day 47 - unprocess excercise

 

1) Start as soon as possible.

Do what you can with what you have. Just get moving, as often as you can, in any way you can.

• Ask yourself: What can I do right now with what I have? (Your body, your furniture, the outdoors, etc)

go for 15 walks every day

2) Move often.

Look for “Opportunities For Movement” (OFM) in everyday life such as taking the stairs, parking further from the shops, putting in some extra energy into the housework, or busting out a quick dance when no one is watching.

• Ask yourself: How can I move more often throughout the day? (Regular breaks, schedule it into your diary, park far away and walk, take the stairs, walking meetings or dates, etc)

walking meetings

3) Something is always better than nothing.

Focus more on an “always something” approach rather than an “all or nothing” approach. Even 10 minutes of pushups and squats or a brisk walk is better than skipping your workout entirely because you don’t have a full 60 minutes or the energy to go through a whole workout.

• Ask yourself: What can I do today that is at least SOMETHING?

take the stairs a few times extra

4) Focus on moving well.

Learn about how to exercise properly. If you want to make exercise a life-long habit then you need to master good technique before you make things harder and get injured. Get help from a trainer and/or read up on what you’re doing.

• Ask yourself: How can I learn better technique? (Youtube, friends, personal trainers, ask in Sleekgeek, etc)

youtube

5) Use the equipment you have available to you.

Just like how you don’t need a Ferrari to get around town, you don’t need the perfect gym setup or equipment to get a good workout in. Improvise. If you have two working legs and a ground, you can walk. If you have a heavy thing, you have a weight you can lift (even just your body counts).

• Ask yourself: How can I get creative with what’s around me? (Tables, chairs, buckets of water, bags of sand, bags of books, a small adjustable dumbell, etc)

dumbells

6) Make your exercise fit YOU.

Do activities that you enjoy. Choose a form of exercise that you will do often and regularly, something that you will look forward to and is right for your level of fitness. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing or what magazines tell you is trendy. In fact, some of the best bodies around belong to guys who “play” and/or do manual labor for a living — the term “farm boy strong” exists for a reason.

• Ask yourself: What do I enjoy, or what could I see myself eventually enjoying? (Gym, outdoors, walking, running, martial arts, sports, dancing, swimming, etc)

martial arts, gym, forest walks

7) Keep it fun.

Whether you love bowling, ballroom dancing, dodgeball, or competitive cup stacking… just get moving. This is your time to do something good for your body.

• Ask yourself: How can I keep it fun? (Try new things, get friends or family involved, etc)

new things

8) Mix it up.

Exercise doesn’t need to be limited to only running, or only weight lifting, or only hiking. I personally weight lift 4 times a week with regular hikes, runs, and games of squash in between.

• Ask yourself: How can I mix it up? (Stuff you enjoy with stuff you maybe don’t enjoy quite so much or aren’t good at yet, try with new things, change with the seasons, etc).

focus on lifting at gym, do forest walks and take the stairs otherwise

Day 44 - bare minimum

 Ideally - 3 - 5 times a week, hour long session. Cardio and strength, and stretching.

it doesnt have to be perfect. it doesnt have to be all or nothing - I'n struggling with this. 

Right now, bare minimum: 6000-8000 steps, stretching, 3 10-15 mins workouts a week

Day 45 - stretches

 chosen 2 - horizontal squat stretch, sitting stretch

to add in - spiderman stretch, butterfly stretch, 

https://www.healthline.com/health/tight-hips#prevention

Day 42 - fine the awesome - every sunday

 what worked well: doing more regular walks, less take away

What didn't - stress eating, excuses. keep healthier snacks at home, force self for just the small walk at least

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/weekly-meal-prep-infographic 

Day 40 - food journal

 breakfast - smoothie with beetroot, berries, banana, spinach, protein powder. Big portion - bigger than I meant it to be!

animal cookies - 1 small packet, stress eating

biltong - 58g, stress eating

2 marshmellow eggs

sandiwhch - bes tof both bread, tsp mayo, 4 pieces ham, lettuve, onion

half salb choc

pork chop, sweet potatoe

bowl of popcorn

Progress not perfection

 You do not have to be perfect to succeed at this journey….

Let that statement sink in for a second and internalise it. Because it is the truth.

Does that not feel incredible to know? Do you feel liberated? Maybe even excited. Nervous?

AND There you thought if you could not be perfect that you had no chance of succeeding.

Success is not a straight line and struggle is absolutely a definite and necessary part of this journey. You have to expect and embrace failure on this journey.

To succeed at this journey all you need to do is make consistent progress. All you need to do is be 1% better each day.

Success is not a straight line

Take stock of where you are at with 3 weeks of this challenge to go.

 

What percentage are you operating at?

 

Where would you like to be for the rest of the challenge? Maybe you want to crank it up for a short burst?

 

Then start thinking about what you want to target post this challenge?

