My Ongoing Journey with Food and Fitness

Good morning and Happy Friday! I just wanted to pop in and discuss my fitness routine and how I trained myself to make exercise a habit! If my most recent post is any proof, I really love food! I have always been this way, actually. When I was a really young kid, I can remember my willingness to eat just about anything placed in front of me. I have never been a very picky eater. When I was little, I was also a stickler about eating healthy! I can remember, and I also never hear the end of the stories my mom tells of the times we would go to Furr's with my grandma.(Little tradition we had) Can anyone else remember Furr's? I just looked it up and it seems to still exist in parts of our country! Did not expect that! When we went to Furr's, I would always choose a light fish and rice pilaf as my meal(I know, fish from a buffet, sounds disgusting now!😬) Even as a young kid, I was concerned about eating healthy. As I grew older and discovered the world of good food and the craft variety of beer, my health conscious mind fell a little to the wayside. Honestly, I don't regret it. I truly enjoyed every piece of new food that I was able to experience, and I learned that I had a pretty sophisticate pallet when it came to food and beer. 

 I have never had a very easy time keeping weight off. If I eat a fry, I seem to gain 5 pounds within the 10 minutes after that fry. For awhile, I was mad about this. Why do my cousins get to eat anything they want and still look the way they do? The "it's not fair" mindset took hold for awhile. Instead of working with what I had, I tried to will my body into a different direction to no avail. Eventually, I accepted my body. I decided that it's the body I was given and the body I need to love and listen to. As much as I envy those who can eat and drink whatever they want without noticing a thing, that envy was not doing me any good. I still wasn't happy with it though. I began exercising regularly about 2 years ago, going to the gym 4-5 days a week. I still was seeing no difference. That became discouraging, but I still went. I pushed myself to my limit each and every time. Still nothing. I kept going though. For about a year I was stuck in that cycle. Going to the gym and truly giving it my all but still seeing no difference at all. I was so annoyed. I sat down with myself and thought about what my goal was and tried to pin point my "why". My goal was definitely to get some physical results that I could be proud of. I also just wanted to feel better all around. I wanted my body to be as strong as my mind. I wanted to be confident in its ability to accomplish everything that I put it through. I love hiking, I want to be confident that my body can handle any of the hikes I decide to do. I just bought a kayak, I want to feel confident in my ability to row. I would like to try my hand at rock climbing one day. I want my body to be as prepped for that as I can get it. There are so many things that my mind wants to do and I don't want my just as capable body to limit my abilities to do those things. 

I also wanted to loose weight if i'm being real. I have a bunch of clothes, some of which I won't wear because they are no longer flattering on my body, and others I can't wear because they just no longer fit on my body. I want confidence to exude out of me. That feeling makes me happy, and while it most definitely starts with your mind, for me it also has a lot to do with vanity and i'm not ashamed of that. The things that bring each person joy and confidence are unique. The way my physical body looks is one of my things. So why wasn't I losing weight despite my efforts at the gym. Why were my clothes fitting me exactly the same? I had to sit down and have a "talk" with myself. My wonderful boyfriend bought me a Fit Bit for my birthday and i started getting really serious about tracking the things I put into my body. I had been eating exactly the same as I was before, thinking "well, but I also added exercise so that should negate all the not so conscientious food I'm eating", so while that was maybe true, when I started tracking I realized that despite the calories I was burning at the gym, I was experiencing no deficit whatsoever and in fact ate more than my recommended calorie intake. So my gym going was doing nothing aside from boosting my mood. Something had to change. 

Right now, I am pretty stringent with myself, and it has been an adjustment. Sometimes I feel limited, but that's just because I am unlearning all of the bad habits I fell into. If I think about my "why", that far outweighs my need to indulge. I very rarely drink because it does not get me closer to my goal and I would rather not waste valuable calories on something that brings no value to my body. I only eat when I am hungry. I have become as caring about the things that I feed myself as I am with the things I feed my dog. 

 After Covid hit, gyms closed then reopened, then closed again, then reopened with limited capacity. I began going again when they had to limit the capacity. I had no problem getting in and getting a workout knocked out for about a month. Eventually, I started going and was told there would be a thirty minute wait. I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to do after work is go to the gym to wait in my car for thirty minutes before getting my workout in. I already feel pressed for time when I get off as it is. I remembered and old Instagram/YouTube account I had found. I went to Target and bought a yoga mat and a resistance band and went home and started following along with Blogilates.🌸 

When I first came upon Cassie, her sunny demeanor while doing extremely difficult activities was too much to handle at that time. I now genuinely love and appreciate her. I cheer her on from afar. I am currently following along with her " 21 Day Tone" when it's over I plan to purchase a membership to her workout plans and keep going! She recently came out with a line at Target, I went in and immediately grabbed her weights, I started walking and saw a set of weights right next to hers that were about 3 dollars cheaper. I'm pretty big on bargains, and normally would have swapped out the more expensive weights for the others. I thought about it, and decided that I really wanted to support Cassie. So against my own nature, I bought her weights. 💓💪

Guys whatever your journey with fitness and food looks like! Just keep going, both your body and mind will get stronger, I promise!