Cheers to Your Health

Last night I was reflecting on 2021 when it dawned on me that Lent had started more than 180 days ago. I was thinking about that time frame specifically because that’s the benchmark to when I cut alcohol consumption out of my regular ‘diet’. WHY? If you knew me well, you’d know that I’m the type of person who is either all in or all out; with most everything. When you’re ‘all in’ about fitness and health, it doesn’t really work well with the ‘all in’ alcohol consumption theory.

In the four years of living in Europe, where everything is a celebration, alcohol was very prevalent. It was a fun time, and I was able to keep up with the best of them, but over time it took its toll. No matter how hard I tried to keep that balance with the health and fitness lifestyle, I started to see and feel the repercussions of keeping up with the Joneses (Germans in this case).

I’ll just put it out there, the negative of drinking is a topic most people like to avoid, even me, but its important to have that conversation with either yourself or others when you know its time to hit the pause or delete button. In my case, I stopped being constructive and mismanaging my time; topics Rey talks about in his article Loving People's Time. I was blowing off workouts and indulging in more cheat meals because there was yet another fun event to go to or road trip to take. I began noticing that I wasn’t as witty/sharp as usual and that my overall hard body was now softening in a way I DID NOT LIKE. I began living a completely counterproductive lifestyle which I absolutely detested and quite honestly, felt like a fraud in some ways. People constantly reach out to me for training, diet, and exercise guidance/tips/consultation and there I was not fully incorporating those same practices into my own life.

So, once I realized those things fore mentioned what steps did I take to create change? As Mike talks about in his last article Dissecting Always in Pursuit Part 2. It was imperative for me to develop new strategies and have a constructed approach to each day. The number one thing was to cut out the alcohol, as I did on Lent. Then, fully incorporate my fitness lifestyle again, ALL IN! I began meal prepping again and writing out my fitness programming for the week. I took my measurements and wrote them down in a book so I could track losses and gains. In my case I like to see gains, but that’s my fitness background coming through; I’m not afraid of a little muscle. Gains or losses aside, I began holding myself accountable to my fitness goals once again.

180 days forward, my health and wellness habits are on point. I’m more focused, have more clarity and drive, and I look and feel better. Most importantly, I’ve cut out something that did not have added value to my fitness goals or overall lifestyle and have once again become the master of my own destiny.

So, If you’re sitting around with a beer in your hand relating to what you just read, pick up a pad of paper while you finish your beer(s) and come up with a plan to get back at it! Be all in or get all out. There is no halfway. If you’re feeling stuck with your fitness goals, I encourage you to send me an email so we can begin a dialogue. We’re all in this together and I’m always here to help.

 alwaysinpursuitfitness@gmail.com

~Sarah N Burke