There was a time in my life when I could wake up whenever I wanted, drink every meal from a blender, spend hours in nutrition stores and even more time at the gym taking my time from set to set. My twenties were a buffet of nothing but time and opportunity to put in the hard work, meal plan and prep, do two a days at the gym and watch the numbers rise and fall as I manipulated my body to look and feel the way I wanted.
Now 41 working a full time job, homeschooling my children through most of 2020, running a successful online active wear company and driving kids to ballet and volleyball five nights a week that buffet is now more like a snack that gets thrown my way every now and then. A walk here, a bike ride there, a thirty minute trip to the gym, salad for dinner with a side of mac n cheese and chicken nuggets.
I find myself squeezing into my jeans and thinking tomorrow I’ll do better, I’ll make different choices, I’ll stay on the elliptical longer, eat more greens, drink more water, and some days I do and other days I don’t. And the voice of my twenty five year old personal trainer former self is loud in my ear, that I know better, that I must do better but it’s just so hard trying to take care of everyone else and myself at the same time.
I’m learning throughout this pandemic and entering into my 40’s a different woman than I was as a 20 year old child that it won’t look the same. There is a balance that sounds easy, should be simple but it’s actually the most complicated part of adulting. The balance of living, surviving, thriving and keeping everyone else living, surviving and thriving as well.
I think many of us wake up everyday with so many good intentions but end the day feeling beaten down and discouraged by our lack of commitment to eating well and getting in our thirty minutes of cardio. Our twenty year old selves cannot be our compass for what today looks like because we’re no longer living in that space of endless time and freedom.
So what does fitness look like for those of us trying to live in the unknowns of every day with so many responsibilities and expectations on us?
1) we need accountability partners who will check in on us, go for a walk around the neighborhood on wintery mornings, ask us how we’re doing with our meal planning preparation.
2). we need to give ourselves grace to know that every day will look different even if our goal remains the same.
3) we need to stop fixating on scale numbers and start taking inventory on how we feel. Food should not make us feel guilty. Not getting our work out in one day shouldn’t sabotage our entire week. If we miss a day we simply get back to it the next day!
4) we need to acknowledge when a year or a season has been difficult and be gentle with ourselves when we make emotional food choices or gain a few pounds.
Let’s start out this year by giving our fitness and nutrition habits some freedom! Our goal is not perfection rather daily attempts to make good choices that will extend the quality of our life and bring us joy. When we invest in ourselves we can be more productive in leading others.
Comments