Category: Goal Development

The 3 Strageties That Helped Me Make More Time for God and My Health

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date August 12, 2016

3 Top Notch Scheduling Practices:

Complete this sentence: “If I just had _____________ I could live the healthy, faithful life I aspire to live.”

Well, if you’re like any of the 80% of the women who I interviewed and surveyed this question to, your answer is something to the effect of “more time.”

TIME MANAGEMENT.

This year, I am busier than I have ever been. So I have been incredibly intentional on building the SKILL of my activity (a.k.a time) management so I could be productive in my business, mindful to my relationships, and dutiful to my health.

Managing your activity is one of the best skills you can invest in developing for yourself that will have a PROFOUND impact on the likelihood of success in your health and relationship with God.

So these 3 strategies DRAMATICALLY helped me manage my busy schedule much better so I could still make time for my Faith, health and fitness goals.

#1. The 5 Category System:

My days were wildly overwhelmed until my “She Works His Way” mentorship happened. In this 1-month mentorship with coach Michelle Myers, she introduced the 5 Category system to me which took my scheduling to another level.

Now I only focus on those activities that fit into my chosen Categories of greatest VALUE in my life AND the deal is, in each category, I can only have 3-5 ACTIVITIES that I devote myself to.

That’s IT.

The reason there are only 3-5 activities is because that is the number of things you can do for each category WELL. Any more than 5 would cut into the quality and commitment to the others and ability to complete certain tasks any respectable amount of time.

So, my most important category (which I think you should have too) is my GROWTH Category. In this category are the following activities:

Time with God.
Rest/Downtime
Learning and Developing Skill #1 (like my certifications/biz development)
Learning and Developing Skill #2 (a particular study or course I want to take).
Learning and Developing Skill # 3 (work with a coach)

Another important category is HEALTH and SELF CARE:

Exercise
Mobility/Alignment
Meal Planning
Hair, Nails, Etc appt.
Reading for Fun/TV/Movies

One difficult one is the PROVISION/WORK Category. For me it looks like

Coaching Calls
Writing/Blogging
Social Media Presence
Program Design or Launch #1
Program Design or Launch #2

Other categories you might have are things like: Family/Friends, Service/Volunteer, Leadership/Mentorship, Hobbies/Activities etc. All of these should be categories that are UNIQUE to your personality and calling.

So, you can see that there isn’t isn’t a whole lot of room to get too crazy on the number of people/things in each category. It forces you to make some decisions on WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU (i.e. what God is calling you to do) and focus on doing those things WELL TO COMPLETION.

The key is to then give yourself permission to DELEGATE anything that doesn’t fit into the category to someone else to handle it (cleaning your house, certain parts of your job, hiring a assistant etc) OR simply put off a project until you finish another one, knowing there is plenty of time for you to accomplish that when you have some space free.

#2. TIME BLOCKING + BREAKS:

Once I had my PRIORITIES configured, I then IMPLEMENTED them into my daily schedule by using a system I was already accustomed to —> TIME BLOCKING.

Hopefully, you know by now that MULTITASKING doesn’t work (see study by Dr. Caroline Leaf HERE). So for productivity, focusing on a single task in a BLOCK OF TIME is one of the best ways to break up your daily schedule.

The book, “The Power of Full Engagement” shows that most productive people who excelled at their jobs, were those that would work FULLY ENGAGED for 90-Min BLOCKS of time and then give themselves a 15-min break before going back at it.

The amount of time was significant because it was just enough to get intensely productive but just shy of getting fatigued.

The second part, the BREAK is also incredibly powerful. It’s just enough time to get in a quick walk, do some mobility or stretches, or to eat (yes, I’m a fast eater).

The BREAK is so powerful because it allows enough recovery time to then be able to get back into the zone with the next Time Block and be more productive that way.

#3. INVEST WISELY NOW TO SAVE TIME LATER:

One of the BEST lessons I’ve learned (the hard way no less) as an entrepreneur is how VALUABLE it has been to invest in quality coaches and mentors who know what they are doing so I don’t have to try to waste time trying to figure it out on my own.

It has been a significant amount of money, but money that has been WELL SPENT because I have been able to save myself from the FRUSTRATION of trying to go it alone.

This is exactly why I would LOVE for you to join me in my FREE 4-Week “A. Wright Fit Reset” program this Fall. I know for a fact that investing your time in a program I have METICULOUSLY developed for ALL AREAS OF HEALTH (Nutrition, Fitness, Mindset, & Spirit) will be an investment of your time that is well worth it because it will SAVE YOU TIME (and maybe even money!) IN THE END!

I hold no fear in openly sharing with you just how much I LOVE working HARD on learning and passionately pursuing Fitness & Faith so I can be and ELITE COACH who truly helps and impacts her clients lives.

I have taken extensive and expensive measures to be very well versed and intentionally BALANCED in knowledge and acumen to address ALL areas of your health, not just a couple.

It’s why I decided to level-up my certification this year to become a CSCS through the NSCA and am currently studying for my second Nutrition certification through Precision Nutrition because I wanted to be sure I chose ELITE institutes that were well known to make ELITE coaches. The greater the challenge they are for me (which they ARE!) the more I know it will help truly my clients!

In the same light, this is also why my number ONE resource for ALL things in life is the Bible and Biblical teachings and sermons. I have learned MORE in this one year of reading the entire Bible and studying God’s word than in the previous 3 decades of my life. My coaching would be nothing but foolish, worldly opinion if I didn’t take the time to invest my time in THE resource of pure Truth. It is the greatest gift I have given myself and those I love and coach.

I used to think speaking of such things of myself was like bragging, but now I know it’s a gift to you that I share this LIGHT of passion I wholeheartedly pursue. Always remember, when we are called to "let our light shine before others so they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven." (Matt 5:16) When you let your light of life shine, you automatically give permission for others to do the same.

Making time for your FITNESS and FAITH is a LIGHT FOR YOU TO SHINE for those you love the most!

The world deserves to see you functioning at you best and proudly shining it for all to see!

Join me in the “A. Wright Fit Reset” to engage in flexing those Physical and Spiritual muscles! Program starts August 15!

Questions? Visit this link HERE or contact me directly info@amandawrightfit.com!

Goal Development Health Coaching Spiritual Health

Hello from the other side…

Post author By AMANDA WRIGHT
Post date July 14, 2016

Hello From The Other Side...

What do we do on the other side of big, monsterous events in our lives? Events of our highest highs and our lowest lows? Those times where we FINALLY achieve a hard earned goal, or those times where we are shocked with circumstances unforeseen, like we all were with last week's national tragedies.

Hello from the other side....this is where I am.

I shared last week that I passed my CSCS test, but I didn't share that the week I took it had some terrible circumstances that were actually far more important to me than my test.

I'm talking about crazy things happening-- like the news of a murder suicide occurring next door the the home we own in San Diego (and are renting out) and other frustrating events like relationship flare ups and disagreements. Unsure if a resolution was in site.

Have you ever noticed how the closer you are to a great achievement, the more "life" (a.k.a the devil) seems to try to get in your way and test you?

Somehow I made up my mind I was going to ignore the temptation to allow the devil use it as an excuse to delay plan of taking the test and more importantly, delay my purpose.

I buckled down and wholly and completely depended on God to help me study and focus. It was touch and go there for several days. But He showed me time and time again that He was with me, even having more than one friend reach out to say I was on their mind, not knowing at all I was struggling.

By His grace I took that test, I passed that test, and the rest of my life gracefully sorted itself out. He does amazing things when we trust that He will and allow Him to take control. This is the art of SURREND’her.

Whew, crossed that bridge!

EXCEPT, then there was last week. We all saw the unspeakable tragedy unfolding….yet again. It rocks us every time. We cry out to God, we shake our heads in disbelief and shed some tears for those we know were taken too soon. We are angry and we seek justice.

And now as a nation, we have found ourselves, once again, on the other side of tragedy.

So, hello, from the other side... again.

Whether you achieved a high of goal achievement or a lows of tragedy, you come out on the other side emotionally exhausted and... changed.

If you have been here before, you might recognize the feelings of confusion in your soul. For me, I feel like EVERYTHING in my life has shifted as I have crossed a great bridge. And YET, in so many ways, NOTHING has changed either.

I am caught wondering what you may be wondering, “Well, what do I do now?" I'm tempted to just go back to how I operated before it all...

But, this week, I came across a scripture I’ve seen before, but it had new meaning to me. I think it can help you too, if you allow it.

