Guilt Free - Strength and Fitness

Recently, I have been having to deal with an issue most of my clients have admitted to me. It' isn't the first time I have heard it and I am writing this blog post out of concern for anyone else who is struggling with this issue. Even some of my best trainees open this up. If they miss a training session or go slack on their diet they feel guilty!

Now to me, feeling guilty about missing a training session of messing up on the diet once or for a few days is a sign of trouble showing up. I don't ever want any of my clients or those I advise feeling guilty over missing a session or cheating on thier meals. To be feeling guilty will stop and make you think you are just doing things without reults coming. While I don't advocate being lazy and just giving excuses and the ' I'm like this only' excuse which is also terrible for your overall health, fitness and strength goals, being guilty also doesn't do any good.

Buried guilt is a sneaky thing which will come back to hit you hard when you least expect it. It builds patterns into your mentality keeping you weak. As a result you will not be able to go forward. Yes your body might push harder the next time but its more damaging in the long run. Guilt turns toxic inside of you and it drains your strength. Here are just some of the effects of guilt:

• Cortisol levels go up increasing stress.
• Headaches and Backaches
• Cardiovascular disease
• Gastrointestinal disorder
• Steady decline of the immune system
• Contributes significantly to depression and anxiety.

As you can see from the above list non of this is helping in your effort to stay healthy, fit , strong and living a long life. If brought in to the exercise and diet parts of your life, you are just going to go on with a mindset hoping to have results and you you will just be 'spinning your wheels' without going anywhere. Many times that mindset can be hidden and you don't even realise it. Soon its taking its toll on you, then results get further and further and finally you drop out of living a healthy lifestyle or continuing that journey. 

If you miss a training session or a few training sessions or your diet hasn't been clean for a while - whether you were being slack or things just happened that got too much in the way there are a few things you can do:

• Face reality - As long as you are living and breathing there is hope. Acknowledge to yourself you missed up that schedule and get back on track quickly! Forgive yourself and get up. There is more strength in standing up and getting on to the path again especially after you trip up. Don't wallow in the guilt and self pity.
• Get a coach and stay accountable - Find a good coach or trainer. They can help mentor you and give you the support that you need.
• Find a social support group - If you are already training in a group, these could be the right people to give you the support you need, especially if they are all networked to the same coach who mentors you all.
• You can learn 'pre-emptive strikes' or 'counter- attacks' to help you stay on your plan.

There are two examples that I can give to which I saw this work and work well. The first is my own experience and my second transformation. 

The second comes from a client of mine who was seeing me for nutritional coaching. She came to me in September of this year.  From September to October she was struggling to start effectively on the plan and no results whatsoever. To make matters worse nearly all her initial conversations and texts conveyed the message that she was stressed out and she would tell me at times she felt guilty. I told her that she first needed to stop feeling guilty and stressed out. At the beginning of November we met up and she was a different person. She had started to lose weight, her skin was clearer, her voice was calmer and she had more confidence about her. The gamechanger - she worked hard but threw out the extra baggage of being stressed and the guilt of not being able to stick to her plan. She has lost about 5kgs from October end till now.

Don't let guilt hold you down. Life does happen. Things do get tough. However, there is no reason to carry around mental toxic waste like guilt with you especially when things are not going your way. It will just do more harm than than good. Get over it, stand up and keep going. Practice Guilt free strength and fitness.