So, you have decided it is time to start working on yourself, but you are unsure where to begin, in fact, not only do you not know where to begin, it all seems so overwhelming and daunting. There is so much literature out there that is contradictory, you don’t even know what to believe. One thing I hope you will get from these wellness tips is a solid understanding of what science tells us is true regarding fitness, nutrition and weight loss. I would also like to invite you all to email me suggestions, questions, things YOU want to know related to wellness and I can include them in my wellness tip of the week.
Where to begin – that is the question. I personally think it is always a good thing to have data to work with (yes, I am a scientist). Not everyone will want to do this, but when you have numbers it can be very motivating. What we did with Shannon, is we used a pretty sophisticated method to assess her body composition (percent body fat and the amount of lean tissue she has), but we also took simple girth measurements. We used a measuring tape and recorded the circumference of the waist (the smallest area around, or the level of the belly button), the hips (the largest area around the butt – every woman’s favorite), the right thigh (midway down the upper leg) and the right upper arm (midway between the shoulder and elbow). Taking these measurements provides you with a starting point and as you lose inches it will serve as a motivating factor to keep going. Why not the scale you ask? Well, a scale just tells weight, and it is possible that when you begin to exercise and eat healthier on a regular basis, you will lose some fat mass but also gain muscle mass, so the numbers on the scale may or may not go down, in fact, your weight may increase, which can cause discouragement. What you should pay more attention to (if you don’t have the means of getting a body composition analysis done) is how your clothes feel (are they getting looser).
Another part of starting to take care of yourself is making a concerted plan to carve out time in the day for you. If you are a planner and keep a day timer or calendar with events and appointments, one of those events or appointments should be YOUR time. Don’t think it will just happen, you got to where you are because you have put your own needs behind everyone else’s. It is now time to take some time for you.
A wellness/weight loss plan does not have to be overwhelming. Start slowly and be realistic. Be realistic about how much time in the day and week you have to dedicate to this aspect of taking care of yourself. It always makes me nervous when clients walk into my office and say, I want to start working out 2 hours a day 7 days a week. Then when they start and find they can’t fit that much time in, they quit. For most people with jobs and a family and an otherwise full life, this amount of time dedicated to exercise is unrealistic. Even if it means starting with 20 min, or 10 min, that is a start and you can begin to build on that. But….it HAS to be a priority. Examples of fitting simple forms of exercise into your day, is park several blocks away from an appointment and walk the rest of the way, take the kids in the stroller and walk around your neighborhood. I strongly believe we as parents need to be role models for our kids, when they see that you make activity a priority, they will too.
Please stay tuned for more wellness tips as we move towards a healthier you.
Co-Founder/CEO of HappyHourMom.com, Freelancer, Internet Marketing Consultant, and Social Media lover. Wife to an amazing husband, mom to two beautiful little girls, and follower of Jesus Christ. I am a Happy Hour Mom…are you?
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