As spring approaches us. A welcome change in weather as the sun starts to bring some rays of sunshine & longer duration of daylight.
Your quick to forgive the dark mornings & afternoons. But with this beautiful change comes with it the people who go into panic mode about getting into shape.
Let’s just just talk about the elephant in the room. Lockdown has lasted but a year so how you approached it in regards to your health, fitness & wellbeing from the start would be evident if your resorting to fad diets & doing training that’s gone from 0 to 100.
Yes the temptation to want to loose the pounds &/or have that six pack in a matter of weeks. Just on premise that with the hopes of lockdown restrictions lifted & the weather warning up. Wearing that sleeveless top or tight t-shirt out & about has become lifes priority. Just a tip from me thou you can still wear that sleeveless top &/or tight t-shirt for example if you wanted too. They are not exclusive to only those who workout every day. Bombarded with multiple tv programs on how to loose weight in weeks. With celebrities all of sudden fitness experts. Influencers with no professional qualifications telling us how we should look whilst promoting a weightloss shake etc. & photoshopping adopted by so many on the increase who feel that they have to show a unrealistic version of themselves.
There is a serious underlying issue we must address before jumping into unrealistic goals because of this societal pressure to look a certain way based on weather change & this ridiculous notion of I only care about it when I’m going to be out there in the public. When our mindsets should be focused on sustainable fitness ensuring our health, fitness & wellbeing is not just for a particular season but a lifestyle choice that sustain us long term.
There comes the hard truths we must ask ourselves first. Why if you had a year to work on your health, fitness & wellbeing did you not do anything about it. How did the pounds pile on.
For example I anticipated that I would gain a few pounds & that was okay. Because the nature of my on site work which ment I spent most day’s with the majority of the hours been active & clocking up over 30 miles of cardio opting to walk the 5 miles from work rather than get the bus. Was not going to happen & been realistic having to shield due to Lupus. I knew that level of activity is possible but would make me resent the fact having to put pressure on myself every day to replicate it. So my focus was on maintenance as of course within the first few month’s there was a few excess pounds which was inevitable due to active hours reduced. Which is natural. It’s how the body operates in the real world. I did have to look at my relationship with food. As when your busy with life & work the activity level mirrors the amount of food you consume eating more because the body is demanding more to provide energy. So if eating the same without the need too, due to activities levels reduced. The relationship with food becomes a topic of discussion you have to have with yourself.
For example are you an emotional eater. Where your food &/or drink daily intake is connected to how you feel emotionally. Not based on what your body needs to function. So punishing yourself for procrastinating during the lockdown by turning to comfort food &/or any upsetting situations & moments. Just the constant barrage of people’s opinions generalised to include everyone has caused this depleted individual responsibility that we alone hold our own health, fitness & wellbeing in our own hands.
The first point of call is to forgive yourself & be realistic. Letting whatever you did or didn’t go. So you gained a few pounds or you didn’t do that workout you promised yourself you’d do every day. It’s done so accept it & look forward to a new day appreciating you acknowledged what happened to go forward. If you have a friend &/or family member to rant too then do it. With this increased notion of having a public profile to validate yourself. So every detail from having disagreements, self loathing & unable to take criticism is put out in the public domain. This contributes to your overall health, fitness & wellbeing because it’s no longer based on what’s best for you but on the opinion &/or validation of those who you don’t know. Having a healthy balance to absorb information which may inspire, motivate & help you is the beneficial side to social media.
I have to say lockdown has made me reduce my social media & even watching certain TV programs (daytime talk shows). Due to polarised views made to be the opinion of all it started to feel like I was in the film ‘Attack of the clones’. So it was a beautiful moment to go offline every other day & with that a sense of peace. Plus the time spent elsewhere other than online or watching these daytime show’s. Taking an interest in the bird’s in the garden. Which got very exciting because I never really was interested before. Identifying the different types that are found in London & realising how beautiful they are (apart from the obvious bird poo on my concrete paving🙄). But that’s where specific TV programs are great because I was able to learn how to promote wildlife in my garden but reduce bird poo coverage. Let’s face it living in urban London my garden was more a leafy back yard but luckily I have a massive tree & foliage that makes it my own nature heaven. Also encouraging me to have that sense of nature indoors so my increase in plants real & faux has been 90%. Creating a mini zen garden to place in the lounge & positioned plants & flowers in each room. Has made all the difference from my mood to my wellbeing. Because even on rainy day’s or not feeling so good Lupus moments. Waking up & been surrounded by nature is a wonderful feeling. Plus it’s that mental creativity that’s activated. Using your individuality to create something such as a indoor mini garden or caring for plants. It all contributes to stimulating those parts of yourself that make up your overall health & maintaining a level of daily activity.
