A Million Baby Steps

In the past six months I have been asked questions often about my healthy lifestyle:

~How do I get started?

~How do you find the time?

~How do you stay on track, I always fail?

~Where do you find your motivation?

~How do you keep your motivation?

~How do you stick to it?

~Where do I start? 

~How can I be successful like you?

I love when people reach out to me and ask for advice, guidance, information. But, I am in no way, shape or form, any kind of an expert. 

But, what I am....is a woman who has struggled with her weight and body image pretty much for all her life. I have failed more times than I would ever want to count or admit. I have taken two steps forward followed by twenty steps backwards. 

But, what I am NOT, is a failure. Yes, I have failed and failed hard. But, I always keep trying. I may have just one toe left on the wagon of a healthy lifestyle and the rest of my body is dragging on the ground, but I have kept at least the toe on there!

Last January, I looked in the mirror and knew I needed to find how to make this truly become my life. Not a diet. Not a phase. My life.

It is a journey of a million baby steps. I have found over the years that my core motivation for losing weight has changed - at times it was a number on the scale or a number on the tag of my jeans; it was for my family, for my girls; it was to be able to wear whatever I wanted; it was to feel confident; and on and on.

But, this time, and what I have found to be the only way to work for me....my motivation is myself. Sure, I want my girls and the other kids around me to see a healthy woman. But, this time, it was for ME. I needed this. I wanted this.

KINDNESS: I used to be such a strong negative voice inside my head: 

"You're such a failure." "You'll never do it." "You can't" "You screwed up again, might as well quit." 

Wow was I ever my own worse enemy! So, I practiced kindness to myself:

"You don't have to be perfect, keep trying." "You tried your best." "You will do it tomorrow." "Look at all the things you did right today - let's celebrate those!" 

I had to be my own best friend. I would stop and ask myself what I would say if it was a friend standing in front of me and that is the message I would give myself.

ACCEPTANCE & UNDERSTANDING: Yes, Krisha, you will fail. You will have days where you didn't stick to one thing in your plan. There will be days where you will step on the scale and you'll be up five pounds. There will be days you just cannot squeeze in your workout. But, its okay. Life is to be lived and I knew I needed to accept that somedays I would not practice self-restraint or self-control. There would be somedays I needed to understand that my workout plan had to be thrown out the window. But, this is all okay. There was no need to beat myself up over it. I see it as: if I failed at something throughout the day, that means I had a goal. I was trying. Good for me for trying, for setting goals. 

GOALS: I am obsessed with goal setting! In fact, when coaching Varsity Softball still, I held an entire practice on proper goal setting! Definite obsession. I feel we should all have something we are working towards - it could be at work, it could be your monthly budget, it could be life around your house. If I don't have a goal, I have nothing to strive for; I'm simply moving through the motions of life! But, goals have to be realistic and measurable. You have to develop a plan on how you will achieve them. I have big goals I am always working towards on this journey - right now I have 100 days of running for 2015; 100 miles in January; and a 40 day run streak. But, I also have small daily goals and that has made a big difference for me. Every day I set a small goal - something I can achieve to give myself momentum for the next day. Simple as in, drinking all my water for the day; getting all my fruits or veggies in for the day; not visiting the candy dish at work! Goals should be something to strive for but also something to give you momentum and the motivation to keep going. Achieving a goal always feels amazing and if you fall short, set a new one and go forward. Again, at least you are trying!

CHEERLEADER: No one will be there to high five you daily for what you did achieve or stayed away from. You, only YOU, can be your biggest cheerleader. You NEED to celebrate yourself. Your tiny victories. There is nothing wrong with being proud and celebrating yourself. I love, love pictures. I have a ton of progress pictures on my phone and I look back to those all the time and reflect on the changes. They always remind me of where I came from, how far I have come, and how I don't want to go back. Celebrate YOU! You are awesome and there is nothing wrong with knowing and believing that! Like this picture: I totally celebrate me here & if it wasn't for my progress pictures on my phone, I wouldn't see the changes....the physical changes are clear but the ones I truly see are the emotional and self-confidence changes, the changes I never want to disappear again. 

EMBRACE IT: Again, back to that own worse enemy, I used to look at myself in the mirror and kick the crap out of myself. I picked at all my flaws, all the parts of me I hated. As an example, I will use my tree trunk legs that I have been self-conscious about since middle school! I would look in the mirror and say awful things to myself. But, I realized the best thing I could do was learn to embrace my body - flaws and all. I now look at my tree trunks and are thankful for them. I realize they are strong and have carried me over many, many miles. They made me the strong athlete I was back in the school days. Obviously, for us mamas, our bodies go through some changes after having our beautiful babies. I embrace those too. I have two gorgeous girls and I am not a teenager anymore; my body has aged and I am thankful to be here aging and living life fully. So embrace your flaws; it is what makes you, you! 

MOTIVATION: Every day I tell myself that I am worth it. I am worth being on the list of priorities in my day. If I don't take care of myself, who will? I am worth it and knowing this always gives me that dose of motivation in the morning and throughout the day. I am worth the goals I have set; I am worth the extra steps in a day to be a healthy mama and woman. My girls would be the first to probably tell you that mama is always happier and more energetic after a workout! 

It is a million baby steps day in, day out.  A million choices throughout the day. As long as you don't quit, you will find your momentum and move forward. Find the joy in your workouts - it isn't punishment. I view my workouts as a gift: it is a time where I can let go of the weight on my shoulders, I can lose control of my body or mind, I can get lost in the pain, I can enjoy the success, I can praise myself for my progress since the last workout, I can let go of what is on my mind, I can get lost in the music. When I am done, like this morning, I feel energetic, I feel like there is a little less weight on my shoulders, I feel proud, I ride that after workout high, I praise Him for giving me a body that can do this and a spirit that can push hard, I enjoy my clear mind, I smile and I hug my girls as they ask how my workout went, if my knee hurt, if I went as far as I had hoped, if I am still on track with my goals for the month. I know that workout just kept me on track with the woman I want to be as I am now ready to tackle the mile long "to do list" that is written for the weekend.

Until Next Time~

*krisha*