Putting the Pieces Together

Yesterday morning while at the gym (do you see a pattern?  I do LOTS of thinking in the quiet hours at the gym) I saw the "usuals"; the elderly man who always wears a red shirt tucked into his shorts and can barely stand up straight, but he can surely crank out some chin ups; the heavy set woman who could probably bench press my body weight; Mr. GQ with his fake tan and I believe his biceps have biceps and I can't forget the guys and gals that don't really know what they're doing but they are there and they are trying...All the early morning regulars.  I looked around and thought, "what brings us here this early?  Day after day?"  You'd think we'd all be pretty healthy right?  We're committed, we're getting up, lifting weights, pounding away on the cardio machines, we've got a routine! Right?  But we don't all "look" healthy.  Let's go back to the heavy set woman.  That woman knows her way around the weight room.  She's got the form down, she's pushing heavy weight, she's huffing and puffing and really really REEEEEALLLLY working hard.  So why doesn't her physical appearance scream, "Hey...I work out!"  My guess is her nutrition needs a little attention.  I'm not invalidating genetic issues or hormones, kids, age, etc.  We all know MANY factors can contribute to body fat, but you'd think you'd see SOME progress for this lady, right?  There have been times when I see her and I wonder what she's going to eat for breakfast...ugh, my brain just wanders!

I know for my own weight loss struggles, I dropped my first 25lbs just by adding exercise to my life.  The first 25lbs came off relatively slowly, but it came off and I was still eating the same way I'd always eaten I had just gotten a bit more active.  However, once I tweaked my diet...BAM  the weight was falling off and my clothes were LITERALLY falling off.  Once I had added a clean diet AND exercise to my life things started to come together for me. 

When I talk to my weight loss challengers, I can feel their frustration.  They are working so hard.  They are running, training, lifting, crunching, planking, jumping...you name it.  So much effort...only to be washed away with a soda or beer, or a weekend of pizza, snacks, and unhealthy habits.  It's like a scale (pardon the analogy) that's trying to balance.  You have to put forth the same effort into your diet/nutrition as you do into that jumping jack.  By fueling your body for the activity you have in your life and balancing the health aspects of diet and exercise you can and WILL achieve results, but you can't do one without the other.  Just like you can't expect to be strong, fit and muscular unless you're working those muscles and toning yourself up; you can't expect to get lean and drop body fat when you're stuffing yourself silly with processed, empty calorie food!

I've seen the light bulb turn on for many; some it took longer than others.  Finding that balance is a real struggle.  How many times have we said, "I worked out today, I deserve that cupcake"? unfortunately, for most it just doesn't work that way.  Understanding the marriage of diet and exercise and how they together make up your overall health it key.  You can be strong, but "fat" and you can be "skinny" but weak.  If you want to be healthy, you've got to get in that zone where you're moving AND eating well. 

Motivation vs. Habit

Well, I am four weeks into my training and I will be honest...this morning was ROUGH! It was cold, I am sore, I had a busy busy busy weekend, and when the alarm went off at 4am I just could have thrown the biggest adult fit humanly possible. I DID NOT WANT TO GET UP. But, I did. Unfortunately, I had a mediocre at best workout, came home and crawled back into bed and finally peeled myself up again to get kids ready for school.

But then as I started to get ready, something magical happened.  A pair of pants I just bought last week were too big, I feel lean...I looked in the mirror and my skin looked so fresh (I get terrible cystic acne when I don't eat clean) I didn't have any blemishes, my face looked radiant. I put on a sweater and I could see tiny little caps on my shoulders showing that I am becoming more defined. I noticed RESULTS today.

Normally, on sluggish days, my go to is XL coffee and some sort of heavy carb; which is totally the WRONG thing to grab! Instead, I grabbed my XL coffee (hey, don't judge!) and a protein shake followed by my favorite egg white omelet (spinach, chicken, feta and onion). I'm on track today. I'm sooooo glad I got that workout in and now I won't feel so guilty when I sneak in a nap later.

My point. It's hard. It doens't always feel good in the moment, but if you want results, you've got to put forth the effort! My workout wasn't great, but it happened. I let my body move through the motions and sometimes THAT IS OK!  Motivation leaves you at times, but developing healthy habits will sustain you!

Make this week GREAT!!!! xoxoxo

Here we go again...

We are now in week 3 of the fall challenge and I think I've been pushing pretty hard.  I can tell that my attitude this challenge is more focused and I've been very driven.  With the lackluster attitude I've had in the past, what could be driving this sudden burst of energy?  Well...it may have something to do with the fact that I'm training for another Figure Competition.  Yes, after years of saying I would never do another one, here I am... 

