It's been over a year since my last post. I had sort of been stagnant and hadn't had anything exciting or interesting to report. I forgot the whole meaning behind myself doing this blog. It's a journey through the exciting, boring, easy, and difficult times.
I started this blog two years ago, but in some ways I feel back where I started. I've slipped back into some bad routines, but this is my wake up call. When people would compliment me on my weight loss, I used to say "Thank you, I've been working hard". I can't necessarily say the same thing now.
When I first started CrossFit and this blog it was a form of therapy for me, means to embrace the struggles I was facing at the time. I have always struggled with health, body image, confidence, direction, and attitude...just to name a few. I learned so much in that first year and embraced it all. Now that I've found myself back in a rut, it's time to look back and reflect on some of those lessons I've learned and use them for the motivation I need now.
I'll put them in list form, because I like lists!
1. Hard work pays off. Not only does it pay off physically, but it pays off emotionally. It is rewarding to achieve something you have worked so hard for. It's a way to put your stamp on the day. Some days it's going to be hard to work hard, and that's ok.
2. Learn from your mistakes. Sometimes you have to mess up to realize how to fix what's wrong. This one has really resonated with me recently. Not only relating to my growth in health and fitness, but in my growth to be an overall better person. Boy do I ever make a lot of mistakes! This is the essence of what my career revolves around. I have kids answer questions or say certain sounds. I let them try it their way first and then work through the problem. That has always been my philosophy on what works best for them, and now it's my time to learn that skill. I think this blog will really help me to reflect on where I went wrong and how to fix it. My goal for this blog is to write about growing towards better overall health, but I think a huge component of that is mental and will help me become the best version of myself mind AND body. Embrace the pain (I'm not talking injuries). To quote Batman (cheesy I know...but it was on the other day) "Why do we fall down? So we can learn to pick ourselves up!"
3. Stop making excuses and stop feeling sorry for yourself! For solutions to this see #1 and #2. This one has always been big with me, but has changed some over the years. I used to think I was so far gone I couldn't be helped, it was too late to start, I can't do that, and if I complain about it maybe it will change. Lately it been more...well I work so hard I should be able to_(full in indulgence or mistake)___. I'm not saying never indulge or that mistakes won't happen, but it's a thin line before you let things get out of hand. For me, it was with the food. I used to be a clean eating machine. It started off with a cheat meal here and there...and that didn't seem to make a difference...then it became lots of cheat meals...that didn't seem to make a difference....then it became eating out a lot...then BOOM...it hits and you're back to where you started! It happens little by little and sneaks up on you. Nutrition really is key! You can't (or at least I can't) workout really hard and think it will cancel out the junk you put in your body. I'm currently in the process of finding out what works best for me. Being thrown into CrossFit and paleo at the same time, I dropped weight pretty quickly, but it didn't seem to be able to be extremely sustainable for me, so I'm looking for something similar and a better strategy to eat what kinds of foods when.
4. The excitement will fade. I think when you start anything new it's so easy to dive in head first. When I started CrossFit, I was there 5 days straight a week and sometimes even 6! I got the shoes, weight belt, wrist wraps, more workout clothes than regular clothes. I was in it to win it! There comes to be a point where it is no longer novel. I kind of look at it like a relationship. The "first date" butterflies are gone. We are two years in and now we are into the hard stuff. I still love it!
I'm sure I've learned a lot of other valuable lessons in these last two years. Bare with me as I look back and try to learn to move forward!
Stay strong...I know I'll try!
I started this blog two years ago, but in some ways I feel back where I started. I've slipped back into some bad routines, but this is my wake up call. When people would compliment me on my weight loss, I used to say "Thank you, I've been working hard". I can't necessarily say the same thing now.
When I first started CrossFit and this blog it was a form of therapy for me, means to embrace the struggles I was facing at the time. I have always struggled with health, body image, confidence, direction, and attitude...just to name a few. I learned so much in that first year and embraced it all. Now that I've found myself back in a rut, it's time to look back and reflect on some of those lessons I've learned and use them for the motivation I need now.
I'll put them in list form, because I like lists!
1. Hard work pays off. Not only does it pay off physically, but it pays off emotionally. It is rewarding to achieve something you have worked so hard for. It's a way to put your stamp on the day. Some days it's going to be hard to work hard, and that's ok.
2. Learn from your mistakes. Sometimes you have to mess up to realize how to fix what's wrong. This one has really resonated with me recently. Not only relating to my growth in health and fitness, but in my growth to be an overall better person. Boy do I ever make a lot of mistakes! This is the essence of what my career revolves around. I have kids answer questions or say certain sounds. I let them try it their way first and then work through the problem. That has always been my philosophy on what works best for them, and now it's my time to learn that skill. I think this blog will really help me to reflect on where I went wrong and how to fix it. My goal for this blog is to write about growing towards better overall health, but I think a huge component of that is mental and will help me become the best version of myself mind AND body. Embrace the pain (I'm not talking injuries). To quote Batman (cheesy I know...but it was on the other day) "Why do we fall down? So we can learn to pick ourselves up!"
3. Stop making excuses and stop feeling sorry for yourself! For solutions to this see #1 and #2. This one has always been big with me, but has changed some over the years. I used to think I was so far gone I couldn't be helped, it was too late to start, I can't do that, and if I complain about it maybe it will change. Lately it been more...well I work so hard I should be able to_(full in indulgence or mistake)___. I'm not saying never indulge or that mistakes won't happen, but it's a thin line before you let things get out of hand. For me, it was with the food. I used to be a clean eating machine. It started off with a cheat meal here and there...and that didn't seem to make a difference...then it became lots of cheat meals...that didn't seem to make a difference....then it became eating out a lot...then BOOM...it hits and you're back to where you started! It happens little by little and sneaks up on you. Nutrition really is key! You can't (or at least I can't) workout really hard and think it will cancel out the junk you put in your body. I'm currently in the process of finding out what works best for me. Being thrown into CrossFit and paleo at the same time, I dropped weight pretty quickly, but it didn't seem to be able to be extremely sustainable for me, so I'm looking for something similar and a better strategy to eat what kinds of foods when.
4. The excitement will fade. I think when you start anything new it's so easy to dive in head first. When I started CrossFit, I was there 5 days straight a week and sometimes even 6! I got the shoes, weight belt, wrist wraps, more workout clothes than regular clothes. I was in it to win it! There comes to be a point where it is no longer novel. I kind of look at it like a relationship. The "first date" butterflies are gone. We are two years in and now we are into the hard stuff. I still love it!
I'm sure I've learned a lot of other valuable lessons in these last two years. Bare with me as I look back and try to learn to move forward!
Stay strong...I know I'll try!
Hi Julie, this is Lilian from Crossfit!!! I loved the way you compared it with a relationship, that is so true, for me the butterflies are gone too but I still love it, and that is the only relationship that seems to work out for me lately, Lol!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you went back to writing, I will be stopping here now and then.
:)
Thanks for reading!
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