Guess what!  It’s week 48 in the 52 weeks to 52 healthy habits series, it’s been quite a year and I’m trying to think of what to do with this series when we are done.  An ebook? An email course? How can I make it come alive?  Let me know!

Last week I didn’t specifically mention a healthy habit, but I did ask you to revisit your intuitive eating principles.  Not worry so much about one day of the year, but instead, pay attention to all the days before and after.  How did it go?

Thanksgiving went well for me, but the leftover pie and continued sweets got to me a bit.  Typically, Mr. Hungry and I just don’t keep sweets and junk food in the house.  Not that we won’t eat it on special occasions, we just both agree it doesn’t need to be in our house tempting us every day.  Not that we don’t eat sweets, but simple squares of dark chocolate, dates, or pieces of pumpkin bread are what we typically indulge in.

However, one thing I’ve noticed this time around is my bodies ability to regulate itself.  On Saturday night, when the family wanted to make smores by the bonfire, I had hit my limit.  After days of pumpkin bars, Thanksgiving, and then building a gingerbread house (aka eating all the frosting) I simply didn’t want anymore.  I think I had two small squares of chocolate and one toasted marshmallow which was enough for me.  I also had a couple glasses of wine, which I’m fine with since I didn’t eat a ton of dessert,  and I rarely drink, except in social situations.  With a lack of vegetable intake (compared my usual intake) I started craving vegetables.  I actually wanted salads at every place we went and a large veggie omelet for breakfast.

I usually indulge a little bit when we got out, but I actually WANTED the vegetables.  It was like my body was trying to find it’s normal homeostasis, it was so cool! Yesterday I was craving sugar ALL DAY LONG, it was a bit intense.  I think it had to do with sleeping like absolute crap the last three days, I think I woke up every hour?  So, when I found myself standing in the kitchen in front of the  pudding pie my mom made for Thanksgiving, I ended up throwing the whole thing away.  We had already eaten the first one, no one had been eating the second one except me, it’s made from cheap ingredients, it isn’t nutritious, so I had no problem trashing it.  Then I took two Tylenol PMs and got a great 8 hours of sleep.  What is my point of telling you this story?

Well, if there is one thing I’ve learned this year it’s that the power of a positive mindset is the most powerful tool a person has.  For me, I used to spend all my time damning myself for not eating “good enough”, denying myself treats because “I had weight to lose” and other self-defeating bull shit self-talk.  I had no idea what my body needed because I was too busy putting myself down, I missed all the subtle cues.  For instance, standing in front of a pie turned into “you are so gross, why can’t you just control yourself around sweets? ”  Which made me more nervous and made me eat more.  Now it’s “this is odd, but taste good, why have you been craving sweets all day?”  Then I come to an answer that is fixable, get some damn sleep.

I always thought positivity was something unattainable for me.  I had developed a defense mechanism of negativity and pessimism in order to survive as a child.  I figured that positivity was simply out my reach, that is, until I started to look at it differently.  I simply changed what I focused on.  When negative thoughts came into my mind, I decided I didn’t have time for them or they were stupid.  Instead, I put my energy into things that I LOVE, and was rewarded 15 times fold.  So when I started worrying about the sweets I had consumed, I decided it wasn’t worth my energy to worry.  I focused on what to do going forward, ie have the wine, not the smores.  Also, listen to my bodies cravings for tons of vegetables, don’t order pancakes because everyone else is. Get some sleep.

To me positivity means….

• focusing on actions you can take in the future to get what you want
• allowing yourself to love things (popular or unpopular) – yourself, hobbies, you work, people that have wronged you, everything.  
• focusing on what you want (not what the worse could be that happened)
• not being afraid to act silly 
• visualizing what you want on a regular basis
• believing in your ability to succeed in whatever it is
• redirecting my urge to gossip to something positive 
• deciding my husband’s thoughts, words, and actions have a loving intent, even when it sounds like otherwise or
• deciding that unkind words said by husband doesn’t mean he doens’t love me, it means he frustrated and that’s it
• means when Nala grabs something off the counter, gets into something, or is generally annoying I remind myself how scared I was when she was sick
• when Missy won’t stop crying/meowing I take a few seconds to brush her instead of shooing her away
• it means creating opportunities in my life for joy when there was annoyance, hatred, or worse

[Tweet “#Positivity may not be what you think it is, thoughts by @hungryhobby “]

I still struggle the most with being around others who do not have a positive mindset or attitude.  As someone who spent my whole life melding with others emotions and feelings, it’s difficult to remain positive when I’m not surrounded by it.  I figure this will be a skill that I will develop with time and practice.  The best part about learning to be positive other than the calmness I have found, my improving health, improving metabolism, opportunities that have been created and chances to live out my passions is that I actually didn’t have to lose myself to do it.  I always thought I would have to change who I was in order to be positive.  It turns out, I can still be my funny, sarcastic, self and be positive.  It’s freaking awesome.

