ADJUST to Life’s Challenges to Achieve the Success You Deserve

August 22, 2008 · 7 comments

This is a guest post by Matthew Perry from 3rd Chance Fitness.

My wife said that painting her toes was starting to be a real bitch…

Well, by this picture I couldn’t disagree one bit…but it made me think of myself…That exercise right now was starting to be a real bitch. Now I know her challenge, she’s preggo! She was painting her toes whenever she felt like it. Now she paints her toes when she feels good, when the baby isn’t kicking too much, etc. etc. But she is still painting her toes, because it is important to her…

And exercise is important to me.

And her being pregnant is no excuse to let myself go. My mother in law said that I was going to gain weight just because my wife was pregnant…so I took that as a personal challenge to be in BETTER shape when he is born, compared to when he was conceived. And no it has not been easy, even being a “fitness nerd” my whole life, LIFE still gets in the way. If I am not in better shape, then so be it, but I will NOT be in worse!

So my challenge right now, the road block if you will, is that my wife is pregnant and life has been slowly changing, taking me out of my comfort zone and in turn challenging my eating habits and my exercise routine…So what do I do?

Just ADJUST to the situation, because you always have time to do what you want to do. Period.

I would NORMALLY exercise 5 days a week without fail with maybe a 6th day if I wanted to. I would NORMALLY do 30 minutes of weights and 30-45 minutes on the bike. And this is at my local health club. I would get up at 4:15am and be at the gym by 5, home by 6:30, at work by 7:30…Good grief just typing this out is making me tired.

I would NORMALLY go grocery shopping on Sunday and have my whole week of meals planned out, from my morning shake to my dinner and all the nutritional snacks in between.

And since I do not have the same time, I am ADJUSTING to it, not giving in to it, knowing that it will just get more challenging as time passes.

So now I have taken my exercise routine down to 3 days a week, what I would normally call my “beginners program”, and I also purchased an exercise bike to have at home. I ADJUSTED.

My meals are still planned out for the week, except now they are cooked all at once and frozen. I ADJUSTED.

So as this process of my little dude grows and soon will be a helpless creature in my hands, even more of my time will be donated…and I will ADJUST!

Making time to exercise is not easy, life isn’t easy, but your body must be exercised and fed good, nutritional things. YOU MUST ADJUST TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

So my question to you is, what is your road block and how are you adjusting? A little inspiration by you might just be what some stranger needs…

Cheers to your Health & Fitness!

Matthew

Matthew Perry has been an avid health and fitness enthusiast his entire life. He worked for 8 years in the health club industry as part owner and manager of two successful health and fitness centers. This is where he honed his personal training skills and discovered his enthusiasm for helping people create healthier lives. His passion led him and his wife, Karen, to create 3rdChanceFitness.com and Muscle Memory™ whey protein powder, the first in a line of health and nutritional supplements.

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{ 7 comments }

Steve v4.7 August 22, 2008 at 10:40 am: Adjustment is a double-edged sword. My wife’s first pregnancy was the beginning of a gradual and ultimately remarkable weight gain. During her pregnancy, I adjusted to her food cravings by swapping pints of Ben&Jerry’s back and forth with my wife until empty- every night. And late-night BBQ rib feasts- too many to count. We each put on about 50 pounds each during that time. The thing is, she lost all of her excess weight within 3 month of giving birth to our first son. I adjusted. I continued to add weight until, 17 years later, I was about 190 pounds heavier than when it all began. I continued to adjust. I was still fairly active and tall (6’5″) so I carried it pretty well (so I was always told) but enough was enough.

Since May of last year I decided to change and start paying attention- and adjust the other way. I’ve still got another 40 pounds to go to get back to where it all began and I’m adjusting to make it happen.
Katie K. August 22, 2008 at 12:46 pm: I saw these products by a company called It Cosmetics http://www.itcosmetics.com on the Today Show so I thought I would try them. I TOTALLY look like I’ve lost 15 lbs instantly and I feel like I’m finally able to get that “in-shape” look I’ve been working so hard for in the gym. Just thought I’d share this GREAT find!!! Here are some before and afters from their website. All that changes is the makeup.
3rd Chance Fitness August 22, 2008 at 1:12 pm: Steve what you say is so right on and so typical. In my world, the pregos are condtioned that they need to eat for two (which is bs)…and the spouse goes right along.
Karen August 22, 2008 at 2:21 pm: I don’t think it’s so much about pregnant women thinking that they have to eat for two as our partners not realizing that they don’t have to match us bite for bite. We may not be eating for two, but we do need to eat more and more frequently. Our partners do not.
Ruthie August 23, 2008 at 7:51 pm: @ Karen - Well said! Yeah…what does he know about what pregnant women are suppose to eat?? LOL Is that a picture of your belly?

@ Matthew - Did you say pregos?? Great post, btw! I actually lost weight with my last two pregnancies. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so just making the adjustment to the low-sugar diet I had to follow helped me do that. But with my first pregnancy, my husband and I had lost like 50lbs each prior to that. And I think I gained about 32, and he ultimately gained his back too during the pregnancy.
Karen August 27, 2008 at 4:00 pm: That is indeed my belly. It’s even bigger now! I had a healthy diet before pregnancy, so I’ve mostly been craving healthy foods while pregnant. Even so, I’ve never consumed more ice cream in my life! Everyone warned Matthew that he would gain weight along with me and he took that as a challenge to make sure it didn’t happen. It hasn’t been easy but he’s doing a great job!
john - from fat to fit October 23, 2008 at 11:29 pm: Just wanted to give a mention that Karen had her baby. Congrats Karen and Matthew!

http://3rdchancefitness.com/blog/2008/10/23/please-welcome-cash-perry-to-our-little-world/