Getting out of my head with health and fitness
Hi! How’s the day going? Hope you’re having a lovely afternoon. Happy you liked the list for this month! Thank you for all of the new recipes to try, too. To celebrate October, we made a trip to Costco for the famous $5.99 pie. It’s everything I remembered.
We’re still having a blast with the nanas, and went to check out Rancho’s last night. Rancho’s is a quaint Mexican spot with tons of vegan options. Bonus: they serve breakfast all day. They also have a full salad bar + kombucha on the menu! Pretty sure I’d never see that at a Mexican restaurant. The service was amazingly fast, and I especially loved the decor, aka the way I’d decorate my house if my husband approved 😉
Enchilada, rice, beans, ‘rita. All things that are good.
Workout-wise, I’ve been starting the day with a little bit of movement, to continue on the Mountain Trek habits. It’s been nice to ride the spin bike leisurely while watching Scandal (oh, Mellie! And JAKE. Wow. Haha), or get it a good stretch before starting in the email and work blitz before Liv wakes up. It changes based on what I’m teaching: if I have an intense class to teach later, I’ll do some stretches and meditation or take the pups for a walk; if I’m off, I’ll do more cardio or HIIT-related stuff. While short in duration, these morning activities have been a great way to start the day.
I’ve been thinking about how I’ve changed my ways with health and fitness over the past couple of years, and realized the major determining factor: I got out of my own head.
(photo credit: Whitney Benjamin)
For so long, I didn’t want to work out, unless it was a “real” workout. Back then, it was all about duration instead of quality. if I didn’t have an hour, it didn’t *count.* Now, if I have 30 minutes, I MAKE it count, and I do the things I love.
Fear of failing and feeling like I needed to be “perfect” to succeed. I think a drive towards perfection can be a tightrope walk. On one side, it can gently nudge you towards working harder, or giving a little more than you thought you could accomplish. On the other side, it’s an unattainable ideal that often will lead to frustration. For years, I fell on the latter side, and instead of being proud of what I did, I looked at how I failed. I’ve learned that by dropping unattainable expectations, you can surprise yourself with what you can achieve.
Food fears and avoiding indulging in things that weren’t *healthy.* I’ve mentioned it a few times here on the blog –most recently in this post– but when I think of some of the things I used to do, I give myself the side eye. I let myself become brainwashed by the various media outlets -magazine articles claiming “Five foods you should NEVER eat again!” and the various nutrition and fitness books I studied, which all somehow contradicted each other- and added certain things to my fitness routine and removing others from my diet. It took a while to tap into an intuitive style of eating, but it’s freeing to eat everything and still attain your fitness/health goals.
Comparing each workout/run/race to the previous. This is what initially sucked a lot of the fun out of running, and I stopped for a while before slowly easing back into it. My next run or race always had to be better than the previous one, and we all know that isn’t possible.
When I stopped comparing myself…to myself… it helped me achieve the PR goal I’d wanted to achieve for so long. When I did my long runs, I focused on mileage instead of time. My long runs were slow, but I completed the distance, and I used my Orangetheory classes to help with the speed and hill training.
Some things that have helped:
-Honor your body. It sounds like such a simple thing, but can actually be challenging to do. There were times when I logged miles on the elliptical because I thought I had to get in “x” amount of cardio, or when I avoided certain desserts/treats. I remember when I posted about eating ice cream again like it was a big deal, which just goes to show this weird bubble that I was stuck in. (Now if I want ice cream… I eat ice cream…) Transitioning from weight loss mode to maintenance mode can be tricky, but it’s a lot easier when you honor what you’re feeling and what your body is telling you to do.
-Drop your expectations and give yourself some patience. I was listening to a podcast about YouTube filming, and the expert was saying that your worst thought about yourself is 100% worse than anyone, even the harshest critic, will think about you. (And this is coming form the YouTube world, where if you’ve read the comments section, you’ll see some of the worst/nastiest things ever.) This struck a chord with me and made me realize that so often we really are our worst critics. Over the past couple of years, I dropped a lot of my expectations in favor of attainable/positive goals and given more patience to myself.
