Shut Out the Negativity - Speak Life!

I had been walking through a cloud of negativity for years.  Most of this negativity was centered off fear, fear of being a statistic….that my marriage will just be another percentage on the divorce statistic, that my job will eventually just become another number on the unemployment statistic, that my health would become another statistic at a hospital. Fear was ruling my life! My thoughts were focused on the bad and the relentless complaining that came out of my mouth just led me further down a path I hope to never go down again. Have you ever noticed that when you think and speak negatively about your life that everything begins to crumble around you? It’s like a cyclone, downward spiral – these relentless negative thoughts that are slowly chipping away at your self-worth, your happiness, your direction. I have personally dealt with negative thinking for years, and for years I struggled with where my focus should be. When you transform your mind, you can transform your life. You may have doors closing left and right, you may feel like nothing is ever going to change that you are stuck in a rut with no energy to get out. Until you begin speaking life - speaking hope into your situation; you renew your thoughts and mind to a more positive perspective. You have the ability to soften your heart or another’s heart with the words that you say. You have the ability to make a healthy conscious change in your life.  It is all about YOUR perspective.

Everyone experiences a rollercoaster of emotions, up and downs and days where everything falls apart. This is where the confusion sets in, you have no idea where to go, which direction to go, what to think and so you sit in your own negativity and despair.  If you begin to think of the words you say as doors to compassion, the light to life, the transformation of our thoughts – you can change your day to day.  What will happen is a new sense of hope and renewing will start occurring in your life. You will begin to love and appreciate differently.  You will begin to walk and lift your head higher; you will experience joy that will overflow into the circumstances of your life. Try not to think or say a negative comment for 24 hours, then 3 days, then a week and see how your life changes. See how your perspective changes. God did not create us to be mundane, day-to-day, depressed, negative people. We each have a gift, share yours – don’t let negativity get in the way.  You are important and your words hold value!

 

 

4 Sure Fire Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

 

4 sure fire ways to break your weight loss plateau in just 7 days or less! I have found that when I am constantly counting calories and restricting food groups from my daily intake, that is when I tend to fall off the wagon. We all want what we cannot have, right!? No amount of exercise can make up for a poor diet. Now, let me elaborate on this, what I mean is once you have gotten down to a goal weight or hit a plateau where you cannot budge the scale you have to start looking at what you are fueling your body with and not just at your calorie deficit at the gym. Plus, to create those long lean muscles and have energy we need to be feeding our bodies whole, natural foods.

Below are some tips and guidelines that if followed could be the solution to breaking your weight loss plateau. It will not be easy and will take some discipline, but our bodies respond quickly to small adjustments that we may never consider. So give these 4 tips a try for 7 days and see if you are able to break past the limits and push yourself further toward your goals.

1.       Allow a 12 hour window between your last meal of the day and your breakfast the following day. What does this look like? Well, if you eat your last snack or meal at 7 pm then you should not eat your breakfast until 7am. Your body does not want to go to sleep on a full stomach and needs those 12 hours to digest and burn – not what is currently in your stomach from that food you ate while walking to bed, but the stored fat, etc. You can drink as much water as you would like, but if you have your breakfast at 6 am, then after 6pm only water should be on your menu. If you do this you will wake up feeling more energized and refreshed!

2.       Switch up your MACROS! Macronutrients are the sum of the different fats, carbs, and proteins that make up your daily consumption. Now, all of us are programmed differently and our bodies will respond differently to different intake levels of each group. Track your current macro percentages and consider switching up the charts. For example, if you are more carb dense and that takes up a large percentage of your intake, consider upping your good fat intake and replacing that with the carb totals.  I saw great success when I upped my HEALTHY fat intake. It never hurts to switch things up for 7 days to see how your body responds!

