Tag: workouts

Patience is a Virtue, Right?

This week I had four graduations at my school and an end term party.  Four speeches to be made, four outfits to plan and four days of food temptations to get through.  I think I fared pretty well.  I avoided the cake this year at all four ceremonies, though I did taste the frosting.  Girl must taste the frosting in life.  I went to two lunch celebrations with my staff following the ceremonies.  I fared pretty well there too, though I absolutely ate a piece of bread and butter both days.  Girls must eat bread and butter when in a restaraunt.  The end term party food wasn’t great so I fared well there too, though I absolutely indulged in some vodka on the rocks. Girl must live, laugh and sip vodka at parties.  I didn’t totally through caution to the wind this week, rather I tried to keep it real and keep control of myself.  It wasn’t hard to do and allowing myself those little indulgences went miles towards getting through not feeling deprived.  Last year I would have indulged a lot more.  I would have had cake and lunch and wine each of the four days.

The only bad thing about this week was all the pictures I had to pose for.  Thankfully I won’t see many of them and thankfully the children next to me are the real star of them.  I know I’m stuck on pictures lately, but putting it down here gets it out of my head.  Plus, so many of you have shared you’re struggling with them too.  It’s just that the darn pictures make me feel like I’m still at the starting point, the “before” phase of this journey.  They are a constant reminder that I’ve miles to go yet. But I’ve been smiling proudly and clicking away.  I’m documenting my journey and life and refuse to be absent again.

At yesterday’s graduation I saw the parent of one of my students.  Last I saw her, earlier this year she was super thin and had lost almost 60 pounds.  Yesterday, she was right back up to her starting weight. It saddened me to see that, but also reminded me that I am not back at the start.  It reminded me why I am taking the slow and steady route to health. It didn’t take me a week to gain the weight and create havoc on my health and it won’t take me a month to get healthy.  This is a journey and I’m in it for the long haul.

During my speech yesterday, I spoke about the measure of moments in a year.  If I had to capture the moments of my year I’d say:

*I began running again and kept at it despite a serious stress fracture.

*I only gained about ten pounds during recovery from said stress fracture.  I worked out in a chair during the crutches period to keep in the game.

*I rekindled and formed friendships through running and that are priceless.  My childhood friend and maid of honor at my wedding and I were always in touch and always said we’d get together, but life always had other plans.  Now we have races together and with meetings and weekends away built in. Big win-win!

*I overhauled the way I eat.  It’s far from perfect but it’s an improvement.  A great benefit beside my health, my daughter is willing to eat things she would never have tried before.

*I got off three medications and unnecessary supplements.

So, while I’m not moving those blue marbles to the lost jar permanently, the process is working.  If I’m still in it I’m winning.  Patience is a virtue, right?

 

Mind Over Body

Today my childhood friend and I are returning to our home town to run a 10k race together.  We’ve done races together before, but this one back on our home turf should be memorable.  I’m always excited to be with her and catch up on those carefree days.  There will be running, laughing and of course a beer.  I’m sure there will also be the dreaded pictures.  I will try to find one of us as kids and share with one from today.  I will keep sharing my pictures to document my life, as well to keep myself on track on this journey.

Last night I had a work function for our students.  I got dressed in a comfortable outfit that upon inspection in the mirror looked cute.  Actually it was even a little loose on top making me feel good about the work I’m doing.  The event included some pictures with my staff.  When I saw one, I saw myself as heavy and got discouraged.  What was this.  Does my mirror lie? Or, am I wearing rose colored glasses.  Was it just the picture?  Here’s where the mind starts taking over and beating me up.  One of the other ladies in the group and I were laughing.  She was saying the same things, but said she was planning to hang it up as her before photo.  Haha, I said, the problem here is this is my after.  It’s so easy in those moments to get discouraged and I did.  I’m working so very hard.  Running 4-5 days a week on my training program.  Working out other days as well.  Watching my intake of foods for the most part.  How can it be that I still appeared so heavy in that darn picture?

