Finding Balance- Be OK Being Perfectly Imperfect
I'm just fit-ish.
And I'm cool with that.
So, I have a confession to make…
Each and everyday I encourage people to be themselves, know and listen to their own mind and body, and to do what is right for THEM, not comparing and reaching towards what someone else’s ideals and expectations are physically and mentally. The problem is, I haven’t been doing that myself!
Initially I thought that if I wanted to impact people and be able to make a difference, I had to jump in headfirst to this whole health & fitness thing and not look back. It’s been a blessing and a curse to always have this “all or nothing” mentality. I’ve even been putting off writing this post (check out the date of the last post, yep, way over a month) because I didn’t have enough of a time frame to do it “right” and say exactly what I thought in length.
I know that sometimes to be able to truly do something to the best of your ability, sometimes you DO need 100% commitment… but that’s not always the case. For example- I think to myself that it’d be nice to get back into running. I love the freedom of it, and enjoy doing it leisurely. However, the immediate thought that crosses my mind when I tell myself that I want to start running again is that I have to start training for a marathon, jump online to pick where and when I will do this, then start training for the grueling 26.2 miles the next day. I even have a few books such as “Marathon Training for Dummies,” “Nutrition for Marathon Runners,” etc., stowed away collecting dust. Or, most recently, when I took a few months of yoga classes and fell in love with how it made me feel. Next step? Immediately beginning my journey of instructor training and starting my path to becoming a yoga instructor. Anything I want to do, I get the all or nothing mentality and jump in with both feet. Maybe it's my fear of failure, fear of feeling mediocre, the need to feel like I'm being the best that I can be.
The reality is, I’m not some fitness pro training for my next competition. I’m a full-time working mom with a family, home, pets, hobbies and a zillion other things that play an important role in my life and take up the majority of my time. Am I measuring my egg whites out and tracking my body percentage on a daily basis? Heck no!
How exhausting.
But the thing is, for a while there I thought that’s what I HAD to do and put the pressure on myself to play that role. It was exhausting and miserable because THAT’S NOT ME. For some people, that’s life. That’s what they wake up for and gets them motivated and moving in the right direction to accomplish their goals. The gym and their diet IS their life.
Me?
Not so much.
I love beer, brats, cheesecake, chicken wings…you name it, I love it. So for me to even think about giving up those things makes me anxious.
Anxious, seriously?
Yes, seriously. The kids love McDonald’s and Taco Bell, and let’s face it- I do too.
On the other hand, I understand it’s a “once in a while” thing. Every day I try to make small changes to move my family and myself in the direction of eating clean. The reality is that we don’t eat clean 100% of the time (sometimes not even 50%!), and probably never will (and I admit, I don’t really want to!).
At least we’re making PROGRESS.
Life is all about balance and moderation and I’m not going to guilt trip myself into misery by munching on a couple of French fries.
Well what about working out? Oofta.
That’s a love-hate relationship in itself.
One thing that I do understand is the importance of keeping the body in motion.
Aside from preventing sickness and diseases (all that fun stuff) I know how much better I FEEL after a workout, how much more productive I am, how much better my mood and patience level is (my husband and the kids can vouch for this one!) Overall, I just become a better person when I keep my body moving.
The problem is I have an argument in my mind every single day over this. A typical morning in my mind-
“I can’t workout RIGHT away, I need to get a cup of coffee in and feed the dogs first.”
(So I go feed the dogs and snuggle up on the couch with an early cup of coffee.)
“Seriously, just get off the couch, put the DVD in and do the damn workout.”
“But it’s freezing in here, I’ll stay snuggled up a bit longer…and there’s laundry that needs to get done first.”
“Get your ass up, put a load of laundry in and you will warm up during the workout, just start!”
“But I have to leave in 2 hours and by the time I workout I will have to shower, do my hair and makeup, and my daughter will be up in an hour, and I have to get her ready, and I’ll end up being late and I hate being rushed, and plus the floor isn’t swept and I hate how it gets so slippery on my shoes that way, so I can just sweep and mop now, then workout when I get home later.”
“Are you kidding me? For one, if you had started already you would be half done by now, and there’s people out there that don’t have a home OR shoes and you’re worried about the floor being too dusty? My God can you come up with any more excuses?”
And so it continues…
Do I think I’m crazy for doing this?
ABSOLUTELY! I know I’m a little whack, there’s no denying that.
But I don’t think I’m alone.
It doesn’t come easy for me, just like I think it doesn’t come easy for many of you.
I guess what I’m getting at- is that if you’re expecting to come to this site and expecting to see some fitness guru posting these extravagant tasks, workouts, 100% clean/paleo life…you may want to head in another direction.
What you will find here is my REALITY.
The chaos, the temptations, realistic recipes (I still haven’t found arrowroot!), how I find daily balance in my thoughts and actions, along with numerous pictures of dogs, kids and random places we visit I’m sure.
You’ll find me.
The REAL me.
Take it or leave it.
For those that are a little whacko like me, welcome!
Cheers to love and laughter.
Take hold of your life,
Steph