Dear Reader,
I love a fitness challenge. And by love, I mean love to follow for a few weeks until I get board and then faceplant into a pint of Ben & Jerrys.
I consider myself a recovering yo-yo dieter. For years I've been determined to get in the best shape of my life. Alas, life often gets in the way, and getting in the best shape of my life is frequently followed by getting in the not-so-best shape of my life. There I found myself in 2020, ready to re-focus and really get in the best shape of my life (again).
So I signed up for a strict CrossFit program that had me fitnessing 3 hours a day and eating 1,500 calories. And I lost weight. People commented on how great I looked. My clothes fit better. But holy low-fat gucamole, I was a miserable, hungry, beat down human being. And the whole time I was shrinking my body I kept thinking it wasn't enough, I hadn't lost enough, I needed to work harder, to be more dedicated to my goal.
Fast forward to me getting injured, the start of a pandemic, and me crying on the floor of my garage gym. I simply couldn't DIY this anymore. I needed a professional.
Cue my wonderful nutrition and Crossfit coach, Shawna Norton. Over the course of a year Shawna pulled me back from the brink of overtraining, over restricting, and over indulging to some sort of balance. But I was still struggling to be proud of my progress. Despite the fact that I was preforming great in workouts, sleeping like a baby, and feeling steady energy all day long, I still felt like I needed to weigh less. That's when Shawna hit me with this gem:
"Annie, I feel like you're waiting to hit some magic weight to be happy."
Why did I love a fitness challenge? Because I loved structure. A fitness challenge made me feeling like I was DOING something, making progress, working towards a purpose. Sometimes I lasted the full challenge length, but more frequently I would give up, eat whatever I wanted, and undo any progress I had accomplished. I liked the idea of working towards a goal. I thought completing it would make me happy. But I didn't care about the actual goal, and I was never happy.
I had to find a way to break the cycle. I had to find a way to be happy regardless of the scale.
I'm working on a thing to help women create meaningful momentum in their lives outside of constantly chasing arbitrary goals. In the meantime, I want to know-
Reply to this email and let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you.
~Annie