Challenge Yourself: 2

This last week I focused on my physical features and my stats.  I wanted to see where I was starting and give myself a good idea of how much work I want to get done.  For me, weight is not currently an issue.  I am happy with my body, but I think everyone looks for improvements.  My dream body is one where I feel confident and happy in my own skin.  Now I understand this means something different for everyone; but for myself, I want to decrease my overall body fat while maintaining my weight.  I know this isn't something I will be able to do overnight, so I will track my progress once a week and assess where I may need to tweak my short term goals.

This week my focus is on Motivation.  Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses someone to act toward a desired goal, could be anything that elicits, controls, or sustains certain goal directed behaviors.  A perfect example is hunger.  Hunger drives and motivates you to eat.  But what motivates us to better ourselves when it isn't a natural response?  Competition and rewards are unarguably some of the biggest extrinsic motivators for individuals trying to reach a goal.  But what about those who have the goal of climbing Mount Everest with their son, or living long enough to see grandkids.  What about those who are trying to reduce their risk for Diabetes, or are just trying to look great in a swim suit... are these reasonable goals?  YES!  A motivator to you, may not be a motivator for someone else... but that is the beauty of what drives and moves you!  Find something that will be meaningful and long-lasting that will take you to the end.

What is your main motivation to make a change and better yourself?

My motivation comes from competition with myself.  I love to compete in events in order to improve previous times and to see how far I can push myself.  I enjoy running in races with the distance of 5k, 10k and I have even done 2 half marathons.  In the past year, I found myself with the opportunity to buy a road bike and the interest for a triathlon has sparked (as I used to be a competitive swimmer in high school).  8 months ago I moved from North Dakota to Massachusetts and it has been 11 months since my last race and it is definitely time to put my competitive edge to the test.  My motivator will be to compete in a half marathon in the next year and better my time of 1 hour:52 seconds.  Now that I've said it to you, it is real, and I am committing to the event.  I look forward to sharing this journey with you.  What is your main motivator to change?

I want to leave you today thinking about what motivates you, no matter what your goal may be.  Here is some great advice to setting your goal and finding motivation that moves you.
oxox, Em

•  Make mini milestones. Break your weight-loss goal into 10-pound blocks. 
• Keep your eye on the prize. Tape a list on your fridge of what you want to accomplish, like fitting into your size-8 jeans or running a mile without stopping. 
• Create incentives. Give yourself a dollar for each pound lost. Use the money to treat yourself to a new sweater or spa treatment. 
• Buy fitted clothes. Avoid expandable elastic waists that don't let you feel or see those extra inches creeping up on you. 
• Know you're not alone. Don't be afraid to join a health club because of your size. You'll find a range of body types at the gym. 
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  Get an affordable personal trainer. Hire one with a group of friends and split the cost-- you'll save money and learn how to burn more calories from a professional. 
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  Join a gym near your office. Exercising during your lunch break or after work will be much more convenient. 
• Pay for a 10-pack of workout classes upfront. That way, you'll have to go or your money will be wasted. 
• Seek motivation on the Internet. Get 24/7 support with an online weight-loss group.  Exchange messages, recipes, even exercise tips with other readers at sites like sparkpeople, loseit, caloriecoutner, etc...
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  Power up with a partner. Enlist the help of a friend to cheer you on when motivation gets tough. 
• Don't be deprived. Treat yourself to a small portion of something sweet each day so you won't crave it and binge later. 
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  Crunch the numbers. Know the calorie counts of your favorite meals, snacks and drinks. Resolve to make your daily calorie intake a healthy 1,500. 
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  Make smart eating easy. Start your own file of healthy recipes you've created or picked up from books and magazines. 
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  Save the best for last. If you taste food while making dinner, you can take in a huge amount of calories without realizing it; wait until you sit down to eat. 
• Write before you bite. Keep a journal of everything you put in your mouth. You'll think twice before you eat if you know you have to write it down. 
• Sign up for a run/walk event or bike race. The competition will help you work harder and you'll make fitness-minded friends. 
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  Change with the seasons. Snowshoe in the winter, swim in the summer and bike in the spring. Different workouts will keep you challenged. 
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  Cultivate your green thumb. Burn 254 calories per hour by doing your own yard work. You can also stock up on veggies by growing them in your garden. 

*Advice and comments from readers of Shape that have found great success in reaching their weight-loss goals.

