We only get one body. Some people may be able to get transplants for body parts that aren’t working, however, in terms of our whole body, we only get one. That leads me to my question, what are you doing to take care of yours?
Recently I have been going to physio appointments for some wrist pain. It is nothing serious but I wanted to get ahead of it before it got worse. A few years ago I also had back pain from having such bad posture, especially when I was sitting. I have since improved my posture greatly, at least while I am at my desk anyways. I do try to be conscious of it other times as well. Where I am going with all of this is that there are many little things to remember. Sometimes too many things to remember and know that it can be over whelming and make us give up on our goals very quickly.
When I am doing my exercises hourly for my wrists I have to have complete focus on that and make sure that I am using proper form and keeping everything else aligned while doing it. This can be really tricky, especially when you feel like you are starting from the beginning of your journey to better health. What I recommend is to make small changes at a time. Pick one to three small things that you can change at a time and work on those. Once you have gotten those down then you can add a few more things.
Although our bodies are tough, they do rely on us to take care of them. I cannot tell you how many times I see people at the gym completing an exercise with awful form or just doing it completely wrong. I can’t stress enough how important it is to complete the exercises properly. If you can’t afford a personal trainer, perhaps you can find a friend who knows what they are doing to show you. Chances are if someone has worked with a personal trainer before they know about proper form and would be willing to show you. I have had to stop myself from saying something to people SO many times. Not only are they using horrible form that will get them hurt, the way they are doing the exercise is completely useless and doing nothing for them. I am really really surprised when trainers at gyms DON’T go up to people and correct them. That is their job! If I was a personal trainer in a gym, I would make sure that people weren’t doing things incorrectly.
Step one:
Know what your final goal is, or the big picture. Maybe it’s to lose weight, or quit smoking. Maybe you want to be able to run a 5K race, or maybe it’s something along the lines of being pain free (or at least significantly less pain). Sometimes we want to be able to do ALL of those things and we expect it to happen right away, then when it doesn’t we give up.
Step two:
Break down your final goal into much smaller increments. If your goal is to lose weight, focus on 5 pounds at a time. If it is to quit smoking count how many cigarettes a day you are having for a week and then aim to have one less a day every day for a week, then the next week take away one more (I have never smoked so I don’t know if this would help, this is just my way of showing you how to break it down). If your goal is to be pain free in a certain area then make small changes to allow that area to heal. Remember – these things take time but they will be worth it. When I speak about pain I am referring to pain that you can control, like for example my wrists. I am doing something that is causing them to be painful, so I need to correct the action.
Step three:
Find support. Find someone, or lots of someone’s who can help you reach your goals. These people will be very important when you struggle, which trust me, you will struggle.
Step four:
Reward yourself along the way. It doesn’t have to be a big reward but something that means something to you. If you are trying to lose weight I strongly suggest that you do not use food to reward yourself. Instead find something that you actually want and enjoy it guilt free when you hit your goal!
October and November were really stressful months for me. I was really busy, I was sick with a lung infection, and a number of other things happened on top of a major bathroom renovation. During that time I still made sure I got to the gym, however, my eating was not the best. The past two weeks have been much better (aside from my hand slipping into my Christmas baking a few too many times) and I have been on a better track with my eating and have really been enjoying my gym workouts. I switched it so that now I go to the gym in the morning all the time instead of switching between morning and after work. There is just something about getting it accomplished in the morning that starts the day off the right way.
Now that December is here, it is usually a very busy time for families as there is a lot of extra items to do. I am really going to try to focus on slowing down and actually enjoying doing the items instead of just rushing through them and crossing them off my list. I am also trying to be very conscious of washing my hands and trying hard not to touch my mouth and eyes to minimize my chances of getting sick (or at least reducing theillness if I do get sick). It is also important that you get enough rest, so for me, since I am up so early, this means going to bed at an early hour. I might not get everything on my to do list done so I will keep my to do lists shorter and then feel great when I accomplish them. Even if it is only a few items each night!
What are you going to do to care for yourself this holiday season??
