Episode 67: How To Get Started

In my book “Direction Not Perfection” my goal is to guide you on your journey to a healthier, happier and more fulfilled life. In the first three chapters I attempt to help you find your “why”, “turn away from diet mentality”, and find yourself some accountability. Chapter 4 deals with the question “how do I get started”? “How do I take all of the insight that I have gathered and turn it into positive steps on my journey to better health”? The best way to do that is to set up attainable goals which are also known as SMART goals. This means they are Sustainable, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time oriented. Goals typically fall in one of three categories: food, fitness or behavior. You can choose one main goal and then break it down into several attainable goals. You can also choose a goal in each category. An example of this would be to 1. keep a food log for a few weeks, 2: wear a pedometer and 3: change your beverage habits (increase water or decrease soda). What you choose is up to you. Everyone’s goals will look different.

One person who I interviewed for chapter 4 in my book is my sister-in-law Emily. She joined other friends and family members in the first group challenge that I held several years ago. One of the things that I loved witnessing while we did that family challenge was her self-discovery of her fitness personality. She realized how much she really loved yoga, even hot yoga. Add to that a competitive edge with a challenge and she was in her happy place, eager to work out and check off those boxes saying she did it. We all have fitness personalities and it is much more fun and we feel more committed when we actually like what we are striving for!!

Today I interview Emily again to find out how she is weathering this viral storm and check in on her journey to keep herself and her family healthy. She is blessed to be able to put her substitute teaching job on hold as she homeschools her kids and runs her family while her husband works from their home. In her normal life, as well as during this stay at home time Emily embraces flexibility. She gives herself grace in moments that aren’t going as planned to make things easy, rather than overwhelming.

One key practice that she utilizes is using grab and go items to produce healthy, balanced meals for her family. Fresh made from scratch items might be nice but pre-prepped, frozen or ready to go items are just as healthy. She can pair them with items her grill-master husband has prepared and avoid, often unhealthy, take out.

When I married Emily’s brother Nick, she embraced me as the sister she never had. 20 years later I still feel blessed to call her mine and continue building memories as a family.

Resources:

www.healthaccountabilitycoach.com

www.facebook.com/houselifestyles