Comfort zone

GO TO BED - Night Time Depression

Depression is a funny thing. It's not funny... but it's so complex. It comes in many different forms, at many different times, and for many different reasons. There are also so many forms of it that sometimes you don't even know what's happening.

Let's talk about the night-time depression. Now, I'm no doctor, but I think sometimes experience can make you more knowledgeable about things than degrees... and BOY do I experience night-time depression. I also made up that name.

So let's say you're doing great on your own - whether you are single, newly broken up, fighting with a spouse, or in a long distance relationship...

You're doing great during the day, feeling confident, making healthy choices, loving the independent feeling, loving spending time with yourself...

And then, BOOM.

Sometimes, NO MATTER WHAT, once a certain time at night comes, you start to feel sad, lonely, and needy. This happens to me all the time. Somehow at night, the chemicals change in my brain, and I feel depressed laying in bed alone or watching tv on the couch alone. The major problem with this night-time epression, is that then I binge eat or call an ex-boyfriend, or make a dumb decision, because the lonely part of my brain took over the strong, independent, self confident person that was there earlier in the day.

TIME. TO. STOP. this cycle. And I've figured out how. GO TO BED.

What I've learned is that as soon as your brain's chemicals start going hay-wire and changing how you feel, it's because it's TIRED. It's a sign of exhaustion. SO instead of making bad decisions, GOOOOOOOO TOOOOOO BEDDDDDDDD. 

Sleep solves all. You'll feel great when you wake up. Everytime, no fai. So when you feel in doubt - say wait, I just need to go to bed.

I promise, I feel 1000,00000,0000 times better <3

You're Awesome

Happiness Challenge 3

Are you in a relationship that you want to improve? Or are you looking for your perfect soul mate?

I need you to write down all of the attributes that you desire in your perfect woman/man. Describe their personality, character, key attributes, attitudes, and philosophies about life...

My list would start like this: (in no particular order)

- Entrepreneur
- Love fitness
- Sexy body
- Kind
- Smart
- Compassionate about animals/nature
- Compassionate about their job/career
- Active
- Wants to travel
- Knows how to unconditional love
- Confident
- Has nice hair
- Mature
- Independent financially and emotionally
- Similar interests
- Great in bed ;)
- Stable family, or has worked out their issues
- Knows what they want
- Believes happiness is the most important
- Successful
- Knows who they are
- Has been in a relationship before and can say why it didn't work out
..... and so on :)

You now need to consider whether you have those same attributes yourself. Take a good look at yourself. Do you have the qualities you are expecting someone else to have? Am I confident, sexy, compassionate, kind, an entrepreneur, independent? Not quite. So what makes me think I'm going to attract that kind of mate?

Take 100% responsibility. What DO I need to improve myself to attract this type of person? I need to help myself change into the person I want to attract.

So beside all of those attributes written on your piece of paper, I want you to explain how you are going to improve yourself to become this type of person. Then, and only then, will you be able to find that person and attract them!

Habit from The Compound Effect:

Habit from The Compound Effect:

"Psychology says that 95% of the things we feel, think, do, and achieve everyday is the result of a learned habit."

"If you took a bite of a Big Mac and immediately fell to the ground clutching your chest from a heart attack, you might not go back for that second bite. If your next puff of a cigarette instantly mutated your face into that of a weathered eighty-five-year-old, chances are you’d pass on that too. I you failed to make that tenth call today and were immediately fired and bankrupt, suddenly picking up the phone would be a no-brainer. And, if that first forkful of cake instantly put fifty pounds on your frame, saying “no thank you” to dessert would be the true piece of cake.

The problem is the pay off or instant gratification derived from bad habits often far outweighs what’s going on in your rational mind concerning long-term consequences. Indulging in our bad habits doesn’t seem to have any negative effects at all in the moment. You don’t have that heart attack, your face doesn’t shrivel up, you’re not standing in the unemployment line, and your thighs aren’t thunderous. But that doesn’t mean you haven’t activated the compound effect.

It’s time to wake up and realize that the habits you indulge in could be compounding your life into repeated disaster. The slightest adjustments to your daily routine can dramatically alter the outcomes of your life. Super small, seemingly uncosequential adjustments can and will revolutionize everything."

Coffee Calories

When you are watching your diet, eating healthy, losing weight, and practicing a healthy lifestyle... are there 1 or 2 things that the internet says that you should or shouldn't do that you are like 

"Nope, no way, never going to happen"

or 

"This borders on the line of unhappiness if I don't eat/drink this"?

