Talking Yourself Through Cravings

Today had all the makings of an off-the-rails kind of day.  Instead of going to the gym in the morning, I decided to sleep in.  Took notes at an early morning meeting, and my computer froze up when I got to my desk with no choice but to reboot and lose the work.  “Chocolate, I would love chocolate right now” popped into my head, wondering if I had enough change for Reese’s peanut butter cups.  Shut that thought down by walking away to make a cup of coffee.  Then, cravings for lunch started in during the 1 minute wait as the cup of coffee was brewing. And when I got back to my desk, I started looking at the food delivery menu (even though I had my own healthy lunch in a cooler within arms reach). 

For several minutes, the craving for something gooey and cheesy kept me looking through the menu for what I might order (but let’s face it, I already know that menu by heart).  At that point, I knew it was quite possible that this day would most likely crash and burn if I kept going that way. So I asked myself what would make it better.  Food wasn’t going to do it.  Sugar wasn’t going to do it. I tried a cup of coffee, and that didn’t do it. 

The answer seemed to be a restart.  I thought about what I would have done if I could restart my day, about how I can restart it now.  And it was to get moving - the gym perhaps.  So I looked at my meeting schedule, looked at the clock...I had an hour!  Was that enough?  Maybe not for a full-blown hard workout…but definitely enough to get my body moving and reset.  Done – left a minute later.  Was only able to get 20 mins in, but felt so much better after.

What can you do to reset during cravings?  A quick walk outside. A walk around the office.  Some days it doesn’t have to be anything except to get your body moving.

Late to the Summer Challenge

It's halfway through the summer and I've only been into my gym 6 times.  I realized this when I noticed the Summer Challenge sign-up sheet posted at the gym.  It was something I did last year for the first time and was quite proud of it - 40 days between June and August.  This year!...I'm a little late to the party.

As I made calculations in my head to figure out if it was still possible, more thoughts started streaming in...am I up for the extra challenge...what if I have a lot of things going on...what if other things come up...am I ready for a routine like this...it would be a major daily priority shift....

And then as soon as the word "priority" came across, I knew the answer had to be yes.  So I looked at my calendar and started scheduling in workouts - figuring out how to make it work even on busy days.  Now this probably wouldn't have worked for me last year, but this year - a different mindset.

What's your Summer Challenge?  Big or small.  They're all equal, when the challenge is right for you.

One Week of Insight Narrows Focus

We’ve all heard of the term “journaling.” Whether it’s food or finances, almost every program includes this as a tool for change.  This word can have several connotations associated with it.....it immediately seems long term.....it can seem time intensive and involved.  But you don’t need to do it forever to gain some valuable insight.  You can learn where your current focus needs to be, within a very short period of time.

I've never been able to do it for more than a couple days....and I can count on one hand how many times I've been able to do it for two weeks straight.  But each time, I was able to build on what I learned from last time.  Sometimes just seeing the same patterns over and over again proved to be big insight.

Let's take a look at eating habits, as an example...

• The First Week – Just write down what the food is (write it on scraps of paper, put it in your phone, just make a note of it somehow)
• Next Time – How much of that food are you eating, and When
• Then – The activity you are doing while eating food (eating out at a restaurant, eating while you are watching TV or reading)
• Then - What is your mood before and after, how does your body feel

Over time, you'll become more aware of what you truly need to focus on.  Because it can be something other than eating more fruits and vegetables.  And it isn't always the obstacle we originally think it is.  The more aware and honest you can be, the more you can see what needs to change.