fitness – Page 13 – sassyfitnesschick

Runner Or Jogger

running or jogging

I heard the term again… and I felt my skin just crawl a little and my eye started to twitch.

“How’s your jogging going?”

I tried not to groan out loud. The intentions of the one asking were pure and genuine and I smiled and answered their question.

It’s a term a lot of people don’t think about. And they don’t mean a thing by it.

I think the only ones who DO think about it are runners.

But in my head it conjures up visions of middle school gym, wearing horrible ill fitting gym suits that smell of sweat, and lazy, unmotivated kids who don’t want to run while the coach is yelling at them to do so… therefore they break into this lazy shuffling… jog. Long ago, back in the day, I was one of those kids.

Jog.. the ” I can’t muster much more than a fast walk or shuffle.”

Jog… that awful thing “joggers” do at stoplights 😛

What is it that makes those of us who view it as “running” twitch a little?

running-v-jogging

Maybe I should explain how I told it to a friend once…

A jogger doesn’t go out before daybreak, and before breakfast, to knock off a 10 miler.

Nor does a jogger sign up to run long races, like marathons.

When I’m pounding out a fast 5K, I don’t call it jogging.

I’ve never finished a long run and felt like I went jogging.

Running has very specific goals and events to train for. For me these things become very concrete.

Jogging doesn’t enter that equation for me.

jogger_rw

I looked up the etymology of ‘Jogging’. As a word it is a gift of the British from the mid-seventeenth century that had none of the emotional overtones. It simply meant to perambulate in some form or other. Saying “I went for my morning jog” was just a tad more whimsical way of saying ‘walk’ or ‘brisk walk’.

It would seem that during the first running boom of the 1970’s ‘jogging’ was just a way to describe running for your health with no particular competitive inclination.

It seems “Jogging” was originally intended to be a subset of running; a less strenuous, less serious form of running. It was running for the non-competitive masses.

I think for me personally, although I don’t view myself as “fast”, a 9-10 minute per mile pace is moving along fairly well and I most definitely don’t consider doing that pace for …lots of miles… jogging.

Maybe, running meshes more with my competitive spirit than jogging. For me, jogging is what I might do in a warm up. A kinda loose, loping, easy trot.

For me running is strong and powerful and challenges me in deep and real ways. It requires much from me on any given run.

As a runner with specific goals I’ve made some serious sacrifices to get there. I’ve left a lot out on the road. I’ve met new challenges head on. Hard work has been invested and when “jogging” is applied it seems to diminish the sacrifices in some way.

Jogging just seems casual, pull on sweat pants that say you aren’t going far, maybe a loop around the block.

Personally, when I slip into my running gear, it’s all business. I don’t wear my athletic clothes around during the day and I never wear them just “for fun.” They are work clothes. When I put them on it’s all business for me.

Running is definitely about the passion I ( or we collectively) feel in our hearts. Not that it defines us, but perhaps, in some way it does.

It defines passions, vision, and personal goals that at some point have seemed daunting to us.

But no matter what you might call yourself, being out there, and getting it done is all that matters at the end of the day.

However, for me, you’ll find me out for my daily run 😉

What about you? If you run, does the term “jogger” ever bother you ?

runner not jogger

Cardio Fitness And Running Mountains

I talk a lot about the importance of building your body to make it strong so you are capable of handling all the tasks that come with daily living… and so hopefully when you get old you’ll have strength to continue to do things for yourself.

You must work and use your body now. If you don’t, you will lose your strength and abilities to lift, carry and work hard.

I love seeing women getting into weights not just for what it can do for them physically, but how it also empowers and builds confidence in them.

Ok, guys too. I like when people start to “get it”.

I’m just down for anyone getting stronger and able to handle whatever things they have come at them in life. Let’s face it, we’ve got a lot to deal with in our days long after we’ve finished off our workout, right ?

But now I want to put this at you. Do you ever consider the muscles inside your body and how you strengthen them each time you work out? These aren’t visible, but oh so important.

I’m talking about our heart and lungs. Our entire cardiovascular system.

Even if you aren’t crazy about exercise, do you ever consider the importance it has on those oh so vital organs ? Or how good, consistent exercise can lower blood pressure? Lower your resting heart rate?

None of these things are visible like outward muscles but they are trained and strengthened right along with your glutes and arms.

How do you know? You’ll see it in daily activities. Physical work is just easier for you.

Can you quickly take a flight of stairs without being out of breath?

Can you easily run across the yard with your kids and not have your heart pounding out of your chest?

Could you hop on a bike a pedal like crazy around the block and not be huffing and puffing?

There are ways your body tells you your cardio system is out of shape, just like you can tell your “outer” body is out of shape.

This is the reason why so many people hate cardio activities… it’s when they really know and declare they are “out of shape”. They don’t like the winded, gasping for air, heart beating out of their chest, hot sweaty flushed feelings that go along with it.

I really got to thinking about that this weekend when I was with my husband and finally got to hike up and down this mountain I’d been eyeing for awhile. It’s on my list to do some trail running so needless to say, this has frequently been calling to me 😉 I wanted to see what it felt like scaling something beyond a usual “hill”.

