Do it for the feeling, the confidence, the thrill
I used to let my physical appearance determine how I felt about myself. Instead of focusing on how food and exercise affected my body, I let my expectations of what I should look like get in the way.
The greatest change in my mentality throughout my fitness journey is focusing on strength improvement rather than physical appearance. Beginning my fitness journey, I was focused on getting lean and having the flattest stomach possible. But how I went about it was different than ever before.
Instead of looking at myself in the mirror and critiquing what I saw, all I did was challenge myself physically. It was all about getting stronger and challenging myself to do the best possible because it started yielding the desired results. I went from 20 body crunches to 40 body crunches, I started with 20 push-ups and increased to 20 diamond push-ups. My diet was clean (with little to no processed foods), but focusing on my new strength helped me gain the utmost body confidence.
The flat stomach that I so greatly wanted was now mine, and even better than I imagined - a defined six-pack. I need you to know that was NEVER my goal, to get a six pack. I just wanted a flat stomach and decided to go about it by building a strong abdomen. Actually, at the time I still believed that certain exercises could spot reduce fat, I was convinced that the ab exercises were burning my belly fat. This is in fact NOT the case - you CANNOT spot reduce fat - it was the result of my strict diet and disciplined exercise routine. All the chicken I was eating (which helped me maintain a calorie deficit), and the two ab workouts a day were starting to show as a six-pack.
For four months during the summer of 2020, I was quarantined with my loving family in the United States. There was free time to focus on working out and my diet. I was surrounded by people who know me and support me, food that I was accustomed to, and a routine that I enjoyed greatly. That is how I was able to achieve a total body transformation and also how I fell in love with fitness and nutrition. However, the environment where I had accomplished my physical transformation changed in September 2020.
As my stress increased with the great change of moving back to Spain, staying focused on my fitness goals was challenging. Before, I was surrounded by people that I knew very well and supported me, my cute dog, and a flexible routine, with endless free time to focus on myself. Then it all changed. I moved back and was reunited with my friends (who are not as enthusiastic about fitness and nutrition as I am), my university classes began again, and my love life - well, that's a story for another time.
It was then, when I moved back to Spain in September 2020, that I started shifting my focus completely to strength. My new environment forced me to adapt and opened my mindset. It was challenging to accept that I was gaining weight again (mostly from stress eating), but I focused on the benefits of an increased appetite (building muscle) and a desire to lift to release stress.
A year and a half later, my appearance continues to change along with my mindset. I can't say that my appearance never affects how I feel about myself, but for the greater majority of the time - I'm beyond proud of what my body can do. I've gained confidence that I have never experienced before by making it a habit of focusing on my accomplishments rather than my outer appearance.
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