What’s something you had to do to get out of your head? Anything related to health/fitness that you dropped or changed over time because it wasn’t working for you?
As always, I’m excited to hear your thoughts and read your comments.
Have a wonderful night <3
xoxo
Gina
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Honor your body–I love that! Wise words. Thanks Gina.
Nice post GIna! What helped most for me was eating for my health rather than some preconveived idea of what I had to eat so I could look a certain way. I love to workout, but I take a rest day and just enjoy a nice walk if I feel I need it. I regulary have the things I love – like wine or chocolate without guilt too.
For me, the biggest change was just letting go of the “all or nothing” mentality. I’m happiest (and healthiest!) when I allow myself to indulge when I’m craving something, or take a day off of running if I’m completely worn out.
Living a healthy lifestyle should be a positive, joyful thing, not something to stress about! 🙂
Always, Anita
same! everything had to be black or white, but the happiest spot is in the grey area
I really love that you posted this. A little while ago I wrote about how I’m incapable of “taking it easy” during my workouts and I’ve been consciously trying to step back from that. Basically, if a workout wasn’t intense enough or my weekly workout review wasn’t balanced enough (i.e. my idea of balanced – a good ratio of cardio, strength training, & yoga) then to me it was a complete failure. It’s mentally and physically exhausting to give your all during every.single.workout. and it takes any fun out of it.
So over the past few months I’ve been consciously reeling it back in. Now, I’ll count yoga and a walk with the dog as enough of a workout for the day instead of also feeling the need to get in a cardio session on top of it. It’s really been so nice to just relax during workouts instead of being utterly exhausted after all of them.
I’m also in the process of studying for my fitness certification and, after learning more about the body and how exercise affects it, I’m realizing you really don’t need to push yourself to that extent to see the mental and health benefits of exercise. It’s been really freeing to say the least and takes a lot of the pressure off.
Whoa, sorry for the novel! haha
i loved reading it! <3
i agree that learning more about fitness and how much you need to alternate intensities and rest makes a huge difference.
I definitely agree with making the most out of our workouts with the time we have. I don’t know how I used to spend over an hour at the gym when I’m in and out within 30 minutes and have achieved the same results!
Food is still a battle for me – I just need to get to my goal before I can start the everything in moderation mentality. The kids still eat sweets on occasion and we have it in the house, but I just can’t enjoy it…yet. I’m really going to work on this in 2015.
I love living a healthy lifestyle and I think the example we set for our children is priceless!
Nice post! Lately I have really been focusing on listening to my body when it comes to food, exercising and resting. It is crazy how hard it actually is when you have lived your life developing beliefs about how you should live/eat/workout. Life is so much more enjoyable when you aren’t following rules you have created for yourself and instead listen to your body!
i couldn’t agree more; it makes things so much more fun
I cannot thank you enough for this post! I am struggling so much with all of these thoughts:
“I have to be a good athlete.”
“I have to be the best hardworking athlete and that means attending all the practices I can possibly attend” <—and beating myself up over the fact that I didn't do today after school like I had planned.
"I have to be better than my previous time or else I made no progress." <–One reason I HATE HATE HATE looking at the treadmill. It nudges me to work harder, which I love, but most of the time it's putting me down and making me feel tired and sad.
"A legit workout is ____long and ___ intensity or else it's just playing around. And you don't improve by 'playing around', Linda."
Gina, I need help. I don't know how to break out of these thoughts like you did. I don't want to be a "failure" in my head. On one hand I have to admit I like being my type-A personality because it gets me so far and I couldn't have accomplished all that I did without it. I don't want to let her go.
it’s really hard. but the thing is, you can still have a type a personality and be more reasonable with yourself. it took me a long time to do it, and you will do it too. i promise when you do, it will set you free, and you’ll feel like you can accomplish so much more. if you ever want to chat, send me an email, or maybe we could skpe sometime?? xoxo
I’d love to! I sure wish you lived in Canada as I have canada wide texting. But sometimes I’m going to be lazy without being type a, you know? How do I know I’m being reasonable vs being a whiney bumhead? I dispise whiny bumheads so I don’t want to be one.
