Welcome again (and figuring out your "why")

As I said yesterday, I started A Balanced You because I wanted to help people take the hassle out of getting healthy.

Today we’re going to talk about three things:

1. Don’t bite off more than you can chew
2. Figuring out your why, and
3. Keeping track of your journey.

What do I mean by not biting off more than you can chew?

If there’s even a hint of doubt about your overall health make sure you check in with your doctor.

I’m not a doctor and I don’t want to pretend to be one. I highly encourage you to check with your doctor if there are any issues that you are aware of or concerned about before changing your lifestyle.

What I’ll be talking about is based on my experience and it’s a reflection of the research that I’ve done along my journey. It shouldn’t be considered medical advice.

I want the 21-day challenge to work for you.

Everyone is going to come into this with their own goals and objectives but I’d encourage you to spend some time thinking about your why.

Why change what you’re doing?

I’m asking you to figure out your why so that you can use the 21-day challenge to become a healthier version of yourself.

The value of a big why is that it helps make you resilient.

It doesn’t mean that you’re not going to have disappointments or setbacks but it gives you the momentum that you need to keep going.

Your why will let you fade all of the “expert” advice that you’ll get as soon as some people find out that you’re doing Paleo, Primal or Keto.

You know the people that I’m talking about. The ones that are frequently light on facts or research, but never let that get in their way of having strong opinions and an overwhelming need to share those with you.

A strong why lets you smile and thank folks for their opinion and concern and keep moving toward your goals.

It’s about eating in a way that supports your health and tastes delicious. 

Here’s where a strong why is critical. You might stub your toe and eat something that you know isn’t part of the plan.  It happens.  It’s going to be OK.

But for some people that turns into a self-destructive spiral—like a 5-day bender where they wake up with their head in an empty bucket of ice cream.

Do you know what I’m talking about??

It’s like they’re punishing themselves.

A strong why reminds you that you don’t need to spend energy beating yourself up.

You just climb back in the saddle and your next meal is your next step to getting back on track.

Spend some time today thinking about your why. Write it down and put it somewhere that you can see it.

And finally, let’s talk about keeping track of your journey.

Maybe you already keep a journal and if so you can add this to your journal or it may be more practical to keep a separate one.

Now would be a great time to record your starting point.

Weigh yourself, take some before pictures and put this somewhere that it won’t fall into evil hands. Measure your waist at the narrowest part, your hips at their widest part and your chest and record those measurements.

I’d also suggest that you take notes on how you’re feeling. How’s your energy level, how are you sleeping and how resilient are you feeling?

It’s easy to forget what was going on 2 weeks ago and if you take some quick notes it will be easier to track of your progress.

Just to recap – here are your assignments:

Check in with your doc if you have any doubts.

Figure out and own your why.

Record and track your journey.

Again, welcome aboard and enjoy the journey to A Balanced You.