If you are like me, your main reasons for exercising and eating healthy are improving your overall health, adding years to your life, reducing stress, and having a sexy, fit physique to impress the opposite sex. In impressing the male species, I go as far as wearing short-shorts and 6 inch heels, but hey, I am a different breed altogether. Anyway, the point is, due to those reasons, you marched to the gym, got a one-year membership, and bought a package of personal training sessions. You hit up Lululemon and Sport Chek and got decked out in colorful, too-tight spandex and over-priced sneakers. Then, the quest began.
Things were going great. The first 4-6 months were just out of this world. The endorphins produced by exercising did their thing. Your mood had never been better, and if I may dare add, you actually didn’t mind your friends and their so called “happy relationships” anymore. You lost weight and inches from your waist, gained some precious lean muscle mass, and saw some abs. You were so happy, you rewarded yourself with a new, sexy wardrobe. Even the hot guy checked out your new caboose when you were doing some serious deadlifts. Then out of nowhere, disaster struck. You started noticing that you were too tired. You were too busy to make it to the gym. Then your new clothes did not fit. You felt bloated all the time. You could not stop reaching for junk food. And before you knew it, you had gained 5, 6, 7…oops, 10lbs. So, before you stop altogether and start having breakfast at Mickey D’s, let me tell you why this might be happing. It could one of the following reasons:
1. You have hit a plateau. That’s when your body adapts to your new training and diet routine.
2. You have over-trained and did not get in enough rest. That leads to being overly fatigued and a loss of interest in training.
3. You were not honest with yourself. You skipped cardio and you reached for that 3rd Vodka-Cranberry and told yourself a lie that there are no calories in Vodka…Really? In what science?
Now that the problem has been pinpointed, here is what you need to do to get out of that dreadful slump. First, switch things up by changing around your exercise and diet routine every few weeks. Even a small thing like doing cardio using an elliptical today, then switching to the stair-stepper a few days later makes a big difference. Second, sign up for group classes like Yoga and dance. Do NOT do Zumba, that’s not a dance, seriously, you will make me hurt you if you do. Third, stay away from alcohol; it’s not your friend. No, it’s not. There are other things I can list but I will start charging, so I bet you are good with these three for now. With that being said, get back out there, kick the ish out of that slump, and I promise you, that soon enough, the hot guy in the gym will be helping you with your cardio…if you know what I mean. 😉
