Goals and Positivity
Goals and Positivity
Goals
Take some time now to write down your goals for a healthy lifestyle. What is your reason for wanting a healthy lifestyle and to lose weight? Why is it important to you? Whatever your reason is write it down. It doesn’t have to be something for someone else, because I want to be around for my kids or because I want to set a great example. Those are great reasons don’t get me wrong, but if it is just because you want to look good naked that’s all good. No harm in that, if that’s your reason, use that as motivation to get moving. Do you need help you on this journey? Who will support you, help you and keep you on track? Write it down. Surround yourself with these people. Ask for their help. Lets think now about what’s really important to you……… Here are some possible answers: I want to learn to eat clean so I can prevent disease and illness and to live longer for my family I want to feel better so I can play with my kids I want to look great in clothes I want to look great out of clothes I want to have more energy I want to sleep better I want to learn how to cook healthy food for my family I want to lose weight so I feel comfortable with myself I want to be confident to wear a swimsuit on the beach this summer I want to spend more time with my kids and my partnerWhat do you need to do today to achieve everything you want tomorrow?
5-10 Year Goal
How do you see yourself in 5-10 years; what is your lifestyle like? Are you happy, healthy? Are you full of energy? Is that extra weight gone? Are your relationships good? Are you leading a balanced life? Are you doing what you enjoy? How do you look? How do you feel? Be descriptive. Hear the laughter of your children, feel the sun on your back. Feel how good it is to be rocking your new body.1-Year Goal
What do you need to do this year to get to the long-term goals? Where do you need to be in a year’s time? What can I do this week to get closer to that one year goal? Write it down, it will happen then.Weekly
What do I need to do this week to achieve my goals? What time do I need to wake up each morning? What time do I need to go to bed each night? What food do I need to prepare each night for the next day? What day do I do my weekly prep? What workouts am I doing and what time am I working out? What day do I do my grocery shop or order online?The mind is powerful put your goals everywhere, write them down. Read them aloud every day.
Write them on your mirror in the bathroom Write them on your blackboard or splash back in the kitchen. Stick them to your fridge. Print your goals and put up on a message board Write yourself a future vision letter. What will your future look like in 2 years? Read it to yourself every night before you go to sleep. Dream big as if nothing is impossible.Start your journey from Square One and take these steps. Don’t put it aside, make time and you will reap the benefits. This new journey is about so much more than just losing weight, so write it all down and put it up in your home and become accountable to yourself. Just Do It.
Positive Thoughts
Our thoughts affect everything that happens every day. Our lives and health depend on taking control of our thoughts and moods.
We can change how we feel by transforming the negative moods and beliefs that hold us back.
In order to have positive thoughts, you need to know what you want in life, what makes you happy, what gives you energy and what do you want to achieve?
What are your values and beliefs?
Once you know your core values and you have written them down, you are then able to take better control of your thoughts.
If you are surrounded by negativity, then you are continually being bombarded with negativity. Do not surround yourself with negative people or things. Make your thoughts positive and reflect who you want to be. Look in the mirror, look differently, and take notice of what you love about yourself.
Many of us have a nearly continuous stream of self-talk going on in our heads. These thoughts are so familiar to us that we rarely stop to examine them. Change these thoughts to positive ones! Get rid of any negative thoughts and replace with good thoughts about yourself. We wouldn’t talk to anyone we care about the way we talk to ourselves. Care about you! Banish those thoughts and replace with self-love and an “I will do this” attitude.
If you’re feeling stuck, having trouble reaching your health goals, or you’re plagued by depression, anxiety or dark moods, become aware of these destructive thought patterns and learn to see them for what they are. They are simply stories that we tell about ourselves or the world around us. You can rewrite the story; you are the author of your own life.
When we give these stories power and believe they are real, we suffer. But when we see that they are simply thoughts, we become free to behave and respond differently.
Having been though years of negative experiences and people myself before I got out, I understand how hard it can be, but life is too short to remain stuck in suffering. It’s never to late to break free of old patterns that are holding you back.
If you need any help and support with this, contact me I’m just an email away and I would love to help you.