Isaiah 40:31
^"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

**LET’S LOOK AT 3 THINGS THE VERSE TELLS US THAT WILL HELP YOU TO FROM THE OTHER SIDE:**

IT TELLS US SPECIFIC ACTION TO TAKE:

Does this confuse you? Yes, I called this passage an ACTION PLAN and yet, this verse very clearly uses one word that I don’t think any human being likes to hear: “WAIT."

But it doesn’t stop there…. it says “Wait on the LORD” which is not inaction, but just the opposite.

Another term you could insert into this context is to SEEK the Lord. Or perhaps another tough word, OBEY.

So, this is NOT time you just spend twiddling your thumbs or waiting on the door to ring and it be the hand delivered news of what you are supposed to do.

No, this is time you spend in His word and in prayer so you have Guidance and *clarity* beyond what your emotions want you to do.

2. IT TELLS US WHY GOD WANTS US TO WAIT ON HIM:

The purpose of us seeking God and waiting on His guidance is not because God wants to drive us crazy and is playing some kind of game with us.

It’s because He sees how emotionally exhausted we are from whatever we just endured. He is preparing us to win THE WAR and what you’ve just endured was but one battle.

It's also a test to see if we really TRUST Him. We’ve all seen that hasty moves that are made under distressed and emotionally exhausted mindsets rarely bring wise decisions.

To our human mind, we think this emotion is supposed to fuel us into action. And in some ways, it is true--emotion is our human fuel.

But emotion that goes untested by God’s Word might make us more of the problem than the solution.

Thinking that our depth of emotion somehow makes us able to play the role of God is not only foolish but idolatrous. This is the trouble we are seeing in the world after the tragedy last week. People are taking justice into their own hands—essentially trying to play god. It will never end well.

THIS VERSE TELLS US THE OUTCOME OF THIS ACTION PLAN:

When we seek God and delay action until His way is apparent, it not only relieves us from the burden of trying to fix it all ourselves, but it also provides us the sustenance to ENJOY LIFE through it all too.

"Mount up on wings like eagles” sounds like a life of delight to me. A way to soar above the fray and rise above your circumstances.

There are more goals to be won. There are more battles the devil is going to wage in our mind and circumstance.

I’m going to tell you something you may not want to hear, but it’s also the truth.

This may take a while. Your purpose; our nations peace; the process of mourning....all of it.

But when we wait on God and seek Him diligently everyday, "we shall run and not grow weary, we shall walk and not faint.” We must keep going.

And the most beautiful part of what God does for us when we seek Him are His gifts of peace and joy and hope and love THROUGH the journey, not just when it’s over and fixed. He gives us these gifts daily, no matter our circumstances.

We all want these every day. But are you seeking God to receive them, or are you seeking others, your government or even yourself to achieve them?

Are you waiting on the Lord? Or is the Lord waiting on you?

Tags Bible, Faith, Goal Development, Goals, Health, Lord, scripture, spiritual health, they that wait on the Lord, tragedy, Women

Goal Development Health Coaching Uncategorized

The Quit Quitting Plan

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date October 29, 2015

"You can pray for anything, and if you believe you have received it, it will be yours." Mark 11:24

You make changes to your exercise and nutrition routines. Cut back on those extra desserts, fried foods and other things you love. You feel great off the start, see some results right away and that motivates you to stay the course….for a time.

But then, it comes. Boredom. Willpower drainage. The awkward conversation with your husband/boss/sister/girlfriend/mom that emotionally triggers you to reach for that bag of Cheetos or old stale cookies in the back of your pantry.

Ugh, you just want to quit. What's the point in trying?

#AmIRight?

I have QUIT every single diet I have ever been on.

As a bonafide emotional eater, I couldn’t hang with any “program” I tried to willpower my way through because my emotions ruled my life and my eating behavior.

If I was happy, I would eat.
If I was sad, I would eat.
If I was stressed, I would eat.
If I was bored, I would eat.
When I felt defeated and wanted to quit…..you guessed it, I. Would. EAT!

This overwhelming emotional state of living was not working well for my health aspirations. While I usually tried to compensate for my eating by just exercising more and more (and more), during certain seasons of my life where I was too busy to find time for the gym, my weight crept up easily.

At one point, in the course of just 6 months, I went from a healthy 160ish lbs (standing at 5’10”) to 180 lbs. I was miserable and ashamed but felt stuck.

I had been actively *dieting* right up to this point. But the overwhelm from the stress I was feeling, well, you get the picture. I felt too overwhelmed and just quit trying.

But luckily, things can change...

Today, I am happy to say that I NEVER quit anymore.

It’s not because I don’t have emotional eating tendencies, I still do from time-to-time, although I have a better handle on those too, but because I have built my LIFESTYLE approach to my health and am no longer *ON A DIET* which would necessitate having to *QUIT* my health plan.

I have experienced a freedom that can only come from doing the inside work on my Spiritual life and my relationship with God. This has allowed me to find these KEY True Health Habits that guide me to a healthy living for my BODY, MIND and SOUL. I no longer rely on my emotions to guide my actions, including any tendency to quit, and I am so happy to share with you my...

1. RITUALIZE YOUR HABITS:

A habit by itself gets boring really fast. But when you take the time to ritualize your habit, meaning, you think about now just WHAT you are going to do but HOW you are going to do it in a way that you can enjoy, you keep things enjoyable.

This means anything from wearing your favorite outfit to the gym, rocking out to a specific playlist on the treadmill, buying a special mug and blanket for you to sit with some hot tea at night instead of that glass of wine.

Any way that you can add some special and personal enjoyment into otherwise monotonous habits will serve you in helping you feel more *REWARDED* in the process of your health.

2. VISUALIZE YOUR SUCCESS:

Study after study shows that visualizing yourself succeeding in an action is JUST as powerful as physically practicing the action. Check out some studies here.

And, as I always reiterate at A.Wright Fit, from a high level Spiritual standpoint, it is important to KNOW that God has designed you for something specific and special in this world—a Greater Purpose for your life that only YOU can do, no one else. Your health is a significant factor in helping you achieve all that you can out of life. You are to live and THRIVE by God’s work in you and through you.

If you take the time close your eyes and visualize yourself as this future self, your Greater Purpose self, and focus on her and what success looks like on her, you will train your brain to propel you toward becoming her.

This is why my motto is STRONG’her, WISE’her, SURREND’her because we must all keep visualizing our own her that God will help us to become.

3. JOT DOWN YOUR LESSONS:

Throughout any process and journey in our life, we are learning so many lessons, and unfortunately the HARD way. What seems to happen more often than not, we have to learn things the “hard way” about 30-50 times in order for us to finally *GET IT.*

But it doesn’t HAVE to be this way. By starting a lesson journal you are saving yourself quite a bit of time. By writing down your lessons you are committing them to memory in a better way. If you then read and re-read that journal from time to time, you are further conditioning yourself to remember what you are learning and to keep applying it.

Studies show that it takes 21-days for the neurons in our brain to actually create a MEMORY and a full 63-days to form a HABIT.

Starting a Lesson Journal is a clear way to help keep this process going! Plus, the satisfaction from real life lessons is incomparable in hindsight. To look back on all that you learned helps you endure through painful experiences in the future too!

4. SHARE YOUR JOURNEY WITH YOUR *PEOPLE*:

You are designed for community and so every opportunity given by God also is an opportunity to connect and share with others. Knowing you have friends or family in the background that are backing you gives you more incentive to stay the course.

Choose wisely those people you can share your journey with. Find those people that will be your true Accountability Partners in life, meaning that they account for your abilities and not just your disabilities. You don’t need people that point out your mistakes or guilt you into better behavior. You need people that can see you the way God sees you and you should do the same for them! Believe that they will become the person that God will’s them to be too!

5. ACT AS THOUGH YOU’VE ALREADY WON:

This is everything! God has designed you for Greatness and to WIN in life, and, now have taken the time to even visualize yourself as her, you have nothing else to worry about in this health quest.

It’s already been DONE for you. There is no waiting necessary, really.

Because while you think you are after the specific MEASURED success (which is not a bad thing to have a measurable goal in mind, they do work), you are really after a FEELING, which you actually have ability to choose NOW. You are her NOW.

In Faith, know that if God has put it on your heart to want to achieve a level of health you do not embody yet, He has also paved the way for you to actually DO IT. You have all you need because you have God within you. Focus on Him within and act accordingly.

