AllyStrong Lifestyle Coaching

I have to admit…this blog was hard to write. Why? Because I don’t want to give my readers the impression that I am judging them. And talking about why people don’t make time to exercise, eat right, relax and stress is the kind of “I’m better than you because I’ve got it all figured out” kind of place I may seem to be coming from Steroid Australia. But I do not have it all figured out, and never will. But I have not figured it all out and never will. I just find what works for me most days, stay connected to my motivations, and set aside time for re-energization. And at the core of it all, I want to help you do that. It’s about finding out why you want to make a change, figuring out if you’re really willing to do the work that needs to be done, and finding creative and intentional ways to make it happen. To find balance, to challenge ourselves (because that’s how we grow), and to find great appreciation for ourselves in the process.

When we hear from people who struggle to make exercise, nutrition, and stress reduction a priority, the number one reason they don’t do so is simply that they don’t have time. They don’t have time, they can’t find it, and even when they do find it, other things take priority. But consider this. I like to think of time as energy. Because that is what we lack. Energy. Now, I am not a “no excuses” type of coach. I fully understand that many people are under a lot of pressure to get things done. Work, school, family, friends, jobs around the house, volunteering, church, etc., etc., etc. But at some point, we need to stop wishing for time and energy and start making space for it. How can we do this? From my personal experience, there are a few issues to consider.

1) Lack of energy (time) management

2) Not wanting to give up certain things (TV, surfing Facebook every 10 minutes, etc.)

3) Too many commitments.

4) They believe they need more time for exercise, healthy eating, and stress reduction than they actually have.

Let’s take a quick look at each of these.

Poor time management decreases productivity. I learned this the hard way when I started my business. If you want to accomplish all that you need and want to accomplish, you have to seriously rethink how you manage your time. I get up at 4 a.m. every day and take time for writing and sometimes the gym, whether I really need it or not. Do you think I am crazy? No. But work and gym workouts are my top priorities, and I get a lot done between 4:00 and 7:30 before the kids wake up. That’s great, and I’m glad I’m able to do that. But to be honest, I am 100% a morning person. If you ask me to stay up until after 10pm, I absolutely can’t! I’m not a morning person. So why do I get up so early on days when I don’t have to? Because Connolly Drive Medical Center is when my energy is at its highest and no one needs me at 4 am. My pre-planned schedule never goes as expected, and if something goes wrong (kids get sick, snow day or me), I can get ahead of it. That is my way of using my energy wisely.

So we need to reflect on our day. Where do we find the time to be productive? To do this, we need to be creative, get up early and stay up late. We don’t want to do that… we can’t? Yes, it is. (Please know that the early morning hours are prime time. (Especially if you are a parent). And you may need to rethink whether you really want to change. I am not judging you! Please listen. I am simply stating that re-evaluating your current habits and daily structure is necessary in order to change. So, let’s move on to…

Where to spend your free time We all have the right to have some time to zone out. It can be a TV show, surfing the web, or anything else. Two years ago, I was avidly watching “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead,” “Criminal Minds,” and probably a few other shows. I would record them and watch them during the day when the kids were at school. It is amazing to look back on my life now and see how it has changed. When I decided to take my fitness, nutrition, and overall life happiness to an even higher level, I gave up most of my TV. But here’s the interesting thing…it wasn’t immediate and it wasn’t necessarily intentional. It just sort of happened as I took small steps toward my goal. I realized that there were certain things that were not adding value to my life. Television was one of them. Does that mean I don’t watch TV? No, but I rarely do. But I rarely do. I prefer to spend my time doing other things. I have learned to relax just as much or more. For example, reading books that help me be more productive, understand my job better, and add value to my life. And then there is napping. Power naps are the best!

So we need to take an honest look at how and where we are spending our time zoned out. If it is on TV, are there programs that we can give up? If so, we should be able to free up 30 minutes to an hour a day. Amazing!!! Think about it for a moment. That’s an entire extra hour, right? Does that TV program add value to our lives? If not, let it go…we can always change our minds and come back to it.

Too many commitments. This is difficult. When I talk to people, I realize that sometimes people put their value on being busy, busy, busy. If you are not super busy all the time, it means you are not serving anyone. It’s hard to say no. But you have to think about what you are saying yes to. My mentor, Jill Coleman of JillFit Physiques, says that when we constantly say yes to primobolan people, even when we really don’t want to, we are often robbing them of the experience of doing that thing for themselves and learning from it I argue. We want to be all things to all people. But what about being what we need to be? Where does that fit in? Let’s leave this one out and really challenge ourselves to make a list of all-time commitments. Then consider what would happen if we let some of them go. Would the others involved be able to live without our participation? How would our participation benefit them?