It sounds to me you’re reasonably concerned about yourself and not just whining. If you were happy/content with how it was all going you wouldn’t even think twice about asking for help. Good luck – it’s very hard. I think over time we’ve all had to accomplish some sort of mental battle. Mine was learning to ‘let go’ when I became pregnant and be happy with working out only a few days a week. Movement is movement right now despite how fast/slow I do it.
@Linda, you might also want to talk to someone in Canada (a professional!). clearly a LOT of us are struggling with these thoughts — you are not alone. at the same time, sometimes they can spread to other areas of our life, and it might help you out to talk a professional (i’m a big therapy fan!). Good luck!
could not agree more. talking to a professional is a very smart choice
Thanks for sharing! I Honoring your body is one of those things that’s way easier said than done. One thing that’s been huge for me over the past year is approaching yoga from a mindfulness standpoint and just taking the opportunity to be present and breathe as opposed to treating it like a workout. It’s become one of my favorite ways to mentally recharge instead of cranking through the different poses.
“Everything in moderation” is my mantra these days. For me, extreme dieting, calorie restriction, and unreasonable workout schedules don’t last and my mood for the day becomes dictated on those things. I’ve let the yogi in me take over and now am a strong believer in intuitive eating and just being the best version of yourself each day.
I totally fall into the obsessive mindset a lot and have to remind myself that it’s okay to be human and to crave Mexican food and whatnot. What you do/eat most of the time matters more than what you do/eat sparingly.
Wait. What is salad bar kombucha?!?
You could not have posted this at a better time! I’ve put on (what I feel is) quite a bit of weight and felt that there was a certain way I’m SUPPOSED to look and a size I’m SUPPOSED to wear. But I’m starting to see that even though I may not be the size that I was, I feel really good in my body for the first time in a long time!
Thanks for this post Gina!
I stopped weighing myself. After losing 80 pounds five yrs ago, it became habit to look at the scale everyday. But the it became too much of an emotional attachment. I had to divorce myself from it and accept my new body and not drive myself crazy over a few pounds of fluctuations.
That last photo is so beautiful! I loved reading these words knowing that you will raise your daughter to have a healthy relationship with her body and expectations for health and fitness.
What a wonderful post Gina! Definitely hit home for me. I’m in a mostly good spot right now, but certainly have my moments and this post is a great reminder. Reading the comments is also encouraging and has me wanting to brush the dust off my NASM book and finally get that thing knocked out!
Back in my younger years when I also had the all or nothing, more is better mentality, I just to do cardio and weights in the same day, every day. I would do an hour of cardio and an hour of weights 7 days a week. This obviously was unsustainable and led to burnout bacause I was overtraining. I couldn’t focus on doing my best in either because I was trying to do too much. I wasn’t a pro athlete or training for any particular event so this was too much. I’ve cut back to 5-6 days a week and alternate lifting and cardio. Never do I do both on the same day.
I’ve also learned to honor my body as you mention above. If I’m tired or feel the onset of burnout, I try to mix up my workouts to keep it fresh and take rest days. When I take 1-2 days off a week, I come back feeling stronger than ever and well rested. I realize how much better this is for my health in the long run and is a much more balanced approach.
First of all, I’m jealous of that restaurant! But also, beautiful post. I’ve been mentally struggling with my choice in workouts (thinking I “need” to change it up to achieve my goals, add more of xyz) and while I think a little self-evaluation is good when you are trying to run faster, drop a couple lbs, etc., I also decided that I workout for me and my happiness. Maybe I could change things up, but I don’t want to, and I’m okay with that. With so much information bombarding people about what we should be doing, it is really a great feeling to simply do what you love because you love it and for no other reason.
