It's Okay to Struggle

Everybody wants to have a perfect journey to increased health and fitness, but we all know that's not possible.  We will all miss an exercise day, stay up too late, or indulge in one too many donuts as they're sitting on the counter at work calling our names.  And I want everyone to remember that these things are part of the journey.  Don't let one mistake ruin your entire day.  Or if you're had a bad day, you can vow to make tomorrow better.  Even if you've gotten off track for a week or a month or more, there is always time to turn things around.

Don't worry about the box of Oreos you just polished off.  That's already happened--there's nothing you can do about it now.  Look instead to the present and to the future and do your best to make every day count, remembering as you go that mistakes are unavoidable.

Maybe you don't want to share your "failures" with others (they're not really failures if you learn from them and use your experience to get healthier), so perhaps by my sharing that I have partaken in a donut and bagel with cream cheese this morning after getting to work and having eaten breakfast at home, I'll have given you a little bit of reassurance that yes, other people do struggle sometimes, too and that I'm not alone in this.  I have plenty more struggle stories to share, too, if anyone ever needs an extra boost of reassurance after a particularly bad day.

Yours in LFS and Health,
Jessica Szweda
Section 67 Communication Chair

Support Systems

One of the easiest ways to stay motivated on your journey toward increased health and fitness is to maintain a strong support system.  Having someone to hold you accountable can do wonders for achieving your goals.  I have personally found this be true over the past several months in particular.  When I got it into my head that I wanted to run a half-marathon (and actually run the entire thing, no walking), I knew I was in for a challenge.  I immediately started a blog and shared my goal with lots of friends and family.  I knew that if other people were expecting me to accomplish my goal and were checking in and cheering me on along the way, my chances of success would be tremendously greater.  I ended up getting additional support through a trainer at a small gym, and she also helped me plan my long run progression so I'd work my way up to 13.1 miles safely.

It's up to you to decide just how much support you need, but I say the more the better!  Via Erin Whitehead, Health and Fitness Writer for SparkPeople, here are some tips for staying motivated:

• Give yourself a pep talk
• Find some virtual buddies
• Surround yourself with success
• Pat yourself on the back
• Challenge yourself
• Commit to weekly check-ins
• Get involved
• Use your pet as a workout partner (probably doesn't work well if your pet is a fish or an iguana)
• Call on your co-workers
• Journal
• Pay yourself
• Reward yourself for meeting weekly goals

Some of these tips are kind of vague by the heading alone, so visit the full article at http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_articles.asp?id=1645 for more details.  My favorite tip is to find virtual buddies!  That's kind of what we're trying to do for you all with the National Service Week Challenge and the resources available on this blog, the accompanying Facebook page, and the Section 67 website.  Just that most of us are IRL (in real life) buddies, too!  If you need a stronger support system to help you reach your health and fitness goals, let your brothers help you!  Start posting your own accomplishments, goals, questions, and challenges on the Facebook page.  Or start a blog of your own, and make sure to let us know so we can follow it!  Start taking the steps you need to start a healthier life today and hopefully for the rest of your life.

Yours in LFS and Health,
Jessica Szweda
Section 67 Communication Chair

Rockin' and Rollin' My Way to Better Health

On Sunday, August 14, 2011, I participated in the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon.  Actually, I didn't just participate--because of my hard work and training over the past several months, I was able to run the entire 13.1 miles!  No walking for this lady!  I was not one of the fastest runners, by any means, but I went at a pace I knew would work for me, and I stuck with it.  The last few miles were really tough, but I kept thinking about how far I had already come, and I wasn't going to let myself quit.  Oh, and seeing Al Roker out running with us when I reached about mile 10 was pretty inspirational, too!  All in all, a fantastic, once in a lifetime experience that I wouldn't trade for anything.  After working this hard for so long, there's no way I can go back now.  I will continue my new healthy lifestyle, and I hope to see you all running, biking, or swimming alongside me someday...or something else--you pick!

Taken from http://www2.brightroom.com/75646/25188

Yours in Leadership, Friendship, Service, and Health,

Jessica Szweda