Quote from my boyfriend, Austin Teel.
If I could only tell you how many times he’s said that to me over the last year. I admit, sometimes it frustrated me and I would often think to myself, “YEAH WELL, we all don’t have your genetics SIR.” Ha. In all seriousness though, it has been hitting me a lot lately and especially during times where motivation is low or I’m just not feeling like I want to work out or track my macros, or whatever it is that week.
And let me tell you: IT HAPPENS. If you think you are going to start your health/fitness/wellness/weight loss journey and motivation will just increase with time – yikes. It’s a rollercoaster, my friend. Some days will be great..and some days, well, they’re just not going to be and you’re going to want to give up or question why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Sometimes I fake it till I make it, I’ll be honest. I’ll just go into the gym, maybe complain a little bit (lol) and do what I have to do – but I’m not happy about it. I think this is just a result of many years of discipline. But there are other times where I just need to step back and remember what Austin has told me: It’s not that serious bro.
I know a lot of you can relate when you feel down on yourself for doing not-so-great in a workout, or having some event that caused you to overeat over the weekend or not hit your macros. So here are some things to ask yourself:
- Does your life DEPEND on you hitting your macros or weighing a specific amount?
- Are you getting paid to look a certain way? i.e is this your career?
- Are you attempting to compete for money or in a serious sport where you need to be as strict as possible?
Chances are the answer to all of these questions is no.
So here’s the thing: the way you train or eat should be compatible with your lifestyle. If you are a single mom, have 3 kids, working 2 jobs and have a LOT of life stressors, do you think trying to compete in a weightlifting meet and cut 10+ pounds in a month is the best thing to put yourself through? In MY opinion… probably not.
Now, I’m not saying these things CAN’T be done! They absolutely can, and I have PLENTY of clients who can attest to overcoming challenges/obstacles of life while still being able to maintain an extremely strict diet because they have very specific goals that they are trying to achieve.
What I am saying though, and who I’m talking about is the rest of us. The NON-games athletes, the people who are just trying to live healthier lives, sure maybe looking to lose some weight but overall just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and feel good about themselves. So with that, you are going to deal with things like weddings, birthdays, celebrations, promotions, I don’t know – I can think of so many different things that people use food or alcohol to celebrate with. Does this mean that you should go ham at every single event, or every weekend and feel like crap after eating an absurd amount of food? no. That’s not what I’m getting at here.
What I’m trying to encourage is the FLEXIBILITY that is after all in the name of the whole “flexible dieting” thing. If you are eating well for the majority of your intake, this doesn’t mean that you can never enjoy things that you truly like. What kind of life would that be? Or never go out to eat because you don’t know how to track what you’re eating?
The truth of the matter is: life is always going to throw you some curveballs. Both regarding fitness and health, and in many other aspects of your life! The goal is not to just shut down completely, or go overboard, but to use your knowledge and skills of health (perhaps from tracking macros) and apply it to your current life circumstances. Because let me tell you, there are going to be plenty of times throughout your life when you just won’t FEEL like working out, or tracking your macros, or turning down someones dessert at work.
AND THAT’S OKAY!
Things are not that serious. Enjoy your life. Don’t look back and wish you would have enjoyed certain things a little bit more.
With that being said, you also have to be realistic about your goals because of your lifestyle and choices. If you are going hard every weekend with eating out, drinking, and probably eating in a surplus – you can’t be upset when you don’t see the scale change, know what I mean? It’s all about the real-life approach to this and taking responsibility for what you are doing (or what you are not doing!)
The sooner that you can accept this, and also that it’s not that serious 😉 the easier your health and fitness journey will be.
xo,
Manders
SIMPLY MANDER 