Recycling

In our efforts to Battle to Heal ourselves, we must also think about the greater good of the world. When we take our focus off of ourselves and put them on others, we become more empowered. Today is garbage/recycling day here and instead of taking out the garbage, I took out my recycling. Why? Well because we have become so conscious of how we buy foods, prepare foods and store foods, that we don't produce trash. Today we had no trash and only recycling to put out. Boy did that feel good! Here's what we did:

About a month ago, I started down a path of wanting to live off the grid within the city. So my first grid thing to tackle was trash. I figured this would be the hardest as I actually have to participate; unlike solar power where I put up the panel and it does the work. So I put out three brown paper grocery bags, one in each office and one in the kitchen. This is where paper goes. Then I put a cardboard box in the garage, this is for cardboard products. I still had two bins from when I tried recycling years ago so they are plastic and, glass and metal.  My plan was to recycle then take it the recycling plant about 40 minutes north to get money for our recycling. Well, lo and behold, its been a month and we have barely filled these bags, box and bins. So today I decided that we can still be conscious of everything in the city and let the recycling guys pick up the recycling. I have created a home where recycling is a way of life and for this I feel good. If we ever get off the grid, I know we will be able to create a space for recycling and composting on our lot. And we will be able to execute it!

Here are the bonuses to a conscious way of living:
1) Less trash because you look at how things are packaged
2) Less plastics because I buy less packaged items
3) Healthier foods going into my body instead of prepackaged, prepared it's whole wonderful foods
4) Shed another 4 pounds this month
5) I feel great because we are helping ourselves and others at the same time

This is just a win/win for anyone who does it! Why not give it a try, it doesn't cost you anything and if you live close to a recycling plant, you could even make money doing it! Let us know how it goes!

500 People Showed up in Dallas for Biggest Loser Tryouts

This story is amazing to me. Over 500 overweight people showed up in Dallas for a shot at being one of 30 contestants on the Biggest Loser. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Biggest Loser and the amount of weight these contestants lose is amazing! Something to truly be proud of....however, in the real world of work, family, keeping a household, financial worries and stresses that go along with everyday living, we need to have a reality check here. The feasibility of losing 12 pounds in one week are slim for us "normal" folks. So what do we do:

1) We take it one day at a time, one meal at a time, one workout at a time

2) We do our best and forget the rest

3) We understand that 2 pounds gone in a week is great work!

How do we do this when we have 50, 75 or 100 pounds to lose. In the words of one of my mentors, Marla Cilley, "We take baby-steps." That's right we decide that we are at the beginning of a week, a time in our lives, a goal and we move forward. So this week we are taking the baby-step of drinking at least 20 ounces of water per day. In order to do this we must make some routines....

1) Fill a water bottle and put in the fridge tonight. This makes it ready to pull out and take with us to work.

2) At lunch, refill your water bottle. Even if it's only 1/2 way finished, refill so you are set for the afternoon.

3) For lunch and dinner, drink water with your meal at least one full glass. Notice I didn't say breakfast, I'm not crazy enough to think we aren't drinking coffee for our breakfasts (grin)

There the plan is set this will get you at least 20 ounces of water per day and you will start to feel better.

If you still aren't convinced this will work, try it for a month and let me know what you think. I'm here, I'm listening and I'm ready to congratulate you on taking a baby step with me!

If you need help with setting your goals or completing your goals, feel free to email me at battle2heal@gmail.com and we can work on this together in a coaching relationship. You can also follow me on twitter at battle2heal.

Blessings to you!