The past few years I have struggled to create a healthy lifestyle, despite a desire running so deep I should have hit oil by now. But it’s time to get off the pot and take ownership of this situation I am in. Stop making excuses and be responsible for the positive change I need. That my family needs. I suppose it is apropos that it is the start of a new year. Although I have never really made a resolution designed to kick in on January 1st, it does make sense. Get a fresh start, with a clean slate, right?
Making this big change requires a lot more than just the decision to do it though, so now comes the fun part. I need to get motivated. I need something to inspire me, something to make me take notice of these goals. I am open to any and all suggestions you may have, but I do have a couple up my sleeve. Maybe I should share what my particular challenges are first though because I think that when someone tells you they want to “get healthy” the general consensus is that person wants to lose weight, right? While that is a great goal and certainly one of mine, it is not always the main reason why someone wants to improve their health.
My situation, while not unique, is still not one I imagined I’d ever be in. For many years I have struggled with hip pain. I have gone to physical therapy hundreds of times. I have taken aquafit type classes to ease the joint pain when I exercise. Pain medication is a must, even though it doesn’t do much. With each pregnancy and subsequent cesarean section my able-bodiedness has become less of a sure thing. And it sucks. The pain continues to increase and my mobility has decreased. Despite all of my good intentions, it is just plain difficult to move even when doing “normal” things like putting on my shoes.
When pain is your constant companion it can make just getting up in the morning a real challenge. Things you always took for granted are soon so difficult that you stop doing them. Things like taking a shower or washing the dishes. It can make you put everything else on the back burner. It can take every ounce of desire you ever had and stomp it into the ground.
What is my motivation for improving my health? It is to be able to walk without needing a mobility device. To stand up and cheer on my kiddos as they play soccer, without needing to sit down the whole time. It is to be able to dance when my favourite song comes on like I used to be able to do. It is to be able to take a shower, every day, without giving it a second thought. It is to be able to start each day with a great attitude, full of energy and eagerness.
The good news is I have a game plan! It is a work in progress, but any move forward is a good thing. This plan may not work for anyone but me, but I think it is worth sharing. One of the cool things that has happened to me in the past little bit is that I have been given an opportunity to try something new, something that has already helped me gain back some of that energy and joie de vivre. That something is Bulletproof Coffee. Yup, a cup of coffee. A one week challenge back in December showed me that this stuff has the ability to help me make some changes in my life, for the better. I believe in it so much I asked for a hand held blender for Christmas to make mixing the magic a little easier. 🙂
Then there is the 28 Day Whole Life Fitness Manifesto by Dai Manuel to try out. This challenge is not something I can commit to completely – yet. But maybe you can? Check it out and see what Dai has in store for you. Surely we can all find 30 minutes a day to give to ourselves as a gift. 🙂
The whole eating better/getting exercise bit is a necessity that my family and I are committing to as a team, a unit. We all enjoy the water and since my joints can’t take a lot just yet, that is where I will be. Water aerobics is a great way to ease back into a workout without hurting yourself and lets you enjoy it at the same time. One area where my family and I do not need much help is drinking. Water, that is. 🙂 We all enjoy it and have no problem getting in 8 to 10 glasses each day. It is often more, so that is a bonus.
I think one of the biggest adjustments will be cutting down on our screen time. Yes, that even means me. 🙂 Whether it is a smart phone, tablet, TV or laptop, we all have too many screens stuck in our face. This definitely has a negative affect on giving ourselves the gift of 30 minutes a day, so that too will need a make-over. I am thinking timers are the way to go. What do you think?
The challenges we will face will be interesting and at this stage of the game I don’t want to bet against our success by saying out loud what could cause failure or set backs to happen. I want to believe in our chances of succeeding and winning back our health. I want my kiddos to be the best version of themselves. I want us all to live our optimum lives. I want to become #Bulletproof again. 🙂
How do you get motivated to live your best life? Do you have any great healthy habits you can share with us as our journey begins?
FT&PD
Suz
Disclosure: This post was compensated for by the fine folks at Bulletproof, but all opinions expressed are my own. 🙂
You go girl! Getting rid of my pain is one of my goals too. We can do it! One little step at a time. As long as that little step is intentional. Plus, fresh start can be every day – if you miss a day, fresh start the next. At least that’s how I’m playing this new game of life.
We can do it!
That is a great attitude Carin! I agree that we have to take each day as a fresh start. All too often that is a big derailer for me and I don’t want that to happen again. Here is to us!!
I heard a lot of great things about this coffee
Oh MapleMouseMama, you’re singing to the choir over here in this house.
Everything you said really resonated.
One thing I have found to be SUPER helpful in the last few months was investing in a FitBit.
Any fitness tracker would be fine, not trying to push a brand. But the reason I love mine is the hourly reminders to get up and move. It’s only 250 steps each time, and I know you have mobility issues, but that little buzz on my wrist has made a world of difference. I sync it to my phone and it will track sleep, weight, help you keep track of goals to exercise, water intake, and you can even input your meals. Some fitness trackers are even waterproof to a certain depth, so that would work well with your Aquafit!
Good luck and keep us all in the loop on your journey. You can inspire so many moms! 🙂 xoxo
I’m motivated whenever I feel hopeful. Something really good happened in the health department that has inspired me to take better care of myself.
