Since I started my fitness journey, I've made a lot of changes and sacrifices. These changes included changing my eating and sleep patterns. I've cut back on alcohol (not too much!), and started getting up early for morning workouts. Overall, these things have benefited me greatly and made me a happier, healthier person.
Amongst all these changes, there have been certain things I have grown accustomed to. Changes it habits that I love, and of course everyone has an opinion about. I've heard about how I should do this or change that. However there are things I refuse to give up, change or compromise.
Here is a list of what I refuse to do on my fitness journey.
Amongst all these changes, there have been certain things I have grown accustomed to. Changes it habits that I love, and of course everyone has an opinion about. I've heard about how I should do this or change that. However there are things I refuse to give up, change or compromise.
Here is a list of what I refuse to do on my fitness journey.
I refuse to...
1. Go over three days with out a workout.
This I promised to myself as a way of staying on track. Although, certain circumstances like sickness can get in the way, I make it my mission to never go three days with out some sort of a workout. It has worked well for keeping me accountable for my fitness.
2. Give up coffee.
I have read and talked to people whom have sworn off coffee, and mostly for reasons I don't understand. Personally, I enjoy coffee! I have changed to drinking it black and I now know the difference between bad and good coffee; but I don't plan on giving it up!
3. Always refusing to treat myself.
This is a fine line I have been playing with all along. Finding the perfect balance of treating myself and staying on track. I have incorporated treat days, and of course keeping in mind special occasions and holidays. I look forward to my treat meals and weekends, I've found they help keep my sanity. You can't just eat healthy 100% of the time, all day every day. In my opinion, you need to have some pizza and a doughnut once in a while to keep your head on straight!
4. Give up a certain food group.
Every time I hear the words "no carb diet", I want to scream. I refuse to give up a certain food group completely just because the internet says it will help me lose weight. I love all foods; and each macro (carb, fat or protein) has a specific function in your body, which is why we need it for overall health and function of the body.
5. Care about what others think about my body.
I know this is hard for all women. We analyse and pick at ourselves because we think that others care so much about what we look like or we think we need to look a certain way. The truth is, I don't give a crap what others think of me. It doesn't matter to me if they think I am too muscular, too fat, too skinny, etc. What matters to me is if I like what I look like and I am healthy, if those two things are good for me, then the rest of the world can stick it!
6. Starve myself
I've talked a lot about how I have a big appetite; and the truth is, I always have had a big appetite! As a twelve year old, I could eat just as much as any grown man I knew. For me, starvation diets just won't work. If I don't have the intake I need, I will eat crap; so I eat a lot of food (especially veggies) to keep myself happy and satisfied.
7. Endless cardio
I've said it before and I'll say it again; I am not a long distance cardio girl! I run sprints, not marathons. When I hear of people doing over an hour of running, several times a week, it blows my mind! I don't mind cardio, but I am a short term gal! My favourite cardio will always be either grappling or sparring at Ju Jitsu. It is similar to sprinting in that there are times of fast, furious movements and times of slower, carefully thought-out movements.
8. Stop Ju Jitsu
Yes, I realize that I probably won't be able to train Ju Jitsu like I can now in twenty years, but that doesn't stop me. For me, Ju Jitsu is a lifestyle. You can never stop learning and you can never be the best fighter out there. That's why it is a lifelong sport, there is always room for improvement. There is always more to learn and do out there. I dream of being able to fight in world class tournaments on a much bigger level than I do now, and after my knee is healed, that's where I am headed!
9. Care about what others think of my diet.
When it comes to food and what a fit person does or doesn't eat, people can become very judgemental! They will scrutinize everything you eat and don't eat. When you eat healthy, they will tell you things like, "You know you can live a little! One piece of cake won't kill you." And when you do treat yourself, you get told, "I thought you were on a diet?" "I guess the diet is off now?" It doesn't matter what you say, you won't win. I just smile, I don't have to say anything to justify what I eat. I am eating plenty of food and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about it!
10. Stop lifting for fear of being "too manly"
I like to lift weights; if I didn't like to lift weights, I wouldn't do it. I like getting stronger and seeing more and more muscle develop over time. I'm not worried about becoming a man because, well, I am not a man. So I don't care if people think I should stop lifting weights, I like to do it, therefore I will do it!
