weight loss – Page 5 – sassyfitnesschick

Experimental You

experiment

I was pouring over a story in Runners World the other day… ok… stop.. yeah I hear you now..

“Wait a minute! You aren’t even running right now, and you’re reading a running magazine?”

Why yes, yes I am. I plan to keep on top of things while I’m recovering… not only that there’s lots of good stuff besides running in there… like… nutrition…

Nutrition is something that involves us all, running or not. OK, lots of the food stories do focus on fueling for a good run, but then I come across something like this that really resonated with me ’cause I understand this idea… and why I will always tell you that diets will fail you.

The story was titled “Why Can’t You Lose Weight?” On the sidebar is the “thing” that caught my eye. It was titled “10 Golden Rules of Weight Loss Success”. The first one said this:

You are an experiment of one.

No one has to live your precise life, with your specific challenges, biochemistry, anatomy, injury history, calendar, boss or family.

Yeah. Let that breathe over you for a minute.

You. Are an experiment of one.

No one else is wired just like you in any specific way.

This is why cookie cutter diets often ( and usually do) fail miserably. This is why the diet industry is a zillion dollar a year market.

This is why you must know your body, know what works, and what doesn’t. This is why giving someone a blanket 1200 calorie diet is useless.

It doesn’t take in to account any of the things listed above.

Obviously, I only have myself to experiment on. I’ve had people ask me about certain things.. I share with them.. as far as food I eat or exercises I do… but my anatomy is different from theirs… my metabolism…how I’m made is going to respond in a different way than their body might. In the past I’ve referred to myself as a “fun science experiment”. Eating certain foods or eating limited amounts, mixing up foods, plenty of exercise and a variety of exercise works in interesting ways on my body.

My dietary needs vary not just on a day to day basis but often on the type of training I’m doing. During the heavy part of marathon training, on any given day, my caloric needs are high. When I’m off heavy training, I need to adjust my food intake to my current training level.

You are an experiment of one. As you consider ways to lose weight, know what works for you and follow it. Don’t worry about what your neighbor does or if they are on some current trendy thing. Become an expert on yourself. No one has your unique, specific body design or life circumstances.

So as you consider health and fitness goals keep in mind things like….

Your schedule. Where in your day does your workout fit best for you to get it done?

What types of exercises can you do? Do you have any physical injuries or limitations to consider ?

How good are you at eating regular, balanced healthy meals ?

What “issues” are you maybe dealing with in life that could distract you from your goals?

Know your body. Does it seem to respond better to certain exercises or foods ?

Know how much you need to eat to satisfy your hunger, but no more than that. Learn, listen and obey your bodies natural hunger and satisfied feelings.

Are you an athlete ? Your feeding needs will be different as you must consider additional calories for whatever athletic endeavor you are taking on. You have to know and respect that.

When you really understand and consider yourself as “an experiment of one” with a focus on your personal needs and body requirements, you are on your way to nailing down your own unique health and fitness plan.

The Struggle

challenges

The young woman talked easily with me sharing her struggles with weight loss and food describing her various up’s and down’s with weight loss over the years.

At one point she said…. “Oh, but I’m sure you don’t understand that” as she does an overall gesture that covers me from head to toe, indicating that based on how I look now I certainly couldn’t understand her struggles, or that I had walked in her shoes.

Maybe not to the entire degree she had, but the physique I have today, I wasn’t born with nor have I had it most of my life.

I’ve had to earn it, and it’s only come about in the past few years working at it. Which is pretty much exactly what I told her. She hadn’t known me very long when our paths crossed so it was perhaps easy for her to draw conclusions that I’ve always been some kind of fitness queen.

How did I explain the struggles I had been through in the past, yet, had overcome? Like, the need to go through a drive thru for a “snack” because I was “starving”? ( please note: you won’t really starve before you get home to get something better than a drive thru snack) I’ve since learned to keep a few decent snacks stashed away, for emergency purposes 😉 how I’ve trained myself to eat slowly and savor my food, and understand that it doesn’t take a lot to feed your hunger? That I made a dedicated, focused choice in the beginning to exercise? That some days I flat out didn’t want to do it, but now, couldn’t imagine NOT doing it? To treat food with respect and know that it will still be around tomorrow and I don’t have to eat it all tonight? Coming to an understanding that eating good, healthy, nutrient dense food wasn’t a punishment, but life giving, energy inducing, age defying goodness ?

I shared parts of my story with her and let her know that I did indeed, understand struggles. In fact, I’m pretty sure there isn’t a person around that doesn’t struggle at some point.

