Getting back on track becomes the ONLY goal that matters when you find yourself derailed from your fitness goals
Top 5 Life Events that will derail your Fitness Goals:
1. Death and Divorce
-Both will rock your world and change your life forever. Individually, we cope with these events differently. Your response is the only thing you have control over. This is a very intimate and personal journey to work through and the best advice I can give you is to lean in on your faith, surround yourself with friends and family for support, and seek out counseling. You will pass through all the stages of grief, and this too shall pass. Once you are mentally ready to begin training, start out slow and just focus on getting back into your weekly routine of 3-5 workouts per week and some form of daily movement like walking or cycling.
2. Starting a Business
-If you thought raising kids took a lot of time and energy, think again. Starting a business is like having a brand-new baby. Your attention to building and sustaining will take away from your loved ones and your fitness goals. As you charge 100% head-on into this new calling, you may find yourself neglecting and abandoning loved ones that are supporting you and your fitness goals. Work-life balance is vital to long-term success spiritually, mentally, and physically. Starting a new business parallels fitness because it is a long-term process that requires patients and support from others. If you find yourself neglecting your goals and loved ones around you, it may be time to step back for a moment and have that heart-to-heart with yourself and God at what’s going on around you. Then you need to come up with a realistic plan to grow your business and accomplish your fitness goals.
3. Your Kids get Sick
-This one is huge because mentally it can be exhausting, but not as mentally exhausting as number 4. When our kids get sick, we find ourselves being their nurse and running around the house and to the store for supplies and food. As the parent, you feel energized and ready to exercise. However, this is a time that the top priority is to your sick child; not working out. If this is a short-term illness like a cold, it will be over in 3 to 4 days. You will be back in the gym and will have lost nothing but time. For chronic illnesses, like cancer, that will require months and possibly a couple of years of treatment, a plan will need to be developed based on your new life and the schedule you will have. These complex schedules and program designs are typically written by a fitness trainer to spread your fitness activities out to work all parts of your body and get adequate rest for each part of your body.
4. Your own Injury
– Having surgery, especially on a lower-limb, can mentally wreck your fitness goals. You cannot get up to walk around under your own power even. All you can do is sit and watch Netflix. Injuries will make you feel as if all your hard work is about to be lost forever. That of course is not true. Depending on the severity of the injury, muscle mass loss does not typically start occurring until 7-8 weeks of limited to no activity. During this injury time there are several things you can do to continue improving yourself. Focus on your nutrition, start journaling, and practicing gratitude. You will recover and muscle memory will help rebuild whatever may be lost very quickly.
5. New Boyfriend/Girlfriend
-Yes, dating can derail your fitness goals. Especially if it is someone who does not share your lifestyle habits and is always tempting you to make unhealthy choices. You should choose a partner who has similar lifestyle and fitness habits. This will limit the number of temptations you both present each other. This will keep you both on a healthy lifestyle course. You will more than likely go out to eat more often now that you are dating. Remember, you still have control over what you order. Even though you may not be in the healthiest restaurant in the world, what you choose to eat is in your control. I always recommend learning how to cook for yourself. Even taking a cooking class with your new partner will provide for a fun date night and time together you are both sure to love.
Continue to focus on what is in your control. These events will all pass at some point and will limit their effect on your fitness goals. Fitness goals and healthy lifestyles are lifetime goals that will be derailed from time to time. Getting back on track becomes the ONLY goal that matters when you find yourself derailed from your fitness goals.
