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Writer's pictureDiana Smithson

When Your Body Just Won't Cooperate

Have you ever started out with reasonable goals to take better care of your health, only for your body to misbehave and not cooperate? Injuries, sickness, cravings, demotivation, etc get in the way? Let’s unpack what could be happening and how to keep going anyways.


Let me give a couple examples from my personal experience as a trainer of others and trainer of myself to display some possible causes for a misbehaving body.


Half Marathons & Runner’s Knee

I have always been physically active as a dancer and athlete since I was a kid. The idea of running seemed boring. I also thought I couldn’t do it, so it was easy to say it was boring. I moved to a different city in Utah about 7 years ago and met friends that encouraged me to come out for a leisurely run. So I went from ZERO running to 6 miles my first day!


HILARIOUS mistake!


I could hardly walk for three days, let alone stand up as I went up and down the stairs in my home, but I was hooked. I loved running with friends and the time went by so quickly.


So I decided to sign up and start training for my first half marathon. This is where the misbehaving body creeped in!


I was training roughly 8-10 miles/week at first, but my body was still getting used to this new form of training for my body. Although I was athletically fit in my heart and lungs, my legs didn’t appreciate the impact training. I started having pain in my IT band all the way to the bottom of my kneecap. I was determined that I was going to run this race and continue training so I pushed through.



My body still didn’t want to cooperate, but I found ways to strengthen my legs in between my runs to allow my legs to be able to keep up.


You see, my body was misbehaving because I was doing something new at an intense rate. I should have started off slower, but I didn't know any better, and most people don’t.


This is where my passion for personal training became a reality. I didn’t want people to say, ‘I can't run because I have bad knees’ or ‘runners have bad knees and I don't want that’. While that might ring true for you, Stronger Today Fitness provides functional training to train your body to be able to take on the next greatest challenge!


Rewiring Nutrition & Hydration

Changing our foods can be a challenge! Quantity, quality and timing all adds up to be the perfect storm if not educated and aware of the effects on your body.


Education and intuitive eating takes time, something that most of us don’t have. So we reach for the processed or fast foods in a pinch and call it good. Even choosing ‘healthier’ options for take out and frozen meals leaves the body depleted from proper nourishment, often an excess of sodium causing water retention and bloating.



A few of my clients have worked on their eating habits and hydration and have seen results, but not at first! Their bodies reject the new lifestyle with GI Distress, uncontrollable cravings and discouragement. What matters is consistency.


You don’t have to be extreme, just consistent!


Eventually the stomach settles, appreciates the new lifestyle you’re creating and feels full and nourished. Keep going!


As the owner of Stronger Today Fitness, I have taken all the guesswork out of the nutrition conundrum. I have spent time researching and educating myself and others through trial and error the effects of food and hydration on the body. I’m here to coach and encourage you along the way to create optimal health and wellness.


Demotivation

We’ve all been there. We come out the gate hot with our health and fitness goals, and then we hit a plateau or downward spiral. We wonder ‘why keep trying? It doesn’t matter anyways and it’s hard”. The key isn’t to be motivated. The key is to be disciplined.


Showing up, even when you don’t want to. Setting boundaries on your time to take care of you. Not comparing yourself to others. Appreciating your body and how far it has come. These disciplinary acts will keep you from falling off the edge of creating the lifestyle you deserve.





Stronger Today Fitness is committed to helping you reach all of your health and wellness goals. With functional training, health and nutrition coaching as well as mental awareness surrounding body image, we’re equipped to help you become Stronger Today!


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