Small Changes For The Bigger Results

 

Who wants to take my place this morning as the person in charge of getting my son up and out the door for school for the first time in two weeks?

I didn’t think I would have any volunteers. It isn’t going to pretty.

Thankfully I am a morning person, otherwise first mornings back to the routine would be that much more grueling.

I ran around a bit yesterday getting ready for this week, at the last-minute remembering I needed to go to Whole Foods to get fresh turkey from the deli counter for my son’s lunch.

And I couldn’t help myself.

I know, I know– a small box of roasted vegetables is not the worst habit to have in the world but I am on the fence here with resolving to stop this little trend of every time I go to Whole Foods I make a little snack box which just adds to the amount of money I am spending.

They don’t call it Whole Paycheck instead of Whole Foods for nothing.

I am not big on resolutions but you must know that by now, right?

To me, the whole January 1st thing is like a waiting for Monday thing.

I just never could get on board with needing to change as of January 1st.

Each day of the year is an opportunity for new and good things to happen as well as for us to MAKE happen.

Each day of the year offers us a chance to start over, make changes, find the balance we are looking for.

I honestly wake up every morning hopeful and excited to see what the day can bring me and what I can bring for myself.

I am a lot like Annie. You know, the sun will come out tomorrow?

Or even Paula Abdul, the promise of a new day?

It sounds so silly but it’s true; even in the darkest of moments, I rely on the sun coming up, the start of a clean slate and the possibility for something special.

Like strawberries back on store shelves at a decent price! I was so excited to pick up a few containers yesterday!

If you skip the gym three days in a row, if you ordered take-out more nights than you know you should have, if you have a day (or two) of overindulging, an afternoon into the evening of bingeing on chocolate and chips, you don’t need to worry.

You don’t need to throw in the healthy lifestyle towel and give up until next Monday or next year.

A healthy lifestyle is about finding balance, not trying to be perfect (because perfect isn’t possible) and figuring out a way to incorporate the activities you love (running and Pure Barre!) with the foods you love to both nourish your body (roasted vegetables!) and your soul (dessert!).

Sometimes the drastic changes we expect to make at resolution time along with the pressure of sticking to an almost unrealistic routine becomes so overwhelming and difficult that the healthy habit intentions are lost pretty quickly…..

…But it doesn’t have to be that way.

A more gradual approach to making a change is usually better.

I have talked about Start, Stop, Keep before (click here) but it is worth mentioning again.

I first learned about the Start, Stop Keep approach when I was studying to obtain my professional certificate in Sports Nutrition and Performance and was immediately intrigued by the technique.

It’s gradual. It’s designed by you. The pressure and overwhelming nature of change is low (how I like it!).

You don’t need to give everything up, you don’t need to change everything all at once and you even get to praise yourself for what you are already doing well.

They say that small changes in life are the ones that lead to the big results.

Sometimes we can adjust better when things are gradual and not completely life-altering.

It may take a little more time to see a result BUT the results are more likely to stick around and you are less likely to give up.

Be honest with yourself though. Since you are in control, you need to take control.

Like that whole Johari Window thing we talked about when it comes to digging deep in our personalities:

What do you know you need to change, start doing, get rid of, focus on?

This is the perfect opportunity to break out a nice new journal and start keeping track of your changes, thoughts and progress.

I love a good journal. A pretty notebook. A cute little pen.

I have always had a fondness for stationary products mainly in the form of Hello Kitty pencils, notebooks and desktop accessories.

Did I mention there was a Hello Kitty store in the Orlando Airport?

It was like heaven if only my son wasn’t tagging behind me making fun of the obsession that I refuse to ever outgrow.

Wish me luck getting my son up for school now….

Have a great Monday and most likely, your first day back to the routine!

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What’s on tap for your workout today?

Do you shop at Whole Foods often and if so, what are your favorite items to buy?

Paper planner/notebook or do you use your phone/computer to keep track of things?

 

 

 

Thinking Out Loud – Somehow We End Up Talking Running

 

Just about every day, someone asks me what I do when I have nothing to write about. Truth is, I always have something to say and sometimes don’t know what to say first.

There are those times though, like this week for example, where my schedule is so overwhelming that I don’t have the time to devote to getting my thoughts out of my head and organized into posts.

