I have been trying to lose the weight I put on after high school because of injuries and no longer swimming competitively. I have tried a few things but none have really helped, or have helped but only for a short period of time. But the most notable thing I have found is the environment you put yourself in can totally alter your diet and physical activity. How I act at home changed from when I was living with my parents to when I moved out and started living with my boyfriend a year and a half ago.
Environment 1: My parentals abode
Buff on my parents balcony |
My parents are health freaks. My dad is a tank who the other day ripped out the clothes line out of the ground with his bare hands (much to the amusement of Mum and I, when he looked pretty damn proud of himself and started doing muscle man poses). My Mum has struggled with weight loss since giving birth to me 22 years ago and the copious amounts of injuries since she was in a cyclist vs motorbike accident when she was 16 or so (she was the cyclist). Even though she isn't as thin as she wants to be, she could probably out cycle anyone, knock out a massive dude and has the healthiest diet out of anyone I have ever met. They go to the gym quite a few times a week and when they aren't doing that they take a walk. On the weekends it's almost impossible to get them before midday because they are probably at a cycle class or going for a massive walk. So being in that environment is motivation enough to hit up the gym when they do or go for a walk with them.
Environment 2: My apartment with my +1
The boyfriend works from home full time and is a computer genius who is studying for his Masters degree full time. He likes to drink lots on weekends and eat delicious salty foods whenever he can. I signed him up for a gym membership because I was getting worried about how much he was sleeping. We walked into the gym and had no idea what anything did, I was baffled considering growing up my after school care was in the upstairs of a gym where I did toddler boxing. Unfortunately he has now cancelled his membership (due to fainting spells and lack of motivation to go) so now I go alone which allows me to procrastinate like a boss. He can cook (quite well, his risotto is still my favourite thing to eat and is what he cooked for me on our third date) but he doesn't. I cook every night that I don't have night shifts, and I cook healthy things. But he is very convincing when I am tired and don't feel like cooking that delicious take out places of pizza/chinese/kebabs/thai/african/subway places around our house are a dinner option. If it's not that, whack on some gnocchi or pasta. He doesn't like a lot of veggies so I am limited in what I can cook for him too.
Mojitos on my apartment balcony with city views (no seriously they are there I swear!) |
So what can I do?
Unfortunately I can use this all as a massive excuse right? Well that's not good enough. If you are faced with challenges and bad habits, get over it. There is a way to do what is best for you and your health. Even though the boyfriend doesn't really do physical activity, he acknowledges that I need it to do it to feel better about myself. I'd love a workout partner, but either the people who are willing to do it don't live near me AT ALL or the ones who do don't have enough money/time to do it. Exercise improves my moods and less likely to use my toddler boxing lessons on my boyfriend so he tries to motivate me the best way he can. My parents aren't perfect all the time, they do have weekends where Dad will have some beers or bundy and coke while watching NRL or Cricket and Mum can't workout for weeks because her back/knees/shoulder/wrists are giving out on her. They also will go out for dinner every so often and eat delicious foods and get me to pick them up because they've both been drinking. I figure if I am as good as possible during the week, I am allowed to have a day where I drink a bit too much or eat naughty foods. Moderation and self control can help you break out of your bad habits and environmental influences. A great help I have had for this is an app called MyFitnessPal. I know a friend of mine has been using it for over a year; he has lost a bunch of weight and is machine now. He also has some epic self control whenever we go to some takeout place or a party has loads of fatty finger foods. I started using it and lost 4kg in 2 weeks. I gained around a kg back because I threw my back out last week then went out drinking for an entire weekend, but I am sure if I stick to what I am doing I will get rid of it all soon enough!
Now off to the gym with you! I have done a workout today, have you?
Unrelated hilarious photo I took at Big W. Iseewhatyoudidthere.jpeg |
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