
Growing Pains
Module No. 15
Remember when you were 11 years old in middle school and everything felt incredibly awkward and hard? The day to day anxiety of avoiding bullies, struggling to understand your algebra class, and crossing your fingers mom would let you go get the new ‘popular’ pair of jeans everyone was wearing?
We call these growing pains.
I look back at middle school and think about how hard of a time it was for me. I was growing out of my ‘little girl’ mentality and transitioning into becoming a teenager. It was a constant state of discomfort, always feeling like I was putting in so much effort and not getting much in return – like I was moving so slowly for how much that was happening on a daily basis.
This is the same discomfort many experience with lifestyle change.
We are not yet grown into our new ‘selves’ yet we are not yet separated from our old selves. It is the pain of leaving one part of our lives behind and the excitement/agynst of embracing a new part. It feels very much like middle school in that way. Except the advantage is that now we know we are in control of how we feel because we are emotionally intelligent adults and can choose our own perspectives.
These growing pains are because we no longer ‘fit’ with many old parts of our lives. Old beliefs no longer resonate with us and old situations no longer serve us because we see things differently now. We see that our old habits and ways of living were not bringing us the lives we desired or the feelings about ourselves we wanted.
It’s important that we understand these day-to-day growing pains are just situations that challenge you to ask yourself:
“What’s more important to me, this here and now, or the long-term goal I have of becoming my best self?”
And isn’t it sort of awesome that you can answer this question by choosing the long-term goal and kicking that short term challenge in the face?! I think yes.
Here’s a List of 5 Interactive Strategies to Overcome Growing Pains:
1. Self Talk
When you find yourself in a negative mood creating the ‘snowball effect’ stop to ask yourself what you are feeling and then SPEAK IT. Claim your feelings out loud to yourself – speak it thirty times if it takes you that long to accept the feeling, then let it go.
2. Create a vision board
Include pictures and phrases that remind you of your long-term goals. Inspire yourself with all the places you would like to go, people you would like to be around, and feelings you would like to manifest. This board should radiate feelings of positivity to you as soon as you look at it.
3. Try a new activity
Substitute your cardio workout this week with a hike through nature, a yoga class, or another class you have felt nervous about trying. Confidence is created, not given, so get out and do something that your future ‘best self’ would do!
4. Pick up a new book
When you’re in the process of making these long-term changes, reinforcing your mind with positive affirmations and strategies is vital. Self-education is empowering. Here’s a few of my favorites…
- The Power of Intention – Dr. Dwayne Dyer
- The Work – Byron Katie
- Rising Strong – Brene Brown
- Man’s Search For Meaning – Viktor Frankyl
- Thrive – Arianna Huffington
Give back to your community
Whether this be by donating, serving food at a soup kitchen, or volunteering at an animal shelter, giving back is proven to promote positive feelings in humans.
Just start by adding one of these things into your life in the next 10 days, and take note of how it positively affects you. The more good you can add into your life, the better you will feel about yourself and the more easily adhering to this new lifestyle will be.
Surface solutions rarely fix the problem; which is why we are constantly asking you to look a bit deeper.
Your health is connected to every area of your life therefore, we can’t compartmentalize ourselves by looking at nutrition/training so separately. You know by now that your reasons for maintaining compliance (see Coaching Module 14) or not complying seldom have to do with the program itself, but with the events that occur in your life outside of nutrition and exercise.

Recipe For the Week
Sweet Potato Stir-Fry
(Awesome Post Workout Meal)

Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion (100g)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 pound sweet potatoes (300 gram cooked)
- 3 oz snow peas
- 4 oz drained rinsed canned whole water chestnuts
- 1 pound boneless chicken
- 4 scallions
- 3/4 cup chicken broth (light)
- 28 gram hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil (can sub with coconut)
- 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
Instructions
- Thinly slice onion and garlic. Peel sweet potatoes and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch -thick slices, half snow peas. Cut water chestnuts crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices and season with salt and pepper
- In a small bowl stir together broth, hoisin sauce, and cornstarch until combined well.
- Heat a heavy skillet over high heat, then add 2 tablespoons peanut oil, and heat until hot but not smoking.
- Add onion and stir-fry until softened, add garlic. Add sweet potatoes and stir-fry until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add snow peas and water chestnuts and stir-fry until snow peas are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a large bowl.
- Add peanut oil to skillet and stir-fry chicken until browned and transfer to bowl.
- Add broth mixture t0 skillet and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Simmer broth mixture 1 minute. Return chicken-vegetable mixture with scallions to skillet until mixed well.
- Season stir-fry with salt and pepper and stir in sesame oil.
Yield: 6 servings (247 calories per serving) Fat/Carb/Protein = 7F/25C/21P
Learn More on YouTube
If you have questions about the training programming checkout out growing YouTube channel, TheOMNIFIT2016 (also linked in the Connect With Us section below). We are still in the process getting all of the videos that correspond to the program loaded, but will be able to help you with the exercises through the Facebook Group if it is needed.
Thank You
Thank you so much for trusting us to guide you on your journey! We are excited to grow with you.
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LEILA NAGHSHINEH Program Coach at The Omnifit

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