How are you showing up for yourself?
As I am sure you know, we are always our toughest critic. We are ridiculously hard on ourselves when it comes to our bodies. How we look. How we see ourselves. You know the drill. There is not one person I know who has not said something negative about how they look. Why? Why are we so conditioned to hate ourselves? Why are we so conditioned to bad mouth ourselves? Why are we so conditioned to take a look in that mirror and talk shit to the person staring back?
It’s interesting to me. We spend so much time shit talking ourselves. But when it comes to changing and getting results, we are the first to have a laundry list of excuses. Such a paradox. Especially as we age we tend to blame other things for our weight gain or how our body looks.
We start with, well you know what happens when you turn 40. It’s all downhill. Getting old is hell. That’s what happens when you get older, you just get fatter. It’s my hormones. I mean come on, can you feel the heat from those hot flashes coming off my body. My metabolism is completely broken. I eat “clean,” so I don’t know why I can’t lose weight. I barely eat 1000 calories a day. I just need to work out more. That will do it. I know it will.
We fail to take a look inside. We fail to blame ourselves. Why? I just don’t get it. We would rather blame everything else than do what we need to do to fix the situation. Take some responsibility. Show up. Change the way we eat. Eat less. It sounds so simple, but it is the answer.
I did this for years. I blamed my hormones. I blamed my thyroid. I blamed my workouts. I blamed everything but myself. I was the only one who could do anything about it. I was eating healthy and working out. I gained weight and I kept on gaining weight. The truth was I was eating too much. We never believe we are eating as much as we are. Track it once and you will see.
So I started really focusing on my nutrition and my workouts. I showed up for myself. I showed up and I did the work. I worked hard. I ate in a calorie deficit. I ate protein at every meal. I ate lots of fruits and vegetables. I was consistent. I was patient. I upped the weights on my workouts and I made sure to strength train at least three days per week. I love my Peloton bike and I love that type of cardio. I like doing it. I do bike rides every week and I walk or run on the tread once or twice a week. But I didn’t get the bike or the tread to try to lose weight. That never works. It is so true that you cannot out exercise a diet that is constantly in a calorie surplus. It does not work.
I turn 56 in about 5 weeks and I can tell you I have never felt better. I have never been leaner. I have never been stronger. Age is just a number. I am aging with grit and grace and I love it. We should never be afraid to get older. We just get better.
As you age and as you go forward in life, think about your future. Even if you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s or higher, it’s never too late to change. How do you want to show up? I want to be healthy and I want to be able to move without pain.
Don’t know where to start?
- Move every day.
- Eat in a calorie deficit if you are trying to lose weight. Track your food.
- Strength train
- Be Consistent
- Be patient.
- Clap for yourself
- Cheer for yourself.
- Talk nice to yourself.
- Reduce your stress.
- SHOW UP.