I’ve been struggling lately — struggling to find the motivation and joy in my fitness routine and struggling to stay focused on good nutrition. In fact, the truth is I have all but fallen off the nutritional wagon. It started about two years ago if I am being honest – when I was laid off from my job and I went into a funk. I kept my work out routine up but started to slip and slide down with regards to eating. And although I don’t eat gluten or dairy on the regular, it has been creeping back into my weekly diet.  I’ve been frustrated with the lack of interest and attention my fitness instructors seem to display lately as well. One thing I know when it comes to me having a successful workout – I feed off of the energy and attention of my instructors.

It’s all added up to a perfect storm of frustration and lack of motivation and here’s the brutal truth: a 25+ weight gain over the past two years. My friends say “no way”, “you can’t tell” and other words of support when I share my weight gain frustrations but I see it.  And it’s hard to reconcile because of how active I am. I know it boils down to my lack of focus on nutrition. I do eat well overall, those salads I eat during lunch are real- I am a sugar addict and a carb snacker.  Evenings are the worst for me…

Add the lack of nutritional focus with the lessening motivation to really hit the workouts and training hard, it’s not going to end well…

I need help
When I feel I need some help and guidance, I seek it out. So, I stepped outside of my comfort zone and met with a personal trainer, Body by Wayne, yesterday. I was nervous because I have never worked one on one with anyone. It forces you to be very honest about where you are. I never step on a scale and yesterday I had to.  We spent about 20-30 minutes talking about goals, my fitness & nutrition history and where I should be. Then I did a 20 minute fitness assessment so he could assess exactly where I was fitness wise. It included bench press, push ups, core work, and balance exercises. Afterwards, he said was very impressed, which was a relief because I have been working out for almost 8 years straight now!

It was clear after this first session, Wayne knows his stuff. This is his career and understands it’s a combo of cardio, strength and nutrition that will get the job done. When it was over, he printed out sample nutrition plans for me to follow and other information. He approached it like we will do this together, if I am game- we are a team.

So, what now? 
I agreed to take him up on his one week free Wayne Challenge which includes 3 free workout sessions. I also agreed to eating clean for the week, which means keeping a food diary.  He also gave me his rate sheet that offers different options and costs for training. So, starting today I am doing the Wayne Challenge. This morning at 6a, to kick it off, he sent me a Facebook message reminding me to plan for my meals today.  Ahh, accountability!

So there it is — the truth. The journey to be more fit and healthier is never going to be easy – life seems to get in the way. It really is a pain in the ass to be healthy when it’s so much easier to just go with the flow – but I’m not happy with where I am and it’s up to me to change it.

Stay tuned as I continue to share my Body by Wayne Challenge experience…

Be Inspired