This episode of the Fitlandia Podcast Christa talks to Caren Marre who has been a part of Fitlandia since before the platform’s official launch. Caren has long been conscious of health and fitness, but (like so many of us) life got in the way and her self-care ended up taking a backseat. After a long period of feeling sluggish following a series of surgeries she started gaining weight and ended up in a spot ready for change. She was ready for a new start and eager to get her first step going. At that time Christa came to Caren with Fitlandia and offered the guidance, structure, and healthy path she needed.
When first starting out the single word that helped Caren was “mindfulness,” keeping track of what foods went in, and how your body felt after that. When Caren started out, it was a simple two-second filter to ask herself if she should eat something, and now it’s become a habit and she barely has to think. Just by paying attention she started to notice things and was able to successfully get healthier. It’s truly a lifestyle change.
One of her biggest hurdles, in the beginning, were the physical cravings. We so often default to “oh, I’m hungry, I want something” but to remind yourself “I’m trying something new” during that introductory phase is definitely a block. She used self-talk “remember, you’re doing this for yourself, Caren” to keep herself on track and leave her previous bad habits behind.
Caren goes on to explain how influential Fitlandia’s Mind Zoning® Recording were in her journey, and how she couldn’t wait to get to bed just so she could set her daily worries aside and take a moment of relaxation and reflexion. Taking time for yourself is huge, and it seems hard, but they allow you to be more efficient, more effective, and more energetic. You’ll use your time better when you have the time to eat better, relax, and move more.
Something Caren did when she was starting out was to integrate her new changes into parts of her life that she was doing already. She went to bed half an hour earlier just to listen to Mind Zonings® and have that time of reflection. What she found was that when she started to self-assess her life and think ‘where could I possibly fit this in?’ she found that she was collectively wasting a good amount of time throughout the day. Whether it was zoning out watching TV or absent-mindedly scrolling through Facebook, she realized that she was able to trim out that excess and find the time.
As “Queen Bullet point Listmaker” Caren has an ongoing list of things that constantly need to be prioritized, and now that she’s incorporated these healthier tasks into her life it’s much easier to get everything done and lead a healthier lifestyle. Everything gets easier as you build that skill of paying attention to the priorities in your life.
“What resources do I have within myself that I don't even acknowledge?” - Caren Marre
Caren ends the episode by sharing her mantra “I have everything to look forward to.” The best is yet to come, and harnessing your energy, health, and spirit to take the fullest advantage of each day is the ultimate motivator.