Different Strokes for Different Folks

I started this as a mere status update, but it quickly morphed into an essay.  Then my computer froze and I lost it.  But it was good (in my opinion), so I'm typing it over again.

Here is what you probably don't know about me.  I like fasted workouts.  Cardio, weightlifting, doesn't matter.  I like intermittent fasting.  I like the paleo diet.  I love when my muscles are so sore I can barely move.  I don't eat much dairy--other than the protein, I think it's worthless.  Delicious, but worthless.  As my husband so eloquently states, I would rather lift weights for three hours than run ten feet (It's true!).  However, I have learned to love HIIT.  My husband taught me how to sprint last summer and you know what?  I'm a good sprinter.  Not great, but good. 

So what?  Well, those things are not popular in the fitness community.  At all.  Sure, they've gotten some attention, and some of them have a sizeable following, but for the most part, they all go against the mold of what you're 'supposed' to do to have a nice physique.  I no longer eat six small meals a day.  I rarely eat starchy carbs.  They make me feel weighed down and heavy and bloated.  Bleh.

It has taken me years to muster the courage to do what I know is best for my body.  Dr. Sara Solomon, Layne Norton, Ashley Horner, Kris Gethin, and of course Jamie Eason, have all shaped my way of thinking.  I've taken pieces of what I've learned from each of them and applied it to my own workouts and nutrition. 

So what's my point?  YOU know your body better than anyone else.  God created us all differently.  We look different, we act different, and our bodies react differently to food and exercise.  What works for me might not work for you.  You don't have to try to squeeze into someone else's mold of how you should be eating or working out.  Of course, you can't eat crap and and lift 5-lb. dumbbells and expect to have a killer physique, but you get what I'm saying, right?  If something is working for you, stick with it?  Are you only losing a pound a week?  GREAT!  That is a POUND a week!  That means what you're doing is working!  If you're stalled out, that means what you're doing is no longer working.  So do something different. 

I am in several fitness groups, and this is what I read EVERY TIME someone posts progress photos.  "What are you eating?"  "Where do you have your macros?" "Which program are you doing?" "Can you tell me what foods you eat?"  It's painful for me to read that because I know how damaging that is.  People are still looking for the secret--still after that perfect diet that will give them the perfect body.  Guess what?  There isn't one!  But the good news is that if you listen to your body, and pay close attention to what it is telling you, you will figure out what works best for YOU.  If you have too much sugar in your diet, though, it won't work.  Sugar speaks way louder (and it LIES!).  Eliminate the sugar--even fruit--for a couple weeks, and start listening to your body.  It speaks loudly and tells you exactly what it needs.

You may have to go through a lot of trial and error, but if you persist long enough, you will get there.  It's not easy, and it's not quick.  If it was, everyone would look like a fitness model.