I’m going to get straight to the point. A year ago, I was flying high in my fitness and taking care of my health. I was consistently working out with my trainer, paying attention to what I put in my mouth for food, and keeping stress off me by any means necessary.
I was on my entrepreneurial path and gaining momentum. At the same time I was in a relationship but he was away most of that year for training, nevertheless, we were in a relationship. A year later, I looked in the mirror and although I looked the same in the face…..I’d gained over 40lbs!
I could feel it. My feet hurt, my arms fell asleep depending on the position, my clothes were too tight and I just felt miserable to say the least. What the hell happened? It was more than life. But what exactly?
Here’s what happened.
I was making poor choices in my life because I wasn’t connecting the dots on how to manage my relationship, being an entrepreneur and taking care of myself at the same time. Basically, I wasn’t honest with myself.
The biggest challenge for me was getting too tied up in my business and relationship, so I would put myself last. Yes, my relationship was good. We were so in love that I was chomping down on steaks, pies, cakes and avoiding the gym because we would want to go do all of these things. We were living the life! My business slowed down and I started putting off following up with things, too.
Then, when I look in the mirror a year later, I almost started crying because I thought of all the hours I’d wasted, all the running I’d put in, and all of the things I had faced to lose over 220lbs the first time (naturally). Most importantly, I had let myself down by not being responsible for my health and on top of that, my business sucked.
At first, I wanted to blame my partner. Of course it was his fault for making me eat steaks, fries, pizza, ice cream and of course it was his fault for making me skip the gym and cancel my membership. And of course I wanted to blame him and others for getting in my way of sabotaging my health and fitness for trying to accommodate and please them.
But guess what? I was fooling myself for even thinking about blaming him for any parts of what I had allowed myself to become or for missing those gym days. I was at fault for not making time in my schedule to workout and making poor food choices when I was on the go.
Finally, I was able to face myself in the mirror and tell myself the truth. It was the same as being able to look at bad credit and knowing you were the cause of having bad credit and that’s why you couldn’t get that car. The moment I owned my mess, my mess became my message and I took corrective actions to get me back on the right path….the path I wanted to be on…..the path my life depended upon.
My body is the only place I have to live, so why would I neglect it and act like I can just get another one?
Real talk, being an entrepreneur in a relationship and staying on track with your health and fitness requires discipline, focus and the ability to consistently make good choices. It also requires that you choose your partner wisely.
If you have a partner who is not committed to health and fitness or lacks motivation, often times you will need more discipline to overcome not getting sucked into their habits and energy. This doesn’t mean you don’t love him or her. It means you love yourself more and you know your life depends on you taking responsibility.
In addition, pay attention to your habits, because as your business grows and you start working more and gaining momentum, it is SO EASY to just miss “leg day” because a product is about to launch and you feel you can’t spare 1-2 hours to workout.
I’m writing from a real place and if you are reading this, you are probably here or have been here too or perhaps you are headed in this direction. I am telling you right now, if you are headed this way or realize this is you, make a turn NOW and get off the path of destruction when it comes to your health and fitness. Neither a relationship nor business is worth you not taking care of yourself and neglecting to do what you know you’re suppose to do.
Besides what good is having an amazing wo(man) and career and you’re too fat and sick to enjoy it? This is not the time to be politically correct with what I’m saying. So in case you need it said another way, no one is going to come and save you, but someone will enjoy your partner and money if you permanently “check out” from self-neglect.