Consistency

 That is why we like to talk about an ALWAYS SOMETHING approach to health.

How can you always try to make something slightly better.
How can that meal you are eating out in a restaurant be just slightly better?
How can you work in very short workout when you are time pressed instead of doing nothing?
How can you make that snack a little healthier?
You get the picture.

When it comes to consistency at Sleekgeek we like to manage our lives on a 90/10 principle.

90% of the time you are getting things right and 10% of the time is for fun. Sometimes, in reality, this is closer to a 80/20 ….this is fine. 

Excuses

 the more conscious you are of the excuses you make when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, the less it will happen.

10 mins of squats or something instead of full 60 min workout at least

Day 35 - be your own hero

Reframing

Whatever you choose to focus on is your “frame”.

Out of everything that you COULD see, your frame is what you CHOOSE to see.

Reframe problems as opportunities. How can you learn and grow from challenges?

Reframe “negative” qualities as “superpowers”. Just flip the script (perfectionism is attention to detail, being picky is knowing what you like, daydreaming is creativity, etc).

Reframe “I have to…” as “I get to…” (“I have to go to the gym” -> “I get to go to the gym and burn off some stress.”)

Refocusing

Post-it notes with motivations written on them.

Reminders on your phone to help you get stuff done.

A daily or weekly routine to help you re-focus on your goals.

A plan or schedule to follow to help you achieve those goals.

An accountability partner to check in on you and make sure that you’re still on track.

A back-up plan for when things don’t go according to plan.

A way to get quickly back on track and moving forwards again if you slip up.

What do you need to help yourself stay focused?

Resilience

No matter what happens to you, trust that you have the innate ability to survive it and eventually thrive once more.

Be open to the idea that you can learn and change and adapt.

Be open to the idea that you can handle discomfort and even pain.

Be open to the idea that life will never be perfect and you need to keep moving forwards anyways.

Be open to the idea that you’re resilient and stronger than you’ll ever know.

How can you be a bit more resilient and “badass” when facing your challenges?

How can I use the 3 R's?

Reframe - I can't stick to healthy eating. 

I get to practise asking for help by finding an accountability partner, and I get to take back control by setting reminders on my phone. I'm not a perfect being, I need to keep moving forward anyway, because I know I can do it.

I am worthy of being seen

Day 34 - people who are important to me

 - Bethany - teaches me things all the time, creativity is awesome, laughs are great, trust is sacred

- My mum - strength

- Bear - strength

- My Dad - love

- Ant - 

- Philly - support

- Linda - support

- Grandpa hope - wisdom

- Ady - love

- Maureen - love

- Kathleen - love, support, general wonderousness

- Nigel (fuck.) - mind

- Darren - trust, love, connection

Day 33 - choose progress

 a time when something i had plan went differently so I threw it all away.

Now, this challenge. I ate badly consistently and got to a poiint of going "fuck it" and reverted.

I have since "got back on the wagon" because I don';t want to play around here and I really want to make these changes.

If I slip i will allow myself it, and just keep trying.

Day 32 - negative self talk

 scripts

- you aren't good enough

 Say's who? That voice is lying to you. You're awesome and of course you are good enough and deserve good things.

- you're disgusting, only people with fetishes like you

Don't listen to that voice. you have sass and attractiveness. your inside beuaty is so bright, let it shine out of your body too.

- you aren't worthy of love

you are absolutely worthy of love. giving and receiving. 

- it doesn't matter if you can't lose the weight, it won't make a difference, no one will want you

people want you anyway, try to stop putting so much "truth" to other people's opinions about you

- no one wants you

again, not true. work on wanting yourself above all else.

Day 31 - squash negative thoughts

With a good plan, enough consistent effort, and the right support, you can be whoever you want to be.

Remember my: why, future me, 1% better.

Focus on future me. When negative thought comes, acknowledge, let is pass, and replace with positive one.

5 postitive thoughts:

- I have not lost focus completely, on this journey

- I have cut down on red meat

- I can still cut down on take away

- I am moving forward on this journey

- I CAN do this

Day 30 - random act of kindness

 Gave R100 to uber driver who's kid didn;t have a birthday present, enthusiastic high 5 to daughter for finishing her work

other things I can do:

- Give takeaway left overs

- write a thank you message to someone

- acknowledged the work someone did

- told someone about the impact they have on my life

- pick up trash

Day 29 - the grind

Remind yourself of your WHY.

Remind yourself of what’s at stake if you give up.

Remind yourself of what your limiting beliefs were and why they’re wrong.

Remind yourself of what kind of person you want to be in 12 months time.

Remind yourself of your 1% better action plan on how to keep moving forward.

Remind yourself of your required behaviour goals that will lead to your desired outcome goals.

Remind yourself of what you have to be grateful for. Focus on the good stuff!

Day 26 - before sleep brain dump

 Set this up on post it note reminders