Pulling Yourself Out Of A Rut
Before my wedding I started to slowly put my health on the back burner. I preach to all my clients "your health comes first", "your health is top priority", and "your health is the greatest investment". I have never really put my health behind anything else because it has been #1 for several years now.
Most of what I do revolves around the gym. I wake up earlier if I need to, I prep meals if I need to, and I change my routine to at-home workouts if I need to. I pretty much have a solution for anything that comes my way or my clients way. I am the go-to gal when it comes to hurdles. It's my job to help other people see the path that they aren't seeing.
Well, then my wedding happened.
Wedding planning was INSANELY stressful. It's not just about flowers, cake, and a dress. It is about others enjoying the night, other enjoying the food, music, and decor, looking the way you've always dreamed of, and of course making the biggest commitment of you life. I was told "don't sweat the small stuff". Well I didn't listen haha. I was having full blown panic attacks about my dress, hair, makeup, my wedding parties attire, hair, makeup, and all the small details of the timeline. I was a mess for a month and a half.
During this time I didn't go to the gym. When I did, I was so unmotivated and undisciplined it was embarrassing. I would go to lift and look at Austin and say "I can't do this I need to go home". I did this time and time again until eventually it had been weeks since I worked out and weeks since I made a healthy meal. Doing this just added more stress to my life because I felt like a failure of a role model and just wanted to hide from all social media.
Fast forward to when we got back from the honeymoon and I still couldn't get myself back into the gym or eating right. I would go to the gym and just stare and not want to be there. I was not having fun and I was not happy. I started spending time at night crying out of frustration about my weight gain, unhealthy eating habits, and the fact that I had barely worked out in 4 months.
It wasn't until I decided to take a break from the gym that I truly felt myself finally crawling out of my rut. One day I just woke up and was sick of sitting on my ass. I decided to go for a hike. While I was on the hike I thought a lot about what I was doing and realized (what I already knew) that working out is not a one size fits all!!
I started going on walks and hiking and I finally felt like I was able to pick myself back up. Once I got some movement in me it helped me feel more motivated to eat better. So, I started picking healthier snack choices and meal choices. Once I started doing that my energy rose back up and I actually WANTED to eat healthier and workout again.
All of this made me realize that sometimes, you just aren't ready. I was not ready to go back into my normal routine because I literally wasn't mentally prepared for it all. If this is you, and you are trying to force yourself to go to the gym because you feel like you are "suppose to", I have some tips for you.
1. Do what you enjoy, Lifting weights is very important. However, sometimes we need to take a deep breath, get away from our normal routine, and do what we REALLY enjoy.. Hike, bike, swim, sunset or sunrise walks, yoga, whatever! Just do anything that gets you moving. This helped me clear my mind and I am going to continue to go on hikes as often as I can.
2. Don't jump right into a full diet change when you fall off the wagon. Whether you're on a strict nutrition program before it happens or you are eating moderately healthy, your mind and body need time to adjust. Start by making smaller changes that are sustainable and work on the bigger changes later. Make 1 meal healthy every single day to start and don't worry about the rest. Eventually you'll look back and realize you went from 10% of your day eating healthy to 90%.
3. Forgive yourself. It is okay that your health was on the back burner. Guess what? It might happen again too, life happens! It is important to forgive yourself and move forward. Focus on the positives of the future instead of the negatives of the past.
4. There is a difference between thinking you are ready and actually being ready to take action to make a change. For 4 months I was in a place of contemplation. I knew that I needed to change but I wasn't ready for action yet. I would try and fail, try and fail. Sometimes, you just need a little more time!
This is the process we go through when we are making a change in our lives. Some people are lucky and go through the hoops faster, but for others it is a long process. For me when I was in my rut, I was in contemplation/preparation for months. I would get to action and then slip all the way back to pre-contemplation.
If this is you, take a step back and think about what is actually holding you back. How can you jump over your hurdles? Try and look at the outside picture. For me, I was trying to force myself to fit in this box of what I was "suppose to do". Go to the gym, record my workouts, lift weights, etc. Taking a step back made me realize that I just need to get moving again and the rest will follow suit, AND IT DID.