Adventures in Clean Eating

It being the day before New Years Eve, I think it’s fitting that the five lessons I’m sharing today have to do with motivation.  I’m actually still trying to figure out what my resolution is this year.  I think I’m going to push myself to stick to a vegan diet at least six days a week, as opposed to what I do now (eat vegan during most of my main meals if I’m eating in, but not limit what I eat when I’m out, plus regular non-vegan snacks and desserts).  Whatever your goal is, here are the things that help me stick to my goals.

11.  Save your favorite entertainment for the gym. I started listening to audiobooks over the summer when I had just finished the first Hunger Games book, and didn’t want to run, just start reading Mockingjay.  I compromised with myself and bought the audiobook off iTunes (for way too much money, I’ll add), and told myself if I wanted to listen to it, I had to be doing something productive.  If you’re a Hunger Games fan, you’ll understand why I logged a lot more miles than normal that month.  I save a good audiobook for the gym, cleaning, and commuting, and it really makes me look forward to those dreaded activities.  I also like to save magazines I like for the elliptical or treadmill for inclined walking (I’m not quite talented enough to run while reading).  To save money on audiobooks, I got an account at audible.com, so I can get a book a month for about $8.00.  You can also get books on CD at your library, but the selection at mine tends to be pretty picked over.

12.  Invest a little money. Buy a package at a yoga studio.  Get a cute workout top.  Invest in a good pair of running shoes.  I’m not saying become Lululemon’s best customer.  Your professional wardrobe is where the bulk of those funds should go, trust me.  But, if you spend a little hard-earned dough on your goal, you won’t want to waste it.  Plus, whenever I have a cute new workout outfit I really want to show it off.  For this to really work, buy something that will expire, like a month’s worth of classes at the gym.  Not only will you need to get your butt in gear quickly, but the more often you go, the more bang for your buck you’ll get.  LivingSocial and Groupon are great for stuff like this, since they always have expiration dates.

13.  Use non-food rewards. Rewards can be pretty powerful.  However, rewarding yourself with an unhealthy food is a slippery slope, for a number of reasons.  First, one key to learning to diet successfully is to separate your emotional ties to food.  You need to learn to learn to view food as it is: nourishment.  It is definitely okay to indulge sometimes, but treating food as a reward only fuels disordered eating, just as using food as therapy does.  Secondly, I’ve learned that the longer I go without junk food, the less I crave it.  However, I’m not very good at the moderation thing, so if I let myself have a little bit, I’ll go overboard.  And then I ruin a week’s worth of hard work.  There are plenty of other, healthier ways to reward yourself.  Buy yourself a present.  Go see a movie.  Read some sappy, indulgent book.  I’m a beauty product junkie, so I like to buy myself a new bottle of nail polish or some other product that I’ve heard works wonders when I’ve reached a week’s or month’s goals.

14.  Surround yourself with support. Unfortunately, we all have people in our lives who don’t want us to succeed, for whatever reason.  Whether it’s the coworker who pressures you to eat a cookie or the friend who tries to convince you to skip the gym, we all have one of these toxic people in our lives.  They aren’t malicious; they do what they do because they want to feel better about their own unhealthy habits.  As best you can, try to cut these people out of your life.  If that’s not possible, learn to recognize their sabotage.  Know that they’re just jealous of your will power.  Don’t fall for their tricks.  A true friend will support you on your journey to get healthy.  They’ll tell you they’re proud of you for rocking that race, instead of rolling their eyes at you when you say you have to go to bed early so you can run in the morning.

There is a caveat to this.  If a good friend approaches you with concern that you’re not eating enough, or may be working out to the point that it’s unhealthy, don’t write her off as a hater right away.  True, she might be uninformed about what good habits look like, or she doesn’t see what you’re eating when you’re not around, but at least listen to what she has to say.  It takes guts to tell someone that you think their behavior is destructive.  You don’t do that unless you really love someone.

15.  Make plans. Schedule your workouts in your planner, along with your other meetings and appointments.  This will not only help you figure out how to work them into your busy schedule, but it helps you to take it all more seriously.  One of the reasons I like classes is that they’re nonnegotiable.  When I plan to go for a run I can put it off until it never happens, but when I plan to take a class I have to get out the door by a certain time or I won’t make it.  Plus, if you start going to certain classes regularly you’ll say that it’s often the same group of people taking the class.  Even if you never get to know anyone, knowing that you might be noticed as missing one day is good motivation.  It feels like you have someone to be accountable to.  I used to go to the same 6 AM kickboxing class on Friday mornings for a while, but I had to change my work schedule and couldn’t make it anymore.  When I ran into my instructor at the gym one day, she asked me where I had been.  It was nice to be able to say that I had been going to a different class because of work, and not that I had just gotten lazy!

We’re off to Atlanta to see UVA play in the Peach Bowl tonight and won’t be returning until Monday, so this series will be taking a break for the holiday weekend.  I’ll be back next week with some more important lessons!  Anyone out there have a health-related resolution to share with the class?