Everyone always describes how life changing and necessary the proper diet and fitness is, but what they fail to tell you is just how hard it can be to maintain that lifestyle. Few tell of tales where they slipped up, cheated on their diet, or had a lazy day. This is life and in life moments arise where we disappoint ourselves. Maybe we miss a workout. Maybe we eat a meal that is gross. It's how we handle these moments that show us who we are. I have been through many of these moments recently and I've found that I have two paths I can take: I can either tell myself that what is done is done and to live and learn from my slip ups or I can sit and wallow in my disappointment in myself.
The later of the options is quite possibly the most destructive. Losing weight, being healthy and getting fit is a physical journey but above all else it is a mental one. It's learning to love yourself and your body. It's learning to love where you are now and where you are headed in the future. If you constantly knock yourself for your failures and missteps you learn to hate yourself and your "failures" and you tend to miss all of the progress you have made. Why downplay small victories and play up meeting or failing to meet the "end goal?" I have to constantly remind myself that I have come far in this journey and that I'm doing a great job. I have lost 6lbs and 5" over my body in 1.5 months! That's nothing short of amazing however it is really easy to get caught up in the "Oh i just cheated on my meal today"..."Oh I gained 2lbs"..."Oh I skipped my workout." It's painfully easy to tell myself I'm not meeting my own expectations. Do you know what the problem with expectations can be? If you fail to meet the goal or expectation, no matter how big or small, you lose motivation or you are constantly unhappy with yourself. Honestly, if healthy living is your ultimate goal, shouldn't a healthy mind be part of this?
Research has shown that a positive thinking improves your ability to find success while "dieting." See here. Personal experience can tell you that this research is correct. How many times have you found yourself doing well in a diet only to make a mistake one time and really come down on yourself on how much you failed? What did you do in that moment? Did you feel the urge to go to the gym? Maybe. But most likely you saw yourself as a failure and that all you worked up to was lost. That, my friends, is the crap we need to cut out of our lives. So you ate a donut. Yeah, not the best choice. You could have eaten two donuts or the whole dozen. You could eat donuts every day. That's unhealthy. But the point is that you really didn't do too much to harm yourself or your goals. One donut, one slice of cake or pizza can be undone. If you feel guilty for eating a donut here's what you should do: workout for 7 minutes. I wish I was kidding. If you eat a donut, download the app 7 minute workout challenge and get your butt in gear. Even if you fail to burn the necessary calories to work off that donut you did something and the reality is that something is better than nothing.
This has been my mantra as of late. Tired of constantly putting myself down and tired of feeling as though I have yet to accomplish anything I've decided to take the approach of mistakes will happen, bad things will happen, but how will I react when that happens? If I eat poorly or fail to make it to the gym how will I make it up to myself that day so that I feel successful? Whether I walk for 1 or 2 miles or do a 7 minute workout I need to do something. Maybe it's playing a game with kids or running around with a dog. Remember, something is better than nothing. I need to do something active (big or small) every day because I kept a promise to myself to be healthy. Just as with relationships, if you keep a promise to yourself you are happier and thus healthier all around. Keep your promises and set your goals low. Be active. Redefine your definition of activity. You don't need to (nor should you have to) immediately hit the gym blasting your pecs and running 5 miles every day. Some days a nice little stroll is all you need to keep that promise.
Peace!
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