“Trade your expectations for appreciation and the world changes instantly.” Tony Robbins
Balance is a hard word to define. It means something different to everyone. What people balance varies in worth to others. Some of us may not have a creative balance bone in our body. Do we balance kids, homework, spouse, extracurricular activities, job, ourselves, money, time, health, etc. in a positive wholesome lifestyle? How do we rank these things in our lives?
Or… Are we scattered in all directions? Do you live moment to moment, day to day, activity to activity? Do your kids know you? Have you lost touch with your family or yourself? How wrapped up are you in “things” that you have neglected to balance?
Life is a balance of holding on to the important things and letting go of the things that get in the way.
When you hear the word balance, you tend to think of scales. I have taken three types of scales to compare to life.
THE FOOD SCALE:
Balancing food versus energy. Energy is calories. Your energy balance is the balance of calories consumed through eating and drinking compared to calories burned through physical activity.
This is the simplest way to put this…
- The same amount of energy in and out = weight stays the same
- More in than out = weight gain
- More out than in = weight loss
“I work out every day, but I can’t lose weight.”
“I run 3 miles 4x a week and I can’t lose weight.”
“I go to spin class and body pump and walk my neighborhood, but I can’t lose weight.”
NEWS FLASH: You are overeating or you are not eating enough. You’re not eating to fuel your body in the correct way. It’s either your body can’t burn the excessive number of calories you are putting in or you are not putting in enough calories for it to burn fat.
A balance between food and exercise is essential in the weight loss game of life.
THE WEIGHT SCALE:
We are obsessed. Look, I am. Straight up. I weigh every day to keep me in check. I kind of like to see how I fluctuate and what foods bring me up pounds and if I drink my daily amount of water if I drop back down. It’s a game to me.
There can very well be a positive and negative take on this type of scale.
Positive – If it is used as a guide to keep you on track and between 1-5 pounds of your ideal target weight, GET ON IT.
Negative – If it consumes your being and every time you get on it, it pisses you off and you go eat, STAY OFF OF IT.
The positive reason has balance. The negative reason has instability.
Change does not exist in a comfort zone. Life is about letting go and learning to love and co-exist with others that are different than you. Balance your health verses the scale. You don’t have to be 120# to look amazing. We don’t all wear the same size shoe. Why does it matter our jean size? The only reason to change is if your appearance bothers you not others. Be you and accept that that is enough.
A good friend of mine just posted a picture of herself in a bikini with her children. She is beautiful and has a fantastic little figure. The post under pic (even mine) were filled with jealous comments of her rocking body. This was her response –
“Thank you girls! So sweet. We all have our own perception of ourselves and what we think are imperfections, but I’ve realized while I think about mine as often as everyone else, this was just me having fun with my family at the beach and not thinking any of those thoughts. How much more perfect can you get than that?”
THAT IS GOLDEN.
THE BALANCE SCALE:
What does your scale look like? Is it even on both sides or are you sitting at the bottom of one side while all your anxiety, worldly thoughts, financial chaos, family, health, etc. sit high and mighty on the other?
Begin with being honest with yourself. Ask yourself and write it down, what is a balanced life to me? Don’t lie to yourself. It’s your thoughts and you’re the only one reading it! Priorities change with time. Prioritize your life!
Set boundaries! I mean how many times do we kick this can? If you’re doing homework with your kids, is that phone call really that important? Distance yourselves from the heartache in your lives. If you allow people to continuously make withdrawals from your life rather than deposits, you will be out of balance. Know when to close that account.
“No” is a complete sentence. Know when your plate is full. Do not be guilted in to doing something you know is too much. You are not a superhero, sorry.
SOOOOOOOO…
How does Mitzi balance her life?
THE FOOD SCALE:
I’m ok here. I know when to eat more of or less of, when to burn more calories and when to rest. Do I cheat on meals? Yes. I love sweets and a fabulous glass of chardonnay in the summer or a flavorful taste of Pino Noir in the winter.
The balance for me has shifted. At 43 and never taken a multi vitamin, I decided it was time. I began the search for the right product for me and my needs. I felt like I was lacking substance, vitamins and nutrients in my meals. I’m a creature of habit when it comes to meal. I eat the same thing every day. There is very little variety to my meal planning. I needed something more. The research began and a little over a month ago, I began taking ISAGENIX. I was skeptical but boy, did I fall in love? I take a 2 ounce swig of the Ionix every morning, enjoy a protein shake for breakfast after my run and eat healthy the rest of the day. That french vanilla is a winner. Why did I do it? Because I needed it. It balances my nutrition where I was lacking. It’s dairy free, soy free, gluten free, and plant based. I was sold on that as well.
THE WEIGHT SCALE:
My shoes slip off every morning after my run and my sweaty feet step in the scales. Yes, every day. It’s a positive scale for me. Whether I am up or down, I’m totally OK with the results.
THE BALANCE SCALE:
Oh Lord! Up, down, up, down…These scales are never level in my life. I’m a work in progress.
Boundaries have become a strong point. I’m a little too good at them now. I need to back off some.
“NO”! I’ve said no so often now that my plate is clean. I feel like I need to say “yes” at some point and learn how to balance the yeses and no’s. I tend to have turned in to the “no girl” in fear of taking on too much as I had in the past.
One, two, or maybe all three scales affect your life. Do you want to continue to fight them?
My goal is to be centered, at peace, balanced and STRONG – Where are you?
STRONG –
Mitzi
