7.21.2009

getting unfat step 3 making yourself a top priority

okay,
so, 1.) Learn to ask for help 2.) Tell yourself the truth 3.)Make yourself your top priority.
Mom's everywhere are rolling their eyes right about now. I know, I know...how are you supposed to get on the treadmill or exercise when there is no one to; watch the baby, do the dishes, I am already tired, and on and on....I used all these too. For some people, some of these are legitimate barriers. However, in the back of my mind I always knew this was a bit of bs. If you have a playpen for your baby, you can exercise in your living room. They have exercise videos down at the library (that I never took advantage of). I was eating the same food my family ate but kept getting fatter and fatter...because I ate huge portions. So, two things you can do to remove the excuses are cut down on portions and start moving. You know you have time somewhere in there, because I know I did. Especially if you are a stay at home mom. You have periods of time when you are watching tv or calling your friends or family or scrapbooking or browsing through walmart. Im calling you out,lol.

Now for the last best excuse. But what about me time. My me time used to consist of eating out and going to barnes and nobles to read a book. There is nothing wrong with this, but nearly all of my activities were sedentary. You might be thinking why should I exercise when I should be relaxing. I am already so tired and now there is just one more thing for me to do? I'll tell you why, because once you lose weight and get healthy, your energy level will sky rocket. You will be able to exercise, run errands, and still be awake at 8 o clock at night to sit down with your husband, or wife, or kids, or friends, and watch a movie. All this instead of conking out for an afternoon nap, waking up feeling tired, doing your chores tired and then going to bed and you can't sleep.

I am saying be your own life coach. If you had hired someone else to run your life, would you give them a raise, or would you fire them. I looked at this a while back, and I would have fired mine. Look at your life and ask yourself "If my child were living like this, what would I like to see them do?" Then do that. When you put yourself at the bottom of the list, abuse your body, accept people talking to you and treating you like dirt, you are teaching your kids that that is okay. Some questions to ask yourself (this is mainly for people with kids) If I saw my daughter gaining this weight what would I hope she would do. If someone said that to my kid, how would I hope that they would respond. Is this a person I would want in my kid's life? (Or your mom's, or your brother, sister or best friend?) Treat yourself with the same love, respect and dignity! When people see that you value and take your self seriously, they will do the same. You show people you value yourself by taking care of yourself, by setting goals and following through, by stating calmly and clearly how you expect to be spoken to and treated. You will get some pushback from clueless people, but eventually it will become way too irritating for them, and they will either change or shut up. Don't let other people dictate your schedule. If you can, make your workouts a certain time of day and get a baby sitter or swap babysitting. Tell people your plans and that you don't want that cookie, cake or calorie laden pizza sitting in your fridge. Draw boundaries around your person and make them clear. It makes it much easier. People who can't accept boundaries are the ones with the issue. Not you. I saw this video on you tube earlier with Jillian michaels, and i think it drives home the point about toxic relationships and responsibility. I will leave a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0hCKcLxdC8&feature=PlayList&p=9BC3CAF8625B8700&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=21
Please hang in till about 4:53, it is the essence of the whole clip.

I did my 2.5 mile walk and kept my calories to 1583 calories.
Keep up the good work.
hugs,
chris

5 comments:

Amber said...

Treat yourself with love and respect and others will too.
It is hard to put yourself at the higher end of your priority list.
Us moms sometime have a hard time doing just that, but in caring for our self we are "taking" care of our family.
Ak

Hanlie said...

I truly believe in this concept! You can't give your best to others when you're not at your best. And to be at your best, you have to do what it best for you... Otherwise you're cheating yourself and those around you...

Another great post!

Diane, Fit to the Finish said...

As I was losing the 150 pounds, I implemented a lot of these ideas. I realized the only person I was hurting was myself when I didn't put myself as a priority.

Very insightful post.

Cole Walter Mellon said...

Great post. Ditto to what the others said....

Patty said...

Love the "Be your own life coach". But if you were my life coach, I am sure I would get my money's worth!