HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR WILLPOWER TO STICK TO YOUR GOALS

Life gets busy and crazy and before you know it all of the good habits you have worked on for so long have been thrown to the curb. This was my realization a couple of weeks ago. This summer has been incredibly busy in all areas of my life, between getting a new job, working on getting the final touches ready for the candle line, health issues with Nina (my dog, for those of you who don’t know), and trying to be the best aunt I can be to my niece and nephew on top of the regular day to day things we all want to spend time on – like – I don’t know, laundry, grocery shopping, family events - it’s been very, very busy to say the least. But I may be preaching to choir here because I know that we are all stretched very thin with so many daily demands. I’ve been feeling like I am stretched very thin. Maybe the stress has been showcasing itself because even my mom asked me if everything is ok with me! Which I am, there is just so much going on. It is at times like these when I really feel the need to exercise and meal plan and getting back to the good habits I know I’ve gotten the hang of before. Because adding more to my plate will definite help J.

So, while I know what I need to do I am having a hard time doing it. For example, lately, I have been having a hard time making time for exercise and preparing lunch. Lately, by the time 10pm rolls around I am so exhausted that all I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep. And because I have not been preparing lunch I have resorted to buying lunch which is not only expensive, but usually not that great. And as far as workouts go, while I do still work out from time to time, I have not gotten myself back into a schedule where I target a specific area for each workout. On my good streaks, I am good about taking some time on a Sunday or a Monday to I write out what workout I will do each day of the week (usually a Tone It Up or Blogilates routine). About 90% of the time I stick to the workouts I have pre-planned – I think that’s a pretty successful outcome.

This is why I have decided that I need to give myself a reality check and a dose of will power and self-discipline. After much thought I decided that it is really about getting back to the basics and the reasons for creating those good habits – whatever those may be for you. And the one thing that will get me going again is:

Remembering how good it feels to accomplish something

Personally, I have been thinking back to how I would feel after a workout. Aside from being sore and barely being able to walk I would feel energized and look forward to more workouts. The times that I would be very strict with myself and worked out at least 5 times a week I would actually begin to feel a difference in body. My legs would feel stronger, I wouldn’t tire as easily while going up stairs, and I would even get out of bed faster in the morning!

And the times that I have stuck to preparing my own foods I feel better about what I eat for the sole reason that I know EXACTLY what is in it, I use fresh ingredients and it is always cooked to my personal perfection. And as an added bonus, it saves me A LOT of money.

My point is that when we all decide we need to stick to something it is usually because we know some good will come of it. We get so far down the path of have motivational conversations in our own heads (which is really the biggest hurdle for most) that getting it done and sticking to it won’t be as bad as it may seem.  

So, how do you keep your will power and discipline strong? What have you challenged yourself to stick to? Do share below!

5 TIPS TO GET BETTER SLEEP AT NIGHT

Our lives can get kind of crazy and when that happens there are two things that in my experience tend to go array very quickly and that is eating habits and sleeping habits. There are a few simple habits we can create in our everyday lives that will help us get a better night’s sleep. As always, creating new habits takes time so I suggest incorporating these into your lives one at a time and putting your best foot forward in terms of sticking to the habit. You will be glad you did once you have reached your goal!

set an alarm to go to bed

Yep, you read that right! I know (from firsthand experience) that we can get easily distracted in the evenings. Think: Netflix, Hulu, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. – you get the drift. My point is that if we are not conscious about it our evenings will fly by and before we know it its 10PM and time to prepare to the next day. So, setting an alarm to be in bed by will keep you accountable with how you spend your time in the evenings.

avoid exercising 4 hours before bedtime

Regularly exercising has amazing benefits on your body (and mental) wellbeing, BUT, exercising late in the evening can come in between you and a good night’s sleep. I have especially noticed this if I do some type of cardio workout but not as much if I do Yoga or light Pilates.

