I’ve learned so much throughout the years during my fitness journey with so many trials and errors. I’ve done so many mistakes along the way. The goal was always to get smaller, and losing weight was the goal for years.
Over the last few years, I suffered from many health issues that forced me to look at my health from a different angle. I needed to stop focusing on losing weight and focus on getting healthy and repairing the damage that I had caused my body.
Unfortunately, I can’t go back in time, but the one thing I can do is keep up with my habits so that this body of mine can carry me to my older days.
Here are 5 things I would do differently if I was starting my fitness journey:
Enjoy food without restriction
For so long, I restricted myself from many macronutrients. It caused so much damage to my body, and it took years to repair it.
The one thing I would do if I were starting over would not eliminate any food group from my diet. I would eat in moderation, and enjoy having treats. Restricting myself was one of the worse things I have done to myself.
By doing this, I kept myself on this cycle of yo-yo dieting because I would restrict myself and then eat whatever I wanted and then go back to restricting myself.
Now, I enjoy food. I release the guilt I had around food. I eat everything in moderation, and I nourish my body with clean and healthy macronutrients.
And the way this looks is that I keep my diet clean and balance. I do not cut any macronutrient from my diet. I have healthy fats, carbs, and plenty of protein.
Focus on strength training and not cardio
Cardio is not the only way to lose weight. I remember spending hours doing cardio. I would do cardio 7 days a week.
Now, I focus on strength training. Lifting weights helped me build and maintain my muscle mass.
When it comes to working out, you have to find something you enjoy – something that doesn’t feel like you are adding a chore to your life. You are not always going to feel motivated to work out. But when you create healthy habits, you show up because you know you have to.
Work on my mindset
I would start by working on my mindset. Changing the relationship I have with food instead of focusing on just losing weight and looking like everyone else. I lived for many years hating my body and constantly chasing a number on the scale, and even when I reached my goal weight, I was still not happy.
After working on healing my emotional eating habits and changing my mindset around food, I have been able to create a healthy relationship with food. I am no longer afraid of food eating.
Remind myself that I am worthy of my goals
This is one of the things I wish I could have done so long ago. How we talk to ourselves makes a big difference in our lives. Focus on the positive things, because the more positive you stay and the more positive things you’ll say to yourself. You will begin to see the true person you are and not the one you have created that sabotages you.
Here are a few tips to start changing what you say to yourself. This does take time and will make you feel uncomfortable, but if you stay consistent, it will have a big impact on your life.
Pick one thing to tell yourself every day. The more you tell yourself kind things you will begin to change how you see yourself.
Let yourself know how worthy you are of this life you want, or the healthy body you want to achieve. Repeating this positive words help you see how strong you are and give you the power to push through the though days.
Stay consistent
Many struggles with staying consistent during their fitness journey. Why? Because we want to see results overnight. We get frustrated and then give up, or quit before the results show up.
One thing that took long for me to accept is that it takes longer than just a month or eight weeks to get the results you want. It requires a daily commitment to your goals and your health. You have to choose what is more important to you, not restrict yourself and stay consistent. When you put all these together you get the results you desire.
