My dear friend and former colleague, the hilarious Gennifer Birnbach from Gennifer with a G Inc collaborated with me on her thoughts on getting in shape. Gennifer was my guinea pig for a three week 100% clean eating & workout plan, 21 Day Fix Extreme, which is not for everyone, but for anyone who wants to see certain and pronounced results while learning about healthy eating. As you’ll see, even though she got in shape noticeably and felt great, she’s not so sure she wants to stay there.
PROS AND CONS LIST OF GETTING IN SHAPE BY GENNIFER
PROS
- Your mother will stop adding “when you’re ready” every time she mentions wanting to go shopping with you for new clothing
- Your mother will stop mentally playing “guess my weight” every time she sees you
- You can live worry-free that your photos are being tagged on Facebook
CONS
- Have to travel with your own food
- Can’t enjoy heaping tablespoons of Nutella alone in a dark kitchen
- Can’t laugh at the party guest who is only drinking water and having a few carrot sticks
- Can’t have fun eating whatever I want. have you checked out the new Dorito’s flavor – bbq chicken?
- Don’t have to spend time cooking, food shopping or prepping
PROS AND CONS LIST OF GETTING IN SHAPE FROM ME
PROS
- Look and feel better
- Feel healthier
- Have more energy
- Clearer skin
- Proud of self
- Feel comfortable in the circle of other “fit moms”
CONS
- Dedication
- Restriction/Not eating what you want
- Having to explain to people why you’re eating a certain way
- Giving up, or decreasing drinking
- Did I say no eating the kids snacks while they’re sleeping?
Even though there are a lot of cons, I still feel the pros outweight them. You can’t really understand how you good you feel after eating extremely healthy until “you’ve had the epiphany”, which comes once you go through the act of 100% clean eating, what I call zero tolerance, for an extended period of time. After you’ve graduated from that, you’ll experience your epiphany.
Now, zero tolerance might sound a little extreme and can get a bad wrap from “diet culture” zealots, but it just means eating no processed foods for a designated period of time which teaches you discipline, portion control and leaves no room to eat junk food – so you use your calories for nutritious food instead. This is the point when your improved eating, workout, and lifestyle habits align and you finally “get it” i.e. “the epiphany.” You’re aware of your muscles during the day, feel, the desire to stretch your body, have better posture, clear skin, a newfound energy and you start seeing the progress that you can’t get from exercise alone.
While doing this, you just look and feel better. Period. End of story.
Back to Gennifer: It’s not the end of the story, b/c truth is: how long can you keep it up. All the clean eating, restrictions, meal prep, carrying grilled chicken strips with you to make sure you got proper protein in and so on. I miss my chips for dinner!
Gennifer has a point. Something I always talk about and what I think is harder than getting in shape in the first place: Maintenance. I often think the zero tolerance epiphany stage is easier than the maintenance stage, but once you’ve seen the other side, the healthy side, you will hopefully make your decision to stay here. It’s work and it’s dedication but it’s worth it. And next we’ll talk maintenance.
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