And really, I wanted to see what I had in me too. I wanted to see how it felt in a cardio type of way to do it ( have I ever mentioned I like challenges? 😉

Below is a photo I took at the bottom before I headed back up… I left my husband watching guard over my trek back and forth 😛

20160522_102512 (1).jpg — Can you spot my husband on top? You can see part of the path winding up the mountain…

I took off down the path not moving super fast since there was a lot of loose rocks and gravel, not to mention cactus and other prickly things. The trek down wasn’t hard and my legs which are used to hill running responded to what they’ve been trained to do. Once I was at the bottom I took a few minutes to check out the view from below, and of course, take necessary photos 😉

Going up it was easy to move at a good pace but I had to really watch my foot placement with all the loose rock. It didn’t take to long to scale back up and my husband even commented as such.

What I loved? besides feeling good about having done it… was the fact that after finishing that climb, although I was breathing deeply, it didn’t take long for my heart rate and breathing to drop back to completely normal.

This (for me) is a good indicator of my cardio fitness and those things inside I don’t see.

Although those activities I put myself through ( running, cycling, rowing, boxing) all add up to cardio fitness that carries over to powering up a mountain and hardly being out of breath.

So I’ll challenge you… remind you… maybe you view exercise in the light that you should do it to “look good” or “to lose weight”… and exercise does help with those things… but don’t forget exercise has huge and important benefits to those unseen, yet most important parts of you 🙂

As a final reminder… cardio work benefits your heart, lungs, blood pressure, as well as helping to drop your resting and normal heart rate. A lower heart rate means your heart doesn’t have to work as hard =)

And a few other benefits…

Increase in exercise tolerance,

Reduction in body weight

Reduction in blood pressure

Reduction in bad (LDL and total) cholesterol

Increase in good (HDL) cholesterol

Increase in insulin sensitivity

Yes, in the beginning it can be hard and uncomfortable. But in time, your internal muscles get stronger and more fit and you’ll see results when you do activities and aren’t left out of breath with a heart pounding out of your chest.

Now what are you waiting for? Find your favorite cardio activity and get after it!

What is your favorite exercise to get your heart rate up and make you breathe hard?

Sacrifice And Success

success and sacrifice

If there are things in life that I find enjoyable ( besides athletic adventures) is coffee and good conversation.

Topics and ideas can abound. I love creative convos as much as I love the deep intellectual or just plain fun ones.

I love the opportunity to be challenged and encouraged by others. Because it’s others who often see things that I don’t, or see my capabilities when I feel weak or inadequate.

Thus went one conversation the other day with a friend. I have been following her new job interests and was asking her some questions about it. We talked about the timing and time frame of schooling and actually beginning to work the “real” job in a full time manner.

Her take was…. if you’re on the path to where you’re going…. you’ll get there. Basically, just keep doing things that are moving you to your goals/job/dream.

Interesting thought. She knows how much I enjoy being able to help, encourage, motivate and challenge people in the ways of health and fitness.

I shared with her some of my struggles in the process and how in wanting to help people there was one thing I couldn’t deliver, which was to do to the work for them.

Which led to an interesting discussion of the work that’s involved to get anywhere or accomplish anything, whether it’s getting a new job, a degree, losing weight or wanting to train for something.

There is a level of determination that has to be there to make changes, to accomplish new things, to be unwilling to stay where you are. No one can place that determination in you, it has to be driven from the depths of who you are.

That determination will drive and lead us to success. It’s almost a birth process we have to go through to achieve what we’re after. If someone did it for us we’d miss out on so much of the journey that would shape us for where we are going.

The journey could be hard. It could make us want to quit, throw in the towel, not push on, but it’s so rewarding when we reach our goals or dreams.

I mentioned that the reason I share and take progress photos is because people who are new to me, or don’t know me, often think I’ve lived in the fitness world and always look like I’ve looked.

When I pull out photos that show me soft and “fluffy” with no muscles that are visible compared to where I am now they can see a journey of progress. Of determination. Of an unwillingness to quit. Of constant, small, daily changes, building new habits and disciplines to get to where I am today.

She assured me this was important for people to see and understand… that they understood it had been a work for me to get where I was at… that it wasn’t something I had always done or simply been “blessed” with.

8 years.

I’ve set goals, hit them, redefined them, crushed them again and kept moving forward. As I’ve gotten stronger on my journey I’ve been able to do more which has led to bigger visions of what I’m capable of.

I think that’s pretty applicable to whatever you have your sights set on. There has to be a constant assessing and redirecting to get to where you’re going.

But do you want it bad enough to really push for it ? Are you willing to invest the time and energy?

The word we both used almost at the same time was this: sacrifice.

Anything worth having involves sacrifice. If you’re on a journey to lose weight or get more fit, it will involve a sacrifice of learning to adjust your eating, learning to train yourself to get up and exercise, learning how to make better choices in your lifestyle.

It isn’t easy. It can often feel hard and be daunting.

The road to success in life, whatever, it is, won’t be easy. And maybe in some ways it shouldn’t be.

We often learn so much about ourselves on the journey, through the struggles, through the disapointments and up’s and down’s of what we are pursuing.

We find our strength, we learn our weaknesses. If we’re stubborn and determined we persevere through it and keep our eyes on the prize.

