Happy Mind Happy Life

I have been doing exclusively gym workouts since April of this year. I am lifting heavier, I love my routine, and I just feel so good starting my day off like this. Well, as plans then to do, mine for the next two weeks are changing. We found out today that my daughter (2) has covid, therefore, we will be quarantining with her for at least the next week, but probably two to be safe. 

My program I have been following has an at home equivalent, so we are going to give that a try for now! We just spent (too much) money on adjustable dumbbells and are bands to be able to complete these at home. Luckily it’s a good investment with my husband not having much time to get to the gym anyways and the cold winter mornings that will be here soon. 

I’ve had a lot of fitness journeys in my adult life. The first real one was back in 2017 and then on and off a million times until now. We are about 6 months deep this time, and I feel like this is the one I never want to stop. Here are some important insights I learned this time around that would have been helpful years ago!

You don’t have to be constantly motivated to succeed. Being motivated when you start a new fitness journey is awesome! I see it as a helpful tool to get your foot in the door and to start. But, then a month goes by and you really don’t want to go to the gym as often or feel yourself making excuses to not stick with your goals. The secret sauce is knowing that you should go even on days you don’t want to, and to make it a habit that sticks! Make it a nonnegotiable and keep that commitment to yourself.

You can improve your nutrition without a diet or macros. Will you see results quicker if you go on a diet and/or track your macros religiously? Yep. But you don’t have to. The simple thing is that it’s not good for everyone’s mental health to focus on food like this. Fitness and health is not one size fits all and what “doesn’t feel like a diet” to someone else could be agonizing to you. Make changes that feel right to you, like increasing vegetables/protein or adding more water. 

Don’t trust every fitness influencer that pops on your page. I have noticed a fun trend where a lot of influencers feel qualified to write fitness programs because they have lost a ton of weight. That’s not a qualification…Get your information from people that have the right credentials and training styles that reflect your goals.

When you hear that someone that is overweight has started going to the gym 5 days a week and changed up their eating habits, your first assumption is probably that their goal is weight loss. If they are doing strength training and cardio, they have to be doing macros too to see any results!

I felt this way at first. I started going to the gym because I was sick of how I looked and felt, and decided that the answer was to find a fitness routine I loved. I tried out macros a few times, but really struggled with the all consuming mental stress of a diet. However, I couldn't figure out how I could possibly make any progress in the gym if I didn't do it!

Here are the three biggest mental shifts that have helped me stay motivated at the gym:

Cardio is not just a torture device designed for weight loss. Is that a byproduct? Can be! But the overall goal of cardio is to exercise two muscles, your heart and your lungs.

You don't have to be on a diet or track macros to make progress. I consider myself an intuitive eater at this point. I truly don't believe in yo-yo or extreme dieting, and I feel like macros pushed me too deep into a diet mentality to be helpful. It made me feel like if I didn't track that day, I could just ignore it and eat whatever I wanted. What has worked best for me instead, is eating foods that make me feel good and contribute to my fitness goals. I want to build muscle, so I prioritize protein. I don't track it anywhere, but I make it a priority for meals and snacks to make sure I eat enough of it!

My alarm goes off at 4:30 AM each morning and I roll around for 30 minutes until I eventually decide to get up. I grumble slightly to myself for not getting out of bed earlier (again) and head quietly to the bathroom to not wake my husband too much.

I start my morning routine in a daze. I get dressed, brush my teeth, put my hair up. I find my shoes and put them on, fill my water, grab a snack and energy drink. I get in the car and drive 15 minutes to the gym to complete workouts that I am now convinced were designed by the devil himself as a form of torture. I quickly head home so either my husband or I can take the kids to school on time. Then, it's time to scroll mindlessly on TikTok until 8 AM when it is time to log into work.

I try to do this everyday, Monday through Friday, and have been for a few months now. The only times my schedule really changes up is if one of the kids is sick or my 30 minutes of rolling around ends up being 90 (luckily this has only happened once!). I took two weeks off from my gym routine a little over a month ago, and those two weeks were rough mentally. I feel like I was just so mean and short tempered, even though I was sleeping in later!

I reflected on this earlier today, and how my routine has really helped me feel stronger mentally and physically. I have a sweatshirt that says "Mental health is just as important as physical health," and while I still absolutely believe this to be true, I used to use it as an excuse to eat my feelings after a bad day and to veg out on the couch.