My counselor suggested we, my husband and I, make sure we talk more and notice some good things and harder moments of each day. He suggested 3 of each. Well, my husband doesn't talk a whole lot usually and I wasn't talking a lot but we decided to try it out. I quickly learned I didn't like pointing out 3 things that went wrong that day. But I did like recognizing the 3 good things, as well as ONE thing that went wrong. That was partly because seeing the good makes you feel good, and who doesn't like that? And the challenging part of the day often wasn't so bad in hind sight or was something my husband could comment on and help me see in a different light.
Best of all, it got us talking and finding common ground we both shared. He would tell me about a good moment he had with the kids and I could think, "Yeah, I liked that moment too." Then I added it to my mental list of good parts of the day. When something was hard I could think "Yeah, that's hard for me too" or "That's not so bad to me. I guess that's one of my strengths." It was like a team brainstorm of the good stuff that had happened and trouble spots we were both getting through together!
I thought I would apply this to my nutrition and exercise choices this past year, and invite anyone who wants to to add their reflections. My counselor called it 3 Good Things, 3 Bad Things, but since I like the 3 to 1 ratio more and wanted something that rhymed, I'm calling it 3 Happy, 1 Crappy. :)
So here are mine from 2014...
1- I liked that I stopped inhaling all the kids' left overs. I didn't want to waste food and it wasn't usually much. But if I already ate till I was past full, then stuffing more in me wasn't too smart. I am more important than that. I deserve to reach my goals and feel healthy. Now I make the kids deal with their leftovers. They wrap them up and put them in the fridge. If I do nibble on some leftovers at the end it's OCCASIONAL and after a veggie-full meal and just the little bit Sammy didn't touch. MUCH better than all 3 kids' plates AND the serving dish. Seriously...and I wondered why I wasn't losing weight! ;)
2- I am happy that I eat so many more veggies and fruits and nuts and grains. It's really fun to have more variety in my diet and feel in control of it. I like being a good example to my kids. I love how I feel. I know I'm going to have a higher quality of life and probably live longer too. How can that not be HAPPY?!
3- I liked that I made daily exercise do-able! Working out used to feel like this big, long ordeal. Now I know that I can get my heart beat up doing a fast walk while I watch a favorite show. I can do my favorite Pilates and Yoga exercises in 30 mins too. If I don't have time for an intense session, I just do what I can and feel proud of myself for doing something and keeping the habit. I am really proud of that.
My "crappy" memory of last year is that I think LOTS of times I thought I was on track as far as diet or exercising and then I would realize I was WAY off! I would look at the calender and realize "It's been 3 weeks since I've done any sort of exercising." I would think back and realize that through out the weekend I ate the whole box of doughnut holes. Whoops!
So, instead of having the same not-so-good memory for this year...I'm changing things!! Behold, my cute food journal!
It's been really fun to write in the great meals I'm eating and recognize my "cheating" is under control. It's also a reality check when I think I didn't cheat much and then can see I did. ;) I also write down when I wanted to eat something but didn't really need to and decided not to so I can pat myself on the back. BEST of all is that I can look in here to remember recipes I enjoyed!!! I look at this as a resource for growth. Not a chore. At the end of the day I sit down and jot down the day's foods. Easy as that.
For my exercise I actually like to write it on the squares of a hanging calender. I guess I like being able to see the boxes filling up, or maybe the empty row of squares is a clear reminder to get moving! Anyway, I hope this is helpful! I would love to hear about the good choices that helped you on your journey to better health last year, as well as one thing that wasn't so great. It might help me see some more good and also realize I have the same things to work on as someone else...which is great! Because we can work on them together. -Eva
