Sustainability

The other day, I ran into an acquaintance at the convenience store.  We were near the checkouts....I was in line to pay for gasoline and he was hungrily eyeballing the shelf of pre-made crispie bars, rolls, cookies, etc.  "Hey, ___ (name withheld), how are you?" I said.  "Hungry!" he replied.  "I lost ten pounds in the past few weeks.  It wasn't fun.  I am glad for the weight loss, but the things I had to give up to get there I just can't give up anymore.  I can't do that.  I'm here to get something for myself....I have to have it."  

My reply to him was, "That's too bad that it was such a tough experience.  It shouldn't be that hard."  I wished him well and walked out, but not before noticing that he had a gigantic box of cookies in his hands.  

Clearly whatever this gentleman was doing was not sustainable.  He made it two weeks with some results, but caved and dove head first into a box of something that will get him back to square one in no time.  I meant it when I said that change doesn't have to be so hard and it doesn't have to be scary.  It can even be fun....when you see results that you can hold long term....when you show yourself that you CAN do it.

Yo-yo dieting usually stems from too many changes too fast or trying to change a habit that you just aren't ready to tackle yet.  That is not something that will last.  Then- you have to start all over again.  How frustrating!   When I work with my clients on nutrition, we choose ONE habit at a time.  A habit that they are ready to work on and can do every day for a certain amount of time so that it becomes natural.  When they conquer that habit, they work on a new habit.  That seems do-able, right?

You choose- extreme changes and yo-yoing or small changes and sustainable success. Does food control you or do You control food?

This is 40

So, today, I turned 40.  It's still sinking in.....I don't feel any different, but all day I've been thinking, "Huh.  I'm in a new decade!  Where did my 30s go?"  My 30s were a time of having babies and raising them.  A lot of it was a time where I wasn't happy with myself.  Frankly, I didn't take care of myself because I took care of everyone else.  Today, this mid-life point made me both reflect on the past AND look into the future.  I mean, what do I want 40 to look like?

What I always thought 40 would be: ("always" meaning my teenage years until mid-thirties)

-doomed to elastic "mom jeans" 

-frumpiness

-the end of youth

-depressing

-immediate weight gain and the end of my metabolism

-wrinkles and creakiness

-the start of a mid-life crisis

-just a list of negative things in general

What 40 is actually going to be:

-full of potential not only personally, but professionally

-learning to be even more comfortable in my own skin

-youth in my mind, body, and spirit

-a desire to learn more about a whole lot of things!

-enjoyment in my kids becoming evermore independent and awesome

-prosperity

-an opportunity to be generous and inspirational

-a year to connect to others in new ways

-I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and do things that I haven't tried or accomplished before

-some of the best times of my life

Sure, there are gray hairs and fine lines, but I'm embracing it.  If someone mistakes me for a 31 year old, that's even better!  (That did happen recently!) Age is just a number, it's not who I am.  

Woo hoo, 40!!!  Bring it on!