Physical Health Step 2

Let's take small steps towards tackling our physical health.  Simple things like moving more and getting outside make a difference.  And even though they are small steps, if done consistently over time you will see results.  

Transcript

Hello, my name is Tiffany, and welcome to the podcast, Working on Amazing. This is a podcast where we talk about the work that it takes to rebuild an amazing life.

And I say rebuild because we're specifically designed for women who feel like they're starting over in the middle of their life. Maybe it was divorce, maybe it was loss.

All kinds of things can lead you to that point where it feels like you're just having to start over again. All your plans for the future have been scrapped. Life didn't go the way you planned.

Something major happened, and now it feels like you're starting over. If that's you, first of all, I'm really sorry, but you are in the right place. Welcome.

I am so glad you're here. So if you'll remember, in the very first episode, I talked about the areas that I focused on as I rebuilt my life because I wanted to rebuild a life that was amazing.

If I was gonna have to rebuild anyway, I might as well take the time to rebuild something that I was proud of, that was good, and that wouldn't fall apart as easily as it did the last time. So I focused on five areas.

I focused on my spiritual health, my mental health, my physical health, my financial health, and I focused on growth and goals, right? So today's episode, we're gonna talk about physical health.

We've talked about physical health before, and we talked about just eliminating one thing from your diet.

Like, we're starting really simple and small, because I feel like if your life has blown up so much that you feel like you're starting over, you're going through enough emotional and mental turmoil that you don't need to make big sweeping changes at

first. You need to make small changes. So for your health, I said just eliminate one negative thing from your diet. Most people have one thing that they really don't want to let go of.

Like, don't make me give up soda, don't make me give up potato chips, whatever it is, sweets. Eliminate that one thing. Let's just start simple.

Let's not make sweeping diet changes one thing. So today, we're going to talk about another simple thing, and that's just move more. Well, really two things.

Move more and get outside. And those things can go together a lot. You can walk outside, right?

How do you know to move more? What does moving more look like? Well, let's start with how much you moved last month, like average step count.

So a lot of people have a digital watch that monitors their step count every day. So if you have that, great. Look at that.

See what your step count was. If you don't have a watch like a Fitbit or an Apple watch, a lot of phones come equipped, like pre-downloaded, like a help app. So I have an iPhone.

It comes with a help app, and it tells me my steps, even if I'm not wearing my watch. The caveat is you have to carry your phone with you all the time for it to consistently track your steps.

And I often leave my phone on the couch or on the counter or somewhere else. But it should give you an idea, right? So let's just get an idea of what our movement was maybe over the last month or so.

How much am I really moving? Let's figure it out, right? And then the goal is to just increase that.

So a lot of jobs are fairly sedentary. Almost all my jobs have always been like nine to five, Monday through Friday desk jobs I've sat at a desk. If that's you, how do you find a way to move more?

There are some jobs that are really active and keep you moving. But if you have a desk job where you're sitting in front of a computer all day, it can be difficult to incorporate more movement into your routine. Moving more helps.

So grief and depression zap your energy, right? All your energy is spent on these emotions that you're feeling. It's all sucked up by these really big, big, big emotions, and you have so little energy left.

So what we've got to do is start making ourself move more and rebuild that capacity to have more energy. So how can we simply incorporate more movement into our life?

What if you parked in the back of the parking lot and made yourself walk the full length of the parking lot to the store? That's pretty simple. I worked in an office building that was only two stories, but I worked on the second floor.

So I took the stairs. And that was a really simple way to incorporate more movement into my life. It was, it didn't require more time, very little more energy.

It was just a simple way to fold more movement in. What do you have? What about your lunch break?

Can you walk on your lunch break? Some jobs I've had, it's been easier to walk on my lunch break than others, and some just aren't as conducive. I understand that.

But if you're able to walk on your lunch break, take 10 minutes and walk. Just walk around the parking lot. Just take a portion of your lunch break and try to move more.

