Before and After is Great but what about 18 months from now?
I attended the Nor Cal Fitness Summit this past weekend and what a great time it was! One of the speakers said something that I totally agreed with. Before and After is Great but what about 18 months from now. THAT is the picture we need to see. Anybody can get people to lose weight in 14 days, 21 days, or whatever time these short term challenges are, but what about 18 months from today? Where are the people now? Are they still thriving? Is the lifestyle sustainable?
That's what I ask myself. Where will I be 18 months from now? We are bombarded with amazing pictures and transformations on the daily but what about the After After. What then? It's not even about the weight. Is the person in a healthy headspace? What's REALLY going on? Something to think about and something that touched me.
What I have Learned
- Body dysmorphia, disordered eating patterns, self loathing, and body obsession is damaging for not only fitness coaches but also their clients/people following their journey
- As long as I just keep going I will get where I want to go.
- This is about being healthy for life so I can still rock it out later on down the line
- There is no perfect. There is better
- I am Going to Continue to become the best version of myself and I'm looking to bring more people along with me.
How Damaging Body Dysmorphia, Disordered Eating Patterns, and body obsession is for all involved.
I started off being focused on trying to lose the fat that I've gained due to my body rebounding from the past year. After I put the scale away, that became less of a focus and I started to become aware of exactly where I was with my headspace in regards to health/fitness and that became the most important issue. I have shared that I felt that I was developing some really bad habits such as: body dysmorphia, disordered eating habits, and self loathing.
That awareness led me to check my own behaviors because I don't think it's healthy for someone who is a health/fitness coach to transfer that onto clients and or followers. I see it daily on social media and I think about what that is saying to someone who really is in dire straits in regards to their health.
How does that type of message affect someone who can't climb stairs or is really suffering because they are 100-200 pounds overweight. What about people who have tried and failed with diet after diet?
What message does it send when someone who is in good shape is on social media obsessing about every imperfection? That's not healthy and it's not a message that I want to send to people who are sharing in my journey.
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| Mark Fisher of Mark Fisher Fitness |
Just think about the negative words that are used when describing workouts: Kill, Torture, Destroy, etc. What happened to fun?
This is Me with Mark Fisher of Mark Fisher Fitness and he definitely understands the Fun and CRAZY of Fitness. I will be sharing more about this in a later post. We need to be concerned with people who hate the gym and show them that it CAN be fun. We need to show people that fitness CAN feel good and you can have a great time doing it. I used to have so much fun at the gym dancing, singing, and stalking people. COME ON PEOPLE!
As long as I keep going, I will get where I want to go
I still haven't stepped on the scale because I haven't had time and it's not my big focus anymore. Scott Abel said something that really resonated with me. He said, "Anybody who has had any success in life doesn't get caught up in the distractions. They are focused on conquering their goal. " The focus is to getting wherever you have set your destination.
Prior to coming across that nugget from Scott Abel, I had adopted a similar mindset. I had stopped focused on getting to a particular number and decided to get back to how I felt 2 years ago. I wanted to get back to eating healthy foods because that was just what I did, I wanted to get back to working out because it was part of my life, and I wanted to be able to do a pull up again. I wanted to get back to my headspace being where it needed to be.
I have to say that I have made vast improvements in that area. The eating psychology workshops I went to helped in that regard. One of the things we talked about was that we have a tendency to think, "Well when I lose these last 10 pounds, then I will do ______" The truth is that it doesn't matter. You can do it all now. I have done quite a few fun things in the past 3 months and they have been inspiring and awesome!
This is about Training for Life not looking perfect
One of the fun things I did was FINALLY going to see Madonna. Madonna is 57 years old. 3 years away from 60 and she played 2.5 hours without an intermission. Back in the day, Madonna was known for her hardcore workouts and even now she's known for her strict diet and exercise program. That program though allows her at 57 to still work that stage! During her concert I thought about how I am training for MY LIFE. I haven't had kids yet, so I won't be all that young when they are growing up and I want to have energy to play and keep up with them. I have some big goals and big dreams and I can't do them if I'm out of shape and have no endurance.
I can't help anybody if I'm sick and disabled because I did not take care of myself. I want to be strong and have good endurance so I can keep fighting the good fight out here!
There is No Perfect
A couple of months ago I saw someone who is supposed to be the ideal. This person was judged to be the top body in his field. Hmmmm All I could come up with is, "He has very nice teeth." He Wasn't knocking my socks off AT ALL but you know who does knock my socks off? Mike Tomlin, Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. During one of the Steeler victories, he jumped up and down so you could see his stomach and it was far from a six pack...but who cares? The guy is handsome!
My point is that we have people telling us what we should think is awesome or perfect but that doesn't make it truth. The fitness industry has this way of making people feel like crap if they don't look "perfect". I am here to tell you that you don't need to worry about being perfect because it doesn't exist. Just because an industry, the media, social media, and whomever else says that women should have this perfect body that doesn't make it true. There is no perfect. Women in particular need to stop with the all or nothing thinking. We think if we are not perfect with our diets, our bodies, our exercise routine why even bother.
There is Better
Release the idea of perfect. It's a prison that you won't be able to escape. Focusing on perfection is setting you up for a thought process of self loathing You're sitting over here beating yourself about being perfect when you need to be focused on being consistent and being better than you were the day before.
I am going to continue to become the best version of myself and I want more people to come along with me
Listen folks I have a message that is bigger than butts, stomachs, and whatever else the people are trying to sell you. My message is about loving YOU, celebrating yourself wherever you are in your life, living better SO THAT you too can be a raunchy 60+ year old. I met a woman yesterday who told me she was 71 and has no intentions of giving up the dance floor! That's what I'm talking about!!! I have pledged to still teach class well into my 80's-90's...and I need a class to teach to so I'm going to be sharing my message so that you all are there with me!
LET'S GO!
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