Baby Steps

Sometimes life happens and we get off track with our diet and exercise.  Sometimes, life happens and we get really, really off track and the next thing we know we're spiraling out of control, eating things we would not have previously touched because we know better, and forget about exercise...  No time!

Well, the latter is where I am at right now.  This is actually a great time for me to start blogging because we can get started on this road to bettering ourselves together - right now.

I feel overwhelmed.  I feel paralyzed.  I know exactly what I need to do, but don't know where or how to start.  I have strayed too far.  Does this sound like you, too?

How did this happen?  How could this happen!?

Well...  Everything was going just fine for me until I went on my honeymoon in November, 2013.  My wife and I really wanted to live it up like rock stars on our honeymoon, so we left all of our good judgment about food behind in Sacramento, and took off to Maui.  I'm not even going to tell you what we ate over there...  All I will tell you is it was damn good.

Well, once we reminded our taste buds about all of the delicious, forbidden foods out there, they (our taste buds) were unstoppable with their demands.  They wanted more!  Not that fresh and healthy foods are not amazing and delicious - they ARE!  But, this was a different kind of delicious.  These foods were rich and decadent and sent us to happy places like the fresh and healthy foods never could...

To make matters worse, our reception was a month after our honeymoon, so there was no point getting back on track with our reception coming up...  Am I right??  We figured we would do a cleanse and get back on track once our reception was behind us, but then something else came up... 

The holidays.  Need I say more?  "Okay," we said, "after the holidays, we'll start our cleanse!" And we shook on it.

Well, once the holidays were over, we had to start getting ready to move, and everyone knows how stressful and time consuming moving is...  Enter: Stress eating.

Stress eating is even more dangerous than honeymoon eating because at least honeymoon eating is, like I was saying, rich and indulgent, and is usually based on quality, albeit fattening, ingredients.  But stress eating is dirty...  Just plain dirty!!  I am talking Cheez-Its.  I am talking In-N-Out. (No, not a burger!  Are you crazy?!  Just animal-style fries...)  I am talking pizza all. the. time.

And forget about exercise...  There was just no time at all for anything else!  (I forgot to mention I was also simultaneously planning my son's 18th birthday-slash-graduation bash.)

Well, I am paying the price for all of that debauchery right now, let me tell you...

While I still feel healthy over all (I have been taking good care of myself in other ways that I will get into another time), I'm sure I've wreaked some havoc on the inside.  I know all the wonderful and amazing systems inside my body cannot possibly be humming along in tip-top shape like they used to be.  Not to mention the weight gain...  The good news is, I know I can get back to that place.  Like I said, it is just hard figuring out where to start. 

And it takes organization.  I'm not completely organized yet, to the level I once was, but I need to get started anyway.  No more waiting around for "Someday."  "Someday," never comes.  So, here's what I'm going to do: baby steps.

I know if I make just one small change per week, I'll be back on track in no time and it won't be overwhelming.

You, too, should decide on one or two small, healthy goals for the week, and write them down.  You should also tell someone about your goals; it will help to hold you accountable.  And tell me, too!  Choose something feasible, so you can complete the task and enjoy the sense of accomplishment.  Sense of accomplishment is important.  It can create a ripple effect, and that's something you and I need right now as we embark.

If you're having trouble deciding what to do first, make a list of everything you're doing right now that you know is not good for you, like smoking, excessive drinking, eating too much meat, eating too much sugar, not exercising, not exercising enough, etc, etc, etc.  Things you do or don't do that you know are hurting you and keeping you from being your best.  Just get it all down on paper.  Just go ahead and flip open that lid on the top of your pretty head and let all of those things spill out all over the place.  Just being conscious of those things is a great start.  Do not let the list overwhelm you.  Embrace the list.  It could take months or even years to get through the list, and that is okay.  But take comfort in knowing that every tiny, seemingly insignificant, positive change that you make now will ripple out and benefit you some time in your future.

When you have your list, give it a once-over and choose one or two things that you feel you can do right now.  Not on Monday.  Not after you get paid.  Right now.

If it's something that's too big to do all at once, you will need to break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces, and tackle them, one by one.

I have faith in you.  I have faith in me.  Let's do this!!