Most of us will just settle for looking good in our leggings….ladies, or to fill out that unbuttoned henley shirt….men. I’ve been there multiple times and have tried every which way there is to get to that goal. But the truth in making that the goal, we’ll often seek out all the methods that will get us there quickly and put our bodies through so much stress by trying out all of these methods and products and it’s just not healthy. We are causing so much damage to our bodies than we know. Even if we can’t feel the harmful effects now, you can bet it’s happening inside your body.
In my industry it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and add living in Miami on top of that, whew the pressure you will put on yourself to look not just the personal trainer/coach part but the trainer/coach that works in Miami, part. You have to bring the look let me tell you. Truth of the matter is, your expertise is judged by the way you look rather than by your actual expertise. You’re only hired if you look like what they want to look like. You better be GOALS or run the risk of not getting hired. I speak from experience when I speak on this subject. I ate like a bird. I worked out multiple times a day. I would lose out on sleep, that my body was yearning for, just to get in my workouts. That fasted cardio. Bodybuilders, you know what I’m talking about. I would take fat burners even those private selling fat burners that had those good ingredients that were banned. Everyone remember Oxy Elite Pro? The original formula. Yep, that was my go to for yearssssss. I was super upset when they got rid of it because I dropped weight so fast on that. I started in my mid 20’s, I believe. The only thing that really helped me stay ahead of everyone else my age was that I never really stopped being active. I started playing organized basketball at the age of 6, I believe. Maybe 5 but I can’t remember exactly. And I may have taken off a year of activity, but that’s it. All I know is that no matter what I tried, I was miserable. I felt the awful effects from doing too much exercise, taking fat burners (hello heart rate, caffeine crashes and headaches), dabbling into steroids, specifically Clenbuterol and Anavar, waking up at 2:45am, 3:45am, 4am, 5am to do an hours worth of fasted cardio, eating all of the same meals of boiled or baked chicken breast, broccoli, asparagus and sweet potato.
Sure, I hit most of my goals and I looked darn good and was the envy of many. It blew my head up. It fed my ego. But it all came at an expense. I suffered each time and my body would eventually crash and put me on my butt. See, the thing is, I got to my goals but I was not healthy. I kept ignoring the signs my body was trying to yell at me. I would feel mentally and physically exhausted but I would keep going. That societal conditioning. Society makes us believe that we are supposed to kill ourselves in order to be successful. To get to our goals. When that is the furthest from the truth. What kind of life is it to live if you had to get to your goal in such an unhealthy, toxic way? Aren’t we supposed to enjoy the process? I don’t believe many of us can say we enjoyed the process. And who has fed us this idea of what success means? Eating in such a restrictive way caused me to binge. And when I say binge, I mean like a small pizza from Papa John’s, Blue Moon beer, 2-3 doughnuts and an entire pack of Oreo cookies…..IN ONE DAY! Sometimes less, sometimes more. My body was craving variety and I was binging to fulfill my emotional needs.
Your body is craving rest, fun, love, laughs, a variety of balanced foods, cookies every now and then, good ole soul feeding nourishment. Now this doesn’t mean that you don’t have to practice some self discipline when trying to reach a goal of fitting into a particular dress or suit for that wedding but if your main focus is on eating real food that was put here on Earth without going through some sort of factory, then weight loss or looking good will be a natural byproduct of a changed lifestyle. THIS should be the main goal. In this process, you learn how to eat for YOUR specific body. You learn it’s intolerances, what your body loves, what it may or may not respond so well to. Know yourself better than anyone else. Furthermore, learn to trust yourself and know that you do indeed know what your body likes and responds to. No one else can tell you. Having that body awareness makes it much more fun and easier.
I’ve had the terrible comparisons of living a healthy life and not. So trust me when I say that health is everything. I speak from unfortunate experiences that I placed on myself. Make living a healthy life your goal!