Living Tech Free

OK, so most of us know that living a life that is completely tech free is near impossible in this day and age.  In fact, a good portion of our lives are devoted to technology.  Between, work, home life, kid's homework, social media, staying in touch with friends and family, and finding information on just about anything you can name; we can hardly take our face out of it!  But how has this technology age affected our health?

Technology is literally prematurely aging us.  Not only are the blinking, buzzing, and beeping distracting us from our slower-paced offline projects, but we are constantly waiting for the email response, or are stressing about how many "likes or "retweets" our status will get.  Also some of us even share our bed with this flashing and sound-making device, I bet you can guess that it could be the cause of your inability to sleep.  Lack of sleep is not only making you feel sluggish the next day, but chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to memory problems, heart attacks, obesity, and stroke.  Technology is also stunting our creativity.  Having troubles finishing a project at work?  Turn off the computer and get some fresh air and let your mind think for it's own.  I haven't even yet mentioned what it is doing to us physically.  Most of us look down to a phone or hunch over our computer for a good part of the day putting a lot of stress on our necks and allowing us to have terrible posture.  And the worst position to use your technology... in the car!  A recent study proved that someone on their phone while driving increased their risk for an accident by 23% and even worse, the average length of time someone was on their phone when getting in an accident, 5 seconds.  Now what is that important that it can't wait!!

So now you have heard some of the negatives.  I urge you to try a day or even just 4 hours tech free.  Let yourself be creative, move your body, interact with people face to face.  Need some good activities?  Here are some of my favorite things to do that don't include my phone, iPad, computer, TV... shall I go on??

1.  Cook up a fabulous dinner for you and your friends
2.  Take the dog for a walk or try snowshoeing with a friend
3.  Take a nap and catch up on sleep
4.  Write a hand written note to a loved one (there is nothing better than getting snail mail anymore)
5.  Take an art class... or yoga, or cooking, or join a book club... the list could go on
6.  Get lost in your city... explore the undiscovered
7.  Read a book, when was the last time you visited the library?
8.  Organize! Whether it is your closet or your files, I think you will feel a sense of clarity and freshness when you are finished.
9.  Take a bath, relax, paint your nails, give yourself a facial... nothing better than a spa day
10.  Volunteer.  Put your time and energy into something that is meaningful to you and you will reap many benefits
11.  Play a game... host a family or friends game night where everyone brings a game and a dish to pass.  How long as it been since you have had a really good belly laugh
12.  Do a project and have a craft day

I want to hear what you do when you turn off your technology and how you can benefit from a tech free day!
oxox, Em

Challenge Yourself: Day 1

I'm ready for a change, I'm ready for a challenge.  And I want everyone to be involved.  No, it will not be hard, but I will have to be 100% honest with myself and my audience, and you will too.  You can answer the questions in a journal to yourself, or you can slap them in a comment right under my post!  Or email me, I would love to help motivate each of you on your journey.  We are going to start simple... a question a week.  Or better yet, it can be a goal a week.  Every Thursday I will pop a question, give you a goal, or make you think.  Tweak and tailor anything to make it more related to your own journey. 

The goal of this challenge is to motivate you to look at your life and assess where you are.  Are you happy?  Do you need a change?  Are you spending enough time on yourself?

I'm excited to work with all of you and hopefully this will inspire us to think more about our individual lives and what we want out of them.  During this journey I will challenge you to take time to focus on certain aspects in each of your lives to make a better quality of life for each of you individually.  

Day 1:  All About the Stats

Let's focus on the numbers, where do we stand now and where do we want to go:

1.  Write your current stats: 

• height: 5'4"
• current weight: 125 pounds
• goal weight: 118 pounds 

2.  Are you at a healthy or unhealthy weight/BMI - click for BMI calculator

*Remember: BMI is your body mass index and is a general health number.  This is good for the average population, but not people who are built with extra muscle mass as muscle weighs more than fat.

I am within the normal healthy standard for BMI.  

3.  Describe your dream/goal body:

My dream body will be when I respect myself for the way I am.  I would like to reduce my overall body fat and increase my muscle mass.  I will work to lessen my cellulite on the back of my thighs (I must write a blog article about the cellulite problem all of us women have to deal with!) with increased strength training.  I will focus on a positive self-esteem and the happy aspects of my life in order to motivate me.

 

I hope you all join me in my journey to focus my life on me.  I know too many women out there who put others first, but please, if you want to meet goals and dreams in life, you must put some of your overall efforts into yourself.  Sure, bring your other half and kids on board with you, but encourage them to take one day out of each week to better themselves.  It will be worth it!

oxox, Em