Driving in a hired vehicle a few weeks ago was an experience. I was driving a Kia Picanto for the weekend. The first annoying thing was that my suitcase couldn’t fit into the boot. No, not because my suitcase was big, but because the boot was so small. After I had eventually figured out all the dials and gadgets, I drove out of the parking bay. Everything was hunky dory driving in the slow-moving traffic caused by road works. But then I got onto the highway and the traffic was flowing, fast, really fast. I put my foot flat on the accelerator pedal, the Kia didn’t respond. Changed down a gear, still not the response I hoped for. I’ve been told I am a speed demon and have a heavy right foot, so this did not feel normal at all. By this time I realised that I was hogging the fast lane and needed to move out of the way for the faster cars. At some point I was sandwiched in the middle lane and was contemplating moving over to the slow lane but some cars seemed to use this lane to overtake me. At one point I was overtaken by a Land Rover and a BMW X5 on either side of me. I barely saw them approach behind me but I did feel the tremble of my car as they swooshed past me at lightening speed. It felt like I was hardly moving. Driving up the hills was also super frustrating as I kept hoping I wouldn’t have to meet up with a car driving slower than I was because slowing down meant I’d be literally creeping up the entire hill. Well, after getting all hot and bothered, wondering when I’d reach my destination, I then decided to look at the upside. Pushing this little car to its speed limit still meant that I didn’t have to worry about speed traps on the highway. It was difficult enough to get to 120 km/h. So I could smile at every policeman and speed camera as I cruised past. It also meant that I would have much better fuel consumption on the full tank. I resigned myself to the fact that I had to drive in the slow lane and not be bothered by the speed of the faster cars passing me. I would reach my destination eventually, even if it took a little longer than expected.
This got me thinking. Once you make a decision to start on a new journey, whether it be a healthy eating plan, an active lifestyle, a new training programme, a new training goal, race or event, it always takes an adjustment and some changes. Then you get over the adjustment phase and you start getting the hang of it and have fitted the change into your lifestyle or daily schedule. Things are smooth sailing for a while as you start to ease into the new routine. But then you will hit a hurdle, this will happen, at some point. Either you are invited out to dinner and you have no control over the food you will be eating, you might need to travel and this will mean you are unable to train or keep up with your training routine or programme or, you reach a plateau. The way you handle these situations will determine the outcome of your journeys goal. Its true. This will be your test. You could get totally derailed and go off-track and therefore lose the momentum or you could get over the ‘hurdle’ and continue unfazed.
Here are a few tips you could try when this happens.
- if you are attending a potluck event, take something you know you can eat
- eat a healthy salad, even a fresh fruit salad, before your dinner outing
- try to stick to your meal plan foods as much as possible
- avoid ordering fizzy and alcoholic drinks. Drink more water
- don’t over-indulge on food, drinks and desserts
- travel with your training kit, you never know when an opportunity might arise to train
- if you can, take a brisk walk or short run
- do exercises which do not require any gym equipment, there are lots e.g. jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, plank
- if you’ve reached a plateau, trying changing things up a bit. Vary your training routine or exercises, change-up your meal items and food combinations.
If all else fails, do not despair. Going ‘off-track’ for one meal or an unplanned no-train day, will not mean all has been lost and is a catastrophe. Remember, eating one bad meal wont make you fat, just like going to gym one day wont make you fit. It’s what you do after this so-called ‘off-track’ day which will determine your success to handling these hurdles. Continue on with your daily routine or schedule as normal and you will be back on track again. Its easier to do this than to start all over again. Going slowing, does not mean you wont get there. It just means it will take time to get there. Staying focused and determined, especially when it seems hard and out of your control, will help you get over the ‘hurdles’ and reach your goal. Getting over the ‘hurdles’ will give you the ‘umph‘ to continue on.
Being back home, driving my car feels great as I can zip through the traffic at my normal pace. But I do have to say, when I drove back to drop off the Kia Picanto, it was definitely driving a little faster and responding better than it was when I first drove it. Guess it needed a little ‘umph’ too.
Swazi Living Fit 