Home   >   Health   >   Fitness failure: What to do when life brings you the unexpected.

Fitness failure: What to do when life brings you the unexpected.

By on November 6, 2013
Puma shoes

Phew, I’m glad that week is over. It was a doozy. The fact is, some of the times in our lives are about making great strides, some are about holding our ground, and some are about grabbing a branch to minimize our sliding back down the mountain to maybe a mere 200 feet or so.

My first 4 weeks on the 6 week shape up were those “making great strides” times, and it’s easy to write about that… brag about how well I’m doing, how many inches I’ve lost, how optimistic I’m feeling. Anyone can celebrate that and write an article with puffed pride, chronicling such triumphs of the human mind, body and spirit. I’m willing to tell the whole truth, though. I owe it to myself … and to you.

Momentum in a positive direction becomes very easy to maintain. It might not be easy to get the big rock rolling, but once she’s got some speed, just a little effort will keep her moving.

Conservation of momentum:(General Physics) the principle that the total linear or angular momentum in any isolated system is constant, provided that no external force is applied. -Collins English Dictionary.

 

Enter external force.

Exit forward thrust.

So let’s talk about my week from H-E-doublehockeysticks. I worked 11 days straight with some crazy 13 hour days in the run for my other multimillion dollar business I manage, gearing up for the holiday season. It was very physical work in this case, the kind where you think your arms may spontaneously detach themselves just for relief at the end of the day. I wrote an article and edited this here purdy magazine. I crafted 120 name cards and then I flew to Calgary and back in 3 days for a Simply Woman retreat. I met (barely) the needs of my children and made Hallowee’en happy. Needless to say, I missed out on grocery shopping and Sunday prep day. I hadn’t much of a food plan going into week 5 like I had the other 4 weeks. And you can imagine what happened to my previous winning streak of workouts–between the time crunch, the exhaustion, the fact that I left for work in the dark morning and returned in the dark night, I missed half of them. I didn’t eat anything terrible–I made some careful and wise choices even at restaurants if I do say so myself–but I know if I had planned, I could have done better. I didn’t even eat one piece of Hallowe’en candy. I’m not even lying.

I could call myself a loser. A failure. A commitment breaker. A giver-upper. But shame has never empowered anyone. In fact, shame and guilt will only ever drive a person to make poorer and poorer choices, perpetuating self-sabotage and convincing the bearer of said shame that they are in fact not worth any efforts to improve. So I can’t say those things to myself if I want to have an incredible comeback in week six, can I? I have to tap into a better place… a place of compassion, forgiveness and surrendering to “what is.” I have to say to myself the following types of things… bad cliches that other famous people have coined but now seem so fitting:

“Just do it.” –Some Nike marketing guy

“Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it.” –Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)

“Tie your shoes.” –Matthew McConaughey

“When you fall off a horse, you’ve just got to get back on.” — Important man who has experience falling off horses

“What you can change is how you move forward! Pick your head up, put on a smile and move forward. Do not be defined by a bad day, bounce back!” –-PJ and Risse, the Go Fit Gals

 

What I did.

I made myself a damn fine meal plan for this week. (Risse would be so proud!)

meal plan

I prepared several meals and snacks ahead so that I can grab and run.

I tied my shoes and went for a good run. Breathed in the gorgeous chilly air of the fall morning.

I ate a nice clean day of home cooked, healthful meals.

 

Did I lose any inches last week? No. But I didn’t gain any either.

Last week was about holding ground … about having some compassion for myself … about accepting what life was dishing out, and not letting it take my progress away.

But this week, ahhh, this week is about killing it. 

 

P.S. Catch my first 5 articles in this series about my 6 week journey:

First day

End of week 1

End of week 2

End of week 3

End of week 4

And meet my gurus, Risse and PJ, the Simply Woman featured Go Fit Gals at www.gofitgals.com

 

nataliecalmNatalie Hughes, editor, writer, performer and songwriter, is a gifted interpreter of the human experience, expressing passion, humor, heartbreak, healing and freedom to a depth that few writers reach. Natalie is also the Musical Director for Crystal Andrus Productions, providing music for short films, international speaking engagements, and powerful meditations. Hear her in music and conversation weekly as the co-host on Empowerment Class and The Crystal Andrus Show. Natalie lives along the picturesque waterways of Peterborough, Canada with her husband – photographer Michael Hurcomb – and her two children. For more, visit nataliehughes.com and find Natalie on iTunes,  Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

 

 

 

About simply...woman!

We encourage spreading the message of knowledge and wisdom. We appreciate and thank our featured partners for their articles. All information provided on Simply…Woman online magazine is for reference only; the content is based on the authors’ experiences and therefore is not intended as a substitute to the services of a fully qualified professional. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Simply…Woman makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information.