Happy 4th of July, America!!!
I hope you are having a blessed holiday weekend, whether with friends and family or solo! Being with yourself shall be an amazing experience. You’re awesome. Lucky you and everyone else around you.
I started the day leading an online fitness session to husband and wife who have work working out from their homes with me twice a week since the beginning of the pandemic. Last weekend, they headed out to a friend’s beach for a week. Planning in advance, they brought their tube and loop bands with them for the workouts. Yes, you heard me right. and her family. This week while they are on vacation, we trained three times with including today, yes. Their friend joined our sessions too and fun we all had. I LOVE it. Their attitude and commitment to health and fitness feed me energy and vice-versa. It’s a WIN-WIN.
After leading this online session with them, a friend and I got a great workout together. We have been working out once a week together at my studio and we focus on getting long (=mentally challenging) routines together. The workout was 40+ minutes long and felt awesome to be done with it. We left piles of sweat on the floor!!! If you would like to learn more about and see the live video I did to demonstrate the movements, CLICK HERE.
July 2nd: Anniversary and Choices
I thought I would share a little video and words I recorded a couple of days ago, on July 2nd. I left the house with the intention to go for a 6-mile run to celebrate my 24th years of living in Atlanta, GA and the USA. When I run, either I listen to a book or music. At times, a book gets me super excited and turns on my creative juice.
I got some pumped up while listening to the audible that I stopped around mile 3 to do a live video.
Choices: Metabolism, Weight Loss, and Wellness
I love talking about choices. That is because I’ve learned over the years how powerful choices are when exercised.
If you would like to listen to the video, click below. Or continue to read and enjoy a little more content than that discussed in the video.
So how can my choices affect our wellness? Quite a lot.
It reminds me of the story of a former client of mine. She was going through my blood sugar program at the time. She was doing great. She was in her way to reverse her pre-diabetes, just like I had done, by following the guidelines of my blood sugar and insulin resistance program.
I remember one day she showed up and she said: “Maria I screwed up”. I replied “What do you mean? How did you screw up?”
“I eat pretzels”, she said. Okay, I replied. She continues, “Maria, the thing is I don’t even like pretzels that much.”. So, why did you eat pretzels?, I replied a little puzzled.
She said, “I don’t know.” She was super disappointed with herself.
I asked several questions and she continues to say, I don’t know. I kept diving deeper, forcing her to get her own answers.
At some point, I said, actually, you chose to go to the pretzel aisle. “No, I didn’t” she replied.
I replied, yes you did. In order for you to get to the aisle of pretzels you actually have to go to the supermarket and go to aisles of junk food. And I am sure that you read the nutritional label (as I had taught her how to read nutritional labels). She said, “Yes, I did. ”
She had been so proud of herself for improving her nutrition, lowering her cravings, losing weight, and being in control of her health. She knew how much empty carbs such as pretzels could raise blood her sugar and turn on her cravings engine.
“So, what made you choose to buy and eat it?”, I asked again.
I’m not condemning pretzels. The fact is that she had been very dedicated to her transformation and knew the negative side effects simple carbs had on her blood sugar. As a coach, it was clear to me that issue was beyond the food choice which is often the case. My goal was to help her figure out WHY she made that decision and release the guilt.
Finally, we got to the bottom of it. She was bored. She was not bored with the meals she was preparing and eating. She was bored with life. She was lacking contentment now that she was retired. She was not serving anybody anymore. In the corporate world, we have a structure and serve each other all day.
So, she and I brainstormed ideas of activities that she could do that would allow her to add value to others again. Small things like this have the power to transform lives–in this case, it released stress and anxiety so she could focus on her journey again. Transformation happens when we are vulnerable to open up, to give and receive, learn and take action.
What Choices Do You Make When Bored?
Many people I’ve worked with are bored. They eat and drink more because they’re bored and they’re lacking purpose. Ultimately, they are not aware how their choicesare impacting their health.
