I need to clarify something. This whole thing…it’s not about the contest. Sure I’ve been talking in terms of the contest and how it’s soon ending. But that doesn’t mean that my lifestyle change is ending. What I mean when I talk about how I don’t want it to end is that I don’t want this chapter of my lifestyle change to end. When this contest is over, this chapter will be over. No one can argue that. But, using the same logic, a new chapter will begin. This new chapter will still involve me working out and eating healthy. It’ll just be different. That’s all.
I am not a “gym rat.” I will never be. And that’s ok (it’s also ok if you are). I can say, however, that I enjoy going to the gym now. I like how I feel afterwards. But it is by no means my whole world. What I need it to be is an addition to my life…I don’t need it to be my life. And that doesn’t make me any less dedicated. When I go to the gym, I work my butt off. I push myself. I put everything into my time spent there. But I don’t have to spend 4 hours there to feel like I’m accomplishing something. And honestly, I think that’s OK. I don’t need to be obsessed about working out to lose weight and be healthy. I just need to make sure it’s a part of my life. To me, that is something I can continue for the long term. If I spent too much time at the gym I know I would get burnt out. I would get to the point where I’d hate it. And I wouldn’t want to go anymore. And then where would I be?
As for eating healthy…there are good days and bad days. I am not going to say it’s easy, but it’s something I am conscious of now. And something I want to do now. For me. If I slip up, that’s OK. I’m only human. It does no good to beat myself up over it. And I’m not on a “diet.” That would do me no good. It’s a lifestyle change. I can’t eat right ALL the time, but I can eat right MOST of the time. If I want something sweet, I eat fruit. But I will let myself have chocolate every once in a while. If I didn’t, I’d go nuts. It does no good to deny yourself everything all the time. But it does no good to gorge yourself either. Or just eat junk. I’m not an emotional eater and I don’t eat huge portions…I just didn’t care what I ate…if it sounded good, I’d eat it. I never thought about what it was doing for me…or to me. I didn’t think about food as fuel. But now my perspective has changed. I now eat what I need to for my body…what gives me nutrients and energy.
So, some people would say that I’m not giving 100%. Sure, I could go to the gym 4 hours a day, twice a day. I could eat just lettuce and chicken all the time. But what would that do? I may lose a ton of weight now, but would I be able to keep it off? Would I be able to maintain that lifestyle for a long period of time? Probably not. What I am doing may not seem like much to some, but I am doing what I can consistently do. I am working out on a consistent basis and eating healthy on a consistent basis. I plan on maintaining this. I plan on this being my lifestyle. So, like the tortoise, I am going slow and steady. And eventually, I’ll get there. And once I do – I won’t stop. I’ll just keep going. Slow and steady.
Good for you in realizing this is a life style. And no one can out-exercise bad eating, so you’re right about how much time you spend in the gym. But the gym is a great way to help along the way and help you stay on track. Think like a thin person, eat like a thin person, work out like a thin person, be a thin person. You can do this.