I accepted early in my fitness journey that this will be a lifelong, ever changing journey. There are some things that need to change and some things I won't be willing to give up.
1. Go over three days with out a workout.
This I promised to myself as a way of staying on track. Although, certain circumstances like sickness can get in the way, I make it my mission to never go three days with out some sort of a workout. It has worked well for keeping me accountable for my fitness.
2. Give up coffee.
I have read and talked to people whom have sworn off coffee, and mostly for reasons I don't understand. Personally, I enjoy coffee! I have changed to drinking it black and I now know the difference between bad and good coffee; but I don't plan on giving it up!
3. Always refusing to treat myself.
This is a fine line I have been playing with all along. Finding the perfect balance of treating myself and staying on track. I have incorporated treat days, and of course keeping in mind special occasions and holidays. I look forward to my treat meals and weekends, I've found they help keep my sanity. You can't just eat healthy 100% of the time, all day every day. In my opinion, you need to have some pizza and a doughnut once in a while to keep your head on straight!
4. Give up a certain food group.
Every time I hear the words "no carb diet", I want to scream. I refuse to give up a certain food group completely just because the internet says it will help me lose weight. I love all foods; and each macro (carb, fat or protein) has a specific function in your body, which is why we need it for overall health and function of the body.
5. Care about what others think about my body.
I know this is hard for all women. We analyse and pick at ourselves because we think that others care so much about what we look like or we think we need to look a certain way. The truth is, I don't give a crap what others think of me. It doesn't matter to me if they think I am too muscular, too fat, too skinny, etc. What matters to me is if I like what I look like and I am healthy, if those two things are good for me, then the rest of the world can stick it!
6. Starve myself
I've talked a lot about how I have a big appetite; and the truth is, I always have had a big appetite! As a twelve year old, I could eat just as much as any grown man I knew. For me, starvation diets just won't work. If I don't have the intake I need, I will eat crap; so I eat a lot of food (especially veggies) to keep myself happy and satisfied.
7. Endless cardio
I've said it before and I'll say it again; I am not a long distance cardio girl! I run sprints, not marathons. When I hear of people doing over an hour of running, several times a week, it blows my mind! I don't mind cardio, but I am a short term gal! My favourite cardio will always be either grappling or sparring at Ju Jitsu. It is similar to sprinting in that there are times of fast, furious movements and times of slower, carefully thought-out movements.
8. Stop Ju Jitsu
Yes, I realize that I probably won't be able to train Ju Jitsu like I can now in twenty years, but that doesn't stop me. For me, Ju Jitsu is a lifestyle. You can never stop learning and you can never be the best fighter out there. That's why it is a lifelong sport, there is always room for improvement. There is always more to learn and do out there. I dream of being able to fight in world class tournaments on a much bigger level than I do now, and after my knee is healed, that's where I am headed!
9. Care about what others think of my diet.
When it comes to food and what a fit person does or doesn't eat, people can become very judgemental! They will scrutinize everything you eat and don't eat. When you eat healthy, they will tell you things like, "You know you can live a little! One piece of cake won't kill you." And when you do treat yourself, you get told, "I thought you were on a diet?" "I guess the diet is off now?" It doesn't matter what you say, you won't win. I just smile, I don't have to say anything to justify what I eat. I am eating plenty of food and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about it!
10. Stop lifting for fear of being "too manly"
I like to lift weights; if I didn't like to lift weights, I wouldn't do it. I like getting stronger and seeing more and more muscle develop over time. I'm not worried about becoming a man because, well, I am not a man. So I don't care if people think I should stop lifting weights, I like to do it, therefore I will do it!
I accepted early in my fitness journey that this will be a lifelong, ever changing journey. There are some things that need to change and some things I won't be willing to give up.
When I was an young teenager, I used to try to fit in an adapt to what I thought would make me fit in. As I got older, I developed the "f*ck 'em" mentality, which was encouraged to me by my dad. I stopped caring about what others thought and adapted what I wanted for myself and what felt right for me. It has been a long process and I feel like I am finally heading where I want to go, not where society tells me.
I haven't posted any progress pictures for a while so I thought I'd put some up :)
I haven't posted any progress pictures for a while so I thought I'd put some up :)
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