​Finding balance with a healthy lifestyle

Okay so I have learnt something.  The Body Coach is fantastic for losing fat and gaining muscle fast.  And it is the start of educating yourself BUT it is hard to maintain that sort of lifestyle when reality sets in and you still need to cook for your family and go out and socialise.  I did amazingly well last year on the SSS plan and after graduating in September I got to my best place for my 50th birthday in December.  But I have struggled since then.  I have tried a nutritionist, the sustain plan, macro counting etc etc.  I can’t quite lose that extra little bit that would make me feel like I have reached my goal.  Because life happens and I need to find balance and live my life too.  For someone that is already a size 8 – 10 pushing to the last little bit is pretty hard.

I am learning that ‘reaching my goal’ is also about balance, acceptance and confidence.  Not just about scales and tape measures.

It is easy (ish) to be 100% committed for 90 days.  It is not so easy to do it forever.

I did a fabulous 12-week online course recently called the 80/20 Lifestyle Plan and I learnt so much about nutrition, exercise and mindset.  I then did 6 weeks of one to one coaching with Dan Wheeler from Life Changing Fitness and finally I understand my journey.  It is at last making sense.  The fitness industry are not particularly keen on Joe Wicks and I can now see that whilst the SSS Plan (and books) have great results it is the maintaining that is the challenge and where Joe falls down.  Yes there is SAS but you are still not learning how to maintain and find a balanced lifestyle.  You blindly follow pick n mix or recipes but at some point, that has to change, at some point you have to go it alone.  For me it has been about how to cook for my needs and what my family want to eat. 

I have spent the last 6 months or so beating myself up for not being good enough, comparing myself to others that can fit in all the exercise, and to those still getting results.  The reality is I cannot get up at 6 am four times a week.  I don’t want to.  I can’t live the lifestyle I want and fit in all the macro tracking and cooking from scratch.  I need to find balance.  Comparison is the thief of joy.

For a while I stopped following many of the Facebook support groups as I struggled with this comparing (plus the sheer volume of posts takes up too much time on my timeline).  But I now see that I am not comparing like with like.  Everyone is different and everyone is at a different point on their journey and has come from a different starting point.  Some are amazingly dedicated and never skip exercise.  Others like me have never enjoyed exercise and it is a mission to fit it all in.  I don’t particularly like cooking either so being creative with meal planning is a challenge and I tend to muddle through.  And it is just me – my husband doesn’t cook and I am a full-time mother and I want to do the best for my family as well as myself.

But I do want to be fit and healthy.  I do want to have a figure at 50 that I am proud of.  I want to be active, I want to be lean.  And that means I must put the work in, it doesn’t happy naturally.  But I also want to eat the same meals as my family, I want to go out to dinner and have a glass of wine and I want to sometimes not have to exercise if I am too busy to fit it in.

I will continue to make good choices.  I rarely eat dessert or white carbs or cakes or crisps, if at all, but I do enjoy the odd glass of wine.  I usually choose a healthy meal because that is what I prefer (I do not feel like I am missing out).  I will keep active and exercise when I can and I will do as many steps as I can each day.  But I will be realistic too.

I am about to go on holiday for two weeks and I will relax.  I will spend time with my husband and daughter and I will be proud in my bikini.  No, I don’t have a flat tummy but I do actually have a pretty good figure for a 50-year-old. 

When I get back I still have a busy summer – we are celebrating my Dad’s 80th with a fabulous weekend away in the Cotswold's.  I have two nights away at the seaside with my daughter and I have a week in Cornwall to look forward to.  And these are the things I will remember, making memories with my family, I won't look back and remember the gym sessions with quite such fondness!

In September, I am going on a Fitness Weekend and that will be my springboard for the next phase of my fitness journey.  My new focus.  An intensive 6 weeks or so of calorie and macro counting and exercise.  Then I will see where I am.

This week I talked to Dan about how to maintain and he explained that that is where Joe Wicks leaves off and everyone will put weight back on unless they understand how to maintain properly.  So, I will be asking Dan to show me how to do it properly and find a way where I can enjoy my lifestyle too.

Love
Michelle xx
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I'm learning to be confident with my own body!