Limits. Moderation. All or nothing.
When it comes to food, exercise, and sleep management I have problems with all or nothing behaviors. I’m currently working on it. I am now a month into some changes that are going pretty well. My focus is on making long term sustainable changes and I’m working on it gradually. It’s the “gradually” part that is in many ways the biggest challenge.
The things I have added or shifted have been easier than I expected. I started doing pilates twice a week. I need to exercise every day, but for now all I am doing is my twice a week pilates. I’ve been at it a month and I love it. I actually want to go. I’m going to give it another month and then add something else in then eventually something else, etc.
Petting my Cat is my Cardio shirt at Amazon
Prior versions of me would have come up with a big plan for how I am going to work out 5 or 7 days a week then blown it in the first week and gone back to doing nothing. I remind myself of this each time I think about going from my twice a week pilates to adding on three more days worth of stuff. When I think about what things I’d add it all sounds great. I’m pumped up to do it, but then almost immediately I feel it all crumble apart inside of me. I know deep inside that I’d revert back to nothing. Instead I remind myself of this new plan, to do one thing for a while and let it become ingrained and a part of me before I add or change it up.
Gradual change. Sustainable change. Real change.
The same week I started the pilates I also made some eating changes. I’ve been eating about 90-95% vegan. Accepting that I don’t ever need to be 100% has freed me somehow. I’m going on my 5th week and it has been easy and working out so much better than I expected. Old me would have made a much more extreme choice, cracked after a few days and binged on something I swore off forever.
I still have more eating changes ahead of me. I still need to deal with snacking, portions etc. For example, a package of organic cookies is still a package of cookies. I’ll get there. Eventually.
Gradual change. Sustainable change. Real change.
p.s. When your plans to schedule a blog post go awry and instead it’s a publish immediately, call oops and move on.
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