Commit To Recommit

Let’s be real, the reason it’s called a fitness journey is because it is a long-term deal with challenges. This means there will be challenges but it’s normal. So 2 things I keep in mind when these challenges pop up:

1. I have less than 2 weeks : It takes 2-3 weeks to lose gains from cardio and 2-3 months to lose gains from strength training. So if I let a challenge last more than 2 weeks, then I will be wasting most of my prior efforts.
2. Everything I eat counts: My body will pay for every single decision. and it only makes sense to maintain, gain or lose weight depending on my math (Calories eaten Vs. Calories burned) so I can’t get mad and the sooner I get my food in check, the sooner I see the results.

Mouth full. haha Not sure what my Mr. was     doing. lol Take me back!

So consistency is key, but life happens. Recently my challenge was  going on vacation and having access to excessive food 24 hours a day. I didn’t eat like a pig but desert with each meal and uhhh, all those Pina Coladas each day were not the things that this body was excited about. Haha. I made time to work out as much as I could but it wasn’t my regular frequency or intensity. Basically, I succeeded in increasing my calorie intake, and reducing my calories burned… Remember the math? So by the time I got back, I felt very “blahh” and still I had a really hard time getting back to my routine.

With food, I started the day planning to eat within my calorie goal so that my body got just what it needed, but by the end of the day I would have eaten a little bit of everything and exceeded my goal. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be called a challenge, so I’d try again the next day.

The workouts were even more challenging. I knew it would absolutely suck to get started and it would probably be annoying while I was in the process but that I would finish up feeling like a million bucks. Still, I tried working out at home but couldn’t really get into it. Another day, I went to the gym and barely lasted 15 minutes on the Stairmaster then left. I knew I had to get my mind right and keep pushing; It was not until the 3^rd time I went to the gym that I finally got into it. I felt so good that I over did it! Haha. My food had also gotten back in check and finally I was back on track. It took me 5 days of recommitting to get back where I wanted to be.

Truth is, you’re not always going to feel like it, you’ll try sometimes and not make it all the way… but you can’t quit. Keep trying and pushing yourself and know that this process is PERFECTLY  NORMAL and usually happens every time that you move life around.. vacation, moving to a new place, new job, relationships, new baby…  basically, anything that causes you to change what you eat, when you eat & your workout routine. So don’t panic, embrace it and know that it is all part of your journey. No excuses; Commit to recommit to your journey and you will be just fine. Have a lovely day