More than Just Exercise
Do you feel like you are back to square one; stressed, unmotivated and not achieving your goals?
Do you feel guilty when you miss an exercise session?
It’s so easy for the days and weeks to pass us by even though we made promises to ourselves that this was going to be our year, our time to find that balance between work, health and family. Being healthy isn’t all about hours in the gym slogging away on cardio equipment and restrictive eating. Stress management, quality sleep, smart nutrition, time for yourself and maintaining happiness are equally important if you want a healthy lifestyle.
Getting your exercise done is important don’t get us wrong, but for that work to pay off in the long run you need to look at the wider picture. If you’re in the habit of working long days, grabbing food on the run and getting sleep when you can, chances are the work in the gym is not showing the results you expect.
At this point in the year it’s easy to slip back into your old routines. Don’t let this happen.
To get your mojo back try to incorporate a few of these things every week:
Quality Sleep – Your mind and body recover when you are sleeping, try to be asleep by 10pm to allow optimal physical repair – this occurs from 10pm to 2am and you need to be asleep to get it. Psychological repair occurs from 2am to 6am so don’t miss out on that either.
Sustainable Nutrition – There’s lots of information out there about what to eat and what not to eat. Finding the best plan for you can take time and should include these things: lots of green veges, lots of filtered water (at least 2 litres a day), quality protein with every meal and good fats like avocado and fish oil. Limit carbohydrates, sugar and processed foods and you should be on your way. The most important thing is to make your nutrition sustainable for you.
Smart Exercise – Decide how much time you can devote to exercise, and plan your week accordingly. Not everyone can be expected to do cardio for 3 hours everyday. Variety is the key – intervals, circuits, group training. Changing your routine regularly will keep your body guessing and avoid plateaus.
Meditation – It’s not all about incense sticks and sitting for hours cross legged, meditation is simply clearing your mind and focusing on the present. There are great free apps you can download that help you get started, 5 minutes a day is all it takes.
Maintaining Happiness – Anything we want is because we think it will make us happy. Health, money, a loving relationship, material things, accomplishments, a job, or anything at all, the search for happiness is behind it all. Happiness is actually state inside of us, and something on the outside can only bring fleeting happiness, because material things are impermanent. Permanent happiness comes from choosing to be happy. When you choose happiness, then you attract all the happy things as well. The happy things are the icing on the cake, but the cake is happiness.