In the past, here is actually where I would get off track and spiral down.  The mind would start saying, why bother.  It’s not worth all this work if nothing changes.  But then I remember, it’s just one darn picture.  I am willing to stay the course, do the work and I will get there.  You see, it’s not enough to simply want this to work, you’ve got to do the work.  And there will be crappy days and crappy pictures.  But for every crappy day and crappy picture, there will also be good ones.  Today will be my good day and I am going to do the work.  I am going to continue to do the work until I am satisfied and then I’m going to continue to do the work because I want to stay satisfied.

Everyone takes photographs that they hate.  In fact, most people look at pictures and hate the way they look.  Even famous stars have bad photographs.  We even see them in magazines and on the Internet.  Does that make them less beautiful?  We’ve got to stop being so very hard on ourselves, me included.

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Unintended Consequences

There are large chunks of my life that are missing.  Looking through photographs of my kids growing up, you’ll see me as a young mother proudly smiling holding my kids.  You’ll see my happy little family all together.  Then around the time I returned to the work force full time (1997), there’s one last photograph of us all. I actually have this photograph in a frame in my office.  My kids and husband gave it to me when I returned to work so I wouldn’t “forget them”.  Who knew at that time it wasn’t them I’d forget, but rather myself.

There are not many pictures to be found that include me after that time.  There are lots of my kids, but I am largely absent.  I’m not sure when it started, or why, but my hate of photographs likely started with a perceived bad picture. You know the kind I’m talking about.  The photograph where you look fat, or old, or ugly.  When did I become my mother, grandmother, etc?  At that point I became the taker of all pictures and avoided being in them like the plague.

Isnt it funny, when you look at those old pictures that you hated so much you see them differently now.  Those fat photographs are not so fat after all.  You even find yourself wishing you looked that good now.  While I’m still not a fan of photographs, I’ve come to accept that every single person takes a bad photo, not just me. My daughter and friend validated that realization recently.  One said, the trick to a good selfie is to take like a hundred and pick the best one.  The other said, block tagging on your Facebook page so you can select the photos you wish to share publicly.

Seriously, I am very hard on myself. I look at myself in the mirror and call myself Grandma Schutz.  It’s hard to imagine being in my fifties some days.  Many of us ladies do the same things I do.  We constantly put ourselves down. We try all these diets and fads to recapture our youth.  We do it all for the wrong reasons, mostly to be what we think we need to be for others.

Recently, my daughter bitch slapped me when I vented about lack of progress with my training.  She said, every time you put yourself down you put me down because I look like you.  When I get older I will be you and I will have this stuff in my head.  I don’t need your body issues I’ve got enough of my own.  Ugh!!  Who even though about the impact my ongoing struggles had on her.  I was so busy worrying about myself I didn’t think outside of that.  It really made me take a moment to think about it.  Fast forward a few days, and on Facebook I saw a letter a woman had written to her mother about this very topic.  Yikes.  Talk about unintended consequences of sharing my feelings.

Here I thought I was an awesome role model for my daughter.  I eat healthy and am fighting the good fight to reclaim my health.  I work out daily and live an active life.  I thought I nailed it and my daughter has even begun to practice yoga and take hikes.  She’s in her early twenties and has even started tasting new foods she never would have before.  Heck, that took me until my late forties to do!  But, what I never realized or thought about was the impact of the negative side of this fight on others.  Who knew that by constantly voicing my self deprecation I was leaving an imprint on my daughter, framing her future.

I signed up for a half marathon training plan this week with a coach.  She made me slow down my pace a ridiculous amount to do some heart rate training.  The goal is to build a stronger base. To basically slow down to speed up.   I’ve always been a pusher.  I pushed myself to run, albeit I’m not fast, faster than was comfortable because I wanted to reach a goal I had set.  It didn’t matter that I kept getting hurt, or didn’t feel great doing it.  I fought the coach a bit but listened this week.  I came to realize that it felt great to run that slower pace and after I wasn’t exhausted or sore.  I wondered if life couldn’t feel like that if I stopped chasing some perceived expectations of myself.  Perhaps if I just embraced where I am now, slowed down a bit and just enjoyed the ride I would be a far better role model.

