I had been waiting for Les Mills Combat to be released and arrive so I was dabbling in some of the other programs I have. They are all excellent programs but I know you can’t do them half way. You certainly can’t ignore nutrition. I somehow convinced myself that I deserved a treat since I had been working so hard on my fitness over the past year. The treat turned into a day of indulgence then 2 then 3 then well, you probably have guessed the pattern here. I had not stopped working out at all so I was fooling myself that it was just a minor setback and I would “Start over” when Combat arrived.
Well, the Day finally came to Start COMBAT! December 17th was my start day.
What I did not realize was happening was I that I programmed myself to ignore proper nutrition and that habit that I worked so hard at for the past year was being challenged BIG time. I went through the motions of my workouts and did sort of a good job on nutrition for a few days. Then that little voice came on and said oh, it’s Christmas, some Holiday treats will not hurt. Then thought that a few extras here and there would be fine. Once again, before I knew it, I was back to justifying late night eating with a promise I would get back on track tomorrow. I started each day with full commitment but ended each with a late night snack on very BAD Holiday foods and deserts. I lost track of my goals and separated form my Challenge Group. All BIG Mistakes! I did not post each day in the group because I was ashamed of not being 100% committed. The very thing that would help me stay accountable was what I ignored. Pretty dumb decision. Lucky for me it is easily fixed and the relationships I have in the group are a powerful thing.
I do not really like to start over and I really never recommend it to my clients. In this case however I mentally needed to stop beating myself up and give myself one chance to make things right. I started my program form Day 1 and renewed my commitment to clean eating. It was not too far into the program and since it is my first round ever I want to give it what it deserves. This is not just a 60 day commitment it is a decision to challenge my fitness for LIFE.
What I know now is nobody “deserves” to eat poorly and deprive their bodies of good nutrition. We actually deserve much better. We deserve the finest most nutrient dense foods we can find and our body responds very positive to those. I wish the “bad” foods were not designed to be so addictive, but they are. If you have an emotional connection to them it is even worse. That is the reason we all need the support of others to push us through when we have a challenge. We also need to forgive ourselves and move on when we have a set back. It’s funny how we sometimes stifle the voice inside that says we are worth it and can do it but we tune in big time to the voice that says we can’t or justifies bad decisions and pushes us to do more damage. What is up with that???
I do believe you can have a treat every now and then and enjoy some of the not so nutritious foods but it must be incorporated in you daily life and fitness. It can’t be something that takes over. Eating one cookie does not mean you failed and that you may as well eat the rest of them so you can rid the house of them 😉 (you know you’ve said that to yourself too right)
So here I am, starting my day one over again on December 31, 2013. Last year on January 1st I made a commitment to my fitness and myself. I had amazing success. I have not slid back completely so I know I can have the same and even better success this year. It all starts with my commitment to my health and myself.
Day 1 of COMBAT went very well and now I am on Day 4! I am getting right back to planning my meals and eating what I have planned instead of letting myself get de-railed by family members requests for Pizza, Chinese or other bad food choices. I am in charge of what I take in and how I fuel my body for my workouts. I have all the tools and the support of the COMBAT Challenge Group to push past just like I did last year. I owe it to myself, my family and the people I coach!
I am so happy I made the commitment to my fitness and can’t wait to see what COMBAT will do for ME!
