THe best way to SABOTAGE your fitness progress:
Comparing yourself to others
64% of Americans say social media have a mostly negative effect on society today, according to a Pew Research Center.
Media has such a huge influence on us, as consumers, which leads to be unsure what is the right or wrong way of doing things. Even worse than that it has given us this idea of how we are supposed to look.
So we spend hours scrolling through social media daydreaming and comparing our bodies to those around us.
When it comes to fitness, during the 2020 Pandemic there was a HUGE influx of “Fitness Professionals” who flooded the social media space in hopes of growing this influencer life.
The term Fitness Professional actually changed to Fitness Influencer because of the increase in social media trends.
To be honest, I am guilty of this. I am guilty of this trend of comparing myself to those on my feed whether it be physical appearance or business. I do find myself wondering if my life could ever look like someone on my feeds. But the reality is that we do not know their life. We do not what is truly happening in the photo or what it took to get that particular photo or video.
I will say this no matter if you follow people on social media or see them in the gym, EVERYONE HAS A STARTING POINT!
No one is born with six pack abs or exceptionally clean eating habits. These things have to be developed and they take time.
Ending this sabotage trend of comparing ourselves to others needs to be the first step in actually making true change. Everything down to our genetics is unique to us.
For me, I have a LONGGGG family history of Diabetes which means genetically I am predisposed to this being part of my life at some point. Some are genetically blessed to not have a long lineage of medical history. But you can be the change in your family and your life. My goal is to prolong, what potentially could be, the inevitable. Again for me, so far so good.
However, since I have this genetic disposition to Diabetes, my body has a slight sensitivity to sugars and carbohydrates which means that it is something that I need to watch. I am also amongst the tallest in my family which will natural mean that I will weigh more than those around me. But if I were to compare myself to my 5’2 best friend, who naturally will be smaller than me, it will always be a lose lose battle. Because again, she will naturally be smaller framed than me.
We have to STOP this trend of looking at those who are either, genetically blessed or works this butts off to get the look THEY want to achieve.
Keywords here… THEY want to achieve.
Let me ask you this “ What do you want to achieve?”
At the end of the day, your fitness program needs to match your fitness goals. Not Sally on the treadmill next to you. Because I am here to tell you, the plan that is working for her, might not work for you!
Create your game plan. Create your fitness journey. Create who you want to be.
Here are some tips to help ending your game of Sabotage:
Sit down and write out all of your fitness goals. Big and small. Do not hold back here.
Take those goals to a true Fitness Professional so they can help create a plan for you. Let’s setup a time to chat
Stop following Instagram Influencers that are not Fitness Professionals. Read this Article
Start following legitimate accounts that want to help you be better, with less shirtless selfies.
Find yourself accountability group or partner with like minded, realistic goals.
I hope that you found at least one helpful tip within this post. In the end, you want to be able to look back at your fitness journey and say “ I did that, I completed [Fill in the Blank].” Because it should be about you and what makes you healthy and happy.