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Lighten Up

I was able to run in my first race last Monday following my long injury induced time off.  It was a hot day for sure and I felt every mile of the four I ran.  I didn’t care though, I was just so happy to be running again.  When I crossed the finish line, I joined my team and promptly said let’s go get a cold beer.  It was ten o’clock in the morning!   My husband looked kind of surprised and said you just ran a race, you don’t need a beer.  Have some water or Gatorade.   This got me thinking of all the double standard, silly things we do and say on our journey to health.  I thought I’d lighten it up this week and attempt to make you chuckle a bit. I bet you’ll even recognize yourself in some of my madness. Maybe you can even add to this short list.

First, look at my cover photo this week.  It reminds me of something I saw on Facebook. It goes something like, what I think I look like running vs. what I really look like.  Ha, how many race photos do we look at and say darn that’s not what I thought I looked like running the course.  This leads us to pose and smile now whenever we see those darn photographers out on the race course.

Then, there’s my dedication to only eating certified organic, non gmo foods. I get so upset at my husband when he shops because he never buys the right food.  One day recently, he came home from a trip to a store with chicken that was on sale.  Beautiful boneless breast packaged so lovely, but much to my horror, not grass fed, hormone free chicken.  I looked at him and stated firmly my intention to never eat that chicken.  I reminded him I only eat grass fed, hormone free chicken and nothing else will do.  He looked at me and asked, were those potato chips you ate at the party last night organic, hormone free chips?  Oh please!  Ruffles are an exception to the rule aren’t they?

What about coffee?   I limit myself to one cup a day and am quite proud of that.  But, do I really need to put in like a quarter cup of French Vanilla creamer?  You bet I do!   Nothing else will do and believe me I’ve tried it all.

Some days I eat so clean it’s impressive.  Nothing processed will ever touch my lips.  I will cook it all from scratch including pizza dough and pasta, gluten free.  But lord that glass of wine, or two must accompany it, right?  Especially if it’s my Friday allowance for the week. Is that a problem?  And, who doesn’t follow up their healthy salad for lunch with a beautiful piece of chocolate?   It’s really ok, isn’ it, especially since I drink green organic tea with it.

In fact, most runners I race with look so forward to the post race treats, beer and maybe a nice breakfast.  It’s a must.  The best race post celebrations aren’t those that include a medal, it’s those that include an ice cold hoppy beer on tap.

Double standards you say?  Maybe.  But at this point of my journey I’ve learned that it’s all about balance and enjoying life.  If that includes a ruffle chip here and there so what (and I mean here and there, not every day or week).  Coffee, wine or pizza will never be removed totally from my life.  I just make sure they are not the staples of my diet as they were in the past.  They are now my guilty pleasure treats that I indulge in once in a while, well daily in coffee’s case.  The point here today is to remind you all to take your life so seriously that you forget to live it.  That will surely be a recipe for failure.  As they say, live, laugh and love.  Then drink some extra water and start again.

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Gimmicks and Quick Fixes

With the arrival of Memorial Day I’ve noticed a barrage of weight loss commercials and ads.  Glossy photographs of skinny, fit people who have supposedly wrapped, shaked or pilled their way healthy.  It’s time to once again prey upon our panic that it’s bathing suit time and we still live in our winter bodies.   Promises to lose ten pounds in five days.  Promises to drop unwanted belly fat without exercise.   It’s really sad how many people fall victim to these promises.  Thousands of dollars are spent each year looking for the magic and thousands of dollars are wasted.

Lucky for me, I’ve only fallen victim to one or two of these gimmicks.  I’m pretty conservative about what I put in my body.  Anything that involves chemicals is out and most of these gimmicks involve some type of chemical you’ll either ingest or put on your body.  What most people don’t get is that these gimmicks and quick fixes will not bring lasting change because they don’t include a lifestyle change.  So, even in the unlikely event you drop the weight, the minute you stop ingesting or wrapping, you will be right back where you started, minus a few dollars.

