How I went from food addict to gym addict
My name is Stan Lesmeister and I am a 22 year old Entrepreneur & Retail management student. I have been invited to share my experience with Eco-Phant sports supplements with you. I hope it's of some use to you!
'Where do you get the motivation to go to the gym?' That's the question I asked every friend who went to the gym every week last year. Now this is the question that my immediate environment asks me. How did I go from lazy, unsportsmanlike and not exactly motivated to a healthy and very active lifestyle? That's what I'm going to tell you in this blog!
Leaving my comfort zone
When I decided to change my way of life almost a year ago, there was a lot more to it than I expected. My expectation was that I only had to eat a little healthier, go to the gym 2/3 times a week and that I could party less on the weekends. However, in practice this turned out to be a lot easier said than done. It took just a little more than I expected. Before I 'officially' started giving the full 100%, I had a gym subscription for quite some time that I hardly used. Such a shame, but maybe you recognize it yourself? I was certainly not the only one in my area who did not use this, but paid for it. Laziness? I'm sure of that.
The beginning is always the hardest, because where do I start?
Personally, I found it extremely difficult to push myself to hit the gym every time. In addition, it doesn't get any easier if you don't know exactly what to do and how to do it. There are so many different devices and ways to train that I really didn't know how to start at the beginning. When I ran into this problem, I chose to ask a friend with experience for help. The first few times we went to the gym together, and he put together a small training schedule for me. This really contained the basic exercises, but divided over different days and per muscle group. A number of simple nutritional tips have also helped me to achieve better results. A simple example: brown bread with peanut butter. I ate this almost every day. The peanut butter is full of carbohydrates, proteins and unsaturated fats. The bread is also good for your necessary carbohydrates, minerals and fiber. Because of this (in combination with sports) I gained muscle mass fairly quickly in a short time. After the first few months, I was also introduced to Eco-Phant's supplements. In particular, the protein shakes and meal replacements have helped me enormously. For example, on busy days I took a meal shake before exercise and a protein shake after exercise. Nice and easy and very effective.
What were the biggest challenges for me?
After the first few weeks were over, I started to get a little structure in my 'new' way of life. For example, I had a few days off during the week so that I could fully focus on the sports part. I found it difficult to keep eating healthy. For example, grabbing a chippie or something to snack on is tempting when you're having a movie night with your girlfriend. In addition, I also found it difficult to leave the drinks and the greasy bite to the left every time during a night out. Now and then that is of course not a bad thing, but it should not happen too often or become a habit.
What kept me motivated in this journey to a healthier lifestyle?
Going to the gym almost every day, eating a healthy diet, drinking a lot of water, little alcohol and no excuses requires a certain amount of motivation and perseverance. In the end, I'm the only one who can really make sure I stay fit. This was, and still is, not exactly easy. A really handy tip: find a sports buddy, and try to keep motivating each other!
How do I keep fit right now?
In addition to getting fit, staying fit is actually quite a challenge. I had set a personal goal at the beginning of my journey to a new lifestyle; namely 75 kg within 6 months time. At the beginning of this period I weighed 69 kg. I felt quite thin and I had little muscle mass. The 6 kg, which I therefore wanted to gain, became a reality quite quickly due to my weekly routine of sports, healthy food and drinking water. When I reached my goal weight, I thought I could reward myself with a weekend full of parties, unhealthy food and drinks. This was of course great, but I immediately noticed that I found it more difficult to go to the sports club again the next day to dive in. I didn't want to revert to my old lifestyle, so I picked up my routine again. Unfortunately, there are plenty of athletes who have difficulty with this, which I would like to say; build a certain structure and routine that works for you, and stick to it!
All in all, it is feasible for everyone to get fit. If you really want it, you will find out that it will get easier in the long run. Starting up in particular can be a challenge, but you have to bite through it. For the athlete who also wants to achieve a certain goal, I have listed a number of tips below that I would like to give to a healthier lifestyle;
- Try to find a sports buddy
- Make a list of simple healthy dishes that you can prepare quickly
- Bring structure to your daily routine, incorporate your sports moments and make time for cooking
- Try new things; exercises, different sports, a competition, different cuisines etc.
- Drink water, LOTS of water!
- Get enough rest, sleep also has a major influence on your sports performance
- No alcohol during the week - Set a goal, for example a certain target weight
I enjoyed sharing my experience with structural sports and I am curious how you experience going to the gym. Try something new and don't shy away from a challenge. The greater the challenge, the greater the pleasure when you have achieved the goal you have in mind. Good luck!
