“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”
- Anthony Robbins
It’s already day 42 of my health and fitness journey with Marty the Health Guy as my guide. I’m exactly halfway through our 12-week program, which is gradually transforming not only my physical body but also the way I think about health, food and fitness.
I have to admit that during the last couple weeks I felt like I was getting nowhere. Yes, my strength and energy levels have increased, but it was discouraging for me not to see any change on the scale. I’m still re-programming my mind when it comes to weight.
So it was pretty exciting when Mirella whipped out her measuring tape last Friday and discovered that even though my weight is the same, something is shifting!!
I’ve lost two inches around my waist, one inch around my chest, and an inch around my thighs. My biceps on the other hand, are one inch bigger. Marty is now affectionately calling me, “KBG” (“Karen Big Guns”).
I was so happy about the changes that I drove directly to Lululemon after my workout to buy a new yoga outfit. I bought the size I always wear, but when I tried my outfit on at home I realized that the tank top is too big (another yay!). I’ll have to go back later this week for a smaller size.
500 hours of Yoga
Speaking of Lululemon (when I think of Lulu I think of goals + yoga) I’m also happy to report that I’ve been able to keep up with my yoga goal for 2011, which is 500 hours. Since January 1st I’ve practiced 163.5 hours, so I’m only a few hours behind my goal, which will be easy to make up.
Food
I love eating, I love food and I REALLY love healthy food. It’s been fairly easy for me to stick to Mirella’s diet plan, with the exception of hummus quantities. I just don’t think it’s reasonable to ask a person to eat just 2 tablespoons of hummus. Brian Regan expresses my feelings perfectly in this video:
Also, it appears that I am very talented at manifesting vegan cupcakes. I don’t go out of my way to get these cupcakes, they just appear in my hands. Cupcakes are not on my diet plan but I ain’t gonna lie, if someone gives me a vegan cupcake, I’m going to eat it.
So I’ve loosened the reins with the food just a tiny bit and I am SO much happier. So happy, that I intend to stick with this way of eating because I know it is sustainable. I’m not perfect; I don’t want to be perfect. And I don’t want to eat perfectly either because being a food nazi diminishes the quality of my life. Therefore I’m aiming for 95% of healthy food and 5% of high quality “junk”. Vegan cupcakes from Kindfood, chocolate almonds from Organic Traditions, and chips from Boulder Canyon are a few of my favorites.
Fitness
I started going to the gym super-early in the morning, around 6:00am. I can’t tell you how wonderful this makes me feel. Exercising early in the day revs up my energy and stimulates my appetite.
I’ve also started going to spinning classes, which are terrifying and fun at the same time. I work harder in the class than I would on my own, since I probably wouldn’t have the motivation to stay on a bike for 60 minutes.
I am a heck of a lot stronger than I was six weeks ago. I’m holding difficult yoga poses for long periods of time, and last week I did 40 full pushups. You might remember that on day one of this journey, I couldn’t even do one push up.
Overall I’m very happy about my fitness level and I’m looking forward to becoming even stronger.
Mind
The toughest part of this project has been getting my monkey mind to shut up. When it comes to health and fitness, my mind has a lot of “shoulds”.
I “should” weigh this, I “shouldn’t” weigh that, I “should” eat this, I “shouldn’t” eat that… blah, blah blah.
The more I try to shut my mind up, the more it jabbers on. The only solution is to constantly bring myself back to a state of conscious observation. When I’m observing my mind, I don’t have to believe everything it tells me.
“An unquestioned mind is the world of suffering.”
- Byron Katie
It makes me wonder how many other health-conscious people take time to question their minds. Are people motivated from a place of self-love? Or cultural obsession?
All I know is that the more accepting I am of my body in the present moment, the happier I become.
The happier I become, the easier it is to eat vibrant food and move my body.
This is the inner game of fitness.
Related Posts:
• The Inner Game of Fitness – Day 0
• The Inner Game of Fitness – Day 4
• The Inner Game of Fitness – Day 9
• The Inner Game of Fitness – Day 16
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