No matter where you are, or what you seek, don’t give up or quit. Small steps towards your goal will ultimately get you to where you are going.

As our conversation wrapped up I was left with these thoughts in my head about achieving success and nailing goals.

Steps to Success….

A path. This is the “thing” you want to do.
The process. What does it take to get to your “thing”?
Determination. ( no excuses)
Focus. (single minded)
Sacrifice. (This is the biggest. It won’t be easy. You will have to be uncomfortable. Give up things. Make different choices)
Achieve goals. ( the sweetness of victory!)

What steps or process have you used to reach your goals ? When you reached your goal did you feel what you invested to get there was worth it?

The Freedom Of The Sports Bra

Reading. I’m always reading something. I love learning new things but I also like reading stuff that I don’t have to think super deep on. I read a lot on nutrition, fitness and exercise ideas. I take what I find useful, and a lot of times I share it with others whom I think may benefit from it.

Sometimes the fitness stories are meant to be amusing in a relatable way to the reader. Sometimes, they are thought provoking and make you think. Often, they are inspirational and make me realize I can still go beyond where I am now… that there’s always a bigger challenge.

But this story I read the other day was about a form of freedom the author had found and I kinda related to it. I guess I related ’cause it’s starting to get warm here in the vast state of Texas and when it comes to workouts, it doesn’t take long to start cooking up a good sweat .

The story was about how the author found freedom in tossing her shirt and working out in a sports bra and how the world didn’t come to an end when she did and how free and liberated she felt being able to do that. And I mean, c’mon. Now days, there are so many that are cute, colorful, and fun it seems … wrong… to hide them.

I totally love being a woman but I have to admit there are times when I see dudes running down the road on a crazy hot day in nothing but a little pair of shorts and I feel a tiny bit jealous. They look so…free and unconfined… as they plow out miles.

But I understood what the author of the story was saying. There’s a certain level of just being comfy with yourself and not really caring about random people and just being able to do what you want… to get past worrying about someone else and what they may be thinking…like that matters ?

I made the move a long time ago.

When I first started running I ran in cheap stuff from Wal-mart, cotton stuff. Trust me, you’ve never known awesome until you are running in shirt that is soaking wet with sweat and it feels like it weighs 10lbs hanging off you. Never again…….

Then as time went on I got acquainted with dri-wick fabric and that helped a lot. But still, as small and light as I could get those tanks, they were clinging and drippy and overall felt like a poor wet skin hanging off me.

Then one day the thought was… just leave the shirt behind.

That began the dialog in my head…. “what will people think seeing me running down the road?” Do you really care what a random person might think?”

Uh. No.

And all the sudden I’m worried about some strangers and whether or not they can see my stretch marks or if they think my abs are suitable enough to be flaunted running down the road or whatever else random stranger may or may not be thinking.

Honestly, I never really think much about someone I see running other than “hey, go you!” haha and if it happens to be a woman in a sports bra and shorts I really think “go you” cause she’s out there doing it and doesn’t care.

That screams confidence to me.

You know what happened when I made that move? Other than feeling like I didn’t have wet, loose skin hanging off me?

I felt amazingly free. I was so much more aware of my body and how it moved. I was sweaty but now I could feel it on my skin and could feel the air cooling me. I could feel the sun. I started developing an envious athletic tan lines 😉

It was…..

Complete, total freedom.

I felt unbound by that extra layer.

And you know what? No one seemed to care. The world didn’t stop spinning. My abs didn’t seem to be a concern or what they looked like or didn’t look like.

Wow. I didn’t have to have a perfect body to do it… it was just a simple move to toss the shirt.

I hate when it starts getting colder again and I have to layer up. It feels so different to not have the sun, and wind on my skin, I feel weighted down.

Ahhh, but now the warm air of spring has arrived, and for cycling and (soon, running again) the belly is getting some sun and fresh air 😉

Tell me… are you comfy in just a sports bra working out? Have you made the move to do that? Why or why not? (Sorry guys!)

Thoughts From An Endurance Athlete

Endurance

Even as I type out the title for this blog, I’m left pondering how and when, I turned into an endurance athlete.

It was certainly never on my radar at any point in my life like, “Hey, when I grow up I wanna do crazy things like run a stupid amount of miles or bike that many or do BOTH!”

No.

I wasn’t an athlete in school. My athletics involved band and being involved in twirling the last three years of school.

I wasn’t athletic most of my adult life.

I started running when I was 46. I ran my first half marathon in 2011 and was hooked.

I crossed the finish line feeling triumphant and exhausted already plotting my next one. It would be several more half marathons before I really felt the pull or the “calling” to do a full marathon. Some of my friends have simply referred to it as me going crazy 😉

I never really let myself examine to closely the (craziness) of deciding to run 26.2 miles.

Really. Only real runners did that stuff, right? Real athletes. I never backed down from that first one, and one time, and one time only did I look those numbers in the face and feel terrified and almost back down. I put that thought away and never let it out again.

I’m so glad I didn’t.

I simply started training and embracing the whole discipline of the preparation it took for a marathon.

Then with quite a few half marathons under me, and a couple full marathons, I jumped into a 50K.

THAT… is when I’d see friends in the store and they’d pull me aside and quietly whisper to me..

