Since becoming a personal trainer and getting seriously involved in the fitness industry and my own training I have always looked up to several fitness models and other professionals within the industry. You see them in the magazines looking amazingly defined and can't help but think wow that's what I want to be or look like!
After doing my photo shoot recently I really struggled to return to "normal" eating feeling like even the smallest treat was going to make me gain weight or lose the definition I had built and the hard work I had put in beforehand. Sounds crazy I realise but my mind was creating very intense mental arguments with itself and it was actually starting to make me feel a little bit crazy!
It wasn't until I came across a blog post on the page of one of the fitness models I follow that I finally saw what was happening. I was getting that line blurred and had been for some time. This woman is one of the most real and genuine people i have come across in the fitness industry and her words really rang true. She spoke about the pressure of feeling like you have to maintain a lean figure all year round, about feeling the need to have abs so you can post selfies on Facebook and something that I found really interesting is she spoke about the fitness personalities who act like their lives are always perfect and happy.
It made me stop and think twice and I had to admit that I could completely relate to this. Even though I am and try to be a positive person,I am not perfect nor is my life. I too have bad days and days of self-doubt and criticism just like anyone. Nobody can be perfect and happy all the time. Yet some of these fitness models and personalities create that perception by constantly posting selfies trying to make out like they are perfect and happy and that the body they are showing off comes easy.
I can honestly admit first hand that it took a lot of discipline and hard work to prepare for the photo shoot and it takes a lot of discipline and hard work to be able to maintain a lean figure all the time.
What we have to be willing to realise is that what we see isn't always what is really there or not 100% of the time anyway. This is that line of perception vs reality comes in.
I train hard 6 days a week and make sure I keep my eating clean 80-90% of the time but at the end of the day life is about LIVING and finding a BALANCE where you can enjoy a treat here and there and not feel guilty about it. I am still working on this balance but am doing so now with an open mind and I can now clearly SEE that line between perception and reality which helps a lot.
This is a fairly personal post and I hope you guys can see why I have been so honest. I want people to see the reality in me rather than creating a perception and pretending to be something I'm not. What's real is the fact that I love my job and each day I get to train clients and help them towards their goals is a blessing for me. Health and fitness is my passion and I hope to never lose sight of the line between perception and reality again. People like Justine Switalla definitely help by being so honest and keeping it real. I encourage you guys to read her post http://justineswitalla.com/news-events/a-shift-in-focus-and-a-new-lease-on-life
Hope this post can help anyone who has lost sight of the line between perception and reality even if you have done so without realizing it.
Keep eating CLEAN, training MEAN and living LEAN but remember to keep it real, be true to yourself and enjoy the little pleasures in life too :)
