Self Worth vs. Self Denial

I can remember watching Jerry Springer when I was about 12 years old (why I was watching this, or allowed to watch this, I do not know). They had some very obese women on who were shouting and yelling at the audience about how sexy they were and how they were happy being the way they were. They went on and on about how there was nothing wrong with them being fat and they liked being that way.

I was confused. I couldn’t understand how they could really be happy like that. Not just because of how they looked, but also because of how uncomfortable they must have been. And they seemed so angry! They didn't seem happy at all, even though they were saying they were.

I have encountered this theme many times since, in less extreme ways. People who are overweight who claim to be happy with themselves. And I’ve figured it out—they’re not. They are miserable and are trying desperately to convince themselves, and others, that they are just fine. It seems easier to them than changing their bad habits. But it’s not true.

We are taught to love ourselves no matter what we look like, this I agree with. You definitely need to recognize what an amazing person you are and all you have to offer, but if you’re telling yourself, “I’m great just the way I am, why can’t people just accept me for who I am….” as you’re shoving a pan of brownies down your throat, that’s when self-worth has been swapped out for self-denial.

When people try to cover their bad habits by throwing the blame onto someone else you know there is a problem.

The reality is, if you have a healthy self-worth you will realize that downing a pan of brownies isn’t the way you should treat your body. You are worth more than that.

Try as we might, we can’t lie to ourselves. We can’t convince ourselves that we are happy with our health or our bodies when we know we aren’t treating them right.

Live to feel happy and healthy for you. Then you won’t have to convince anybody that you feel great—they will know it!

Who’s The Boss?

No. This isn’t a post about Tony Danza and his relationship with Angela or Mona. It’s about you and your relationship with food.

When we eat there is a lot of communication going on from a lot of different places: our brains, our bodies, our tongues, our friends, etc. All of this communication is pertinent, but when it comes to ending the meal, there is only one communicator that can be “boss”.

If I’m eating dinner with my friend (and I ONLY eat if I feel hunger) and I hit that point where I know I don’t really need to eat any more, here is an example of some communication that might be going on:

BRAIN: I probably shouldn’t eat any more. I bet there are so many calories in this. I should stop. Maybe it’s okay to have a little more of that bread…it’s wheat, that’s healthy right? Ugh!

BODY: I feel just right. Let’s stop.

TONGUE: Ohhhh, that tastes sooooo good. I want more. Just a little more won’t hurt. YUM! I don’t want to stop!

FRIEND: You’re not done are you? Let’s get dessert too.

If you look at all the communicators, only one is being fair to you. Only one doesn’t get emotionally involved. Only one is in control of the situation. Only one should be “boss”.

Your body.

When you eat your dial should be switched to “BODY”. That is the only communicator you should listen to as you eat. When it says: “I’m not hungry any more,” you stop.

Is your tongue gonna try to argue? Of course. Especially when you’ve been listening to it for such a long time.

Is your brain gonna try to stress you out and make you have excess worries? Yep. Especially with all the bombardments from the diet and nutrition industry.

Is your friend gonna try to tempt you? Quite possibly, especially if they are struggling with their eating habits too.

But as you dial in to “BODY” and listen to it more and more, the quieter all those other communicators will get.

Sorry “TONGUE” you don’t have a say anymore.

That’s not to say you can’t enjoy the taste of food, you are simply dialed in to a different “boss” to tell you when to stop.

As you eat, only when you feel hunger, and allow your body to be boss of when to stop, you won’t feel deprived, you won’t feel confused, you won’t feel bloated and you won’t feel guilty. You will feel light, happy and in charge of yourself.

Who doesn’t want that?

So next time you eat... remember who’s boss.

Running Tricks

Running is a very mental game. You start running and right away we often want to stop. Here are a couple tricks to make sure you don't fall victim to the jerky voice in the back of your head telling you to stop.

1. Decide before you start how far you are going.

2. When you feel like you want to stop, increase your speed. This can actually give you an energy boost and cause you to catch your second wind.

3. Set time goals to keep you motivated. Running the same distance and the same speed every time you run gets very monotonous. Change it up to keep it interesting. It's a lot more fun.

Just because you have never been a "runner" does not mean you can't be or aren't one. We can all be runners.

I have always considered myself a "swimmer". When I won a small 5k a few months back I was talking to a few of the other women who ran with us. They were congratulating me and telling me I was a great runner. I told them I'm not really a runner. They were marathoners and ultra-marathoners and when I told them I wasn't a runner they told me it was time to rethink what I was saying.

So I thought about it. What makes someone a runner? Well, I suppose it's if they run. You don't have to be winning races to be a runner. Once I realized that, I was a little less intimidated to commit to running and be in running races.

All the ways you have defined yourself in the past are out the window. You can be whatever you want and if being a runner is one of those things then take it!

Living Life Offensively

It occurred to me yesterday that life is sort of like a game only we can choose if we want to play offense or defense. It has been my tendency in the past to play a lot of defense, to try to keep things from happening to me, to prevent the bad as much as I can. But yesterday I realized that as long as I am playing defense I can't score. And scoring is the only way to win the game.