I can TOTALLY relate to this right now! Before, I was “all or nothing” when it came to fitness and nutrition. I would go hung ho on a diet or exercise only to fail and beat myself up. It took getting injured to realize what really matters is doing what’s best for my body. These days my workouts are my stress relief and I don’t put pressure on myself- and I’m working out a lot more this way! Same with eating- I put no restrictions on myself and truly got to a place where I believed it and I feel so good! Balance is key.
I could not agree more with this post. Its a long, tough journey and takes time to let go, but It has completely changed my life. I remember when I used to HATE working out because I just set myself too high of expectations and it made everything stressful, not enjoyable.
I love posts like these because there are times I cycle through the “real workout” thing, too. I don’t give myself enough OFF days and then I realize I’m not honoring my body. I would cycle through hours upon hours of cardio and weights and scoff at the idea of taking a walk because it wasn’t “exercise”.
Great list and views! I’m slowly but surely “getting out of my head” as well. I still feel like anything less than 60 minutes, is not a workout. I’m still working on the intuitive eating thing. I was pretty hard core strict for a year or so, and after that year, I went off the deep end, now I’m trying to have more balance in my eating. I hate diets, so i’m focusing on the whole lifestyle change/mentality.
I love this post and can completely relate. I used to be very “all or nothing” when it came to working out and a little bit to eating healthfully. Relaxing about both has actually helped me do better. I’m moving more each day, experimenting more in the kitchen and just generally feeling happier!
Thanks for your transparency here, G. <3 I've definitely been there, done that. What helped me so much was realizing that our bodies are God-given gifts that are wonderfully capable. We need to care for them (i.e. eat well, stay active), but we don't need to micromanage them (i.e. count every calorie/macro, make sure every body part is worked exactly X-times each week). Reminding myself that life does NOT revolve around physical health/appearance helps, too…there is so much life to be lived outside of the gym!
xo
This is a subject I definitely need to work on, I’m very hard on myself and if I indulge in certain foods or skip a workout I always have the nagging guilt in the back of my mind so this came at a good time, thanks for posting!
Also, I am really hoping you do a fall capsule wardrobe! Any plans? I would love to do one but kind of lost on which fall statement pieces I should work with!
Such a great post, and in line with many of the ways I’ve been growing recently – you just gave words to it! I might share the same topic and cite this post – thanks so much for sharing. 🙂 I feel like I go back and forth on how much I’m in my own head about things or not, and lately I’ve slid a bit and been down on my body. Thank you for this timely reminder. 🙂
I’ve been training for a half marathon this summer, which is October 19, and it’s been such a source of stress and unhappiness. Part of me wants to do it because I know it will be such a great experience – it’s in San Fran and will be a fun weekend vacation for my husband and me, but I really hate to run. I’ve spent every Friday night before my long runs in anguish over how they’ll go. Then when they’re over I feel great, but it all starts up again. Three weeks I injured my Achilles and thought I was out of the race until this week – now it feels like I could at least walk the 13 miles to accomplish my goal. In some ways I think the injury came from the Universe saying, “she can’t keep making herself miserable for another 6 weeks.” I want to do the race because I don’t want to wake up on the 20th wondering what if, but I’m excited for after when I can get back on my right path of enjoyable health and fitness!
I thought this was a really great post. Switching from weight loss to maintenance is tricky, and it is something I am currently struggling with. Like, how can I trust myself to have understand everything in moderation again? I eat differently now (who knew a person could crave salad?) but I would love a post on maintenance, or maybe you have done one and I didn’t see it?
I would say pressure to burn calories. I knew I wanted to lose weight and I knew strength training is important for that, but I found myself so focused on burning what I considered a decent amount of calories rather than doing a workout I wanted to do or something that would help build strength.
This is such a good post. I’ve been slowly coming around to this way of thinking concerning eating and exercise but it is so easy to get distracted by the latest new fad or someone’s elses way of thinking. You have to be strong and listen to your own body and know that you know best what you should eat or what way your exercise and that this is always changing depending on seasons / hormones etc. Thanks Gina for such a great post.
