I understand. I think too often as a personal trainer and just as a person who enjoys being healthy, it’s often assumed that I have it all figured out. Society thinks that it’s easy for me
to work out, eat healthy and do everything you are supposed to do. Well I am going to let you in on a secret. It is not easy. (Dramatic pause).
It is not. And that is the honest truth. Every day is different for me. I wake up motivated to crush my workout or I hit snooze and use every excuse to tell myself I will just get it done tonight. How often do you think I follow through with that? It’s not 100% or even 90% of the time I will give you that. What am I doing while teaching my class? Or training a client? I am not working out. When I hit snooze, I also have to mentally prep for an evening work out, just like you Which personally isn’t my jam after a long work day.
Now stay with me here. I have a point for sharing this and it’s not for you to only hear that I have a hard time being consistent every day. It is to show you that you are not alone. If this process were easy, I wouldn’t need to write this article and share my struggle. The process is tough mentally, emotionally & physically. It will test you in every way possible. You just have to figure out how to be strong enough to push past it.
I have to work hard to be where I am with my health. I have to watch what food I eat because of intolerances. And let’s just say there are a lot of those. I can never just go out to eat somewhere or pick something up on the fly. I have to look at every menu before my boyfriend can pick a place to go to dinner. I have to read every label at the grocery store because sometimes it’s hard to tell what ingredients are in a new item I want to try. If I am eating out, I have to ask what everything is cooked in and usually am that person creating a meal that’s not on the menu. I have to talk myself out of that frustration constantly. I have to talk myself out of not letting these obstacles interfere with my goals. I have to avoid the temptation of just eating whatever and feeling sick after because I’m annoyed with myself.
I have great days, I have good days and I have crumby days when it comes to food and workouts. I preach balance now because I have battled myself mentally and emotionally during my journey. I have exhausted myself and been extremely hard on myself over a silly order of fries. I have been too hard on myself because I had pasta noodles instead of swapping for zoodles or spaghetti squash. I have been super hard on myself for having those extra glasses of wine, on a night I didn’t plan to have any. I have been too hard on myself for skipping a workout. So I have chosen a balanced journey. This is what works for me. And this works for me because I know my why. I know why I am doing all of this. I have thought long and hard about what I want and how soon I feel I need to get it.
When was the last time you sat yourself down and truly thought about why you are going through all this? And thought about how you can make the process easier on yourself? In order for this to happen, you are going to need to stop giving up on yourself. I need you to dig deep and remember why you are here. Why you are doing all of this. You found it once, now let’s search for it again. Maybe your why has always been the same or maybe it has changed. Rediscover it and use it. You are strong and that strength will get you through every obstacle.
Once you have rediscovered your why, create a strong focus. Everything we do has intention, instead of getting frustrated with what doesn’t go as you hoped, focus on what does. Maybe you’ve had more energy due to a healthy diet, more squats this week than last, or your clothes feel a little less snug. Whatever it may be, focus on it. Think long and hard about how you were feeling when you first started. I bet there is some new energy in you now.
And finally, figure out what drives you. Determine your power and be ready to celebrate your journey. I don’t want to say this is the most important because every step of this process is meaningful, but figuring out your power will drive your why and deepen your focus. Only good things can come from revisiting and revamping your process. Going back to the beginning of why you started is not starting over or taking a step back. It is our way of reminding us why we do this every single day.
Brittany Bechtold – Certified Personal Trainer | Wellness Director
