Hey all, I wanted to share my experiences of the past couple weeks and how Ive changed my thinking to keep myself on track, where I would normally be falling off the bandwagon completely. WARING: THIS IS REALLY LONG IM SORRY. My recent fitness adventure started out great, as it so often does. I tracked my calories every day, I maintained a calorie deficit and was eating really well without giving up the junk I love entirely, just exercising moderation. I also started doing those 30 day challenges (for squats and plank) and was doing a bit of extra workouts here and there as well (and was enjoying it!) Up until last weekend, I was great. On the weekend I was supposed to do some squats and take a break from plank, but I didnt do the squats either because I was out of the house all day biking around. Same thing happened on the Sunday, I just wasnt home enough to work in my challenges (and Im not about to do a bunch of squats at a bbq lol.) I didnt track my calories at all over the weekend but I did try and exercise moderation of junk/beer. Then Monday we biked to the island and I broke my face. Tuesday I didnt do anything at all. I felt exhausted and sore from my nose and I had to spend 4 hours in the ER. Then I found out one of my dogs was being put down that day so I was emotionally drained as well. On Wednesday morning the guilt began to set in. Even if I hadnt broken my nose, this is exactly what happens to me every time I try and start a new routine. I go really strong, really well for about 3 weeks and then I start to get lazy/lose motivation/give up. Then the guilt starts and I get sucked into a guilt-hole that I find very hard to get out of, and I start thinking horribly about myself. I lose all confidence I had gained by undergoing self-improvement, and I start to become apathetic with the idea of change. I made a decision on Wednesday. I would not let that happen this time. But, I was still so tired and sore from my bodys efforts at healing myself, and I was so busy last week that I could not fathom doing my work outs. So what was the big difference this time? My thought process. I recognized the guilt, I recognized the pattern that I was about to go through, and I put a stop to it. Ultimately, if I have a bad day and dont do my work outs or I go over my calories or I eat terribly, that is ok. If I go a week without doing these good things, that is okay too. Why? Because this means NOTHING in the long run. The lifestyle changes I am pursuing are meant for the rest of my life. What is one week compared to the rest of my life? Its nothing. So instead of giving up completely, I let go of my guilt and just tried my best. I knew when approaching this last weekend that I would be incredibly active, but I also knew Id be eating garbage and not doing my challenges. (Hand in hand with road trip food, camping and a busy work weekend.) I made the best food choices I could at the time - I had a small fries instead of a medium or large, I avoided drinking a pop or iced tea and had water instead. I tried to eat a lot of salad with my meals last week, and ate lots of other veggies and such leading up to the weekend. I didnt drink any beer throughout the week because I knew Id be drinking on the weekend. Most importantly, I let it go. I just put all the guilt and worries about being lazy out of my head. I told myself it was okay. And I was able to focus on what I needed to get done without freaking out. I told myself I had until this morning to have this break. Now its Monday morning and this week Im starting all the things again. I ate my usual breakfast, I will track my calories today and I will start up my fitness challenges. I will probably have to start with a few less squats than what I was up to, but thats okay too. Its not a race. If I do 150 squats today instead of 180 I wont lose the strength Ive already worked for. Consider this next time you feel yourself in a rut. Let yourself take a break. It is about gradual change, not being perfect. And if you forgive yourself and give yourself the break, you will have a much stronger, healthier approach when your break is over. :)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 15:56:15 +0000
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