How I Fight My “Brain Monsters”
YES I DO STRUGGLE AS WELL! Those brain monsters do attack my brain sometimes as well, I think they do attack all of us form time to time.
If you see my pictures on instagram you might be discouraged to train with me, you might be thinking that it’s probably genetics and she has probably always been lean, muscular and never struggled with self-doubt and body image.
My friend, I’m here to tell you that I have not always been fit and muscular, I have and I am still struggling with body image, self-doubt, stretch-marks, cellulitis, wanting to eat more than I should and not wanting to train. AND trust me, I CAN NOT eat whatever I want, if I don’t stick to my diet 80% of the time, I promise you it will be – HELLO LOVE HANDLES & HELLO SIDE THIGHS – I’m not a person that has a hard time to put on weight. It’s the other way around, I put on weight pretty easily.
To be really honest with you, I still have those days when I don’t want to train, when I just want to watch a movie and feel sorry for myself for not wanting to train. I still have days when I look at myself in the mirror and the only thing I can see is the stretch marks over my booty, but I’m trying to embrace it, they will not go away no matter how lean I get they will always be there. They are a part of me and my body and they tell a story. A story about how I grew from being a girl to becoming a woman.
If you want to read an article I wrote for Sunday Morning View about how we should embrace our body and stretch-marks, you can find it HERE.
So every day is not picture perfect for me either, I have my share of ups and downs and days I struggle more than other! But hey, what would life be without those days?
Hmmm, I would say pretty boring! I choose to see the struggles as the universe trying to see how strong I am, I look at it as a challenge to improve myself even more. Instead of hiding I always try to step into my feelings and smile, I feel the feeling and ask myself; why am I feeling this? What should I do to overcome this?
Here are some things that works for me when I feel that I just want to give up or see all the “negative” things about myself. Please don’t give up and please, please, please stop that negative self-talk, you are so extremely beautiful just as you are!
When I struggle with not wanting to workout, here is what I do:
Questions;
Why am I feeling this way?
Do I need a rest day?
Did I sleep poorly?
Do I feel stressed?
Has my diet been poor?
How bad is it on a scale from 1-10?
If you are between 1-6 – Go workout – put on some great music and pump yourself up by singing along!
If you are between 7-10 you might need to give yourself a break and you need to rest. What I might do instead is that I just do 1 active thing, like a short walk or 5 min jump rope just to move my body a little.
When I struggle with diet:
Questions;
Why am I feeling this way?
Do I need a rest day?
Did I sleep poorly?
Did I under-eat yesterday?
Did I overeat yesterday?
Do I feel stressed?
Have I had enough water?
(Dehydration can actually cause hunger!)
If you are between 1-7 – do your absolutely best to stick to the diet, drink some BCAAs to fight sugar cravings or eat some veggies. That’s what I usually do.
If you are between 8-10 I give myself one day when I can go off the plan a little and feed my cravings, this is when you need to talk to your coach (if you have one) you might actually need a diet break. When I say go off the plan a little, I’m not telling you to eat a pizza, drink 4 beers, eat 5 cookies and 2 pints of ice cream. Pick one meal and eat something outside of your meal plan, for example a burger, a pint of halo top, or just eat an extra meal that day to fuel your body a little extra.
How I manage my Brain Monsters – I have a few things I do in order to manage those negative brain monsters.
I love music so if I need some positive vibes I listen to my favorite happy music.
I journal about my feelings and I write down 3 things I really appreciate with myself and my strong body.
If I need someone to encourage me I text or call an uplifting friend or family member, tell them how I feel.
For me personally, music is my go to for sure!
I have also always found it helpful to have someone who keeps me accountable and who checks in on me. That’s why I have always worked with a coach in order to progress on my fitness and health journey. It’s been a priority to invest in myself and my health for the past 10 years and I have always had a coach. If you feel like you need someone to guide, inspire and motivate you, please feel free to reach out!
I would absolutely love to help you!
If you want a training program to follow I have a Total Body Program HERE
And a few different programs together with thousands of other trainers HERE
LOVE,
Josefine