What else can you do? Well, at night, when you get home, can you take a walk around the neighborhood? Maybe you can turn some music on.

Maybe challenge yourself. I'm going to dance for three songs. Three songs.

I'm going to put on three songs that are really upbeat and fun, that I really like. And I'm just going to cut a rug, here in my living room by myself where nobody can see me. That's more movement.

That's great, right? You could turn on YouTube. There are so many workout videos on there that are like Zumba style or line dancing style where you can move to music.

Sometimes that doesn't feel like you're working out. It feels more fun. It's more uplifting, a little more jazzy, right?

Do something maybe like that. Find ways to incorporate movement into your life more consistently. How many steps did you take per day on average last month?

Over the course of the month, I walked 3,000 steps a day. That's really low, right? And so, this week I want to try to average 5,000 steps a day.

I'm just gonna up it, right? So you set the bar. The only person you're trying to be better than is yourself, right?

We're not, I'm not throwing some random number out there, like, you need to walk 20,000 steps a day. That's not where you are, okay? Maybe it is, but if you're dealing with grief and depression, that's probably not where you're at right now.

You just want to do more than you did. Simple. This is a thing, it can be really easy to look at it and say, that's ridiculous, that's simple, that's too easy, no thank you, that you got to make big changes to see a big difference.

Small changes over time, consistent changes, lead to consistent and good results, okay? Consistency is key as you're rebuilding your life, your spiritual health, your mental health, your physical health, your financial health.

You've got to be consistent. Little changes done consistently. If you just move more, you will notice a change.

Don't worry that it's small.

We're saying do something small, I'm suggesting small, because I am taking into account that you've gone through a really difficult time, that you have a lot of your emotional energy sucked up into something else, like grief and depression.

So let's start where we can, and don't worry that it's small. Don't worry.

Consistently, one little step on top of another little step on top of another little step is way better than taking a big step and not being able to consistently execute that progress over time.

If you take a big step and you fall backwards, you've lost all your ground. But if you take little steps consistently over time, that is going to get you to where you're going. So don't worry about it being a little step.

Don't worry that you're not doing some big major change, joining a gym and going five days a week. That might be in your future. But in order to get there, you've got to start really small.

Really small and be more than anything consistent. Consistency is key. If you're going to make a change, you've got to be consistent.

And if your emotional capacity is only for a little change, that's okay. Be realistic with yourself.

And even though big changes look flashy and cool, if you cannot consistently carry out that change and stay consistent with it, really it's just going to be a lot of wasted energy.

A little change done consistently will make a big difference over time. So just focus on something small. I'm going to move more.

I'm going to walk at lunch. I'm going to walk when I get home from work. And then over the weekend, maybe do something a little chunk, like maybe an hour.

You know what? On the weekend, I'm going to go to the park, and I'm going to walk. I'm going to be outside.

I'm going to be around some trees. There's a whole science. Did you know this?

There's a whole science behind being outside and how in nature that that's really good for you and really healthy. I do know that we get vitamin D from the sun through our skin, and that's really important and helpful.

So yes, being outside helps you get vitamin D, but there's something being around nature and just being like around trees that soothes your soul at a different level.

And while there's science behind it, I can't tell you that I understand the science behind it, but I know I've experienced it in my life. I know when I stay inside, it's just a little bit of a downer.

And then I go outside, and I walk around some trees and just nature, and I breathe fresh air, and it lifts my mood. You just feel the difference. So I really want you to focus on trying to move more and get outside more.

It will help your mental health, and it will help your physical health. Moving just helps. Have you ever had a car and you left it alone for like a year?

Sometimes you have trouble starting it again, and weird things break. It was not touched for a year. It should be okay.

But engines were made to run. Your body was made to be used. You've got to move.

You've got to get up and move. And I know that that's hard when you're really depressed. I know that's hard when you're in the middle of grief, but you just got to do it just a little bit.

