Confessions of a Crossfit Dropout/Convert

[Sohbek]

So when I started my journey I was 230 and 5'8. The Heaviest I had ever been. Completely sedentary. So a work acquaintance of mine mentioned Crossfit. I watch some videos on youtube and decided I would try it. I found a great gym. I went full paleo and Crossfied 4 times a week. I of course started to lose weight. I even got to 179 at my lowest. It was the thinnest I had ever been as an adult. It was crazy.

 

Then life got interesting .I went back to school and that made going to the gym tough. I then I got job on Night shift which totally sucked my will to live. So for two years I ate my feelings and did not thing about it to work it off. I off course gained weight got frustrated and made poor choices.

 

I have come back to Crossfit (1 year and 8 months after I quit) and my body is not thrilled. Right now I am sticking with because I'm doing a transformation challenge and I want to do well. My fear is when it ends will I still have the same motivation. I'm not naturally athletic so all of it is work for me. I'm not like" wow I could go for run. " more like "wow I could go for a milkshake and a nap" lol

 

Right now I am on a good trajectory I am just scared of falling off the wagon....

 

Scott
 

[Evicious]

I admit, I'm copying & pasting my response from another Respawn thread I answered. That's simply because everything I said there, I also want to say to you.  
 

Quote

 

... I've also learned that motivation isn't the key to success when it comes to most things in life. Motivation is like the spark that ignites the fuel in an engine: it gets things started, but it's not what keeps them going. Ultimately the only way to succeed is to develop discipline. And in case that's a little nebulous, let me explain: the definition of discipline is nothing more than doing the thing you need to do when you really, really don't want to do it. Discipline is when you finish cooking dinner and clean the kitchen before you sit down to eat/wander off to do something else once dinner is finished. Most of us struggle with developing discipline in our lives. It's never easy to make yourself do something when you don't feel like doing it. But the payoff for becoming the kind of person who can do the things they don't necessarily want to do is tremendous! So I would encourage you to start with finding a good source of motivation: a mantra, a workout buddy, an accountability group, a money jar, an outfit you really want to wear.... you get the idea. Take that spark and use to it to fuel a little discipline for your goal. Here are a few excellent articles from the NF blog that may help you get started:

Get Healthy Like Mr. Spock

Dodge This: How the Matrix Can Help You Take Control of Your Life

Why People Suck at Getting Healthy and What To Do About It

Is Motivation Useless? (Hint: the answer is no :P)

 

 

I also want to remind you to be kind to yourself. Coming back to fitness can be difficult on a psychological level, too - you remember what you used to be able to do, and you feel like crap comparing that to what you can do now. Focusing on that can bounce you right off the wagon and back onto the couch. So make a point to use those memories from 1 year and 8 months ago as a long-term goal, not a short term one.

 

In conjunction with the quote above regarding discipline, remember that "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Don't fail to plan. Think about all the ways you could potentially fail, and then come up with your fail safes.

You want a milkshake? Plan for it! Work it into your diet - make it your weekly "cheat" food; make a healthy version at home with frozen yogurt and real fruits, dark chocolate, or vanilla-flavored protein mix. Or plan to compensate for it - know how many calories it is, and do an extra 3 minutes of jump rope every day; go for a 5 mile hike up a mountain on the weekend; or even just take a brisk walk every evening.

You want a nap? Nothing wrong with that, unless it's a chronic problem you can't seem to avoid. If that's the case, ask yourself if you're getting enough sleep; if you are, then take a look at your diet - are you crashing from sugar highs? Are you eating too little? Are you eating a balanced diet that supports a steady flow of energy from your meals for several hours after?

 

Lastly, and counter-intuitively, plan to fail. Know from the start that there are going to be days that you are going to ignore every fail safe you've put in place for yourself, and you're going to do the thing you want to do instead of what you know you "should" do. And know that those days are ok: they're not the end of everything you've worked for up to that point. They're a learning experience; a decision point. If you find yourself only going to the box twice a week when you're supposed to be going for four, and you're trending like that for several weeks, take a step back and ask yourself: why? Maybe you're pushing yourself physically at an unsustainable pace, so you're subconsciously backing off. Maybe you're getting bored. Maybe your schedule has changed in another area, and that's affecting the amount of time and energy you have to spend on things. The important thing is to figure out the why of the 'failure' and take appropriate steps to amend the root issue. Switch your goal from four days a week to just two. Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. You've fallen off the wagon before, and you stayed there. If you fall off the wagon this time, the results will not be any different. So don't stay there. Get back up as soon as you're able, and hop back on. And if you need a hand to help you, we're here and we'll do everything we can.

[Sohbek]

Wow. Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I really appreciate it. I think we all struggle with being kind to ourselves. I think planning can also be a struggle I am ENFP (by Myers Briggs) so planning isn't strong suit but i have made myself for work so I will for my personal life as well.

 

Thanks again!

[Defyvo]

I find myself in exactly this situation and that reply was exactly what I needed! Thanks both!

[gidget]

15 hours ago, Sohbek said:

I think planning can also be a struggle I am ENFP (by Myers Briggs) so planning isn't strong suit but i have made myself for work so I will for my personal life as well.

 

I'm an ISTJ, so pretty much the opposite! I can plan out a week of classes to attend and still fail to actually attend them; planning is definitely part of the solution but you still need to be able to follow through with it. I'm still working on that part!

[Sohbek]

3 hours ago, gidget said:

 

I'm an ISTJ, so pretty much the opposite! I can plan out a week of classes to attend and still fail to actually attend them; planning is definitely part of the solution but you still need to be able to follow through with it. I'm still working on that part!

 

Thank you all for you comments and support. I am very glad that I have found a what seems to be a good support system here on the forums.  Lets see if i follow through. So far every week of challenge I have it to 4 classes. Just have to make me a priority and deal with those pesky feeling in a way that does not include sugar lol.