Tags dieting, focus, Goals, Health Changes, Health Coaching, Healthy Eating, help, nutrition, on track, quitting, Timing

Goal Development Health Coaching Uncategorized

What a Difference A Year Makes

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date October 14, 2015
2 Comments on What a Difference A Year Makes

It's been an incredible year! I have taken over 47 flights. I have traveled to 9 countries and over 15 cities, domestically. I became wife. I became a *bonus*mom (of a toddler!). We moved to a new city and learned the art of making new friends. I started a new kind of company and stepped into a calling. I spoke openly about my Faith and became a writer. I overcame some significant strongholds and for the first time felt the presence of God, tangibly. I also was privileged to coach over 23 women personally, which means I fostered 23 intimate relationships with women in over 11 different cities nation-wide. Every single day, I focused myself on how I could grow and teach others the ways of living STRONG'her and WISE'her by SURREND'hering more and more to God.

I of course don't say this to boast or even martyr myself in the least bit. It was just a big year! While it was incredibly busy and frankly a whirlwind of a life change, I have come away with possibly the greatest year EVER! Through the willingness to embrace all this change has come an abundance of lessons and the cultivation of characteristics and virtues that I didn't even realize were possible. I screwed up a lot. I had panic attacks and full on melt downs on the regular. But, I leaned in and withstood the storms and experience sheer joy time and time again. I learned to #FailForward, #FailFast, #FailFaithfully. I heard of this great idea of keeping a journal of all of the lessons you learn in life (as you inevitably screw up) so you actually remember what you learn and don't have to relearn it the hard way again. While I didn't start this particular lesson journal in October of last year, but I did acquire quite a few lessons nevertheless!

There are over 7,000 promises that God gives us in the Bible. When you find one that resonates with your current need, circle it and pray on that every day. "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13
Sometimes you just have to shut up and pray.
There is a huge difference between a promise and a VOW.
It's ok to say "no" to something "good" so you can say "yes" to something "great."
When you say you're sorry, you can't add a "but" to the end of it, otherwise it doesn't count.
Talking openly about your Faith is extremely hard and even more humbling when you realize how small your Faith really is.
Nagging people to change never actually works. They might appease you for a second just to get you to pipe down, but it doesn't work in the long run.
Setting boundaries in how you let others treat you is a way of showing them love. You are offering them a chance to see the Truth of who you are so speak with gentleness and stand firm in your truth.
The opposite of love isn't hate, the opposite of love is fear. When you worry, you cannot love. When you are loving, you cannot worry. "Perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:8).
Asking someone "Why?" is not nearly as inviting as asking someone to "Tell me more about that?" You get much less of a defensive response.
Sometimes you think you are allergic to foods when really you are allergic to STRESS.
You can get so much more done when you make a list of the top priorities of your day and just do those things.
There is a perfect rhythm of working HARD for 90-mins and then taking a short break to do something Physical or Spiritual. This rhythm makes you far more balanced and efficient, helping you get so much more done WELL.
You can be content in all circumstances by seeing with grateful eyes.
You must not neglect your gift. You must grow it, cultivate it and give it away.
So what, you're weird. Radically accept that. "Those the mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."-Dr. Seuss
There is true bliss that comes from giving into your "Happy Weight."
"Live not by works, but by Faith." Busyness does not get you any points with God.
You can actually rewire your brain by visualizing your "future self" and SURREND'hering to her as you make decisions.
God's capacity to give far exceeds our capacity to receive.
There is a distinct difference between "No" and "Not Yet" with God. Patience is everything.
Comparison is the thief of joy. We should join in the praise when we see God's blessings on others lives.
Take your environment seriously and it will radically shift your life. From the people you put yourself around, to the things you watch and read, and the spaces you design for your own work and creativity.
God designed us for Prosperity. Not understanding the proper value of your TIME will consistently hinder that.
To change any bad habit, including the habit of fear, you must always REPLACE the habit and focus your intention on what you DO want to become. I suggest love.
Neuroscience now proves a MEMORY is formed after 21-days of intentional thought and dwelling. A HABIT is formed after 3 cycles of that for a total of 63 DAYS. For. one. habit. Focus only on the 'Big Rocks' that matter and will have a bigger impact on your life.
Those whom are hardest to love are always those that need the most love. Their insecurity makes them difficult, demanding and distant. Your love and respect can cure them of all that.
You learn your true identity and Greater Purpose from others, not by yourself. God designed us for community.
"Joy doesn't come from what you have, joy comes from what you know can't be taken from you." Rick Warren
Your soul is where your body meets your power source.
It's just like God to take our sinful, selfish acts and decide to bless us anyway. "God works for the Good of those who love Him." (Romans 8:38)
"Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy and creativity." -Brene Brown
You are so very WORTHY of it all. Spiritual magic happens when we seek to see ourselves and others the way God see us. Our worth to Him is endless.

Tags birthday, body, brene brown, dr. seuss, Exercise, Faith, Fit, Fitness, gentleness, God, god's promises, Health, kindness, lessons, Love, Mind, patience, prosperity, rick warren, Soul, travel, wishes, year

Goal Development Spiritual Health

4 Ways to Endure the P.A.I.N of Growth

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date September 3, 2015

There is no other area in our life where we choose PAIN as much as we do in the form of intense exercise. Think about it, for those of us that have the real love for exercise, we seem to have some sort of masochistic connection to it. “It hurts so good” we say! “No pain, no gain” we shout!

We actually PAY MONEY for classes and trainers that practically torture us and we love it. (Ok, maybe not ALL of us love it, but I do sincerely believe that every body out there can find one (or two!) forms of exercise that fits just (w)right with your body that you too will love to hate.)

It’s true, to build muscle we must first break muscle. It is a physiological fact. A design from God Himself.

What we get from this truth is a strong life lesson that we must apply to all areas of our True Health.

In order to “grow” in our MINDSET and in our SPIRITUAL life we must endure some pain and accept change. We must dig deep and get uncomfortable and persevere through some pretty tough times in order to get the ultimate reward of greater health and a greater life.

How can we do this intentionally? It IS slightly different than the PAIN you get from exercise, because often the emotional pain we may seek won’t have that wonderful “endorphin” high that exercise has nor will be it be over in the 45-min time frame that every good solid workout should fit.

Here are 4 ways I think we can intentionally endure some PAIN to get the life GAIN in life of living God’s Greater Purpose for our life:

P: Plan—Set. some. goals. To step out of your comfort zone and grow by taking some risks in life, make some goals that feel BIG and write them down! Then, set out a general plan on how you’re going to get there and #justdoit. You’ll be surprised in how effectively motivating writing down your goals are, especially with a deadline!

A goal for your MINDSET might be something like reading a certain # of books in a month or year about _______ thing you are struggling with or just want to learn more. It might also be to take the risk a seek that guidance counselor or therapist to deal with that thing from your past your been subconsciously avoiding and “numbing” yourself from your whole life.

A SPIRITUAL goal might be to find a church home where you connect with the way the Pastor teaches or the community of the congregation (this usually takes a few “interviews” to find!). It might also be to seek the answers to the HARD QUESTIONS you have about your Faith or beliefs by committing to reading God’s word or asking someone that knows more.

“I know I am not yet what God wants me to be. I haven’t reached that goal, but I keep moving forward to make it mine because Christ made me and saved me for this.” (Philippians 3:12-15 Living Bible)

A: Adapt— As you write out some goals that allow you to take some risks and branch out of your comfort zone, you will find you might hit some bumps, delays and road blocks in your dream or answers you seek. You might FAIL a couple (read: hundreds) of times too. Here is your grand opportunity to really grow by adapting to these changes in your plans. We have to constantly adapt our plan to God’s plan in order to find the path He has set out before us. We cannot discount ANY experience we have because there are no accidents in God’s will for our life. If you take every opportunity to assess and adapt to the trial you are facing, you will learn and grow in Faith!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

I: Invest: To truly experience the life-changing and life-saving things that will transform your MIND and grow your SOUL, you will need to invest in your CHARACTER above all else. When God guides you through life, He intentionally takes you through some challenging circumstances that make you wait, endure, and persevere. All of these things are designed to build your CHARACTER.

As Rick Warren always says, “God is not interested in your comfort, He’s interested in your character!” God is trying to give you the opportunity to grow and be more like His son Jesus. Our character is ultimately what we take with us to heaven, not our bodies or our circumstances! When you are being tested, you are given the choice to choose your human, fearful response, or to invest in character and choose the loving and Kingdom response. Invest in your character by seeking God’s will more and more.

