Results of Week-Long Focus on Healthy Evenings (see: Confessions)

Good morning! It's been a week since I wrote my Confessions post, in which I admitted to my secret evening demons. I was overeating and occasionally drinking too much beer on a regular basis. It was commonplace for me to snack up until I went to bed, and eat far too much sugar. I outlined some action steps to curb this behavior, which included eating a large, healthy snack in the afternoon so I didn't get too hungry at night, taking some time to focus and decompress after my long day (yoga), and planning and eating a healthy, early dinner.

The first night was picture-perfect--healthy, vegetarian dinner, long walk, no alcohol, in bed by 9. The other nights, I did a fairly good job. Much different than what I was doing before, at least. I did yoga probably 5 of the nights, and did eat a healthy early dinner all the nights except one. And I managed the substantial healthy snack every day.

This made a huge difference in the way I felt at night, and also how I felt in the morning. I went to bed every night feeling calm and peaceful, and woke up feeling well-rested and healthy, not to mention proud. Remembering how good I would feel in the morning was a huge motivation for me when I was feeling weak at night. It would be easy to feel like I was making a lot of sacrifices, but I was really figuring out a way to serve my whole self better.

Oh, and I lost 5 pounds.

I also learned an important lesson: we beat ourselves up too much. We are our own worst critics, but we should be our own best cheerleaders. I had a problem in my life, and it took me years to figure out that I could just sit down and work out a solution. Outline some steps and follow them. I was criticizing myself over and over again, rather than helping myself get to a better place. Would I ever do this to my kids? Or my coworkers? Or my husband? No way! So, why is it ok to treat myself badly?  It isn't!

So this exercise in trying to remedy a specific problem in my life really became a lesson in self-love. Treat yourself the best you can. When you eat healthier or exercise more or focus on your spiritual life, you are helping yourself. So many people think of it as punishment. Think of it as doing yourself a favor...treating your body and your mind the best you can.

Have a beautiful rainy Thursday morning!