A Fabulous You – Being Mindful

Happy Hump day, everyone! Boy am I glad we are at the middle of the week! Partly because that means we are getting close to the weekend. But the other part because it’s time to push aside what ever failures we’ve had this week and start anew. We need to remember to be mindful of what we are doing and also remember that worrying over what we didn’t do is detrimental to our long term goals, whatever they may be. If you are a consistent reader of PHPT, then you’ll remember that last week I unveiled to you my background in Kinesiology and Personal Training. I also revealed that I’m not a fluff kind of girl. I’m a tell it like it is kind of girl. I’m not one to smooth things over and tell you things will change if I know you are eating a tub of ice cream every night. Or drinking a bottle of wine every night. I’m going to call you on it. Every time. One of the worse things I hear people say is “I can’t do it. It’s too hard. I’m not losing weight fast enough. I’ll start again on Monday since I jacked up the week pretty good so far. I need a cheat day or three.” Okay, hold on to your britches, cause this isn’t going to be nice to hear…

“If you’ve been carrying around extra weight for 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc…your weight loss goals are not going to happen over night. If it took you “x” amount of time to put it on, it’s probably going to take “x” amount of time to take it back off. Bottom line.”

I’m sorry if you don’t like the sound of that. Well, really, I’m not sorry. But there’s no use in dwelling on the past. We need to get up off our rears and just do it. No ifs ands or buts. We each have our stories as to how we got to a certain place. I am by no means preaching the gospel and saying I’m perfect. Cause I’m not. I struggle just as much as the rest of you. Now, no where in that above statement did I say that your goals aren’t manageable and attainable. You will see weight loss if you are doing the right things. Initially it’ll be water weight. Those first 10-15 lbs, yep, strictly water. (The body is made up of about 60% water…crazy right??!!)

Okay, so then the next step that will happen is muscle building. Again, remember that muscle weighs more than fat. So if you don’t see the number on the scale moving anymore, this is why. But the more important factor is how your clothes are fitting. If they are feeling looser and the scale isn’t budging, it doesn’t mean something’s not working in your favor. You are changing your body composition….for the better! The stronger you are, the more calories your body needs to burn at rest (when you are doing absolutely nothing). And this is another good thing. We want our bodies to be calorie burning machines!

So, really the first step in obtaining all of this…set attainable goals and be mindful of everything you do. It’s okay to have a slice a cake. I’m just saying don’t eat the whole thing. When you are mindful of your eating and exercise, you will be amazed at the things you begin to change. Weight loss, cholesterol, blood pressure, strength, cardiovascular endurance to name a few of the things that will happen for the better.

How do you become more mindful? There are plenty of studies out there (including my own…I created and managed a very successful Weight Management Program at the last fitness center I was a part of…and it is still successful to this day) that say for you to keep a journal. Not only for your eating, but also for your exercise, sleep, water intake, mood, etc. This is how you become more mindful of what you are doing day in and day out.

Sure, keeping track of a journal can be time consuming. But let me tell you, the reward for doing so, far outweighs the opposite (i.e. not keeping a journal). Not only are you being able to track your patterns, but you are giving yourself a checks and balance system at the same time or in short, accountability.

MyFitnessPal (an app for the iPhone and available for use online…not sure about other mobile phone carriers) has a great buddy feature. You can add your friends and help hold each other accountable. If you add a friend, that friend can see your entries and if that friend adds you back, you can see their entries.

How else can you be mindful? I want you to seriously think about every movement you make, every food you ingest, the amount and quality of sleep you obtain, etc. Think about it. Always. If it’s at the forefront of your mind, you will be successful. You will be able to see your triggers. You will be able to respond to your triggers. (Your journal will also aid in tracking these things as well…cause sometimes we need something staring at us on paper.)

So here’s your homework. If you are really wanting to make a change. And I mean seriously wanting to make a change. This isn’t for those that make New Year’s Resolutions and then fall off the wagon only to make the same New Years resolutions year after year. This is for those that are ready to make this their NEW lifestyle. For those that are ready to say, hello world….meet the brand new me. I’m here and I’m not turning back.

For those that are ready, it’s time to start journaling. Today is a new day. What better day than to start living NOW.

PS…I’m linking up with the beautiful Shanna for her Random Wednesday meme.