No Gym? No Excuse!

To Gym Or Not To Gym?

I first started going to a gym because I felt I had to, when I was in my early 20's. Yes, I was overweight and the prevailing weight loss thoughts in those days was that you could almost outrun your eating! By increasing your exercise, you will lose weight!

Well, that was the beginning of a long and hateful journey with the gym. If you are anything like me, you resent going to it. It means:

• hard work and much pain tomorrow
• lots of dirty grubby sweaty clothes to wash
• being laughed at by all those 'skinny' people
• early morning starts, or late home after work as you HAVE to go
• the feeling of being forced to do something you don't want to do

It should feel like this to go to the gym:

But in reality, it feels much more like this!

How I managed to turn this around for me.  

I now have a gym at home (well, I have a treadmill and a weights station) and I dip into and out of it as I please. I even enjoy doing the exercises.  I also walk a lot, and I mean A LOT - up to 4 or 5 times a week, because I want to. There is no longer that feeling that I need to do it.

What changed for me?  Well, after nearly 25 years of feeling that I had to go to the gym to lose weight, I was mentored by a great friend, and discovered that I could lose weight in the kitchen first, and that then increased my motivation to move my body.  The idea of moving my body in a gym was a little off putting for me initially, so I went walking. I'm fortunate to live in an area that has many rainforest walks and I went off into the rainforest for some good old fashioned walking.

I saw much beauty while I was walking (knowing I was completing my gratitude diary daily helped me look beyond what I was doing and towards the beauty that was surrounding me).

I felt so much clearer in the head (yes, I had previously had a lot of brain fog) after my walks.

The walks started as 15 - 30 minute walks and eventually grew to an hour as my energy increased.  Still I wasn't at the gym.  I was happy with that, as I was enjoying moving my body without the stress of going to the gym in my oversized tee-shirts.

After a couple of months of walking, I saw an advert for a weight loss/exercise challenge at the local gym. My mindset had changed enough by this time (as I had already lost some of my weight) and I was confident in my nutrition program, that I decided it was time to tone some of my external 'flab'.

I joined the gym for a 3 month period and went 4 times a week, I still continued with walking, sometimes taking the time to walk to and from the gym, as I wanted to be out in the fresh air still, as well as working on resistance training.

Knowing that resistance training was helping to keep my bones strong, was the key to my mindset on the gym. I was there to tone and build my bones, not to lose weight. That I did as a side effect.

For me, the biggest change was my mindset, I had changed from wanting to improve my weight and appearance for others, to wanting to do it for me. I changed from accepting that I was a big boned girl to truly believing that I was fine boned. I changed from believing dieting was about restriction and deprivation to believing that it was about living life in balance.

The tools I used on my journey are self development books, essential oils, nutrition program and a coach.  You can use these tools very easily for yourself as well.

The first self-development book I read was The Four Agreements.  This is a book that we have now read and analysed within the Book Club group I run (click here to learn more). The changes in how you see where you are, stem from understanding where your beliefs come from. This was a huge change for me and for those that also have read this book.

My essential oil blends worked on my self esteem, on my motivation and on my desires and wishes.  I have created a series of blends for different purposes and am now in the process of publishing these further. I will be sharing recipes on my Facebook page regularly, watch out for them, and for the emotions they are targeting.

The nutrition program I followed is very similar to the Paleo way of thinking, having some days without food, having days with food, eating more protein and less carbohydrates, and ensuring that I was covering my nutritional needs as far as nutrients and vitamins as well as a balance between protein, carbohydrates, fats and fibre. To find out more about it, visit my website, or email me, or send me a message on my Facebook page or through my website.

My coach, well, what more can I say, having someone believe in you, having someone call you on your excuses, having someone in your corner to hear you cry and to give you strength. Priceless. From this coaching experience, I have learnt at the feet of a master, and I now (along with her help as well as many others) provide the same experience for my ladies. To find out more, contact me now.