I live in Sydney in case you are wondering about the weird time of writing my post!!
Great post!! I totally dropped negative self-talk. I am still critical with myself and want to improve in everything I do, but with a ton of more patience and with a positive attitude towards myself. I always count my progress rahter than backsteps/fails – they are jst part of the journey and make me learn new things and get me stronger.
That was a great post Gina and it came at a good time for me! I have been working out like a fiend for just over a year and a half (to lose baby weight and get tone). Although I am probably much fitter than I have ever been, I haven’t lost weight (I also have diastasis recti which makes my belly stick out and that doesn’t help!). What was once my stress relief (working out) was becoming a stress and then I had a big schedule change (my oldest started pre-school) so I now had a school drop off pretty early in the morning to contend with. I have taken two weeks off working out and feel guilty yet more fit (weird). I am now in the process of figuring out how and where working out fits into my new schedule and it’s hard. I think this post has helped me see I need to relax a little and things will eventually work themselves out. Thanks, from a girl who definitely needs to ‘get out of her head’! 🙂
I cannot describe how much I needed to hear this right now! This past year I have been dealing with the similar thoughts; obsessing over what foods are good and what are bad, choosing the exercising with the most calorie burn rather than what I enjoy and thinking about what I didn’t do instead of what I did. It sounds so silly when I talk to friends about it but it is so hard to get out of your head. I have been focusing on doing workouts that are quick, effective and fun which has made the world of difference to my mindset about exercise. I am also getting much better with food, the other night I had a Starbucks hot chocolate with whipped cream and didn’t feel guilty or horrible. That sounds so lame but it is a big sign for me that I am finally escaping the negativity. I really appreciate you posting this and opening it up for discussion as so many people deal with these thoughts without realizing how damaging they can be. Thanks for the inspiring read!
I have to say getting out of my own head is one of my biggest problems. Your last point about us being our biggest critics is something I’m struggling. I’ve always struggled with my weight and I always ask my husband if I look like this or that or compare myself to different (I know one of the worse things i can do). One day he turned to me and said “you know you aren’t as big as you think? Your family has made you feel like you’re huge but you really aren’t.” That was the moment that stopped me dead in my tracks and I remind myself about almost every day now. Just thinking about all of this made me want to cry. thank you!!!!!
I finally learned about quality not quantity and that is why I am fully enjoying doing T25.
I used to be all about the quantity too. If I wasn’t working for an hour, it didn’t count. That has completely changed, thank goodness. I’m so glad things like HIIT and Crossfit are popular now because they prove you can get an AWESOME workout in in 10 minutes!
I remember you mentioned a while back that you always take a week completely off of fitness a few times a year. I think I’m going to start doing that too as a way to recharge/get out of ruts.
Gina, this was the best post YOU HAVE EVER WROTE! I could just hug you. You’re amazing.
Ah I love this post. And reading all of the comments – it’s amazing to see so many people relating to one idea in some way or another.
I’m far more healthy than I was 10 years ago (30 is the new 20?), and it definitely has to do with mind-set and “getting out of my head” as you put it. At one point I was so concerned about the food I ate that I was writing it all down and counting each calorie every day. TERRIBLE IDEA! I don’t even have that obsessive of a personality, and that was way too much for me.
I’ve slowly been transforming into a more intuitive eater, which works way better for me. I’ve always loved being active, but again I’m now choosing activities I enjoy and do not pressure myself as much (hello sleep>5am run this morning).
Thanks for the great, thought-provoking post!
Thank you so much for sharing this. This was exactly what I needed to read first thing this morning. I have been struggling with this, not just in fitness, but in everyday life too. I have a hard time believing it’s okay to not be perfect ect so thanks for sharing that you struggled with this also.
