gotta get the mind right first
I have been in the fitness community for over 8 years now and when I started this blog, I wanted something different. As you have probably noticed by now, I have not done any fitness posts yet and that is for a reason. I have many drafts about fitness, weight loss, weight gain, etc but, I decided to wait and to focus on the things that are extremely important before the workouts and the dieting. Today, I want to talk about how to get your mind ready for this journey. I will talk about mental fitness-your machine, and why it is so important to focus on your mindset before the fitness.
I have a confession to make. When I was a personal trainer, I was the most impatient person. Looking back, I did not know what made me very impatient with my clients, but now I know and many trainers might relate with me on this. It is the fact that people come to you wanting to change them for a few months. Usually they will put in the work and lose the weight, but the problem is actually after the weight loss. I realized that many people gain even more weight after a weight loss program. For a long time, I beat myself up trying to understand why this would happen.
I realized that, if you don't set your mind right, there is no way you will maintain or enjoy your fitness journey. There are two things that I have noticed about people who did not fix their minds. One of the examples comes from my personal experience and the other from my observations.
Do you know those people that are in the gym for 3 to 4 hours, seven days a week? Or those people who wouldn't eat a carrot because they are afraid to gain weight? If you don't, then no worries, you finally met one because that was actually me. I used to be in the gym for three hours, seven days a week. I was very lean for my body type but I never ever, liked the way I looked, even when I as at my leanest. I thought that if I tried to add an additional mile, or diet a little more, I would "get the body." I put my body through so much torture and pain because I never loved myself before I stared my journey. I worked out because people told me that I was heavy and I believed that in order to be pretty, I had to be skinny to the bones. The thing about this kind of person, the person who hates their body, is that they will never love their body after the weight loss. Yes, they will admire it for a while. They will love the abs, but like you guys already know, abs don't last forever, and if you don't believe me, check your abs after a nice delicious meal :-)
I am not trying to be a downer, I promise, but hear me out here.
The second type of person is the person who wants to look good for a season. I used to get a lot of people telling me that they had a wedding, birthday, or graduation and needed to lose 20 pounds before the event. My response was always that it is easy! It is very easy to lose that weight, but what happens after the weight loss? After the wedding? (This is also where I have a problem with body building and body building shows.) Personally, I believe that fitness is continuous, not a seasonal thing. The problem with this kind of mindset is that when you actually accomplish that goal, you feel like you finally get to relax, and just eat whatever you want all the time. Additionally, you have put your body through so much intense training that maybe, you are just tired of the gym. If you don't keep the working out consistent, your body gets begins its weight gaining again! Then you get insecure and ashamed because the last time that your friends saw you, you were 20 pounds lighter. You no longer want to hangout with anyone, and hoodies become your favorite outfit.
What am I trying to say?
Self love is huge, my friends. I believe it is the reason why some people remain at the gym and why others get tired of the gym. In order to remain consistent with the fitness journey or, to love the journey you are about to embark on, you need to love yourself. I used to talk to myself in the mirror every day, and I still do. I tell myself that I am beautiful. I compliment my smile, my curves, my skin, my hair, my eyebrows, my nails, everything I liked about my body before I entered the gym. Don't hate the body that you are trying to build; it is going through a lot already.
Please feel free to email me your comments and what you think. I am also open to suggestions on how I can make my blogs better.
Until next time!
Love,
Stefanie Choh
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