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last long. Yet they produce in us a glory that vastly outweighs them all and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

N: Nurture: Just as with our bodies, we are not designed to be in PAIN all the time! Oh no, we are designed to need some rest, some recovery and some nurturing. This is God’s role when we are branching out in our MINDSET and our SPIRITUAL health. God is our refuge and is the only thing that we can find real comfort from in times of discomfort and pain. He does not just abandon us and leave us to figure it out on our own! No, he is there to give us His fruits of the Spirit and connect us to our God-given courage, strength and power to persevere.

The purpose of our Greater Purpose pathway is to grow in our relationship with God. You will find that the beauty of our Pain is that these are the times we feel God the most. You grow in your Faith and Love with God at these times which allow you to keep going and even love this pain too!

Just like Paul said, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

When you see how much you can GROW from intentionally enduring some pain in life, you will become just a “hardcore” for your MINDSET and SPIRITUAL growth as you are for your CrossFit, Paleo or Vegan diets! #imaginethat

Tags adapt, body, gain, Health, invest, Mind, nurture, pain, plan, Soul, training, Wellness

Goal Development Health Coaching Spiritual Health

FINDING YOUR LANE TO WIN

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date August 28, 2015

FINDING YOUR LANE TO WIN

I am gearing up to speak tomorrow morning at a gym in Denver, CO, Bodies By Perseverance about the importance of your Greater Purpose in Transforming your Health!

I wrote earlier this week about how knowing about your Greater Purpose will drastically impact all other steps necessary to transform your health, including: Finding Your Greater Balance, Goals, and your Go-To’s.

But, to run any race to win, you have to find YOUR lane. Obviously, we can’t keep switching lanes and expect to gain any real speed. So your Greater Purpose is going to be found with your genetics, your gifts, your talents, your character, your personality and your experiences all contributing significantly to defining exactly what that lane and race will be for YOU.

Each one of us is designed specifically for this calling and this destiny by God. We are inherently worthy of this destiny and it is not earned in the least. God has it all planned out before you and will gently lead you to your lane. It will always be your choice to follow Him there or not. That is the power of Free Will.

For me, God first showed me my lane when my natural passion and love for health turned into a part-time job about 4 years ago. I didn’t find it, it found me. As I had been establishing my walk with God a little tighter at this time and felt a tugging on my heart to expand on this. It was awesome how it just fell into place. It felt right.

The problem that happens sometimes we God guides us to OUR lane, is that we wind up looking at it like this.

It feels lonely almost and uncomfortable being asked to do something against the grain. My Faith waned and I chose to take initiative on myself and force some body changes so I could feel more worthy of being a Fitness Professional, I chose to do a bikini competition. . I pulled away from God and blatantly ignored His voice in my head telling me, “You don’t have to do this Mandi.” But I was scared and the Fear got the best of me.

But, as I have written several times now, what is so amazing and merciful about our God is that He took a mistake and a failure and me turning away from Him and decided to bless me any way.

But it’s just like God….

“And we know in all things, God works for the Good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:38)

I realized from this miracle how much God truly loves me and how much God really has it all planned out for me. All I needed to do was trust Him, allow Him to guide to me my lane again and this time, just FOCUS on what He tells me to do.

{There’s a HUGE lesson in our life to find our lane–> FOCUS.}

So I found myself now in a lane where I am a Wife, a Step Mom, a Daughter, a Friend and now, ….an ENTREPRENEUR?

As I was adjusting to a whirlwind change in life, I felt this inkling and calling to start my own business afresh. After one of my friends showed me an article about business people who had succeeded in their later years, I was so inspired to try and make a name for myself and my business.

employee engagement metrics to measure the different aspects of my environment. I think it’s a great idea and one that I will probably decide to incorporate once I’m up and running.

I have also been giving some serious thought to the marketing side of my business. For example, I already have an amazing email marketing campaign in mind. To succeed in the digital world, harnessing the power of the internet is fundamental, and using an email marketing campaign is an excellent way to tap into a captive audience so that my business can grow. In fact, I found some great pointers about email marketing on makeawebsitehub.com. I even read a great article about some of the different types of email marketing software, including alternatives to MailChimp, so once my business is underway, I will definitely be taking all of this information on board.

Once I am in an ideal position, I will then start to think about looking for employees of my own to help get my company to where I want it to be. I’ve heard that the only way to achieve greatness is to think about giving out something similar to these job satisfaction survey questions at different times within the year, so I can get a better idea of how they are finding their work and whether any improvements that I implement could help them to feel more comfortable. It will be important that I do this, as a business is nothing without a hard-working set of employees who enjoy working for you and have the same goals. This will be a long way into the future though so at least I have time to think about this.

I also knew I wanted to WRITE and SPEAK on the radical transformation that I experienced in my True Health. A. Wright Fit was born.

As I was called to this lane again, now, as a “Online Health Professional,” and decided to write and speak about the role that God has played in my Health and how He can restore and transform everyone’s health and LIFE in the same way, I was faced with the very same feelings I had felt before when He showed me my lane.

FEAR.

I was afraid that I would be breaking “society’s rules” that you aren’t supposed to talk about Faith (or Politics.) I was afraid of offending or being offended. I was afraid that I wouldn’t find “success” if i set myself apart so far from the rest of the “Fitness Community.”

Again, these FEARS of being THIS came up again….

This is when I learned the power that comes from FOCUS.

These Fears are the way the devil will try to keep me DISTRACTED with all the other things I ‘should’ do, instead of just doing what fits with ME to do (again, MY genetics, MY talents, MY gifts, MY personality, MY heart, and MY experiences.) I had to choose to stay in my lane or start skipping around again.

The blessing this time around is that I have more Faith and more Trust in God. Because I have been blessed and unburdened by a host of LIES I had been believing for my entire life, I have been free, to “throw off everything that hinders (me) and the sin that so easily entangles. And…run with perseverance the race marked out for (me), fixing (my) eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of (my) faith.” (Hebrews 12:1,2)

I can feel the fear and choose love instead. I can choose to focus my thoughts on ACHIEVING SUCCESS (i.e. love) instead of AVOIDING FAILURE (i.e. fear).

I am at this place that I am today because God has allowed me to be here all along. God has chosen ME, I have not chosen Him. God has given me His calling for my life, I have not manufactured or forced my own version of success.

I’m not perfect at it at all. Not even SUCCESSFUL by society’s standards yet either. But I AM exactly where I am supposed to be. I have peace and love overflowing with this *knowing*. I simply seek Him and trust in Him and my path is made clear and work to master the crafts of my calling.

The more I FOCUS on my lane and simply work to master the skills that He has given me, the more I will advance my running and will run my race to WIN.

All we ever need to do in our life is allow Him to guide us to our lane, choose LOVE, and RUN with it. You will win every time. Whether in your Health, in your Career, in your Relationships— you must find your lane that supports each together. All of it is used for your Greater Purpose and you must FOCUS your eyes on Jesus to get there.

Just a reminder there are 2 days left to enroll in the STRONG‘her SQUAD! A 12-week Women’s VIRTUAL GROUP HEALTH COACHING program that will help you find your lane and establish your TRUE HEALTH. It is a structure program that gives you education and success tools to develop all areas of your health: BODY, MIND and SOUL so you can become STRONG’her, WISE’her and SURREND’hered to your lane! Please contact me at amanda@amandawrightfit.com to sign up! Payment must be received by Sunday, August 30 and MIDNIGHT

Also, if you are in the Colorado Area, I am going to be at Bodies by Perseverance located on the 5ht FLOOR at 450 E 17th Ave, Denver, CO 80203.

You can join me and my Fit and Faithful partner Jennifer Samuel for a workout and the workshop (provided by me!) from 9am-11am. The workout is $25 and the presentation is FREE.

If you are not interested in the workout, the presentation will begin around 10am.

I will be auctioning of a FREE spot to anyone present to join the STRONG’her SQUAD! Contact me at 858-531-7456 if you are interested in attending!

Tags achieve, achievement, balanced health, calling, destiny, Faith, lane, Love, oprah, run, success, true health, win

Fitness & Training Goal Development

{BODY TYPE} How Knowing This ONE Thing Can Set You Up For Goal Success

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date August 26, 2015
2 Comments on {BODY TYPE} How Knowing This ONE Thing Can Set You Up For Goal Success

What’s Your Body Type?

