I quit smoking back on Feb. 27th, 2012. I also started weight training and eating differently just prior to that and got in to the best shape of my life.
Fast forward to today, March 23rd, 2017, and I'm happy to say that I remain a non-smoker and have had no setbacks or urges to change that status. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my training, diet or the shape that I'm in. I went in to a power-lifting style of training, which took me to some pretty crazy strength and muscle gains, but my diet is/has been such a mess for so long now. I'd start eating better, only to fall off of it because I'm not seeing the changes I want fast enough and get discouraged, which is the biggest mistake that most people make. Changes to our bodies are gradual. They take consistency, dedication and most importantly, discipline (which I sorely lack). I could make excuses for myself, which would be easy to do, given an erratic schedule and other things going on in my life, but the bottom line is that I had no discipline, which falls squarely upon my shoulders.
The beauty of life however, is that every day we wake up, we get a new chance to start again. We only have to decide that this is what we wish to do. So today, I awoke in a good mood, with a new attitude toward getting my body back to being a well oiled machine. I know that one of the best ways to flourish and succeed when it comes to the task ahead is to write. The kind of writing I'm talking about is "logging". If you aren't familiar with that term, it's basically just record keeping. People tend to succeed at a much higher rate when they track everything. If I don't record my lifts, how will I know if I'm making any progression? Same goes for what we eat. If I don't keep an honest log of the food I'm consuming, how could I possibly know the calories and macronutrients that I'm consuming, which will play the lead role in my bodies weight and more importantly, it's composition?
For me, the bottom line is getting back to the basics. I've got my programming set and written out, so that moving forward I fill in the basics (weight used, reps done). I'll be recording my food on the same page as the workout, so that I essentially have a flowing, daily log all in one place.
One last thing for this post: take note that it's Thursday. Why is this important? Well, Thursday happens to be the day I woke up and decided that this is what I want to do. In my opinion, one the biggest mistakes people make is waiting until Monday to start their "new lifestyle".
DO NOT WAIT!
Start your journey the very day you wake up with the motivation to make changes. Waiting until the beginning of a new week only gives you time to lose that motivation. Been there, done that. The other thing that happens is that you end up binge eating on purpose over the weekend to get in your last hurrah! This another terrible mistake. It's basically getting you in to "diet mode", and diets DO NOT WORK for long term success. Your diet is what you eat every single day. It's a lifestyle. As soon as you start educating yourself about macronutrients, or better yet, hire a coach to guide you for 6 to 8 weeks, the light will come on. It's about learning to fit things you enjoy eating in to your lifestyle in the proper amounts.
I hope to keep this updated and try to keep any advice or inspiration as simple as I possibly can. The fitness and weight loss industry is full of misinformation, over-complications and a lot of very shady people just looking to take your money with shit products that simply do not work.
Find your motivation, fuel your body properly and train!
Fast forward to today, March 23rd, 2017, and I'm happy to say that I remain a non-smoker and have had no setbacks or urges to change that status. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my training, diet or the shape that I'm in. I went in to a power-lifting style of training, which took me to some pretty crazy strength and muscle gains, but my diet is/has been such a mess for so long now. I'd start eating better, only to fall off of it because I'm not seeing the changes I want fast enough and get discouraged, which is the biggest mistake that most people make. Changes to our bodies are gradual. They take consistency, dedication and most importantly, discipline (which I sorely lack). I could make excuses for myself, which would be easy to do, given an erratic schedule and other things going on in my life, but the bottom line is that I had no discipline, which falls squarely upon my shoulders.
The beauty of life however, is that every day we wake up, we get a new chance to start again. We only have to decide that this is what we wish to do. So today, I awoke in a good mood, with a new attitude toward getting my body back to being a well oiled machine. I know that one of the best ways to flourish and succeed when it comes to the task ahead is to write. The kind of writing I'm talking about is "logging". If you aren't familiar with that term, it's basically just record keeping. People tend to succeed at a much higher rate when they track everything. If I don't record my lifts, how will I know if I'm making any progression? Same goes for what we eat. If I don't keep an honest log of the food I'm consuming, how could I possibly know the calories and macronutrients that I'm consuming, which will play the lead role in my bodies weight and more importantly, it's composition?
For me, the bottom line is getting back to the basics. I've got my programming set and written out, so that moving forward I fill in the basics (weight used, reps done). I'll be recording my food on the same page as the workout, so that I essentially have a flowing, daily log all in one place.
One last thing for this post: take note that it's Thursday. Why is this important? Well, Thursday happens to be the day I woke up and decided that this is what I want to do. In my opinion, one the biggest mistakes people make is waiting until Monday to start their "new lifestyle".
DO NOT WAIT!
Start your journey the very day you wake up with the motivation to make changes. Waiting until the beginning of a new week only gives you time to lose that motivation. Been there, done that. The other thing that happens is that you end up binge eating on purpose over the weekend to get in your last hurrah! This another terrible mistake. It's basically getting you in to "diet mode", and diets DO NOT WORK for long term success. Your diet is what you eat every single day. It's a lifestyle. As soon as you start educating yourself about macronutrients, or better yet, hire a coach to guide you for 6 to 8 weeks, the light will come on. It's about learning to fit things you enjoy eating in to your lifestyle in the proper amounts.
I hope to keep this updated and try to keep any advice or inspiration as simple as I possibly can. The fitness and weight loss industry is full of misinformation, over-complications and a lot of very shady people just looking to take your money with shit products that simply do not work.
Find your motivation, fuel your body properly and train!
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