If It’s Not Working…

…Change it!

If something isn’t working in your life, fitness or diet, change it. There is no shame in admitting that something isn’t right for you or your body. The fun part of life is figuring out what does work.

I didn’t really bounce around doing a ton of “diets” to lose the weight. I chose one thing that worked for me and I stuck with it. Last year, Michael and I tried the Slow Carb Diet and it worked wonders for him. He lost 25 pounds on it (10 of those were the first week!) but I disliked the diet and stopped. Not only was I not losing weight, I didn’t feel great on it and I wasn’t happy being denied fruit.

Veganism and vegetarianism is another one, and it isn’t for everyone. For some people, that diet can make them really sick. For others, eating meat might not agree with their bodies. There is nothing wrong with changing things up. If a particular diet you’ve chosen to try isn’t working when you should be seeing some results, it’s time to rethink it.

“Stay committed to your decisions,
but stay flexible in your approach.”
— Tony Robbins

I think the ability to be flexible and willing to try new things is a sign of high intelligence. Be smart. If you aren’t seeing progress, find something that works! And keep trying!

Another example for me:  what worked for me when I wanted to lose weight was eating a lot of processed food. It was portion controlled and I knew exactly how many calories I was consuming. This was good for someone who previously had zero willpower and zero portion control. I had to learn. But once I lost the weight and kept it off for awhile, I had to make some changes. My body didn’t feel great when I ate processed foods. I wanted to eat healthier so I tried to eliminate the pre-packaged junk.

GROSS!

It works with fitness too. Too often it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and stop seeing results. Maybe the weight slows down, maybe the muscle definition isn’t there anymore. Changing things up in the gym does WONDERS for plateaus. Sometimes it’s nice to check in with a professional, as well. Paying for one session with a personal trainer is a good idea to check in. Am I doing the moves right? Is my form proper? Should I change this activity to something else?

Recently, I decided something else wasn’t working for me. With Michael’s job loss we no longer eat breakfast together in the mornings. I have to admit, I kinda liked our routine and it was a rude awakening (literally) to do it all by myself. I was definitely spoiled before. Michael would start making breakfast while I was in the shower and dressing for work. Then we’d eat together. It helped me A LOT because I am less than functional in the morning. Now I am back to being on my own and I reverted back to eating “quick” breakfasts. Oatmeal with some fruit, or toast and two fried eggs. The quick breakfasts I was fixing for myself were not satisfying.

(Plain Greek Yogurt, half a banana, agave syrup)

Eating breakfast full of protein (scrambled eggs and turkey sausage) plus the high fiber (black beans) was a brilliant breakfast! I’d be full until almost 11am. Now? I got to work at 8 and my stomach felt hollow by 9:15. I was miserable. I was so hungry I felt nauseous. Time to change it back to what worked.

Changing my breakfast back to the high protein diet meant I had to get up earlier than normal so I had time to make breakfast. It had to be done.

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not,
add what is uniquely your own.”
— Bruce Lee

So how do you do with changes?

QUESTION: Do you get stuck in a rut or are you open to changing?