“Honey, are you ok? Really? I mean, a 50K…. I think you’re crazy!”

Ha… I guess looking at it from some sort of rational perspective, it must seem that way. I had just come to the realization that running a lot of miles at once was just…well normal….. right?

Normal, sane, grounded people just don’t decide to train for a 50K race.. and then do it.

Something though about endurance running meshed with me.

Was it the constant challenge to push my body to more? To see how far and long I could go? To simply know that I could do it? If I’m honest, for the natural kinda high that came along with it ?

Ah yes, that was the biggest thing. To know I could take on something that felt so much larger than life to me, something that seemed so impossible and so far from anything I’d ever been or done… that huge challenge… and then go out and do it.

It builds confidence in you like nothing can.

In the mix of running I started cycling some. Just to mix it up and because, hey why not another sport? Cycling of course worked my body in a different way from running and I liked that.

But running still remained my main passion. Maybe it was the fact it took such strength and mental discipline to do it, and to do it for long periods of time.

Getting up on those early Saturday mornings and being on the road by 5:30 to knock out my long run… as hard as it could be some weeks getting out of a cozy bed and leaving a warm house…there was something I relished about it. Running in the black, quiet morning still sleepy with nothing but the soft sound of my feet hitting the road and the sound of my breathing, it was almost comforting. I loved passing houses all dark, people still sound asleep as the miles built under me.

As the darkness gave way to light I loved having often 10 or more miles under me while the world was still getting it’s first cup of coffee. And by the time the sun was up in the sky I would be wrapping up a run in the teens’s or 20’s miles and it felt amazing.

Somehow completely exhausting myself at the start of the day made me feel empowered.

Geez how many people were out running double digits before the sun came up?

Not just that… but somehow out there on the road on those runs…. you find yourself in ways you didn’t know before. You come to understand things about yourself and what you’re really made of. When you do endurance sports you have to dig deeper into yourself and pull things out that you previously didn’t know were there.

Quitting isn’t an option. Your mind and body need to be disciplined and pulled into a cooperating agreement, which can be hard when your legs are starting to ask ” are we there yet?”

You find a strength you previously didn’t know existed. You learn to give more when you think you can’t give more. That is where your mental muscle is really built.

You begin to relish the feel of your body responding to the demands you put on it, how the road feels under you, how your mind is so…alive.

I do some of my most creative thinking and problem solving when I’m out on the road.

When I had to cut back on running last year with an injury, time on the bike was a replacement for giving me the miles I had come to crave. Not the same as running, but I had the ability to go out and ride for miles and challenge myself in new ways ( riding a bike up a hill is a different game than running up a hill 😛

I loved the new level of strength I built from cycling along with the running. Ok, and I will admit, that it’s a total head rush flying off a hill at wild speeds and holding on for dear life and feeling like you’re 12 all over again… that’s the reward for climbing hills haha

And then I started entertaining the idea of doing a duathlon, an event where you run, cycle, and run. Two things that I was beginning to feel I was pretty good at.

It was on my agenda for last fall… but this nagging Achilles injury just wouldn’t let me put the training in for running like I needed to so that event was shelved.

So yesterday, I was out on my bike. The first time in well over a month…closer to 2 more likely. The doctor wanted me off of everything that could possibly irritate it and keep it from healing.

Yesterday was the day after the period he had suggested before I tried some cycling again.

I hardly slept the night before I was so excited. It’s the same feeling I have the night before a long run or a race. The day started off foggy, misty and warm but I didn’t let that stop me. The sun eventually popped out. It felt so amazing to be out again…so free… I cut myself off at 17 miles thinking that was probably enough for my first time back out.

I’ll be honest… I’m not sure where this injury is gonna land me or how long it will be till I can really get after what I want to do. It’s still hanging around and I need to hit it face on. I’m terrified of being side railed for a long time and getting to do nothing. Terrified.

What I remembered out on the road (again) yesterday… is how ALIVE I feel when I’m out there. How endurance sports make me feel alive, and strong, and powerful. There’s something heady about it that I can’t explain and you probably only understand if you’re an endurance athlete.

Somehow, in the pouring out of yourself on the road, you dig deeper and learn more about who you are and what you’re made of than you ever knew.

I’m ready for bigger challenges and new goals.

I love having an event I’m training for, my calendar laid out with my mileage I will be doing for months, my cross training days plotted in and each day knowing what I’m doing is moving me that much closer to my event… the new challenge.

I miss it. I miss it so much right now, not being able to have something I’m intentionally training for. Yes, I workout for my mental sanity, my health, and continued fitness goals. But I miss the focus of training for a big race or event.

I think this endurance thing is in my blood now and I want to keep digging deeper into it taking on bigger challenges and new goals.

What about you? Does the idea of running long distances make you twitch? Or feel alive? Do you love having something to train for? Do you enjoy multiple athletic activities?

endurance-podcast

Motivation And Muscles

The question came at me again. I get a lot of questions but this one comes up often….

“How do I get abs?”

Realistically we ALL have them. The strong muscle structure that supports our back and inner organs come as standard equipment on all human bodies.

I know what the well intending person means.

How do I get defined abs? ones that show and pop ?

