Transformation is not five minutes from now; it’s a present activity. In this moment you can make a different choice, and it’s these small choices and successes that build up over time to help cultivate a healthy self-image and self-esteem.
~Jillian Michaels~
Okay, we are 40 days in, 60 days left to our 100 day JOLT Challenge.
Exercise: I am moving faster. I think I am jiggling less. But much more than that, I have a self-awareness about movement that I don’t think I had before. With faster movement, I am also recognizing the moments that I was not pushing myself in the past. I was going through the motions. I find now, I am wanting to get that calorie burn, I want to break my previous weekly records of steps, miles, calories. I still have a way to go, but we are moving forward. I am making progress and feeling proud of my efforts.
Eating: My husband could eat salad for breakfast, dinner and lunch, and be fine with it. Repetition of meals is not an issue for him. I was fine with that for the first eighteen days or so. Then, the sight of lettuce was starting to make me twitch. His suggestion of salad for lunch would make me want to grab the lettuce from the refrigerator and stomp on it until it was a gooey green blob on the kitchen floor. Of course, we did not eat salad for every meal. It just FELT like we were eating salad at every meal.
So, we are working on variety in our meals, but to be honest, when you are counting your calories, it sometimes is easier to go with what you know when you are pressed for time. We are looking for different recipes and trying new things. But, regardless of the boredom we occasionally face with food choices we are still committed to the change.
Emotions: Making choices in the present moment; that is what I am working on. Although I am counting down and looking forward to the 100 day mark for celebration, I am living each day with this focus. 1000 calorie deficit, 10,000 steps. I mentally have decided that with daily completion of those two targets, I am building a healthy life. It helps me put things in perspective. I may not believe that I will achieve my long-term goals on any given day, but I know that those two numbers are doable. I know exactly what I have to do to get there. And I think that is what health is all about. Yes setting those big picture goals for yourself. But more importantly, making it a day by day way of living, giving yourself a way to feel accomplishment in each moment, well before you reach the finish line.
And, with only ten days away from our half way point, I think we are on the right track.
If you are making your own changes in life, remember to give yourself both long-term goals and daily targets that give you a sense of success. It makes all the difference.
Have a healthy weekend,
Kelly
