A Challenge

My wonderful daughter reminded me of a commitment I had made before Christmas, and then abandoned.
My new Level Up Goal is to revitalize that commitment.
Ugh!
I will not eat until my stomach growls.
Grrrr.....

Moderation

Every diet I've ever been on, and there have been lots of them, starts with a list of what to avoid and what to eat.
I can follow a list like that for about 3 days, unless I'm really motivated, then maybe a month or two.
So, what is the root of the problem?
I've seen some dogs eat everything in sight, even swallow socks whole. I've seen other dogs eat just enough food to satisfy their hunger, and then try to cover it when they are finished eating. Iko and Keiko mostly eat to satisfy their hunger, unless we are eating something that Keiko really wants. Then she will go tap her communication button that says "hungry." She wants yummy things! If Iko isn't hungry, she just won't eat. How can I learn to be like Iko?

My goal of the day is to consider the word moderation before I eat.

Proverbs 23:2-4 The Voice (VOICE)

2 If you are the type who eats too much too fast,
    do whatever is necessary to curb your enthusiasm for food.
3 Also, do not eye the ruler’s delicacies,
    for the food may not be what it seems.
4 Do not overwork yourself just to become wealthy;
    have enough sense to know when to quit.

Maybe Keiko and Iko are trying to tell me something!

Water

I read somewhere that when fat it released from the body, it turns into water and carbon dioxide. The premise of the article was that if you want to lose weight, you should drink more water and breathe more.

I don't know if it's true, but pretty much everything I've ever read about weight loss and healthy living says that drinking more water is important.
I   don't   like   water.
There, I admitted it. I like liquids with flavor: coffee, tea, juice, pop, sparkling water....
My dogs drink water. They will even drink mud-puddle flavored water.

Here is my new Level Up My Health goal. 

I will drink one of these per day. With water in it. And ice. Gotta have ice.
My plants remind me that every living thing needs water. They remind me by dying when I forget to water them. That's a morbid thought. I think I will go water myself.

Move More

Today I was able to walk in the woods with two giggly girls and three delightful dogs. 

When I got an icy patch on the path and fell, I figured out my new movement goal. I'm going to get down on the floor and get up again twice a day. It's not as easy to get up from the ground as it used to be, before I gained all this weight.

Here is a picture of Tempo, one of my Doggy School students. He's learning step by step. Every week he learns a little more. What an inspiration!

Big Picture and Details

I like to see the big picture.

I also like to know the details.

So when I'm training dogs, I like to know where we are going to end up eventually, but I also love breaking down the process and figuring out the details.

When I'm designing or painting sets for a drama production or making costumes, I like to know how it's all going to look together, but I also love learning how to achieve the big picture by figuring out the detailed steps.

So, if the big picture of my Healthy Living journey means that I'm going to end up healthy, what do I need to figure out in the details? Putting together the look of a musical requires knowledge in different areas, such as building, painting, sewing, design, color theory, etc. Putting together a training routine for a dog also requires knowledge in several areas, such as training methods, socialization, stress-reduction, nutrition, motivation, communication, etc. What areas are involved in a Healthy Life journey? Movement, mindfulness, motivation, and moderation.

So I'm going to categorize the random changes I've made so far.

• Movement
• 5 active hours per day
• Mindfulness
• Journaling
• Think about why I eat something before I eat it
• Motivation
• Breathing
• Humming
• Light Box
• Taking Vitamin D
• Moderation
• Going to bed by 11:00

It looks like it's time to add another Movement goal, so I'm going to take 5000 steps per day. 

sleep

I should go to sleep earlier.

So, lights out and screens off by 11:00.

Everybody Move...(to quote the giant in the Princess Bride)

I got a really nifty Fitbit for Christmas. It has a little vibration that goes off 10 minutes before each hour if I haven't walked 250 steps that hour.

Since Christmas, some days I've achieved 8 or 9 active hours, other days 3 or 4.

In the past, I would set a goal of achieving 10 active hours per day, then after a week or two, I would not be able to do it, then I would just quit all together.

I'm doing things differently now. How can I break a movement goal into a tiny, achievable step, so I can Level Up my movement?

I'm going to choose the number 5. It's a little above my lowest days, but still possible to do. My Mom taught me yesterday to put on an active song and move during that song. It gets me enough steps, and jamming to Footloose and What Does the Fox Say with my Mom was really fun! And it gave us a break from our costume sewing and painting.

It's more difficult for me to be active on days when my creativity is flowing and I'm working on projects. It's easier to be active when my focus is on dog training. Because I'm always inventing ways to incorporate dog training lessons into life, I'm going to play the Magic Circle Game with my dogs during some of my active times. (It's in K9 Level Up, Level 2: Loose Leash)

Happy New Year!

What tiny, little, painless change can I make today, that will yield big results if I make it a habit?

My change is to think about why I'm eating before I eat--or even after....
Mindfulness.

Why did I eat three popcorn balls last night?
Was it to provide nutrition for my body? No.
Was it because I was too tired to make healthy choices? Yes.
Was it because I was feeling stressed? Yes.
Was it because I was afraid that I wouldn't get any more popcorn balls until my Dad makes them again next year? Yes.

Why didn't I eat any today?
Because of 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears in not made perfect in love.

As a force-free, fear-free dog trainer, I teach my dogs using positive reinforcement, not fear. Can I learn to live my own life based in Love and not in Fear?

I hope so.

Level Up

To have a well-trained dog, I need to break down every learning challenge into it's smallest components, and make changes one tiny step at a time, until the dog can learn the activity. To have a healthier mind, body, and spirit, I also need to make changes one tiny step at a time. I usually try to make huge lifestyle changes, and overwhelm myself, and quit.

So every day, I'm going to add one tiny lifestyle change, that I can actually sustain over time. I started yesterday with journaling. Every day, I will write down at least one sentence about my journey to giving myself the gift of being healthier before next year.

Today, I'm committing to doing a breathing exercise every day. I've done it in the past, and noticed huge changes in my mental health, my ability to handle stress, and my creativity. I also stopped taking antidepressants after doing this exercise faithfully for a month. But then over time, I stopped doing it faithfully. So for the next year, I am going to breathe intentionally every day.

Here is a link to the breathing exercise, if you want to improve your mental health with me.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thevagusnerve/learning_content/?filter=631935287319434

What tiny change can you commit to today, to Level Up your health?