Overcoming perfectionism in fitness. My story
When I was 17 I started working out and eating better. I wanted to be like the guys on the cover of men’s fitness magazines.
In my mid to late 20s, I wanted to look like Ryan Reynolds from Blade Trinity. (Google that thirst trap if you dare.)
I’m 43 years old now. I’m embarrassed to say that I wasted a lot of years chasing some ideal body and optimal health.
A standard I didn’t set for myself but took from the bodies and values of others I saw.
This led to an uber-restrictive diet and workout regimen. An unhealthy obsession with being healthy and eating clean. And an all-or-nothing mentality around fitness, nutrition, and my body.
I socially isolated myself from people and events because it would affect my diet and training. I looked fit but was depressed, lonely, and unhealthy.
This led to binge eating on weekends and at nighttime. Blaming myself for not having enough willpower or discipline to follow through. And repeating the cycle over again hoping for different results.
Everyone saw me as this health and fitness guy but I felt like a fraud.
I hired a coach to help me improve my relationship with food, my body, and myself. His empathetic but honest and direct communication style resonated with me.
I started to enjoy eating again. I was discovering food flexibility. And I had reduced food anxiety when dining out socially.
More energy.
Increased happiness.
Better results.
That’s when I got into nutrition coaching. I was seeing a lot of the same struggles I had in others.
- Perfectionist Syndrome
- All-or-nothing mentality
- Chasing someone else’s idea of an ideal body
- Food anxiety and obsession with a specific outcome
- Unclear values and poor self-worth lead to beating yourself up.
I have not solved any of these issues and I never will. I still think and feel these things often.
But over time I have become better at coping with them and that is the goal. Not to make these things go away but to notice when I am doing them and to respond better to them.
Share your story, ask questions, and let’s learn to define what it means to be healthy and happy in our skin.