A question of the day: What does positivity mean to you?

 

52 Healthy Habits E-Course

Did you miss this series or wish you could repeat it?  No problem!  I’ve put all the posts together in an e-course that directly corresponds with the healthy habits series!  By focusing on one healthy habit per week you’ll be able to master the skills needed to successfully improve your health, increase your energy, and drop those unwanted pounds.  The best part is, you’ll do it while barely even realizing it.  These 52 habits are the habits I review with almost every single Hungry Hobby RD client.  These habits are the backbone of getting off the diet train and getting the results you wanted!  What are you waiting for??????

The e-course will provide supportive information such as tips and tricks to help you ingrain each healthy habit as part of your permanent lifestyle.

Cost of the automated series is $26 dollars (just 50 cents per week) for the whole year, which helps me cover the cost of automating the emails through my server. Thanks!

 

( Want to really plan to succeed and save money? What To Eat? Meal Plan subscriptions also come with this E-Course as part of the subscription! They also come with a supportive facebook group and a ton more goodies, check them out!)

 

52 HEALTHY HABITS IN 52 WEEKS SERIES:

The 52 Healthy Habits Series is about ditching the diet mindset and making small changes to improve health overall naturally leading to a healthy body composition, increased energy and improved health. Please follow along and check out the past weeks!

• Week 52: Healthy Habits Wrap Up
• Week 51: Nightly Reflection
• Week 50: Limit Harmful Chemicals
• Week 49: Find Your Tribe
• Week 48: Cultivating Positivity
• Week 47: Healthy Thanksgiving Tips
• Week 46: Check In
• Week 45: Mobility – Foam Rolling
• Week 44: HIIT Training
• Week 43: LISS or Steady State Cardio
• Week 42: Limit Alcohol
• Week 41: Eat White, Wait What?
• Week 40: Eat Blue & Purple
• Week 39: Eat Green
• Week 38: Eat Yellow/Orange
• Week 37: Eat Red
• Week 36: Learn Which Foods to Purchase Organic
• Week 35: Read the Ingredient List!
• Week 34: Focus.
• Week 33: Chew Your Food!
• Week 32: Meditation
• Week 31: Gratitude Journaling
• Week 30: Plan & Revamp Dessert- 20 Healthy Ideas
• Week 29: Two fistfuls of veggies per meal
• Week 28: Get In Veggies At Breakfast
• Week 27: Healthy Veggie Snacks
• Week 26: Nourishing Fats for the Gut (Healthy Digestion Part 4)
• Week 25: Keeping Regular – The Other Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 3)
• Week 24: Feed The Probiotics With Prebiotic Fiber (Healthy Digestion Part 2)
• Week 23: Amazing Health Benefits of Probiotics (Healthy Digestion Part 1)
• Week 22: Check In
• Week 21: What You Will Learn From Recording Your Meals (Intuitive Eating Series Part 4)
• Week 20: Eat Until 80% Full (Hara Hachi Bu) (Intuitive Eating Series Part 3)
• Week 19: Limit Distractions While Eating (Intuitive Eating Series Part 2)
• Week 18: Gaging Your Hunger Cues (Intuitive Eating Series Part 1)
• Week 17: 10,000 Steps Per Day
• Week 16: Assess Your Caffeine Intake
• Week 15: Decrease Sugar Intake
• Week 14: Healthy Coffee Creamers (upgrade yours)
• Week 13: 3 Month Check In
• Week 12: Sleep Enough & Sleep Better
• Week 11: Schedule Your Workouts
• Week 10: Pack A Healthy Lunch (5 Ways to Create Endless Combinations)
• Week 9: Prioritizing Protein
• Week 8: How and What to Meal Prep
• Week 7: Create & Stick To Your Healthy Meal Plan
• Week 6: Get Enough Omega-3’s (Fight Inflammation)
• Week 5: What Is A Healthy Fat & How To Get Enough (Include Healthy Fats)
• Week 4: How to Spot A Healthy Carbohydrate (Upgrade Your Carbs)
• Week 3: Tips to Increase Veggie Intake (Eat Veggies)
• Week 2: 15 Healthy On the Go Breakfast Ideas (Eat BF Challenge)
• Week 1: Tips to Drink More Water