Well hello my friends!
I hope you are all having a beautiful fall. We have had the most perfect fall weather here in Utah lately. I have enjoyed it so much and just want to soak up every day!
I’ve especially enjoyed going on walks. It’s a wonderful time for me to reflect, think deeply, feel grateful, refocus and soak up the beautiful world all around me. I also love that walking is good for my physical health, but I really don’t even go on my walks for that reason.
I snapped this picture last night on my walk…
What a gorgeous world we live in!
I also snapped this picture of the cutest little farm.
I love walking past this farm! It’s just such a quaint, peaceful place. If you look closely, you can see a turkey perched on top of the barn. There are also a lot of goats and bunnies too.
I’m just so grateful for the beautiful world we live in and I’m grateful for all four seasons!
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I also thought I’d share a few pictures from my mom’s 80th birthday party last week….
I’m sure grateful for my family! I really can’t believe my mom is 80! She is still very mobile, vibrant and full of life. She makes 80 look wonderful!
It’s crazy to me how quickly time flies. I’m grateful every day for the incredible people in my life.
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I also thought I’d share the yummy Sunday dinner we had last week….
We marinated some chicken in our favorite marinade and Kev smoked it on the grill.
We also chopped up some potatoes from our garden, prepared them the way I do in this recipe and then Kev smoked those too!
He also threw some corn on the cob and some sourdough bread (from Costco) on there too.
It was a yummy dinner!
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Well I thought I would share some deep health and fitness thoughts that I had!
I’m currently running the Happy Being Healthy Fall Challenge that has just over two weeks left. There are several people doing the challenge who are doing great, working hard and seeing great results!
However, I’ve had a few people express to me that although they are anxious to take back control of their lives, lose the COVID-19 weight and feel empowered….they are struggling with motivation and the desire to change.
It’s been a hard year for all of us! I don’t think any of us anticipated the crazy events of this year. It’s been taxing, exhausting, stress-causing and just…..heavy.
On the flip-side, I have learned so much and grown so much! I know in the midst of hard times, there are many lessons to learn and many things to be grateful for. I’m always striving to look for those blessings and to find gratitude.
But, with that being said….it’s still hard.
Sooooo, sometimes I think it’s helpful to dig deep and really try to understand ourselves. Identify the thoughts we tell ourselves that keep us from reaching our goals. Be very aware and mindful of the actions, sometimes very small actions, that eventually lead us to give up and feel frustrated.
It’s important to really be honest with ourselves and then fight for true change!
I always warn against striving for perfection. DO NOT try to be perfect. Seek for consistency instead. Start each day fresh and recommitted. DO NOT quit. ALSO, DO NOT do anything extreme! If you’re tempted to try a diet that is extremely restrictive or that cuts out a lot of food groups….just don’t. It may help in the short-term, but it won’t last and you will eventually end up right where you started….but you’ll be even more frustrated.
I also think it’s helpful sometimes to just pick 2-3 goals to work on and focus there. A lot of times as we focus on just a few goals, many other areas in our lives elevate too!
I know there are a few goals that when I focus on them, my whole healthy living mojo becomes much easier! These goals are the ones that really make the biggest impact on my life.
So, for me, these goals are:
- Intermittent Fasting
- Breaking my fast with one of my Protein Shakes
- Getting enough sleep, preferably 8 hours a night
I’ve learned for me that when I consistently do intermittent fasting, my body just feels good. I have more energy, my appetite and cravings go down, my digestion regulates and I sleep better.
It essentially makes healthy living much easier! It makes eating well much easier. Exercise also is so much more fun and rewarding when I have energy!
Intermittent fasting is KEY for me. I won’t talk a lot about it here, but I will just say that there are a lot of different ways to do intermittent fasting. The most common way to do it is to just pick a 6-8 hour eating window and then fast, or don’t eat, during the other 16-18 hours.
The most typical eating window is from noon until 8 PM. However, I like to wait to break my fast until 2:00 PM most days if I can. It just allows me a lot more flexibility when I do that and it works for me!
That pretty much sums up intermittent fasting. It really is a simple, yet very effective concept.
I also like to break my fast with one of my protein shakes because it just floods my body with so many wonderful nutrients. The body is especially receptive to those nutrients while it’s in a fasted state too.
When I set a goal to break my fast with a protein shake, it also keeps me from mindlessly eating or from running through a drive-thru as I’m out and about. I remind myself that I have to wait until I go home so I can drink my protein shake first.
It just helps me to eat much better quality food overall and to stick with it!
I have also learned over many many years of livin’, that getting enough sleep is KEY to healthy living and happy living! I really need 8 hours of sleep and it’s always been hard for me to consistently get it!
However, when I deliberately set it as a goal and stick with it…..my entire life improves. Healthy living is so much easier and rewarding when I get my sleep!
Soooooo, I’ve learned these three goals are game-changers for me and help me to have success. They help me to be more consistent.
These same goals may not speak to you. We are all different. I would encourage each of you to really strive to understand yourself and then just set just a few goals that are game-changers for you!
In this crazy world with so many things out of our control….we can remember that there are a lot of wonderful things in our personal lives that are in our control and can bring so many blessings!
Focus on the good!
Focus on gratitude!
Focus on the small, but significant goals!
Focus on consistency!
You are meant to do great things! Do not get discouraged and never, ever give up. I love you all! xoxox
Leave a comment....I would love to hear from you!