Sunday, September 22, 2013

Learning from the past

After being on a fitness journey for awhile then getting a little side tracked - I am recommitting to my fitness journey. What I learned while I was side tracked is that having a regular fitness and health routine is essential to my well being. Simply put - when your taking care of yourself the best version of you is available.

At the beginning of summer I had a big career and life transition. For the better part of the last four years I traveled each week to another city by airplane and lived out of a hotel four nights a week. Now I am back to living at home in a large metropolitan area again and commuting into the city each day for work. My current job also requires that I entertain clients and represent our company at evening functions.

When I first got back I gave myself some time to adjust. I knew I would need a new workout plan and schedule - but I also did not want to create a plan that is unrealistic and set myself up for frustration and failure. I knew I would need to be realistic.

These are the things I learned in the first few months back -
  • Morning workouts are best - I found that I was most successful working out in the morning. To fit in a morning workout - it also means I need to get up at 4 am. I am not by nature a morning person - but I have discovered this is the only way to fit it in. By the time I get home at 7:30 pm at night I often found I was tired, hungry and at times had to do more work. I also felt if I cam home and worked out at night I was neglecting my spouse as we have very little time together as it us.
  • Meal Prep is Key - Do to my week being so packed - I have found that meal prep on the weekend is essential - lunches, dinners, all of it. If everything is prepped on a weekend it is much easier to stay on track during the week. I am not tempted to grab lunch or eat a random dinner when I am starving at 7:30 pm.
  • Balancing Meals - I had to learn how to shift my food around. In my first few weeks I was starving before starting my evening commute - which had my ravished before I got home. I learned that I needed a 4:30 pm or a 5:00 pm snack before leaving the office. I also found not having meals that were large enough also left me starving.
  • Discipline - I quickly learned I needed to become more disciplined. What exactly does this mean? Get to bed on time, get up in the morning, avoid the free food in the office, avoid the temptations that are everywhere. I have to walk about a mile once I get off the train to get to my office. This means I walk by a zillion places selling every kind of food you can imagine.
  • Supplements/Vitamins - I got lazy about taking these - but realize the importance so I must get back on track!!
  • Water - I am not drinking enough of it.
  • Make a plan - if you don't have a plan, with goals an reasonable objectives - you won't get anywhere. This means getting brave - get on the scale, take some measurements - give yourself a baseline an some accountability. When I first got back I didn't have a specific plan so I can't say that I exactly made specific progress.
  • I want to be healthy - I know at this moment I am not as healthy as I was before. I am carrying some extra pounds - some of my clothes don't fit. I want to feel better
  • I have no excuses - We have a small home gym in our basement complete with elliptical, a workout bench, a cable machine, free weights, an Olymic bar and exercise balls. I don't have to go anywhere or spend any money on a gym membership.

So taking all of this into account - I made some plans.

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