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by Michelle Sutton-Kerchner
Are you becoming frustrated with your fitness goals? You are not alone! Here’s why you should hang tough …
February
February is a universal challenge. Even avid skiers, who love snow and enjoy being bundled head to toe, grow weary of winter toward this month’s end. As we approach one too many gray days, using the TV remote starts to feel like a version of exercise. (Hey, it involves movement.) That’s February.
It also has been about eight weeks since we vowed to be healthier in the new year. Intensified by nature’s magnetic pull toward hibernation, we struggle to remain committed to fitness, better nutrition, and other healthful goals.
Expecting Too Much Too Fast?
It is easy to lose motivation when results allude us. After several weeks of dedication (during such a dreary season), we expect to be rewarded. Where is that Olympian body we’ve been sculpting? Why is energy still lacking? How many more carrots and crunches are needed? And, darn it! Blood pressure is still high.
Reality: According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, it takes about 12 weeks to achieve improvements in body fat percentage.
Solution: Focus more on the journey and less on the destination.
Details Along the Way
You may not be dropping pants sizes, but other improvements are occurring. For example, note how you feel. You may not have the energy you exude during late spring. However, imagine how sluggish you would be if you were not exercising and eating well.
You also would not be developing healthy habits that will benefit you all year long, even well after goals are achieved. You are establishing, or solidifying, a healthy lifestyle—not a single goal to be checked off a list. Experience the journey– your evolving, improving way of living as you travel toward goals.
Commit for the Long-Term
Focus on a bigger life plan: Nourish a healthier, happier life with a body and mind in which you can comfortably live to an old age. Follow these tips to help you remain steadfast:
If you skipped workouts and binged on cookies …
It happens. As we admitted, t’is the season. Rejuvenate your initial new-year motivation. Reevaluate your methods. Is your workout too hard or too easy? Are you on the treadmill when your hips really want to Zumba®? The Center offers so much variety. Which workout is going to threaten your Netflix membership? Find it. Do it.
If your body is achy and tired, and your family doesn’t recognize you …
Your workout probably needs a quality-versus-quantity adjustment. Being fit does not require extensive daily workouts. This wears on muscles and joints, and may hinder goals. Also, injuries are more likely when fatigued. Rest allows the efforts executed on the Fitness Floor to take hold while normal wear and tear is repaired.
Speak with a personal trainer to determine if your workout is efficient and effective. More is not always better. Make the most of your time with a routine that appropriately challenges you. Learn where your sessions can improve so you are assured a quality workout every time. Your family will enjoy seeing their favorite “gym rat” more, too.
If you relentlessly criticize yourself …
Negative self-talk sabotages efforts in all aspects of life, health goals included. Embracing a healthier lifestyle can feel overwhelming. All the talk of spinach smoothies, double sets, meatless meals, and free weights can put on the pressure.
Realize even the pros take an easy day or enjoy a cheat meal. Results take time. During that time, you will make mistakes. A skipped workout or a plate of pasta is not a setback. They too can be part of a healthy lifestyle. We all need to find—and manage—our balance.
Don’t expect to suddenly wake up being a rock star. It’s unrealistic (and their hours are horrible, anyway). Instead, expect to gradually become the person you intend to be, with enough flaws and efforts to be wise and strong. With that attitude, you likely will reach that blood pressure goal as well as all the others.
Source
“Why Fitness Results Are Different for Everyone,” by Darla Leal at verywellfit.com.
Image Credits
Winter weave: pixabay.com/en/weaving-grey-kazakh-1803874
One step: pixabay.com/en/foot-footprint-step-winter-reprint-16490
