With the Transformation in week 4 now, you should be getting some pretty amazing results whether you’re training with us or following along at home…if you are sticking to the plan.
You know, that plan you had to exercise on specific days and specific times and get to bed early and the meal plan you have stuck to the fridge that you are trying to make work.
I know that there will be many of you who don’t stick to your plan because life gets in the way.
I also know there are going to be some people who stick to their plan despite life getting in the way.
How do they do it? What is different about them compared to me?
I’m one of those people who sticks to it despite whatever life throws at me and I think a lot of it comes down to your personal values in life.
Try this. Make a list in order of your top 5 values in life. There is no right or wrong answer, just your personal values coming through.
Some suggestions are family, friends, health, appearance, religion, finances, freedom, friendship, company, social life, comfort, influence, job, relationship with partner, philanthropy, punctuality, relaxation, simplicity, having the latest toys, etc.
What’s at the top of your list?
Where is health on your list or is it even on your list?
The reason I bring it up is I’ve been through a long health battle and my recovery relied on my health being at the top of my values, because when I lost my health I almost lost my ability to work along with my business and the income it provides.
Without that income I could have lost everything I’d ever worked for. So health was my top priority and everything else was shelved, and I mean everything.
‘It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.’
Mahatma Gandhi
My social life stopped, I stopped seeing my friends and family, I worked as little as I could to sustain my earnings and dipped heavily into my savings to keep me going.
All of the comforts of a normal life were gone and my sole reason to wake up each day was to take a step forward with my health and work just enough to help my clients succeed without burning myself out and taking a step backwards.
I think your health should be your top value in life.
Health encompasses all things nutrition, exercise and recovery. This includes sleep which comprises one third of your entire life so I guess that’s important, drinking water which is essential to our survival, eating which we all need to do and more so want to do and exercise which keeps our muscles strong and fit and our vital organs healthy.
It often gets shelved when going through difficult times in your life such as the birth of a child and its early months or years, the death of a loved one or a broken relationship. This may be ok for a short while, but can be very hazardous in the long term.
‘Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.’
Thomas Jefferson
But if you can keep your health as a high importance task you can keep up with the added workload and/or responsibility that goes along with anything. Lose it and you could lose much of what you already highly value.
Sure it’ll take some work to build good habits but that’s why it’s important to stay healthy and keep working to improve your health all the time.
I’ve met people in their 70’s who look fifty!
I’ve also met people in their 30’s who look fifty!!!
If you’re sick then you can’t train and thus can’t reach your goals. You focus should be on building your immune system and reducing the stress in your life.
If you’re injured then you can’t train like you want to and thus can’t reach your goals. You focus should be on rehabilitating those injuries as much as it takes so you can get back to regular training.
If you’re overweight then you should focus you energy on making better food choices and eating as much natural food as you can.
If you’re too busy to cook then why not try a meal delivery service? They aren’t that expensive when you add up the cost of buying lunch or dinner too often.
If you’re having trouble sticking to your diet or meal plan maybe you should look at another diet that suits you more. Or talk to someone about your specific needs and favourite foods and get a custom plan written up.
If you’re stuck in a rut you should definitely try something new and exciting to re-motivate you,
If you’re tired you should focus on saying NO more often and getting to bed early. Or maybe you need a visit to a naturopath or other health professional to sort out a sleep issue. There are solutions out there!
If you’re stressed exercise is more effective than wine for unwinding from a busy day and will clear your head and leave you feeling better than when you started. The number of times I’ve been to the gym with a headache and left feeling like a million bucks is more than I have fingers and toes.
If you’re sick, injured, overweight, busy, undisciplined, stuck in a rut, tired or stressed can still train and eat healthy and you can still reach your goals but you’ve got to want it bad enough and do whatever it takes.
It may take a little longer but you can still get there.
‘My main goal is to stay healthy because when you’re injured you realise how lucky you are to have your health.’
Maria Sharapova
You’ve just got to overcome the barriers in your way and win the ‘do I train, don’t I train’ argument that we all have as well as ‘do I cook or do I eat out’ and ‘to wine or not to wine?’
We can all come up with excuses not to train or eat healthy. Only some of us can come up with the reasons why we have to train and eat healthy.
With that in mind here’s a few more recipes for you to try.
Avocado Mango Chicken – Serves 4
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (from canned chipotle chillies)
- 2 limes
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (120g each)
- 1 large mango, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped corriander
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
Directions:
Mix Worcestershire, soy and adobo sauces with juice from 1 of the limes in a bowl. Place chicken in a sealable plastic bag and pour in marinade. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Heat oven to 180 degrees.
Combine mango, avocado, coriander, onion, salt and juice from remaining lime in a bowl, then refrigerate. Transfer chicken and marinade to a baking dish and cook until tender and no longer pink, approximately 20 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven, place each breast on a plate and top with 1/4 of salsa.
Baked Salmon with Dill – Serves 4
4 (170g) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)- Cooking spray
- 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 lemon wedges
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180°.
Place fish on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray; lightly coat fish with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish with dill, salt, and pepper.
Bake at 180° for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with lemon wedges.