Don't push yourself so hard. Find the balance between pushing yourself and being gentle with yourself. And that's a weird balance to strike.

I'm gentle with myself. I love myself. I give myself space to be upset.

But I know it's healthy for me to move. I know it's healthy, and it's the way I take care of myself to make myself move more. And I've got to find a way to take care of myself and move more.

It's good for my body. If I just come home from work and sit on the couch, that is not what is best for my body. I can do that some days, but I cannot do that every day.

I cannot do that all the time. I've got to find a way to consistently move. I've got to be outside.

I've got to be around nature. These things are self-care. Taking care of your body is self-care.

So move more, be outside more. Simple thing. And it sounds so, so simple, but it's worthwhile.

And as you move more and build up energy, you'll realize that you don't always just want to sit on the couch when you come home. You'll have more energy. And it takes time to build your energy back up, but you will.

And then once your mental health is kind of in a better space and your energy level is up, then you might feel like, hey, I'm ready to tackle a bigger diet change or a bigger exercise routine.

So some of these little changes are building us up for bigger changes, maybe. Sometimes these little changes are all you need to make a big difference. It just depends.

Everybody's different. But you're never going to get to the place to make the big change if you don't make these little ones just slowly. They're like little bitty steps, small little pieces, but they build up, and they over time make a difference.

I ended up making a big diet change, and I did lose a lot of weight. But the only way I could do that, I had the ability to do that, I started, I eliminated the chips from my diet because I knew that was a weakness that I needed to get rid of.

And then I started telling myself, I have to move more. I have to find ways to incorporate more movement into my lifestyle because I sit down all day for work, and I have such low energy because I'm just sad. I had to find ways to move more.

And once I did those things, then I had the mental capacity to tackle really losing weight, and really tackle like, okay, how am I going to get on top of this now? Sometimes those small changes are just foundational, right?

They're the building blocks for the other changes that look flashier, that look bigger, that, oh, well, I lost weight because I went low carb or I did Mediterranean or whatever it is.

But you had to start really small, because when you're going through a dark night of the soul, each change just requires a lot, right? I know. I've been there.

So start small with yourself. Be gentle with yourself. But do get yourself to move more.

Move more and be outside. If you move more, if you find a way maybe to walk on your lunch break, then maybe sit on your back porch and read a book. Try to get outside.

Don't sit inside. Sit outside. There really is something about the fresh air and just being outside that matters.

So we're going to move more. We're going to get outside more. And one thing I want to say, just a perspective I want you to be aware of, we're not moving more because we don't like how we look.

We're moving more because we love our body and we want to take care of it. We're not going to exercise because we don't like how we are. We're exercising because we do like how we are.

And we're taking care of who we are. And the result is the same. You're moving more, you're exercising, whatever.

But the perspective in how you do it matters. I don't want you to say, I don't like myself, I need to change. I want you to say, I love myself.

And I love myself so much that I want to take care of my body. My body matters, and I want to take care of it. I'm grateful that I have a body that functions and works, and I want to take care of it.

So it's a tiny perspective shift, but I think it matters, and it's worth noting. We're not exercising because we don't like who we are. We're exercising because we love who we are, and we want to take care of ourselves.

I want you to look in the mirror and be proud of who you are. I want you to smile at yourself when you see yourself in the mirror. I know what it's like to avoid getting your picture made.

I know what it's like to not make eye contact with yourself in the mirror because you're unhappy. I get it.

But the goal is to be happy with ourselves and to love ourselves, and we got to love ourselves where we are, right here, right now, and then start moving more and start taking care of the gift that is our body. Start taking care of that.

And the way we take care of that is we get up and move. Bodies have to move. They just need that.

You can't sit still and take care of it. In order to take care of it, you move. So we're moving because we want to take care of the gift that we have that is our body.

Not everybody gets a gift of a whole healthy body. Some people's bodies are broken and messed up, and different things have happened. Be grateful for the body you have, and just take care of it.

