Trusting the (hard) process - an argument for commitment
Last week I’ve finished my 4 weeks of FB Sweat and I’d like to share my thoughts about this experience with you members of this lovely community. A bit of background: I’ve known FB videos for years now, but this was the first FB workout program I purchased and followed. I am 30 years old, female. I’ve been quite active and sporty the first 20 years of my life, but then other responsabilities entered my life and I failed at giving physical activity the importance and priority it should have had. In the last 10 years I’ve been trying to keep myself active mostly with running and walking, and some FB videos here and there to ensure a bare minimum of strenght training - but without really achiving consistency. Nutrition-wise, I’ve always liked clean foods and still have the good habit of a plant-based, mediterranean diet, but I’ve never been good at portion-controlling and in these last years I’ve been slightly overweight largely because I didn’t pay enough attention to the quantity of food I was ingesting.
As many of us, I started the program with the desire to “feel better”: this includes lose fat, build lean muscle, have more energy, feeling better about myself in and out, look good and feel good naked.
I loved the program: I trusted it (I’ve learnt to trust Kelly and Daniel a long time ago) and it helped me push myself harder and with more confidence than I would have had on my own, while maintaining a lighter and more serene mood. I felt guided. Also, as it happens, my human brain reward system is pretty basic, so seeing the ongoing collection of the blue “V”s of “workout complete” on the calendar gave me a big motivation boost.
I embarked on the program adding to the regime a portion-size control (without really counting calories but trying to roughly keep them between 1600-2000/day), while maintaining my mostly whole-food, plant-based diet and a time-restricted eating of 10h/14h that I had already been doing for a couple of months (not the ideal 16/8, but hey, I do what I consistently can).
So this is what I’ve experienced with FB Sweat: I started to actually feel the muscles of my body, I felt stronger and honestly I felt quite better than I looked, if you know what I mean. The first two weeks (especially week 2) were hard and there were moments when I felt quite tired, but the overall feeling was very positive and every night I went to bed with a sense of accomplishment. I also became addicted to the feeling of light soreness I was experiencing when getting up from bed in the morning. The human mind is a funny thing.
After completing the 4 weeks, my endurance and strength clearly got better, it’s amazing (¿or it is?).
I didn’t see a significant change in my body measures or weight, to be honest, despite sticking to a healthy diet and being in a (altough very light) calorie deficit and a loose time-restricted eating regime. I look a bit better in the mirror, yes, especially more toned, and I'm sure I lost a bit of fat stores, but less so than I was hoping. Surprising... ¿or is it?
…this is where I came to terms with reality and accepted it: you have to have real, plausible expectations. The process of losing fat and get fit for good is not easy and is not fast. You have to trust the process and give it the time it needs to make significant changes: that’s why I decided I’m gonna do the program (or a similar regime) for at least another two months, before deciding if it’s the best for me or not, and before really evaluate the results.
It may sound like negative words, but for me this realisation was actually liberating: it’s hard work, but if I do it correctly, it’ll repay me. Time is gonna pass by anyway, it’s on me to decide how to spend it. My power lies in accepting that the process can be hard to follow, even when done with moderation (the best way to do it, as K&D teach us). That's why I have to constantly remind myself the reasons why I wanna do it, the importance of my goal and sticking with it, and replace the desire to eat more and be lazy with the desire to be a better version of myself.
Other thoughts that are helping me keep going nowadays (nothing new here, but repetition helps, right?):
- Don't think about the process as a punishment, think it as a way to heal yourself. And don't let a small mistake become a big setback. Accept that you're not gonna follow the rules perfectly, but get back on track as soon as you can.
- Rethink about the things you now consider a "reward": is junk food or a Netflix binge really a reward? Not for your body nor mind, it's not. Try and find different ways to make you feel better. Don't think mainstream: think better.
- Diet is the basics. Your belly is what you eat. Exercise can just add (very valuable) perks and benefits to your diet accomplishments, but exercise alone can't really make anything look different.
- Don't eat sugar. Insulin fluctuations are gonna make you feel nervous and hangry, making it all a lot more depressing. Just don't eat it. It shouldn't be something you look for. Healthy, nutritious food should be what you look for.
- When you have to choose what to eat, the question you should ask yourself should be: "which one of these options will give me more nutrients, minerals, vitamins, good energy?". Choose the good fuel, your body and mind deserve it.
- You now probably have enough information to be able to prevent self-sabotage. Don't fall in the same traps and expect different results. Be strong, control your mind and don't believe your own weak excuses. The process requires sacrifice. You won't get anything if you're not willing to give.
- Your body is amazing. Respect it, and be grateful to it. Love it, and think about the process as a way to help your body become the best version of itself.
- What do you mean "you can't"? Of course you can. Now do it. Be strong: you already are.
Thank you, Kelly and Daniel, for creating this positive environment and for giving us so much valuable material, and thank you beautiful people that share good thoughts and information and energy in this community.
