Sharing a challenge: going into survival mode

Welcome to my series on facing and sharing challenges. My particular challenge is training for a half marathon race. If you are just joining in, the other posts in this series are:

Sharing a challenge
Motivation
Getting the right fuel for the job
Falling off the rails

In Falling off the rails, I lay a bunch of excuses on the table as to why I was not following my training schedule. And really, they were excuses, although I tried to sugar coat them by calling them justifications.

However, one Silver & Grace community member, Lori, provided me with a potentially legitimate justification:

I found the Gabriel method interesting when it comes to how a certain survival mechanism makes you keep or take off weight by taking over your energy and motivation. It seems crazy on the surface, but I’ve found myself more and more convinced. There’s a point in my fitness where I’m at the YES!-I’m-on-my-way! stage, but then a brick wall hits me. This has happened too many times to just be coincidence or just a toxin release.

I had no idea what the Gabriel method is, so I immediately consulted Mr. Google. Turns out, it is a weight loss method proposed by one Jon Gabriel, based on the following principle:

That your body has an internal logic that determines how fat or thin you will be at any given time. The way to lose weight is not to struggle or to force yourself to lose weight but to understand this internal logic and work with it so that your body wants to be thinner.

After digging around further, I found this as well:

• Your body has a reason why it’s holding on to weight–and it’s not your fault.
• Fat is a cushion–a protective barrier that our mind believes is helping to protect us.

Ah-ha! This is what Lori is referring to. My body was going into protective mode and zapping me of energy and motivation.

Now, before you “tsk tsk” and accuse me of more excuse making, hear me out.

I am undergoing serious stress due to work. My body is exhibiting all my classic stress signs:

• I eat five bites of food then feel nauseous
• I gag just trying to brush my teeth
• I am wide awake for hours at night ‘solving’ all the issues at work
• My rosacea is so flared up, my face is one big rash

And here I was adding insult to injury and telling my body it has to push itself to physical extremes. It said “Heck no! I’m already under attack!”

So, with this information I took a new approach this week. I lovingly told my body that I knew it was under attack. Then I patiently explained that if it got off the couch and ran, it would actually feel stronger and more able to cope.

Guess what?

So far this week I have accomplished the following:

Monday – 8.2 kilometre (5.1 mile) walk with Mr. Very Right
Tuesday – 5.1 kilometre (3.1 mile) run
Wednesday – 5.3 kilometre (3.3 mile) walk with Mr. Very Right
Thursday – 6.8 kilometre (4.2 mile) run

And I am actually looking forward to tomorrow’s walk with Mr. Very Right, and runs on Saturday and Sunday.

By Jove, I think I am over my slump. Thanks, Lori!

Oh, and thank you, Jon Gabriel.

Have your say:

What does your body do to try and protect you from stress?
Do you go along nicely in a fitness or weight loss program and derail without knowing why?

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