Wow! Suzanne, you are a good sport! I’m referring to that ‘delightful’ picture of the family on what looks like a roller coaster! LOL “Healthy Eating Secrets”? Well, I just joined WW online, so that probably tells you that I could use a few myself. And, I was going to share a new discovery, then realized your little W has nut allergies. I bought a giant sized bag of walnuts at COSTCO and a handful of them keeps the hunger away when that 3:00pm ‘sleepy time’ comes round. But that won’t work for you. Something else I learned. Remember the WW points plan? Well, a bran muffin is 17 points!!!! 17! If I think of any great secrets I’ll let you know. But drinking all of that water is a great habit that you have. The very best of luck with your journey!
Oh, I meant to ask, what is the secret with this bulletproof coffee? Does it help you to lose weight?
Great job putting it out there! I think that is a wonderful motivator! Like Gemma said we have both joined WW online and could use any and all helpful hints. We will have to encourage one another.
What is this Bulletproof coffee, a wonder drug, lol!!
I have being doing the 28 Day Whole Life Fitness Manifesto by Dai Manuel, well the exercise, although I started alter. They said this will be ongoing. Wonderful. Had to take a day off here and there because well I get a little too sore. This is just the motivation I needed. Loving it! I’d really love to try Bulletproof coffee.
I’ve joined the participaction challenge. There are 150 activities to be done and some prizes to be won. So far I have managed to do 14 of the activities over the past 3 weeks. I’m doing a little bit every day. And I am feeling a little more energized.
I agree with you that January is as good a time as any to start a change. Go us!
Tell us more about this Bulletproof Coffee! I have never heard of it and now I want to Google it. Your story definitely resonates with me. I need to get off my butt and get moving but pain slows me down. But it’s baby steps, right?? Good luck with your new motivation!!!
I started Yoga back in September and i love it i feel stronger and less tried .
I really need to get back into the groove of things but with dealing with hubby’s surgery and what not, I have been doing a lot of stress eating and that is not good at all but I just can’t help myself, I am hoping once all this is done and over with I can get back on track and start looking after myself!!
I have been trying to do more walking especially on my days off work and I certainly feel better when I am more active.
proud of you and wanting to make some different life choices 🙂 I totally have to look into Bulletproof coffee, that sounds cool! I have been on the journey of healthier eating and weight loss for over a year now. I am not one to diet but instead i just make sure I am eating on the healthier side, more home cooked meals instead of fast food, drink lots of water, stay active and eat at a decent time and not too late. I used to be 160 and then doing my changes and working out a few times a week I got down to 140 and then I got off the elliptical in August. I just recently got back on when the New Year kicked in and I am not at 135-137lbs. Our bodies fluctuate so much on a daily, the most important is how you feel about yourself. we make sure that every friday and saturday we have our drinks and late night snacks….like come on its perfectly healthy to throw in a cheat day or you would go nuts 🙂 Enjoy the journey !!
Great, thanks for sharing your commitments. My new healthy habits are sleeping earlier and eating dinner earlier. I get motivated by setting small realistic goals for myself.
My best motivator is to keep moving… I do small tiny work-outs throughout the day; like 30 seconds pushups, 1 minute planking, etc. But my ultimate goal is to keep exploring the world and indulging in my passion for adventure well into my old age.
Best of luck on meeting your goals!
This year we are making changes too. Back in the fall both hubby & I got high cholesterol results and we don’t want to go on meds. So we have made some serious diet changes, so far I have lost 18 pounds. We are trying to make it a lifestyle change.
I never thought about a timer for limiting screen time but that’s a great idea! To have something going off making noise telling you that time is up would work a lot better I think than trying to police the time yourself. I’ve been thinking about limiting my screen time more over the last year so that I can spend the time on better and more productive things and I think you know when it’s time to really make the needed changes in your life.
I’m trying to gain weight. I got down to 78lbs.. we had no idea what was going on. Turns out on top of Emphysema/COPD.. I also have nonbacterium tuberculosis. NON CONTAGIOUS… it’s a cousin of TB, not TB.
My lungs are my enemy at this time, excercising is very little…I’ve finally started to gain once I started treatment, I’m up to 94lbs now!
Go Suzanne! I find that setting small, attainable goals along the way to reaching a larger goal keeps me motivated. Setting one high, big picture target can seem impossible.
I’ve been reading so much about this Bulletproof Coffee (and participated in some of the twitter contests) but I just can’t get past the price. It’s way out of my budget. Healthy is a synonym for expensive. No wonder so many of us struggle with weight. 🙁
In all the hustle of everyday life it’s easy to overlook oneself. Even as a stay at home parent there are days I feel like I don’t stop and yet, nothing seems to really have gotten done. I think it’s important to take sometime to examine our ownselves, set goals and never lose sight of trying to obtain those.
It’s difficult to stop putting every little thing everyone else wants/needs or desires before yourself…. I know at times I’ve felt selfish and for no reason at all… once you stop doing for you…. it’s hard to start again.
Hey there fellow Canadian Mom!!! So great to see another Momma who is into wellness!! I would love to connect with you! Please send me an email so that we can exchange some info. I do low carb high fat for health too., and went totally sugar free last March. I have some resources that you might be interested in.
Thanks!!!
Hi Sue, thanks for reading and for your enthusiasm! You can reach me via my contact page or send an email via rudges2@gmail.com, if you have something you would like to share. Thanks again!
I’m motivated when i wake but pain sometimes knocks me right back down,but the days it don`t i try to be my best and it`s helping
keep at it
I started using an elliptical machine but need to become more regular with it. Also some walking but not regularily either because of the weather.
It truly helps to find the values in your life that motivate you – good for you! I could use some motivation too!!!!!!
I do hope that things are going well for you and that your motivation is still high. You can do it I’m sure. I have to get more exercise, I’ve really been neglecting that but as soon as it gets nicer outside I’ll be out at least for a daily walk. 🙂