Trusting the (hard) process - an argument for commitment
Last week I’ve finished my 4 weeks of FB Sweat and I’d like to share my thoughts about this experience with you members of this lovely community. A bit of background: I’ve known FB videos for years now, but this was the first FB workout program I purchased and followed. I am 30 years old, female. I’ve been quite active and sporty the first 20 years of my life, but then other responsabilities entered my life and I failed at giving physical activity the importance and priority it should have had. In the last 10 years I’ve been trying to keep myself active mostly with running and walking, and some FB videos here and there to ensure a bare minimum of strenght training - but without really achiving consistency. Nutrition-wise, I’ve always liked clean foods and still have the good habit of a plant-based, mediterranean diet, but I’ve never been good at portion-controlling and in these last years I’ve been slightly overweight largely because I didn’t pay enough attention to the quantity of food I was ingesting.
As many of us, I started the program with the desire to “feel better”: this includes lose fat, build lean muscle, have more energy, feeling better about myself in and out, look good and feel good naked.
I loved the program: I trusted it (I’ve learnt to trust Kelly and Daniel a long time ago) and it helped me push myself harder and with more confidence than I would have had on my own, while maintaining a lighter and more serene mood. I felt guided. Also, as it happens, my human brain reward system is pretty basic, so seeing the ongoing collection of the blue “V”s of “workout complete” on the calendar gave me a big motivation boost.
I embarked on the program adding to the regime a portion-size control (without really counting calories but trying to roughly keep them between 1600-2000/day), while maintaining my mostly whole-food, plant-based diet and a time-restricted eating of 10h/14h that I had already been doing for a couple of months (not the ideal 16/8, but hey, I do what I consistently can).
So this is what I’ve experienced with FB Sweat: I started to actually feel the muscles of my body, I felt stronger and honestly I felt quite better than I looked, if you know what I mean. The first two weeks (especially week 2) were hard and there were moments when I felt quite tired, but the overall feeling was very positive and every night I went to bed with a sense of accomplishment. I also became addicted to the feeling of light soreness I was experiencing when getting up from bed in the morning. The human mind is a funny thing.
After completing the 4 weeks, my endurance and strength clearly got better, it’s amazing (¿or it is?).
I didn’t see a significant change in my body measures or weight, to be honest, despite sticking to a healthy diet and being in a (altough very light) calorie deficit and a loose time-restricted eating regime. I look a bit better in the mirror, yes, especially more toned, and I'm sure I lost a bit of fat stores, but less so than I was hoping. Surprising... ¿or is it?
…this is where I came to terms with reality and accepted it: you have to have real, plausible expectations. The process of losing fat and get fit for good is not easy and is not fast. You have to trust the process and give it the time it needs to make significant changes: that’s why I decided I’m gonna do the program (or a similar regime) for at least another two months, before deciding if it’s the best for me or not, and before really evaluate the results.
It may sound like negative words, but for me this realisation was actually liberating: it’s hard work, but if I do it correctly, it’ll repay me. Time is gonna pass by anyway, it’s on me to decide how to spend it. My power lies in accepting that the process can be hard to follow, even when done with moderation (the best way to do it, as K&D teach us). That's why I have to constantly remind myself the reasons why I wanna do it, the importance of my goal and sticking with it, and replace the desire to eat more and be lazy with the desire to be a better version of myself.
Other thoughts that are helping me keep going nowadays (nothing new here, but repetition helps, right?):
- Don't think about the process as a punishment, think it as a way to heal yourself. And don't let a small mistake become a big setback. Accept that you're not gonna follow the rules perfectly, but get back on track as soon as you can.
- Rethink about the things you now consider a "reward": is junk food or a Netflix binge really a reward? Not for your body nor mind, it's not. Try and find different ways to make you feel better. Don't think mainstream: think better.
- Diet is the basics. Your belly is what you eat. Exercise can just add (very valuable) perks and benefits to your diet accomplishments, but exercise alone can't really make anything look different.
- Don't eat sugar. Insulin fluctuations are gonna make you feel nervous and hangry, making it all a lot more depressing. Just don't eat it. It shouldn't be something you look for. Healthy, nutritious food should be what you look for.
- When you have to choose what to eat, the question you should ask yourself should be: "which one of these options will give me more nutrients, minerals, vitamins, good energy?". Choose the good fuel, your body and mind deserve it.
- You now probably have enough information to be able to prevent self-sabotage. Don't fall in the same traps and expect different results. Be strong, control your mind and don't believe your own weak excuses. The process requires sacrifice. You won't get anything if you're not willing to give.
- Your body is amazing. Respect it, and be grateful to it. Love it, and think about the process as a way to help your body become the best version of itself.
- What do you mean "you can't"? Of course you can. Now do it. Be strong: you already are.
Thank you, Kelly and Daniel, for creating this positive environment and for giving us so much valuable material, and thank you beautiful people that share good thoughts and information and energy in this community.
I wish you all the best.