The Struggle & The Solution
So what I will be talking to you all about is the ups and downs, side to side and circular roller coaster of eating healthy, staying motivated, being consistent with a healthy diet, crazy work ethic and maintaining training.
I will be discussing my struggles, strengths and a few tips and tricks I use to motivate myself.
Why am I telling you all this? Basically to let you know that this stuff happens to everyone and it’s normal. Just because I’m a trainer and health professional doesn’t mean we don’t struggle too. Without being cliché, its how you react or deal with these things mentally that will get you in the right cycles, or the wrong ones.
How do you get in the right ones?
I will briefly touch on both, so first off the good cycle.
An example of a GOOD CYCLE would be; you decided to go to the gym on a Friday arvo, which makes you felt good. This makes you want to make another healthy choice, such as having a healthy meal. By this time you’ve got all those good endorphins kicking in, so your feeling good, which may make you think, “I’m going to get up and train in the morning!” This again is another healthy decision. Now that you’re up early after going to the gym, you see the sunrise and feel ALIVE and energetic. This makes you opt for a nice fresh breakfast as you would be hot and sweaty and would feel more like a healthy option.
NOW lets look at how EASY it is to slip into the BAD CYCLE with the exact same scenario, but person B chooses the other route.
You decide not to train Friday arvo and instead you have a wine or a beer with your friends. Now, usually this is associated with chips or pub foods. So what’s happening internally? Right now your body is trying to process all that CRAP, your body is working over time to try and fight off all the bad preservatives and fats, which inturn, is making you feel lethargic and tired, not to mention all the salt retention and the fact that your probably now dehydrated. So now it comes to the end of your catch-up, and even if it you only had 1 or 2 drinks, chances are your feeling pretty tired because remember its Friday, and you’ve had a long week. So you don’t set your alarm to train, OR let’s say you do, chances are you’re going to snooze it at least once or twice, and it was probably set for 1hr later then what you would have. You’ve now wasted another 1hr that you will never get back. On top of all that the more sugar we give our body the more we crave it, therefore, we can assume you also would have eaten an unhealthy breakfast.
Although there’s a few paragraphs there, that is a VERY BREIF rundown. I could list for days the negative affects eating bad would have on you, such being more injury prone, performing lower and a worse output during your sessions etc. etc.
What do I do wrong with my diet or my thinking? Here are my personal struggles to make you all feel better and to let you know I’m just like you guys.
- I LOVE corn chips and I can easily eat a whole large pack to myself once every 2 weeks probably
- I eat too much brown bread (only ever for breakfast with eggs)
- If I’m starving, I’ll more likely eat something bad over the healthier option because I know it’s going to fill me up a lot more
- If I don’t prepare meals on a Sunday I wont eat regularly enough which is a big no no (you should be eating every 2hrs)
SO WHY DID I TELL YOU ALL THAT?
&
WHAT DOES MY BRAIN THINK AFTER I DO THAT?
I told you all that to help you all know that it’s normal to fall off, to make mistakes and to deal with these thing’s as it’s all part of the process to SUCCESS.
What do I do after I’ve done it? Hmm, not much to be honest. I live a 80/20 lifestyle, so for me I just think that I’ll work that little bit harder in the gym tomorrow, or that I’ll make sure tomorrow’s meals are perfect. Don’t ever beat yourself up over it or get down. Because more often then not, that will leave you in the bad cycle instantly. THIS IS NORMAL, it’s all about how you bunce back. Just accept it and use it as motivation.
So here are some tips I use and NO, THEY DO NOT ALWAYS WORK, BUT I have been training for 8 years and these tips are ones that definitely help me MASSIVELY.
TIPS:
*When you THINK you want a beer or need a beer, eat a big meal first and drink water, I can nearly guarantee you won’t want it anymore. (Everyone’s different so you may still haha).
*Be prepared on a Sunday night. It will set you up for the week.
*Next time you eat healthy for a full day, notice how you feel throughout that day and then next time you eat unhealthy also be aware of how you feel. (That alone makes me want to eat healthy).
*Try your best to surround yourself with people that want to train over drink, or are really keen to train, and train with them.
*Set a goal, start a challenge, hire a trainer, start a new sport or different training style, get out of your comfort zone. Any of these things will spark excitement to train.