Maintenance. Ugh. The no end in sight, but still need to keep momentum: maintenance. It's not that I hate working out and eating healthy. That's definitely not it. But it is hard to be strict, but not too strict. Be consistent, but allow enough leniency to not burn out. And the truth of the matter is, I'm still learning. I'm right in the middle of trying to find my "happy place" in health and fitness. Let's look back to a few months ago.
Late June I completed a program associated with Fit4Mom (previously named Stroller Strides). The program, Body Back, included goal setting, food journaling, intense workouts, as well as accountability. In short, the program rocked. Through the program, I got down to my lowest weight in years (possibly ever) and really felt like I could do or achieve anything. Here is my "before and after" photo:
Flash-forward to now and I am looking more like my before picture and less like my after. So what happened? Life. After the program it wasn't an immediate jump back, but a much more gradual "undoing." A little more bread here. A couple more sweets there. And, now, here I am. I'm not mad at myself, but clearly, my maintenance has not been as successful as I hoped.
As monotonous as the word "maintenance" sounds, for me, it looks more like a constant up and down. I will figure it out. I will live life happy and healthy, but I want that to include being in my best shape (aka my after picture). I know to get closer to my "after" I need to cut my refined sugars, I need to eat as close to nature as possible, and I need to bring intensity to my workouts. I'm not saying that every day everyone should be killing themselves with sprints, weights. and plyo-craziness. But should you have a high intensity work out at least twice a week? Probably.
I am excited to announce that in two weeks I will be getting Body Back certified. I figure becoming an instructor can only help me understand why the program I loved was so successful in changing my and other people's health and bodies for the better. With a certification, I can better help coach and inspire others to achieve their own heath goals. And I can't wait.
In the meantime, off I go into battle, armed and ready for this war I've raged against the dreaded "maintenance." If you're in your own battle today, I wish you luck, as well.
