Ahh the new year, the time where we feel the pressure to start something new or maybe continue with that resolution we carry year by year. I’m not going to talk about New Year's resolutions, I personally don’t like them. I’ve tried many years and failed hard, and at the time I did not practice self compassion. So, I want to share my goals that I’ve been working on for the past six months!
If you have been around here then you know that I joined CrossFit Liberate about seven-ish months ago. You see, the purpose of me joining the gym was to cross train because I wanted to check off the list of running my first half marathon, the AthHalf in October 2020. When the pandemic hit and not being able to leave the house, just like everyone else I wanted to try something to not go crazy. I had been a “runner” on and off, it had been like a love-hate relationship. But you see, CrossFit is a whole different animal. When I started, I was running a couple of times a week and when I joined CFL I just couldn’t do it. I found myself very tired, low energy and after my workout all I wanted to do was nothing!
You see, I had the mentality of “if I’m working out, I must eat less because I want/need to lose weight” so with barely eating, of course I was not going to have any energy! Oh and did I mention that I have two littles? So yeah, something was off. The gym where I go, they have a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and I decided to seek help. Turns out that I was not eating enough! (uh duh! - insert facepalm here) I have been working with Sara Sheridan and have learned so much. I joke with her that she is my food therapist.
A lot of what I am learning from her resonates so much with birth and babies. Let me see if I can explain myself. Your body needs fueling. No matter the activity, you’re feeling hungry? Eat! Your body is telling you that it's hungry and it’s asking for food. Just like when a baby is fussy… you know something is going on, so you check the list, right? Same with your body, sometimes you may do extra activities and you might need to eat more. Other days you might not do as much and your body may not need as much.
Slowly I am working on eating my carbs, protein, fat and veggie/fruit! Sounds so easy right? Well, this short list has been kicking my butt for months and I am still slowly working on eating a well rounded plate. I started with small goals, adjusting here and there depending on where I was in life and I still am. In therapy I am being reminded to work on self compassion, being proud of my accomplishments, to not downplay what I do when it's good. It has been hard, I am not going to lie, but I am getting better at it. It’s a moment by moment, day by day type of thing.
Sara has also reminded me that there will be times in my life where I may not be as active at the gym as I would like and that's okay! Her reminder couldn't have come at a better time. Life with littles, marriage, household, your personal mental health and your well-being all keep you busy. My babies sometimes don’t sleep very well. The week of my cycle I don’t have energy and my lower back aches (the week of ovulation is the same) so during those weeks I take it easy and “relax” as much as I can while playing tug-of-war with my mind to let myself know that it’s okay to take a break have some ice cream and pan dulce. During these hard days I focus on keeping my tiny humans and myself fed.
I think I’ve been talking for a while. So here we go, these past months I’ve learned that I need to listen to my body when it comes to food, show mercy to myself when I’m not able workout as much as I would like, and that when I show up at the gym with a bad night sleep to be proud that I still showed up.
Self compassion is so important for us. Let's work on adjusting our expectations. While we have littles, things are constantly changing. Let's learn from our babies and live in the moment just like they do. Be kind to yourself mama, you do SO much and deserve it.
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