I feel like I worked too hard to give in to that and try to opt a healthier choice instead. It doesn’t always work (no one is perfect) but the thing is, working out keeps my goal of a healthier lifestyle at the forefront of my thoughts. That’s a great thing.

Your life does not get better by CHANCEWhile exercising used to be as much a part of my day as eating breakfast, it’s been touch and go for a while now. Essentially this means I’m trying to form a new habit. They say it takes at least 21 days for a new habit to stick. I’ve got just over a week to go! Whenever we start something new and attempt to make it a part of our new normal it takes work. We all have busy lives and trying to change things up often means trying to squeeze something else in to an already full schedule. One thing that’s been working for me is leaving my workout clothes out at night so they are the first things I see in the morning. I also leave my workout DVD cued up so all I have to do is press play!

No matter what new habits we start, we can all use a little support to stick to them. Here are a few ideas to keep the ball rolling once you get started.

Whatever it is you plan to tackle, start with your least favorite part of it first. Getting the least pleasant part of it out of the way, makes the rest of it easier.

Break things down into manageable chunks. No need to tackle the whole enchilada. If you’re looking to get fit, just move. Don’t set a number goal. You’ll only feel like you’re not making progress if you don’t see that number when you think you should.

Get a buddy! Let someone know you’re trying to start something new. They’ll check in with you and hopefully motivate you and keep you accountable.

Give yourself grace! If you fall off here and there, don’t beat yourself up. Just re-commit and move forward.

Use your words for good. Don’t say what you can’t do. Don’t allow yourself to talk yourself out of what you’ve started. You can do it!

Are you starting anything new? Tell me about it. Or let me know how you stick to a new habit.