This really depends on your goal, what you’re wanting to achieve. For many people on their weigh loss journey, just losing fat off of their belly is all they want. Less around the waist, nothing rolling over the top making that awkward “muffin top”. Less around the middle is better for your health even if you don’t care if you ever see a defined ab muscle.

Excess fat around the belly can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.

Aesthetics aside… losing it off your middle is in your best health interest.

But… what if you do care and want to see those clear cut and chiseled ab muscles ? or muscles of any kind?

You ready ?

It takes work, dropping enough body fat and having a wicked eye towards your nutrition.

Muscles are simply not visible with to much fat.

There’s this little saying that ab’s are made in the kitchen and it’s true. What and how you eat definitely comes into play in the muscle game, especially with your abs.

And what you eat is crucial to dropping fat while striving to maintain muscle mass.

But in the process of losing weight it’s important that you are building muscle.

If you diet down without building a solid foundation of strength and dense muscle tissue you’ll end up “skinny fat” ( it means you are under lean, your body has less muscle than fat) , weak and unhealthy.

What does that mean for someone wanting to have muscles that show up ? It means even if you are packing some extra weight, you are working on building muscle. It means you have a good strength training plan to build muscle mass while you work at cutting fat… so when you’ve slowly and steadily dropped that… you will have a muscle base to show up.

No matter how thin you get, if you haven’t built the core muscles in your abs you won’t have the results you are wanting. In fact if you haven’t built muscle anywhere, it won’t be there when you drop the fat.

I have been my own sort of experiment these past few years. I see magazine pictures of people like “before/after” but I don’t know them. I don’t really even know how they got to where they are today. But I do know myself and understand what it’s taken to get me where I am and the fact it’s taken time to achieve it, and I know it will take more time and discipline to further myself.

225592_179313034_XLarge — Moments after the finish of my second marathon Dec 7, 2014

20150815_083450-1 — After a long ride earlier this year

You have to understand, I am a fairly ordinary woman who has done this on her own with no coaches, trainers or anyone else. I work hard, read a lot, use things I think are helpful for me, reject what I don’t think is helpful and I’ve continued to move forward a little at a time.

Do I want to be stronger ? Yes. Do I know I can have better muscles and definition? Yes. Do I understand because of where I am now it will take more disciplined work and time?

Of course I do. I’m ok with that since I know it’s a process.

The same goes for you. You won’t have visible results without a strong foundation. You will need significant muscle mass before you see abs and work before you see other muscles.

But hey, remember in the process, you are getting stronger for living your life and that is a total bonus 🙂

What about you? Do you seek a strong, muscled or what people refer to as a “toned” look? Is that a goal? Or are you happy just being strong enough to cart the groceries in with less trips to the car ? 😉

Committed Or Just Interested ?

commitment

Habits.

I talk a lot about habits mainly because in the context of successful weight loss and making a lifestyle change, developing new ones to replace negative ones are key to a permanent change.

Habits are often ingrained in us from a life time, whether they are good or bad. When it comes to our eating behaviors and exercise a firm hand often has to be taken to those habits if we want to move into more positive choices.

WHY is it so hard? That topic comes up often with people I talk with and most recently with my client.

In discussing her week and some of the difficulties she had her response was “I know what to do in my head, why do I go back and do what I know I shouldn’t do?”

Oh indeed. Why do any of us ? Why are we pulled back into a poor choice when we ( intellectually) know better and have even been doing better with more positive habits, yet, in a moment, we seemingly skip right back to what we know.

Why? Because it’s comfortable and familiar to us. Because it’s easy, it requires no effort to bounce back to the old and familiar. And once there, it can almost be a sandpit to crawl out of again and begin our forward progress. The key thing is to crawl out and keep moving forward, not give up and allow ourselves to be sucked back into the negative habits we seek to change.

I can say that because there are times I can still do the same things. I understand what that’s like. I do get those struggles.

To change negative habits requires a willingness to commit to the journey. To own it. To allow ourselves not to make excuses to go back to old ways. Yeah, we will slip, but there must be a determination and ownership to want that change and not stay where we are.

I read this today and it’s just so true. I’ve never thought of it quite like this, but it’s true.

Are you “interested” in a healthy lifestyle? Or “committed” to having a healthy lifestyle ?

Yeah. Just think about that for a moment.

When you’re interested in doing something you only do it when it’s convenient.

When you’re committed to something you accept no excuses, only results. You follow your established rules and get it done.

The difference between interested and committed is a big jump to permanent success.

If you approach weight loss and your health journey in the light of when it’s comfortably convenient, you can see where you will encounter constant setbacks.

You must make a commitment that takes you beyond just being “interested.”

Committed means being willing to be honest with yourself, where you are and addressing what needs to be done.

It means not justifying reasons why you allow yourself to keep eating or drinking things that don’t contribute or lead to your goals

It means not finding other things that are “more important” to do than purposeful exercise. Or coming up with reasons to not do it.

I’m NOT saying you’re going to take it and get it immediately. You won’t.

Habits take time to change. If you have a lifetime of doing the same things, they won’t change over night. It will require a consistent commitment to making it happen. That means in good days and bad days you keep going with the intention of improvement.

