Happy New YOU challenge

It's the time of year where we're starting to think about our New Year's resolutions. (Helped by feeling overstuffed from Christmas dinner and needing to exchange some presents for a larger size-- when did they start making sizes smaller anyway?) And surely all of us know what it is to make a resolution that this will finally be the year when we get healthy.  Again.  But before we know it, a piece of cake here and a too-cold-to-leave-the-house-to-workout day there and our resolutions have gone the way of the dodo.

Of course, we're smart people.  We read the studies.  We know it matters. But it's hard.  Really, really hard.  And harder if we feel like we're going it alone. Maybe that's why weight watchers has aquired such fame: we all want to feel like we're a part of a group of people all working towards the same goal.  Few of us are determined and motivated enough to be able to do this on our own.

If you're new to this page, let me tell you about me.  When I was 28 or so, I weighed 238 pounds. It may have been a lot more, but I quit weighing myself for a long time.  I lost 40 lbs on my own, partly with Atkins and partly because stress was literally making me too sick to eat.  In two years I had gained half of it back, and felt more uncomfortable in my skin than ever before. I took a new job in a new town and had the good fortune of meeting a personal trainer who became my friend. He nagged me til I agreed to let him be my trainer. In two years of working with him, I've gone from a size 22 to a size 8.  But I will tell you that I could not have done it on my own.  He not only taught me how to do the exercises and eat well, he did something that made all the difference in my success. He held me accountable when I was failing (and if you want to read all about the failures, check out my other blog.)

Most of us need someone to be accountable with and to.  We need someone with whom to celebrate our successes  and minimize our setbacks.

Beginning on January 1, several clients and friends are joining with me as we start the new year off right with 8 weeks of being all in.  What does all in mean to us? Here's what we're committing to do (or not do!)
1) No cheating!  Whatever eating program we're doing (for my clients and me, that means following a meal plan that is appropriate to our body's caloric needs), we're not going to cheat on it.  We're going to stick with it completely.
2) No whining! Success is so much about attitude-- and trust me, I've had to learn it the hard way! Whining does nothing but slow your progress and sour your mood (and everyone else's mood too!) So whatever it is...whether the toughness of following a meal plan or pushing past your comfort zone in the gym, do it with a positive attitude.
3) No alcohol! Yeah, this might be a booger for some people, but what you don't know is that alcohol is killing your progress.  Bet you didn't know that for the entire time alcohol is in your body, the body stores everything you eat as fat. (And hey, menfolk, it suppresses testosterone levels-- doh!) Drinking also plays nasty games with your metabolism, and metabolism is a big deal when it comes to weight loss. Besides, um...there is no need to point out that alchohol often leads to poor decisions, especially when it comes to food.
4) No whimping! Whatever it is we do, we're going all in.  We're committed to busting it in the gym, to give it everything we've got.  Every rep.  Every exercise.
 Every. single. time.

Why 8 weeks? Well, it's a measureable time for one thing.  Yes, there's an end in sight.  But the thing is, that's just a mental trick, because this is kickstarting a lifestyle for us.  In 8 weeks, we'll see some results of our hard work-- and that will provide motivation for our determination. 8 weeks is long enough to create some healthy habits that will stick for a lifetime.

We're up to the challenge and we know you are too!  Join us in taking steps to a Happy New YOU.  We're all in, and we're all there for each other. Here's how you can participate:
1) Sign up via email or shoot me a facebook message to let me know you are interested. I'll be sending out tips and motivation.
2) Download this pic and post it to your facebook page to let everyone know that you're serious.  This part is completely optional, but it's kind of a badge of honor-- and great for accountability.  A book I read about marathoning said something like "Tell everyone you know that you're doing it-- that way when you want to quit, you'll think about all those people that you'd have to tell that you're a failure." Hey, sometimes a little peer pressure is a good thing.  Besides, it might trigger some conversation and some of your friends might join our challenge, and then your social support network grows!
3) Print off a few copies of the pic and put it in lots of places-- your mirrors, your refrigerator, underneath your rearview mirror.  Trust me, having a visual reminder nagging at you does wonders.
4) Post things to the facebook page.  I haven't decided for sure. I may make a group just for people doing the challenge, but I'll let you know.  The more people we can get involved the better!

You've got this! And we've got your back! Sign up today!

The Recipe for Success

I was whining at (whining to implies getting a morsel of sympathy in response-- which I definitely wasn't) my trainer the other day about my stalled weight loss.  He's been my trainer for the last two years and I've had some major plateaus, so this is not a new conversation.  But clearly it is a tired one.   My whine was pure pity party-ness, only without so much party. I told him that it felt like nothing I did made a difference, and that it's really, really brutal and silly and hard to keep putting in so much effort without seeing any results.  See I told you it was a whine-fest.  And you can imagine the response I got from a former body builder, now trainer who has been doing this for forty years.  It wasn't even going to help to play the "but I'm a woman with wacky hormones" card, so I wisely didn't.

He asked me what seemed to be a completely irrelevant question: "How much yeast does a batch of dough require?"

I stammered and guessed that it was maybe half a teaspoon, but homemade bread (soft, delicious, smell good, lovely, homemade bread) isn't really a part of my lifestyle anymore.

He made a beautiful, simple point with one more question: "What would happen if you only put in an 1/8 of a teaspoon?"  Hmmmph.  Master Trainer: 1.  Whiny novice trainer: 0.

It was a fair point well made, and it's stuck with me.  He rightfully pointed out that there is one thing I haven't tried, which is making sure I cook all my meals.  While I've learned how to eat healthfully anywhere, and can pretty well guestimate calories of most foods that I would eat, I don't know exactly what goes in or exactly how much I'm eating.

I'd already decided I was dropping alchohol all together after I learned the really detrimental effects it has on weight loss efforts.  I'd already decided I was going to shoot for an 80% clean diet.

But what if this one thing was the yeast shortage? Even if everything else about the recipe is right, this one thing would change the bread from fantastic to flop.  I go hard in the gym. I stay within appropriate calorie ranges for my body's needs. I eat nutrient dense foods.  So-- I committed to doing this beginning January 1, only allowing for two meals eaten out per week.   He told me my goal was one month, and no whining about it.  I told him my goal was 8 weeks.  By then, hopefully I will have seen enough results that it sees me through the tough work.

As I think about it, I really like his recipe analogy.  I guess that's why I keep him on as my trainer, even though I'm certified myself (and even though in true master trainer form, he makes me crazy pushes me to be excellent).  I wouldn't have ever thought about it that way.

Maybe you're having a frustrating time too.  If so, go back to your recipe.  Are you really (no... really, really... if you're brutally honest with yourself) doing everything the recipe requires?  If not, where are you cheating the yeast? Are you staying in your comfort zone at the gym, instead of pushing yourself? (You are a gym goer, right? Right?) Are you letting a craving that you have for a few minutes distract you from a goal you've had for years? Are you letting your excuses be bigger than your desire to succeed?

Yeah, losing weight and being fit is hard.  Don't make it harder by not following the recipe!

Hey: Public Service Annoucement! If you're in Franklin, NC and looking for some help getting fit, please check out my website.  I've lost 80 lbs through proper nutrition and fitness.  I've lived it.  I'm passionate about helping you reach your goals too.  Call me to schedule a complementary session.