The tradition of giving up something for Lent is practiced by followers of Christian religions including both Catholics and Protestants, and is much more common in the US than Europe. I mention this because my co-workers here in the Netherlands gave me the strangest looks when I asked if they were giving up anything for Lent. (They had never heard of it.) While I hesitate to bring religion related topics up here, perhaps you are considering giving up something for Lent?
If so, I urge you to consider something that could have a longer-lasting positive impact on your life. Even if you think you can’t live without it for 40 days and 40 nights, what if you could? 40 days is long enough to lead to a permanent lifestyle change! So, dare to think bigger than forgoing bags of Nacho Cheese Doritos or boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts; those “sacrifices” are too specific, too easy to avoid and oh so simple to substitute with one of your many other vices!
1. Give up TV (Pick this one!)
American spend on average 34 hours per week watching TV. That is a full time job! People gasp at the fact that I go to the gym every day. Where do I find the time? I don’t watch TV, at all. I didn’t decide one day to give up TV, but when working out became my priority, I no longer had any interest in watching TV. Now I happily have no clue which shows are on on any given day of the week or time slot.
If you watch a lot of TV or it is your primary source of entertainment, I suggest you go on a TV diet instead of going cold turkey; to make a sustainable change. Choose the one hour of TV programming each day that is worth it to you! You can still enjoy your favorite show and skip the mindless viewing and crap shows that you seriously can live without!
2. Break off your relationship with your sofa
Are you one of those people that says you don’t watch TV, but yet somehow you haven’t missed a season of True Blood or an episode of Glee. So however it is that you are keeping up with the Kardashians, and knowing all of the contestants on Big Brother and the Bachelor by name and hometown; whether on your laptop, iPad or other “non-TV device” chances are this is happening on your sofa.
Try this? Spend your one hour of TV time stretching your body out on the floor! Yes, the floor; and when your one hour is over you will be all set to go move your body and how likely are you to mindlessly eat in front of the TV while stretching your hip flexers? Not.
If you think it is quality time you are spending on the sofa with your sweetie, take another look at the quality level. Get out, go for a walk, bike ride, tennis, anything. Want real quality time? Go to bed one or two hours earlier;-)
3. Stop drinking diet soda
Maybe zero calories, but what are you putting into your body? So much better to drink liters and liters of water instead. Caffeine aides fat burning, so stick with my favorite… STRONG black coffee, or tea if you must.
I have never been a diet soda fan, so I won’t preach about it , but here is an article by one former addict and Editor at Healthy Living, who recently gave up Diet Coke. She links to all the latest research and health warnings, but I don’t think there are many of you out there who are still need to be convinced that it is not the healthiest choice?
4. Go Sugar-free
This is a great big step if you want to lose weight. It is an addiction, and on this one, I am right there with you for life!
The American Heart Association recently warned that the average adult consumes the equivalent of 22 teaspoons of sugar per day and teens average 34 teaspoons! Awareness is the first step! If you commit to giving up sugar you will be obliged to look at labels and discover all the added sugar in the packaged foods you eat every day!
The first few days are the hardest, but once you get it out of your system, you will feel free! If you really want to kill your sweet cravings, try to skip the artificial sweeteners as much as possible too!
Challenging yourself to any one of these four for forty days could really be the beginning of a permanent lifestyle change. So, what are you going to give up? I’d love to hear from you in the comments. And I’m especially curious to hear how you will spend those extra 34 hours that fall into your lap. As you can imagine, I’ve got a lot more ideas about that too!
Success!
{ 2 comments }
This is what happens when your daughter visits you. Those are all my bad habits. I watch a ton of tv sitting on the couch while drinking diet Coke. I also start every day with a can of Diet Coke! At my age it’s hard to give up all your favorite things even for 40 days. Maybe I’ll give up sugar and try my other vices in moderation.
Please don’t take this personally- you are very active! Everyone else is evidently watching TV too, so I wasn’t picking on you. Just please do your JTLC warm up, HIT Cardio & some kettle bell swings while you are watching your favorite shows;-) thank you!