What Lead Me to an Unlikely Best Self…
Why become a bodybuilder? I never thought I would. Why? Because I knew the tools I needed to get there wouldn’t serve me as I was. I used to track macros and do cardio as a way to control my insecurities. Now, I do cardio because I love it and I track macros to be my best self. I know the difference between those might be convoluted to some, but it shouldn’t be. What I mean is, don’t use tools that won’t serve you. Give someone a tool they don’t know how to use and the outcome is guaranteed not to be productive. You give a gun to novice and he’ll end up shooting himself in the foot.
I had anxiety about tracking for almost a year and hated it. I know this is no new story. There are plenty of instagrammers out there who share similar transformation stories from both sides of the spectrum. The ones who started counting macros/doing cardio and voila, are now skinny and fresh to death. And, just as common, are those who stopped cardio and counting macros and boom, also skinny and fresh to death. Whats going on here? Which strategy actually works? Well the message is not that simple.
The real answer is so incredibly individualized it’s impossible to cookie cut. And no, it doesnt depend on how much you weigh or how active you are. What it depends on is where your head’s at and what tools you are able to productively use as a result. I’ll give you a couple over simplified examples: 1) take someone who has a serious issue with their body image. This person eats excessively clean and minimal during the day, but by night, something snaps and they eat an entire pizza. This person should NOT count macros. Why? Because the concept of moderation and eating for overall wellness is completely lost on them. Putting a number on this person’s diet will likely only add to existing anxiety. Further promoting their nasty daily progression of salad monk to pizza vampire. Starve, binge, starve, binge.
A tool that would benefit a person like this is to eat intuitively. This person needs to learn to be in touch with their body and learn how to fuel it for overall health and wellness. And, since we’re on the topic, I have some unwarranted news for this person: not all fuck ups are created equal. Just because you eat a piece of pizza doesn’t mean you may as well finish the whole damn thing. AND, here’s the kicker, a piece of pizza might not even be a fuck up. It just might be GOOD for you. Good for your soul more specifically, which is almost, if not just as, important as the body.
Ok, Scenario 2) This person does not track macros or do cardio. This person eats clean, but not obsessively and works hard in the gym, but doesn’t ‘grind’ herself to the floor. This person is comfortable because her habits reflect overall wellness. However, something is missing. This person wants to take their already fit and healthy lifestyle to the next level, but can’t figure out how to do that intuitively. Ok, now let’s count macros. Now lets prep for a show. This type of person is so dialed in mentally and physically that counting macros will only enhance the good stuff they already have going on.
Like I said before. These cases are over simplified and there are a million different personality types and lifestyles somewhere between said lines, but the point is that different tools work for different mind sets. No, I don’t mean people, I mean mind sets. The whole idea can’t even be portrayed as person A being best suited for tool #2 and person B for tool #5. Because person A might need to start with tool number one and person B the other way around. It’s like Luke Skywalker learning to accept the Force, evolving from farm boy to rebellion leader. Except, in our Hero’s Journey, the progression is never always 1 to 12.
Post Script:
The examples of personality types/mental spaces I gave earlier are both me. I started with one, moved to two and now I’m at (insert number here). I am in touch with myself and what I need to be my best self. My realistic best self, not a fantasy misses Olympia best self. Not yet. Mostly I cook at home. Sometimes I don’t. I eat burgers, but I get them protein style. I eat sushi but not tempura. I party, but I don’t get wasted. I live well, by my standards and by the tools that serve me best as I am now. Eventually, and probably soon, I will change, my tools will change and maybe one day my best self WILL be misses Olympia (but probably not). Who cares though? Dreams are dreams, but do yourself a favor and give yourself the satisfactions of having smaller ones. Like an old guy once said “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
