Aiming for Wellness and Self-Care
Living well is as much about your attitude as it is about the choices that you make. You create your health and well-being each and every day with small decisions such as eating fresh fruits and vegetables, moving your body more, treating others and yourself with kindness, and honoring and respecting the needs of your body to rest, relax, and exercise. Success in cultivating a healthy lifestyle depends a great deal on your attitude, your self-esteem, your skill at juggling priorities, and your capacity for finding joy and pleasure in the present.
Your Positive Attitude
A strong and healthy mind contributes to a strong and healthy body. More and more studies show that the power of positive thinking is genuine. People who believe that they're able to accomplish a goal are much more likely to succeed in achieving it. Some studies show that people with more positive attitudes even have stronger immune systems, are more able to fight off infections successfully, and are less likely to come down with illnesses.
With your impending marriage and change in your life's circumstances, you're facing a time when multiple demands are being placed upon you. The decisions that you make not only affect you, but also your future family, closest friends, and future spouse. To overcome these pressures and handle your responsibilities well, it's important to remind yourself that you're doing the best that you can and that you're only human. In other words, don't put superhuman demands or expectations upon yourself. Be sure to take extra time for pampering and self-care.
Relaxation is essential to your well-being and also to successful weight management. When you're stressed, you secrete the hormone cortisol. This hormone contributes to the accumulation of fat, particularly in the abdominal area. To reduce weight in this area, you need to lower your levels of stress hormones as well as exercise and eat right.
Instead of focusing on what you can't do and thereby increasing your stress levels, stay positive about what you're able to fit into your schedule. Everything and anything that you do is a step in the right direction. If you can't do a forty-five minute workout, don't beat yourself up. Negative, self-defeating thoughts do much more harm than good. Turn the situation around and do a fifteen-minute workout and be glad that you could squeeze that much in. Each day, try to find time for a few minutes of something good for your body — deep breathing, stretching, walking, a set of pushups or squats — whatever you can integrate into your daily routine.
When you're not able to be as active as you like, stay on course with your wellness goals and eat plenty of healthy foods that day. Add more salads and fresh fruit to your plate in place of things that are high in fat or sugar or that are highly processed. Give yourself time for relaxing activities, such as enjoying a bubble bath by candlelight. Or, go to bed early and catch up on your sleep. All of these actions help you to achieve your fitness and wellness goals, because you'll wake up refreshed and motivated the next morning. In this manner, you can find success each and every day.
Achieving success is the single most important factor to building self-confidence, which helps ensure more accomplishments. You need to set realistic goals for yourself to reinforce your ability to be successful. Positive role models help you to believe in your ability to do well. Seek out the company of friends who follow the lifestyle that you want to create for yourself.
Pay attention to how you talk to yourself. Negative self-talk can undermine your best efforts. Notice if you criticize or judge yourself, or engage in “all or nothing” thinking. An example of this is, “I missed my workout today so I might as well eat a pint of ice cream.” This type of mindset tends to escalate feelings of guilt and undermines your resolve to get back on track. Use the strategies described above to keep yourself positive about your ability to take good care of yourself each and every day. Congratulate and celebrate all the great things that you do
Do What Works for You
This book is packed with ideas, exercises, programs, and tips on how to shape up for your wedding day. But remember, you don't have to do or use every single one of them! Pick and choose among all the suggestions and go with what works for you. Make an effort to individualize your program. In other words, when what you decide to do meshes easily with what you want to achieve and with how you enjoy spending your time, then you're much more likely to meet with success. So, take the time to figure out what is actually achievable for you and what you like to do.
Your body has an inner wisdom. Cultivate your ability to hear your own internal messages more strongly. Pay attention to what feels good and right for your body and what feels uncomfortable or awkward. Notice whether you feel refreshed and energized after you complete an exercise sequence. If it helps you, track your feelings in a journal. After you've accumulated some entries, read what you've written and see if you can detect any patterns in your activities, your energy levels, and your feelings of well-being.
Another important step for you is to take full responsibility for your program. All of this information is here to support you. Ultimately, however, no one can execute any of these actions except you. No one but you can create your own health.
Studies show that it takes a minimum of two months to develop a new habit. If you find it challenging to keep up with your workout goals those first eight weeks, hang in there. Use as many strategies as possible to create a routine of more activity for yourself. After those first two months, you'll find it much easier to maintain.
The bottom line: stay focused on what really matters. You're getting married. You want all of your wedding festivities to commemorate this momentous occasion. You want to celebrate your love and share this experience with those who are nearest and dearest to you. With that in mind, keep your training in perspective. Be realistic about what you can achieve with the amount of time that you have available. Do your best and be proud of yourself.
Enjoy the Process
Your wedding workout program is not simply about end results and achieving goals; it's about enjoying the process. It's about feeling pleasure and joy in movement as an affirmation of your own sense of aliveness. It's about releasing your stress and tension and enjoying a deep and good night's sleep. It's about living life fully and being the best person that you can, because it makes you feel good about who you are. You're taking important steps toward your own self-care, which will also help your spouse and your future life together. Your best self lies within you. You're actively taking steps to highlight that part of yourself.
Enjoy your training program as part of the whole series of events that will culminate with your wedding. And, the best part is that you can continue maintaining your fitness and enjoying wellness in your life long after the wedding and honeymoon are over.
