Month of BECOMING
DAY 3…What I Ate, How I Exercised, and Nutrition…
I took these screenshots from my personal account on MyFitnessPal.
Month of BECOMING
Month of BECOMING
Month of BECOMING
DAY 2…A Daily Scorecard: 3 Wins and an Opportunity
To keep ourselves motivated, it is crucial that we stay focused on the good. I’m not saying ignore the not-so-good, just don’t let it outshine the positive. Science tells us that in order to achieve continuous motivation, we should use the 3:1 ratio as a standard for behavior management. Simply put, for every one opportunity we identify to better ourselves, we should identify three positives.
When we participate in negative self-talk, we have lower self-worth and feel defeated. This practice releases higher levels of cortisol which fires our fight-or-flight response and halts productivity, we stop. On the other hand, when we use positive self-talk or affirmations, our brain releases oxytocin resulting in feeling good about ourselves and promoting forward movement. In effect, the self-talk we choose to use has both a physical and emotional consequence.
We humans tend to hold on to more negative thoughts, emotions, and experiences than we do the good ones. Flipping the switch on this is imperative if we want to improve ourselves in any way. We can change our thoughts and behaviors when intentionally look for and focus on the good. The 3:1 ratio is great place to start.
Create a daily scorecard for yourself. Every day, write down three things you did well and one opportunity for improvement.
Here’s my scorecard for day one of BECOMING.
3 Wins: 1) I exercised. 2) I had no wine. 3) I was productive.
1 Opportunity: 1) Next time I’m faced with a half-eaten bag of potato chips, I will toss them in the garbage instead of eating them.
Month of BECOMING
DAY 1…Don’t Change, BECOME
Wait, isn’t change, by definition, becoming different? Well, yes, it is, but let me explain my thought process. Often times when we focus on change, we’re focusing on what we don’t want, the negative. On the other hand, if we focus on BECOMING, we pivot our attention to our desired outcome which is usually a better version of our self or situation. So, I’m choosing to BECOME!
If you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with personal development, remaining positive – seeing the silver lining, and creating new normals through life’s transitions. So, this whole becoming thing really isn’t new for me. It’s more of a try, try again situation.
I, like most people, am blaming covid for some weight gain, lack of focus, and increased laziness.
Last March, with the onset of quarantine I started cooking and eating a lot of childhood comfort foods…creamy, cheesy, buttery, carb-laden feasts! Yum! I enjoyed day-drinking like I was on vacation. I also stopped working, put a six-week hold on exercise, and began watching hours of Netflix from my big, comfy couch (wine glass in hand).
Even my return to exercise was not enough to balance out the undesirable habits I was creating amid my social isolation. While my intellectual self knew what I was doing wasn’t a healthy way of life, my desire for comfort during uncertain times easily won the internal tug-of-war. It downright ignored it!
By May, even this introverted girl had enough. I was ready to get back to a routine and ready to see other humans in person. Covid stole my old routine so I had to create a new one. I decided to learn how to play pickleball and created my own local group to play outside, socially distancing of course. I looked for a part time job that would get me out of the house and provide a covid-safe (ish) environment.
July brought the decision to spend time doing more of what I really love. I enrolled in two continuing education courses in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and I’m pursuing my life-long dream of writing a children’s book.
I’ve held steady enjoying the summer months of my newly defined routine which cured the loneliness and laziness. However, healthy eating choices, are mainly eluding me. I love food…and wine…and food…and wine! (Insert big sigh here.)
It’s September first, time to try, try again, time to continue my journey to BECOME who I’m meant to be. Specifically, a less fat version of my physical self.
During this month, I plan to share my journey through my blog (you’re here now!), my Instagram account (@pattyslupecki), and my Facebook business page (so as not to overload my personal feed and annoy my friends).
Follow me, join me, support me, challenge me, learn from me, teach me!
Here’s to BECOMING – Cheers! (with water in my glass, not wine;-)