Live Life Well,
Holly
Finding Balance
Sunlight, Sleep, Stress
Sunlight
Vitamin D
For years, we’ve been told to avoid the sun. Stay indoors between 10am and 4pm and slap on sunscreen. Hey…….wait a minute, we evolved outdoors. Regular sun exposure was an important aspect of life. As such, we evolved to require a minimum dose of sunlight to ensure optimal health. How’s that work? Well, UVB rays from the sun interact with cholesterol in our skin to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin; it acts more like a hormone in your body, affecting a whole host of organs, tissues, and functions. Our immune systems need vitamin D to function. What does vitamin D do, exactly? It improves insulin sensitivity and increases fat loss. It reduces systemic inflammation. It plays a role in protection against many cancers. It’s essential for bone mineralisation. All you need is a little bit of sunlight. Start off with getting 15 minutes exposure to as much of your skin as possible, but go easy at first, since we haven’t been living outdoors we probably aren’t ready for a full session, yet. Gradually increase your exposure by a few minutes at a time until you’re getting thirty minutes of full sun each day. Oh, and sunblock prevents the creation of vitamin D, so go easy on it. If you’re going to use sunblock, apply it after you’ve already gotten your 20-30 minutes of sun exposure. If you can’t find time to get in the sun, or you live in a place that gets very little take a Vitamin D supplement. It’s almost as good as getting it from the sun, and it’s a hundred times better than getting none at all.Sleep
Just a few days of inadequate sleep can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health. I can’t stress enough the importance of good sleep for everybody, but it’s especially important for people with poor mind health. However, sleep can be elusive when you are feeling down. I’m convinced that there is a relationship between lack of sleep and depression. It’s a negative feedback loop: if you can’t sleep, you can get depressed, and if you are depressed, it can be difficult to sleep. We all know how important sleep is, but despite knowing this, so many of us remain chronically sleep-deprived. If you’re depressed, sleep is like a superpower. Getting enough good quality sleep is essential for your mind health and your long-term physical health. Deep sleep rejuvenates and repairs. When we get poor sleep or not enough of it our insulin sensitivity decreases, reducing our ability to tolerate carbs and burn fat, and making it harder to lose weight. When we get enough sleep our carbohydrate tolerance increases and our exercise performance improves. Get an adequate amount of sleep (around 8-9 hours for most people). 6 quick tips for a better nights sleep: Go to bed by 10pm each night. Make sure your bedroom is dark and cool. Get blackout curtains or blinds. Leave a small crack so you wake up with the daylight. Turn off all blue-light at least one hour before bed (tv, laptop, tablet) Unwind with the day and let your body slow down when the sun goes down. You can do this by dimming lights or using lamps or candles. Avoid drinking alcohol before bed as this affects the quality of your sleep and inhibits your body’s ability to fix and repair itself. Take a magnesium supplement to help regulate your sleep. Good sources of magnesium naturally include green leafy vegetables, pumpkin seeds, almonds, avocados and bananas. Establish a routine so that you can get the benefits of true deep sleep.Stress
Our bodies aren’t made for chronic stress. We’re designed to handle short-term, acute stress, not long-term, chronic, unrelenting stress that has become so common in modern times. When we become stressed cortisol is released. Cortisol is a hormone that is secreted by the adrenal glands. Cortisol regulates blood pressure and regulates the body's use of macronutrients. Cortisol also affects the release of insulin and your body's ability to convert sugars into energy. At natural, healthy levels, cortisol provides sustained energy and even improves memory. In stressful situations, extra cortisol is released to provide an immediate, easy-to-use energy supply. While this reaction is helpful in life-or-death situations, that we may have faced way back in the day, like getting chased by a lion or hunting for our next meal, it becomes harmful when it occurs in response to minor everyday stresses like traffic and financial worries. Excess cortisol inhibits your body from burning fat for energy. Without an optimal ability to burn fat, sustainable weight loss becomes very difficult. Also, high levels of cortisol cause your body to be out of balance, leaving you feeling fatigued and exhausted all of the time. It can make you feel tired when you wake up and wired when you go to sleep. All of this affects your body’s ability to function optimally. This is also why people who do all the exercise in the world and run on coffee and a muffin struggle to lose weight. The key is reducing those stressors or finding a way to relax. Meditation, getting out in nature, prayer, talking with a friend or loved one and journal-writing are all healthy, natural ways to cope with a stressful day. A small, mild amount of stress can be a good thing during those moments in your life when you need motivation, maybe to study for an exam or prepare for a speech. This kind of stress is usually defined by the anticipation and excitement of overcoming an obstacle or challenge. On the other hand, prolonged periods of stress can leave you feeling worn out, tired, and unenthusiastic, and could make you more vulnerable to depression and other health issues. You may feel that stress is caused by outside influences and that it is something you can’t do anything about. The thing is, you have to perceive a situation to be stressful for it to be so. This makes it a thought. That’s it—a thought. If that’s the case, then we have some control over stress, for it’s not something that happens to us but something that happens within our minds. There are definite outside influences that can cause us to feel stressed, like financial troubles, relationship problems, and work issues, but how we react to these external stressors determines how we feel. What really matters is how we view a situation. Stress comes from the way you respond to events, not the way life is. Train yourself to watch your thoughts, and when a stressful or negative thought comes into your head, stop, take a deep breath, and adjust your response. If you can change a situation, then do; if not, then let it go and do something productive that you enjoy. Be gentle and kind to yourself, channelling your energy into thoughts and actions that actually benefit your life. We can become so attached to the way that we think, our beliefs, and our attitudes about the way things should be that it can make us sick. Try to just be; experience the moment, let it wash over you, and then move on. Show yourself love and affection. Find what creates calm for you and practice it regularly, whether that is a quiet place to contemplate or meditate, spending time with friends, getting to that yoga class, making a healthy meal, or getting to bed early.Remember the three S’s
Get out in the sun, get good quality sleep and remove that stress (or reduce the effect it has on you if you can’t completely remove some of it)