As with all my previous blogs the value of yoga style exercises are priceless. The reason I say yoga style. Because I like to integrate my standard fitness with my yoga. That’s just my personal preference when focusing on muscle tone, strength & stretching sessions. Because I use weights on occasions for specific resistance training. But then will opt for yoga techniques to calm my mind &/or flexibility, balancing training. Even if it’s a two minute wellness top up session.
With general & specifically Lupus SLE like myself sustainable fitness is the key to maintaining a realistic but healthy level of fitness, health & wellbeing. Not just focused on the physical but also the mental aspects. Having a catalogue of adaptable bodyweight exercises & consistency has allowed me to maintain my level of fitness, muscle tone & strength. That doing more is not going to be a shock to the system. Also my relationship with food is that I’m fully aware of why I’m eating a particular food. For example a chocolate cake. So there isn’t this regret or self loathing for enjoying the yummy delight. Or forcing myself to eat an orange &/or lettuce for example because I have to eat a piece of fruit or veg. It’s been in touch with mind & body that it’s submerged in the subconscious to naturally eat a piece of fruit or veg with the difference that it wasn’t a forced thought but a natural habit. As the body adapts to asking for less food on day’s when less active. To adjusting to not going into starvation mode (The body consuming more of the calories from a meal then it did before) when activity level increases. Because it’s acting on the premise it doesn’t know when the next meal is coming to do what it’s designed for which is provide energy & insulation. This is why yo yo dieters & those who opt for meal replacements such as shakes for example find it harder to maintain weight loss in the long run without consistent fluctuations as it’s not a realistic long term or functional goal rather than sustainable. Which is start off slow & yes it can be irritating because you wanted to be in that dress or shorts for example you bought two sizes down by the spring. But that’s where that point of self responsibility needs to kick in. The choices you made to be where you at now. So if you could be at the weight, strength &/or tone goal. That will not just be a seasonal fling but sustaining throughout the year & beyond alongside whatever life situation you find yourself in. Not only saves the pounds in your pocket which would be spent on advertised money making weight loss answers such as shakes & bars instead of just looking at your daily nutritional in take. Using the food which is simply regular grocery items consumed in moderation. Or adapted in portion size for example should you have a specific goal whether it be a health &/or fitness or both. It’s about making sustainable lifestyle choices which become a natural habit rather than forced allowing motivation to thrive in a stable environment. Mind & body.
Just remember your fitness, health & wellbeing is your story to create. Whether your in a family. Been alone shielding like myself (Lupus 💜 Life) which doesn’t end until March 31st &/or with a partner. Enjoy the spring air & sun. Spring into active to be a little healthier, toned, stronger or at peace (wellness). Because from the time you start you have already made an improvement. Remember to do it for yourself & start from a place of self love rather than self loathing. Or the need to be like someone else who let’s be honest why want someone else’s life or persona (appearance + physique) etc. When you have the chance to shine in your own individual way. So with the welcoming of longer park opening hours & the opportunity to spend more time outdoors whether it be in your own garden or walking fit (pleasure / fitness/alternative transport method from or too work/study/shopping etc). It’s a nice opportunity to boost that activity level.
For exercises general & yoga style. Including adaptations &/or alternatives. Please visit my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/G.ElliottServices/ Like/Follow 👍🏾 Booking Service Available .
It would be much appreciated helping me to promote sustainable fitness & benefit those general & Lupus individuals to gain access to my services. Thank you & have a positive & motivated spring.
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