Wonderful post Gina. 🙂
I would say the thing that I had to drop was counting calories. It wasn’t working. I get too perfectionistic, burn out, and give up. Now I just write down my food and how it made me feel in Google Docs. I cover it with pictures and make it visually pleasing and it’s not odious at all. 🙂
Great post. I definitely can relate to this post. Once you honor your body, you begin to appreciate every change and accomplishment. I used to be about “I used to be able to do this in X time”, or look a certain way, and always felt like I needed to compare myself to what I was…Now that I concentrate less on what I used to be, I am much happier and can enjoy how I feel in the now.
The thing that gets me is when I look at pictures of myself from times when I know I was thinking that I was fat, and looking back now I think “wow, that’s a great picture of me…I looked so much better than I thought at the time”. Nowadays when those self-bullying thoughts come to mind I think about what I’ll think when I look back at pictures from today. <3
I enjoy reading your blog so much partly because I feel like we have a similar philosophy on healthy eating.
That’s great that you’ve been able to continue with getting some movement in the morning. For awhile, my kids were waking up too early for me to get anything done before they woke up, but now they consistently wake up at 7. I’ve been enjoying the more normal wakeup time, but there’s definitely room there now for me to start my day at 6.
#TeamFitz!! Everyone I know is into Jake lately. It’s making me sad. 😉
oh i’m team fitz too. but i still think jake is super hot haha
Thanks for the post! I am currently struggling with “getting out of my head” and this was exactly what I needed to hear.
I’ve had a lot of ups and downs with my health and fitness (from eating disordered and hospitalized to compulsive exercising to avoiding exercise completely and now to a healthy state of regular exercise). For me the biggest challenge currently is similar to what you were talking about feeling I need to do a “real” workout. If it’s not a Pure Barre class or 3+ mile run and instead I workout out at home, I feel like I did some sort of “cheater” workout, which is crap because you really can get a good workout in with something like HIIT at home. Rationally I know that but emotionally it’s different. I’m working on that though as well as adding in more variety!
Gina, unrelated to your post (which I love and rings very true!), but pleeeease tell me that you saw this on howsweeteats: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2014/10/autumn-acai-bowls-with-vanilla-bean-cashew-butter/#more-39892
Seriously!??! Yes please, thank you please.
i can’t even handle this.
It sounds like you & I have walked a similar fitness path. I just shake my head when I think about how I used to deprive myself (I would go months & months without “cheating” on my “diet”!). I was sooooo over the top. And don’t even get me started about all the exercise “rules”. Actually I have just recently gotten more comfortable w/ taking a rest day. I can’t tell you how freeing it is to eat intuitively & realize that if I splurge on vacation (or over the wknd!) & gain a few lbs., I will take them off w/ no problem when I get home. nbd! I’d be lying if I said I don’t still get inside my head sometimes, & I do love to workout, but I really have made great strides in letting go of the obsessiveness & just enjoying life. I’ve even started incorporating healthy FATS (!!!) on a regular basis. 😉 Great post!
so awesome to hear. <3
This is such a timely post for me. I’m trying to lose some weight I regained & have noticed that my biggest obstacle is getting out of my head. I’m feeling overwhelmed by getting in my own way. I love your tip about letting go of expectations & being patient w/ yourself.
Wise words–thank you!!
I had to stop telling myself that I “can’t” haven’t something. If I say I’m not going to eat dessert or pasta or bread or whatever it may be, then I want it that much more. I allow myself anything I want, but I just don’t go crazy with it. It makes it so much easier to feel good about myself. I’m not making myself feel like a failure because I ate dessert or because I wanted pasta AND garlic bread. I eat it, I enjoy it and I move on. I know when I need to focus on eating more clean, but going for a B+ diet is good for me.
i’m the same way. saying i can’t have something just made it a thousand times more appealing. love what you said about a b+ diet
I was once again reminded to stop being so critical of my body image, especially in front of my daughter. I saw the Dove “Legacy” commercial online yesterday, and I cried. My daughter is only 2, but I imagine how gut-wrenching it would be for me to hear her start criticizing her own body because “that’s what mommy does”.
I’ve learned that it is SO HARD to break the habit of glancing in the mirror and pinching/sucking-in/judging. So hard….