Some days you Thrive…. Some days you Survive
It’s about 10:41 P.M. in San Francisco and about an hour ago I had an all day breakfast from Jack in the Box. For people living outside the States, ‘Jack in the Box’ is a fast food chain which is open 24 hours a day. I would be lying if I said it’s an unusual day. I make a trip to Jack in the box once a week(probably the week day I return home after 9pm). So as you can guess, everything is not going as per the plan.
Time for a little recap!
Late January, this year I had posted a picture after I had lost over 10kg in 6 months while also getting comparatively muscular. I was quite satisfied with my transformation. It was the first time in my life I could physically do things that I never imagined I could. I had also written an article which received good feedback. But, no more than a handful know what happened after.
So what do you do after posting a transformation?
a). Eat your favorite foods and get fat again?
b). Get shredded and put a bigger, meaner picture in the next 6 months?
c). Maintain the current look?
I thought the only way is forward. I planned on getting stronger and leaner. Honestly, that did work…… For a while. In March, while most of my days were filled with prepping for the gym and searching for a full time job I just lost track of the food I consume. I had been on a caloric deficit(mild under-eating to lose fat for over 8 months). There were days where I ate almost nothing throughout the day and ate a big meal at the end of the day which barely was about 1300 calories(That’s really low for a guy that’s almost 6 feet tall). Due to working out 6–7 days a week I was the leanest I had ever been. And then it hit me like a freight train….. I could barely do the things I thought I was capable of. I was sleeping 10–11 hours a day and my appetite further deteriorated. Which eventually led me to getting 1–2 workouts a week while mostly worrying about my employment situation.
Fortunately, by late April I had found a job and I had to commute over 2 and a half hours a day and work 10 hours a day and sometimes more. So I was quite content with my life doing the essential things for life to progress until I opened Instagram after a month and saw the co-writer of this blog hit 100kg(225lb) on the bench press. It’s a special milestone for every gym-goer who loves weight training. Over the next week I started putting down things I did wrong that made me stop going to the gym. You can look at the list and avoid these mistakes.
1). Don’t get fixated on the abs and definition: It’s extremely satisfying to wake up every day in the morning with abs sticking out and a well defined upper section. A low body fat percentage is a good look you would want to keep forever. But, it’s much more complicated than lift weights and eat clean for most individuals with average to bad genetics. Keeping abs requires you to eat for a lighter person and have the physical activity of an extremely active person. I was roughly eating 1750–1900 calories a day when I kept my abs. While I gained definition, I lost body weight and was borderline underweight for about a month. 3 peak months and 9 months off season is sort of how most athletes train. It is possible to stay lean and defined all year but to be healthy while looking so would require over 4–5 years of solid foundation of muscle. So I have decided to let go of the abs for the time being while focusing on my goals and new approaches to get there. The abs and the definition are a side effect. Treat them like the secondary perks to a healthy lifestyle.
2). Switch up the meal plan: Anything with foods get stale quite quickly. I was notoriously conservative during my transformation which worked out well. But, doing it for a prolonged period of time took a toll on me. For almost 5 months I had crafted myself the perfect meal plan that suits my body and I’m still proud of figuring that out. But, change is the essence of life. What got you from 81kg to 71kg will not help you stay at 71kg or do anything else. You need to switch it up. I am a strong believer in eating what is best for you and not the things you love(because we never really love what’s best for us). What’s best for you is a perfect blend of nutritional value and flavors that keep you sated. Different goals need different approaches. I currently make sure to meal prep my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the week with quality ingredients and new additions to my menu every month and not be too harsh on my daily caloric values. On weekends I tend to eat whatever I like. I try to keep my junk meal to clean meal ratio at 1:5. Not bad for a bachelor far away from home.
3). Remember why you started: A wonderful video by Gymshark featuring my favorite fitness personality Steve Cook has his father telling us how Steve started lifting while in school and how he was a gifted athlete and that it was his passion. While video shows him training you see him failing and being disappointed. The video just tries to convey the message that when it gets hard you should always remember why you started. I had forgotten why I had started. The intention was pure but the unrealistic expectations I set for myself and my impatience ruined it for me. Stay true to your motive, even in fitness.
4). Do not make time for it: My Late Grandfather like most doctors used to say “Health is wealth”. Most of us put in over 12 hours a day dedicated to our craft/ passion and sometimes just for financial prosperity or in some cases survival. What about health? The very thing that defines quality of life. Yes, I spend 13–15 hours a day doing my job which I do enjoy as I design buildings. But, all of them were spent mostly sitting. Sitting has always been the enemy of good health. In Mid-June I chose to walk to the train station on my way to work instead of taking the bus and walk back when I was returning home. This gives me a solid 7km of walking every day. It takes me 10 extra minutes a day to do this instead of taking the bus. I have started doing 40 pullups and 50 pushups a day regardless of going to the gym which takes 25 minutes. I also run 17.2km(11 miles) a week consistently outdoors or on the treadmill). A grand total of 35–40 minutes a day gives me physical activity of over 750 calories burnt. That’s an hour’s workout packed into daily activity where I don’t even think I’m working out. My advice here is to not put time aside for fitness but to seamlessly integrate a healthier lifestyle outside the gym or your favourite exercise activity.
4). Some days you thrive… Some days you survive: I saved the best for last. Fitness youtuber Nikki Blackketter has a very unique personality. While some of the videos are just about the amazing lifestyle of travel and fitness programs and clothing she advertises, some of her videos do reveal the truth about staying active. In a video where she is sitting in her car parked at the parking lot of her gym she tells how people ask her all the time about how to stay motivated at the gym. Here’s the honest truth that a lot of people don’t really say. As she takes a sip of her energy drink she just said “I’m not motivated you guys. I just am not ready for this workout today. But, I need to get it done.”. It’s a different perspective that most people in the fitness community at the surface do not tell you. It is okay to have days with no motivation and it’s no excuse to just quit because you lost your mojo. You don’t quit your job 10 times a month. Why would it be acceptable to give up on a New years resolution 7 years in a row?? Motivation is an excuse to quit. Perseverance takes you forward. I am dedicated to work out at the gym at least 4 days a week and I will continue to do so in the foreseeable future until I find a way to switch it up. The days I am motivated are great but what makes me a human being with health being a priority is the days that I do it despite how much I want to hit the mattress.
While that concludes the article you might have noticed that I have mentioned progress through everything I have done wrong. The one thing I would like you to take away from this article is to always think that even the hiccups are part of the plan. And “I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER”(Quote from a fortune cookie in the A-Team). It’s 12:49 AM Sunday and my ice coffee from the meal is just keeping me awake. Let’s get a short workout in and get a good night’s sleep before my Sunday run. And I hope that your day is productive as well.
