These past three weeks that I've been working out and eating clean, I just FEEL so much better. 5lbs is barely noticeable physically, but mentally I already feel like I've lost about 20 lbs. I feel more confident, I feel more energetic, more productive, happier, calmer, and more stable. Everything about it has a positive effect on your body and your mentality. As I mentioned in my last post, I severely struggle with depression, and it's really true that a clean diet and exercise can do wonders to alleviate depression.
I tried the anti-depressant route, and although it helped, I didn't want to live with the side effects. I decided to make a change in my life and use diet and exercise to treat my depression instead. And three weeks in? I feel even better than I did while on the anti-depressants. It's not about just being vain, trying to look sexy, it's about becoming a better, happier, healthier person as a whole.
One thing that I am doing different this time, is working out without a trainer or weight loss program or anything of the sort. I have decided I need to learn to do this completely by myself. I am my own coach, because I will always be there for myself. It's not some program that you "finish" when you reach your goal weight, and it's not some trainer you have to keep throwing money at forever and ever because you can't get to the gym by yourself. It has to be YOU. You just have to want it bad enough.
And you know what? I have increased my work outs to 5-6 times a week. Even at my best, I was only working out 2-3 times a week and just eating clean. It was easy to just wait until I had a session with my trainer to actually go work out, and I just didn't really know what to do at the gym without one, so it made for the perfect excuse to only go when I had a session. Being my own "trainer" has made me proactively plan out my work outs, finding routines online, and executing those by myself, as well as fitting in a lot more cardio than I ever did with a trainer.
Currently, my body is still adjusting to the increased work out load, so I am retaining a lot of water and not making much progress on the scale, but I can still just see the difference in my appearance. It's important to remember that what the scale says isn't important. It's what your body says. And my body feels great, so that's what matters!
Where I see myself in the next few months:
I don't put a lot of emphasis on the numbers. I don't get discouraged when my "weight loss" is a slow process. Weight loss is only a side effect of my new prescribed lifestyle, not the focus. The things that make me feel proud are when I notice a new defined muscle popping up somewhere, or how much more beautiful my skin looks now that I eat only clean food. I feel proud of dripping sweat after a work out, and marking off another "X" on my calendar to show yet another day that I made it to the gym. I've developed a community feeling at the gym where people recognize me and accept me as a fellow fitness junkie that's trying to live a better lifestyle. As I become physically fitter, the biggest difference is the stronger, more confident mentality I have, that makes life much more enjoyable and worthwhile. People take notice at work and begin to respect and admire me for all of my achievements. But the best part of all, is that I am proud of every drop of sweat, or smile in the mirror, or every .1 lb I ever lose. Every step is in the right direction, and no matter the amount of time it takes me to reach my goals, I never stop trying.
