Monday, August 14, 2017

Instant Gratification vs. Delayed Gratification

Yesterday, I shared on my Facebook and Instagram (@alinamfthompson) my results for week 1 of SHIFT SHOP. They were a little less stellar than I had hoped, but I wanted to share a little more about what happened last week and the changes that have been made for this week.

For the last several months, shoot probably more like the last year, I have been on this workout/clean eating roller coaster. Every time I started a new workout program something would happen, an injury, an illness, or straight up laziness and I would quit. Every time I would plan a week of clean eating a party would be added to my calendar, a new restaurant would open, or a billion other excuses would present themselves and I would quit.

{Photo Cred: Pinterest}

In the past I've also shared that I'm an all-in or all-out kind of girl. I don't understand less than 100%. But in all honesty, sometimes that is my downfall. I dump so much on my plate that it becomes overwhelming and all of a sudden I'm drowning in too many commitments and I'm all the balls I've been juggling come tumbling down right on top of me. That's just #momlife right??

This time around, I knew I needed to make a change. Instead of changing every single aspect of my life in one fell swoop, I decided to make one change. If I could make it one week and maintain that change, then the next week I would add another change. And so on and so on.

So, while week one of SHIFT SHOP meant some seriously hard workouts, I also did not dial in my nutrition...like, AT ALL! Wine? Yes! Burgers? Yes! Mac & Cheese? Of course! You get the picture. Each time, I enjoyed any of these (or so many other treats) I felt instantly happy. Ordinarily I later would have experienced a feeling of guilt that I had traded the choice to have a nutritious meal for the instant gratification of an unhealthy treat.


{Photo Cred: Pinterest}

Last week was a little different. Since I went into the week knowing that I had 1 goal and simply needed to make that happen, I never felt deprived and it was a lot easier to get through that first week. But as I stood on the scale yesterday, there was still that feeling of disappointment. What would that number have looked like if I had eaten clean? Would it have been a drastic difference?

{Photo Cred: Pinterest}

Let's take a second to be real...obviously losing 2 pounds in a week is AMAZING!! That's definitely a healthy weight loss goal and nothing to be bummed about! I think my perception of what that first week would look like were altered by seeing other fellow coaches losing crazy amounts of weight and getting super toned in only 3 weeks.

So, as I sat down to set my goals for this week I knew I would keep my workout goal and I would commit to workout every day for 7 days, with one double workout day, for a total of 9 workouts. I also planned to add a second goal and that would be focusing on my nutrition. I committed to follow the SHIFT SHOP meal plan EXACTLY. No cheats AT ALL!!

That's where I am today. The fridge is stocked and ready to go. My hubby has agreed to follow the meal plan with me and the recipes look fantastic. But even seeing how delicious everything looks, I know going a week without a burger or a glass of wine isn't going to be easy. I know there will be a day that everything will seem to go wrong, I'll be stressed to the max, and I'll either be craving some comfort food or wanting some quiet time to read with a glass of pinot grigio. This week I'm committing to not chase instant gratification. I'm looking ahead to the delayed gratification of climbing on the scale in a week knowing that I've completely eaten clean and showed up for every workout and I know those results will be there waiting for me.

{Photo Cred: Pinterest}

Do you struggle with fitness or is nutrition harder for you? Do you struggle to do both at the same time? You are not alone!! You can follow my SHIFT SHOP journey on Facebook and Instagram (@alinamfthompson) and please feel free to reach out to me if I can encourage you on your own journey!!

Are you ready for the SHIFT?! Check out this video to here more about the program from trainer, Chris Downing. If you're as excited about this program as I am, COMMENT and let me know!! You can find all the information to purchase the program HERE.

{Video Cred: Beachbody}