This year’s fad involves wrapping your body in chemicals to lose inches.  It amazes me how so many people willingly place chemicals on their skin.  Our skin is one of our largest organs.  Creams and rubs placed on it get right into our body’s systems through our pores.  It’s actually the quickest entry to our body.  Why would you willing rub unknown cancer causing agents on your skin rather than change your eating habits or exercise?   Why would you risk your health to lose inches that will be back in a short time?  It makes no sense and I wish people would hit a pause button and really read and research before rubbing anything on their body.  Would you smoke a pack a day if it meant you’d lose an inch in a week?   Likely not.

Other commercials I’ve watched on sleepless mornings involve drinking our way thin. Some of the shakes contain healthy nutrients, so this could be slightly better.  But, the minute you stop drinking shakes and eating the same old food, your weight will go right back up.  Seriously, do you plan to live on shakes forever?  Without food overhaul it won’t be a lasting change.

What about all these juice cleanses.  Drinking juice all day long.  First, our bodies have the ability to detox themselves.  That’s actually the purpose of our liver.  Filling up on sugar found in juice for hours on end is not healthy.  Juice from organic fruit is healthy, yes, but anything in excess places a strain on our body’s digestive system.  We surely do not need gallons of juice in one day or week.  One glass is quite enough for health purposes.

What about HCG drops, or injections to rapidly drop thirty pounds in less than a month.  These pregnancy hormones are another of the latest trends in weight loss. These drops, coupled with a 500 calorie a day diet promise great results.  People, can we think for a minute here.  Do you really need to take drops that mess with your hormones to get results?  Umm, I think if you starve yourself and only eat 500 calories a day you’d lose weight without the drops.  So, what are you gaining here except chemicals messing with hormone balance and unhealthy eating.   Our bodies need way more than 500 calories to sustain themselves.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone has to say it, there are NO quick fixes or gimmicks that will give you what you seek.  It takes hard work and discipline to win this battle.  There are no answers to be found outside your heart and brain.  You are in the fight for your life and looking for shortcuts in bottles, wraps or pills will likely cause more harm than good.  At the very least, you’ll be a bit poorer and still unhealthy.  At worst, you’ll find yourself in a real health battle for your life.

Today, I’m asking you to rethink the notion that quick is better.  Resist the pressure from friends to jump on the latest bandwagon.  When someone tells you they dropped all their weight through some quick fix, congratulate them and walk away fast.  Resist temptation to plunk your money down because I guarantee within a short time that person will be right back where they started.  Think about it and I’m sure you already know someone whose been through this cycle.  Read and read some more about anything you are thinking to try.  Don’t just read the site of the product or people that sell it.  Read the research and reviews.  If it’s quick and easy I guarantee it’s built on bull—-.

Join me on the long, slow path to lasting change.  Treat your body like your temple and don’t place chemicals in or on it.  Whenever possible eat organic, healthy whole foods.   Commit to moving 30 minutes per day, drink lots of water and get restful sleep each night.  That’s seriously all you need to do to be healthy.  Nothing more and no chemicals required.

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Food Not Supplements

Have you ever counted the number of supplements you take and thought it excessive? Have you ever wondered if you were wasting your money, or mixing things that shouldn’t be mixed?  I’ve taken as many as 20 pills at once and wondered what my stomach must be going through digesting all that at once.

The supplement market is booming with sales through the roof.  Totally unregulated, these companies can make any promise they want. Most prey upon unsuspecting, many times desperate people.   I am one of those people who has purchased so much stuff on my quest to be healthy.  I have taken enzymes, herbal supplements, hormone replacements, vitamins, shakes and the list goes on.  I have spent a small fortune on this stuff and taken it unquestionably.

I’ve been to several nutritionists and doctors, each with their own list of stuff for me to buy and take.  Each sold me on the magic pill to solve my problems.  It didn’t matter that I was asking them for help in fixing my dietary habits.  It didn’t matter that I said I wanted to get my health on track through food choices.  Each time I was told that wasn’t possible without supplementation.   I even remember going once to JennyCraig and telling them no thanks when I looked at the ingredients in their food. At that time I was already cooking from scratch with whole foods.  They became extremely unsure and defensive when I asked to see the ingredient list for their foods.

