Remember back in August when I wrote the first part to this post, and told you all about the beginnings of my fitness journey? (If your mind is failing you, just click here. I’ll wait.)
If you didn’t read it (*cough* you should *cough*) or you forgot what it was about (*cough* link above *cough*), then let me give you a little recap:
I have always struggled with my self-image, and I would have moments when I was super into working out followed by moments when I basically did anything not to work out, but last summer that changed.
In July I started visiting the wellness coach at work and was getting InBody assessments, which measured my muscle and fat, among other things. I was working out consistently, seeing my muscles develop (Hello, baby quad!) and feeling good about myself—and good in general.
At the end of that post, I mentioned that my next InBody assessment was in September, and I would fill you in on those results. Well, turns out I was a dirty liar.
If you followed my blog between August and now, I’m sure you realized that a lot of things have changed. I got engaged, busted my butt at work and—most notably for this post—got a puppy! So, my fitness fell by the wayside, and that is why part two of my journey is arriving now… in March.
My last assessment
I may be a dirty liar, but I didn’t lie about everything. I did, in fact, go to my next (and, spoiler alert, last) InBody assessment in September, but boy oh boy were the results not in my favor. I fully blame Zoey.
And myself… I guess.
As I addressed in this post, becoming a dog mom to an itty-bitty puppy was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done. It was filled with late nights, early mornings and lots and lots of 3 a.m. poop cleanups (Turns out, Zoey was allergic to her food).
As a result, I pretty much stopped working out entirely in between the end of August and the end of September, which did not work out in my favor.
Was I expecting poor results at my InBody assessment in September? Yes, definitely. But, was I expecting to lose nearly all the progress I made? No, definitely not, but that’s exactly what happened.
I lost 1.1 pounds of the 1.8 pounds of muscle I gained, and I was not a happy camper. Thankfully, the wellness coach was pretty understanding, especially since my excuse was that I got a new puppy, and she encouraged me to try at-home workouts whenever I couldn’t get to the gym. I thanked her for her advice, but had one question before I left.
“Just out of curiosity, how long does it take your body to lose the muscle it gained?” To which she replied, “About two weeks.”
Are you. Freaking. Kidding me? So, you’re telling me that I spend roughly 6 to 8 weeks building muscle, just so it can all go away in two weeks of not working out? What. The. Hell.
I didn’t actually say this, but I guess my facial expressions did (I have a hard time controlling this) because she added, “Yeah, it really sucks that you spend so much time building muscle to lose it that quickly, but that’s where the at-home workouts can help!”
After that, I reluctantly scheduled my next appointment for the end of October.
I got knocked down
To make a long story short, I basically retaliated. I was angry at myself for losing all the hard work I put in, and I felt like it was all just a big waste of time. So, I did the worst possible thing I could have done, and I stopped working out altogether.
Yes, it was a stupid decision, especially considering I had another InBody assessment scheduled. So, I made another terrible decision and the week before I was supposed to have it, I cancelled it. (Have you ever wanted to slap your past self?)
Fast forward to January, and I was in full New Year resolution mode. I realized I was just 9 months away from my wedding day and did not feel good about myself, especially after all those holiday goodies. So, I returned to my good friend—the gym.
I was weaker than ever, frustrated at all the progress I threw out the window and overall an angry mess. I was not in the right mindset to (re)start my fitness journey, so, like most other New Year resolutioners, my gym excursions lasted about two weeks.
I. Was. Defeated.
But I got up again
During one of my daily driving home from work conversations with me sister (Love ya, sis), we talked about exercise and she mentioned a podcast that highlighted some pretty interesting thoughts on the matter—like how you really should only do cardio one to two times per week (Being a cardio hater, I’m all for this). After that, I decided that I needed to get back to consistently working out, but I needed a new plan because what I tried and tried again didn’t seem to be working.
So, I did what I do best and researched the hell out of workout plans to see what would work best for me. But, I’ve done this before and still threw in the towel, so I knew I needed to do more.
I downloaded a fitness tracking app (it’s called JEFIT, and it’s amazing if you’re interested), started actually scheduling my workouts each week (because that’s the only way I can stay accountable) and pushed myself each and every time I went to the gym.
And now, I’m starting to see progress again! Seriously, I flex at Tyler all the time because I’m so proud that I can actually see my biceps now. (He’s good at tolerating me, but also tells me I’m not lifting enough at the gym. Like, just let me live, ok?)
I’m on my fourth week of my workout plan, and I have absolutely no intentions of slowing down. I’m staying consistent and maintaining a manageable workout routine that I can carry on well into the future, and I’m actually really excited about it.
Don’t ever let it keep you down
Remember how I said I wanted to slap my past self? I should probably explain why.
You see, when I decided to quit working out and stop going to my InBody assessments for those few months, I only made it harder for myself. I was frustrated about losing my progress, so I decided to stop making any effort to make progress.
All that time I spend retaliating could have been spent bettering myself, and moving myself further along on my journey, but instead I just gave up. Yeah, I don’t get it either.
Sometimes, life pretty much punches you in the face and knocks you to the ground, but sitting there an accepting defeat does not do you any good. I mean, you can’t just give up and sit there forever, so why not get up right away and show life those punches are annoying at best.
I’ll keep that in mind next time, and I hope you will too.
