Chewing the Fat on Skinny: New Day New Way

Last night we watched Eddie the Eagle. I was enthralled with the main character Eddie- his never quit mentality and his consistently sunshiny outlook. Come to find out that Nate (my hubby) felt this way, direct quote- “I was looking for a sharp object to dag my eyes out.” Well, I guess we had two different takes on the movie. None-the-less it inspired some wellness related thoughts for this post.

Starting a wellness journey, whether to lose weight, transform your body, or both can seem like a task of Olympic-sized proportions. Especially if say, you’ve been there and done that before, perhaps again and again only to never reach your goal. At some point in that vicious cycle of self defeat, you may decide “why bother” and you settle for a life that’s “good enough” because it takes too much out of you to consider trying again.

I get that. I’ve been there. Several times. But I’m so glad that for some reason this time around I decided to see it through and I think that one of the biggest reasons why I was successful was a change in my mindset.

Mindset is more important than skill set.

Eddie, who decided he was going to be an Olympic ski jumper, had no training or skills to be a ski jumper. Yet he got in his mind that he was GOING to be a ski jumper and that nothing was going to get in his way. He may not have had the skills but he had the right frame of mind. Skills can be taught, a positive mindset comes from within. When you decide to have a positive frame of mind, you start to take control of your choices. You become the victor not the victim. Every day you wake up you can make the choice to be well. Will there be obstacles? Yes. Will there be crappy a$$ days? Hell yes. Getting healthy is hard work and it comes from consistently and persistently making one small choice that leads to one small action that leads to one small choice that leads to one small action that eventually, EVENTUALLY can lead to your Olympic-sized change.

Glory comes from seeing that the everyday moments are actually the big moments in the making.

At one point in the story Eddie’s coach tells him that he’s settling. That in choosing to do the 70m jump in the moment rather than training longer and working harder toward the 90m jump, he’s selling himself short. This one I agree and disagree with. Of course you’re going to shoot for that big moment- whatever that moment is for you. Getting to your goal weight. Running a half marathon. Being a certain size again (or for the first time). Doing a triathlon. Whatever it is, you know that it’s within your reach AND it’s going to take a lot of sweat and tears (and perhaps good cry here and there) to reach it. It’s important to keep our eyes on that big moment so we stay focused, but we don’t want to miss out on the everyday moments that are getting us there.

Preparing a healthy meal. Exercising when we don’t feel like it. Trying a new food. Starting fresh when we screw up. Increasing the weights or reps during a workout. Noticing that our clothes fit looser than they did before. Baking food instead of frying it. Cooking something at home instead of eating out. Passing on the bread bowl while eating out. Drinking water instead of soda. Having a single scoop ice cream cone instead of a double. Swapping out white bread for whole grain bread. THESE are the moments, that require determination, that require resourcefulness. These MOMENTS lead to the big moments. Don’t forget to celebrate these small wins.

Your past does not determine your present.

Eddie was surrounded by naysayers, but that did not stop him. Eddie knew that doing his best was his only option and that’s how he approached each day. He decided to prove people wrong. He decided to prove himself wrong. *movie spoiler alert* That state of mind is what got him to the Olympics.

Just because you’ve always been overweight doesn’t mean you always have to be. Just because you always stress eat doesn’t mean you have to be a stress eater. Just because you always try and fail on a “diet” doesn’t mean you have to fail this time. Eddie said these words out loud “I am a ski jumper” before he even was one and then he did what it took to make it happen.

What would happen if you started saying things like “I am fit” or “I make good choices” or “I am an athlete” or “I am strong” or “I am healthy”?

A new day can equal a new way, if you so choose. Face your fears head on and give it a go. Sometimes you just have to take that first jump.