When I started to do research about supplements, I became quite disturbed.  I could actually be doing far more harm than good by taking all this stuff.  It was time I faced the thing I was trying to avoid. My food choices were horrible and no amount of supplementation could ever fix that.  There were just way too many pills going into my body and it had to stop.   My first step was to get a true picture of what my body needed, or was lacking.  I went to an anti-aging doctor and had a full battery of tests, including blood, saliva and urine analysis. Then a profile was created to show my levels of vitamins, minerals, cholesterol, hormones, etc.

Through that process, I learned exactly what supplementation, if any my body needed.  I learned that many of the vitamins we take just pass through our bodies without absorption, literally money down the toilet.  I learned most people are Vitamin D deficient and it is a fallacy  to think the sun alone will take care of that.  I learned that you can indeed get what your body needs from food, but it can’t be genetically altered, or hormone laden.

I buy whole food whenever possible. I buy grass fed, hormone free meat. I have eliminated almost all dairy. I do eat hormone free fresh mozzarella.  Not sure I can give that up.  Whenever possible I buy the goat version.  I take Vitamin D (with K2 to insure absorption) and two herbal supplements to support my adrenals which are in late stage adrenal fatigue.  I drink one PowerShake a day (organic full fat coconut milk 8oz, handful of organic (blueberry, blackberry, strawberry whatever I have), half organic banana, tsp vanilla, two ice cubes) and one “green” whole food shake (Purium) made with two scoops of greens mixed with water.   That’s it. All the rest comes from good, clean, delicious food. I cook all my meals and they do not come in cans, bags or jars.

I am sleeping slightly better and when I recheck my levels (every 6 months), I’ve been mostly in good levels.   Vitamin D was hard to get in range and my hormones have had some fluctuations, but otherwise I’m in a good place.  I’m urging you to take inventory of your pills. What are you putting in your body today?   If you are swallowing a ton of pills, it’s time to pause, learn and change.

On the Road Again

After a long eighteen weeks, I got the green light to start running again.  I’m excited and nervous.  I’ve worked hard these past weeks on strength training in preparation for this day, but I am still anxious.   I actually ran an easy mile last weekend just to try it out.  I had no pain during or after the run so that should put my mind at ease.  Of course it doesn’t though because I knew when I ran that easy mile I have a lot of work ahead of me.

I have my first race in just two short weeks.  While it’s only four miles I feel unprepared for it.   I will do it though whether I have to run, walk or crawl.  I know that race will get me back on track for the summer running season.  That victory, no matter how ugly, will remind me why I run in the first place.  Training and healthy lifestyles are lived like that.  Sometimes we run, others we walk, or crawl our way through life.  Sometimes we are highly motivated and others we just want to give up.  When I get to the giving up point, I try to remember why I started and how far I’ve come.

I started this journey because I was sick and tired of feeling lousy.   I was not happy with who I saw in the mirror – my grandmother.  Seriously, when did that happen?  When did I become an older version of myself?   I am also motivated after watching my grandmother and now my mom struggle with Alzheimers.  The more I read about it the more I learned about lifestyle and food choices.   Reflecting on my eating really was a humbling experience.  In my twenties and thirties it hadn’t made a difference, but boy was it catching up to me now.  I hoped and prayed I would never get this disease but I felt I needed to start actively fighting against it.

When I think of how far I’ve come, it makes it easier for me to keep going.  This has been a battle.  Truly I have struggled with injuries, surgery, stress, you know life.  But I made it through with minor ups and losses.  I know how easy it is to regain all that was lost in what seems like a week.   I know how easy it is to fall back on those bad habits.  But I also know how far I’ve come.  I’ve made significant changes to my lifestyle and they are seriously not hard.  To remind yourself of the journey post pictures of yourself in a place you can easily see.  The photos should be of you at the start and various points along the way.  I’ve shared mine online so that’s pretty public.  Also, measure at least once a month and keep a timeline of your measurements.  In those moments check in to the timeline and you will find motivation to keep going.