Enter Thursday for Thinking Out Loud – My opportunity to sit down and just write what comes to mind.

Let’s see where this goes today, yes? Yes. Thanks Amanda for the link-up fun!

Remember how I needed to get into the city yesterday morning super super super early to attend the bris?

I am always up early, but up and out, into and out of Manhattan all by 10:00 am?

I could say that my motivation for getting out the door so early in order to deal with city traffic came purely for the love for my family and desire to see this absolutely adorable and precious little cousin of mine, but that would only be part of the truth.

I will arrive just about anywhere at any time when I know an abundance of good food will be readily available.

A fabulous food spread including bagels, lox, muffins, cookies, rugelach, fruit, french toast and who knows what else was a major driving force for me here. There. I said it.

I couldn’t even blame my little boy for grabbing slices of French toast in one hand and muffins in the other as I prepared his bagel and lox plate – he is so my child.

As I made my way through my loaded plate that was topped off with serious amounts of fruit, I was reminded of how I fuel up in the days before a race.

I always rely on fruit, especially watermelon, to hydrate me properly. I swear, the extra doses of watermelon work every time.

Remember when I took a fall season hiatus from racing?

Oh yes. I AM BACK. Fitness Magazine Women’s Half here I come. April 13, 2014.

I knew my hiatus from racing would be short-lived.

All I needed was a break. I knew that, accepted it, honored it and now I am over it.

I registered yesterday for the More/Fitness Magazine Women’s Half Marathon and I think before we know it, April will be upon us.

I feel like it was just yesterday that I ran this half but really, it was almost a year ago.

If you asked me what my exact finish time was for this race, I honestly couldn’t tell you.

Is that weird? Most runners know their times to the second. I can’t rattle off one accurate race time of mine if I tried.

It is becoming quite clear to me that numbers of any kind really don’t matter to me.

In fact, MapMyRun sent me my training log for 2013. Their stats are based only upon the runs I actually logged meaning I ran even more than the statistics in the chart claim.

 

2013 WORKOUT SUMMARY view all

245 workouts 196 routes 1,503.3 miles 315.1 hours 125,434 kcal burned

 

Interesting. These numbers seem like they should be a big deal, some type of motivating factor to better myself in 2014 yet I don’t think they hold much value to me.

Sure, I am proud that I am out there just about every day yet I have no intention of trying to go above and beyond 2013’s statistics.

I just run for me. Not for the numbers. Not for the races, not to win. Just for me.

I run for my daily dose of endorphins. For the mental clarity it gives me. For that crazy confident feeling it gives me each and every time.

As I looked at how beautiful and amazing my cousin appeared yesterday only 8 days after giving birth, I thought about how I felt after having my son.

If you have gone through childbirth, you may be able to relate – I felt as though I was the only person in the world to give birth.

Sounds crazy, right? But I recall the feeling. I recall thinking I just did such an amazing thing, I brought a life into the world and yes, I was the only person in the world capable of doing so.

Now, we all know this is not true. We all know that babies are born every day.

Where am I going with this? Well, when I run, I feel the same way. I feel as though I am the only one out there.

Each run is mine and each run I set out for and complete is some form of a crazy amazing achievement.

Imagine having such a wonderful feeling several times a week? No matter how crummy a run is, you feel the accomplishment.

Each run requires me to show up. Getting through those miles, as fast or as slow as you go, requires mental and physical stamina.

And when you complete what you set out to do, you have yourself an achievement.

I haven’t addressed New Year’s Resolutions because I really don’t believe in them.

I do believe in the power of running though.

I feel pretty confident in saying that running (or at least a daily workout routine) will give you confidence into everything else you set out to do.

This positive mental boost achieved through the power of exercise will help to keep you motivated in your weight-loss goals, healthier eating goals and just about any other goal on your list.

There’s your New Year’s Resolution pep-talk. I feel much knowing I finally mentioned something towards the resolution hoopla.

I am such a planner but I think I enjoy posts like this that just happen as I type.

Make sure you check out the rest of the Thinking Out Loud fun!

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I NEED TO KNOW:

Have you registered for any spring races?

Do you remember your race finish times?

Why do you run?