Those habits you’ve developed of going through a drive thru for fast food? or buying coke and candy at a gas station? Or eating seconds even when you aren’t hungry? Or procrastinating on getting some exercise in? Or watching tv with a bag of chips or whatever treat ? Spending that hour or more in front of the tv or computer?

You’ve trained yourself to do those things and you can train yourself to do new things. Really.

I recently went on a road trip. It’s about 4 hours of driving. I usually take a little bag with a few healthy snacks and some bottled water. As I was grabbing the water I saw a carton of blackberries that I decided to toss in too.

A couple hours down the road I was nibbling those and washing them down with water. This isn’t how I used to do trips. I might make a run in to a convenience store for some chips or candy. It’s been a work in progress that my thinking is different now… I made a commitment to wanting to live healthier and that has carried through in lots of areas of my life.

I just don’t want to do that anymore. I feel better about myself making good choices.

This has taken time.. and a reshaping of negative habits for improved ones…. and a commitment to being the strongest and healthiest I can be.

If you get with it and stay with it each day you will make progress. Understand tough times will come and you will feel discouraged. Hang in there and stay strong.

Commit to the process, don’t just be interested in it.

COMMITMENT-MEANS-STAYING-LOYAL-TO-WHAT-2

Have you truly committed to wanting to live a healthier lifestyle through activity and good nutrition? Or are you interested in the idea of it ?

The Biggest Loser And The Biggest Lies

weight loss

Weight loss. It seems to be on almost everyone’s list. Whether it’s those last nagging 5-10 lbs or 100lbs.

There’s one thing everyone probably feels the same on… they want the weight gone and they usually want it gone fast.

Instant gratification. Instant results. Look lean overnight. No flab. Fit. “Toned”.

It just doesn’t happen. You don’t get fat over night and you won’t get thinner over night.

Enter shows like “The Biggest Loser”. A game. A competition. Winner takes all prize money and the claim of winning… not to mention a smaller body than what they started with. Shows like this tell us lies about healthy living. They tell lies about what you need to do to have a level of success in becoming more fit.

Sadly, I’ve always viewed it as a show gambling with peoples lives. I always wondered what the real health effects could be to those who participated. Some of these people are well… huge… and they have them doing so much hard work and doing it like… a zillion times a day with a huge calorie deficit. What consequences could they suffer ?

The show also shows us some lies I believe we’re led to believe about weight loss.

Well interestingly enough an article just came out this week that I’ve been following…and can I say …. I have a lot of thoughts on it? Perhaps you’ve seen it on TV or the internet.

I mean… my two cents worth… but some of the things trouble me.

I’m certainly no “expert” or “professional” but I do view weight loss in a sane and practical manner. It’s worked for many and also people I know and have worked with.

The article overall was pointing out that the contestants metabolisms had slowed because of the extreme process they put their body through losing weight ( no surprise there) and that nearly all had gained their weight back ( and a few gained back more weight) the article cited that their bodies basically fought to get back to an ideal weight and that’s why they were gaining the weight back.

Ok… I do believe that we all have a weight “zone”. That is a place where our bodies are naturally, and biologically meant to be. It explains why you might think you want to weight 150… and you’re at 155… and you work like crazy to achieve that number… but without constant, rigid, determined discipline… you will go back to 155. YET…. it’s probably easier and more sustainable for you to stay and hold that weight than it is at 150 because your body might be naturally designed, biologically, to be at the 155 weight.

Personally, I’ve found that to be true. As an athletic person I’ve realized I have a weight that I see when I’m in heavy training. I’m super lean and don’t ever have to think much about what I’m eating ( no, I don’t eat whatever, I still eat healthy) I realized when I’m not in heavy training ( like running 40-50 miles a week) by body naturally went back to where I was before heavy training. It’s a weight that I stay within 5 lbs of one way or the other. I don’t stress over it and I don’t think much about it. It’s pretty sustainable for me… meaning I don’t have to rigidly control my eating or exercise in unhealthy ways to stay there.

There is no way I can sustain the heavy training I do for a marathon or when I was ultra training, all the time. No matter how much mentally I might want to do it. Naturally, that kind of exercise will keep me pretty lean.

Same with contestants on this program. They worked them out 3-4 times a day. They worked out for 7 hours a day, every day. One man reported burning 8,000-9,000 calories a day.

Do you see a problem here ??

Without this high level of calorie output, something will give.

Then, you take people who have been in a pretty deprived environment of all things they’ve loved… involving food….. you restrict them in crazy ways… they are hungry all the time….

then when the show is over…. they go back to their life… and here is what I believe ( and again, just my own thoughts and opinions)

you can put someone through the paces of losing weight by exercising them hard and drastically cutting calories, but if there isn’t a mental change with food… we’ve got problems boys and girls.

If they haven’t learned to build new positive habits to replace the negative or if they don’t have an understanding of WHY they eat… we’ve got problems.

People don’t weigh hundreds of pounds without there being deeper issues and problems that need addressed. If there hasn’t been behavioral changes they will go right back to what they know and what feels comfortable.

Yes, they all probably have some metabolic issues now due to what they put their bodies through. But when you gain back hundreds of pounds, that is an eating issue. There is no way someone’s “ideal” weight is 400 lbs. or 300 or whatever. You don’t get to that weight without eating food…and a lot of it.

