KNOW YOUR WHY
Have you ever asked yourself why you would like to workout and eat healthy? Do you have a honest and selfish answer for yourself? I’m not talking about the answer you think other people would want to hear, not the fluffy “I want to feel better and lead a healthy life” generic answer, but the unapologetic, “only for you” kind. I can tell you all of mine
1 – I want to look hot in a bikini, there I said it, it’s superficial, I know, how dare I say that! But guess what, it’s ok to want that for YOURSELF, we all deserve to look good and feel good. So go ahead and be selfish and be superficial for once in your life and want something that can light a fire within you and motivate you to move everyday. The older I get, the more I understand my own body and no longer have any desire to conform to the unattainable beauty standards the society has set for us. As this point in my life, I can honestly say that I could careless of what other people think of my body. It’s my body, as long as I like how it looks, I’m good with that. So my version of looking hot means I’m strong for my body weight, I have chest muscles instead big boobs, and my tiny flat ass can handle some pretty heavy squads, so when I’m 90 years old I can walk with ease. (oh yes 90 years old, because like Ali Wong said Asian women and the sun are like the Biggie and Tupac of longevity ?)
2 – I want to channel my competitiveness in a positive manner and manage my stress properly. I’m an extremely type A and competitive person, and having gone down the spiral of constantly comparing myself to others many times, working out became a way for me to shift that competitiveness with others to being competitive with myself. It’s a great way to gain a sense of control that we, as human being, all crave at times. I know if I show up, put in 100% effort, I will see results and I will be stronger than last time. The satisfaction I get when I see small improvements motivates me to stay the path and stay consistent.
Working out and eating healthy take a lot of effort, so give yourself good reasons to why you should put in the effort. When you know why you are making the worthy investment for your own purpose and well-being, staying consistent becomes less of a chore, but more of a way of life.
FINDING MIND AND BODY CONNECTION
Staying healthy and fit is a balancing act. Another thing that really helped me to stay consistent with my health and fitness routine is truly finding that mind and body connection. Our mind and body communicate to each other constantly, we just need to listen and pay attention to the signals. I remember while trying to lose my baby weight, I was so wrapped up in losing that “last 10 pounds”. I started to put my body through hell, I thought I wasn’t losing the weight because I wasn’t working out hard enough. I ended up doing intense double workouts most days, and ended up with 10-11 workouts a week. My body was in so much pain all the time, and I was exhausted all the time, my mind was so absent that it ignored all the “SOS” my body was sending out. My knee started hurting to the point where I couldn’t walk, my hips were out of alignment, I had constant migraines, and I gained 15lbs because my body was in crisis and needed nutrient so badly that it started storing fat like crazy. I was a HOT MESS!
It wasn’t until I had a conversation two years ago with My SoulCycle instructor expressing my frustrations, that he pointed out the obvious. My body was in crisis. He told me that all the symptoms I had ,the fatigue, the aches and pains, the weight gain, was all the ways my body was trying to communicate with my mind that it needed rest and nutrients. The body and mind work together in mysterious and harmonious ways, in order for us to be consistent with our fitness goals, our mind needs to be more aware of the signals our body sends out. When do we push harder? When do we pump the breaks? If our mind is connected to our body properly and listen, the answers are all there. Staying consistent doesn’t mean that if we work out 5 times a week, then that’s the magic number, it just means we need to accept the ebbs and flows, the peaks and valleys our body and mind go through.
FIND A DIET THAT WORKS FOR YOU
Perhaps the most difficult of all in staying consistent in my health and fitness journey was staying consistent with my diet. Personally, the only “diet” that has ever worked for me was intermittent fasting. It’s something easy for me to follow, I try not to eat after 6pm and usually eat a huge breakfast and late lunch with foods that are high in protein, low in or no sugar, I also make sure to mix in complex carbs. I don’t necessarily set “cheat days” for myself, but I do listen to my body’s signals. If I have cravings for some fries, then I’m going to eat those delicious damn fries! I don’t know about you, my head messes with me when I set restrictions on food groups. The more I limit it, but more I want to eat it! Even if I didn’t like it in the first place! We all have different taste buds, so whatever healthy foods that make your taste buds dance, go for it! It will still take a lot of effort to not to over indulge, but when you enjoy what you eat, the diet becomes so much easier to stick to.
YOLO my friends, our bodies do so much for us, and we need to treat it with tender loving care. Ironically the key to consistency for me wasn’t how hard I pushed myself each time, rather it really came down to listening to my body and being kind to this amazing vessel we were kindly given.
Thank you so much for reading and spending time with me today!
Much Love,
Angel