TODAY'S MISSION: PERSEVERANCE
The 4th of July is my favorite holiday, by far. I love the simplicity of gathering with friends & family, watching the fireworks, drinking cold adult beverages and eating a variety of classic american barbecue treats. As my daughter's boyfriend so bluntly pointed out, as only teenagers can do with grace & humor simultaneously, "What about the DIET??"
I personally detest the word "diet". For me, it conjures up images of sweating bullets at the gym for hours, eating nothing but twigs and bark, and looking with envy over the table at people who are eating real food that tastes good as they actually enjoy their lives.
The last thing you should do if you are interested in having your best body and life ever, is to give up the things you love and turn into someone who has lost all enjoyment for moving, eating, or living. I'm Italian, and in my heritage, nothing is more important than passion for food, for love and for family.
I am far from perfect when it comes to my food vices. However, I have learned the simple art, that all European women seem to have mastered at birth, of enjoying small ecstatic bits of enjoyment out of one or two glorious bites of said forbidden food.
So, last night I enjoyed half of a wholesome home-grilled hamburger with a side of toasted chickpeas & lots of fresh fruit. In one of her many not-so-random acts of kindness, Mother Nature made it so that you can actually eat more when what you're eating is whole and fresh, than you can when your choices are of the processed kind.
To 'cheat' so to speak, I took a few small bites of oreo chocolate cake. I even ate a few potato chips. I know that I've been working hard, my metabolism is burning fast and it was a special occasion that deserved some tasty forbidden treats. Not to mention, once you make the complete switch to eating 'right' everyday, one or two bites of 'junk' is all your tummy will be able to handle!!
Don't beat yourself up if you indulge on special occasions. Be sure to make your meal as healthy and wholesome as possible, as often as possible. When you cheat, make it worth it and only savor a few bites. Please, stop ingesting any fake sugars or chemicals to substitute completely!!. It's only hindering your weight loss efforts and harming your body.
Did you know that 'diet' soda and any other sweet tasting processed food that claims to be sugar free, is made with fake sugar-tasting chemicals that actually trick your brain into thinking that you are hungry!! Ever wonder why meals ingested with your diet soda never leave you satisfied long? I really wish that everyone knew this insane scientific fact & could save themselves countless hours at the gym or starving themselves in the intern trying to make up for all that over-eating!
Today, I invite you to apply this model to your quest to look and feel amazing. Instead of "giving up" anything, choose health and love for your body. Pick fresh, whole foods because you're becoming passionate about eating simple, beautiful and healing things, and get excited to taste a cornucopia of nature's treasures, and to revel in the benefits of increased energy and decreased flab.
TODAY'S HEALTH TIP: LEARN TO BE OKAY WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE
Any level of change is going to have its ups and downs, whether it's with your food, exercise routine, or anything else. But it's holding steady as you persevere through the moments of wanting to quit or to stop and resist thinking of any excuse as to why you can't continue that is the mark of someone who becomes their ultimate self.
Maybe you don't like greens, or your palate has to go through a period of adjustment from processed to whole foods. Some days you forget to eat, and your hormones are driving you straight to the pasta bar. Can you sit in discomfort long enough to look yourself straight in the eye and remember your soul's deepest desire of health and happiness above the siren song of things you know will sabotage your hard work?
Develop the skill of feeling intense sensation, then moving forward anyway in the direction of your integrity.
Whenever you feel like giving up, instead, return to the belief that you are worth 21 days out of your life to give yourself a true opportunity at change--then make your next decision from the Core.
TODAY'S BONUS RECIPE:
Here's a sweet, rewarding treat that's also chock full of goodness. So, if you feel like reverting back to old ways that don't serve you by, let's say, diving deep into that pint of ice cream, reach for this first. I guarantee you will emerge truly satisfied.
Purple Haze Smoothie
1/2 banana ½ cup frozen blueberries
Handful spinach
1/2 cup almond milk plus ¼ cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Tbsp ground flaxseed
1-2 ice cubes
TODAY'S YOGA TIP: PLAY THE EDGE
You have probably noticed this already, but the type of yoga I shared with you in the beginning of this course, the kind that changes your body quickly, is intense. For every 20 minutes you do, it's like doing 40 minutes of many other styles.
That's the reason that my clients who stick with it totally transform their bodies, and the ones who resist working that efficiently--and strongly, get fewer results. I hear from the latter group regularly, and it's always the same mantras: "I don't like being hot", "I don't like feeling uncomfortable," and my favorite: "I'm too tired to do this today."
If you're too tired, take a nap, then move vigorously when you're more refreshed. But it's not going to serve your goals to do this practice halfway, or not at all. If you stay backed off from your edge, in full temporary comfort, you will not trigger your Core Growth Principle, and you will leave the mat not having gotten the full reward from the time you spent there, all because you didn't like the feeling of intensity.
Today, I say, go play at your edge. In every pose, don't push, but press a little farther into what I'm asking you to do. When your mind says "well, that's good enough, time to get the heck out of this pose", stay for three more breaths. Yes, you will feel sensation in your muscles, and your mind, since you're confronting your very human desire to stay comfortable and safe all the time. But playing it safe and never asking more of oneself has been the death of many a dream.
Yogis learn to dance with discomfort, and realize that this is the very feeling that gets them where they want to go. If you have knee issues, or are building strength, for example, you can take a wider or shorter (or both) stance in the standing poses, and put one or both knees down when available. Rest in Child's Pose sometimes or dance around if you can't do a pose. Adapt the practice, but keep it at a level that shifts you. Find a way. After a while, it becomes not uncomfortable, but powerful, as we reframe the meaning, and with it, our perception of what yoga, and life can do for us, if we meet it with courage, offering our full potential to every challenge.
TODAY'S HOMEWORK:
- Today, how can you re-empower yourself to no longer deny yourself, but instead, to choose health--instead of the opposite--every chance you get?
- Make a list of things you can switch from BAD to GOOD
Being a person with integrity armed with perseverance is not easy, but I believe you are that person. Using your visualization technique, imagine a situation where you are faced with poor choices (whether that be a day faced with potentially not moving/pushing your body in some form of exercise or a situation where you are faced with poor eating choices). How do you handle this situation with integrity to yourself and your health? How do you make good choices? Be descriptive.
Begin your journal entry like this...
Surrounded by my temptations, I persevere toward my set goals by.....
TODAY'S POSITIVE AFFIRMATION
"I am a person with integrity armed with perseverance!"
Good Luck with your Day 5
~Stephanie Chasles
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