I should warn you… I’m feeling a little sassy today. What follows may be a tiny bit of a smack-down. 😉
I say it with love, though. Truly. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is call someone on their sh*t, right?
And here’s the sh*t I keep hearing from smart, beautiful, sassy, strong women like you:
“I’m too busy to be healthy.”
Or a common variation: “I’m moving/starting a new job/launching a new business right now. Being healthy will have to wait – I can only do one thing at a time.”
(I hear it from men, too. We’re not so different when it comes to health!)
Hmmm… okay. Let’s break this one down.
Maybe you’ve noticed some unwanted pounds have crept up, or you’re not exercising much (or at all), or you’ve adopted some less-than-stellar habits (like eating erratically, having that extra glass of wine in the evening, or getting too little sleep)…
…but you’re already SO busy. How can you possibly find the time to plan and cook meals, hit the gym or yoga class, and still maintain your career, raise your kids, run a business – you name it?
So you put it off. (But you don’t actually forget that you’d LOVE to look and feel better.)
And every day – as you roll out of bed and hop in the shower – you think;
“Okay, today is the day I’ll begin. Today is the day I’ll figure it out… eat healthier, exercise, get back on track.”
But every night – as you fall asleep – you think;
“Crap! Another day of blowing it.”
Missed exercise classes, missed meals, missed opportunities to choose healthy options…
All of those “misses” equal one big hit to your ultimate desire to feel energetic, healthy, and strong.
Let’s face it: You’ve got good reasons for being where you are.
There’s the meeting schedule.
Your social calendar.
Your carpool duties.
The cupcakes at the office.
Temptations and opportunities to indulge (and skip healthy habits) abound.
And willpower? Well, that only lasts so long.
Sure, reading a diet book can give you a temporary boost… but just HOW temporary? (If you’ve ever eaten an entire bag of potato chips within 24 hours of starting a new “eating plan” you know what I mean!)
Well, what if this whole “healthy” eating and living thing didn’t take as much time as you think?
I hear you doubting me… wondering how staying healthy could EVER be easy and quick.
And the truth is, it DOES take effort and a little time. But not nearly as much as you might think.
The magic is in the details.
As my client Catherine said: “Small changes can be powerful.”
And what if you had your own personal playbook for healthy living, full of the small changes that work for YOU? One that was uniquely yours and that could shift and adjust as your life shifted and adjusted?
A playbook that would take the guesswork out of what you need to do to feel healthy, confident, and beautiful most days (if not all, because we all have bad days.) 🙂
Here’s the thing: You can have that playbook. I “found” mine after years of experimentation, but it doesn’t have to take you that long.
You just have to ask yourself the right questions. Questions like…
What three things do I absolutely have to do every day to take care of myself in order to function effectively?
How does eating certain foods affect my mood, energy level, and hunger level?
What happens if I eat eggs for breakfast instead of oatmeal? Or fruit and yogurt instead of a muffin? Or quinoa porridge instead of cereal?
What foods, behaviors, and situations ENERGIZE me? What foods, behaviors, and situations DEPLETE my energy?
Why do I want to feel healthy, confident, and beautiful, anyway? (Ask yourself “why?” at least three times – like an annoying toddler 😉 – until you get to the REAL answer.)
Start digging into these questions, one-by-one. Spend just 10 minutes a day thinking about the answers and jotting them down on a piece of paper.
Pick a week to conduct your own “breakfast experiment” to see how you feel when you eat different foods. Carry a journal with you for a week and make note of what (and who) energizes you; and what (and who) depletes you.
Soon, you’ll have taken the first step towards creating your very own “health playbook.”
One that will serve you and your body for years to come.
xo,
