I love sharing my stories, my fears, my small successes.
My favorite part is the advice I receive from readers.
I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the wisdom, the honesty, and the helpful tips.
A few days ago, I posted about how I can no longer eat Big Macs with reckless abandonment because I know how many calories I am burning during my spin classes because my gym got new bikes.
I received wonderful comments and "WHOOTS" of support (THANK YOU!), but one comment from the always wonderful Danielle at Zombie Love Affair, I just had to share....it was so simple, yet so effective for me:
"The 'reward' for working out hard is looking and feeling good"
SO TRUE! There is no better reason to work out. To feel strong. To feel capable. To feel shapely.
I always practiced the notion that a workout was to be rewarded with food.
I am always ravenous when I first get back into a workout routine until my body adjusts, so in my mind, I felt like I needed the extra food....and no! I would push myself in a class daydreaming about pizza, milk shakes, and hamburgers. Then, in the next thought, I would daydream about myself in my favorite bikini. Oy, Ready & Fading, OY!
Yesterday, after a particularly awesome spinning class, while I was at the gym showering, I thought about how awesome and accomplished I was already feeling about my day. It was only 9:00 am and I had answered several emails, took an exercise class, and now I was getting ready for my afternoon appointments. I look down at my legs and thought to myself, "hey, not bad." My cheeks felt flushed, my tush felt tight, and my calves were still burning.
That was the workout reward........feeling untouchable.
Atta girl. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteCheers to this! I, too, need to avoid that frame of mind where some kind of food is my reward for my hard work.....doesn't really make any sense to work off all those calories and then go eat them back in the form of something lousy for me!
ReplyDeleteI have used food as my reward forever...with school assignments, work deadlines, going to the gym....it's because food is my favorite thing....oy! Now, I am thinking.....maybe getting back into my favorite jeans that are collecting dust is a pretty nice reward! Hehe.
DeleteThat Danielle seems like a smart cookie and so are you! You're doing great!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU! One day at a time!
DeleteThanks for the shot out! I always have to remember that too, instead of thinking "Oh I worked out hard all week, pizza time!", that's just a way to compromise all your hard work!
ReplyDeleteI also get super ravenous when I start working out a lot, I generally keep a banana or tangelo orange in my gym bag. The sweetness of the fruit keeps me from binging on something bad.
Hahahaha, I brought a banana with me today and ate it between my class and the shower. It was a banana because I ate ALL of the clementines I had while watching the Bachelor finale (I know, I know) last night!
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