Carla Birnberg - What You Can When You Can Healthy Living on Your Terms

What You Can When You Can

Copyright 2015 Carla Birnberg and Roni Noone

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Birnberg, Carla.

What you can when you can : Healthy living on your terms / Carla Birnberg and Roni Noone.

pages cm

ISBN 978-1-58005-574-1

1. WomenHealth and hygiene. 2. WomenPsychology. 3. Motivation (Psychology) 4. Health. I. Noone, Roni. II. Title.

RA778.N785 2015

613dc23

2014035547

Published by

Seal Press

A Member of the Perseus Books Group

1700 Fourth Street

Berkeley, California

Sealpress.com

Interior design by Domini Dragoone

Printed in the United States of America

Distributed by Publishers Group West

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO OUR BLOG READERS.

The folks who read those early, barely coherent posts and waited patiently for us to find our voices. The people who watched our interminable videos on YouTube, bad quality and all. Those who responded to our tweets when we had no clue what a hashtag was. And all our friends on Facebook we have yet to meet in person.

Whether you lurk or comment prolifically, please know we appreciate you.

This book isnt just for you, its because of you.

CONTENTS

WERE ALL AWARE WE SHOULD EAT BETTER, exercise more, get better-quality rest, and so on. Tell us something we dont know, right? After all, every statistic we have about Americans and our health proves that, no matter how good our intentions are, we are failing to change the habits that undermine our well-being. So how do we achieve our healthy living goals when theyre so daunting? Who has the time, the willpower, the resources to do all that nutritious eating, muscle building, and work-life balancing?

You do, actually. And we do too.

This is our story. This is your story. We know you. We are you.

How so? you might be asking. Let us tell you.

In this fast-paced world of ours, we know it can often seem like everything is all or nothing: if were not skinny, were fat; or if were not cardio queens, were lazy slobs; or if were not perfect, weve failed.

Now, early on in this book we alert you to one of our primary messages: perfect is not coming. Accept that. But, even if we do accept that and we want to lose a few pounds or improve our cholesterol levels, that same all-or-nothing mentality can take over. We too easily slide into thinking lifestyle changes need to happen all at once or theyre not worth attempting at all. Weve both done it.

The WYCWYC way isnt about changing your life overnight: its about knowing that the road to improvement is paved brick by brick, step by step, and by simply doing What You Can When You Can.

For example, weve both gone down the path of completely over-hauling our diets and exercise routines, only to stick with it for a day or three orokay, lets be completely honestan hour.

I know! Ill food prep for the week on Sundays; well eat healthily all week. Oh! Oh! Ill sign up for yoga and go every day after work! Tomorrow Ill start running. Tomorrow. Tomorrow.

If youre anything like us, you end up not doing any Sunday food preparation and you dont even drive past the yoga classbecause you have less than the perfect amount of time available.

Well, so much for that healthy eating plan; I cant even get to the store, let alone cook all Sunday. Yoga every day after work, HA! Im lucky to make it through rush-hour traffic. And running? Yeah, Okay, I cant even find my shoes in the morning.

Sound familiar? You are definitely not alone.

After years of struggling to make changes in our liveseverything from diet to fitness to relationshipswe figured out a not-so-secret secret that has helped us finally reach the goals weve struggled with for so long.

That secret: do WHAT YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN.

Also known as WYCWYC. We pronounce it wick-wick.

Born from our longing to end perfectionist tendencies and stop the start tomorrow mindset, the WYCWYC mantra reminds us that doing WHAT WE CAN WHEN WE CAN is enough.

There is no Tomorrow, Im starting over.

There is no magic best day of the week.

There is no this day is shot because things didnt go as planned.

By doing what we can when we can, weCarla and Roniwill reach (and have been reaching) our goalsthis book being one of them.

While WYCWYC stands for what you can when you can, it encapsulates so much more. WYCWYC is about acknowledging that doing your bestand making compromises when neededis always enough.

I missed my step class but thats okay; Ill take a walk with the family after dinner.

Its about seeking out every opportunity that interests you without feeling guilty or disappointed in yourself for not being perfect.

Busiest day ever traveling for business. Too cold to walk. Jumped on the hotel dreadmill instead.

Its even about balancing your current desires while still working toward your future goals.

I really wanted fried mozzarella, so I ordered a soup for my entre, skipped dessert, and drank sparkling water instead of wine.

WYCWYC is an approach to life that helps us break out of the negative cycles holding us back.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

This book is for everyone who is struggling with a sense of what we should do.

People who make New Years resolutions to get healthy and then break them in the first week of the year.

People who find the perfect diet and stick to it completelythat is, until the next birthday party at work.

People paralyzed by a never-ending to-do list, buried under the clutter of life.

Maybe thats not exactly you. Bottom line, if youve ever questioned if doing the best you can is enough, then this book is for you.

If youve again and again promised yourself youd make big changes, only to feel like a failure for never making progress, then this book is for you.

If you feel alone working toward your healthy-living goals and seek support and community, then this book is for you.

What you hold in your hands is a spark, a mantra, a state of mind.

WYCWYC is for anyone looking to break out of the negative, self-defeating cycles that prevent us from reaching our goals, whatever those goals may be.