Before I start discussing this Chapter, I just wanted to talk about how life is going in quarantine. To be honest, I have so much time it is almost hard for me not to focus all my attention towards my goal. I have been focusing so much on what my body is intaking and my training sessions have started to become better and more energized than they were prior to this pandemic when gyms were open. This in my opinion is a great test for everyones goals and to see who is really motivated with all the obstacles that have arose. Overall my goal is becoming more and more aligned with my results.
This chapter is focused on weigh management and body image, Which I think a lot of people obsess over, me being one. I wanted to start this blog off with the disorders that many people face on a day to day basis when it comes to body image and weight management. I wanted to talk about muscle Dysmorphia, which is “a form of body image disturbance and exercise disorder in which a person (usually male) believes that his body is insufficiently lean or muscular”(P.223). My own personal experience with this is my over obsession with how I look. Ever since I was younger I was known as the skinny kid so I made it apparent once i came to college that I wanted to change that. And now i believe that sometimes I misjudge how I look and assume I am a lot smaller than I am. People struggle largely from the social media influencers who edit there pictures and take certain drugs to be perceived in a certain way. So males and females look up to them and try to achieve there exact body type and when they don’t they get disappointed. This leads to these disorders and problems that people face causing them to take extreme and unhealthy measures to obtain this look they are going for.
I thought I would touch on this next topic because it aligns with my current goal. Which is trying to gain weight. This is hard for some people because you have to take in there activity level, metabolism, genetics, etc. So for some people it seems impossible to gain weight and others the complete opposite. But none the less I think that this journey has taught me a lot about what I need to do to gain weight. It is about consistency and never missing a meal. And something that I did wrong at a younger age and don’t do anymore is eat anything and everything. This in my opinion just leads to excess amounts of fat being added onto your body. You need to intake the right amount of calories and the right macronutrients and you want them to be clean and healthy foods. A big thing that comes along with trying to gain weight is relaxing, “Relax. Many people who are underweight operate in high gear most of the time. Slow down, get more rest, and take steps to control stress and anxiety”(P.218). A huge thing with gaining weight is resting and letting your body recover which in this current time is the easiest thing to do. So take advantage of it.
Next topic I wanted to discuss is Mindful eating which is apparent in this current quarantine. It is very easy to go to the fridge when you get bored and indulge in unhealthy food. But this is just bringing you further away from your goal. “Once you have evaluated your behaviors and determined your triggers, you can begin to devise a plan for improved eating”(P.210). The biggest thing that you can do is assess your problems and devise a plan, which can be as simple as not buying unhealthy foods in the grocery stores. This then causes you to if you get bored and think your hungry be either one turned off by the small amount of snacks you have or two eat a healthy and nutritious snack that is going to benefit your caloric intake for the day.
Just thought I would add a picture of me working out in the home gym. Motivation is key guys stick to your goals and then once this is all over it will be that much easier to continue on the process.