So when they go back to old eating habits, and aren’t exercising in the insane way they did during the show… the writing is on the wall… and when they’ve been taken so far in the rapid weight loss direction ( because it’s so fast and crazy) their body will respond and start adding weight back on. Call it our bodies survival mode kicking in.

The article does say they are encouraged to exercise at least 9 hours a week and monitor their diets to keep the weight off. This is certainly sane and practical advice…but they have to do it.

This now becomes their responsibility…. and if they have the same negative habits in place or aren’t strong enough in new ones… they will slide back.

One contestant talks about how two treats can turn into a 3 day binge. Binge eating will obviously lead to a return of weight.

One man is only eating 800 calories a day in the “real” world. 800! Talk about messing with your metabolism.

Ok.. I will just say the whole article kinda left me with my mouth hanging open. One mans workout “routine” after the show….. was nothing short of brutal… workouts all through out his day…hours… and with hardly enough food to support all of his exercise. No wonder his body didn’t want to give up fat.

I’ll tell you what troubles me most over this whole thing….well there’s a couple things….

First, I’m worried that overweight/obese people will see this and say… “well, see I’m just meant to be this way because it’s natural, biological” and try and justify it…kinda like the new “I have a thyroid disorder” reason for not being able to lose weight or being heavy ( and for the record… I have thyroid issues so I can say that.) I’ll say it again… no one is biologically meant to naturally, and in a healthy way, weigh hundreds of pounds.

The BIGGEST thing that got me in that article?

this line….”the only way to maintain weight loss is to be hungry all the time.”

Really? Really????

Why on earth do you think people fail at it? They hate being hungry! I hate being hungry. We aren’t meant to walk through our days miserable, hungry, and constantly thinking about food. The next meal. The next thing we can put in our mouth.

That is disordered thinking.

We have a life to live and it shouldn’t be focused on when we can consume our next meal, or being so hungry it’s all we can think about.

I lost weight slowly and steadily over a period of a couple years. I didn’t starve myself. I ate food. I learned to eat the right amounts of food. I didn’t walk around hungry ’cause I’m not into that kind of sick pain 😉 It’s what has kept me successful… and others too who do this… you eat to lose weight and you don’t live in a state of being hungry.

Again, I’m certainly not some expert but I think this article and the show in itself reveal a few things .

Slow, steady weight loss is what is required for it to be sustainable and lasting.
Fueling our body with adequate and healthy foods with purposeful exercise is really the only way to achieve those goals of weight loss.
You are not on a time frame to make it happen. Live your life one day at a time, seeking to make good choices, forgiving yourself for not so good days and continuing to take steps forward.
Don’t quit. Know that things are going on even if you can’t sometimes “see” anything.
Without changing our negative habits, and understanding our relationship with food and why and when we eat it, lifestyle change will be hard.
More isn’t always better. This is a huge lie. The extreme measures people went through show us that exercising for hours during the day and drastically reducing our food will contribute to metabolic issues and our bodies will fight back against these things.

If you are working to lose weight remember there are no quick fixes or extreme measures to permanent success. There are no magic pills, potions, drinks or elixirs to make you thinner. (use that money to buy good food!) Putting on weight takes time, and taking off weight takes time. Don’t buy into overhyped lies that try to tell you any different.

So dear readers, have you read the article on The Biggest Loser contestants? What do you think about it? Do you ever think such extreme measures are successful? What has helped you be successful in weight loss?

The Sweet Sound Of Music

Music 1

Music. I love music. I can safely say not a day goes by that I’m not listening to it.

Drive time. Work out time. Cleaning house. Cutting the grass.

Even writing… yes… writing.

Weirdly, having music going seems to free my mind. You think it might be distracting but I really (usually) find it to be quite the opposite. Don’t ask me to explain… it just works.

Let’s face it … in the ways of music… there’s a lot to choose from!

I think music is a personal experience for anyone who listens to it. We are shaped by it and often influenced as well. It can lift our mood, speak to our hearts, or often seemingly address some life situation we are in at any given moment.

Am I the only one who finds certain songs “speak” to how I’m feeling ?

With all the diversity of music in the world it’s hard to narrow down to one single genre and stay there.

Although… for me… I think I will always be a rock girl at heart. It’s definitely my preference to listen to almost (always) and it’s THE thing to get me moving.

Oh I can clean up pretty well and I’ve attended operas and classical concerts. I’ve been in the church choir. I can dress down and be comfortable in a t shirt and jeans packed in with thousands of sweaty people at a rock concert.

Having kids I’ve been exposed to a wide range of music from rap, Christian, country, industrial and everything in between. I love having young friends as well who share music with me I might otherwise not know about.

But at the end of the day.. there is something about rock that is always my “go to” music.

So when a friend recently did a Facebook post asking what kind of music people listened to that moved them during their workouts…well… I chimed in… but I jokingly made a disclaimer that I didn’t listen to “tame” music when I worked out. I really like having someone growling in my ear. It pushes me…challenges me…and some music just won’t let me back off.

When I’m running… there are songs that push me harder. I have songs that motivate me when I’m lifting… perhaps not as fast… but more… intense.