Switching from defense to offense means now I move forward with purpose. I'm not trying to keep something from happening, I'm trying to make sure something happens.

Now I'm in control of the game.

Switching mentally from defense to offense gives you power. You're not a victim in your life, to your weight, to your current physical or mental state. You have what it takes inside of you to "score", all you have to do is move with purpose. Don't wait for something to happen or change...make it happen.

You make the changes.

**Make just one change today.**

3 Keys--You Gotta Have 'Em

When trying to figure out an effective exercise plan there are really 3 things to keep in mind to help you be successful:

1. Consistency.

Obviously, if you are on RaceDay, this is something we push a lot. Right away I encourage you to go for Consistency Club, which is 30 minutes of exercise for 30 consecutive days. This helps you to build the habit of getting your body moving for at least a little bit every day. There are a lot of things gained through consistent efforts, but with exercising perhaps the best part of all is becoming more in tune with your body. You learn how you can handle certain exercises/workouts and figure out different things about yourself. Mentally and physically. This can only come through consistent efforts.

2. Intensity.

Again, something we really push on RaceDay. Intensity is about 95% of your results in an effective exercise program. You can spend 2 hours "exercising" every day, but if you aren't pushing your intensity levels way up you will never see results. Limits have to be pushed. Intensity has to be high at least several times a week. Intensity matters more than time. You can work out for 20 minutes at a very high intensity and have a more effective workout than someone walking or jogging on a treadmill for an hour. It's all about how you spend that time. Intensity makes the time count.

3. Variety.

A lot of people don't know how to change up their workout programs. They get stuck in ruts or feel comfortable doing what they are doing so they don't ever change. I talk to women all the time who do the same thing day after day and don't understand why they aren't seeing results. The reason why is your body adapts very quickly to things you do over an over again. It's the way we are designed. So if you don't do different exercises you will plateau. The time you put in will be ineffective, you'll get frustrated, and more than likely, you'll get very bored. Don't be afraid to try new things. Keep it fresh and challenge yourself. Trust me, you'll not only be a lot more successful, but a lot happier too.

The 5-A-Day for 5 Days Challenge

How often do we hear it?

Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables EVERY day.

How many of us really do it? I mean consistently, every day?

How many of us think we do it, but don't. I'd venture to guess a lot.

Fruits and vegetables are key to weight loss and general good health.

Everyone wants a miracle pill, a diet "secret" or some other new weight loss "trick."

There are no tricks! (I want to yell that from a rooftop somewhere) There are, however, fruits and vegetables that have been here for us from the beginning of time. You can look high and low and bounce around from one fad diet to the next, but the reality will never change. Healthy, natural foods are what get you healthy and keep you healthy.

It's that simple.

There are properties in these foods that scientists simply can't uncover and can't recreate.

So here's the challenge. It's a short challenge because I want as many people as possible to do it ALL the way and notice the difference they feel.

For the next 5 days eat at least 2 servings* of fruit and 3 servings* of vegetables.

Breakfast: fruit

Morning snack: fruit

Lunch: vegetable

Afternoon snack: vegetable

Dinner: vegetable

Eat your fruit or vegetable first, before you eat anything else. Then eat the rest of your meal ONLY until you no longer feel hungry. Then stop.

It's only 5 days.

Can you do it?

Click HERE for a personalized food guide pyramid.

*Click HERE for a serving size reference guide.

Do What You Want

So it occurred to me a little bit ago that life is too short to do the things I don't want to do. From now on I will only do the things I want to do.

That can be a misleading statement. It doesn't mean I am going to sit on my couch and eat ice cream all day. While we all might joke about things like that being what we want, it's not really what any of us want. What we really want is the outcome of our actions.

Sometimes the things we want to do can get confused with things we don't want to do simply because they are hard. Let me explain a little better.

When I am pushing myself through a workout and it's hard and that thought comes into my head, " I don't want to do this. It's hard." I have to stop and ask myself this question: "Then WHY are you doing it?"

I usually have some pretty good answers for why:

• I want to be healthy.
• I want to be able to play/hike/run/bike with my kids and husband.
• I want to be and stay fully functional as I age.
• I want to look good.
• I want to feel good.
• I want to enjoy my body, not hate it.
• I want to appreciate what I've got and do my best to improve on it.
• Etc., etc., etc.

When I start thinking about all the reasons why I actually do want to do it I approach my workout with a completely different feeling and mentality.

Likewise, it has been good for me to ask this question in a lot of areas because there really are things I don't want to do and I have eliminated them.

As you go through your workouts and your life if you find yourself dreading something, or just simply not wanting to do it, ask yourself: "Why am I doing this?" If you have good reasons then focus on those and do it. If you don't have any good reasons, drop it out of your life.

As we do the things we want, and recognize that's what we're doing, our life will be happier and better all around.

Know what you want, then...

Do what you want.