“Your thoughts create your reality.  Make sure they are fabulous.”

Last week, Chase, my 16 year old, and I went on a spring break family tour.  We went to McKinney, Texas to visit my sister and her family then we flew from there to Denver to spent the rest of the week in Fort Collins with my oldest son Cole, at Colorado State, celebrating his 21st birthday.  What a trip…anyone who’s experienced the teenage years as a parent, especially with boys, can understand there is nothing more precious or scarce than time alone with these kids!  Having Chase all to myself for 7 days was magical…at least for me!  Then, to add being with BOTH boys and getting to sit back and watch them so happy to be together while actually being a part of it….well, it wasn’t a fancy trip to a tropical island or Europe…it was BETTER.  At this point in my life, the way I spent spring break 2017 was my ultimate vacation!

Cole, Chase and Me at the Denver Nuggets game

My sister, Paige, her hubby Tony, 2 of my nieces, 1 of my nephews, my boys and me❤

So upon our return, because I didn’t put any pressure on myself about the food or even the exercise or lack thereof, I was ready to get back to my routine.  As I reflected on this, I realized what a mind change this is from the way I used to operate my life.  When fun activities arose like vacations, long weekends, a special occasion, etc., I looked at it as a set back.  Something that caused me to “lose ground” on my program towards my goals.  The problem with this thinking is that it turns life into a catch 22.  When we see the things in life that are so much fun and truly good as only good in once sense but “bad” for us when it comes to managing our health it causes us to be seriously conflicted.  How healthy is that?  Or even true?  It’s a wrong thought!  No one became overweight from not tracking their food intake on vacation.   Or from a long weekend or a girls’ night out.  Those events are the icing on the cake of life and when we start to think they are for everyone else but not for us or we cannot enjoy them because of our weight, we are seriously on the wrong path.  The way we think, the thoughts we choose create our reality and the sooner we can not only see that but truly understand it, the journey changes.  And I mean drastically!  When we change our thoughts about the way we live our lives and the choices we make we can reduce our stress levels, calm our racing minds and see far better results physically as well.  Change the lens…..rather than seeing your health as getting from point A to point B and as fast as possible, try seeing the big picture.  The goal is balance and staying in balance for the long haul.  Not just until we get to some arbitrary number on the scale or lose some weight for one special event.

Our thoughts are everything and no matter what the situation, we have the ability and the luxury of changing them.  Don’t take my word for it…try it yourself!  How do you know your thinking is on or off track?  E-A-S-Y…how does it make you feel?  The thoughts I used to allow after an indulgence were…..I had messed up, had no self control, I would never get to my weight goal…..and they made me feel TERRIBLE.  Absolutely miserable.  Instead focusing on what an amazing trip it was, how much I deserved it and how precious the time was with these special people in my life makes me feel as if I’m going to burst with gratitude!   I can also step back and see the many good choices I made, even though I wasn’t tying myself down to tracking. These thoughts make me H-A-P-P-Y.  They make me grateful.  And the leave me feeling in control.  Just because I watch my weight and live health consciously over all, doesn’t mean that’s all I have to focus on and neither do you. Realizing this and grabbing an hold of these thoughts allowed me to be excited to get back to my regular routine with absolutely no guilt and for me, that’s real progress towards a healthy life!

Remember, All is Well❤

Love,

Terra😊