Try googling the world "fitness" and you get around 1.5 billion results in under a second. With that much amount of information, one would think it is achievable. Not that it isn't but it definitely isn't an easy journey. I personally have struggled with it for a large part of my life thus far and with very little success. So, obviously this is something that's on my mind a lot.
Yes, we can aim at working out 5 days a week and come up with a healthy plan to follow. But, it isn't that simple. It's not just us and the plan- there are several other factors that throw us off.
Work: We all have things we need to do, and sometimes these things demand more attention than we have in mind. Be it long hours of work, or much needed family time, or giving attention to kids- life gets in the way of the fitness goals.
Peer pressure: It's the hard truth- you are all alone in this journey. Friends and family don't really provide the support you might look for. Working out hours are seen as something that is not important- friends are always asking you to drop it for other plans. Healthy eating is mostly seen as unnecessary and a high maintenance thing- something that comes in the way of others eating out.
Lazy bones: Unfortunately, I have a lot of these in my body. Be it getting myself out of bed in the morning, or gathering the energy to get to gym after work- it is all so hard. It is a hard mind battle and sometimes the bones win.
Food: I love to eat, and I also love to eat out. A mix of peer pressure and boredom from staying home eating same foods gets to me sometimes and I give in! I am trying really hard to stay away, but sometimes the choice is to either stay alone and cut off people or go on diet. I hate being alone. Also, my workplace doesn't help either. They have all these free food events and team lunches and my biggest weakness- desserts!
After all these years, I am well aware of all the reasons why I fail and I also somehow now know how to deal with them. But sometimes, you just have a bad day and fall off track or you just get tired along the way. And it's okay! It's okay to slip, it's okay to not be the said perfect image. Fitness is a choice, and it should be something we do for ourselves, and definitely shouldn't be like a punishment. Let's work to be healthy without forgetting to enjoy our life along the way.
What gets in your way, scribblers?
Yes, we can aim at working out 5 days a week and come up with a healthy plan to follow. But, it isn't that simple. It's not just us and the plan- there are several other factors that throw us off.
Work: We all have things we need to do, and sometimes these things demand more attention than we have in mind. Be it long hours of work, or much needed family time, or giving attention to kids- life gets in the way of the fitness goals.
Peer pressure: It's the hard truth- you are all alone in this journey. Friends and family don't really provide the support you might look for. Working out hours are seen as something that is not important- friends are always asking you to drop it for other plans. Healthy eating is mostly seen as unnecessary and a high maintenance thing- something that comes in the way of others eating out.
Lazy bones: Unfortunately, I have a lot of these in my body. Be it getting myself out of bed in the morning, or gathering the energy to get to gym after work- it is all so hard. It is a hard mind battle and sometimes the bones win.
Food: I love to eat, and I also love to eat out. A mix of peer pressure and boredom from staying home eating same foods gets to me sometimes and I give in! I am trying really hard to stay away, but sometimes the choice is to either stay alone and cut off people or go on diet. I hate being alone. Also, my workplace doesn't help either. They have all these free food events and team lunches and my biggest weakness- desserts!
After all these years, I am well aware of all the reasons why I fail and I also somehow now know how to deal with them. But sometimes, you just have a bad day and fall off track or you just get tired along the way. And it's okay! It's okay to slip, it's okay to not be the said perfect image. Fitness is a choice, and it should be something we do for ourselves, and definitely shouldn't be like a punishment. Let's work to be healthy without forgetting to enjoy our life along the way.
What gets in your way, scribblers?
Other times when fitness was on my mind:
Story of my life! I can relate to all of your points. It's definitely hard to get in the right mindset, but you're right, once you can understand how to deal with all of those it becomes much easier.
ReplyDeleteGosh. Work. I come home from a long day at my actual job, needing to do the dishes, needing to fix dinner + carving out some me time just makes it difficult!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a great post. There really are so many reasons, for me the biggest issue seems to be the laziness/tiredness. I struggle with it constantly!
ReplyDeleteMe too.. I try to go to gym directly after work because there is a great chance it won't happen otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean.. There's so much to do that sometimes I feel I can either stay home and cook to eat healthy or workout but eat out.. It's so hard to do everything.
ReplyDeleteYeah.. The tricky part is maintaining that mindset always.
ReplyDeleteOh god. I'm really going to start focusing on my weight and health. I am currently working two full time jobs and eat the.worst.food. I've gained weight just since I've started. But I get on average 4 hours of sleep a night and am not going to cook anything. I barely have time to go to the store. As soon as I'm finished I'm going to plan out my meals and force myself to at least walk 30 minutes a day. I find that if I just start doing something, like walking, I tend to stay with it longer because I'm already out and about.
ReplyDeleteThank heavens I live where I do. These chicks go from workout class to workout class. If anything it is a push to go one more mile. I am thankful that the pressure is to raise the heart beat for at least an hour a day. You can do this. You can get your support from us.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much :) I wish I had a group like you..
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how hard it must be for you... And yeah, getting started is the hardest part.
ReplyDeleteYes - we mostly know what we 'should' be doing, the tricky part is doing it!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I relate to this! I try so hard to work out and push myself even when I'm in pain and had the busiest day ever, but then I just get so exhausted that something has to give and it's always exercise! And I am lazy at the end of the day, it's such a struggle for me to drag myself up and workout!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to this. I love to eat out! We live in a fairly small town and there's just not much else to do.
ReplyDeleteMe too.. Any plan we make is pretty much around eating
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling.. It's okay to take breaks though if you are in pain!
ReplyDeleteYes, that is the struggle.
ReplyDeleteYes! Fitness and health are important to me but "life" does make it a juggling act. The most successful, consistent exercise I've been able to incorporate into my life at the time is loading my kiddos in the stroller and going for a walk/jog.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it really feels like juggling these days..
ReplyDeleteI totally get you! This is me in a nutshell and how funny that we posted similarly just a day apart! I love food and I love my couch! However, this book I'm reading now (Gretchen Rubin's 'Better Than Before') is amazing and giving me some really good ideas on how to change some of my bad habits and how to create new ones! Good luck in your journey :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you too :) Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteTime and energy are my biggest struggles. I have Fibromyalgia and it impacts how I sleep and causes fatigue. Plus I'm terrible about making time for it.
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling of fatigue and sleeplessness.. It's the worst! :( I hope you feel better..
ReplyDelete