Who would think that it’s possible to lose weight during the holidays? But it’s true. One piece of good advice that I received from my personal trainer Jeremy, was to enjoy my holiday meals, just not the leftovers.
Jeremy Calhoun is a great motivator – he partners with me to set reasonable goals that are not scary to commit to. He listens to me and is able to push me to my limit without being pushy. Because of the partnership I have with Jeremy, I have lost 20 pounds and feel great.”
The two things I like most are first: How I feel. It’s amazing what 20 pounds down feels like, I feel like I’ve lost 40 pounds. Second; I like fitting into cloths that I haven’t fit into for a long time. Getting dressed in the morning isn’t as painful.
Oh, I didn’t mention yet, I’ve done 35 pushups in a row. That made me feel kind of good.
Jeremy’s guidance hasn’t just helped me lose 20 pounds and several inches over the course of a couple of months, but it’s made me mentally and emotionally stronger as well. I’m not that guy that looks forward to working out but I feel great after I do and usually all day. Now, it’s practically part of my daily routine thanks to my accountability to Jeremy. I cannot recommend him enough, and I’m excited to continue this fitness journey at the Body Shop Fitness Center.
You see, we all have “things” in our lives that seem to take maybe too much of our allotted time. Some are good “things,” some are not, and some are “good” but still begin to consume us and therefore could be classified almost as “bad.”
One of my “things” is that I tend to consume myself with work. I don’t feel that I put aside my family or my friends, but I love what I do, and with the crazy hours that come with having two full time jobs, there is always a constant struggle to balance the hours in the day between all my different roles.
I’m sure everyone can relate. Just think about it… how many roles do we all have in a typical day? I bet there’s even more than you think…
For instance, on any given day, I get to play the part of: Husband, Father, Grandpa, Son-in-law, Son, Friend, Custodian, Paparazzi, Marketer, Sales manager, Writer, Event promoter, Community promoter, Editor, Board member of several organizations, Photographer and so on and so forth…
I truly believe if we all sat down and listed out the different roles we each play in a given day, that the list could fill up a book.
The issue isn’t playing different roles in your life, the issue is finding the balance and beginning to prioritize what roles are important enough to demand so much of your time and which roles can be let go or at least put to the bottom of the list for a given time.
For me, the roles relating to my family, employer, clients and to the community have always been most important. So, these are still “good” roles to have and to appreciate.
But… as I have a conversation with the man in the mirror, I realize that if I let my roles promised to others dominate my life, that there will be no time to focus on one role that was left off the above list… the role of “Self.”
I realized that I was more often putting the needs of others in front of my own personal goals and was justifying that because that’s what a good husband, father, employee, Editor is supposed to do… not that it is totally wrong, but do you not agree that I would definitely be able to do all my roles more efficiently and with more energy if in fact I was also taking time for “self.”
I learned that I was tending to put my workouts off to “finish the next Facebook post” or taking work home with me when I should be devoting that time exclusively to my wife, or playing with my grandchildren and even, something I’m not too proud of, I would put items that my family asked me to do on the bottom of my to do list because of all the other items I still “had” to get done.
Now, please don’t go thinking that I am a dead beat dad or that I didn’t appreciate my wife… far from the truth… but I didn’t feel that I was able to give them or anyone for that matter 100% because I was stretched too thin.
Hopefully that makes sense and gives you a back-story as to why it’s important to where I’m going next here…
….With all that said, I decided to take action. Starting with my own health.
I have had many ask me to update my progress. I will share more soon. With the holidays almost past and a New Year coming, I look forward to continued success.
Live the life you are meant to live… Alex