3.       Limit your natural sugar intake.  Okay, I am not talking about processed sugar, because that should not be a part of your daily intake. Whole, natural, unprocessed foods are what your body needs. When I am talking about limiting your sugar intake, I am talking about natural sugar. I think that we forget that too much of a good thing can still be bad, especially if you are trying to break a weight loss plateau. Limit your natural sugar to consumption to only 2 pieces of fruit a day, or about 25-45 grams.

4.       Last, but not least switch up your exercise, if you typically do cardio then do some strength training. Throw in some plyometrics moves you have never done, go rock climbing, go roller skating, do fun outdoor activities that will switch up your daily workout regimen. This will allow you to work different muscle groups and also work your heart at a different rate then it may be used to. Have fun finding a new workout to incorporate!

Give these a try and report back or message me with your results! I bet you will be surprised!

 

Need Some Motivation!?

Every year that passes, every month that passes - it is becoming more and more evident to me that each day is a gift. Regardless of my mood, what I may be facing or negative things that may be happening in my life, I have the ability to push through and persevere. Why, because I am a daughter of the King and God is my rock. How, by walking away from what does not benefit me, by taking a leap of faith and by facing my fears and the unknown. Once you define your why in life, your how becomes that much bigger. I have heard, read and watched videos, books and blogs about complacency and being comfortable, and that is not how life is intended to be lived. Until that becomes a truth for you - you are
quite possibly preventing growth and your own innate passions and gifts are being subdued. The time to start something new and embark out of your comfort zone is never going to be put in your calendar or fall in your lap, you have to decide, commit and create the time.

Let's face it we have all become comfortable in our relationships, our jobs, our marriages, our day-to-day life. When we continue to perpetuate this cycle we are never allowing ourselves the opportunity to live out our full potential - our untapped greatness that God has prepared for us on this great adventure of life. Yes, it takes sacrifice and sometimes it takes walking away from a job or a friend or maybe everything you have so far in life, but it will be worth it in the end.  Trust me, there are days where I wake up and I feel unmotivated, stagnant or just plain tired of life. Sometimes, I feel like I am running a race, somewhere in the middle of the pack, not being pushed too hard but also not falling behind according to America's standards. Its comfortable, most days its easy, but when I live my days like this I am stifling my character and passions and allowing life to take over, rather then creating the life I want.

On days like this, I have two options: 1. allow my complacency and lack of motivation to consume me and to go through the motions, OR 2. I have the choice to find something to add value and happiness to my life. On days like this, I like to take time to do some self-development. Read, pray, do a devotion. I am talking about 5 to 10 minutes tops - not a huge chunk of time just a little time to get re-focused. Plus, let's face it, I cannot sit still to save my life, so for me taking 5-10 minutes is completely doable and completely justified. I also like to go through and read inspirational quotes and  look at inspirational pictures.

Here are some great motivation quotes, find your favorite and put it on a sticky note on your mirror or in your car, or in your purse. Somewhere that you can read it whenever you need a reminder:

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. –Napoleon Hill

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. –Wayne Gretzky

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. –W. Clement Stone

Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. –Charles Swindoll

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. –Steve Jobs

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. –Mark Twain

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Ziglar

Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. –Jesus

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me. –Erma Bombeck

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. –Farrah Grand

"Every time you stay out late; every time you sleep in; every time you miss a workout; every time you don't give 100% - You make it that much easier for me to beat you." - Unknown

"You can have results or you can have your excuses. You cannot have both." - Unknown

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated." - Unknown

I also like to read Bible verses that motivate me, even if you do not read the Bible or maybe you do not know where you start, you can always look in the index in the back of your Bible and just find one topic and one verse to focus on for the day. Here are some great verses:

Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

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Isaiah 40:31 - But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Matthew 19:26 - But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 9:23 - And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we van imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Today, I went for  run and listened to this motivational video, there are tons of them on YouTube so you can find one for a topic that may hit closer to home for you. This video was so inspiring and uplifting - give it a listen during your next workout or run, hopefully it will motivate you as much as it did me:

 Happy Tuesday!!