Habits That Count

This morning I was cuddled up on the couch with my older daughter, looking out our  window and she noticed the frost. “Dad, why does the grass look weird?” I explained what frost was, and she went on to talk about how excited for winter she was.

One of our favorite parts of winter is playing in the snow. Almost always after the first snowfall we make out way outside and build the biggest snowman we can.

Habits are a lot like snowmen. You need to start with something small, and slowly build on it. Sometimes it doesn’t even seem like it’s accumulating anything, but before you know it, you have a giant snowball in front of you that you can’t even lift.

When I began my fitness journey, it began with the alarm clock. I didn’t go to the gym. I didn’t track my food. I made a deal with myself that I was going to get a set an amount of sleep each night to get, and the alarm clock was going to be my accountability partner. After a couple weeks of waking up every morning to my alarm clock, I decided I need to do something with that extra time in the morning, so I got a gym membership and I started to tinker around in the gym.

In the blink of an eye, I found CrossFit, started tracking my food, and lost 110lbs. It didn’t start at the gym though, it started with one small habit that snowballed.

Here’s a few ideas for small snowball habits you could start this week that might kick off something amazing…

1) Drink a set amount of water each day. Find a cup or bottle that you can use and drink 80-100oz of water each day.

2) Eat two servings of vegetables a day. Don’t worry about fine tuning anything else, just get those two servings in a day. It could be one giant salad or two single servings at two different meals. Just get in those veggies.

3) Set that alarm! The snooze button is a liar, it doesn’t give you more rest and tends to leave you more tired than if you had just gotten up in the first place. Set that alarm, and get moving in the morning even if you have nothing planned to do.

4) Reserve your PTL classes a week out. I might be a little biased in this one, but if you plan our your week a head of time and RSVP those spots in PushPress, you’re more likely to make it to the gym than if you waited until the last minute.

5) Go for a 30 minute walk every day. Walking is hands down the most underrated exercise, and almost everyone can do it. Make a deal with yourself to get a walk in each day.  

There’s plenty of other ideas out there, so if these don’t stick, don’t get discouraged. Keep fighting for yourself - Burn Brighter.