I have certainly come a long way in my health and fitness. I went from restriction dieting and intensive exercise (sometimes required me to hit the gym twice in one day) to control freak "I have to know every single ingredient in that before I feed it to me or my family" and now, I would say I was more of the laid back "If it fits in my lifestyle" (see that- it was a pun on the if it fits my Macros diet).

 

The thing is, it is hard out there with so much noise regarding health and fitness. There are millions of people out there claiming to have the answers to all your fat loss problems. I have found that the best way to find out what works, is trial and error and a realistic approach that considers YOUR life as it is right now- not what you want it (your body) to look like in "X" number of days, weeks or months.

 

Let me share a few of the things I have learned along the way……

 

Not too long ago, I had a very different outlook on diet and exercise. I was a believer in ridged, hard and fast rules that I could never break without being derailed from the “reaching my goals” track. Those days started off with my willpower high, which meant breakfast was on point. For that, I would give myself a big ole’ pat on the back. All too quickly, the stress and anxiety of accomplishing the rest of my ridged meal plan AND getting in that 1-hour workout started to slowly creep in.

 

Whew! By the end of the day my willpower was just a spark (if still there at all) and the next thing you know shame, guilt, stress and anxiety invited their family and friends to throw a party in my head. To make matters worse, the cravings at the end of the day felt like a slap in the face.

 

Wasn’t it enough that I had to watch everyone around me eat those forbidden foods through out the day?

 

Why on earth did I have to have those images torturously flash at random into my thoughts?

 

This is how it would go: folding laundry and all of a sudden…french fries!  Putting away dishes…BAM, a big bowl of creamy, cheese filled, delicious pasta! Brushing my teeth…all I could think was how yummy some crunchy potato chips would be. UGH!

 

Food wasn’t the half of it. There are days when I didn’t get my two workouts in and let me tell you…. It didn’t set well with me. Did that mean I needed to get in even more cardio tomorrow? Oh no, WHEN would I fit that in?! I imagined all the “regulars” at the gym and questioned why they found the time to get to the gym every single day and I couldn’t.

 

Why is it that some women seem to have it all together… perfect tight little bodies and I’m over here craving mac-n-cheese, missing my workouts?!

 

As I laid my head on my pillow I felt guilty, ashamed and full of regret. All I could think of was the negative decisions from the day. I would continue to play back moments of how I failed my plan.

 

This eventually resulted in my stepping back, letting go, and exploring what worked best FOR ME.

 

I experimented, faced my fears of failing straight in the eyes and pushed forward with the healthy habits that worked well for me and let go of what didn’t work for me. The results… a healthy lifestyle easily maintained for a lifetime.

Next blog I will share some of the things I no longer believe.

 

Have a wonderful weekend, ya’ll!

~Rachel Plumage

T Rachel
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