DON'T Clear Your Plate

Were you taught as a child to clear your plate at every meal? It is a very common thing! And probably one of the worst things for our health that our society has taught us.

Does that seem weird? Like, how on earth could it be bad to finish your plate?

Let me explain.

When we are taught that it is a MUST to clear our plates at our meals, we learn not to listen to our bodies. Instead, we're taught that our PLATE should dictate how much we eat, not our bodies.

So, I'm giving you a challenge for this week!!!

If you happen to be reading this when I posted it on Thanksgiving week, or around a holiday, don't worry about it on that holiday! If you want to do it on then, it'll help with not overeating and feeling really gross, but I don't want you to stress about your food on special occasions.

Your challenge is to leave a couple bites or so ON your plate at the end of your meal. Note - this is not meant as an excuse not to finish your veggies. Finish those!

But leave a couple bites of your favorite part of the meal. For instance, if you have chicken and mashed potatoes with veggies, finish those veggies and leave a bit of mashed potatoes and chicken on your plate.

What this will do for you...

💫 It'll make you think twice before going back for seconds. Why would you need them if you didn't even finish your first helping. Right? 💫 It'll help you increase your self-control. If you purposefully left food on your plate, you're less likely to give into munching on the other foods on the table if you're still sitting there chatting. 💫With only leaving a couple bites on your plate, you may actually realize you feel satisfied with what you've already eaten and not feel the need to go find more.

Those empty plates can play some interesting tricks on our minds.

Let's make those tricks stop and take control of our appetites. You in?

Leave me a comment if you're committed to this challenge this week! I would also love to hear about your experience with it! Send me a message and tell me how it helps you out!

Motivation OR Momentum?

Have you ever wondered how on earth to get motivated to actually work on your fitness goals? It’s a concern I hear from a lot of people! So, you’re in good company.

So, here’s the problem. Motivation is like that friend who is always there for the party, but the moment you actually need her, she has disappeared, nowhere to be found! Totally not dependable, but she’s so much fun, and we feel so awesome when she’s around, so we constantly search for her.

We look and look and look and look. But she’s never there unless there’s a party.

Do you ever feel like that? I know I do!

So, let’s let her come and go as she pleases. Take advantage of her energy when she’s around. But when she leaves, let’s just let her go and keep on going with our buddy momentum.

Momentum likes to hang around when we’ve started working on a goal. She is dependable. As long as you keep going - even just a little bit - she will be there to help you keep going the direction you want to go.

In my Simply Fit MBO online fitness group, we work on building momentum so we don’t have to rely on Motivation. As much as we love her, she’s just not that supportive of a friend.

So, the next time you want to get started on a goal, commit to taking just 1 step forward. Whether that means exercising for 5 minutes each day and you can quit if you want after that 5 minutes. Or whether that means changing up breakfast from a cinnamon roll to some toast and eggs. Or whether that means drinking a cup of water BEFORE your normal thirst quencher. You get to choose. 1 small thing. Do it daily. That will take you to your goals much faster than waiting for motivation ever will.

Would you like to know more about my Simply Fit MBO online fitness support group? Send me a message or, if you already know you're ready to jump in, fill out my form and I'll get in touch with you soon!

3 Weeks to Transformation!!!

Can it be true? Can you really have an amazing transformation in just 3 weeks?

My answer is absolutely yes! The question is, what transformation will you really see in those three weeks?

Physical Transformation is Only a Part

Now, I don't know about you, but when I'm trying to lose weight or get in shape, I want to start to see results pretty quick. Not that I expect to reach my goal weight in just a few days or anything like that, but when I start to see progress - measurable progress - it really helps me to stay on track longer so I can actually reach some amazing health and fitness goals. Are you with me on this one?

But how many times have we all started that 3-week program, maybe even finished it, only to return to old habits within the next month? Those kinds of transformation results are fleeting and unfulfilling.

The type of transformation I am talking about here is actually a little deeper. It can take less than 3 weeks, even! But it needs consistent effort to take hold.

In these photos I'm sharing here, you can see my physical transformation from finishing a program called 21 Day Fix back in early 2016. It was the first time I had finished a program that I recall. I'd gotten close with others, but never had I ever really finished one with such excitement that I had to share it with the world. Until this workout.

How did this program change it all for me?

First, I had a support system set up, so I was able to rely on the excitement of others when it was tougher for me to put the effort into it. We ALL lag on motivation at times, so we tend to do a lot better when we have a support group to work with.

Also, it was only 30 minutes a day for 3 weeks. It was DOABLE! That made it short enough for me to finish before I got distracted. Plus, it was a total solution plan, so I had my workouts, a simple nutrition plan that I was actually able to stick to... which, if you know me, you know that was an accomplishment in and of itself. And it had a shake that provided me with the nutrition and energy I really needed.

All of that working together helped me reach my physical transformation you see here. And it really was so cool to see!

Shift of Perspectives

But the deeper transformation I'm talking about here was actually a shift in how I viewed myself. This shift has allowed me to continue on this path to a healthy lifestyle for 6 years now.

When I finished this program, I BECAME that girl who finishes workout programs. And that realization has stuck with me to this day! Since then, I have only not finished 1 program. And that was because it had a lot of jumping and was causing my IT band some serious discomfort.

And maybe I didn't finish the program I was in the middle of when I had my 6th baby? That's likely, but we won't worry about that, because, you know - baby.

When I started to see myself as the girl who works out every day and the girl who commits to a program and finishes it, it made getting up every morning to workout just a given. Even though it's tough to climb out of bed at 5 AM most mornings, it's so much easier to do since it's so engrained in my habits now.

Recently, I started listening to a book on Audible called "Atomic Habits." This book is amazing so far! It talks about BECOMING the person you need to be in order to reach your goals instead of pushing through, tooth and nail, to reach a goal only to give up your positive habits you're building because you didn't enjoy it in the first place. When those habits that will get you to your goal are just a part of who you ARE, you'll reach your goals without feeling like you're sacrificing everything to do it. And the thing is, it's really just a little tweak in the way you think of things each day. SIMPLE!

Daily Affirmations for a Reminder

So now that I've realized this is what it takes to reach my goals, I've started to remind myself each morning that I love to choose healthier options with my food because it makes me feel amazing! AND I also remind myself that I enjoy eating fruits and veggies every day because that's just part of who I am now. (It totally works, I promise you!)

Take your journey to the next level

If you are struggling with becoming consistent enough with your fitness and nutrition goals to be able to achieve the results you want, be sure to reach out to me. Let's chat about options to work with me to get you on a path to your goals to get in shape and feel great in a way that doesn't feel like pulling teeth. Click on the link in my blog header to "Get Started Now," fill out the form, and I'll be in touch so we can develop a plan that will work for you!