Monday, June 23, 2014

Being healthy is difficult.

I had a conversation with a client the other day about working out and nutrition (shocking right?).

This general conversation turned specific quickly.

Me: "Our stance on nutrition is pretty straight forward, but you have to start where you are right now.  If I tell you to eat only Meat and Veggies and you have a sugar addiction... Probably going to fail."

Client: "I bet all of this comes really easy for you.  You are at the gym every day and know what to eat and how much and what supplements to take..."


Our conversation continued for a little longer about specific small goals that we both decided were reasonable and obtainable for them.  After our conversation was finished I mulled over one part of it that stuck with me, "I bet this is easy for you."

I thought, "Do I give off the vibe that fitness is easy?"  If I do, buddy I sure do want to apologize.  This whole fitness and wellness gig is hard!!  First, I want to say if I can do it... you can do it.  Here is a little story:  A little over 7 years ago (Kellar will yell at me because I always get my dates wrong) I weighed 228lbs.  Thats 228lbs of squishy awesomeness!  After 3-4 years of hard work, I finally got down to 185lbs again.

How in the heck did a coach, personal trainer, and educated smoothie blending champion get to be 50lbs over weight?  The simple answer: LIFE.  Here are a few reasons why I believe I got so unhealthy.
  • I'm busy.  To be very honest, sometimes being busy is a valid excuse.  Busy is valid if the task you are trying to accomplish requires copious amounts of time.  I mean there are only so many hours in the day right?  Workouts, however, do not require tons of time.  Have you ever heard of TABATA?  Complete a 12min tabata session and tell me you aren't working on your fitness.  If you discover your excuse continues to be "BUSY" take a step back.  Slow down.  Do you really not have 12min to do something?  10 min?  5min? 1min?  Doing something is better than nothing.  Don't let the little voice inside your head say, "5min of jumping jacks... it won't do anything."  Doing nothing is inaction.  Inaction keeps you where you are.  WE WANT ACTION.  Find time to do something!  Remember, something is better than nothing!  I started by riding my bike.  It was something that I enjoyed and allowed my to unwind. 
  • I'm tired.  My alarm clock would go off at 5am.  I would hit snooze like 5 times, regularly.  I'm just not a morning person I'd say.  So, I'd go to work at 7am and work until 4pm.  After clocking out, I was done.  Mentally exhausted, physically exhausted and sometimes emotionally exhausted, I couldn't wait to get home to sit down.  I performed this cycle religiously.   If you find that your excuse is "TIRED" what do you do?  If you are tired all the time, your body is trying to tell you something.  Do you get 7-9hrs of sleep a night?  Do you ever have quiet or meditation time?  Do you eat a clean diet or is it loaded with dirty foods (grains, junk food, diet drinks, sweets).  I hardly ever got 7-9 hours of sleep.  I always ate fried food or fast food.  I also had a few adult beverages every week.
  • Its complicated.  How many grams of protein should I take in?  How much water should I have a day?  Are carrots good for you?  I was supposed to run a mile but I only ran half a mile.  Was my workout a waste?  Don't cut the grass while your house is on fire!  Instead focus on what information you know is right.  Water or soft drinks?  Fried or grilled?  Veggies or Fries?  Being active or sitting on the Couch?  All of the information in my head acted as a road block.  Think about a computer with 25 programs on at the same time.  Does it run fast or slow?  Is is able to get any one thing done?  Conversely, if you have one program open, how does your computer run?  Simplify your life, your workout, your nutrition by doing the simple things!  If you know it works stick with that one simple thing.  Don't worry about opening 24 other programs that will complicate and slow down your progress.

Those are only a few things that stand out to me.  I started small and focused on being consistent with the small things.   I want to leave you with a challenge.  Pick one small thing and focus on it for the rest of the month.

-If you always sleep in and miss workouts, reschedule to a later class or make it almost impossible to skip (have your clothes out, have your coach call you to wake you up, have a friend come pick you up.)

-If you always eat out, try making a healthy meal.  Get out the crock-pot and have a healthy meal waiting on you when you get home.

-If you are dealing with a nagging injury, go get a massage, see a chiropractor, stretch or foam roll, take some time to recover.

Being healthy is difficult, especially if you choose to do nothing.  Chose to take an action step!  Remember, doing something is better than doing nothing.


ps.  forgive the typos... I didn't have time to proof!