So, when I’m anxious about getting back to my running routine and my inner voice is telling me it’s been eighteen weeks without it, just give it up, I push back now.   The old me would have just moved on with my new routine as the pounds came back and the food choices worsened.   The new me digs in and gets back out even if it means walking or crawling.  As long as I’m moving, who cares.  When you really want to give up, switch the workout routine.  If running makes me anxious I will go walk.  If you’re losing motivation, you may need a change to freshen it up.  Or, find a friend to drag you out there.

This week I will rework my workout schedule to incorporate my three runs back in.  Remember I shared to always plan your workouts on a calendar, just like you do for work.   Then I’ll reevaluate my menus to be sure I’m using food to fuel my body and runs.  Notice I said fuel my body, not comfort my emotions.  I’ve been eating real clean this week in anticipation.  I followed a Paleo menu this week but did incorporate some sweet potatoes to ensure I’m carb balanced for running.

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Excuses

My family was all home for Mother’s Day last night.  I enjoyed a few glasses of wine and their company.  This morning I woke with a slight headache and it’s raining and cold outside.  I really would love to stay in my bed and do nothing.   Suddenly that voice starts in my head. You know the one, “You can skip the workout today.”  Just do it tomorrow, or later, or…  Excuses are easy to find and hard to resist.

I probably can name every excuse you’ve ever thought of because I’ve had them all.  Here’s the truth about what happens when you use them though, they derail you rather quickly.  For example, if I had rolled over today and said I’d do the workout later today, it likely wouldn’t have happened.  Later, I’m sure something would come up and I’d then make another excuse and say, “I’ll just take today off and get back on track tomorrow.”   Then tomorrow the cycle would start all over again.  Before you know it I’ve missed workouts and start losing my drive to do them as the routine has been broken.

One of the best way to deal with excuses is to schedule your workouts on a daily planner.  Write them down and think of them as a work appointment, or important meeting.  They are not negotiable and not to be moved around.  Adopt a no excuse policy.  Unless you are medically excused you must do it, no excuses, just like your job. If you have a fever, are vomiting, or have a true medical issue you must listen to your doctor.  Otherwise, game on.  Listen to your body though.  If you are sluggish, consider walking instead of running.  That’s a great modification that keeps you moving and on the path to health.

Let’s talk more about modifications because like apps, there’s a modification for almost everything.  I’ll share a bit of my journey to illustrate this point.  I suffered an ankle injury years ago.  After that, every now and then my left ankle would feel like it popped out of place.  I’d circle it and it would pop back in.  This went on for years.  Fast forward to three summers ago.   I was running a lot of inclines on the treadmill.  Really pushing myself and loving it.  One day I noticed my ankle was swollen.  Then I noticed the swelling was not going down.  I wasn’t really in much pain, but concerned enough to get it checked. I had a torn peroneal tendon from years of that popping and use in running hills.   Surgery followed and a beast of a recovery.  Now this is an acceptable excuse for not working out, right.  It could have been, but I tried super hard to stay on the path.  I was non weight bearing for six weeks, in a boot for three months and unable to walk correctly for almost a year.  What could I possibly do?  Swim!  I started as soon as I was on a cane, so that was three months into recovery.  I walked myself on a cane into the gym, to the pool edge and into the pool.  I was kind of embarrassed, which is ridiculous, when I did it but I did it.  Getting in and out was the hard part.  Did I love to swim?  Nope.  Did I hate it?  No.  It gave me hope that I could continue when really I just wanted to give up.

This year, after getting myself back in running condition, I sustained a femoral stress fracture, right side. Man did that do a number on my mental state.  I mean seriously, how much can one girl go through?  I was told 20 week recovery and NO swimming, biking, yoga, walking for exercise, or anything.  Wow, this was going to be a real challenge.   I decided to make this time about my arms and upper body.  Operation sexy arms I dubbed it.  I did my thirty minutes daily in a chair.  I modified my workout streaming and completed pretty tough upper body workouts in a chair.   I used a program that broke the body into sections and did thirty minutes a day.  This was because you really shouldn’t work the same body part when weight lifting every day.  Each day I worked one of the following – back, arms, shoulders, chest, abs.  I cycled through with one day of rest.   I did this for six weeks time.  Then I added in cardio when I was able to stand, but it was truly modified because I couldn’t put any pressure on my legs.  No jumping, squatting or anything.   It wasn’t much cardio, but I pumped my arms a lot and it was psychologically uplifting.

