Recently I did something that seems odd for someone wanting to be fit and healthy- I canceled my gym membership. I remember when 24 hour Fitness came to town some eight years ago and how excited I was to join. All the shiny, new equipment and all the super- fit staff with their megawatt smiles and undeniable charisma made me feel like a kid in a candy store.
Needless to say, one quick tour of the facility and my husband and I were hooked. I should mention that one of the first things we did when we moved into our house was convert the basement into a gym. It had a smith machine, dumb bell rack, rowing machine, stationary bike, a large section of mats for yoga etc. But I found that I got a better workout at the gym. I was motivated by and fed off of the energy of the other people getting their sweat on.
Since I was a teenager, I always loved the local rec center. I think it’s because no matter what drama I had going on at home, I had this outlet that made me truly, genuinely happy. It conquered my depression, if only momentarily. I also liked the gym because it was this melting pot of people who had different professions, incomes, life experiences etc. that were all in one place for the common goal of being healthier. I felt like I belonged, and for 25 years that held true.
But as time went on, the gym started losing it’s luster. There were machines constantly out of order, often times there was someone using the piece of equipment I wanted, and hell, if you didn’t arrive prior to 5pm, good look even finding a parking spot! For me, there was the rather ridiculous aspect of “Do I look good enough in my gym clothes to go to the gym to work out?” The struggle is real, and I know I’m not alone in this way of thinking! Then there was the issue of by the time I drive to and from the gym, I could have gotten in a workout and been done. Oh, and there’s that pesky elephant in the room; the realization that I hadn’t been to the gym hardly at all last year. So, needless to say, when the bill came this past January, I canceled.
I know what you’re thinking, “ It’s easy for you to do, but not everyone has a gym at home.” And that is true, but here’s the thing- last year I looked better and felt better than ever before, and literally worked out one time at the gym and zero times at home. Albeit, I did partake in a few sprinting sessions with my husband.
I had heard that body composition is 80% diet and 20% exercise. In actuality, sleep factors in almost every bit as much as exercise because lack of sleep causes hormones that regulate appetite to become off balance. Ever notice how much hungrier you are when you slept poorly the night before?
Anyway, as I stuck to a low carbohydrate, high fat way of eating, it caused me to become a fat-burner as opposed to a sugar burner. The Primal Blueprint and Bulletproof diets are good examples of this, in my opinion. So, I was leaner than when I was constantly working out at the gym, plus I had more free time. I had always been the type of person who relied on my workouts to motivate me to eat better. In fact, if I went a long period without exercising, it was always paralleled with poor diet choices. For me it was 80% exercise and 20% diet- I had it ass-backwards. I was eating constantly- especially carbohydrates and working out to undo the damage from all that sugar inducing food.
Last year I decided to take a year off of working out to just focus on how I ate; it was an experiment of sorts. I wanted to see if I was capable of eating well without the guilt trip factor. You know, eating well simply because you don’t want to sabotage the results from your workout. Not only was I fitter than ever before, I was happier. Part of it was feeling like I conquered my carbohydrate addiction; part of it was no longer comparing myself to all the people at the gym who were in better shape than me. Sure, at first it motivated me to do better, but unbeknownst to me, it became an obsession to look like them. This year, I’m gradually incorporating increased activity with my high fat low carbohydrate lifestyle. On occasion I work out in my basement, but all you really need is the weight of your own body to get a good workout and/or the great outdoors. It all comes down to finding balance, and little by little, I’m finding mine. Here’s to you finding yours as well:)