Here we YoYo again, 2024 addition.

THE SHIFT

So it’s happening. I can feel it. The YoYo redirects.

I’m working with a coach and right now I’m not touching a scale, but I still know.

I know that I’ve shifted weight or lost weight. I can feel my clothes getting loose here and there. I can feel the gym getting easier. The routine is kicking in. New habits have formed.

THE PROGRESS

I did a solo date and went to play disc golf on my own. THIS IS HUGE PROGRESS. I’ve been really hesitant to do any disc golf without my partner Shawn, afraid to lose a disc if I’m not brave enough or fit enough to climb down into whatever ravine I’ve thrown my disc into.

We say no disc behind, and Shawn takes that seriously.

I’m not embarrassed to say, there have been days where the courses were too hard for me. One time in the snow and ice, I cried so hard and asked Shawn to cease the round and go home. It was too hard right then. I couldn’t get up the hills. The course was too physically challenging for me.

And damn I hate that feeling. The emotional response comes from the years of the cannots. The years of not being able to do the things I wanted to and not having the motivation to get myself back.

DISC GOLF

I feel the motivation coming back now and I feel the desire and excitement to play sports. I love the feeling of a *NEW sport.

It’s so amazing to share something like that with your partner too, even if he is getting substantially better than me and exponentially so!!

BACK ON THE YO YO

There is this thrill and excitement to starting this trend again. However, there’s always this mind f*** moment where I’m like, “Why did this happen again?! Because I love this so much.” I love Fitness and I love feeling good about my body.

Right now, working with a coach, I’m putting 20 minutes into nutrition and 20 minutes at the gym Monday through Friday. I’m allowing myself to have a goal of 40 minutes a day, or less at first.

It’s not a novel thing to think that a daily workout of 20 minutes would be better than nothing. But there’s something about a 20-minute workout that never felt good enough for me before.

GOOD ENOUGH FOR AN ATHLETE

As an athlete, it felt like I had to get into the gym for an hour and had to really hit it. I wanted to do one of the CrossFit WODS (workouts of the day!) I wanted to lift for an hour, and do my cardio after or before.

It just wasn’t enough for me if it didn’t feel big! If it didn’t feel competitive, it just wasn’t it.

Being an athlete is amazing. I’ll always be an athlete; even when I’m tired or not active.  Even when the competitions get smaller or more casual, I’ll always have that drive to improve.  I’ll always be an athlete, even when I’m not feeling athletic.

Competition is something I need, whether I’m good at something or not.

It feels like something shifted in my body and I’m in season again. I’m ready to do the work for me. I’m ready for life to be easier again physically and to enjoy moving my body.

THE PEOPLE THAT BRING YOU UP

I think watching my friends excel at rugby right now and being a part of it as a fan, has gotten me excited about Fitness again. (You did see women’s professional rugby has started, right? So I can watch them in person or ON TV!) You need to follow and or be around humans that inspire you, and I try really hard to do that.

LOOK FOR THE PROGRESS

Seeing progress using the time I DO have instead of focusing on the time I don’t have has led to this reawakening in me. I’m remembering that last year’s word for me was “balance.”

I’m learning how to balance and appreciate the time I have to put into my body. And all together 40 minutes a day is actually a lot. I’m proud of that.

I’m working on being proud of myself for what I am capable of doing right now. That gratitude has propelled me and led to all this progress and recent growth.

I am working away this all or nothing mentality I’ve always had. The word of this year is “movement” and move I shall. And I shall be proud of movement in ALL forms.

*Disc golf has been around since the 60s but it didn’t exist to me until a round on my solo dates 10 years ago. The sport still did not exist to me for real until I recently found a love of the sport playing with my partner. It’s amazing how some things are just not that great without someone else.