Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Getting It Done - Sometimes You Need To Take A Break! Part 2

In part 1 of this GETTING IT DONE post I discussed some insights I gathered from our little vacation to the Wisconsin Dells.

I promised that there was going to be a part 2 to this topic and here it is.

One of the things that I needed to be reminded of in my training is how unhealthy the large portion of our US population really is. I am far from a great looking person, but I could not believe how overweight so many people were at the water parks. I am not just talking about 10-20 lbs overweight, but obese size overweight issues. Amanda and I were discussing how there were more men overweight compared to women and that was after the women had delivered babies.

I could not feel anything but inspiration to help spread the word of fitness and nutrition after seeing so many unhealthy people. It helped me kick start my regimen after taking a day off to just being a slob. It is hard to eat healthy. It is hard when your whole life has been consumed by food that is not the best for you. Trying to break lifelong habits are incredibly difficult. But someone has to stop the cycle and make a change. Why not you?

What broke my heart while at the parks were the children who were very overweight. Some of these kids you could tell were just miserable being in a swimsuit. They way they covered their bodies or constantly checking themselves out. These kids are at a disadvantage. They cannot go grocery shopping. They don't have money to make the food decisions. They are at the mercy of their parents.

Typing this up a week after the trip ignites a fire in my belly to do more. I need to look at my habits and I still am working hard to eliminate some of my downfalls. However, we are human beings. Human beings are not designed to be perfect. We are designed to make decisions and rationalize what is best for us. We know what needs to be done. It is time to change this nation. It is time to start morphing ourselves into fitness machines and setting goals to help us achieve my mantra of GETTING IT DONE.

Being home in the summer there are small changes to help with living a healthy lifestyle.

1. Don't buy the junk. If there is food in the house, then I will eat it. No doubt about it. I go grocery shopping and I come home with snacks like sourdough pretzels that I know I don't want in my house around 9 pm at night. I buy them and sure enough I snarf them down right before bed and I wonder why I cannot achieve my racing weight goal. If you don't have it in front of you, then you cannot eat it. So eliminate the junk.

2. Working on staying mentally strong. Sometimes the best way to break down bad habits and barriers is to just stand up to the challenge. It is amazing how great you feel about yourself when you actually hold strong. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. The easier it becomes the greater chance of you better habits are of forming.

3. Learn from your mistakes. It is okay to have a minor setback or two. That is life. I have not achieved all of my goals, but when I don't achieve what I want it gives me time to reflect and pause on why and learn how to makes things more effective in my life.

4. Finally, the fourth one(I could go on, but this will be suffice for now). Don't be satisfied with living a mediocre life. If you are not happy, then change. Don't let your atmosphere and your small time here on earth be wasted with days of not feeling great about yourself. Get out and enjoy life. Even if you don't like exercising, taking the time to get out and be active will be enough to kick start your healthy habits.

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