Buy Walking VideosThe Healthy Living Cycle
I found this image and it really helped me.
It reads:
The Healthy Living Cycle: Positive Thinking leads to Feeling Good, which leads to Regular Exercise, which leads to Eating Better, which leads to Positive Thinking.
I love this image because it reminds me of how to get back on track if I am having trouble. I can get back to a healthy life just by jumping into the cycle at any point. I don’t need to immediately limit my food choices or pound my body on the treadmill. All I have to do is jump into the cycle.
Let’s say my eating has gotten out of control. In order to get it back in check, I could do any of the following things:
- Write positive things in my journal
- Meditate
- Take a walk around the neighborhood
- Lift some weights
- Talk to a good friend who makes me feel better about myself
- Watch an inspiring movie
If you notice, none of those things involve anything to do with food, but doing enough of them will get my eating back in control.
If I’m just not willing to exercise, I could do any of the following things:
- Limit my calories to account for no exercise that day
- Change my diet plan to include more filling foods like protein and veggies.
- Write in my journal
- Meditate on all the good in my life
- Call someone who loves me
- Read a book that makes me feel better
Whatever your problem is, all you have to do is jump into that cycle at ANY point to solve the problem. So many times, I try to fix my eating by monitoring my eating or limiting my food choices. That actually makes things WORSE for me. Instead, I’m going to focus on other portions of the Healthy Living Cycle and they will lead to better food choices naturally.
The next time you feel discouraged, take a look at this cycle. Find out where you are having troubles and jump into the cycle at a DIFFERENT point to make things better. You’ll find that your problems don’t feel like that big of a problem anymore.
Previous: Junk Food Confessions from Jenna Marbles
Next: Lace ‘Em Up