Talk Yourself Into It

      Yesterday was a bad day. You know how some days your life feels like a country song? Not one of the adorable ones where some hot stud wants to make you feel "Wanted", but one where everyone including your dog has left you and life in general seems to be imploding on you? That was yesterday. Needless to say, at the culmination of all of such events, the last thing I felt like doing was working out. And I almost didn't.

     It's very easy to give yourself a pass when you're having a crap day. When you're choking back tears from all the various BS you're dealing with, it's not usually something you want to deal with in a public place. The thing is, I already had my workout scheduled into my day. I was wearing my workout clothes, it was next on the agenda and the gym was right down the street. I would have had to deliberately DRIVE PAST the gym to get home. And believe me, I wanted to. I almost did. I started taking a different route home telling myself that it was ok to skip today because seeing as how my life sucked, it was totally acceptable to go home and cry for a million years instead of working out. I was approaching the last turn that would have put me on the road to the gym. I was not in the turning lane. The light was red in the straight lane and green in the turning lane. The turning lane (next to me) was empty.

And I had a moment.

     Yes, today (and this month) in general are pretty horrendous for me. However, one of my goals in my bigger plan is to achieve a certain body aesthetic that I haven't yet reached. It is very possible, but I keep sabotaging myself. I workout, but haven't been as consistent as necessary. I eat pretty healthy...some of the time, but have also been a little more lax in that area than I need to be to achieve results. Yes, there are times when your workout is not the end-all-be-all to your day - but if every time my life isn't going right I use it as an excuse to skip the gym, I will never see the inside of a gym again.

     In a split second decision, I moved into the turning lane (I looked first!) and headed to the gym. I told myself that I could sit in the parking lot until I was ready to go in, and if I still wasn't feeling it - I could just drive home. I sat in the parking lot and thumbed through my ipod for what I wanted to listen to while I made the decision to stay or go. I chose one of my favorite motivational phrases that happens to be from a song. The song is from a musical from which I get my namesake: Sweet Charity. It's called "I'm The Bravest Individual". Without getting into crazy detail, the reason I like Charity is because no matter how bad things get for her and no matter how poorly she's treated by people she is a genuine sweetheart to, she believes that at any moment, things can turn around. If not today, then there's always tomorrow. And when you get to the end of your rope or when you're really scared, just tell yourself that you're the bravest individual you know. You'll calm down and be able to face whatever is coming at you.

She's the bravest individual she has ever met.

    After crying all the frustration that I had out while listening to the song in the car. I wiped my eyes, sucked it up and went into the gym and completed my workout. Because in the grand scheme of things, if I don't do all I can to accomplish my fitness goals - that will just end up something else that adds to the list of "things that suck right now." I have some degree of control over this specific situation, which is not the case for other things on the afore mentioned list. It's up to me to do all I can in this area.

   The takeaway is this: Even when it's hard, do it. Unless it's impossible, do it. If you don't feel like doing it, start doing it anyway and give yourself the option to stop or continue. Your ultimate success lies with you and whether you decided to suck it up and do it or to go home and cry.

xoxo,
 SweetC

You Need A Mantra

Recently, I've been waking up at 5am to fit my second workout into the day. I am NOT a morning person. Not in the slightest. In fact, DO NOT attempt to conversate with me before I've had breakfast or before 9am, whichever happens first. You would think that after 29 years, my mother of all people would have realized this about me. And yet, she repeatedly attempts to start conversations with me at 8 am and then wonders why I'm so pissy. I remind her of this constantly, and yet...no change. I hope it's not Alzheimer's.

Anywho, I do not enjoy waking up early - but I do it. I'm not the hugest fan of not being able to eat what I want, whenever I want and instead counting calories and tracking carbs - but I do it. I don't neccessarily want to work out every day, twice a day - but I do it. Is it because I'm crazy? Perhaps. But more because I know what I want and I know what it will take to get there and I'm willing to work for it. It's worth it to me.

What's it worth to you?

I have several phrases, sayings, "mantras" if you will, that come to mind during my fitness struggles. Some of them may seem corny to you as other people's seem to me. That's ok. Get your own. What phrase is really gonna hit home for you and cause you to work harder? "What's it worth to you?" Is one of my favorites. Is it worth me waking up at 5am and working out twice a day if it will eventually get me in a size 4? - YES. Is it worth forgoing that piece of chocolate that I will literally remove my left arm for if I can drop an extra pound? - YES. This is what it's worth for ME. It does not have to apply to you, but when it comes to the amount of dedication you're willing to put in, ask yourself - What is achieving my goal worth to me?

You don't have to like it, you just have to do it.

It's a misconception that I love working out. Sometimes, I do. Sometimes, I really enjoy being on the treadmill or kickboxing. Sometimes - I hate it. Sometimes, I want to rip Tony Horton's head of his muscley body and frequently, I'd like to punch Debbie Sieber's in her rock hard gut. You can bitch and moan and whine as much as you want to. You just have to do the work. You don't have to be happy about it all of the time, but you have to do it regardless. Think about it as when you were young and your parents made you clean your room. Whether you agreed with them or not - it had to happen. Then once it's done, you get your allowance and everyone is happy. Only instead of an allowance, you get an awesome body - WIN!

"You gots to work and deserve it, earn it to own it."

That one's from G. Love and Special Sauce. That's for when I sing to myself. It's pretty self-explanitory.

"Change is a process."

This one is from my BeachBody coach and I love it. You are not going to go from a size 10 to a size 2 in a month. Not healthily and not permanently anyway. It takes time. You're also not gonna go from a sedentary lifestyle to the workout and diet queen/king in a week. Just do a litle at a time and always do your best.

If you put in the work, change will come

So many people kid themselves as to the effort they're making. They'll say things like "But I worked out and stuck to my diet this week and saw NO results! I mean, I missed ONE workout and I cheated on my diet here and there, but STILL $%#$^" I hate to break it to you - but to a certain degree - that skipped workout and those litte cheats count! They don't count to a degree that little slip-ups will kill your results. But if you're on a steady regimen that your body is used to, every litte thing counts. You probably still made progress - just not as much as you would have if you hadn't cheated. And one little slip up is not gonna stop your progress. If you are constantly working, refining and putting in the effort - it's not possible that you'll see no results. But you have to be honest with yourself and you have to put in the work.

I hope this helps. I hope that finding a mantra will do as much for you as it does for me. Often, I'm the own voice inside my head guilt-tripping myself to do better, to do more, to try harder, to work harder and to push farther. After all,

No one else is gonna do it for you.

xoxo,
Sweet Charity