So, as it turns out, I struggle with discipline. I never used to think I did but that’s probably because when I was young I never quit anything I started and in my naiveness I thought that’s what discipline meant. All it really meant was that I had put my mind to never quit anything I started. So in a sense, I was disciplined never to quit anything, but in the actual activities I participated in, I was never too disciplined at all. I took piano lessons but if I practiced as much as I complained about practice, I’d be much more proficient. I’d go to swim practice but I could have been a better swimmer if I had practiced to the fullest. I went to college but I could have learned more if I had actually read all the books that were assigned. Now I’m starting to realize that I’m great at doing lots of things just not doing any of them to the fullest. The times where I see my lack of discipline the most in my life are with reading the Bible, praying and eating healthy/working out. I have the hardest time getting into healthy routines and because it’s not something I HAVE to do (as opposed to work etc…), it usually gets left out. See what happened to my photo a DAY!
So, I’ve decided, baby steps. I’m going to start becoming disciplined one step at a time. If I can’t be in good practice now, how will I ever teach that to children someday?!?! Not only that, but where will other big things in my life suffer?
Step 1: Eating Healthy/Exercise
The gentleman is going to do this one with me. We are going to really be intentional about what we put in our bodies and how we treat them. It will make us feel better about ourselves and give us more energy to be disciplined about other things in life! How will we do this? Well, I’m going to make a menu on Sunday nights so that I’ve written down what we’ll be eating all week = more accountability, less snacking (we’ve already cut chips out of our diets), and more working out (3 times a week at least).
Here’s my photo for the week (we’ve been very busy) and it’s of a yummy smoothie he made for us for dinner the other night.
So, we’ll see how this goes. I’ll keep you posted.
the z team
2 replies on “Discipline”
Good for you! Here's a few ways we've attempted this: shop & eat local (ie farmers' markets) for fresher, more "whole" foods and eat Super Foods! I highly recommend the book SuperFoods Rx. Did you see the review I did of it? Meal planning helps me a lot too!
I’m glad to see this post – I try to be pretty aware of what I’m putting in my body (especially since I eat out a lot because of travel for work)…it’s super tough, but I have definitely found that if you focus on getting enough of something important (for me, the toughest ones are calcium and fiber), it kind of crowds out unhealthy stuff…it’s so hard to get all the good things that you end up being full before you have the chance to give in to temptations. I use fitday.com to help me set goals for the things I DO want (calcium, fiber, iron, etc.) and then see how well I’m doing on meeting those “positive” targets. Setting “negative” targets (no chocolate, no ice cream, etc.) have never worked very well for me.And when I realize I’m eating larger portions than are necessary (because I LOVE FOOD so much), I’ve found that it really helps me (mentally) if I let myself cook the same amount…I just put more of it on Matt’s plate than I usually do 🙂 Thankfully he’s a running machine, so he can handle it…would Jared appreciate that strategy? I think it’s funny…not sure if Matt would agree!