ditch the caffeine after lunch

This is a tough one for me during our extreme seasons (summer and winter) – on the (very few) hot summer days I will give in and have an iced latte and on the (very many) cold winter days I get the urge to drink a hot cup of coffee in the afternoon. While I have not solved for the summer days iced latte urge I have done a pretty good job at eliminating coffee in the afternoons during winter by replacing my coffee with a cup of decaf tea. I have never been much of a tea drinker; however, I am learning to appreciate it more and more these days.

spray your sheets

There are certain natural scents that are very calming and relaxing like lavender, chamomile, vanilla and ylang-ylang. My favorite is lavender or a lavender-vanilla blend. You can easily make your own calming mixtureto spray your sheets a few minutes before getting into bed by mixing a few drops of essential oils (can be found in pharmacies or grocery stores) into a spray bottle.

white noise

Having some type of white noise on at night can do wonders for your sleep because it will help tune out noises (cars, dogs and/or people) that can wake you up at night. I have a air purifier that not only purifies my air but also serves as white noise - double win! Another option is to search white noise on YouTube and you will come across videos that are 8-10 hours long.

 

HOW TO GET BACK ON TRACK AFTER SUMMER

Is it just me or can we all agree that summer 2015 came and went in a blink of an eye? Then again I always feel like that at the end of every season. This year I made a commitment to myself to spend a lot more time outdoors and less time attached to my gadgets than I have in previous years. I am happy to report that I definitely spent more time outside this summer soaking up the sun and the warm breeze! However, I do have to admit that I have not been very successful in maintaining my fitness regimen, my healthy eating or my (somewhat) good sleeping habits in check. Typically, I feel re-energized to get back into my healthier lifestyle routine in the fall. Below, I am going to share the ways I have been able to get back into gear in past years. 

Sleep is important every season of the year (but, we all knew that!). But adjusting back to a healthy sleeping schedule after the summertime can sometimes feel like an unfeasible goal. Lately, I’ve been getting between 6-7 hours of sleep at night - I know that in order for me to feel energized in the morning I need at least 8 hours of quality sleep. The thing to note here is that everyone is a little different – some people do not require more than 7 hours while others need a solid 9 hours of sleep. Pay attention to how long your sleep is and how your body reacts in the morning.

Exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. As I mentioned above, I tend to always fall of this band wagon during the summer months. But every fall for the past 3 years I always participate in the Tone It Up fall challenge (this year’s theme is Fit for Fall). This is a community I found almost by accident and boy I am happy I did! Karena and Katrena never fail to put a smile on my face and always encourage me to be the best version of myself I can be. Their workouts may not look intense but, trust me, they are! At the end of the day you do not have to follow a challenge to get back into shape, it works for me but if you are into yoga, running, swimming, biking – whatever it is  - the main thing here is that you get moving for at least 30 minutes each day. Believe me, your body, mind and soul will thank you for it.

Healthy Eating usually takes a back seat during all of the summer BBQs and that is totally fine! At least it is in my book! But just know that eating healthy at least 80% of the time will have a much more positive effect than the negative effect the 20% of unhealthy eating could have on your body. Think lots of veggies, fruits and whole grains. My overall eating habits have gotten much, much, MUCH better over the past few years and much of that came from educating myself about the foods I was eating. I now avoid as much fast food and processed foods as possible (meaning I very rarely eat fast food and pre-packaged frozen meals). I also read the ingredient labels on the food I do buy and if it contains any questionable ingredients I simply do not buy it. Instead I look for a brand that has a “cleaner” ingredient list, if you look hard enough there are almost always better alternatives!

And last but not least…

Hydration is the common denominator in order to succeed with the points above. Your body needs to be adequately hydrated to sleep well, to exercise at your optimal capacity and for your body not to confuse hunger with thirst. My rule of thumb when it comes to drinking water is to drink 50% of your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs you should drink 75 oz's of water which equates to about 5 bottle or 9 glasses of water a day. I carry around a 17 oz bottle and make sure to refill it about 5 times throughout the day (some days I am better at this than others!)

How do you get back into your healthy lifestyle routine? Do you have any tips and tricks that work for you?