Sunday, 20 January 2013
Friday, 18 January 2013
Self Belief
Going through a journey such as mine there's always going to be times when you doubt yourself, doubt whether you can do it and doubt whether its worth it. It's at those times that you need to get a bit of perspective in life, take a step back & breathe.
First of all, look at how far you've come so far. Some people might sit there & think: "Well I really haven't done that much at all," but I doubt that's really true. What would you be doing right now if you hadn't started? What habits have you changed since you started? How much healthier & happier have you been since you started? What new things have you had the confidence to try? Thinking about these things myself, I know that I've gained a great deal from my journey so far.
Secondly, think about where you would like to be & what it will take to get there. What do you want to look like? What would you like to achieve? I often find this idea quite overwhelming personally because its so hard to define my end goal. I find it much easier to visualise my smaller milestones along the way rather than visualise the big picture. Think about how proud you'll be when you run that race, lift that weight or wear that bikini.
Thirdly, realise that you don't have to complete this change overnight. So many people think they have to lose "this much weight in this many weeks"--- no. Improving your health & reaching your goals is a life-long struggle. Don't give up because your results aren't instantaneous---- the good things in life aren't.
Fourthly, if you've been comparing your results to that of others then that's not the way to go. Why? Everyone is at a different stage of their journey, everyone's bodies are different & everyone has a different perspective. I found myself ogling one of the other lean & strong ladies a while ago thinking 'why don't I look like that?' only to find out that she'd been training for 3 years and was a competitive body sculptor. I've only been going for 5 months (& her body type is quite different to mine)---- no wonder I don't look anywhere near that!
Fifthly, find your self-belief---- it's in there somewhere! Tell yourself that you are a strong & capable person (you are), you deserve to be strong, healthy & fit (you do), you are worth the effort and you can do it! (Believe me you can!!) It may be difficult to make yourself believe this at times but trust me when I say its the absolute truth.
First of all, look at how far you've come so far. Some people might sit there & think: "Well I really haven't done that much at all," but I doubt that's really true. What would you be doing right now if you hadn't started? What habits have you changed since you started? How much healthier & happier have you been since you started? What new things have you had the confidence to try? Thinking about these things myself, I know that I've gained a great deal from my journey so far.
Secondly, think about where you would like to be & what it will take to get there. What do you want to look like? What would you like to achieve? I often find this idea quite overwhelming personally because its so hard to define my end goal. I find it much easier to visualise my smaller milestones along the way rather than visualise the big picture. Think about how proud you'll be when you run that race, lift that weight or wear that bikini.
Thirdly, realise that you don't have to complete this change overnight. So many people think they have to lose "this much weight in this many weeks"--- no. Improving your health & reaching your goals is a life-long struggle. Don't give up because your results aren't instantaneous---- the good things in life aren't.
Fourthly, if you've been comparing your results to that of others then that's not the way to go. Why? Everyone is at a different stage of their journey, everyone's bodies are different & everyone has a different perspective. I found myself ogling one of the other lean & strong ladies a while ago thinking 'why don't I look like that?' only to find out that she'd been training for 3 years and was a competitive body sculptor. I've only been going for 5 months (& her body type is quite different to mine)---- no wonder I don't look anywhere near that!
Fifthly, find your self-belief---- it's in there somewhere! Tell yourself that you are a strong & capable person (you are), you deserve to be strong, healthy & fit (you do), you are worth the effort and you can do it! (Believe me you can!!) It may be difficult to make yourself believe this at times but trust me when I say its the absolute truth.
Thursday, 17 January 2013
New Year's Resolution
Facing the reality that I’m still bitter over something that happened several years ago, despite my best efforts to persuade myself otherwise. I got a terrible shock today when I came across something that reminded me of it and felt the most horrible bitterness & discontentment I’ve ever experienced. Looks like I’ve got a different area of my mind set to focus on this year—— My (late) New Year’s Resolution is to let go of my negative feelings and to move on completely. I’ve come so far in my mind set already that I’m sure I’ll be able to overcome this obstacle as well.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Last Week's Cooking
Update
Well I seem to be going pretty well with my training at the moment - I'm into my third week of specificity & I think I'm back to my pre-holiday level of fitness. The most prominent change I've noticed in the last few weeks is that the backs of my thighs are now nice & firm... I can feel some serious muscle there! As this was one of the areas I wanted to specifically target from the start I'm extremely happy! I think it's due to the amazing leg days I've been having; I've really been trying to push it with the weights, squats & lunges lately. I've permanently moved up some of my weights as well ---- squats are now up to 20kg (from 17.5kg), chest presses are now a minimum of 17.5kg (from 15kg) & I'm in the process of lowering my chin up assist from 12 to 11.
My eating has been clean but I have been adding a few more calories than usual to my meals. I was still however amazed to see I'd actually put on 900g this week--- it's the first particularly large weight gain I've had in over 20 weeks. I'm not worried by this though, some of the more experience lean & strong ladies have suggested that weight gain is necessary in the specificity stage of the program as substantial muscle growth requires a caloric surplus. I should easily take the excess off again when I reach the getting ripped stage of the program in a week & a half.
My eating has been clean but I have been adding a few more calories than usual to my meals. I was still however amazed to see I'd actually put on 900g this week--- it's the first particularly large weight gain I've had in over 20 weeks. I'm not worried by this though, some of the more experience lean & strong ladies have suggested that weight gain is necessary in the specificity stage of the program as substantial muscle growth requires a caloric surplus. I should easily take the excess off again when I reach the getting ripped stage of the program in a week & a half.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
The Number on the Scales
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Holiday Cooking
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