Happiness
Now you may think being a size 6, achieving your goals or having abs will make you happy? And of course to a certain extent these things will make you happy but you have to remember there is so much more to life than the way you look/ how many reps you did/ how heavy you lifted or how far you ran this week.
When training it can be hard to remember that there are other things that balance our lives, such as friends, family, work, and events.
This is what happened to me the first time around in my weight loss goals, my fitness became an obsession and although that's fantastic and kept me going it also stopped me doing a lot of things with my friends because I was constantly scared of gaining weight or looking bad.
And so, this time, after gaining most of my weight back again I know that life is a balancing act and whilst balancing these things we need to do something so simple and that's to enjoy life!
I challenge you to do one thing before bed, and that's to think back during the day at what you have achieved, it could be writing a new blog post, reading another chapter in that book you've been meaning to read or simply managing to wake up with a smile.
There are a few things that I think people brush past when trying to achieve happiness and these are my problems/solutions and hopefully, these will benefit a few other people!
1) Trying to do too much too soon!
This is my number one problem, when I was gaining my weight back I would constantly tell myself that tomorrow I will workout and within a week or so things will be back to normal, but I kept pushing and pushing to the point where my body couldn't take what I was doing anymore and neither could my brain, When I was at the gym I would be there for 2 hours at a time doing as much cardio and as many weights as I could- I was out of control. It came to a head and I stopped working out as much but then my eating got out of control, it's a long story and I will do a whole blog post on it.
However, my solution is this, SLOW DOWN. Unfortunately, you can't lose a stone in a week without these silly fad diets which you end up failing at and eating everything in sight at the end of it. It does not matter if progress is SLOW it is still progress!! Take each day at a time and listen to your body and just know that every little tiny step you take towards your goal whatever that may be is another step in the right direction. And always remember there is tomorrow.
2) Not listening to my body
When trying to make gains or lose weight we need to feed our bodies more/less food than it's used too, this isn't straight forward and can affect your natural balance. For me, I was eating for the sake of it, I didn't want the food, I was eating because of other things such as depression/stress, but when I was full I wouldn't stop. Please, whatever you do, listen to your body, it will tell you so much about what's happening inside. And if you are hungry, eat! I don't mean stuff your face I mean grab a snack and eat it, you are hungry for a reason or alternatively get a glass of water, sometimes you are thirsty as well. Along with this is when you have sore muscles or you are exhausted you need rest, I was always tired because I didn't eat enough but I over trained most days and so I became a nightmare to be around.
So, my solution is to take it slow, slow down when eating, make time for rest days and stretching, love yourself.
3) Pushing people away
This was a BIG issue for me, I trained alone and basically got on with it day to day. I rarely saw my friends outside university etc. and when I did it was to get severely drunk and make a fool of myself. Also, I pushed away one of the most important people in my life and that was my boyfriend, training all the time meant I sacrificed time with him for my own personal gain, look I'm not saying you shouldn't make time for training, but like I said previously, make time for other people because one day you will need them.
Solution: learn to love yourself for who you are because your friends/family/partner already do.
4) Love yourself
This is the most important one and its solution isn't simple. You have to learn to love who you are, even with that extra bit of flab or that big booty. Learn how to embrace it, if you're trying to lose weight just know that in the future those size 12 jeans will just slide on and until then just love the jeans you're in.
My solution is a series of little things:
1) Get up early and make the most of your day
2) Exercise- this can ANYTHING, go for a walk and enjoy the fresh air
3) Make an effort with your appearance (easier said than done) but it honestly helps, buy yourself some new make-up or that new dress, you deserve it!
4) Eat whole foods, I don't mean go out to Whole Foods and buy everything I mean REAL food, fruit, vegetables, lean meat, nuts, plants etc. it really helps to nourish your body.
5) Make time for friends and family
6) Develop your hobbies and keep going, whether that's photography, reading books or sky diving go and DO IT.
7) And don't beat yourself up because you gained weight or didn't run as far, this is today, tomorrow is a fresh new start, forget the bad food you ate or the goals you didn't achieve go and set new ones and SMASH THEM.
8) Masturbate- yes I said it. A lot of people especially women are coy about this subject but in all honesty, it helps so much. Men do it for a number of reasons including keeping their prostate healthy but listen up women, we have reasons to do it too and it's all mental. Masturbation and Sex:
"gives a boost to serotonin and raises endorphins and opioids, the brain’s so-called happy chemicals"
so it MAKES YOU HAPPY. If you don't believe me go ahead and try it or read more on it with this article: http://stylecaster.com/more-sex/
and if none of this works for you just remember one thing that kept me going and that is all of these hard times won't last forever, but first you need to gain a positive outlook on life.
Happiness is such a hard thing to achieve so once you gain it don't let ANYONE take that away from you if they say you're cocky, selfish etc. just tell them to take a hike because nobody knows the personal struggles of each individual.
