Walk the Talk

I had a comment on my previous post that has inspired me to write a whole new one. The question was "How am I practicing what I preach and how has that translated into a change in my lifestyle?"

Firstly, I wanted to thank you for that comment. It's wonderful to know that people are reading my posts and interested in my progress. It will enable me to keep it up!

I have a fairly dynamic answer to this question. I preach moderation as I've already discussed. I practice this by allowing myself to indulge in weekend treats. I allow myself one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Usually Saturdays treat will be a food item like a slice of cake or 3 or 4 cookies. Sunday's treat is usually a beverage as I spend my mornings studying and I like to have a warm drink. My top picks are hot chocolate, pumpkin spice latte, and steamed milk sweetened with vanilla syrup. These beverages are high calorie, hence why I only drink them once per week.

During the week I will eat regular meals that contain the proper balance of food groups. Half of my plate is vegetables, one quarter is starch (potatoes, brown rice, couscous, etc), and one quarter is protein (meat, beans, lentils, fish, etc). To be clear, this is my ideal meal, meaning that sometimes it doesn't happen. Life gets in the way and when it does, I deal with it. For example, a couple evenings ago I didn't have dinner prepared and I needed to leave for class (evening classes are not fun). So I decided to buy a ready-made soup from Whole Foods rather than find some filler food that lacked nutrients. 

I also preach setting mini-goals along the way to your long term goal. Similar to the puzzle pieces in the picture. Each puzzle piece is one mini-goal. For example, my ultimate goal is to have a very athletic body. My mini goals are performance related, like being able to row 1000m in under 4 minutes. If your goal is more weight oriented and you have a specific weight you want to reach, set small 3-5 lb goals along the way. I would have to say that I don't think focusing on getting down to a certain weight is a positive goal to set yourself up for. I believe that it puts too much focus on numbers and not enough on improvements in fitness or lifestyle, which are far more important. If your goal is to life a healthier lifestyle, the weight will come off as a side effect, so don't put so much pressure on yourself. 

I preach self-acceptance. I will talk about this again soon as I just attended a body image seminar that has inspired me to write a post, so I won't go into too much detail now.

I preach patience. If you want something to happen and you're willing to put in the work, it will happen, but probably not tomorrow! Change takes time. Appreciate the process.

I think I hit the major points (for now). Keep coming back for more!

Image Source: stupendoustidbits, smallbiztrends