BLOG: Back to Reality

Dakota Days is over, and I am sure everyone had a wonderful time. D-Days might mean something close to best week ever, but it also means jam-packed schedules and the occasional alcoholic beverage. I don’t know about anyone else, but I fell off the health wagon a little bit last week. It isn’t uncommon for people to get off track for a couple of days. The important thing is to get back on.

I tried my hardest last week, but between my own sickness and literally full schedule, fitting in a workout was hard! I was able to fit in some workouts at the beginning of the week but all the events caught up with me. I found myself looking for 20 minutes to sit rather than trying to get a small workout in. Just like every other college student, I get tired. Between work, school, homework and meetings, being able to balance a healthy workout routine is something to admire. I was doing just that until this week. Even eating healthy got difficult. I would go all day with no food, and then be so hungry when I finally got the chance to eat. Which is a recipe for disaster.

What do you do when you have a bad day or two or week like that? You do not let it kill your confidence. You keep going! Often  when people miss a workout, or have a bad eating day, they give up or think they have to start over. I want everyone to know that this is a myth.

If you are like me, your workout program has a set schedule. I do “Insanity” and it comes with a calendar telling you what workout to do and when. I used to feel like if I missed a day, I needed to get rid of my rest days to make up for it. If I got too far behind I would completely stop, wait,and start over. I have learned that you don’t need to start over. If you have to miss a day, try to fit in a smaller or shorter workout and if you can’t do that, pick up where you left off. No one is perfect and missing days is to be expected.

It is one thing to feel the need to start over, but to feel the need to give up is completely different. Your body and your health are way too important to ever give up on. I like to think about it this way: without my body and my health, I can’t perform well in school, can’t see my family and it definitely makes it hard to be happy. If you wouldn’t give up on your happiness, school or family, how can you justify giving up on your health?

Eating is just as important, too. Busy schedules cause over-eating, not eating enough and just plain bad eating. The way to avoid that is try to plan. I’ve known since last year when D-Days was going to be and I still remembered when I changed my lifestyle this summer. I could have planned better for this past week and now the lesson has been learned. If you know you are going to have a busy week like D-Days, it is important to plan your meals around it. This includes preparing them early, like packing them the night before. It’s not uncommon to prepare your meals for the week on Sunday night, either.

This most important thing is to not make excuses, forget about it and move on. You have to remember that no one is perfect. I know I am not perfect and I don’t let it get to me. It is a lot easier than it sounds, too. Never let one bad day ruin your confidence because you and your body are capable of so much more.