Take A Break and Start Again, Same Goal New Plan

When Doug and I started out on our journey to get healthier, we did two things.  We made the decision to change our eating habits and we committed to personal trainers.  That was six years ago.

We found a gym that seemed to fit us, at the time.  We were very fat, out of shape and embarrassed to be seen in the gyms where people are judged just by walking in the door.  It was totally the wrong attitude, but it was and still is very real. We trained hard, ate right and we lost weight and took on a whole new world of healthy eating, healthy habits, and our bodies responded well.  But, times change. We have lived this way for so long that I suppose we started to do what most of us do.

We slid into old habits.

  • Even though we knew what to eat and what not to eat.
  • Even though we felt so much better eating healthy.  
  • Even though we felt better when we did some form of activity on most days,
  • we fell into our old habits.

We left our previous gym in the late fall.  We told ourselves that we knew what we were doing.  We had all the knowledge and we had each other. Now while all that is true, we still were not able to be the super-humans that we thought we could be and poof, we put some weight back on and became what we never wanted to become our old selves, well, kind of.

Having said all that, that is not where we are now.  Remember, we had six years of doing it right to fall back on.  We have a whole new world of knowledge to use. We are bound and determined to get back on track.  And, we are doing just that.

There is something to be said for taking a break from something you have done for a very long time.  For some people, going from 12 years of school right into university is too much, so they take some time off.  For others, there are large breaks in time between relationships. I know people that when they leave one job, the take their time before jumping into the next.  That is all good as long as the rest period is not so long that getting back at it is too hard and you actually do get back at it.

The human condition is that there will be a constant state of change in one form or another.  Once you wrap your head around that, you can give yourself permission to start again. You can stop beating yourself up for taking a break.  Then you can get right back in the mode to do what it is that you are supposed to be doing.

Getting back at whatever you have taken a break from doesn’t mean you do exactly what you just left.  You left for a reason, don’t just sign up for the same pain again. For example, we were in a personal training gym that focussed on training for bodybuilding competitions for those 6 years.  Although we never wanted to compete, we knew that, by looking at them, they knew what it took to get into shape. When we chose to get back at it, we wanted to look at all options out there. There are a whole lot of gyms and activities to choose from.

After all the research, I have got quite good at research because of this blog, I found a gym that seemed to fit us and our new goals better than returning to the other gym.  We are now proud members of our local Crossfit gym.

  • We went for intro interviews.
  • Did free trials.
  • Checked out pricing.
  • Class sizes.
  • Personal training options.
  • Prices for all potential packages.  
  • We made sure we could commit to the process.
  • And in the end, signed on the dotted line and began our new routine.

It was just as scary as the first time in the gym.  I felt unsure, insecure, old, fat, inadequate, and everything else you can imagine, but did it anyway.  We have had a look at the food that has crept back into our pantry and fridge, and once again, chose to make a change for the better in our eating habits.

We are only a few weeks into the renewed system and we both are feeling like this is definitely the right place for us.  We are back on track and feeling so much better.

We will keep you up to date with our progress and you can hold us accountable as we push into the renewed push for our healthy lifestyle.

 

What's so fascinating and frustrating and great about life is that you're constantly starting over, all the time, and I love that. – Billy Crystal

 

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Stay in Touch

To follow the best weight loss journeys, success stories and inspirational interviews with the industry's top coaches and specialists. Start changing your life today!

spot_img

Related Articles