Trust me, I’ve been there and done that.
So about weight loss, building the body that you want, reclaiming mental clarity, and feeling good. It’s about choices. We might not have control of options that are given to us, but we do have the choice to do something about the options presented to us.
That’s my message for you today…
If there is something in your health/wellness and fitness that you’re not happy about it, maybe it’s a habit that’s not serving you well, or a habit that you really want to start that you know it’s going to improve the quality of your life, I want you to think about choices you have.
You and I have choices. We choose to go to another non-value-add meeting. We choose to answer the phone when it’d be best not to. We choose to go to a bar and drink. We choose to eat unhealthy foods. We choose to be around people who may be zapping our energy. You get the point.
Let’s become better CHOOSERS–is that a word? I am afraid it is not. Darn foreigners!!!
Choose activities, people, and environments that serve you well and are aligned with your values and goals.
I invite you to choose to stay in touch with me by choosing to receive inspiring and provocative love notes and strategies about ways to become the best version of yourself.
Last month, June, I focused on habits building. My tribe had the chance to download the wonderful Habits Guide. July is about metabolism. I will be leading a 5-Day Metabolism Challenge.
Your Metabolism
Going back to choices…
We have the ability to choose activities and actions that will increase our metabolism. Of course, there are things outside our control like genetics and gender. However, the focus is on what we have control.
What choices do we have control when it comes to our metabolism?
- Choices related to our fitness/exercise, especially strength training, high-intensity training–most people can do them, it’s just a different level and activities that will get them to achieve a level of intensity.
- Choices related to foods we eat and staying hydrated…I mean H2O.
- Choices related to managing stress and even view stress from different lenses.
- Choices related to sleep (quantity and quality).
All these lifestyle choices impact our metabolism and ultimately our aging, weight, hormones, neurotransmitters, and overall quality of life.
Here is another example.
Actually, the same client I mentioned earlier. I was on the phone with her during our between sessions accountability check-ins. She mentioned how stressed she was because the way her morning started. A phone call with a credit card company had ruined her day. I asked whether she had to answer the phone call early that morning or could have chosen to call them back later.
She said she didn’t have to answer it that morning but…she did and ruined her day. She was expecting the call to be unpleasant. However, she wasn’t thinking of the trade-offs.
Have you chosen to do things with high probability to ruining your day? And like this client, you knew you have avoided or postponed until you were ready to deal with it?
I know I have had done that many many times. I am here to tell you that you can do better. It takes practice and you CAN DO it just like I do.
When we become in tune with the body, more awareness of triggers, and become an advocate for taking charge of our overall wellness, we are OK making the necessary trade-offs so you are in better control of situations instead of reacting impulsively or robotically (do it just because…).
When you work with a coach, someone who sees you from the outside in and offers you an opportunity to evaluate how you are reacting to life stressors and whether your actions are aligned with your values and goals, you will make progress faster.
CHOOSE! and when it comes to stress, stress is devastating for our metabolism, weight management, digestion (impacting our ability to break down foods). Stress wreaks our steroid hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone and I can go on and on. Yet, not all stress is negative. There are loads of good with it.
I would love for you to reflect and embrace your power of choice.
You have options and choices. Do your best to focus on options and choices that will empower you.
In addition, I encourage you to look deep and ask yourself if you are taking ownership of your choices. It is true that sometimes your choices can take you back a few steps. The great news is that you also have the choice to change the direction of most situations quickly. You can exercise that option RIGHT NOW!
Just like today, I chose to celebrate my 24-anniversary in America by going for our long run instead of going out for an adult beverage or eat sweats or foods that taste yummy but don’t serve me well. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a sangria or a margarita once in a while!
If this message touched you in a way that inspires you to choose to do something better, drop me a line at info@BeFabBeYou.com or call me at 770-835-5490 or make a comment on my Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/befabbeyouwellness
Cheers To A Healthy You,
