My Updated Transformation: A 2-Year Journey

My Beachbody Top Coach Video and Transformation!

Facebook Badge

Thursday, September 17, 2009

My Coachee Learns That CHANGE IS A PROCESS



Dear Boys and Girls,

I'm super active in the world of facebook. It seems like half of the BeachBody community can be found there. Anyway, I often get tagged on notes and pictures, and I admit, sometimes I forget to look at them because there is so much happening all over the place.

I'm really glad I looked at this note that my coachee Evelyn tagged me on. It has to do with her learning how Change Is a Process, my moto, and how she's come to embrace that.

I'm so proud of you, Evelyn. You will eventually get to where you want to be. I'm honored to be your coach.

Persist!

Barbie, PhD

***

So - I've officially completed the P90X program. It took me a little more than 90 days because I had to skip a week or two and then pick them back up, but I'm happy to say that it's over. All-in-all, I'd say it was a pretty tough program, but not unbearable. I suppose it depends on what you're already used to. While it was very heavy on doing push-ups and pull-ups (which I was NOT used to) it also involved a lot of weight lifting and cardio, which has been my life for the past ten years. I only felt like I was gonna hurl once or twice, and from then on I learned not to eat until after the work-out. I'll post pics later (maybe) considering this is not the best time of the month for me to take pictures of myself in a bikini... 'nuff said.

Initially I was disappointed with my results. Really disappointed. I look at other people's progress pictures and they have made visually clear gains. Especially the guys! Why does life have to be easier for them in every possible way? I couldn't understand how all the hard work and careful dieting I'd done didn't yield the amazing, eye-popping results I was looking for. I got really down. I know I can't just stop trying - that will never be an option, because then I would only fall backward and get depressed. But it does seem to be all for nothing to spend so much time focused on getting something, and not seeing the results you want.

Then - my beachbody coach reminded me of something: Change is a Process.

Perhaps for some people, it may take less time and less effort to get to where I'm trying to be - but that's life. Some people eat a whopper and it goes straight to their thighs - some can eat two whoppers and their metabolism will burn them up before they even have a chance to think about it. That's just the way it goes. Just because I didn't get the results I was hoping for, doesn't mean I didn't put in just as much work as someone else doing the program - it just means my body is different and I'll have to keep finding new ways to convince it that it should just listen to me and get smaller already. I have been working out and eating well for a long time. While swithching to a diet of whole grains and fresh greens may work for someone who doesn't already eat that way - my body just says "what else is new?".

And I did get some results. No - my clothes are not so big that they're falling off of me, but they do fit differently. My spare tire looks just a little bit smaller in a bathing suit. I don't have to suck my belly in quite as far to make it look like it's flat. And I think my arms got the best part of the deal - I have visible arm muscles without flexing which is pretty cool. My thighs are still absolutely refusing to budge an inch, making for jeans that are tight in the leg and loose at the waist - but that's the shape God gave me and I've learned to deal. And I'd rather have a big butt than no butt.

So I'm still going through the process. I still have a goal that I am hell-bent on reaching and I just have to keep working for it. Next up is Slim in Six, also at the suggestion of my coach. And she looks amazing, so I'm willing to take any advice she gives. (Check her out, her name is Barbie Decker in my friends.) The other day, I wore a pair of jeans that were too small when I purchased them with a belt that I used to not be able to get even to the first notch, and a shirt that absolutely would not zip when I first got it. The belt was even necessary with the jeans because the waist of the jeans is too large. So, though I'm not where I want to be - I'm trying to remember that I'm still in the process and I'm slowly but surely going to get there someday.

2 comments:

screwdestiny said...

Ha, that's the name of my blog--change is a process.

That's good that she realized she shouldn't give up. Everyone gets where they want to be at a different time and in a different way than everyone else. It might be frustrating, but I think once we accept this it is very helpful.

Coach Ange, MSW said...

great insight, i have learned on this journey, commit, tweak and continue, change is a process but it will happen..