Give me a few

A few weeks...that is.

Science indicates that it takes your brain and body two weeks to nearly a year to acclimate to "new adventures".  Not everybody is the same when it comes to forming new habits, especially when those habits are replacing old "bad" but beloved ones. What would your adventure be? Well....hmmm... you are the driver of that. Maybe you want to tighten up your nutrition.  Or, maybe it's your tush you wish to tighten.  I am here to encourage you to hang with it for the short (or long haul), just suck it up buttercup. Mind over matter. In short time you will find your body responding to a new norm with less cravings or inklings of falling back into your old, not so wanted, habits. 

This is a challenge, I will admit, but there are ways to navigate through it.  The key seems to be this: repeat, repeat, repeat. Complex actions or behaviors such as exercise may take longer than something as simple as drinking more water would.  Expect setbacks along the way, they will happen. Stop beating yourself up, no one is perfect. We all deserve a break or even a splurge once in a while. Do try to take notice of why your setback occurred and arm yourself with tools to overcome it that next time around. Recruit your friends for help, a support system is essential in any behavior change. Tell others your plan so they can help hold you to "it" in those times when you need it the most.

One of the tricks I use to tighten my nutrition is drinking plenty of water all day long.  Water is essential to, well, every bodily function I can think of.  It is great for your skin, hair, heart (circulation), kidneys, liver, brain to name just a few.  Drink, drink, drink.  Find a way to make this work.  Give up your soda for 2 weeks....and drink good ole H2O.  Also, eating a small handful of nuts or a spoonful of nut butter is another trick that works for me when cravings hit.  Man she is nuts. Ha, well yep, I admit it.  There.  I am talking about good old fashioned nuts such as raw almonds and walnuts.  Nuts are a good fat source, in moderation, that can be extremely helpful to you as you tough it through a starvation mode.

Metabolism shifts happen and eating every 3 hours or so can be quite an effort...so make it easy on yourself. Get prepared.  Stash healthy snacks such veggies or  small handfuls of nuts in baggies in your vehicle and handbag.  Make sure these are single serving size so you don't gorge when that "I'm starved" mode hits you.  Natural snack bars such as Zing Bars are another great idea to have within reach.  Believe me, hunger hits when you are least expecting it.

Gleefully trekking to the gym? Here's a habit we can all use. This one happens to be one that I have down pat but that is because fitness has been a lifelong activity of mine. I have been a sports enthusiast of sorts as long as I can remember.  If you prefer sinking into your couch instead of  schlepping your body to the gym studies indicate you are in for a longer turnover period before this becomes a habit. Just know that and prepare for it. These studies indicate changing complex behaviors takes one and half times longer to accomplish.  Whew..that could be bad. The key here could be a buddy system and mixing up your fitness activities, not just sticking to the same activity day in and out. BoRINg.  Even I would rather poke a hot stick in my eyeball than do the same thing everyday at the gym.  Variety is the spice of life.

So September is upon us. The season of change. I purpose we all get busy and change up the bad habits we have for some good.  Are you in??

Be Well