“How can you eat that, and stay so slim?”

“Is staying in shape impossible?” Let’s discuss…

We are sitting at a restaurant, and I’ve just ordered the thin crust pizza while my girlfriends (the super health conscious ones) have all ordered fancy salads with protein. 

“You’re not normal!” they tell me. 

It’s true, sometimes I feel like an alien. I used to believe I had a fast metabolism, and could eat whatever I wanted until the summer I gained 10lbs indulging a little too much at the family cottage.

I’m told as I approach 50 that it’s harder to keep the lbs from being stored. Perfect – so as we age, and want to slow down we have to get more active? I did hear that some extra weight can be good for keeping your brain healthy, and fighting off Alzheimers.

Do you find yourself looking for the one right approach only to be countered by an opposing right way? 

We all have beliefs about food and fitness. 

I grew up eating healthy home-cooked meals. (Thank you mom! I didn’t appreciate the green stuff back then especially the overgrown zucchini from our backyard.)

I was told “sugar caused diabetes” so pop was allowed only on special occasions, and just half a can! My mom made us milk popsicles (using condensed milk) while I envied kids who got the brightly coloured artificial ones.

Exercise was considered more like “playtime”, even a waste of time compared to what I should be doing: reading, studying or practicing piano. I didn’t play any sports. Still don’t.

My foundation was healthy eating with a bare minimum of physical activity.

What is the foundation to remain healthy you’re working with?

You have a story that will impact your unique way for getting in shape.

But what plays an even more important role in managing your physical health comes from something deeper than your beliefs or even your foundation.

Have you tried just about everything to manage your weight, and get some exercise in? Is it an uphill battle? Perhaps it’s been off and on with some success, but you return back to where you used to be? Or worse, you gain even more back.

What I Know for Sure

I’m not a food or exercise expert. I’m not going to offer you a revolutionary new product or program with a 30-day money back guarantee. Nor will I tell you what works for me because it won’t work for you. I’m eating a bowl of potato chips as I write this…my favourite salty snack.

But I’ve maintained my ideal weight range through my 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s, and as I turn 50 this September – I can stand naked in front of the mirror, and honestly say “I love, and appreciate my body as it is”.  

Not from an ego place as my body gave birth to twin girls totalling nearly 11 lbs, and frankly it still looks pretty scary despite a tummy tuck to correct the damage.

There’s sun damage too from not being diligent about sun screen in my teens, and early 20’s…I could go on about what’s not perfect, but I’ve always felt ‘good enough’ about where my body ever was, and today that feeling is even stronger.

If I gain weight, and clothes aren’t fitting – I still love my body. I don’t beat myself up about it.

What I know for sure is the way I feel about my body makes a massive difference in the relationship I have with food and exercise, which directly impacts what I’ve been able to create around my own physical health.

A Holistic Way

Most of us trying to change anything in our life attacks the issue backwards. We start by trying to figure out the problem, and then solve it by copying someone else’s approach that worked for them. 

So, say you want to lose 10lbs and be more physically fit, what do you do? You may start looking to the food and fitness experts offering products and programs you believe will finally get you back into those favourite pair of jeans.

You find one you really think can fit into your busy life, and believe you’ll get those same astounding results.

But the very first thing before you start thinking of staying in shape needs to begin with examining where you are on the inside first. We have it backwards. Being motivated to follow any plan is not enough. It’s whether you are internally ready for the long haul to work from the inside out. 

• Are you feeling stressed, over-worked, or overwhelmed?
• Do you feel tired from not enough sleep, or exhausted because there’s so little time for yourself?
• Are you happy in your relationships?
• Are you doing work that’s meaningful?
• Is your place filled with clutter?
• Do you react to people by taking things personally (getting defensive or feeling offended)?

You are about to add one more thing onto that plate.

Most importantly: do you appreciate, and value you? Not around what you do, but from a genuine place of who you are, and what you deserve. This will allow you to love your body ‘as is’ in order to get where you want to go.

Trying to make any changes to yourself requires you come from a place within that already feels a strong sense of worth, gratitude, and being grounded in reality.

It means you have a clear plate to start making changes.

Otherwise you’re headed for an uphill battle.

Your Secret Weapon – Let Go of this belief..

Do you believe that when you finally get to the body you desire and are staying in shape, that’s when you will be happy?  That’s when you’ll have the energy to fix all the other things in your life that aren’t working?

I’d like to suggest something different. This belief creates self-deception. It’s the very reason you won’t get there. It’s what will keep you stuck chasing.

The more you get yourself internally to a place that cares deeply about you first means your life will reflect that in all kinds of ways to support new change. That’s when it’s more likely you will get to exactly where you want to be around your physical well being.

Your greatest weapon for getting into shape is first doing what it takes to FEEL GOOD inside before you begin. I don’t mean you have to feel fantastic to even start. I mean you need to get yourself into a space where you value your own physical health for what it will give you as a top priority.

This is not about being selfish – it’s about what you’re worth, and your commitment to what ultimately brings you joy.

It also allows you to not be attached to the outcome of any food or fitness results along the way (like reacting from the weight you see on the scale or missing a workout) because you don’t allow that feeling of disappointment to stop you.

You already have inside of you what will sustain you during the ups and downs of this journey. The road to anything successful is really bumpy, but moving upwards.

What can you start putting in place today that makes you feel more alive?

When you take the steps to clear your mind, remove any draining relationships, create healthy boundaries, clear your clutter, and find those things that get you excited (can be ANYTHING small)…you’ll be halfway there before you even start.

A healthy loving mindset means you won’t go into guilt and shame when you inevitably slip off the bandwagon along the road to the best shape of your life.

Change is about who you need to BECOME in order to achieve your results, which requires an inner focus.

What Thoughts Show Up for You?

Notice what thoughts surface when you imagine yourself getting on the scale or stand in front of the mirror fully exposed. What’s your inner critic saying (the voice in you that makes you feel guilty)? What about your inner judge (the voice in you makes you feel ashamed)?

If it’s not what you’d want your best supportive friend to say to you, then practice letting go of those negative voices in favour of some empowering ones like “my body is worth it!”

Answer this key question: why even bother exercising, and eating healthier? What’s the cost to me if I don’t?

Let your WHY be your driver. I generally eat healthy and exercise to maximize my energy – that’s my why. I hear it calling me to pilates class every week when I’d much rather be reading a book on my back porch or having coffee with a friend. What’s your why?

How to begin getting there faster?

• Practice being in gratitude for what your body is doing for you right now no matter how it looks.

• Be kinder to yourself, and try not to look at your body as something that needs fixing, but rather see yourself as someone of incredible worth now willing to take responsibility for the body you want to create.

• Don’t compare yourself to other people – you have no idea what their inner story looks like.

• Create a practice of stillness or mindfulness mediation to re-connect to your true self.

Having a healthier inner you and staying in shape will get you there faster for whatever approach you take – there are many paths to the same destination. When you find wholeness within – all kinds of miracles show up for what you want to create everywhere in your life.

You no longer need to struggle to get there, and stay there. That’s when you’ll be ordering the dessert with no guilt.

Healthy, happy, energetic people have an inner knowing that not only honours “my body is worth it”, but “I’m worth it.” That’s why staying in shape is so important.