Let's Strengthen our Weaknesses!

jadorade91

What are your weaknesses when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle? What never fails to interrupt your progress? Mine are:

-drinking 3-5 more alcoholic drinks than I should each week
-having a day or two a week where I eat way too many calories (fast food, chips, etc)
-no consistency with working out (maybe 3 times a week but no routine)

Those are probably pretty general...but I thought it may help to identify them publicly and see if anyone else deals with those issues or if anyone has their own weaknesses they would like some support with. How can we improve on these and make it less of a hindrance to our progress in being healthy?

owensbell

Having days like yourself that i hammer down way too many calories,and missing workouts due to life just getting too busy.

ItsyBitsy246

I don't enjoy working out or exercising, so I don't (with the exception of some random things like squats). But I want to want to.

NickMP2016

My weakness is definitely eating everything in sight, and drinking alcohol. I lift consistently, but I feel like more than two beers a week erases my entire week of working out (from a fat loss standpoint).

I envy those shredded people that can drink on weekends and have a six pack. Beyond the things I just mentioned my biggest problem is not having a workout partner. If I worked out with someone fit and dedicated, I'm sure I would stay motivated and get in great shape.

dreamsignals

jadorade91 wrote: »

-drinking 3-5 more alcoholic drinks than I should each week
-having a day or two a week where I eat way too many calories (fast food, chips, etc)
-no consistency with working out (maybe 3 times a week but no routine)

I kinda have a similar issue with alcoholic drinks. My workaround is trying to save them for workout days, when I have a few more calories to spare. Obviously alcohol isn't the best post-workout supplement, but a beer or a glass of wine at night won't kill your hard work.

Remember, you need to consume 3500 calories beyond your maintenance level to add a pound of fat. Let's say you drink five beers in one week, at 200 calories each, that's 1000 calories, a far cry from the 3500. The scale may shoot up the next day, but it'll be mostly 'water weight' - from the carbs in the drinks replenishing your glycogen reserves.

Re-educating ourselves to eat well is a process, and totally cutting out the foods and drinks we enjoy may not be sustainable. It's better to acknowledge that you will cheat, and build that into your nutrition plan. Do an extra 20 minutes of cardio, and enjoy some extra food. Over time, you can work on reducing the number of cheats. Also, a burger isn't a cheat. It's a great source of protein and carbs. A supersize meal is, with all the added saturated fat, sugar carbs from the soda, and insane amount of fries.

Lastly, you can probably address the first two 'weaknesses' by working on the third, and building a solid workout routine. If you know how you're going to spend your calories - how the extra protein from that burger is going to build you stronger thighs after a squat session, how the carbs from the bun are going to fuel your long HIIT session the next day - then you'll be better equipped to designate roles for everything you eat.

ItsyBitsy246 wrote: »

I don't enjoy working out or exercising, so I don't. But I want to want to.

I didn't enjoy working out either. Luckily, I found an activity that clicked with me - rock climbing. At first it was the only exercise I did. Now, I do weights and cardio to help with my climbing.

From your picture, you hike. Can you hike more often? For longer? With a heavy backpack? How about some trail running?

Hearts_2015

ItsyBitsy246 wrote: »

I don't enjoy working out or exercising, so I don't (with the exception of some random things like squats). But I want to want to.

@ItsyBitsy246
Hey what do you LIKE to do for fun? Something you think is fun but you don't think of as exercise? Volleyball, do you like walking or hiking, biking, swimming? Sometimes we feel we have to workout at a gym to call it exercise when normal things we love doing are way more fun. Hope you find something you enjoy that in past you loved as a sport and decide to pick up again.

It's so much more fun when we end up playing and it
happens to also be great exercise for our bodies as well.

jadorade91

Ahhh thank you everyone! Just reading all of this made me feel better about being able to improve on these things. Dreamsignals, you're so right about recognizing what foods I'll spend calories on and working around it. I am really trying to build that lifestyle that is fun but still healthy.

And Hearts, now I want to go hiking more! Your comment reminded me how much I love and miss hiking--and heck if it will double as exercise why not?! Thanks for the input!!!

ItsyBitsy246

Thanks @Hearts_2015 I know these things, I just have a mental block about starting (and some really painful arthritis flares). I'll get over it.