The Time I Unhealthily Made My Favorite Body…

This is one of my favorite athletic pictures of myself. This picture represents an image of my body that I dreamed about my entire life. In many ways, I was so strong. I podiumed in this race, and I built some solid strength, endurance, and killer perseverance. I LOVED how my body LOOKED. 

BUT…I know the full story behind my favorite “look.” I was overtrained. By a lot. I didn’t get enough sleep, and was drained with low energy most days. I also didn’t fuel my body well. As a result, I was injured-ALL the time. The physical look came at a huge cost. 

As I plan and begin training for the competitions that I have for myself in the next year (Jiu Jitsu, an off-road triathlon, and a Spartan race), plus just the daily Jiu Jitsu that gives me life and joy, I can’t help but think of how I want my body to look, too. My constant reminder to myself is that doing the things I love, sleeping well, fueling correctly, and not overtraining will yield the strongest, healthiest version of myself, and the side benefit of those things is very often the body “look” that I want. 

So basically, I need discipline. Discipline to do enough. Discipline to not overdo it. Discipline to do the things I set out to do. Discipline to not quit, even when it’s hard. 

I may or may not ever have this same body again, and that’s ok. But I do want to be strong and healthy-and that’s completely achievable, regardless of how my body looks.