How Knowing This ONE Thing Can Set You Up for Success

When I did the bikini competition back in June of 2013, I have written several times that it was a pretty bad experience for me. It was bad Spiritually because I blatantly ignored a voice from God that told me I didn’t need to do the show to make myself more “worthy” of being in the fitness industry. It was unhealthy for my mindset because I became incredibly self-involved and living in FEAR at every given moment–fear that I would fail before I got to the show and fear that I would fail after the show by gaining all the weight back (which I basically did). These things were just the things that happened to ME because I was doing it for the wrong reasons. It wasn’t because all bikini competitions are *bad.* I don’t believe that is always the case.

But, moreover, the bikini competition was a bad experience for me because of my BODY TYPE and the way that it wrecked havoc on body systems. I am an Endomorphic/Mesomorphic Body Type which means I gain weight very easy, have a high craving for food and have a naturally higher muscle mass AND higher body fat percentage (you’ll see more on this below). For these reasons, in order to get down from 19% body fat to 10% body fat, I had to take more drastic dietary cuts and increase my cardio for 5.5 solid months. Obviously 10% is not sustainable and not healthy for women. It was very hard and was a lot of sacrifice.

I wound up not having a menstrual cycle for 5 months (amenorrhea) and developed a host of stomach issues and intolerances (that I still deal with to this day) after I gained back all of the weight, as I feared I would. The mental aspects of this were the hardest part.

I have mentioned Body Types in passing several times, and I do go into more detail when you sign up for any health coaching service I offer (whether the 1:1 or the group) in my Metabolism Ebook. I go into depth about what the body types are and what you should be eating based on them (generally speaking).

For #STRONG’herAugust, I want to go ahead and break down what Body Types are and the PROS and CONS of each type so you can not only recognize and know yourself better, but you can then develop better GOALS that will set you up for success!

Please be warned, do not let this information place you “into a box” where you either use it as an “excuse” or as a “crutch” to lean on. The truth is each and every body type has opportunity for excellence and True Health! God does not look at appearance, God looks at the heart.

This information is valuable because you can establish smart goals for your body that will help you maintain your body’s health. You body is to be USED for God’s glory which usually means it needs to be in good shape. So use this information as a tool to help you figure out your BEST version of you, no matter what shape or size!

So here we go!

3 MAIN BODY TYPES and THEIR PROS AND CONS!

1. Endomorphic-

CONS: Endomorphic Body Types are those that gain weight very easily. They have higher tendency to be “Sugar Burners” which means they burn through carbs easily but not fat, so they get more hungry more often. They have higher tendency toward sugar cravings along with caffeine (sugar burner tendency’s).
PROS: While it might seem like you get the “short end of the stick” by God, I find that Endomorphic Body Types have the opportunity to be the HEALTHIEST. Endomorphics tend to CARE more about their health because they have to! They invest in themselves, know what they can eat and not eat. Many can have quite healthy figures (think of Marilyn Monroe!) and look curvy and beautiful! Take Kim Kardashian, for example. While her body type may be accentuated on pictures through photoshop, she is known for her body through Instagram, resulting in her being the seventh most followed person on the social media site (how does she not use sites like upleap to grow her followers?). This just proves that this body type can be healthy and curves should be embraced!

2. Endo/Mesomorphic-

CONS: While these body types can build muscle fairly easily, they also store fat pretty easily making dietary concern and body concern still a struggle. They will have the same “Sugar Burner” tendency and will have to restrict carbohydrates more than others.
PROS: These women have curves and know how to use them! It takes a lot of work, but it is well worth it! Also, these women can be strong and care about their health because they have to care about their food. A win/win for “True Health” in the Body.

3. Mesomorphic-

CONS: These body types can get “ripped” so fast that they might often take their True Health for granted! They can get away with maintaining a physique while eating some “crap” food (lots of processed food etc) that can still cause unhealthy results internally. Also, in women especially, having the ability to build such lean muscle mass can be undesirable from an aesthetic perspective. However, it can be great for others, especially if they find it difficult to build their own muscle mass with ease and often need to search for supplements such as peptides for sale to have the body they want.

PROS: They have a gift for weight training and athleticism. As women, these body types might have slightly higher testosterone allowing for more muscle growth quickly. Other pros is that the diet for Mesomorphic body types is typically a “Mixed Burner” which means they use both carbohydrate sources and fat sources for energy and just have to choose a balanced diet. Also tend to be average weight and in healthy BMI.

(It is my opinion that this body type is the ONLY great body type to be able to do body building competitions because it doesn’t require as much mental and spiritual strain to get the body to change so drastically).

4. Ectomorphic:

CONS: Have a difficult time putting on muscle mass at all yet can still have body fat which can someimes make them “skinny fat”. Ultra lean bodies have the highest rate of health issues later on in life and shorter life span. Ectomorphs are typically “muscle burners” meaning that their metabolism will start catabolizing their muscle tissue to provide energy when depleted. Often these are ‘Type A” individuals with lots of energy and forget to eat. Most should avoid caffeine as well, as it induced higher stress cortisol levels.PROS: The nice thing for them is they can eat just about anything and not gain any weight! They also need a diet that is higher in carbohydrates which makes eating more enjoyable. Also, ectomorphs can find really great exercises that fit so well with their body types. Things like Yoga and certain Dance (such as ballet) are really ideal for these body types. Just because it might be hard to put on weight, doesn’t mean it is. Cameron Diaz has some guns on her and cares very much about her True Health.

God has made every single body on this planet as unique as your DNA with purpose. Even if you might fall into some of the generalizations of these body types does not mean that you are defined by them! Use this information as you wish to, either to help you establish smart boundaries for your body goals, or to eat wisely, or do a really WISE thing and ignore it and just listen to your body!

The real question is, now that you know what your body “type” might be, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

Follow you Greater Purpose Pathway. God will lead the way. 😉

Tags body, body type, ectomorph, endomorph, Fitness, goal, God, Greater Purpose, life, mesomorph, success, Women

Goal Development Health Coaching

What’s the (W)RIGHT Question When Facing Life’s Challenges?

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date July 29, 2015

As I am in the business of helping others cultivate lasting change in their lives, I have written and truly believe that if we solely rely on will power to manifest any changes in our life, we soon recognize that our WILL POWER quickly becomes our WON’T POWER because we are relying on such small, finite power within ourselves.

To find our GREATER POWER we must seek and find our GOD POWER which is limitless and infinite. We find our GOD POWER when we engage and learn from a relationship with GOD and can focus and harness from His Spirit within us. He always provides what we need in that moment we need it.

I have learned this 1000-fold from first hand experience, but, God did not design us to have to learn everything from our own trials. God gives us each other to learn from too.

As I have built A. Wright Fit as a way to share my own faults and flaws in an effort to teach others as I “Find A Wright Fit” on my path to True (read: balanced) Health, I have found God has also provided me the gift of being on the receiving end of learning through other people’s lives as well.

Such is the case of a story I want to share with you today. I was talking with a new friend and new potential client we’ll call “K” about some recent exciting changes she’s been going through.

I first met K just a few months ago as she was beginning life under a new boss and an exciting new promotion at her big corporate job. She was so honored and encouraged by her upward movement with a company she loves. Now with her new job and new boss, she was working harder than she had ever worked before, but work that feels so rewarding.

But, in our last encounter, I saw a less enthusiastic K. The problem is that as she has been working her tail off, other people in her company, at her same level and position no less, are doing what many flawed people do best—lots of gossip, jealousy, disparaging and waiting for her to fail so they could be “right” about their cynicism.

She came to me needing to vent. “I feel so lucky and can’t believe it’s all happening and yet I am so overwhelmed by all this negativity and criticism around me. “They” are so mean and I am constantly thinking about what “they” are saying about me. I break down all the time.”

Then she said it…..

“I know I just need to be STRONGER…..”

Scrrrrrrrrrcccccch. (Record Stops) My ears perk up.

What K is experiencing is something I have experienced personally and what I see ALL THE TIME from friends, family and clients.

When we get so caught up worrying about the CIRCUMSTANCE and the NAYSAYERS, we fail to see the BIG PICTURE and the power we have in these very moments.

K has been looking at her situation as “luck” that she found herself under her new boss at work and up for a promotion. God sees this as His design for her, a step so worthy of her.
K thinks she needs more “strength” herself. God has been patiently waiting for her to finally use HIS power within her.
K thinks this is all about her “job” and being “strong enough.” God sees this as the prime opportunity to finally build the relationship He’s been seeking with her! This is one of just a million ways He’s been trying to get her attention.

K has been trying to face her problems at work with WILL POWER, but she has quickly realized that her new position alone is maxing out all the will power she has! New changes and our careers can quickly monopolize every ounce of will power we have.

