Have you ever been part of a fitness challenge or done a workout program that consumes you? Something where you literally weigh, measure and track everything you eat? Where you go to the gym almost every day? Something that totally consumes you?
What usually happens after that? Think about it..
Today I was thinking about to when I did a few bikini competitions and how after I felt totally burnt out. I mean, I LOVE my daily workouts. They’re so much fun, I look forward to them every day, but after I did a few shows, I wasn’t having fun. I wasn’t going out with friends. I was bombarding myself with a gallon of water everyday. I was weighing, measuring and tracking every ounce of food, and I wasn’t having ANY treats or cheats. It was this grossly unnatural way of living my life. Literally all I did was cook dry, bland food. Eat that gross food from a plastic container. Work. Sleep and do workouts that actually felt like crap because I wasn’t fueled properly. It caused burn out.
Have you ever felt burn out from all things healthy?
On the other hand, have you ever gone so far off the rails that you just feel like a disgusting, low energy blob 24/7? Where you don’t even know where to begin because you feel so gross that moving your body doesn’t feel good or you just don’t have the energy to get out of bed? Then you know you should have and you feel bad about yourself because you didn’t and it causes anxiety, low self esteem and depression?
Well, neither is good. We want to aim for balance.
So many people think of things in black and white, but truthfully, life is colorful and why be black or white when you could be pink or purple or green or blue or maybe all four?!
You do not need to do a daily workout six or seven days a week. Four or five works great! Even three works great! And two or one is better than zero.
You do not need to weigh, measure or track every morsel of food. You simply need to follow a clean eating meal plan for most of your meals, but also have treats and eat things you enjoy throughout your day. Personally, I rarely have an all out cheat meal because honestly, eating too much yucky stuff makes me feel sick, and I enjoy things like salad, so perhaps I will have a burger, on a bun, with some bone marrow, but I’m probably going to have salad instead of fries, because while I enjoy food, I also enjoy feeling good.
I do not want my clients to workout so much they get sick of the gym or feel stressed out because they have so much going on in their lives, working out five days a week causes burn out. I also do not want my clients to have to track all of their meals or go too long without eating things they enjoy because that backfires and they end up burying themselves in ice cream.
Neither is healthy.
My goal is for my clients to do their workout routines 3-5 times a week and follow their clean eating meal plan about 80% of the time, which allows for the possibility of an all out cheat meal a couple times a week, or a few bites of something they love every single day. This is what lasts long term. This is what keeps people from getting burnt out and quitting.
So it’s time for you to ask yourself.. could you live your current lifestyle every single day for the rest of your life or is burn out inevitable? Leave a comment below!
Your Coach,
Kyra
P.S. If you are interested in working with a coach that will encourage you doing what makes you happy while also helping you get healthy and reach your personal fitness goals, let’s work together! I have plans that begin at just $7 a month. Go to KyraWilliamsFitness.com/signup to learn more and join.