Keeping the Fire Burning
I am too tired. I will try next Monday (you told yourself that last Sunday). Work has me tied up working long hours short-staffed always, and I cannot find the time. How many Splenda zero-calorie packets can I put in my coffee? I want to change my eating habits but working here makes it hard to eat healthy and clean. These are common issues I see in people who want to make a lifestyle change for the better, even though these are valid issues we face every day on how it can impede someone from achieving their fitness goals or other endeavors in life. I will explain some ways on how to combat these issues to keep the flame inside of you burning.
Time Management
A significant issue with lifestyle change is time constraints. In 2017–2018 I competed in two bodybuilding shows and worked evening shift for Florida Highway Patrol at 2:45–10:45 P.M also went to school full time. I had to go to the gym to get my workout in at 5 A.M. I would have to wake up at 4:30 A.M., drink my coffee, and was out the door by 4:40 A.M. to get to Crunch by 5 A.M. get the workout in, then home by 7 A.M. shower eat breakfast, pack my lunch and get to class by 8 A.M. till 12:30 P.M. home by 1:15 P.M. and leave for work by 2 P.M.
Another example of lifestyle change I had to adjust for was my time in the Marines. Physical fitness is king in the Marines, so I never wanted to lack in it and show to my Marines I wasn’t fit, it doesn’t show well to your subordinates if they can run faster than you or do more pull-ups than you. So, I made it a huge priority to get a workout in. But in 2014–2015, I got put on shift for our communication training exercise for the whole summer, so I had to sleep in the day and work at night. I did not adjust to this well initially; I felt sick all the time and never felt right, which caused my fitness levels to decline a bit. I knew then I had to adjust or fall behind the pack. So I had to be on shift by 8 P.M. last until 4–5 A.M. So, I would wake up at 3 P.M. and get to Hansen House of Pain North (BEST GYM EVER) by 4:15 P.M. Get back to the barracks shower eat and be ready to roll by 7:30 and get to shift on time.
I went through two significant lifestyle changes. They were both crazy lifestyle changes. Some days it was terrible because I felt I had no time. Still, I had goals I want to accomplish, so as time passed, it did not feel like I was wasting time but was amounting to something great. It is better than just having too much idle time or just going through life with no goals to obtain.
PLANNING
Another significant issue is, when someone is trying to make a new lifestyle change, is planning. Most people will say I will start on Monday a new work week, and I will get it started on the right foot, etc. Issues with this are the day prior, you get all the things you think you need, and when you go to work on Monday with your new mindset on life come to find out you might have forgotten something at the store. Now you are stuck at work and then don’t stick to the plan, which causes someone to give up before an hour of the new lifestyle change.
An excellent way to start on a new lifestyle change is on your days off, and then it will be day three when you start your new work week so it can be easier to combat work pressures on cheating due to you having a stable two days. You have the two days to experiment and gives you the flexibility to make a quick fix due to you being off and not stuck in the chair for eight to twelve hours.
Another issue to planning is no one is ready when life hits you in the face. I trained for two bodybuilding shows I stuck to a good and clean regiment. As I said earlier, I would wake up at 4:30 A.M every morning to be at Crunch Fitness by 5 A.M. After I would have breakfast, which would be egg whites, on a slice of Dave’s killer whole grain bread. But I would be at my house when I finished training. But on a particular day, I had an appointment with the Veterans Affairs Hospital for my yearly blood work at 8 A.M. So, I decided I would pack my breakfast in my container and eat as I drove to Cape Coral. But, life hit me in the face that day, and my battery died when I tried to leave Crunch and had to wait for my brother to bring me a jump to get my car a new battery. But while I was upset, my car battery died because nobody wants unexpected things to happen to them, but I was glad I decided to have my food packed with me and did not miss breakfast. Since I had my food with me, it kept motivated, and on track, I got my battery fixed and did not miss a beat on my diet or anything.
So always have an emergency plan when you make a lifestyle change if, somehow, an appointment you had taken longer than expected. Now you have thirty minutes to make a healthy meal before you have a shift at your agency. Maybe, have minute rice and tuna packets on hand, so you do not get tempted to go into work with no food and hear someone say anybody wants to order food with me?
Diet Challenges
The last issue I see when people make a new lifestyle plunge is maintaining the diet. Nutrition is the hardest part due to it being a twenty-four-hour job. Also, working in communications is the Garden of Eden of food, meaning it’s always a work anniversary, birthday, or an officer brings in hot light Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Just think before you head over to the table to grab one think about your end goals for the day, week, month, summer, the end of the year. A good question to ask yourself is whether this will benefit me on my fitness journey or hinder my progress, and is a few seconds of good taste worth the ruined growth?
I am not trying to say I am perfect in my diet; by any means, I usually have a small cheat once a week to keep me sane and intact even now with all the options out there my cheat is generally having a Lenny and Larry’s protein cookie or two. I didn’t have a cheat meal when competing, but since I am done with that. I have something small once a week to stay motivated to keep pushing towards my goals. An excellent way to keep it healthy is to eat what you make. If you did not make it, then stay away from it.