Well for me it's coffee/tea. Being in veterinary school, I CANNOT live without coffee. Well, never say never. I could physically live without coffee, but I don't want to and it really helps me through my early mornings and long days.

HOW TO DRINK COFFEE WITHOUT THE ADDED CALORIES? Well, it's simple, drink it black. "YUCK" is most people's response (including mine), so let me share how I transferred myself to black coffee.

First of all, I calculated an added between 120 - 1,600 calories per day on coffee, depending on the kind of coffee you drink. If you go for the iced frappacinos, you're looking at adding up to 2,000 calories per day on coffee. If you drink plain coffee but add cream and sugar to it, your looking at an added 150-300 calories per day if you have a few cups. THIS can RUIN your healthy nutrition plan and stop you from getting the results you want.

The key is to the transformation slowly. How I did it:

1. Decrease the sugar 

2. Take out the sugar and only drink with creamer

3. Change from creamer to milk (this is a huge change! this takes time!)

4. Change from whole or 2% milk to skim milk (or lite soy or almond milk)

5. One day, just dive into only black coffee

I feel so much healthier after drinking black coffee compared to drinking coffee with cream and sugar. It's amazing the difference and allowed me to continue to get the caffeine I need! Hopefully when my schedule lightens I can transfer to tea.

Now, don't torture yourself on horrible black coffee. Take the money you used to spend on milk, creamer, and sugar and spend it on good quality coffee. Also, flavored coffee helps me not notice the missing creamer.

If you're still having trouble, pay attension to how you're making your coffee. Is it too strong? What kind of machine are you using? Kerig coffee and instant coffee is horrible tasting, I do not recommend starting with those.

Good luck on the transformation. Let me know how if I helped!

You can even mix it with your shakeology!

From The Inside

Exercise vs Diet

SEXY summer

I am the furthest person from perfect out there. I usually mess up my diet and workout plan DAILY. So if I can see results by doing these work out challenge groups less than perfectly, anyone can. You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great, remember?

It's GO time! 5 weeks until I'm going to Las Vegas and rooming with sexy beach body coaches! I can't wait, but this is push time for my workouts and healthy nutrition!

I have 3 spots left in my Sexy Summer work out group! If you're interested in joining me this summer, fill this out. https://joycefollows.wufoo.com/forms/challenge-group-application/

Mirror Challenge

Happy Friday! CHALLENGE ALERT

I want ya'll to say OUT LOUD what you say in your head (to yourself) when you look in the mirror. I know when I get undressed in the morning or when I get out of the shower I look at my body. I used to say things like, "Ugh your so gross and fat" or worse. Now, since I've practiced, I say things like "Not to shabby Joyce, you're working on it". Do you see the difference?

Don't think that if you have this conversation in your head you are completing this challenge. Say it OUT LOUD. It took me like 10 minutes to actually admit out loud what I was saying in my head to myself. Reality check. If you wouldn't say it to someone else, don't say it to yourself. Stop punishing yourself. Motivate yourself by what you say to the mirror.

You may think this is corny or dumb... but it's been a HUGE game changer for me. How can you be self-confident if you are knocking yourself down everytime you look in the mirror? Time to stop.

Tid-bit from the Compound Effect

Successful people are just willing to do the things unsuccessful people are not.

Success and happiness is does not come from a fortune cookie, a wish on a star, or a lottery ticket. Our media only posts the few easy success stories in the middle of thousands of failures. It clouds our view on working hard.

Get your butt up and fight for what you want!!

Dolphins

As you all know, I'm in veterinary school and I started my LAST year this week! Can you believe it!

I'm so happy to be doing my first externship (training outside of the university) at the Institute for Marine Mammal studies on the Mississippi coast.

I already did surgeries on turtles, responded to a stranding on the beach, and met my neighbors, the dolphins below.

Have you ever seen a dolphin? They have an anatomical smile, a permanent happy face. It makes me so happy every time I see them and I automatically I smile. I was wondering what it would be like if humans were made to have a permanent smile on their face... would it really be that bad?

I think the world would be alot more beautiful!

Smile! :)

Meal Planning on the GO!

I'm traveling! And I refuse to let it ruin my diet and exercise routine!

This is my fridge at the externship I'm at! All meals are cooked!

Fruit, shakeology, yogurt, chicken, veggies, quinoa & hot sauce!!!

 

I have never stuck with a nutrition plan or exercise routine while traveling. This is a new world for me. I love seeing small changes and a new LIFESTYLE.

#lifestylechange