Let me clarify though, I'm training for one, not sure if I'll actually walk the stage, but I'm going to push myself, train hard, eat clean and get myself to a point where I know that I COULD walk the stage.  My body isn't transforming quite as quickly as I had hoped (although I'm really trying to trust the process; Lord knows patience is NOT my forte) The first time, I was already going through a huge transformation as I had lost a substantial amount of weight, exercise and clean eating were very new to my life and the physical changes were completely obvious.  This go around, I've remained physically active, I've maintained a comfortable weight (although I'm about 10lbs from competition weight) and the two years I've spent running have really eaten much of my muscle mass.  Now that I've been training and trying to really grow muscle while drop body fat, I haven't been running and I'll be honest, that was the hardest thing to give up as my running has always been a social and mental outlet.  Truly, it's a catch 22.  I'm actually running a 5K as a fundraiser this morning with my daughter and because I haven't really ran in weeks, judging by my nerves, you'd think I was getting ready to run a half marathon!

 

 

So how does this transfer to my fall weight loss challenge?  Well, I'm not accepting any excuses from myself, and that puts me in the mindset that I'm not accepting any excuses from the challengers.  I'm not asking them to do anything I wouldn't do myself (no alcohol; no fast food; lots of exercises that really push the limits of comfort; and a clean healthy diet) I've got a goal in sight and I'm focused.  I think the challengers can see and feel the change in me and I've had many many many comments that this challenge is a little harder; I've upped the ante, I'm pushing harder and even for those that have been in several challenges with me before, they are learning new things and I think they like it! 

I've got a great energy with this challenge too, it seems that there's a good balance of varying levels of fitness and it's a very positive, motivated and good hearted group.  We've hit the ground running hard and I'm so excited to see how the next 6 weeks unfold.  Stay tuned! 

Focus on Form

The gym is one of the most interesting places to "people watch".  I was assigned by my trainer to warm up with 18 minutes on the stair climber, which is at the back of the cardio room, so that gave me ample opportunity to observe the sea of cardio creatures at 5am this morning.  I couldn't help but notice this one young lady literally SWINGING off the elliptical machine a few rows ahead of me.  I feared for her safety!  She would swing back and let go of the machine with one arm and flail around like she was casting a fishing line!  I was terrified she was going to rip her shoulder or arm out of socket!

I thought to myself that there was no way that form was helping her.  I would be shocked if she didn't develop whip lash.  She was expending a lot of wasted energy and really to be honest, looked like a goober while doing it.  I'm normally a cheerleader; I am so proud of ANYONE that gets their booty up and to the gym, especially at 5am; but come on folks...let's do work!

Time and time again, I see people cranking out bicep curls or rockin' out with their bad selves on some resistance machine and I just want to walk over to them and say "work smarter, not harder!"  I'm no pro, but I can definitely tell when someone is completely wasting their efforts. 

FOCUS ON FORM; if that means you lowering the weight, resistance or speed, well...so be it.  Do it right.  Isolate muscles, put every effort into working exactly what you're supposed to work and be deliberate in your exercise.  I could probably lift a 30lb dumbbell and curl it too, but I'd probably arch my back, turn out my elbows and strain a neck muscle...how's that helping my bicep? 

I am not discouraging anyone from lifting if they aren't sure about their form, but I am encouraging you to ask for help, do some research and work SMARTER.  Don't be the cowgirl lassoing her bull on the elliptical; be deliberate, have a plan and put every effort into working out with a purpose. 
 

Support Systems

My Fall Weight Loss Challenge/Group started yesterday.  A challenger posted something that really struck a chord with me and the sound wasn't pretty.  I'm not calling her out, or saying she did anything wrong, but I am saying that message and experience she shared has always frustrated me. 

So we're on our first day of the challenge and her husband baked cookies and brought them to her.  On one hand...awwwww, what a sweet husband!  On the other hand, ummmmmm hello!  This woman has just committed to herself to lose weight!  She's participating in a health and fitness challenge to get herself in a better place!  What the heck are you doing giving her cookies!?!?!?!  Want to do something sweet for your wife?  Go on a walk with her; offer to workout with her; search for some yummy healthy recipes for her; SUPPORT HER!

 

 

I would NEVER EVER EVER be successful if my husband wasn't 100% on board with being supportive and vice versa. When he and I set personal goals, we really count on each other to be the support, to help keep us on track and to do everything possible to make home comfortable with removed temptations. Throughout the challenge, I'm always telling you all to surround yourself with people that support you (that should be a general life lesson!) Fill your life with the people that are going to lift you up; obviously he's your husband and I'm not saying kick him to the curb because he baked cookies, but I am saying to everyone, talk to the people that are most important to you and let them know you're doing a challenge for YOURSELF and that you need their support to be successful. Having a strong support system (that doesn't mean THEY can't eat the cookies) just means that they understand you're working towards something and they will try to either refrain or remove obstacles that may prevent you from reaching your goals. 

Lesson:  When you want to support someone, look for ways that support THEIR goals, otherwise your nice gesture can hurt more than it can help!