Reason #2 – Motivation, Pain and the Great Oreo Cookie Caper

We have all heard the “No Pain, No Gain” theory and to a certain extent this is true, but pain can also be the fastest way to demotivate someone to continue a New Year’s Resolution Workout Plan.

Let’s go back to talking about Bob. Now that bob has calculated his Basal Metabolic Rate and his Harris Benedict magic number, Bob is ready to hit the gym and start shedding that 10 pounds, or 35,000 calories.

Day 1 – Knowing that afternoons are hectic and his chances of getting to the gym after work are slim to nil, Bob sets the alarm for an hour earlier than normal so he can work out and still be back home in time to help the kids get off to school. Bob rolls out of bed at 5:30 and pulls on his workout clothes which he got as a very supportive gift from the kids for Christmas. Bob is at the gym by 5:45, right on schedule to meet the other hundreds of people who decided that this was the morning to begin their New Year’s resolutions of getting back in shape. A spot on the treadmill opens up and Bob hurries to claim his place before anyone else can get there. In a frantic rush to make sure that he can get a workout in, Bob forgets to stretch.

Bob selects a program from the onboard treadmill computer and within a couple minutes is jogging at a good clip. 10 minutes goes by and Bob thinks “This is not half bad.” Another ten minutes goes by and now Bob is starting to feel the burn. His underused muscles aren’t use to this kind of pace. By 29 minutes Bob is in pure agony. His lungs are screaming at him to stop and his heart is ready to beat out of his chest. But Bob is determined to finish his thirty minutes of cardio and burn that 310 calories.

The clock reaches 30 minutes and Bob pounds the stop button on the treadmill. Even though his legs are on fire and he thinks his heart rate is somewhere north of 2 million beats a minute, a small smile appears on his face. Day 1 in the bag. I can do this Bob thinks to himself.

Bob heads home, cleans up and gets ready for his work day. He kisses his wife and kids goodbye and heads to the office where he sits in his cubicle till lunch. Bob even decides to have a salad for lunch as further proof of his motivation to get back in shape. However, after lunch Bob comes back to the office where one of his colleagues has left a tray of holiday cookies out in the conference room. Bob, recognizing that he has really worked out for the first time in years, decides he has earned a couple of cookies. The white chocolate dipped Oreos are his favorite so he grabs 5 of those and heads back to his desk. A couple hours later Bob has to use the copy machine strategically located right next to the conference room. After making his copies, Bob, in his most Ninja like manner, sneaks back into the conference room and grabs another handful of those delicious Oreo Cookies.

Bob gets home at his usual time, hangs out with the family, takes the dog on a walk and orders up pizza for family movie night. The family crowds around the TV with pizza and a movie and Bob enjoys his couple large slices of pepperoni with a couple beers. Since Bob’s body isn’t use to getting up that early, he falls asleep shortly after the movie starts.

At some point the kids get angry with Bob’s snoring and send him off to bed where he sets his alarm for the same time before drifting back off to sleep.

The alarm’s obnoxious wailing wakes Bob from a dead sleep. He turns off the alarm, swings his legs out of bed, stands up and cries out in pain. Almost every muscle in his body is in agony. Bob instantly decides he can’t work out again and falls back into bed, glad for the extra hour of sleep. Right before he drifts back to sleep, he whispers out loud to none in particular. “I’ll go tomorrow.”

Bob’s story might sound a little dramatic but is really the commonplace for most people looking to get back into shape.
Tips we can learn from Bob:
1- Stretch. Gyms are crowded in the morning and it can be tough to get on a machine but afford yourself the extra 10 minutes to warm up and cool down. Your body will thank you the next day.
2- Snacks. Part of getting back in shape is training your body to always expect food. Now that you are working out, you will have more of an appetite. Oreo cookies, however are not the best way to reach your goals. Stock your desk with high fiber low sugar snacks like rice cakes or carrots. Diet Tips come tomorrow.
3- Hydration is Key. If you are working out you are sweating and losing electrolytes. Make sure to replace them with Vitalyte Electrolyte Replacement Solution. Make sure to drink more water throughout the day. Not only does it make a world of difference in keeping your body healthy, but it also fills you up and will help keep you away from the cookie plate.
4- Recovery is key. Vitalyte’s Complete Recovery will help buffer lactic acid, reduce inflammation, and synthesize protein to make sure that you don’t wake up the next day feeling like you were in a car wreck.
5- 3 Days a week to start. If you set the expectation that you will be at the gym 5 days a week right out of the gate, you will be sorely disappointed. Commit to getting there 3 days a week in the beginning and build. Your body will thank you and it will be a whole lot easier to maintain that kind of schedule.