About a week later, an
ever-growing pile of excuses knocks me off track until I am right back at
square one. I think one big obstacle for me is that I’m too results-driven when
it comes to self-improvement. If I don’t see positive results quickly, I lose
interest and give up, even though I am fully conscious of the fact that these
things take time.
My stomach doesn’t look
significantly more toned after running for a half hour? EXERCISE IS FOR
WEENIES.
My milkshake ain’t poppin’
after 20 squats? WALLOW IN DEFEAT (and milkshakes).
My motivation is just so
seriously lacking…I have failed SO MANY TIMES. Just two weeks ago, I started a
workout routine I found online, stuck to it for week and a half, and then “got
too busy,” “was too tired,” etc. etc. *sigh*
So since I’m apparently
the worst at exercising, I thought I could work on my diet. But, I’ll tell ya
right now, day 1 of eating nutritionally was NOT easy. So many health blogs
push the whole “eat a snack every 2-3 hours” thing, but what they fail to
consider is that some people have jobs that make that INCREDIBLY difficult.
Take my job, for instance. I work at a very fast-paced café from 10:30am-7pm. I
get one 45-minute break in that time span. The rest of the time, I’m working.
The only way to eat a snack every 3 hours is to swallow that snack whole, which
I am told is also adverse to a healthy diet. I am legitimately boggled on how I am
supposed to make this sort of diet work, but I’m trying and doing the best I
can.
A big diet weakness for me
is getting over cravings. I have a serious sweet tooth, and I also feel as if I
need to eat any time my stomach growls. Turns out our stomachs are just selfish
liars that tell us we want something terrible for us when what our bodies
actually need is something else entirely. A VERY helpful tip I’ve found is to
drink a cup (or at least a few gulps) of water whenever I feel hungry.
Especially if I’ve eaten recently but my stomach wants to see how much it can
confuse me into eating even more. I’ve been doing this at work and it helps me
hold on through the lunch rush until I can take a break and eat a snack.
Anyways…hopefully I’ll
keep up with that. In the meantime, if anyone has fitness motivation tips,
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put them in the comments. Or maybe a workout buddy? Yeah?
Yeah.
Tips?
ReplyDeleteFitness is very much based around averages. Trying to track progress in any increment less than a week is counter-productive.
If weight maintenance is at all your goal, the above especially applies. It can be incredibly frustrating to get on the scale and feel like nothing is changing. But, again, it's about averages. Most people's weight can fluctuate from 2-3 pounds from day to day. You have to ignore the fact that you may step on the scale after eating nothing for a day and your weight is STILL higher than the day before - ignore it!
Again, weekly is a good standpoint to measure things against. If you're looking to get toned, weight training is a better choice than cardio (or at least, a mandatory supplement to a cardio routine). Still, you won't notice improvements day-to-day. You CAN expect improvement in the neighborhood of a half-plate (if you're using machines, usually 2.5 - 5 pounds) per week.
None of this seems like a lot, but it adds up very quickly. Always keep it in mind - the first three months are the hardest - after that, you'll be in a routine so much that it's easier to workout than not to - and you'll find yourself making excuses the exact opposite of what you're doing now (i.e. "i'm tired, but i know i'll feel more awake if i go to the gym.")
As far as training, if you're just starting, you should never feel BAD the day after you work out. You have to give your body time to adjust, and if you feel bad (not sore...but anything like "i don't want to move my _______ today") then you're overdoing it. This is the #1 most disregarded rule and will prevent you from being successful. There are so many people that push terrible advice (like "no pain, no gain") because they've been exercising so long their bodies can take it (and they've forgotten what it's like to just start).
So in short:
1) Don't measure anything in less than a week
2) Start slow, gain slow, and persevere - commitment is the gauge of success. It's better to go to the gym and half-ass a workout than not go at all.
I know that's kind of a lot, but i'm bored. If you want to know anything else you can post something on Facebook or message me.
I'm a NASM Certified Personal Trainer for what it's worth - not just pulling things out of thin air here.
-Dan Edelman
Wow, thanks for the thought out response =) I might actually hit you up on FB sometime for some more advice, since I will likely need it, haha.
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