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Day 29!! Congratulations friends! You made it to the last day of our healthy habits challenge! But of course this is not the end....it's just the beginning! We have started to lay the groundwork for some good healthy habits...now keep it going. Even though our 4 weeks is done, the lifestyle continues! I will keep this group open so feel free to continue to post, ask questions, reach out for support, motivation and inspiration. I would still love to hear about your successes and struggles over the past 4 weeks. Thank you to everyone who participated, contributed, shared and observed. The strength of this group starts with each one of you. Let me know what you'd like to see in 2017. I've got ideas but I am always looking for input from you! Happy holidays and thank you!!! "I can do this." xo maria 
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Day 28.
Happy Thursday friends. We are wrapping up this challenge tomorrow. Today I'm wondering how you are doing and if you are willing to share your successes and/or struggles throughout these past 4 weeks. I think hearing from each other helps us realize that we are not alone in our triumphs and our challenging times. Please take a few moments to write here . Thank you!!!! Day 26. Gentle reminder: Healthy habits. Each day. Make a plan. Make them happen. Not so gentle reminder to self: Don't eat 6 of these before 11am. 😜 #magiccookiebarsaremyweakness Have a good day everyone.  Day 25. This is the last week of our challenge. Congrats on making it this far. Whether you've been amazingly successful or have struggled on and off to get through these four weeks, remember that today is a new day, a clean slate, a DAY ONE for you to get things done. Make your habits happen today friends. Take a minute to reflect on your intentions. Set your plan for today. Just for today. Trust the process. You can do this.  Day 24. Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend. It's Sunday morning and the whole day is ahead of us. I know that on weekends at holiday time it can be so challenging to stick with nutrition and fitness goals, but it is possible. What can you do just for today to make your intentions a reality? You have 24 hours....1,440 minutes....today. Take 5 minutes to make a plan for how to make your healthy habits happen today. We are together in this challenge til Friday. You can do this.  Day 22. "There's no such thing as being too busy. If you really give importance to it, you'll make time for it." I read this quote last week and have been trying to keep this in mind...especially during this end of the year holiday season. How can we apply this to our healthy habit goals? How do we make our intentions a priority during the hectic times? We all have 24 hours in our day. How do we get it done? I'd love to hear from you if you have time to share. :-) Have a great Friday night. No birthday parties this weekend so I will check in tomorrow!  Day 21. Happy Thursday. Every time I work out, I am reminded of Day One because I'm still working so hard to get back to my "old self" as far as endurance and strength. My hip/back injury over the summer set me back and I'm trying (TRYING!) to practice self-kindness when I get winded quickly or struggle to lift what used to be "light weights." Today, when I found 30 minutes to myself for some gym time, I thought about yesterday's post and the question I posed to all of you. "What can I do today that I couldn't do before?" To keep myself in check with a healthy mental perspective, my answer today was I can walk. I can walk into the gym and choose to work out. Even if I'm lifting small weights. I CAN bend down, pick them up and move them. For 3.5 months I couldn't do any of that without brutal pain. Today I can practice gratitude for my pain-free body. As we move into the evening and Friday tomorrow, please see if you can keep a healthy perspective surrounding your healthy habits. Small steps. One day at a time. Trust the process. Do what you CAN just for today.  Day 20. What can you do today that you couldn't do before? "Before when" you might ask? "Before what" you may wonder? Before today....yesterday...before last week... If you wrote out all the things you can do now that you couldn't do "before"....your list would be infinite. We are learning and doing beings. From the moment we are born, we are learning,experiencing and adding to our list of all the things we CAN do:
We likely don't give a second thought to many of these activities because they have all become habits and personal skills. But there once was a time (it could be a lonnnnggggggggg time ago) when each of these experiences I listed out above, was new, unknown, difficult and maybe even scary. The first one that comes to mind for me is "pumping gas." Growing up in New Jersey, we didn't pump gas at the service stations...it was all "full-serve." Dad drove in. A little bell rang. The nice guy came out. Dad handed him a $10 bill. The nice guy pumped ten dollars worth of gas and we drove away. When I moved to Philly and finally had my own car, I was absolutely panic-stricken the first time I rolled into a gas station and discovered that I had to do it myself. No nice guy. What?! Well....I could've charged admission to see that comedy show and how long it took me to do it correctly...but lo and behold, I learned. I couldn't pump gas "before"....and now I CAN. As we think about our heathy habit intentions today, please keep in mind that some of this may be new territory for you. Yes we all eat. But eating healthier, cleaner, cutting some unhealthy junk out of our daily diet could be new, difficult and maybe even scary. We all move our bodies....but finding dedicated time in the day for intentional, heart rate-raising exercise and movement could be a novel experience. Everyone has a Day One...for EVERYTHING we do. So if today is a day where you are struggling or feeling successful, remember that it takes time to master new skills and habits. Like we've been saying all along....focus on what you CAN do and realize that THIS moment, this challenge....this will someday be the "before." Eventually, the new habit or intention is going to be yet another skill or ability you will list out for me when I ask: "What can you do today that you couldn't do before?" And if you feel like giving up, think about this little, clueless Jersey girl figuring out how to pump gas all by herself, in the dark at a gas station in Philadelphia. After you stop laughing, realize that anything is possible! :-) "I can do this."  Day 19. Three questions today to review and reflect upon: 1. What is your healthy habit intention? 2. How are you making that habit happen? 3. Why are you working on this goal? Stay focused on your intentions today, friends, and the answers to these three questions. If you find yourself faltering....take a breath... and come back to these three questions and the answers. Get up and move. Drink your water. Breathe out. Put your running shoes on. Stretch. Choose a healthy snack. Eat dinner without distraction. Whatever you are working on.... You can do this today.  Day 18. Good morning team. Hope you are doing well. Spent another weekend celebrating the birth of one of my children! Crazy busy, fun and tiring! Again...my apologies for no weekend posts. I'm happy to be back with you again this Monday morning.. So. How is it going? I am struggling a bit this month with my exercise commitment. I seem to run out of minutes in my day to get my workout in for myself. And now I have a chest cold. Rather than getting all bummed out though I'm recommitting to my other healthy habit goals...water and cleaner eating. And hoping that as I feel better and my schedule frees up a bit, I can work in some exercise time. I like today's quote because I think it's on point with how we can feel throughout these challenges. In the beginning we are "all in"... motivated and inspired to make some changes or tweaks to our habits. Then as time passes, it's so so easy to start to slack. That determined "mood" has left you. I'm right there with you. And that is why this group can be so effective...to help us stay or get back on track. Today let's recommit to whatever goal(s) we are working on. If there is a healthy habit that might be too difficult today, then what else can you do? If you can't get to the gym for a 60 minute workout....can you instead get there for 30 minutes and make each of those minutes really effective? If you forgot to plan a dinner for tonight, can you find 5 minutes in the morning to think about the food in your fridge that you could pull together for dinner?Can you grab an apple instead of chips for snack? Remember that you are not alone in this journey. Lean on one another. Recommit. Do something small. You can do this.  |
Maria FinneganWelcome and thank you for visiting this site. I'm happy and grateful to have a place where I can write about fitness and wellness. In addition to blogging about exercise and sharing workouts, I also use this space to tell 200-word stories about the inspiring and amazing people I encounter in this career. I look forward to sharing as many of these journeys as possible, and would love to hear from you if you would like me to tell your story. You can contact me anytime. Thank you so much for your interest and your effort. Think fit...be fit...stay fit! You are stronger than you think. #STYT Archives
February 2018
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