Today was Day 37 for me. I haven't been posting, or participating in the community, as I've tried to complete a Challenge a couple of times before and haven't stuck with it--so I decided to wait until it "took" and I had a track record of diligence. I completed a Challenge in 2005, then within a few months had a debilitating accident and have spent the last few years in pretty poor physical shape. This Challenge is about getting back into the shape I was in before the accident. I could really use some advice.
My workouts are going well--I missed a total of 3 in December (which believe it or not is pretty great given that I didn't have a car for two weeks and had to walk a mile to and from the gym in the snow), although last week wasn't great. My initial cardio workouts were on a stationary bike because I was afraid to run again--I have hardware in my right leg because of the accident--but I've even started doing that again, which feels great! I've been pretty diligent with my diet--surprisingly, the holidays posed absolutely no problem for me at all. Drinking 10 cups of water a day is a real challenge but I'm becoming more and more diligent with my water consumption. My clothes are fitting a bit differently although there's no dramatic difference yet--or perhaps there is, but it's been achieved so gradually I don't realise it.
The one thing I haven't been able to give up, however, is flavoured coffee--2 to 3 cups a day. The reason last week was the worst week of my Challenge is that I persuaded myself that, because I've been indulging in coffee with artificial sweetener, I really wasn't making any progress at all so I might as well do nothing. I corrected that mindset into the second day and got back on track with renewed vigour.
My question is this: Am I, in fact, making no progress because of consuming coffee with flavoured syrup, or am I hindering my progress so much that I really haven't accomplished anything?
Hello Nathan,
When it comes to these kinds of questions, I believe that if we truly look within ourselves, most of the time, the answers are easy to see. The problem is, we usually choose to either ignore them or we find a way to satisfy the answer we want. Flavored coffee is not on the approved food list but giving in to that desire doesn't have to be a reason to give up any of the other BFL fundamentals. Exercise and eating nutritious food is good for you so stick to it. The trick to body for life is setting your goals and then giving everything you got to achieve them. For me, that meant making a lot of sacrifices and pushing myself harder than I ever thought was possible. I saw the biggest results during the last 2 -3 weeks of my challenge so be patient and stay focused. If you can't see results after the end of your 12 week challenge, then my guess is you probably could have pushed yourself harder than what you thought your limits were. Good luck!
Mark