Hey, Ines. How do you cope with the feeling of guilt, when you are sick and you can not work out?
And is it true, that if you do not work out for 2-3 weeks, everything you’ve previously accomplished will go to waste and you will have to start from scratch?
This thought wouldn’t leave me in peace, now that I’ve been sick for a week and I have absolutely no strength to work out!
As I mentioned last week, even though I rarely get sick, the summer flue did not pass me and it was actually pretty ugly.
I felt pretty bad, because I had high temperature, I had muscle and joint pain, a terrible headache and I felt like puking all the time and I have absolutely no strength.
In the past, even in this condition, I would have searched for ways to train. But not anymore.
Now I just felt thankful for the fact that I am surrounded by wonderful people and that I have the best assistant in the face of coach Dimitar Pisaroff and that I could rely on him.
Thus I took the “mission” to recover as fast as possible, as my main priority.
Fortunately, long ago, I realized that one week without workouts will not be a green light for gravity to make my otherwise tight butt, into hanging fat or turn my muscular arms, into shapeless hanging fat; nor it will turn you from a lean, athletic person, into a chubby pig.
This might be just a feeling, but it is far from a real fact.
When I was sick, I told myself that the most important thing is to recover faster, so I can be healthy and have strength to do everything I wish.
I told myself, that when I am healthy I will achieve my goals faster and that I will feel the pleasure of the whole process, more than if while I am sick I sit and wonder how in the world could I drag myself to the gym.
Working out when you are sick and feeling bad is a true torture- for your body and for your mind.
Something that makes you feel like this, ca not be of any value and it is more a sign of obsession and a desperate try to escape from yourself, by filling the voids with activities, which will take your main focus away from who you are and where you are now.
I know it best. I’ve been on this path and I know what it is like, when workouts are your mean to escape from reality.
But now, when I am on the other side, I can tell you how much better it is, when your workouts truly make you feel better, because you are healthy and conscious and you take the maximum out of it.
And even though, the fact that for the past 10 days, I trained just once, I did not feel guilt.
Instead I used the time to do some other stuff, that I love doing and that my condition at the time would allow me- like sitting on a bench in the beautiful park and reading a book; writing in my dairy; or just lying in bed, observing life.
Because everybody needs this moments- the once when you don’t do anything. You just sit there and observe how life is happening around you and you are just taking notes.
You realize why it is exactly you, that got the flu… because you know that nothing happens by accident and that every illness, even the flu is a signal that you are either not giving enough rest to your body or to your mind.
I made my own conclusions and I once again reminded myself, that when you don’t plan to rest, your body is forced to make you rest.
And when it comes to the statement, that everything you achieved is gonna go to waste…this is just bro science. The only thing that happens is that during the first couple workouts, you should take it easier, in order to get back on track.
Decrease the weights and don’t reach your limits. Let the first workouts after the flu, to be just “toning” training sessions; just something to get you moving and used to the loading.
I guarantee you that after 3-4 workouts you will be even better, than you were before you got sick.
It always happens like that, as long as you have the patience and as long as you approach the situation smarter, without rushing it!
Ines, how much time would I need to be convinced that your way of eating will help me lose weight? How many months would I need in order to start losing weight, if I eat like you?
That’s a wonderful question! Why do I think so? Because in two short sentences, are summed up the main mental notions, that interfere with most people’s goals to achieve a healthy, fit and athletic body.
While your main focus is “losing weight” and while all your efforts are with the mere goal of shedding pounds, you won’t have results.
Or maybe you might have some, but they will be just short term results and then the step you made forward, will be followed by two-three steps backwards.
In order to achieve something positive with your health and body, you should make nutrition a lifestyle.
You should give up on diets with deadlines.
You should accept yourself and your health as a lifelong project and everyday you should give your best, in order to get closer to your own ideal- to eat optimally good, to move as much as you can and to take the best decisions for yourself.
How fast you are gonna lose weight, depends on how you ate so far, how and if you trained until now.
The more drastic is the change in your lifestyle, between now and in the past, the bigger will be your results- initially.
But while you are a slave of numbers, you will always spin in an enchanted circle of dissatisfaction and a constant search of the magical formula.
Sometimes people ask me how I stay in shape…well, by not rushing things. I know what I want to achieve and I know that it takes time.
I know that success is not a straight line up and that there are a lot of subjective and uncontrollable facts, that will once push me forward, and other times take me back. And this is completely normal and it Is not a reason neither to show off, nor to get desperate.
What keeps me walking on the path and what gives me strength to be consistent is that every morning I promise myself that today I will do the best for myself; that I will listen to my body and that I will give it quality food- enough food- neither too much, so I will stay away from overeating and feeling sluggish, nor too little- so I will have enough strength to do what I love.
I promise myself that today I will move- enough- neither too much, so I don’t exhaust my body, nor too little- so I won’t make it suffer from laziness and sedentary lifestyle.
I promise myself that I will be thankful for each opportunity and that I will observe life, so in each situation I get to find the reason behind what happened and the lessons that the day brings.
And you are probably thinking that this is stupid… and you have no idea, that the path to your best body and athletic vision, happens first in your mind.
You should first arrange your mind and your life, so you can get rid of all addictive behaviors and then, when you feel complete, everything you do is with the mere goal to feel even better.
Then you will never do something against yourself and your own body. Then, quality food, becomes a necessity, not an obligation.
Then keeping your body in shape is just a consequence of your inner need to be your best, and not a caprice, dictated by the egocentric desire for other people to admire you and evaluate you by your appearance.
P.S. If you liked this post, please take a minute and share it with your friends! I’d greatly appreciate it!
