As I was doing some early morning perusing of pinterest before the kiddos started showing up...I found this. In no way am I implying that these are as comparable to the real 10 Commandments, BUT they are still very very very important. Why not treat our health and body with the respect and dedication that it so badly deserves? There are some people in life that just need a set of rules to provide boundaries for them. I am one of those people.
There are some things that I can fly by the seat of my pants, but there are many things that I like to have set rules, times, and boundaries on. I am a control freak. When I get an idea in my head...it needs to happen now, which is probably why I had Lenae's room done and ready 3 months before she was born. Don't laugh, sometimes it comes in handy, especially when I was in and out of the hospital and bedrest for those last couple of months. With this new(I think it will always be new to me) sense of healthiness, I have been trying to find or make myself a set of clearly defined rules to stick by but just haven't found anything yet that covers it all. Until this. It almost feels like someone took over my brain long enough to put these down on paper. It has my sense of needing to be healthy, but also not depriving yourself of things from time to time. I'm going to break down each one and apply it to my life, that way I can make a clear definition of how to implement these in my day to day.
#1: Lifestyle, not a Diet. Eating healthy(er) and exercising isn't something to be done for a month, expect quick results, not get any, and give up. It's not some gimic or magic pill to spend a bunch of hard earned money on, that makes big promises and leaves you without the results. Trust me...I have been there about 100 times before. I get bored easily and move on. I think after running my own business and settling into this Mom thing, I have started to crave structure and well thought out plans in my at home life too. That's where making this a lifestyle fits in, if I sit down and plan out my workouts a month at a time, it allows me to make them a priority. Second to my family of course. But if things come up on the side, or when planning other appointments, I work around my workouts. Make them a set part of your normal day to day, instead of an added extra.
#2 Structure your life, and you will structure your eating. I am a big believer in this. 2 weeks ago I sat down and mapped out a calendar of our family life. It includes Menus, Shelby's shifts at work, appts or trainings, and when bills are due. I am surprised at how well we have stuck to it. For quite awhile we were just eating frozen food, or I would cook a big pot of spaghetti or something else that Shelby would eat for a week. Before you think that I am a horrible wife for doing that...he has been doing that for years and years and sometimes prefers to eat it for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. I will never understand some of the things he eats and how he doesn't get sick. As for Lenae...she always had something pretty healthy like leftovers from the daycare or once a week a Lil Graduate meal. But now with the calendar, we have actually sat down to decently healthy homemade dinners 7 times in the last 2 weeks. I also keep a bag of frozen chicken breast and various fresh veggies in the daycare fridge at all times so that I already have something there and won't be tempted to eat junk.
#3 Eat small. The other day I posted a picture of my lunch on a child sized plate. That is how I control my portions. It's a simple little change that can make a world of difference!
#4 Learn to leave food on your plate. Whether it be a bite of chicken or half of a big dinner from a restaurant, it is still food that is left on your plate that required your willpower to keep from eating it. It's crazy how by doing this only a couple of times can actually build up your control of overeating in the future. I will definitely be doing more of this!
#5 Never feel deprived. Ever decided to try a week without chocolate? Or even a day without chocolate? How did that next day go? Did you eat every piece of chocolate in sight? I have done that several times before. What this commandment is all about is giving into those urges, every once in a while, and go about it smartly. For some reason the past couple of months I have been all about chocolate and peanut butter. I just happened to be window shopping the freezer section at the grocery store and ran across a box of Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic Ice Cream. It opened the door and picked up and put down that box so many times, knowing that if I bought it I would likely down the whole box in 2 nights. BUT I just so happened to find that exact same kind in those little Personals container...you know the kind that only has like 2 scoops in it. So I bought 2 and ate them on separate nights. I was satisfied with that one serving and did not overdo it. Win, Win
#6 Make a Meal out of it. This one could be a little challenging. But if you're gonna eat a plain chicken breast and peppers as a side...pretend it is the best darn piece of chicken and gourmet meal you have ever eaten. Thank yourself for making it...or if your significant other made it, give them praises. It will make you both feel good.
#7 Eat Slowly. It's a proven fact that if you chew something more, you will feel fuller faster. How about that illiteration? Take an extra few bites of that hamburger, chicken, or something else chew it until you can't chew it anymore. What's the rush?
#8 Enjoy your food. Food shouldn't be used as a punishment. You punish yourself for years of eating too much of the wrong stuff. Instead reward it now by giving it the good stuff it needs. Find alternate, healthier ways to make your favorite dish and enjoy the heck out of it. Try new recipes that look good...you might add a new favorite to your rotation. Whenever we grill steaks, I enjoy every single little bite of it. Each bite of that smaller baked potato was savored...not just shoveled into my mouth.
#9 Move it. Go exercise. Get out there and walk/run/bike/swim/play basketball/whatever get's you off the couch and on your feet. I can't explain the feeling I get when return home from a long run. It's that feeling of "I just got a darn good workout in and feel like I could conquer the world" Seriously...it's that amazing. I keep hearing the saying "You will never regret getting in a workout. You will only regret the workout you didn't do." That says it perfectly.
#10 Get enough sleep. This one has always been hard for me. I don't go to sleep easily. I am one that thinks about anything and everything before I falls asleep. Yesterday's happenings, today's mistakes, tomorrow's tasks. I can't shut it off. Throw this in with a teething toddler and a husband who is physically incapable of using an ounce of effort to be quiet when he wakes up at the crack of dawn. But...this past week has been better. I have been going in to bed at least an hour before I normally do. It's amazing how much more energy I have from that extra hour of sleep. You won't be sorry you did this.
There it is. My new set of rules to live by. I am going to print the picture out and put it next to my bathroom mirror...that way I am reminded everyday.
p.s....this weekend I am going to work on a chronological order of photos that shows the cycles of weight gain and loss that I have gone through. It's not going to be pretty :(
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