Keep on trucking my lovelies, and I will too! We all have good/bad days just keep your head up and remember you have the power to change anything, you just have to believe.
When training it can be hard to remember that there are other things that balance our lives, such as friends, family, work, and events.
This is what happened to me the first time around in my weight loss goals, my fitness became an obsession and although that's fantastic and kept me going it also stopped me doing a lot of things with my friends because I was constantly scared of gaining weight or looking bad.
And so, this time, after gaining most of my weight back again I know that life is a balancing act and whilst balancing these things we need to do something so simple and that's to enjoy life!
I challenge you to do one thing before bed, and that's to think back during the day at what you have achieved, it could be writing a new blog post, reading another chapter in that book you've been meaning to read or simply managing to wake up with a smile.
There are a few things that I think people brush past when trying to achieve happiness and these are my problems/solutions and hopefully, these will benefit a few other people!
1) Trying to do too much too soon!
This is my number one problem, when I was gaining my weight back I would constantly tell myself that tomorrow I will workout and within a week or so things will be back to normal, but I kept pushing and pushing to the point where my body couldn't take what I was doing anymore and neither could my brain, When I was at the gym I would be there for 2 hours at a time doing as much cardio and as many weights as I could- I was out of control. It came to a head and I stopped working out as much but then my eating got out of control, it's a long story and I will do a whole blog post on it.
However, my solution is this, SLOW DOWN. Unfortunately, you can't lose a stone in a week without these silly fad diets which you end up failing at and eating everything in sight at the end of it. It does not matter if progress is SLOW it is still progress!! Take each day at a time and listen to your body and just know that every little tiny step you take towards your goal whatever that may be is another step in the right direction. And always remember there is tomorrow.
2) Not listening to my body
When trying to make gains or lose weight we need to feed our bodies more/less food than it's used too, this isn't straight forward and can affect your natural balance. For me, I was eating for the sake of it, I didn't want the food, I was eating because of other things such as depression/stress, but when I was full I wouldn't stop. Please, whatever you do, listen to your body, it will tell you so much about what's happening inside. And if you are hungry, eat! I don't mean stuff your face I mean grab a snack and eat it, you are hungry for a reason or alternatively get a glass of water, sometimes you are thirsty as well. Along with this is when you have sore muscles or you are exhausted you need rest, I was always tired because I didn't eat enough but I over trained most days and so I became a nightmare to be around.
So, my solution is to take it slow, slow down when eating, make time for rest days and stretching, love yourself.
3) Pushing people away
This was a BIG issue for me, I trained alone and basically got on with it day to day. I rarely saw my friends outside university etc. and when I did it was to get severely drunk and make a fool of myself. Also, I pushed away one of the most important people in my life and that was my boyfriend, training all the time meant I sacrificed time with him for my own personal gain, look I'm not saying you shouldn't make time for training, but like I said previously, make time for other people because one day you will need them.
Solution: learn to love yourself for who you are because your friends/family/partner already do.
4) Love yourself
This is the most important one and its solution isn't simple. You have to learn to love who you are, even with that extra bit of flab or that big booty. Learn how to embrace it, if you're trying to lose weight just know that in the future those size 12 jeans will just slide on and until then just love the jeans you're in.
My solution is a series of little things:
1) Get up early and make the most of your day
2) Exercise- this can ANYTHING, go for a walk and enjoy the fresh air
3) Make an effort with your appearance (easier said than done) but it honestly helps, buy yourself some new make-up or that new dress, you deserve it!
4) Eat whole foods, I don't mean go out to Whole Foods and buy everything I mean REAL food, fruit, vegetables, lean meat, nuts, plants etc. it really helps to nourish your body.
5) Make time for friends and family
6) Develop your hobbies and keep going, whether that's photography, reading books or sky diving go and DO IT.
7) And don't beat yourself up because you gained weight or didn't run as far, this is today, tomorrow is a fresh new start, forget the bad food you ate or the goals you didn't achieve go and set new ones and SMASH THEM.
8) Masturbate- yes I said it. A lot of people especially women are coy about this subject but in all honesty, it helps so much. Men do it for a number of reasons including keeping their prostate healthy but listen up women, we have reasons to do it too and it's all mental. Masturbation and Sex:
"gives a boost to serotonin and raises endorphins and opioids, the brain’s so-called happy chemicals"
so it MAKES YOU HAPPY. If you don't believe me go ahead and try it or read more on it with this article: http://stylecaster.com/more-sex/
and if none of this works for you just remember one thing that kept me going and that is all of these hard times won't last forever, but first you need to gain a positive outlook on life.
Happiness is such a hard thing to achieve so once you gain it don't let ANYONE take that away from you if they say you're cocky, selfish etc. just tell them to take a hike because nobody knows the personal struggles of each individual.
Keep on trucking my lovelies, and I will too! We all have good/bad days just keep your head up and remember you have the power to change anything, you just have to believe.