Thinking we need more time than we actually do. How much time do you think it takes to exercise, relieve a little stress, or maintain sustainable, healthy eating habits? That means on a daily basis. Let’s start with exercise. If you are intentional about exercising at an appropriate intensity, I assure you that you will never need more than 30 minutes a day. What does that mean? Did you know that most people spend half their time at the gym chatting, trying to figure out what exercise to do next, or doing an exercise that doesn’t meet their intended goals? In other words, they are wasting time. I see it every day. An hour on the treadmill, 30 minutes of strength training, then stretching, talking, etc. No wonder this makes people not want to start exercising. It takes time. But it doesn’t have to. Make a plan. If you don’t know what to do about exercise, it’s okay to ask for help. Whether it’s at the gym or at the Clenbuterol distributor, go to your living room with purpose and intention…get in, get out. The same goes for our eating habits. There are hacks out there to help us and all we have to do is ask those who are already doing it. I have found that there are three times of the day that are best for stress reduction. Put on some relaxing music for 5 or 10 minutes and let your mind go. Listen to music for meditation on YouTube. Relax in the car before heading back to the office. Set an alarm on your cell phone and be intentional about it. I do this in the morning while waiting for my coffee to brew. Or I go to bed 5-10 minutes early. Just take a step.

Next time, we’ll talk about the guilt we tend to feel when spending time on ourselves and one key to making it a priority. So, love to you all…and let’s do something awesome!

It’s OK, It’s Not OK. 5 Ways to Accept Bad Days and Still Keep Trying

Do you know someone who is always ridiculously positive? No matter what, all they can say is, “Look on the bright side,” or “Be thankful for what you have.” I think sometimes things happen that we don’t like. That’s just the way life is. I consider myself one of the most positive people I know, but that hasn’t always been the case, and that doesn’t mean I don’t have bad days. Now that I have told you a little about my past, let me tell you a little more.

I was a laxative bulimic for 8 years. This meant that every time I ate, regardless of the amount, I swallowed about 6-8 laxatives to get rid of food. I was constantly dehydrated, which caused heart palpitations, dizziness, headaches, and dry mouth. This is how my nutritional needs were depleted, but I still pushed myself to exercise for hours and hours every day. It still wasn’t enough. And because my body was completely depleted, I would eat whatever I could get my hands on. And the cycle repeated itself. I was in a black hole. I was isolated, angry, depressed, whiny, unhappy, resentful, hopeless, you name it. It was completely dominating my thoughts, emotions, and life. I tried psychologists, registered dieticians … all the “normal” Anavar Australia solutions. But what I didn’t know was that I was not a “normal” person. What I didn’t know was that I needed to ditch the normal, I needed something that would allow me to completely stop the obsessive, restrictive, all-or-nothing mindset. But it was I who had to make the decision to try something else. And thank God I made that decision.

I hired a coach. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I had no choice. It was this, or I was going to live the rest of my miserable life in an eating disorder hole and probably never see my kids reach their 20s. Pretty sad, right? No. I am not. Do not feel sorry for me or any other sufferer. Sympathize, but do not pity. My coach empowered and guided me to understand that I was in control all along. My eating disorder does not control me, nor is it my identity. My eating disorder is my cross, and I am finally at the point where I can appreciate what it has taught me and accept what it has brought me. I work with my coach to set goals and take action every day to move me forward. Did I fail at some things? Ha!!! Have you ever wondered if this would work? That’s right. Been tempted to give up and accept the fact that I am sick and broken? Every day, and this infuriated me! I was doing something different, challenging the norm, but I still wasn’t “cured”. I was still having bad days. I thought that if I got a coach, set goals, and developed new habits, everything would go poof and get better, but it didn’t. It wasn’t.

Bad days never stop, do they? All we can do is learn how to cope and tackle them as they happen. But let’s not walk around expecting it to happen. When you live a lifestyle of fitness and nutrition that is not superdrol meant for you, you know it in your gut that it is not sustainable forever. You go into a constant worry mode because you know that any results you achieve will be temporary. But when you find that sweet spot, where you actually eat and enjoy the way you exercise, that worry goes away! In this case, its no such worry. And it makes it so much easier to deal with bad days. So I decided to talk to my coach and this was a great discovery. So now, when I have a bad day, when I get frustrated, stuck, or don’t see any progress mentally or physically, these are the 5 coping strategies I use.