Being healthy has become a huge personal goal for me.
Beginning:
I’m going to walk you guys through the changes I’ve made and their impact on my life. I’ve always been a “night owl” for as long as I can remember. I’d get up at 9 or 10am and stay up till 2am. After years of this I started to get worse. I’d get up at 11am and stay up till 3 or 3:30. My business partners actually had a running joke that they’d reach out to me around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.
I was reading another blog from a businessman who got stuck and a buddy told him to start running. He found increased clarity, motivation, and ultimately turned his business around. I started to wonder if getting healthy was something I should work on.
I’ve been doing business coaching with a friend now for about 2 months. My coach and I talked about routines and how your body is most focused in the morning hours. We talked about my current routine (lack thereof) and I decided to try and “flip” my schedule.
The first morning my alarm went off at 5:45 am I thought I was gonna die. I rolled out of bed. Sat on the floor and tried to decide if I really wanted to do this or not. Did I want to be healthy? Did I value sleep or my happiness more? After some back/forth I decided to get up and give this a shot. I took the dog for a 15 minute walk, drank my coffee, and got ready to start my day. At about 8am I felt so energetic I was almost jittery. I dove into my day and enjoyed the sense of accomplishment knowing that I’d actually gotten work done while most people I know were still sleeping.
A week later:
I’m taking the dog on much longer walks with an occasional jog. I’d started weight lifting again, my mood had improved dramatically, and I was feeling healthy.
Today:
I ran 1.75 miles without stopping. I couldn’t run a mile, let alone get out of bed before 11am two weeks ago. Yesterday I was able to do two bicep pull ups . I couldn’t even do one two weeks ago. I’m eating better, feeling great, my businesses have noticeably improved, and I’m committed to progress. I find myself actually happy more often than not.
Scientist now say that it takes 66 days to build a habit. (Man I preferred 27!) I’m going to keep going strong and you guys should join me on the journey.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/02/how-long-it-takes-to-form-a-new-habit/
Hey Ryan,
Great blog post. Glad to hear you are taking your health seriously. About 1 year ago I changed my view on what I eat, drink and how I live. I was eating a lot of fast food, processed food, drinking sodas, alcohol (a lot sometimes) and not doing much exercising. I made the decision to change my life style when I noticed I was always getting sick and something new was hurting every other day. I decided to start eating only organic, no processed foods, completely stopped drinking sodas, only water now and only drink alcohol every couple of months (3-4 times per year). I also joined a gym and lift weights and do cardio 5-6 days a week.
One of things that made one of biggest changes in my life was my morning shakes. I take Rice milk, Amazing Grass SuperFood (1 scoop), Amazing Grass WheatGrass (1 scoop), flaxseed oil, organic whey protein (1 scoop), powered peanut butter, cinnamon, frozen fruit and oats. Put all of that in a blender and it makes an amazing nutritional shake. I especially like the superfood and wheat grass. It basically insures you get a full serving of fruits and vegetables everyday.
Since making my change in the diet and exercise I have a tremendous amount of energy, sometimes I stay up will 12-1 am and get up a 5:15am for work and I feel amazing and I never get sick anymore. Never thought making those changes would make such an impact on my life but it has. Glad to see you are having great results from your life style change. It really becomes addictive and you start looking at other ways to continue and start living healthier.
Also, I will be contacting you soon to get the call center set up. I’m still moving forward.
I really appreciate your honesty John. I’m going to have to give that a shot. That sounds like a good breakfast!