I am sharing my story to say that it can be done if you refuse to use any excuses not to do it.  I’ve had so many things happen to me that could have truly taken me off this path.  I’m not going to lie, it would be far easier to take the excuse.   It would be easier to take it and nobody would really blame me for doing so.  But I’ve come too far to lose now.  I am tougher than anything and know there is always someone who is worse off than me.  I’ve seen people in races I’ve run with one leg, no legs, blind, obese or fighting cancer.  They aren’t taking any excuses to not get out there.

This journey is about digging in deep and pushing through.  Get the calendar out today and plan for your thirty minutes a day (minimum) of exercise.  Write it down and do it!    No excuses allowed!  You will be so happy you did and trust me, eventually it becomes a habit, like brushing your teeth.

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Change

I have clothes in my closet in three different sizes.  I have my “skinny” clothes that I refuse to throw out because every few years they fit again.  I have my regular clothes that fit most often and I have my “fat” clothes that I never want to wear again.   I’ve thrown out my size 12 clothes as I will NEVER wear those again and throwing them out made me commit to that.  Why do most women have multiple size clothes in their closets?  Because we generally go through these cycles of change.  Lasting change in our bodies and minds takes time. We have to accept this fact or we will never stay on the path long enough to achieve it.

Change in our mindset has to happen to help us push through when the going gets tough.  Let’s face it, most of us are emotional eaters.  We eat when stressed, depressed or even happy.  We seek comfort in food. It’s not realistic to think we will just block out stress or emotional issues in our life.  Finding better ways to deal with them is our best tool and “comfort food” shouldn’t be our go to solution.

One way I’m trying to deal with the stress of my life is exercise.  It is a great distraction and stress reliever.  It doesn’t even have to be hard.  If I’m sitting in my office and feel stressed, rather than going to the dreaded snack drawer, I grab my notebook and go walk the building.  I visit classrooms and change the channel in my brain.  These visits can do just as much for me, if not more, than any cookie ever could.  Can you walk around the block during work?  How about at home, put the kids in the stroller and go?  Can’t get out, buy a treadmill and walk when they are napping.

Another way I’m trying to control my emotions is through yoga.  A regular yoga practice is very good for the mind and body.  I practice Baptiste yoga, which is done in a heated room, 3-4 times a week. (Currently not allowed due to injury but May I’m back). When the class is over, I feel emotionally ready to face my day.  This practice is more than just “exercise”.  It’s truly a personal journey to reset your inner voice.  If you are saying you are too fat, not flexible enough or interested, I’d say yoga is for every body.  Anyone can practice and there are so many variations available to choose from.  Take a gentle or restorative class and I guarantee you’ll be hooked for life.

Last week I talked about celebrating small victories along the way.  This too helps control our emotions around this journey.  The photograph for this week’s post shows 5lbs of fat vs 5 lbs of muscle.  They are both representative of the same amount of weight, but they look drastically different, don’t they?  Print this photograph and hang it near your scale to remind yourself that we are changing our bodies. A daily workout will help reshape your body.  Your scale may not move at first, which is why I keep saying to take measurements.  Even if your weight remains the same, think of our photograph.  You are reshaping the muscles and they are far more compact than fat.  If your clothes are fitting, it’s working despite what the scale says.

I hope you are willing to commit to this  journey.  It is hard and you will face many challenges along the way.  Try to be proactive and seek different ways to deal with the stresses in your life.  What’s working for you?   I’d love to hear from you here, or join my private Facebook group.  Send me a message to be added to the group.

Next week we will talk about excuses.  Have a great week.

