“Never judge your insides by somebody else’s outsides.” — Unkown
With clean eating and my KettleWorx routine I usually feel like Wonder Woman; ready to take on the world! Last month after relaxing my commitment to healthy practices over the holidays, I found myself zapped of strength and vitality. Superman might have had Lex Luthor to blame, but no one slipped me any kryptonite. I willingly helped myself to all kinds of treats and relaxed my fitness regime (at the time I even enjoyed it)! As much effort as it feels like it takes to initially set the wheels (back) in motion, the actual turn-around isn’t that bad! I KNOW by dialing in my efforts, as Arnold says, “I’ll be back!”
When you see people on the covers of fitness magazines it’s easy to assume they look that good 24/7! Jamie Eason is a fitness model that I admire. I’ve never met her but she conveys such a down-to-earth demeanor that I consider her a “friend” who inspires and motivates me from afar. People who know her have told me, she really is as wonderful as she seems! Even though I KNOW better, part of me assumes she’s ALWAYS in peak condition. Thankfully, she’s also real enough to share the fact she’s not always at her physical apex! (I’ve even seen a photo of her baking REAL cookies with her niece! But I’m pretty sure she didn’t indulge in the “funky chunky,” butter cookies and truffles to the extent that I did over the holidays.
Don’t fall into the trap of comparing our insides to somebody else’s outsides. Even people like Jamie will tell you they aren’t ready for a photo shoot each and every day! She too experiences what I’ve come to embrace as “ebb and flow fitness.” NOT to be confused with “yo-yo dieting!” (Yo-Yo dieting is NOT healthy, can’t be maintained and destroys your metabolism). What I call “ebb and flow fitness” is about acceptance and treating your body with kindness and respect even when you are not at your peak. Sometimes you do just have to ease up temporarily.
Take your cues from Mother Nature, she has all kinds of natural ebbs and flows: seasons, cycles, tides etc! The more we accept this and are gentle with ourselves when we find ourselves in an ebb-tide, the easier it is to re-focus our efforts and flow back towards our optimum performance. By learning to accept and minimize the natural ebbs and flows, we are better equipped to avoid a tsunami! If you are ebbing at the moment, consider this a hug from your “KettleWorx Mom,” and let me say, everything’s going to be OK. Now let’s find our phone booths (or the remote for the DVD player), don our capes, grab our kettlebells, and fire up our metabolic furnaces to rid ourselves of that kryptonite!
