If you thought getting fit and healthy was as simple as exercising and eating less, you’ve been fooled. The last six months lugging around my sweaty gym gear, nearly vomiting on the treadmill and not so sneaky afternoon carb binges, tell me so.
What I found out rather quickly is that exercising is more than jogging… errrr I mean running and eating less is about reducing certain food groups and increasing others; goodbye BBQ shapes my heart belongs to salmon now.
And while my purse hasn’t enjoyed personal training sessions each week, my body and mind has. I decided early on that if I was going to do this whole getting fit and healthy thing I had put trust in my instructor and follow his advice, which is where it gets interesting.
I don’t know how many times I’ve said to him ‘you want me to do what now?’
Last week I found myself replicating what I deemed the scarecrow pose. And just as I’d finally got the hang of correctly standing there, while trying to avoid looking at myself in the mirror, I was told to lift one leg at a time without losing balance. I finally got the hang of it but the first few attempts I was more jelly than statue.
After one binge session where I ate half a bacon and maple muffin – I would have happily eaten the whole thing but I retained some constraint – I asked him about what snacks would be more appropriate. He replied chicken. More specifically chicken breast cooked in a sandwich press covered in herbs and spices of my choice.
To me chicken isn’t a snack unless it takes the form of salty flavouring and finds its way onto baked not fried potatoes. Despite my reservations, you’ll now see me snacking on chunks of skinless herb crusted chicken and when that gets dry a single hard-boiled egg.
So what have I learned from my experience?
That exercising and eating right should come naturally but for most of us it doesn’t. We’re surrounded by diets, quick fixes and marketing campaigns that make it harder to make decisions around our health. The unfortunate reality is that going to the gym a few times a week and eating less fat probably won’t get you the results you want.
What will, is changing your lifestyle and committing to it. And if you find yourself asking ‘you want me to do what now?’ you’re probably on the right track.
Got great healthy snack ideas? Please share them. I’m dying to eat something other than chicken.
Image created on Meme Generator.
