A Shot of Magical Unicorn Dust For One
It seems everywhere we look at the moment there’s a quick fix, rapid body transformation, a get-fit-quick fad diet, a tea, tablet or magical unicorn dust that will help us loose weight quickly.
As a pilates instructor and the founder of a wellbeing studio, I’ve noticed that these “magic bean” type ads have worsened since social media has become more popular. It’s so easy and very tempting to compare ourselves to someone who lost 10 pounds in three weeks and wonder why that didn’t happen for us. The only way that will happen for me is if it’s fallen out of my pocket!
You start to compare your situation with theirs, we call it comparison-itis, a fierce virus that steals joy from your life. It becomes very easy to make radical choices with your health, acting on your emotions rather than logic. Have you heard the saying “A watched pot never boils”? The same is true for your journey. Only focusing on the weight that you’ve lost or only focussing on where you want to be on your wellbeing journey could potentially stop you enjoying the transformation to a new and stronger you.
Getting on the scales everyday is often very disheartening and you may not be seeing the loses that you are hoping for but this doesn’t mean that you’re not doing a good job or not changing your body for the better.
There are some ways to tell in the early stages of your body transformation that you are making good progress with your body goals. They aren’t a number on a scale or on the label of a pair of jeans but they do provide momentum, confidence, and clarity that you’re on the right track. Keep doing what you’re doing, here are three reason why you’re making progress.
1. Run a marathon!
Ok, well maybe not quite yet but have you noticed being less lethargic during the day? Or maybe you have been able to run a little longer, lift a little more, rest a little less?
Energy levels are one of the most important benefits to your wellbeing journey. Higher energy levels help you to focus on tasks and provide motivation to finish them during the day. Raising energy levels leads to better productivity and quality of work both in work and your personal life.
2. Happy, happy, happy!
Have you ever noticed the children seem to be so much happier that adults? That could be because they don’t have work, bills and adulting to worry about but perhaps it’s also because they are always doing everything at 100 miles an hour! Racing about, playing games, never sitting still! Generally being more active than us, raising their energy levels.
Exercising releases endorphins, the happy chemicals in our brain. An improved mood helps you to have a more positive outlook on life as well as better health and relationships.
3. Zzzzzzzzz Sleep? What’s that then???
Sleep is overrated! Unfortunately this is not the case and we are getting less and less quality sleep as the years go along and society changes. However, we can fix it! It’s just so simple! Exercising for as little as 10 minutes per day can make a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. Exercising helps reduce your stress levels bye releasing the adrenaline that’s building up in your body throughout the day.
So lets leave the magic dust for the unicorn and start celebrating how brilliant you are already. Look for the small changes in your day to day life first, the extra 10 minutes of movement you added, the extra glass of water you had, the choice to put your phone down at bed time 10 minutes earlier than usual…you will see visual signs of health and wellness. The best is yet to come for you.
