Trigger Warning to my fellow Millennials: This article might hurt your feelings.
Bad stuff happens. Really really bad stuff. This has unfortunately been a kind of bad year when it comes to bad stuff happening to good people that I personally know.
These are cases where sorrow, mourning, sadness, and other less than fun emotions are totally normal, and I would argue most people would find them acceptable.
Then you have the person posting on their Facebook, IG or TikTok:
“UGH THE LINE AT STARBUCKS IS SO LOOOONG!!! FML” (FML stands for F*** My Life for those of you who don’t know.)
This is one phrase that I absolutely hate.
Really? F your life? Because Starbucks isn’t fast enough? You have it so hard…
Many people, mostly my generation and younger (yes I’m now that crotchety old man), love to be overdramatic about everything because our lives are really really hard, like for reals.
We love to complain about our jobs that we got right out of college (which many of our parents mostly paid for) and talk about how we wish we had a 40-hour workweek (does this even exist?), or maybe we aren’t ready to enter the working world, so we will go learn about ourselves while traveling the world for 9 months – rough life.
Where does the drama relate to fitness and nutrition?
Good thing you asked, because I could’ve really kept going there…
Sometimes you need to want things bad enough for them to come to fruition. Sitting around complaining about how hard it is to go the gym, or why it’s not fair that your one friend can eat whatever he wants and not gain weight will not get you closer to your desired results.
Stop whining. Do the work.
Cut the self-loathing, cut the BS, and just make it happen.
1) If You Don’t Buy It, You Don’t Eat It
Mind-blowing. If you have foods that you know you can’t control yourself around – don’t buy them, and they probably won’t end up in your home.
I can’t control my portions with trail mix and tortilla chips (any kind) – so we don’t usually buy it, but we will occasionally have them on trips – and yup, I still can’t keep from eating 1000 calories worth in one bowl.
Know your trigger foods, and just don’t buy them. Sometimes pure avoidance is what is best if you know you have a problem.
2) Exercise – No Matter What
Don’t feel like going to the gym somedays? Me too.
This is when you need to remember “why?” Why are you doing this in the first place? Not because you want to lose weight, that’s a terrible motivator.
Maybe it’s so you feel better health-wise, so you can better take care of your sick loved ones – now that’s motivating.
Maybe it’s because you feel better mentally, you enjoy looking fit, you need to maintain some sort of healthy look for your profession, and you have a kid on the way…
Just get to the gym, or wherever you planned on working out for the day. Even if you just get on a treadmill and say “ok, I’ll go for 10 minutes, then I’ll be done” – chances are before that 10 minutes is up you will feel better and choose to do more.
3) Avoid Crappy People
Some people are just negative, hurtful, or add too much stress to your life.
They are to be avoided.
Sometimes you think you can change them, but you can’t – and they just end up trying to drag you down with them.
They could be people you consider friends or even family – and as hard as it may be, you might have to distance yourself from them if they continue to let you down, lure you away from your goals (not just fitness, but life goals), or bring stress to your life.
It is often said that you become the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most – so take a good look at those people, do they inspire you? Do they live good lives? Are they good people? Healthy people?
Stop hating yourself, stop feeling sorry for yourself, put things into perspective – and re-evaluate what is really worth stressing about.
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