There never seems to be enough time in the day do everything you want to do. There are people who say choose one thing, just one thing to complete a day.
In the area of health and fitness only allowing yourself one thing will not create lasting change. If you choose to eat right as your one thing you are missing out on many other important aspects of becoming healthier. Now I am not saying fill your day with the sole focus on health and fitness. How about pick a daily 5? They say stacking no more than 5 habits is needed in order to stay consistent. If one is not enough and 5 is the maximum number what would you choose?
I chose as My daily 5:
· To drink a minimum of 48 oz of water a day
· To workout a minimum of 20 minutes a day
· To do 10 minutes of free writing or free talking
· Every time I passed a mirror, look myself in the eye and tell myself my wins and give a truthful reflection of my mess up and what I learned from them
· To eat 100% unprocessed foods a day
Sound manageable? It took me time. Can you believe I let my water intake slip to somedays only what I drank as coffee? It took me almost three months to get my water intake consistently at 48 oz or more a day.
I had overestimated the amount of time I was willing to spend on exercise. So, I backed it up to 20 minutes a day, any more than that is a BONUS. Who doesn’t like to think you gave yourself a bonus? This I was willing and able to commit to.
Free writing, that may be something you have never heard of. I definitely had never heard of it until a couple of months ago. The idea is to set a timer for 10 minutes and allow your thoughts to pour out on paper. I started writing about what does caring mean, I wrote about self-esteem, I wrote about self-care, I wrote about excuses, I wrote about weight loss, I wrote about whatever topic was on my mind. That 10 minutes devoted to just putting thoughts on paper, or in free talking-saying aloud your thoughts is so very enlightening. I honestly believe that is how to make change happen. To give yourself 10 minutes just to think and write. Some days are not so poetic and some days you think, “Wow I am a genius.” The best part of free writing is at the end of 10 minutes, you don’t keep it. You rip it up and let it go. No ruminating. Maybe some reflecting. If it causes you to understand a part of yourself that is a good thing. But it is important to toss the writing in the trash. Free writing last for 40 days. If you miss a day you reset to 0. It’s the journey of self-discovery and the momentum must be upheld.
Mirror work. This is my chance to be my own best friend. To honor my wins, big or small and to let go and learn from the failures. It is about looking directly into my own eyes and feeling safe. Feeling loved. Feeling ok to be me. Mirror work is very empowering if you give it a chance.
The last on my list is to eat 100% unprocessed foods. This did not happen overnight. It was a process, a process of cleaning up my kitchen from all the unhealthy temptations. Learning alternatives to sugar. Learning healthier ways to cook and plan meals. Learning new ways to shop. And learning to not have to push aside my feelings by eating or celebrate by eating. I do not expect to be 100% perfect. There are days that I will allow myself to splurge. Yet, for the majority of the time, the goal is 100% unprocessed foods. Foods that I can read and understand every ingredient on the label. Foods that I can name where they came from.
That is my Daily 5. I work on them every day. In fact, today I had to reset to 0 in free writing. I am still learning and still improving on this journey.
What are your daily 5?