Tuesday's Motivation

Good morning, ladies :)  How are you awesome challengers doing?  Did you succeed at day 1?  Did you get in any workouts? Is anyone having problems figuring out My Fitness Pal?

Something I forgot to mention previously, is if you're currently a nursing mom, be sure to add in about 500 extra calories per day to your diet above and beyond what MFP suggests :)  And that's just a result of Googling the subject- I'm sure you all know more than I do on the subject!

So as the intro pointed out, the format for posting and discussions I try for is Check-ins on Mondays, Motivation on Tuesdays, Recipes/Snacks on Wednesdays, Workouts on Thursdays, and Motivation on Fridays. 

Forgive me, but this week all that's on my mind is Thanksgiving!  I am so excited for a little getaway, new trails to run on, maybe more rest & more workouts than usually afforded in a work week.  Thanksgiving tends to be such a food-centered holiday.  America plans to wear their "stretchy pants" to the feast and gorge themselves uncomfortably and painfully full.  Our "I'm full" valves don't function on the last Thursday of November.  I've been thinking a lot about it, thinking of what my strategy is going to be that day around all my mother-in-law's yummy goodness and sinfully scrumptious dishes.  Obviously we could all get in some extra workouts and having a Thanksgiving feast not affect us much in the weight department. But it bugs me about myself that at such a family schmorgusboard as Thanksgiving, I make myself uncomfortable.  I want to be comfortable.  I want to not be clutching my tummy.  A good taste of everything should be great. So for this Thanksgiving, I am going to enjoy with thankfulness and happiness a serving spoon of everything, but that's it.  No mountain 'o guilt piled high on this plate.  The holiday is not about the food.  It's about spending time with family & friends, about sharing your blessings, about recognizing the little things in life that bring you joy.  What are your strategies and thoughts?

Here are some non-food-centered ways that you can really celebrate Thanksgiving in a spirit of gratitude this year:

1. Make a Thankful Turkey: From Meghan, "Every November I make a "Thankful Turkey". It's simply an empty tissue box decorated to look like a turkey with a slit in the top for you to put papers inside. We sit the turkey in the center of the kitchen table with a tiny stack of small papers and a pen next to it. The idea is to write down things you are thankful for and slip the paper into the turkey. Whenever we think of something, we slip it into the turkey. On Thanksgiving, we "carve" the turkey and read aloud all the things we are grateful for. It's a lot of fun!You are all inside my turkey waiting to be read aloud on Thanksgiving Day!

2. Take a Thankful Walk (& continue this throughout the year): From Jon Gordon, "Take a simple 10-minute walk each day and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day."  Maybe you could take your families out for a group Thankful Walk!

Fill your heart with gratitude and you'll be healthier!!!!  Here's an excerpt from an article/newsletter from Jon Gordon, a motivational author & corporate consultant, positivity guru, & whose idea the Thankful Walk was up above: "THANK YOU. They are two words that have the power to transform our health, happiness, athletic performance and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart's rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It's actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with emotions and endorphins that uplift and energize you rather than the stress hormones that drain you. Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets."

Did you know there were so many health benefits to being grateful?  Slap that smile on your face, lace up those gym shoes, and revel in all of those blessings in your lives, INCLUDING an amazing body with wonderful potential for strength and willpower.  And of course, who couldn't use more endorphins?!? :)  Have a fantastic day, ladies!