Healthy Lifestyle: consistency is key

I am one of those people who can get caught up in the intense excitement of the moment. 

That can mean agreeing to something that I normally wouldn’t agree too if I took the time to rationally and logically think about what I was getting myself into.

That is how I decide to sign up for the Spartan Race that’s happening in July. July 8th to be exact which is WAY TO CLOSE!!

When I get back from my trip to Australia, I’ll only have a little over 3 weeks to get ready. There is some other kind of race I signed up for on June 24th that I’m pretending doesn’t exist.

Denial can be a beautiful thing!

For those unfamiliar, a Spartan Race is an obstacle course that can vary from easy (they say anyway I don’t really believe it) to upwards of 10 miles of obstacles (for the insane people out there). 

It all started when my friend Kathy said, “hey we should…” And I was like, “sure!” That was back in January when July seemed years away. Now that it’s creeping closer and closer I’m starting to freak out a little.

Now I consider myself in decent shape. I just came off a 14 weeks bootcamp fitness challenge, and I feel stronger than I have in years. Though I will have a couple of weeks of traveling where I won’t be working out. Yeah, I know in theory I could work out while traveling but let’s be honest. It won’t happen. 

So I’m worried that although I feel strong am I strong enough for a Spartan Race?

No fear my friend said. If you can’t get over an obstacle, you just need to do burpees. As if that’s any better. If you don’t know what burpees are this line in a post, I read sums it up nicely

It repackages squats, push-ups, and jumping jacks into one little horror show (read the full post here).

The problem I have with all this is balancing working out, working, and life in general. And I have to have a life. 

I don’t particularly enjoy working out. You might even say I dislike it (until it’s over) but I love food, and I appreciate the benefits of being healthy, so I do it. During the 14-week fitness challenge, I spent way more time planning meals and working out than normal, and it showed. 

It showed positively on the scale and how I looked/felt, but it showed negatively in other areas.

My house is a wreck (ok maybe that’s not all from my time devoted to working out), I didn’t get as much writing done, and I was tired a lot.

 I also lack self-control. I can’t have one chip (and there is something wrong with those who can – just saying), so I don’t have any for fear I will eat the whole bag. 

That leads to a feeling of deprivation which in turn causes me to want to eat more.

Then when I eat poorly, I’m not motivated to work out.

See…I’ve got serious issues!

It’s hard to stay motivated day in and day out to eat healthy and work out consistency, but the consistency is key. It’s the key to being successful at anything.

It means standing firm if you look at the Latin origin of the word. To us non-Latin folk in this context it means to do something regularly. Regular means pattern.

My point here is not the word definition but to show you (and myself) that neither of these words, words we use a lot when referring to diet and exercise, means every single day.

You can “stand firm” but still cut yourself some slack and have a cookie just NOT on a regular basis.

You can commit to regular exercise and miss a couple of days. That doesn’t have to be your new regular, but rather you get back on your “regular” routine.

I know that too many of us beat ourselves us when we “fail.’ And it’s bullshit. We aren’t failures because we ate a box of Thin Mints (especially when there is no way 4 cookies is one serving…seriously).

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space – Johnny Cash

Failure can make you stronger because when you move past it, you are stronger for it and that’s a win!

You need to determine your level of consistency. What works for you. What you can live with and more importantly enjoy your life.

I’m a firm believer in keeping our bodies healthy, but you can’t deprive yourself or beat yourself up if you’re not because that isn’t healthy either.

So what if you screwed up today. Tomorrow is a fresh start!

  

  

 

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