The Fitness Journey – Things I Learned About Health And Fitness

12 Oct The Fitness Journey – Things I Learned About Health And Fitness

Hello My Dearest Reader, 

Fitness is the most abused word in the world. It is the most relative word too. Fitness is relative. It is very very subjective. But who has time to care for such an atrocity. The journey of my work towards being better started way back in 2007. It has now been 15 years that I have thought about my health and fitness EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

Commonly UNCOMMON:

It all started with the acid reflux in my throat which alarmed me ( today it is just a normal case with 1 in 5 people) but I was not very happy with it. Consulted a very kind doctor who suggested that I take up some fitness regime and cook at home instead of eating out. Listening to her I started my fitness regime in a gym with proper diet chart. In some days the reflux reduced and in some months it was gone for good. I could understand only one thing from the whole episode that if I want to avoid that reflux I needed a physical activity coupled with wholesome nutrition. 

Phase – WISE PLAN:

Through the different phases of life, one thing was constant with me, the gym time/ walking time/ workout time. One hour/ half an hour or whatever I could sneak out of my routine. But dare I call it a habit. It was never a habit. It was just out of some compulsion that I should dedicate that time to myself. 

Phases of life make you wise:

Is it possible to take time out every single day? No it is not. That is why I have said that fitness was never a habit for me. Just that I felt good to be associated with it. Slowly, as the blog started people started associating my overall persona with someone who works out everyday, who is fitness conscious but in true sense I was not. I was conscious, I was working out everyday ( at least 5 days a week) but it was not for the real reasons. Sometimes it was to shed some weight, some other times it was to prove myself that I can lift well and so on. The purpose was not clear at any given moment. I was just being on a wave not knowing where we were heading to. 

Information overload:

Well, in the jet information age, it is so easy to get distracted from your goal. And for people like me who do not really have a specific goals, swaying is the first thing that happens 😉 . A famous nutritionist released three books back to back and my only sin was to read them very quickly and to adapt my fitness regime/ food regime with the books. I am writing this for all of us who watch those number of Instagram reels, and posts which tell us how to be, how not to be and how not to even exist. Confused??

Well, fitness as I have said is very very personal!!! PERIOD! 

What would work for someone else would never ever work for you. Unless you know yourself well you can not swim in the waters of Instagram or the internet where there is information at every lap. 

Yes, you can use the posts as pointers and do your own research. Try it for a while, see what works. If it is not working for your goals your body, just leave it as it is. 

Nerd Tip:

If a post says that Omega 3 is good for your health. You can either ask the person who has posted the tip about the source of this information. It has to be from a very authentic source and should be referenced to the post. 

All the conclusions in the nutrition industry are usually based out of a detailed research which is published in the public domain. This research has a proper methodology where the hypothesis ( Or the proposed result) is tested on a group of people. There are different methods to test and only if these hypotheses are positive, the tip should be passed on as an information with reference to the publication.

Beware of a post that does not have authentic research backing it. 

Losing your WEIGHT:

In this pursuit of wellness, I have quite literally lost my WEIGHT. 🙂 Physically, mentally and socially somewhere people/friends start disliking you. This is the hard truth I have learnt through the years. Though the dislike is their doing not yours. People even start despising you for being so upfront with your fitness goals, your food choices and your steadfastness on the daily routine. That is the price you got to pay if you want to be well and healthy in general terms. 

The fun part is I was never very fit in my life. In 15 years of my fitness journey, I could barely exist without any injury till the last year. I could do my work well, I could look after the daily chores. Given the years I have put in I could have easily been an athlete. But that was never the goal. So by now you might have realized that mere wanting and putting in the hard work does not make sense. It has to be very very CONSISTENT. 

What Really Does Not WORK?

Walking, Dieting ( Keto, Intermittent Fasting, Macro Tracking, Quantified diet), Calorie Deficit, HIIT nothing works.

What really WORKS?

Walking Works

Weight lifting for women well, it works.

Dieting Works 

Caloric Deficit Works

HIIT Works 

Only when you are CONSISTENT with what you can do! 

What does it mean by CONSISTENT?

“I started diet from the last month, and you know what? I reduced 5 kgs in a month. But now I feel like eating rice yar Snehal so you know I started my normal food from last week. 

Since then I have put on 1 kg. I might have to start the diet again.”

OR

“I started to workout in the gym as my new year resolution, but 7 days into it and I was so sore that I could not go again. Planning to start again my subscription is getting wasted.”

Does this sound familiar? 

Well, I want to eat rice so I am quitting my diet regime, I have put on the lost weight back again. Or need to go back to save the subscription of the gym.

is something missing here? 

What went wrong?

This is a plan that is gotten directly from the internet or a book without knowing what exactly the body required. The plan is clearly not sustainable the moment someone wants to go back to their normal eating/ activity regime. The person has willpower but unfortunately it lasted only for one month. 

For consistency, one needs to identify eating habits and activity very tailored to one’s needs or sustainable to be performed every single day without any deviation.

What is a SUSTAINABLE PLAN?

A plan which you can follow consistently over the years. A regime which fulfills your nutrition and wellness requirement given the physiological and psychological changes that you go through. Something that helps you to become better and healthier version of yourself instead of inviting some major deficiencies. A plan that keeps you mobile through the rest of your life instead of an injury. 

What do I FOLLOW?

After so many lessons learnt and a nutrition certification, I follow a plan that is sustainable for me. I am able to put in the consistent efforts from last six months as most of it is visible on the Instagram handle. But again, after all this reading I am sure you would not be interested in knowing what I follow, rather you would be more interested in knowing what works for you. 

Take PROFESSIONAL HELP:

The information overload in a way is better because we can make informed choice. If you are lost in the ocean of dieting and weight that loads on you again and again, please seek professional help. 

Read the next blog post to know 

What is professional help when it comes to nutrition or fitness?

How to seek professional help and know it is right for you? 

What about the coaches you see on social media?

What about the celebrity nutritionists and trainers on social media?

Should You take the social media fitness challenges? 

Are you taking up running just for the sake of social media or to prove a point? 

Should I increase my protein intake because some post on social media says so? 

I follow one of the social media influencers and she/he endorses apple cider vinegar for weight loss, should I try it? 

And many more….

My fitness journey has been nothing less than an eye opener. Would I want to change something about it? No. Given the choice, I would repeat it all over again because I have learnt and met so many incredible people in this journey. 

The support I have received from my Instagram family, the walking group is tremendous. I feel loved and I know I can sustain only when I have you all to back me. 

Loads of Love and Gratitude,

Snehal
xoxo