Finding your “why” is hot in the streets, but I am going to talk about finding my “how.”I get the question “how do you stick with it” a lot. “It” is usually asked in regards to eating something relatively healthy when others aren’t or when I’m heading to the gym at the end of the day. There isn’t one answer for that. As an overall answer, that answer has changed throughout the different stages of this journey.
Starting out, the honest answer was that I had to because I had training sessions scheduled. That was really the only reason I was doing anything. After the guy’s weekend I have referenced before was still that I had to but because I felt far unhealthier than I had before. That “had to” kick started the changes that I would go on to see.
The had too would slowly transition into need to. I know those sound like they are the same but they aren’t in my head and this is my blog, but I will explain. The need to came in that it just felt part of the daily things that I needed to check off. When I wasn’t lifting, I was in the gym getting in cardio. This was probably the most dedicated stage from the surface, but this wasn’t the most sustainable. Any life changes would have quickly derailed this because it was basically just a habit at that point.
The need to kinda ended around the holiday’s of 2022. I had gotten to a good point, had learned that I could slack off a bit and still maintain. We’ll call this the relaxed stage. It lasted for a few months, and in the end, I think was beneficial. This stage was beneficial because it was such a leap forward mentally. I learned what I could sustain for the long term. It wasn’t a rigorous schedule. I worked out when it fit and had a diet that wasn’t too big of a cut calorically but still allowed me to stay in a maintenance state. Not gaining weight through the holiday’s and having fun for my birthday was a huge win in my book.
Not long after that, I got a body scan. The body scan was a great boost to get me out of the maintenance stage. One might assume that the results weren’t what I wanted, which got me out. That, however, was not the case. I didn’t really have anything to go off of previously, but the numbers seemed to be far better than I expected. This gave me the motivation to really get things going again. It also gave me numbers to really take my diet to the next level. I started working out harder than I had before. I took pride in what I was doing in the gym. I made sure my day to day was more active than it had been. This was my WANT TO phase. I thought people that said they wanted to or loved working out were crazy. I genuinely love lifting weights at this point. Its fun. It feels good. Do it!
The day to day answer is both simpler and more complicated. Its all of the above sometimes and none of the above others. The mental game is by far the hardest part. So whichever of those that I need for that day is the one I use. If you have made it this far, thank you! I love you all. Go lift heavy weights then watch Heavyweights!
Put Your Shoes On 