Getting Past the First Week
You pumped up, ready, and searched endlessly on how to approach the decision you just made for yourself. Health became of great importance the fork in the road has been faced. No more buckets of ice cream before bed, enough with allowing the snacks to control the day. Day one, overly excited as you crush the workout your favorite fitness persona suggested, or maybe you started with a mile walk. After deciding to hide the snacks and sodas, you stacked the fridge with water, fruits, and veggies.
On the second day, you already lost a few pounds from severally cutting back the calories. Rejuvenated and again a mile walk with some bodyweight exercises. As the weight rapidly peels off, the cravings come knocking on the third day, like a bill collector right after payday. Aches, pains, but wait, what muscle is this, places you imagine could hurt. Nevertheless, you push through the fourth day because your health is worth it; well, a cheat day is ok.
Yes, one cookie will not hurt, and with all that discipline, you deserve it. Already down a couple of pounds in such a short time, plus rest is important too. Your body is now in total shock on day six; your muscles are screaming, on top of the stomach remembering all those hidden snacks. Great, the weight is back plus, where did those extra pounds come from, and the pain has not subsided with two days of rest. Of course, day seven turns an off day too. Mission aborted, unfortunately, that scenario goes in many different orders. How is it that some people breakthrough, to completely turn their story around? How come the minority persists past those inevitable hurdles? There are some tools we use to keep pushing when our initial why burn out.
You probably came across this concept or already using it in other areas of your life. What is your (why)? Have a strong enough (why) to push you or pull you when the goings get rough. This is excellent advice, though I like to add a twist to it. Which is, to give yourself the freedom to adjust your why. Make your "why" evolve, which is precisely what most successful people do. That is why transitions over time, mines, sure enough, did and does. Use that why as it serves you towards your destination, of course, make it genuinely deep enough to burn without coals. Once you tap into a "why" that resonates profoundly, you won’t need to adjust it much at all. Be flexible to allow your "why" to evolve as you grow and gracefully bound over hurdle after hurdle.
Before we wrap this post up, I want to leave you with something practical in a relevant way. For sure, you will find great content for free from start to finish with your health journey. The time it takes to cipher through the noise and find the quality stuff is a tricky feat but doable. I understand that walk as well because I also am the type to go at it alone. Completely geek out on a subject until the time comes for another undertaken. I freely give all the advice I can think of to get you off and running along your fitness journey. So you do not have to spend your time doing trivial work.
With that, start slow, and gradually add exercises into your routine, allowing your body to adjust to the new lifestyle. Start with a walk every day 2,000 steps outside of your everyday activities, then build up to 5k, 10k. Continue to eat while becoming conscious of what you are eating. Why (emotional eating) you are eating, and how much you are eating. I do not mean to be repetitive, just driving home the point. Lastly, looks can be deceiving as far as exercise technique goes, which is key to preventing injuries.
Like always, live life free, and stay fit!
J’Nathan Bullock CSCS