“I wish I was as fat now as I was when I first thought I was fat”
Think about it for a minute…..How true does this sentence ring for most of us? How many of us allow our weight on the scales define whether we are fat or thin? How many of us allow the scale to determine our self worth and decide for us after our morning weigh-in whether we will be having a good or bad day? I know I did, for most of my adult life until recently thanks to being enlightened by my trainers here at Ozone.
I was going through some old photos over the weekend of when I lived in New York, and it just struck me how naïve I was when it came to my own perception of myself. I always remember thinking I was over weight when I lived there and the photos now show me I was actually underweight at times but more importantly unhealthy to an extent… I mean I ended up bringing home a size 4 wedding dress…and still thought I was fat!!! Granted it was a US size 4 which is an 8 here but it was the mental perception that I allowed the numbers on the scale define my over all health. This, for me, led me down the yo-yo path of crash diets which it does for so many and these kind of short term strategies are detrimental to our over all long term health. It is also detrimental to the health of those around you, trust me, ask my husband when I was on the ‘Cabbage Soup Diet’….. he feared for his life!!!!
The knowledge I have received here at Ozone on this Personal Training program has allowed me to re evaluate what defines health. I know now that there is more to a healthy body than the numbers popping up at me from the scale! I knew I had to make the first move, I knew it was time to break up with my obsession with the scales and therefore it was a case of ‘Dear Scales, its not me, its YOU!’
Don’t get me wrong, they have their purpose, absolutely, but there is so much the scales are keeping hidden from you, so much they are not telling you, so much you need to know. They don’t tell you anything about your over all health. When we see we have gained a few pounds we automatically associate it with food intake and how we need to ‘go on a diet’, have we considered if we are exercising hard that it could be…. (drum roll please)…. muscle gain??? Could it be psychological stress, lack of sleep, health issues? We really need to reassess our whole lifestyle and realise nutrition is still a top factor.
Regular exercise and good nutrition achieves a lot more than numbers on the scale, they together determine your over all body composition, health and performance. A crash diet may very well change your shape and decrease the weight but what is it doing to your mental ability and performance? How clear do you think and how much energy do you ever actually have when ‘on a diet’??
Following a good nutritious food plan is vital in your quest to achieving that dream body. We all know the phrase ‘You are what you eat’ and we have all witnessed Gillian berate her clients on TV for their poor diets while we think ‘Good Lord she could do with a good feed of spuds herself’ but its so true that with what you fuel your body will reflect in not only your body composition but also your health and performance.
Forget the obsession with the scales, take a break and re train your brain to consider all aspects of having a healthy life and you will be surprised how you see yourself within a couple of months. With good nutrition you can push your body so much harder and just watch how that reflects in its shape. I was able to train 3 times this week in the small group and even had the energy to fit in an extra full body workout Sat morning and go for a Sunday morning row in the currach. I can find myself getting stronger and more able as each personal training session commences. I had zero upper body strength before I started this program and now I find myself lifting weights I never dreamed I could lift, not once but in sets of 15 reps at a time!! By doing this I see my body composition changing, more toned and gaining muscle so I really don’t care what the scales say in relation to my weight anymore, I see what way my top sits better on my shoulders and how I’m not as slouched anymore and can carry myself better. What I love most is that I see a stronger woman, in more ways than one, that in itself is an accomplishment!
If you feel you may need help like I did, click on the link and pop in some details!
Until next time,
Louise