And, just as I mentioned at the beginning, when we solely rely on will power, it quickly becomes WON’T POWER. It just won’t work for the long haul. We’ll be miserable!

Here’s the Problem with Will Power:

If she is maxing out all her will power just at her job, the other areas of her life—her health, her relationships, her Faith— are all going to suffer from not getting enough attention and balance.

She is seeing that she isn’t able to sustain the will power to do her job really well ANNNNNDD the will power to combat the naysayers. On top that, she also wants to date and find a healthy relationship and get married one day. On tippy top of that, she has also come to me expressing a real desire to getting healthier and less “skinny fat” as she puts it. 🙂

We all want it all right?! This IS what God wants for us too. But He wants us to do it His way, not our way.

So, as much as I love new clients, I told her honestly that I can see she’s not in a place where she can focus on health changes too as I right away recognized that her will power tank is running on empty. Adding more things on her “to do” list DOES NOT HELP when you are already feeling overwhelmed!

If K doesn’t find more POWER within her, she is going to continue to struggle at her new position and struggle with attempts to do all the other things she wants to do in life. Because, in all likelihood, the constant gossip, criticism and annoying comments aren’t going to go away….this is corporate America we’re talking about!

But, even if they do, other problems are just going to replace them until K learns the Greater Lesson she is meant to learn from God.

I wanted to share K’s story, not only because it was tremendously helpful and insightful for me to learn from but I also know that many of you have felt these exact sentiments and could empathize from your own circumstances.

Perhaps you are running on emotional “empty” as well? Perhaps you have maxed out all your will power to just one area of YOUR life and here has come another problem you can’t seem to handle?
Perhaps you too have dreams of having more to your life than just the _____________ (area) but can’t imagine how you’re going to find the will power, time OR the energy!?
Perhaps you have recently thought that exact same phrase as K and myself, “If I were just STRONGER…..”

Don’t. Fall. For. The Trap.

The devil with prey on our challenging circumstances and cause you to think of them as a “bad sign” or proof that you are indeed “unworthy” of the life you have dreamed for yourself. He’ll want to persuade you to give up and play small by focusing on all the wrong things.

But what you may be needing, just like K is needing, is not a newfound ANSWER but rather A NEW QUESTION.

You see, when you experience pain, when you are going through trouble and trauma and uncertain times, you must focus on the (W)RIGHT QUESTION to get the (W)RIGHT ANSWER (and then “You’ve Got the (W)Right stuff….baby”)

You've Got the Wright Stuff.... — Couldn’t resist…..

THE (W)RIGHT QUESTION:

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO LEARN HERE GOD?

I love what Rick Warren says about our problems. He says, “God is not interested in your circumstances as much as He is interested in your CHARACTER.”

In other words, what character values are you cultivating as you harness your energy for your problems? Where are you putting all of your hope and faith?

Is it in yourself and all that you are able to do (i.e. your WILL POWER)?

OR are you praying and seeking God’s power through God’s wisdom?

Refocusing your mind and thoughts on what GOD might be wanting you to learn through prayer and reading the Word of God, will provide you with the REAL answer and your GREATER POWER which is your GOD POWER.

Then you’ll find, even if your circumstances don’t change, your perspective of them will, and that will make ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

God allows everything to enter into our life to teach us and be used for Good by cultivating the necessary character changes you need. This includes bad decisions we make, bad things that other people say or do to us, and the havoc that the devil and evil will cause for us too. ALL can be made RIGHT with God and will serve our Greater Purpose.

So keep the Faith and keep asking God the (W)Right Question to get the (W)Right Answer! Remember, in order to HEAR God, you must spend time in PRAYER and in His WORD (i.e. reading the Bible) and it will be revealed!

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)

Tags Balance, challenges, corporate ladder, God, good, life, Love, power, right answer, right question, will power, Women, work

Goal Development Health Coaching Spiritual Health Uncategorized

The Best Kind of Weight Loss

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date June 17, 2015

So I just got off the phone with one of my new clients and I am so inspired that I am actually going to botch the entire blog that I’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks to share this story with you today!

This client and I have only been working together for a couple of weeks so far, but she hired me describing feeling being at “an all-time low point with her health”. She knew she needed to drastically change her health and knew she needed someone to help coach, guide and support her in some significant changes she was ready to make. I am so lucky she chose me.

I told her, as I tell all my clients, that I learn just as much from them as they do from me. It is an absolute honor and priveledge that I get to be a support system for any woman willing to face her fears, overcome obstacles and set herself back on the path that God has created for her. To witness such transformations with her, changes my soul and teaches me much more than I could ever learn on my own and through my own experiences.

So, as I do with all clients, the first step that we take together is to decide and write down what her goals are going to be. I whole-heartedly believe that choosing the (W)right goal for yourself is the most important step in becoming STRONG’her, WISE’her, andSURREND’her your life UP and should not be a rushed decision.

If you are truly ready for some real change in your life and in your health, you must get the SURREND’her part down first. That means, choosing the kind of health goal that GOD wants you to choose, not that you and your fears or lack-based tendencies are pressuring you to choose.

(By the way, I have combined all 7-steps into an ebook that can be downloaded when you subscribe to my emails newsletters HERE.)

As we discussed her goals over the course of the first couple of phone calls, the tone of her voice sounded unsure, embarrassed, discouraged, and soft.

The tone of her voice when we just spoke today? Completely different. It sounded light, free, upbeat, and confident.

So what had changed?

Well, she shifted her thinking and shifted her search for her goals! Her story was so awe inspriing, I wanted to share with you here today.

When she first contacted me she had told me her measurable goal was to lose X number of pounds. This is extremely common and not at all a “bad” goal. In fact, I highly encourage measurable goals to help motivate, track and stay accountable.

However, there are a million ways to measure your goals, so I encouraged her to take some time and truly reflect on whether or not this was the right goal for her and was indeed what God wanted her to focus on.

After this conversation, she told me she kept seeing messages about spiritual fasting popping-up in her world and she decided to do an incredibly brave thing——she listened.

She decided the signs were pointing her to do a spiritual fast and see if she could find some clarity about this health process. So for a almost a full week, she only ate vegetables and fruit and spent the time she would have spent eating, praying and reflecting more with God.

(NOTE: This is a highly effective practice for anyone spiritually mature enough to make it about connecting with God to answer a prayer and not about doing a “cleanse” to help you lose weight. Your heart posture matters! If you would like more information about this, I’m happy to help answer or guide you, just email me!)

As God promises us in the Bible, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7) When she sought clarity from God, He gave it to her.

During this fasting period, she came across a book that just seemed to pop-off the shelf to her. It was called “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Vosakamp. The story resonated with her on such a deep level she devoured it in about 2 hours flat and had her new measureable health goal from it.

Today, with her voice full of courage, hope and a new depth of Faith, she announced her new goal to me: She is going to seek and find her 1,000 gifts.

Every day, she is going to seek out the gifts of her life and write them all down. She will set her her intention on finding all that is good in her life and will spend her time looking for that, not just seeing her life through the lens of self pressure or busyness.

Her choice of a goal actually went hand-in-hand with a morning devotion that I had happened to read just this morning from the book, Nearer to Jesus by Sarah Young, which read:

“As you go through this day, look for tiny treasures strategically placed along the way. I lovingly go before you and plant little pleasures to brighten your day. Look carefully for them and pluck them one by one. When you reach the end of the day, you will have gathered a lovely bouquet. Offer it up to Me with a grateful heart. Receive My Peace as you lie down to sleep, with thankful thoughts plying a lullaby in your mind.”

It is of no coincidence that she and I had received similar messages of seeking out the small treasures from God on the very same day. These are the “God winks” that we can all experience every day that we have our eyes opened and willing to receive it.

The best part of the phone call was the next part she told me….

She said that naturally Monday morning she decided to weigh herself to see if her weight had dropped after doing a week of fasting. It did…..but only 2 pounds.

She was fighting the natural instinct to be disappointed that after so much “restriction” she did not see more physical weight loss.

I reminded her however, that she had actually lost a significant amount of weight, it just wasn’t the kind of weight that we know how to measure.

You see, this past weekend after the fasting, she described how she had been able to go to her favorite Mexican food restaurant and felt satisfied after eating only 20% of her favorite meal.

She went to a baby shower and was able to resist the unhealthy food choices and cupcakes, and made the best decision she could with the options she had (chicken salad and some fresh vegetables and fruit) and felt good and satisfied by it.

The weight she lost was not physical weight. It was the lifting of the MENTAL burden that she had been bearing for the past several years regarding food, cravings and overall energy. I could tell she had lost such weight simply by the lightness of her voice.

