Moderation and Motivation
“Will I ever be fast enough, strong enough, skinny enough, toned enough, or the best I can be?” Although these are the most persistent thoughts and questions of our generation (especially college aged kids), the answer is almost always no. Last week I took a yoga class and during the final minute of meditation the teacher said something along the lines of “perfection is unattainable without acceptance.” If you really think about this statement it seems counterintuitive because in everyone's mind perfection is the ultimate goal, however it is actually impossible. In the fitness industry it’s so important, especially today, to reframe what perfection and being “good enough” means for you. The reality of life is everyone is given a different body and a different brain where they look and act differently than the next person next. With that being said, rather than comparing and competing to try to look like the person in the workout class next to you or on your instagram feed, take the time to think about the qualities you value about yourself whether it is internally or externally. Take a minute to think about your morals or values. I'll give some generic morals for my example as many people value respect, responsibility, honesty, however when it comes to their health and fitness they completely disregard them. Trust me I am not saying this is easy to apply your values to your health and I know society places different standards on what we should and shouldn’t look like, however at the end of the day you are the only person and body you will be in for the rest of your life so you might as well learn to enjoy and accept it. As a dedicated fitness instructor, recovering ED patient, and a person that loves to go out with my friends and have a good time, I struggle and work daily to align my values and advice to others to my own practice.
Pause. Balance. Moderation
These are words and actions I’ve always found simply impossible. Why would anyone feel the need or have the time to not do anything? If I am not working out, working, or being social with my friends I think there is something wrong, however this is where the issue lies. In order to be successful in life and accomplish any goals you have, especially with your health and fitness, the key is moderation and taking the time to breathe. If you never stop how can you ever keep going? The answer is you can't. I unfortunately learned this the hard way, but now am more than happy to share with everyone my takeaways and outlook on the significance of exercise and health in moderation and finding a healthy and attainable balance. Since I was a kid I’ve always been active, which I am extremely grateful for. From dancing when I was 2 years old to club soccer in elementary school to varsity soccer and lacrosse in high school to teaching Yoga Sculpt in college and running half and full marathons and qualifying for the Boston marathon, I would definitely categorize myself as an active girl. However being “fit” and “active” have their benefits and drawbacks. This is where balance and moderation come into play. I think fitness and being active are extremely crucial to promoting one's well being and increasing serotonin levels. Also, it is a fun and enjoyable activity for so many people. Where working out and being “fit” becomes worrisome is when it becomes excessive and a chore. This is what happened to me and so many people. Being fit, active, and trying to have the “perfect body” became my life.
Instead of going to a workout class for the joy and daily release, it became a game I could never win. Every day I woke up with a stricter diet and more hours of working out that I had to do in order to be the best I could be. As you can probably already guess this strict and unattainable lifestyle didn’t work for me and ultimately resulted in me leaving school my second semester freshman year to be admitted to a residential Eating Disorder facility through the Emily Program in Minneapolis Minnesota. After two years, I still struggle with eating what I deemed a “fear or not healthy food,” but something I come back to whenever those thoughts come to my mind is that life is too short and as I stated earlier the only person that you are with 24/7 is yourself so why not do things that bring you joy and at the same time treat yourself how you want to be treated with those same values and morals you uphold. I still have days where the internal battle is more difficult than others and believe me this makes me more frustrated than you would ever know. In treatment I learned a lot about reality vs illusions and how your brain can trick you into concocting ridiculous thoughts or theories that don’t hold true in practice. For instance, eating a piece of pizza isn’t going to actually make me fat or look honestly any different. Also taking a day off from working out or two actually makes me faster and allows my muscles to recover in an expedited and more efficient way. However, sometimes the devilish eating disorder monster that lives in the back of my mind still wins which is normal and okay because no one is perfect and everyone has demons they fight every day. In the end failure is essential to success and what goes up must always come down so I am not at all regretful of the experience and hardships I endured because I learned and can hopefully help others learn. At the end of the day all someone can do, not only for other people, but mainly for themselves, is be the best, kindest, and most realistic person they can be in order to live a full and true life.
By Emi Shermeta, University of Wisconsin ‘22