Setbacks Along the Way

 

Life goes in cycles, as does this journey.   Just when you think you’re there, you’re often right back where you started.   How many times have you said something like, “It takes six months to lose weight and one week to put it back on.”   Happens here to me too, but not this time.  This time I’ve realized success comes from having the right mindset.  Willpower isn’t the answer after all.  Determination, perseverance, grit, focus and mindset are the tools you will need, for you will most definitely have setbacks along the way.

In the past when I’ve had a setback I’d quit, give up and start the pity party.  You know the one that involves food, wine and bad habits.  Before I’d know it I’d be up ten pounds.  Then I’d get disgusted and start saying, “Why bother.”   It’s so much easier to give up.  This journey we are on is truly a hard one.  It is work, harder work than anything you’ve done before because you are never done.  This is a lifetime commitment.   That’s why I believe our mindset is the key to success.  Most people avoid failure at all costs, but on this journey you will experience failure and need to learn that in these failures lie our victories.

One way to develop our healthy mindset is to focus on the small steps we take along the way.   Forget about the scale for now and focus on your actions.  If you walked 5,000 steps last week on average and this week you walked 6,000, that’s progress.  If you drank wine every night last week and this week you had two glasses on Friday night that’s progress. Any and all progress must be celebrated, not just weight loss.  That’s why I keep saying write stuff down.  That habit will enable you to see and recognize progress.

Another way is to set realistic goals.  It is not realistic to expect to lose 30 pounds in one month.  Sure, it can be done, but we know that in most cases of sudden weight loss, it goes right back on.  Generally, that’s because we did something drastic to lose it that can’t possibly be maintained.   One to two pounds per week is a healthy, realistic goal and one that could become a lasting change.  The same concept applies to your fitness goals.  It is not realistic to set a goal to run everyday when first starting out.   You will likely start out strong and very quickly lose stamina.  Partially this will be due to your body be tired and partially due to falling in a rut.  A more realistic goal is to do some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes per day.  This goal gives you so many options to choose from – walking, running, swimming, biking, Zumba, weightlifting, yoga, gosh the possibilities are endless and fun.  This goal will set you up for success and a healthy habit will form.

Finally, meal planning will set you up for success far better than going day by day.  Set a goal to plan your meals realistically.   There are seven days in a week.   When I meal plan, I plan to cook 3-4 meals per week.  With my schedule, that is realistic and won’t leave me throwing out spoiled, uncooked food when life gets in the way.  It also won’t leave me feeling pressured, or overwhelmed by all the food waiting to be cooked.  With 3-4 meals, I’ll have leftovers for lunch and/or dinners and a manageable goal.

Success breeds success.  I’m sure you’ve heard that saying many times in your life.  It is true, especially on this journey.   We all want the feeling of success and if we dont experience it on a regular basis, this hard fought battle will be lost.   This week, set some realistic goals for yourself that will enable you to celebrate small personal victories.  Live in and cherish those victories, then set more realistic goals.  Keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will continue forward.

Expect setbacks along the way.  I’ve sustained two major injuries over the past few years.  A torn peroneal tendon required major surgery and rehabilitation.  I was unable to run for over a year.   Exercise was limited.   Using my new found mindset and tools, I pushed through despite some temporary weight gains.  Swimming became my new best friend and saving grace.  I remember walking through the gym with crutches and then a cane.  Practically crawling into the pool left me very self conscious, but I did it for my personal victory.   This year, I stained a femoral stress fracture which left me unable to do cardio, even swimming or walking.  Nothing!  I’ve pushed through despite a slight rise in my weight.  I did chair weight lifting daily sessions until I was able to add in some leg work.  This kept me on the track towards my goals and kept me in the game.  When you experience a setback, dig deep and remember why you started.  There is always something you CAN do if you focus on that.  It’s way too easy to get lost in what you CAN’T do.  Way too easy to fall back.   With these simple, realistic small changes you can create a mindset and habits that will carry you through.

How’s it going for you?  I’d love to hear.   Join my Facebook accountability group to share your journey and stay on the road to health.  Send me an email, or leave a comment to be added to this private group.  Have a great week and please remember to take it one day at a time.