Weight gain is very rarely about actual “weight.” 90%+ of the time, our weight is determined more by our thoughts than anything else.

Having a dieters mentality is a heavy burden.
Being unhappy and discouraged by your body all the time wears you down.
Always feeling stressed to eat the right foods and to do the right exercises is a heavy load to bear.

All of these things are much “heavier” than the actual weight we may need to lose.

Being able to lighten the burden of of our thoughts is MUCH MORE REWARDING than losing a few more pounds in one week.

She was able to fight the temptation of disappointment and stay on this path of greater understanding, joy and peace because she was able to instead focus her life on the gifts of her day.

From here, she will be able to now move forward toward an healthier body with a much lighter mental burden that will allow her to find True Health and success that no “diet” would have.

This is SURREND’hering.

I encourage anyone reading this to take the following steps to transform your MIND as well by asking yourself these 3 things.

Are my current health goals really what God wants me to focus on or am I creating goals to fill some sort of void I have in my heart that only He can fill?

If you find that you are not focusing on the right goals, take the time to pray and change them. God will empower you and guide you if you ask Him.
What are the small gifts that I encountered today that I can pick like a fresh flower bouquet?

Even if you’ve had a really crappy day so far, is there 1 or 2 things you can find that were unexpected gifts? Perhaps you can start a journal too to see if you can get to 1,000 gifts?!
What kind of mental weight am I bearing on my body that I need to lose before I can lose any physical weight? Am I putting unrealistic expectations on myself? Am I living only for others approval? Am I taking on others burdens as my own?

Pray that God will show you how to unburden and share the “yoke” with Him so that you do not bear the weight all alone.

Final reminders that if any of you would like to also work with me for 1:1 Health Coaching, I have just a couple more spots available in my current roster. You can check out the new 6-Part Module forum I’m offering in my 12-Week SURREND’her Health Transformation in this link HERE. Feel free to reach out and contact me via email at amanda@amandawrightfit.com and I can answer any more questions you have!

Tags body, Fitness, God, Health Coaching, life, Mental, Mind, Soul, Spiritual, Surrender, Weight loss

Fitness & Training Food & Nutrition Goal Development

5 Proven Tips to Not Let the Weekend Wreck Your Health Goals

Post author By Amanda Wright
Post date June 11, 2015

So here we are, Wednesday. Hummmmmmmp Day!

By now, if you’re like most of us trying to be “healthier” you’re on day #3 this week of being “back on track” because inevitably over the weekend, you botched your healthy eating intention by over-eating or over-drinking and vowed to start to be “good” again on Monday. #AmIRight?

This is a dieters mentality and it took me years to stop this “Working for the Weekend” mindset. This is part of what I set out to teach clients and any reader is the power of your MINDSET in helping you accomplish any goal since what you THINK determines what you DO.

If you goal is FAT LOSS for example, taking the whole weekend “off” of healthy eating and fitness is not an effective strategy.

If your goal is MAINTENANCE, this strategy is perfect because you do need several days per week devoted to maintaining.

Since I’m in the business of helping people with their health goals, which 100% of them include FAT LOSS, I wanted to shed some light on this subject of changing up our MINDSET about weekends so we can have more success in our Fat Loss efforts!

I coach many a frustrated client who will work so hard all week, eating well, working out hard for 5 SOLID DAYS and then completely reverse all their progress in just 1 or 2 days of going overboard. That was me for years and years too.

Weekends are HARD. We want to feel rewarded and relaxed which naturally invoke a desire for delicious food and libations, our go to “reward” systems! We also don’t have our go-to routines and some of our weekends get so jam-packed with kids and sports and our social obligations that we don’t have the plans in place that help us to keep on track. These are all valid and understandable!

So what do we do about this natural tendency we have with the weekends when we want to lose fat?

Do you have to be PERFECT on the weekend?! NO WAY.

Being overly restrictive will NOT work and is really NO FUN. Life is about balance and JOY. It’s about working SMARTER not HARDER.

But, there are ways you can simply STRATEGIZE your weekends better that will make a difference! If you’re finding it hard to strategize then you can always use a resource like play sport which helps you organize going to a sports event near you. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people that can help get you through your weekend slump! Plus, you don’t need to limit yourself to weekend use of it as you could use it to improve your weekday fitness too.

Similarly, a lot of people find that team sports encourage them to keep up their fitness. However, if you aren’t into sports like football or rugby, don’t worry. There are other sports, like airsoft, that don’t feel like exercise but still count. With a team sport, it’s vital to perform to the best of your ability because you’re all working together to win. To get into something like airsoft, it might be worth looking at these Airsoft Guns the largest range in the UK. That way, you can improve your fitness whilst making new friends.

At A.Wight Fit, one thing I specialize in is Goal Development and real life strategies to help clients get to their desired health goals and fat loss. I have found these steps as the top strategies I use and my clients have used to see more success!

Top 5 Proven Tips to NOT Let the Weekend Wreck Your Health Goals:

#1 Proven Tip: Don’t overly deprive yourself all week:

If you are eating far too few calories and doing far too much exercise, you are naturally be inclined to binge eat on the weekend because you’ve been starving yourself! It’s the law of “Metabolic Compensation“. Our bodies are hormonally going to fight to keep you at the weight you’ve been adjusted to. After just 5 days of eating too few of calories and/or exercising too much, you’re hunger hormones are going to go crazy. Ideally, your food and exercise should stay consistent straight through the week.

How do adjust: If you think you might be pushing too hard or restricting yourself too much, change JUST ONE of those aspects at first-not both. Don’t try to overhaul your regime all at once, that will likely result in weight gain that will make you freak out and overcompensate to eating even less and exercising even more. The goal here is to take just 1 aspect of your health and make a 10% adjustment in a healthier direction. So if you are doing 5 hours of cardio a week, you are going to need to cut back on aerobic cardio to actually help your metabolism and fat loss. This means you just cut back in 10% of your time this week. The next week you’ll decide if you’ll cut back again (10%) or hold there for 1 more week, etc.

#2 Proven Tip: Treat Your Weekend As It’s Own Goal & Write it down:

Your life likely looks quite different during the weekend as it does during the week so make different habit goals to accommodate the different routines. Focus on just your weekend for a while. Work with the systems you currently have to make those goal changes. With all goals, you have a higher chance of success when you write down exactly what your goals are and the habits you want to enforce to get you there.

How to adjust: Choose 1-2 new habits you want to enforce just for the weekend to improve in your health and stick to those for a month before adding on new goals. Focus on progress, not perfection.

For example, if you normally go to Sunday brunch and order pancakes and bacon, your first habit to adjust is just what you plan on ordering at the Sunday brunch. Make small adjustments every week–what I call “Mini Goals.”

Weekend #1 Mini Goal: Go to Sunday Brunch and Eat 1 Pancake and 3 egg whites + 1 slice of bacon.

Weekend #2 Mini Goal: Go to Sunday Brunch Eat 1/2 Pancake, 3 egg whites + 1slice of bacon.

Weekend #3 Mini Goal: Go to Sunday Brunch and eat 1-2 bites of pancake, vegetable omelette and 2 slices of bacon.

Progress is Progress!

#3 Proven Tip: Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day- Weekend and Holidays Included:

This combines two of the most effective fat loss strategies- being consistent + getting enough sleep. Waking up at the same time every day, no matter what day of the week it is, will eventually allow your body to adjust to the Circadian Rhythms necessary to allow for effective sleeping habits and getting enough sleep will also extend the amount of time you are in the prime fat loss zone (fasting + increased growth hormone etc). If you have been finding it difficult to sleep, you may need to look into a new mattress. Researching key phrases such as ‘mattress reviews australia‘ can help you pick the best one for your sleeping patterns. Alternatively, recent research on the medical use of marijuana has highlighted the positive effect it can have on sleep deprivation and insomnia. These tiny bongs offer a discrete way of finding natural sleep relief. If this isn’t your kind of thing, we have some advice on adjusting below.

How to adjust: Set Your Alarm Clock in the morning and plan the reason WHY you’re getting up early on the weekend. So if you get up at 6am M-F, you’ll want to get up by 630am on the weekends too. But to do that, you’ll need a reason to get out of bed. It’s a perfect excuse to go hit up the gym and get your workout over with. Or it’s a great way to get up go to a Cafe, do some reading, your devotional, or work on other Mind and Soul goals you have. Creating a whole new Ritual out of your early mornings on weekends will be a special treat unto itself!

