Rewards!

Ok, so I told you I would explain this cute little coloring page!

I just found this on google and loved it! For every 30 minutes of intentional exercise I get to color in a little section. (this is an old picture, don't worry! more spots are colored in!) I also wrote down some reasons why I want to do this.

Then once the picture is all filled with color, I can go reward myself!

Surprisingly, this has kept me more motivated than I thought it would!

A couple of nights ago I had an opportunity to go the a blogger mixer at Down East Basics here in St George. I have honestly never been to one before and felt a bit inadequate because I haven't really tried to branch out much on this blog! But it gave me a lot of great ideas and made me feel more motivated to keep up with it!

We walked around and snapped pictures of things we thought were cute, and tried on some clothes. Speaking of motivation.. if you need some, just go clothes shopping. Lol. Works for me! Anyway, I saw this cute swimsuit there and thought it might be a good reward! I need a new one real bad!

ok so lets talk about rewards here for a second.

why do we really need to reward ourselves? for me, motivation! what are some good rewards?

I learned in my nutrition class (and darn it I still remember!) that you should NEVER reward yourself with food. You'd think that after a good successful eating healthy, hardcore workout day you DESERVE that ice cream right? Can you have it? Sure you can. I like to think that you don't need to deprive yourself of anything, just make sure you stay within your calories goal! :) But why can't it be a reward? Well, it is a little counterproductive. You associate success with food. You don't want to do that. Growing up, I associated (and still do.. grr) food with emotion. Feel sad? Have some chocolate! Stressed out? Eat some ice cream! Bored? Eat potato chips. Had a fantastic day? Eat a cookie! Yeah.

 

So what are some good rewards?

Here are a few ideas: New workout playlist, new nail polish, get a massage, get some jeans, new shoes, jewelry, a trip to the beach, swimsuit, new workout clothes, find a fitness gadget that will help (like FitBit, or a heart rate moniter or step counter, etc), perfume, haircut, new make-up, etc.

 

Other rewards that don't include spending money: have a YOU day doing what you love (reading, writing, laying out outside, painting, biking, etc.), have a manicure party with your girlfriends and make them all bring their favorite nail polish (pamper each other!), make your husband give you a massage :), go on a hike, explore an art gallery in the area, window shop.. they kind of sound like things you could do any day, so try to find new things to do around town for variety! :)

Hiking at Red Cliffs

Something I have been thinking about lately is how being healthy shouldn't be a fleeting moment for a few weeks of your life. Change is hard. It requires discipline and willpower. It requires sacrifice. It requires persistence and courage! Have you ever noticed that? Not just for health and fitness, but life in general. Usually when you strive to become better, it always involves changing your habits. It is always challenging.

BUT that doesn't mean it has to be boring, monotonous, or miserable! I always say if you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong! Do activities you enjoy! Dance, run, bike, hike, box, weight lift, walk, garden, clean, redecorate, do yoga, play outside with your kids, go to the park, window shop (and try not to spend money! haha), swim, ski, snowboard, basketball, soccer, volleyball, wake board, skim board, paint, build something. There are SO many things you can do to become more active. Working out doesn't always have to be a hard core run and a couple hours at the gym.

Since this is a lifestyle change, you need to find things you love to do in order for it to last. This past weekend was my birthday and the weather was a perfect 70 degrees! I wish it could just stay that temperature forever! Something I love to do is hike. I've already mentioned this, but let mention it again. I LOVE nature. There is something about it that rejuvenates me! So we went for a hike out at Red Cliffs in southern Utah. It was beautiful! It is a pretty short and simple hike, which is good but it also has a few little challenges to make you stretch a bit! :)

I left this place feeling so good! If you live in Southern Utah, or visit here there are a lot of trails to go on! Click here for a link of different trails to explore! 

Now go outside and get some fresh air!

new found loves.

Uhm wow. It has been two months since I posted already? Looks like I have been a slacker on my blogging. But here is osme good news! I have spent more time outside exercising, and more time trying to cook healthy! :) So here's the update:

 

My new found love: biking. I always enjoyed spin class, but since the gym is across town now, I went and got my bike and I have been riding 2 times a week. Being outside with the wind in my hair and sunshine on my face has been sooo refreshing! The other day I was out on a bike trail and there was NO ONE else around. And it was a good thing they weren't. Because I sang. On the top of my lungs. It was so liberating! And let me tell you, it made my workout like 30 times more fun!

 

 Another new found activity that I love/hate: stadium stairs and walking/jogging the track. I love it because I KNOW it is working based on the fact that my legs feel like jello when I get to the top. every time. I love getting to the top too because I have a great view of St George. The LDS temple is right down the street, which is a great reminder of the spiritual side of things. My only fear is coming back down because I feel like I might collapse! And I hate it, well because it sucks and it hurts and it is hard.

New found love #3: Bountiful Baskets. I get so much good produce for such a good price. It gives me a variety, and I get excited every saturday to see what I get. My favorites so far: asparagus, purple/yellow tomatoes, strawberries, and pineapple. Not so much: radishes and cabbage.
It has also made us spend less on groceries! The beaskets are $15 for 50/50% fruits and veggies. Sometimes I will get some extra veggie packs or a box of fruit. So good.



As far as results go, I haven't weighed myself in about a month. To be honest, I sorta don't want to. I haven't seen results or maybe I haven't done enough to get any yet but I will say that I have made a bigger effort these past few weeks. Numbers get me discouraged too easily. So instead, atleast here at first I am just going to keep doing what I am doing until it becomes habit. Maybe in another month or two I will check in on my weight.

Something I did start, that has been surprisingly motivating is printing out an adult coloring page. (I'll have to show you the one I chose later, its not on this computer.) But everytime I do a 30 min workout, I can color in a little section! So kid-ish, but hey it makes me want to go workout! When I get it all colored, then I can go reward myself.

One other thing I have started with my family (lots of starting new things here! its good!) is an 8 week WELLNESS challenge with a point system. At first it was just going to be for health/weightloss but then we decided to add in some spiritual things. Each of us who wanted to participate threw in 25 dollars and whoever has the most points at the end of 8 weeks gets the pot of money. It has helped me alot too! Maybe its a little sad that I have to have some sort of reward in order to keep me motivated doing things I should ALREADY be doing, lol but atleast I am doing them now. Even if I don't win, I feel better. I'll give more details on that soon too! :)

me and my husband. :) he makes me happy

So yeah, I feel pretty good about the progress I am making, even if I am not seeing any "physical" changes yet. I sure feel mental and spiritual changes, and it feels so good!