Tips to combat the stories we tell ourselves when it comes to exercise and weight loss

I remember the days when I was looking down to see a number on my scales of over 200 pounds. Yep! I also remember how I so badly wanted that number to change! I knew I would have to change how I ate and commit to exercising regularly BUT I had no idea how to go about either.

AND given the perfectionist in me, it had me ground to a halt! I fumbled and stumbled on what worked and didn't work. The numbers on the scales went up and down. AND I came up with EVERY EXCUSE UNDER THE SUN of why I shouldn't or couldn't go to the gym. OH and "this bag of salt and vinegar chips is the last one I'm EVER going to eat" or "on Monday I will start my diet...yep for sure...because I already blew it for this week right?!" And my best excuse for the gym was a good one! (Drum roll please) "You don't want anyone to see your rolls and look at you SO if you wait until next week and lose a few pounds and get feeling a little better you will look good enough to go the gym." Yep! I was sooooo convincing!

Has anyone caught themselves telling these kinds of stories?

The stories we tell ourselves are so impactful and I feel for you if this happens to be where you are at on your journey.

I have taken many small steps that have accumulated over time to get me where I am today. During this process I discovered that I`m madly passionate about bikes and food and both have changed my life in such a profound and positive way. I remember my first bike ride in Lost Lake on a green trail and having to walk my bike up a hill because I was so unfit. And look at me know. See picture below!

After a long struggle with lots of ups and downs with my weight, I hired a woman who I met at a downhill mountain bike camp in Whistler who was a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN). I learned so much from her and amazingly this meeting turned out to be the catalyst for me going back to school and becoming an RHN myself and then further specializing in nutrition for weight loss and also for athletes.

Another part to this story that I want to touch on is "self-talk". When I used to look into the mirror boy did I have some terrible words for myself swirling around. I could hardly look at myself for that matter. It was only two and half years ago in late November 2011 that things changed for me at the ripe age of 35!

For two years prior to that day, almost every time I got dressed and stood in front of the mirror I told myself I was beautiful. And on that day in late November I remember that I actually believed it and I stood there and cried. They were definitely tears of happiness and I think shock as well because I truly believed myself and had this incredibly sure feeling inside me.  

AND as a result of my belief in myself that I was beautiful, more weight came off and I didn't change a thing.

SO my advice to you is this.

#1 - Start changing the story you tell yourself.

Even if you don't believe it.  Say it anyway. Make a commitment to say one positive sentence (affirmation) to yourself every single day. It can be as simple as looking in the mirror and saying "I am beautiful", "I am enough" or "I love you". YES it feels weird at first. Do it anyway! :)

#2 - Patience and perseverance.

These are two of my all-time favourite words. Practice them. Be patient and kind with yourself and keep on keeping on with your bad self :) In other words never give up on YOU. You`ve got this!

#3 – Today is the day.

Today is the day to start making changes. Take action now. Not tomorrow, not the next day or the next OR you run the risk of your life passing you by. If you happen to drink 10 cups of coffee a day; drink one less. If you don’t like cooking and eat out all the time; cook dinner at home one night a week. If you never drink water throughout your day; make a goal to drink one cup.

#4 - Small changes over time lead to BIG results later on!

Take one day at a time making a minimum of one small step daily. It might just end up looking something like this! Non-athlete turned BIKEGIRL! :)