Is it just me or is the year flying by so fast? Okay, as we cross into the other half of 2019, it is a good time to reflect on those fitness goals set earlier in the year. I know it can be hard to reflect, it can make us feel bad that we have not achieved what we set out so passionately too. However, reflecting comes with adulting. We just have to put on our ‘big girl panties’ and face those goals or issues that are pending.
With that out of the way, tell me: how is your fitness or weight loss journey going?
My Journey
I am about 7 kg heavier than my normal weight. Now, gaining weight is something I can do as fast as I can lose it. So if I come against rough times, I may fall a little off the bandwagon, gain some weight but when the time comes to lose it, there will be no excuses.
Think about it: As a fitness coach, part of what I do is aerobics with some of my corporate clients. Can’t turn up there overweight. It’s more interesting because my birthday is June 29, and I am at less than the ideal weight. Bear in mind that for the past couple of years, I have consistently slain that birthday photo shoot.
Skin Issues Too
Now not only am I 7kg heavier, but I also have breakouts on my skin. Life became so intense that I was not as intentional about my diet anymore.
However, I learnt a few things: I learned to put those voices behind me that constantly makes me feel overly conscious about weight gain.
Most of us know what I am talking about… the kind of self-consciousness that makes you voice out your weight gain even if in unrelated gist with such terms as: “ I know I have gained weight” “Please don’t mind this my fatty o” “As you can see I gained some weight.” etc.
I have learned to have healthy conversations and only reference my weight gain if it brought relevance to the gist at hand. Keep the weight out of conversations if it is not on the table And to the other party, if it is not supposed to be on the table, then do not also bring it up especially if you do not have that kind of relationship with the person
Still, Fix It If You Can
However, after putting on weight you are uncomfortable with, do something about it because that is what big girls do. You can fix it, so fix it. Start the process and commit to it. The start of the second half is a great time to. This is not even about anybody mentioning it or not, it is about you doing this for you. I deserve the absolutely beautiful gift of my healthiest self. I deserve to serve my family with optimum health. The world deserves me too at my best. So I do it for me, my loved ones and God’s world in that order.
Get Your Facts Right
Of course, knowledge is key. If you ignorantly jump into weight loss, you will be frustrated because even though weight loss looks like an art, it really has a science to it. And you must crack it. Hiring a great coach is a faster way to get to your destination, but hanging out on google too, learning and applying will get you there even if slower.
To that knowledge about fitness, you must add patience and consistency
Patience because weight loss is a process, and consistency because ‘start and stop; is a recipe for delayed results, a.k.a, failure
Understand Your Milestones
Speaking of failure, you cannot be harsh on yourself on this journey. Some things you define as failure is not a failure. I tell my clients to learn to define and redefine success at various parts of their journey. A woman who drinks coke daily and suddenly joins a weight loss program and finds herself drinking coke twice a week may see herself as a failure because coke is bad. But in reality, she is succeeding. She moved from 7 to 2 and that is major. Even if she moved to 6, that is still a success at that level. But because she didn’t lose 3kg in a week on the scale, she discounts the success on coke discipline that she found. No mama, you must redefine success at different times and then continue to improve on it.
Finally
Six months is a long time and radical transformation can happen if you start this July and stay consistent until December.
I jokingly told my friend that I would be registering to join my own July Squad as I too have a few pounds to move, and I will. The Coach will also be a student and I hope that as I stay open and accountable to them, and they see the process that leads to my results because I will have results, I can pump them up, even more, to keep going.
Cheers to the next six months birthing a healthier version of you. You truly deserve it