Hi There,
Welcome back, hope you had a lovely week. Our 3rd week of the fitness and weight loss journey was very eventful but stressful at most. We missed all of the planned resistance training due to Kat injuring one of his bicep while attempting to swing on gymnastic rings, he really overestimated his fitness level (we hope it is not something serious 😦 ), and Tshepi experienced a serious fatigue from the toll of the previous weeks and had to take 3 days leave from work to recover and get her bearings oiled for better action in the coming weeks.
We remained consistent with cardio training though, not because we wanted to but because we are responsible and accountable for a community of people we train with. In 2021 we started what we call a “Fitcamp”, we invited community members to train with us at one of the school basketball court in the area, we train cardio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, it is really a fun way to train and stay consistent whilst adding a bit of value to the community we live in.
Which brings us to this week’s topic “Mindset”. Mindset is the most important factor in succeeding on a fitness and weight loss journey, it is a driver of all your decisions and efforts. If your mindset is not aligned and in tune with what you are trying to achieve you will only reach lackluster results. Through our 2 year fitness journey, we have discovered that at a minimum, your mindset must be directed towards vision, nutrition, training and consistency. If your mindset has a strong foundation on these four aspects among many more you stand a better chance to succeed on your journey. Let us delve a bit on the mindset on vision, nutrition, training and consistency.
1. Mindset : On Vision
Vision is the starting point of any desired state, it is an image of the outcome before it comes to be. On our journey we needed to have a vision of the body and fitness level we desired, we knew we wanted to lose weight and get fit, but how would that look like? We asked ourselves questions, were there examples we could use to see how we would look? Were there some things that could guide us to the direction we were headed? And yes, there were examples and guides. We searched the internet for athletes and fit people who had similar physical structures like ours and who were in the weight ranges that we were aiming for. Their images inspired our vision of where we were going, and it is this vision that keeps us going when we don’t feel like training or eating right. Fundamentally, the vision is that voice that constantly reminds you that if you want to be like that then get to work.
2. Mindset : On Nutrition
Nutrition is the second key aspect on our journey, it is what led us to a state we did not desire and it is definitely key in leading us to a state we desire. A lack of knowledge on nutrition led us to eat poorly, there was no thought given to the diet we were eating, if it tasted good we ate it. We consumed mostly high calorie, highly processed foods and drinks which in turn rewarded us handsomely with the extra baggage of weight and somber emotions to go along with. We had to learn about nutrition, a lot of time and effort was invested on learning about foods and have paid huge dividends on our journey. A mindset on nutrition is focusing on nurturing our relationship with food and to constantly ask questions about the right food to eat, and be willing to learn more and adjust one’s diet appropriately. We are always shocked at how little we know about food.
3. Mindset : On Training
Training, whew. We have a love and hate relationship with training. We love it because it is good for us and we hate it because it requires a shift from our comfort zone. Training has become a staple of our daily activities, we train almost every day now but it was not like this from the onset, it was a habit that was built slowly overtime. Just like any habit, the more you do it the more it becomes a part of you, the key is to start small and do it consistently, as they say “The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen”. Among various benefits of training, we have found the reduction of anxiety and stress to be most important for us, we really feel good when we train, and a by-product of this is the development in physique, athleticism and improved aesthetics , not a bad by-product if you ask us 🙂 . A mindset on training is focusing on the benefits of training rather than the efforts and discomfort associated with training because if it is your journey, you train as you want, you are in control of your training and the level of discomfort you can handle and you are in control of making it fun for yourself.
4. Mindset : On Consistency
If Gluten is what binds the bread together (Is this knowledge about food? :)) then consistency is what binds vision, nutrition and training to reach our goal. We need to be consistent in keeping our vision in mind, be consistent in improving the food we eat and be consistent in reaping the benefits of training. Let us put it this way, a vision is like paving a way directly to a destination, nutrition is like a vehicle set on the paved way, training is like driving the vehicle to the destination and consistency is like a guarantee certificate that you will reach the destination. In all aspects of life, it is common knowledge that CONSISTENCY is key to all forms of success.
This wraps up the 3rd week of 26 weeks, we hope to do better in the coming week, we intend to keep our vision clear, eat the right food, stick to our planned training and most importantly stay consistent in our efforts. Until the next blog, Stay blessed.
Kat & Tshepi
Kat & Tshepi 