When the Going Gets Tough, What Will You Do?

Yesterday and today have been frustrating to say the least. You see, for the past 10+ weeks I have been on a mission to lose as much body fat as I possibly can. I have had a strict diet which has consisted of eating every 2-3 hours and is very bland as well. I eat chicken breast, tuna, brown rice, plain sweet potato, oatmeal, oranges, grapes, spinach, and protein shakes. Let's just say that I have learned in this time that I do not live to eat but I eat to live!

On the other end I have been doing about somewhere between 7-9 workouts a week. My workouts consist of lifting weights in the morning followed by a short 10-15 minutes of light cardio. In the afternoon I have been doing intense cardio, mainly interval running for 30 minutes. One of the workouts has had me running an 8 minute mile followed by some chest and ab exercises, then another 8-9 minute mile with the treadmill on a 10% grade, followed by more chest and ab excercises with one final 8-9 minute mile with the treadmill on 15% grade, followed by more chest and ab excercises. You can see I have put in the time and effort.

Now to the frustration. In the beginning I saw a few really good drops in my body fat lost. However, for the past 3 weeks I have seen about 0.4% decrease. Monday I had a 0.1% change for the last week. To top it all off, I have not lost 1 pound in that time either. Let's just say that I am tired, confused, and dissatisfied!

I tell you all this not to ask for sympathy or for encouragement but to share some of my thoughts when it comes to results that I am not happy with. Note: I did not and will not say failure here. I have not failed! The results I have gotten this far have been ok, I have lost about 3.5% of body fat in the first 10 weeks. I am just aiming for more and I know that I have more to be lost. I see this a lot like a person that is trying to lose the weight but is not seeing any results.

When adversity hits I could look in two directions. I could first decide I have done my best and quit trying to lose body fat and thus be satisfied where I am. Or I could look at my plan, make a change, and try even harder.

I think this is where many of us take the easy way out of things. Many of us are aware of what we need to do but are unwilling to do it. Let me explain further.

A close confidant went through a 12 week course at Akron General Lifestyles that went over nutrition and training. It was an incredible program that shared so much information and according to this person it made a lot of sense. This friend also trained with a certified trainer a couple days a week for that period to learn how to workout the body. In the end this person decided that they were not ready or willing to give up their current nutritional plan in favor of the one that was talked about in the class.

Giving up their nutritional plan would be a sacrifice and today we all want results without giving anything or only what we want to give. Some are willing to workout extremely hard and sweat a ton, others are willing to give up some foods but not all the ones they should, still others want the most up-to-date gimmick that is sure to give them results with as little effort as possible on their end.

Are you truly happy with where you are phsically or mentally? Can you look in the mirror and say to yourself that you have given your best shot? I know for me I hated that person in the mirror. Not because I was a bad person, but becasue that person was ruled by food and was not able to do many normal everyday things. Things as simple as taking my kids for a walk or going to the park, how about being able to go on rollercoasters at parks! I was too big or over the weight limit! I know for me I could not take my daughter on a horseback ride and that depressed me. Are you missing out?

Back to my frustration. I am choosing to make a change or tweak in my diet in order to get to my goal. I pray that it will work but one thing is for sure, I am not going to give up without exhausting the possiblities because that would be the easy way out!