Don't resent it because it doesn't look exactly like the way you want it to look. We're doing this because we love ourselves, and we want to take care of ourselves. Perspective matters.

It does. We're going to shift how we view ourselves. Maybe you've had some negative inputs, and people have told you some negative things.

We're shifting that narrative, and it starts with ourselves, and we're exercising because we're taking care of ourselves, not because we hate our body and we don't like the way we look.

We're exercising because we're taking care of our body, and it's self-care, okay? Move more. Challenge yourself.

I am going to get up and move more. Simple, simple thing. I'm going to get outside more.

I'm going to enjoy some sunshine. Every day, move more. Dance in the kitchen if you need to.

Crank up the music and dance. There are a few different outside-the-box ways. Turn on YouTube and follow along with some video.

There's yoga. There's all kinds of stuff. I found all kinds of things on YouTube.

Look for something that resonates with you that you're like, okay, I think I can do that and do. And maybe you spend a week trying different things, like, nope, that's not the one. I didn't really like that.

But maybe after a week, you stumble on the one you're like, hey, I like this. This one makes me smile. I like the music.

I like the feel of the movements. Keep looking. You're worth it.

You don't have to like the first video you find. Keep searching. You're going to find something.

You're going to get moving, and it's going to matter. And be consistent. Once again, I have to say that consistency is key.

When you go through a dark night in the soul, when your whole world has been upended, you're kind of in a pit, right? You're down deep in a pit, and the only way to crawl out is consistently doing these things, even if they're tiny things.

Consistently work on your physical health, consistently work on your mental health, consistently work on your financial health. You can't just do it once and walk away. You got to do it day in and day out.

And so if you tell yourself three times a week, I'm going to do some little workout routine on YouTube, or I'm going to dance to my favorite three songs, or whatever, find ways. Challenge yourself.

Everybody's different, but challenge yourself to do more than you did last month. And keep pushing yourself gently, gently push yourself to do more, move more, and be super consistent with it.

And if you keep it really small, but you're consistent with it, you will see a change. It will happen. It may be slow, but I would rather a slow, consistent change than a big flash that can't be maintained.

Slow, simple changes. That's what you have the capacity for. If you're really struggling with depression and grief, this is what we have the capacity for.

I can make small, simple changes. I can move more. I can park at the back of the parking lot.

I can get up and walk for 10 minutes on my lunch break. I can move more. I can make myself get outside more.

I can do that. Set them down. What am I going to do to move more this next month?

I'm going to challenge myself. These days, I'm going to do this. These days, I'm going to do that.

What are you going to do? Write it down and tell yourself you're going to do it for a month. And then next month, either do the same thing or up it a little bit.

But just be consistent. And notice, I believe your mental health will change. I believe your mental health will improve.

I believe your energy will improve. But notice, write down, you know what? I feel happier today.

I feel better. And all these things work together. As you work on your financial health, and you feel like you're not...

you're getting ahead financially, you're not just stuck financially, that will help your mental health.

When you do practices that help your mental health, when you work on your physical health, all these things work in tandem together and help slowly get your way out of the pit, right? We got to do them all, and we got to be consistent.

And you will notice the difference. And write it down. Like, I noticed that overall, I feel better today.

Today was a better day. I have more energy today. I got home from work, and you know what?

I didn't want to just sit down on the couch. I wanted to do something. That's awesome.

That's a win, right? So notice. But tell yourself for a month, this is what you're going to work on and do.

I'm so excited. Please look me up on Facebook, Working on Amazing. I would love to hear from you.

Comment. Tell me. Write on the wall.

Tell me what you're doing. And let's talk about it. Let's encourage each other.

You are not alone. Come and join a group of other women who are going through the same thing, who are feeling what you're feeling. You're not alone.

You're not by yourself. Come join us. And let's talk about it and share the journey together.

I'm so glad you were with me today. I look forward to talking to you next time. Bye.