Keeping fit… the ultimate energizing lifestyle

Drinking plenty of water, eating well, getting enough sleep, having a roof over one’s head and clothes to wear, and… keeping as active as possible. Those are the ABCs of a well-balanced life. A life where well-being, self-confidence and a sense of achievement can shine bright. An exaggeration? Not at all.

Stay active. Eat healthy food. Be happy. Love yourself. Exercise. Do more of the things you enjoy, believe in yourself and take a bite out of life. And life in turn will be kind, generous and good. No doubt a lot more than you could ever imagine.

There’s no age limit for starting to look after yourself. It’s just something you one day decide, for yourself. To ensure its long-term success, this decision must come from the heart. You need to be 100% certain. If you can find the time to eat, drink water and sleep every day, why wouldn’t you be able to find the time to exercise a bit too? There’s no need to go out and run 10 km every day or put yourself through an grueling workout of biking, swimming or god knows what. All you have to do is make the personal decision that it’s just as important as eating or sleeping. You have to turn it into a need that’s essential to your daily well-being, to the happiness of the “self”. In reality, this short paragraph is all about the “self” and that’s because you alone are responsible for your decisions and choices. Other people have no say in it, no say at all.

What makes me laugh: miracle diets and exercises so we can fit into our bikini.

It’s as though, during the winter, we’re letting ourselves go at the expense of our well-being. As though, under our thick wool sweaters, we’ve been hiding the fact, from ourselves, that we’re not feeling great. As though “bikini” was worth 10 out of 10 on the wellness scale. Are we really going to allow two little pieces of Lycra to dictate our state of well-being? Especially two pieces that sometimes just aren’t suited to our morphology. No thank you. If we don’t treat ourselves to the very best to attain our well-being, who’ll do it for us?

How about feeling good in our own bodies all year round? For a laugh, we could call it bikini psychology for the soul. Feeling good about ourselves throughout the year is possible. It’s a choice that I made in my early twenties (at the time of writing, I’m well into my forties). Today, there’s absolutely nothing that could stop me. It’s become a lifestyle choice. I don’t deserve any special credit because I don’t even need to push myself. I love it and that’s sincere. It’s on my agenda and I just do it. Simple as that. Looking after myself makes me happy. It’s a vicious circle of total well-being. Sound interesting?

The basic principles of bikini psychology for the soul (hahaha!) 

• Make the decision to feel good every day.
• Pinpoint one or more objectives.
• Establish a personal plan to achieve your objectives.
• Keep a log of your actions and progress. (It’ll be your little daily meeting with yourself, for yourself. It’s your “self” that will appreciate it.)
• Take action.
• Picture yourself, at least once a day, achieving the objective you have in mind.
• If you slip back, it’s not the end of the world. Forgive yourself and get right back into it the next day.
• If you’re having trouble succeeding, readjust the objective to make it more realistic.
• Congratulate yourself.
• Once you’ve achieved one objective and it’s become a habit, you can add another.
• Tad-ah! Welcome to your new lifestyle.

When you try to change too many things at once it can be hard to stomach and will therefore be a far cry from enhancing your sense of well-being. It’s better to keep your feet firmly on the ground and aim for several small victories instead.

The Madame Labriski world and brand were created in order to meet one of my personal objectives, that of eating better while indulging and enjoying my food. I wanted to eradicate that famous feeling of guilt that can overcome us when we eat something that tastes really good. I decided to create recipes that make you feel decadently happy and that are bursting with wholesomeness. A wish to thank the date puree idea for whispering in my ear that it would be incredibly delicious and could be used to make a multitude of wonderful treats.

Finding your own favourite energizer
I fell into running just like Obélix fell into the cauldron of magic potion. The day I ran my first half-marathon, I was sure I’d only ever do the one. But I was hooked the moment I crossed that finish line. I’d released so many happiness-activating endorphins that only a month later, I was running my second one. My life changed. My lifestyle drastically changed, with the addition of choices that would optimize my personal well-being on a daily basis all year round. I’d found my energizing Fountain of Youth. Since 2006, running has been part of my life. I can actually picture myself becoming a grandma who’s bursting with vitality. Who knows, maybe I’ll be the next senior marathon runner from Québec. That would be in 2058, when I’m 80. That could be quite interesting!

It was also as a way of sharing this passion for running that the Madame Labriski MégaRelais was established. A team relay race where participants run for the pleasure of striving to surpass their limits and stock up on happiness-activating endorphins. Runners work together, pounding the pavement to cover a total of 287 km in the beautiful Québec City area. The 3rd edition in 2020 was postponed, but will be back with a vengeance in 2021. Will you be joining us?

The following is a fruity recipe that will encourage you to go in search of your own personal happiness: The Pretty Juicy Juice (oh, yummy fruit!).

Enjoy staying active!

Mériane aka Madame
XXX

Article from my contribution to the magazine HOMME. June 2018.