My music can and often, dictates my mood as well. I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

Some of my favorite music memories involve my kids. (like…they let me do stuff with them haha)

I took my oldest son and 4 of his friends to an out of town concert they wanted to attend. The band was one of those industrial, all black leather, heavy on the makeup and tripped out clothes. It was in a completely seedy night club…. you know the kind… where the door is falling off the hinges to the bathroom ? 😉

I’d listened to some of their music.. I referred to it as my angry music…ha… I still do.. it’s great for when I’m boxing.

Anyway, they wanted to go, so we took off, got a hotel room, went to the concert that night and came home the next day. They still like making jokes about when we all shared a room together 😛

Yes… me and 5 teenage boys. I should get a medal. It really was fun.

Or the summer I refer to in our house as the summer of “My Chemical Romance”.

MCR was constantly blaring out of my sons room. Black Parade had been released and it was off the charts popular, and My Chem was on tour in Project Revolution. It was one of those massive outdoor festivals and it was beyond stupid hot that day. My Chem didn’t come on till that evening, right before Linkin Park. I was afraid we’d die of heat stroke before the big main event.

We didn’t. We made it. It was a long, hot, fun day and My Chemical Romance put on a crazy show… it was soooo worth it.

Months later, we got to see them in a small venue that was close to home. We were packed in like sardines into this small outside theater they had decided to play “for fun”. We were close enough to the stage we could see them sweating… haha….but it was an incredible, energetic experience to be a part of. A crowd who knew all the songs by heart singing along? It was a total blast… and we were completely exhausted afterwards.

Music has the ability to transport us to another time, to evoke memories, to make new ones, to heal our souls, put us in a better mood, or challenge us in our workouts to give more of ourselves. It speaks when we can’t.

What about you? Do you use music for working out? Do you have songs or artists that really get you going ? Do you agree that music can speak for us when we have no words?

The Numbers Game

numbers

Numbers. We can’t move through life without encountering them, can we ? In school I really had a not so good relationship with math. I just didn’t get why the alphabet needed to be added in to confuse things. Thank goodness for a patient teacher who worked with me to get me through my final year in high school.

Why can’t numbers be as much fun as words!?

Words tell stories and paint pictures. You can visually set pictures in someone’s mind with words and artistically create with them.

Numbers are a slow form of torture to me… but nonetheless they are a part of life. I do have a good working relationship with them now… but I still prefer words 😉

Of course we deal with them in practical ways in life. We handle money, work with finances, deal with time, and for some, their jobs might heavily involve numbers and epic number skills.

There are other numbers we deal with too… on a health and wellness level we deal with the numbers on a scale, the measurements of our bodies, numbers from lab work and the numbers of our blood pressure and heart rate, to the sizes of clothes we wear.

Now I’ve written several posts on the scale and how that shouldn’t dominate our life or determine our worth. And it’s true… it shouldn’t. I’ve talked about keeping your focus on being healthy and loving yourself. A scale is only a single tool in our health journey, and definitely not the only one. Nor does it determine our overall health.

Let me be perfectly clear… I knew exactly when I was carrying to much fat and what those numbers on the scale meant. As adults, we know when we’re overweight, and need to change that for our own continued good health. When I talk about not being defined by numbers I am not encouraging you to stay in a place of not being the best “healthy you” that you can be. Excess fat contributes to many preventable health issues and I will always encourage you to move in a direction that will lessen that on your body.

I trust you will take the necessary steps to get to your healthy weight zone and we all have what is considered a healthy weight zone. By that I mean a 5 lb balance in either direction of our ideal weight.

When I was on my journey to lose weight I accepted where I was at for that moment. I just focused on loving myself right where I was as I moved towards my goal of getting fat gone.

Today, whereas I’m not focused on those numbers, I am aware of them. I am aware of the numbers on scale even though I don’t weigh in often.

I am aware of my sizes ( yes, I say sizes because most women have a couple they can land between) I have jeans that I consider to be perfect for me so as long as they are fitting well I’m good. And yeah, I can still get excited when my hard work is revealed in smaller pants.

Shallow? Maybe. Or just a reward for hard work, discipline and eventual success for my labor?

I’m aware of my measurements.

I know because of my body composition now, I’m measured more by body fat percentage, than a BMI number.

I’m aware of my heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, resting heart rate and what my lab numbers are.

I’m aware of these things because I know they all play a part together in all of who I am.

These things don’t define me… or give me worth… but they are important for me to have an awareness of for my overall health and well being.

So I want to encourage you, if you’re on a journey to lose weight and get fit, awesome!

Keep in mind the importance and awareness of knowing your “numbers” but don’t lose sight of the fact you are moving closer to being healthy and strong, not just for you, but for those who love you too.

No matter what stage we are in on our journeys it’s important to keep in mind these are tools that help us be aware of our health and fitness levels.

Remember though, as those numbers change, the overall physical benefits will be loss of fat, more energy, strength, mental clarity, less aches and pains on our body from carrying excess weight, possible reversing of some health issues and…well… maybe a new pair of jeans 😉

Tell me… do you practice an awareness of your numbers? Not an unhealthy focus, but simply an awareness for the purpose of maintaining your health.