If you are tired at first, it will take an adjustment. If you need to take an afternoon nap at first, that’s fine, just keep it to the 20-min cat nap that’s been proven as most effective.

#4 Proven Tip: Mentally Prepare for the Weekend Reward:

As humans we all know we use food and drinks as a reward system. This is not a bad thing unless your food reward and drink awards get out of control. High fat, high sugar and excessive alcohol tend to be the greatest “reward” in our brains and can often turn into unstoppable eating binges. SO, preparing for the exact thing you crave and planning where and when you have it will help you to control the natural tendency to let it get out of control.

How to adjust: Think of 1-2 healthier food options that are similar enough to your old bad habits. So instead of red wine all weekend, you’ll drink sparkling water with a splash of cranberry and then 1 really good glass of wine that’s worth it for you with dinner on Saturday night.

Think of 1-2 non-food ways to reward yourself during the weekend too. So instead of your whole weekend planning from brunch, to BBQ to dinner (i.e. all food items) make sure you have a pedicure, group workout class, a walk in the park, a coffee date with a friend or something NON-food related that will add some fun to your life.

#5 Proven Tip: Add some SOUL to your Sundays:

Making sure you take one day in the weekend to get Spiritually aligned will help remind you of your “WHY” you are getting healthy to begin with. While this practice should not merely be practiced 1-day a week, it is great to have a day dedicated to thanking God for our creation and the wonder of our health blessings we have. It is not about RELIGION, but about building your personal relationship with God and doing this in COMMUNITY has been proven the most successful practice. You learn by listening to others who have more mature Faith than us. But the right fit might take a while to find. It might not be a church, but other spiritual practices you do in community with others. Building this through the weekend is the best way to carry it out into the week as well. It sets your heart on the right path again.

How to Adjust: Commit to going to church, watching a sermon/program online with others, or even going on a Spiritual or Prayer walk or hike to get your Spiritual alignment. Pray for your health, for greater wisdom on your health and how you are to use your body and your health to fulfill God’s Greater Purpose in your life.

Try out 1-2 of these new tips this weekend and see if you feel a greater sense of REWARD by Monday morning!

Tags body, Diet, Exercise, fat loss, Goals, Health, Mind, nutrition, Soul, Weekend, Women

3 Top Notch Scheduling Practices:

So these 3 strategies DRAMATICALLY helped me manage my busy schedule much better so I could still make time for my Faith, health and fitness goals.

#1. The 5 Category System:

#2. TIME BLOCKING + BREAKS:

#3. INVEST WISELY NOW TO SAVE TIME LATER:

Making time for your FITNESS and FAITH is a LIGHT FOR YOU TO SHINE for those you love the most!

Join me in the “A. Wright Fit Reset” to engage in flexing those Physical and Spiritual muscles! Program starts August 15!

Hello From The Other Side...

LET’S LOOK AT 3 THINGS THE VERSE TELLS US THAT WILL HELP YOU TO FROM THE OTHER SIDE:

IT TELLS US SPECIFIC ACTION TO TAKE:

2. IT TELLS US WHY GOD WANTS US TO WAIT ON HIM:

THIS VERSE TELLS US THE OUTCOME OF THIS ACTION PLAN:

"Harvesting My Health" Free Download!

So, we’ve all been there before.

If I’m being honest...

But luckily, things can change...

TOP 5 HABITS TO STAY THE COURSE WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE QUITTING!

33 Birthday Lessons

All of this was done in the 32nd year of my life.

So, for my birthday today and the welcoming of my 33rd year of life, I would like to offer you 33 lessons I learned last year through all my mayhem.

33 Birthday Lessons

Sometimes you just have to shut up and pray.

There is a huge difference between a promise and a VOW.

It's ok to say "no" to something "good" so you can say "yes" to something "great."

When you say you're sorry, you can't add a "but" to the end of it, otherwise it doesn't count.

Talking openly about your Faith is extremely hard and even more humbling when you realize how small your Faith really is.

Nagging people to change never actually works. They might appease you for a second just to get you to pipe down, but it doesn't work in the long run.

Setting boundaries in how you let others treat you is a way of showing them love. You are offering them a chance to see the Truth of who you are so speak with gentleness and stand firm in your truth.

The opposite of love isn't hate, the opposite of love is fear. When you worry, you cannot love. When you are loving, you cannot worry. "Perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:8).

Asking someone "Why?" is not nearly as inviting as asking someone to "Tell me more about that?" You get much less of a defensive response.

Sometimes you think you are allergic to foods when really you are allergic to STRESS.

You can get so much more done when you make a list of the top priorities of your day and just do those things.

There is a perfect rhythm of working HARD for 90-mins and then taking a short break to do something Physical or Spiritual. This rhythm makes you far more balanced and efficient, helping you get so much more done WELL.

You can be content in all circumstances by seeing with grateful eyes.

You must not neglect your gift. You must grow it, cultivate it and give it away.

So what, you're weird. Radically accept that. "Those the mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."-Dr. Seuss

There is true bliss that comes from giving into your "Happy Weight."

"Live not by works, but by Faith." Busyness does not get you any points with God.

You can actually rewire your brain by visualizing your "future self" and SURREND'hering to her as you make decisions.

God's capacity to give far exceeds our capacity to receive.

There is a distinct difference between "No" and "Not Yet" with God. Patience is everything.

Comparison is the thief of joy. We should join in the praise when we see God's blessings on others lives.

Take your environment seriously and it will radically shift your life. From the people you put yourself around, to the things you watch and read, and the spaces you design for your own work and creativity.

God designed us for Prosperity. Not understanding the proper value of your TIME will consistently hinder that.

To change any bad habit, including the habit of fear, you must always REPLACE the habit and focus your intention on what you DO want to become. I suggest love.

Neuroscience now proves a MEMORY is formed after 21-days of intentional thought and dwelling. A HABIT is formed after 3 cycles of that for a total of 63 DAYS. For. one. habit. Focus only on the 'Big Rocks' that matter and will have a bigger impact on your life.

Those whom are hardest to love are always those that need the most love. Their insecurity makes them difficult, demanding and distant. Your love and respect can cure them of all that.

You learn your true identity and Greater Purpose from others, not by yourself. God designed us for community.

"Joy doesn't come from what you have, joy comes from what you know can't be taken from you." Rick Warren

Your soul is where your body meets your power source.

It's just like God to take our sinful, selfish acts and decide to bless us anyway. "God works for the Good of those who love Him." (Romans 8:38)

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy and creativity." -Brene Brown

You are so very WORTHY of it all. Spiritual magic happens when we seek to see ourselves and others the way God see us. Our worth to Him is endless.

FINDING YOUR LANE TO WIN

“And we know in all things, God works for the Good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:38)

{There’s a HUGE lesson in our life to find our lane–> FOCUS.}

FEAR.

I can feel the fear and choose love instead. I can choose to focus my thoughts on ACHIEVING SUCCESS (i.e. love) instead of AVOIDING FAILURE (i.e. fear).

What’s Your Body Type?

How Knowing This ONE Thing Can Set You Up for Success

3 MAIN BODY TYPES and THEIR PROS AND CONS!

1. Endomorphic-

2. Endo/Mesomorphic-

3. Mesomorphic-

4. Ectomorphic:

The real question is, now that you know what your body “type” might be, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

Follow you Greater Purpose Pathway. God will lead the way. 😉

“I know I just need to be STRONGER…..”

Here’s the Problem with Will Power:

Don’t. Fall. For. The Trap.

THE (W)RIGHT QUESTION:

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO LEARN HERE GOD?

Then you’ll find, even if your circumstances don’t change, your perspective of them will, and that will make ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)

(By the way, I have combined all 7-steps into an ebook that can be downloaded when you subscribe to my emails newsletters HERE.)

Being able to lighten the burden of of our thoughts is MUCH MORE REWARDING than losing a few more pounds in one week.

Are my current health goals really what God wants me to focus on or am I creating goals to fill some sort of void I have in my heart that only He can fill?

What are the small gifts that I encountered today that I can pick like a fresh flower bouquet?

What kind of mental weight am I bearing on my body that I need to lose before I can lose any physical weight? Am I putting unrealistic expectations on myself? Am I living only for others approval? Am I taking on others burdens as my own?

Top 5 Proven Tips to NOT Let the Weekend Wreck Your Health Goals:

**LET’S LOOK AT 3 THINGS THE VERSE TELLS US THAT WILL HELP YOU TO FROM THE OTHER SIDE:**