We struggle with eating to much, not eating enough, not enough of the good foods, or to much junk, getting our bodies out the door to exercise, whatever it is, there can be struggles.

I’m no different.

I thought about that today as I was grocery shopping. There are SOOOO many tempting treats… so many impulse items we can buy. I mentally slapped myself and kept going several times.

You know how I don’t eat certain things ? I simply don’t bring them home…which…well… kinda sucks sometimes when I’m trolling really wanting something and it’s not there haha it’s a cruel paradox.

Not that I don’t have treats… ’cause I do… I’ve just learned that to be successful means saying no to impulsive moments more frequently than giving in to them.

If I want something, really want something, I do get it. Some things I try to not bring home ’cause I know it’s my “trigger”.

For instance, I adore Salt and Pepper kettle potato chips…. adore them. One day I was shopping with hubby and drooling as I walked by them and he said.. “well, just grab them”

He doesn’t understand… they are like… crack to me…or I’m pretty sure they have crack in them… either way… no matter what… I know once that bag is opened … it’s all over.

My plan is to have just a few… but somehow… I nibble that bag away till they are gone the next day.

I know my weaknesses. I’ve learned tricks to deal with some of those weaknesses. Sometimes I’m successful, sometimes, not so much so.

As I shared with the young woman, I haven’t gotten where I am without my fair share of struggles.

What’s kept me successful is not giving up, giving in, or quitting. Not saying I had a “bad” day and I’m a failure and it’s not working so I should just quit.

I guess, at some point, stubbornness isn’t a bad thing. It can lead to success….

I want to remind you that struggles along the way to getting fit and healthy are normal. But I also think we are refined in the process.

struggle to success

We learn to make better choices, think things through more, decide what really matters to us.

I’ve learned to think so critically about many things I put in my mouth, but again, it’s been a learned process that has been born through struggles.

I know it’s almost cliché to use that “anything worth having is worth working for” but it’s true.

Every time you make a better choice, pass on something you know you really don’t need, say yes to healthier foods, get out and move , whatever it is, will make you stronger and help you take the next step to your goals.

the-struggle-is-part-of-the-story-Whitney-English

I want to encourage you, no matter where you are on your journey, the struggle my friend, is a part of the victory of success.

Don’t give up.

The Sacrifice Of Self Caring

I was chattering away at hubby over breakfast on Sunday talking fast and excitedly as I’m prone to do when I’m really passionate about something.

He made careful work of his breakfast while I was shooting things off at him wondering when on EARTH the waitress might wander back and bring me more coffee….for real.

What passionate thing was I engaging him in ?

Something that has gotten closer to my heart more and more in the past couple years.

Health. Fitness. Wellness. Being empowered and strong… and more importantly… wanting it for others… to help them achieve that.

Here you thought I was gonna say running… didn’t you ? Well, you know I’m passionate about that, but we’ll save that for another blog 😉

I am passionate about people “getting” it. When they figure out there’s no magic pill or secret formula, shake, drink or potion. When they get off the crazy carousel diet wagon. When they understand they can do things in a sane and sensible way and lose weight and still have a life….

When they find the balance that works for them that’s sustainable and allows them success.

I freaking love that.

But what I was particularly going on about with hubby was this…

I was reflecting on how people give up, give in, and walk away from the very thing they want to accomplish.

They quit. As if quitting is going to get them closer to their goals they have set for themselves. Why do so many quit? Give up? Throw in the proverbial towel ?

I’ll tell you. (uh… did I mention this might be a rather hard hitting post? )

Losing weight and getting fit requires A LOT of sacrifice. It requires a level of discipline that can make people uncomfortable. It means getting out of your comfy comfort zone. And honestly, it’s more than some want to give, and they quit.

The-important-thing-is-this-to-be-able-at-any-moment-to-sacrifice-what-we-are-for-what-we-could-become_-_-Charles-Dubois-700x525

I saw a meme on Facebook recently that said “There are only two options: Make progress, or make excuses.”

If we are to be successful in our pursuit of being healthy, fit and strong, we need to focus on slow, steady, and constant progress.

The other option is where people make excuses and quit. There’s always a reason “why” they aren’t being successful or a reason why they can’t eat better or exercise or ate half a tray of brownies.

I’ve worked with some people who I (think) expected that somehow I’d lose the weight for them, or be along to slap food out of their hands.

It doesn’t work like that. It does come down to this….

You’ve got to determine you want it bad enough…for you. Not for your bf/gf, husband, wife, or anyone else… it’s got to be for you. And no one can do it …for you.

And then… then comes the hard part… because to do this…to get on the wagon and get moving… requires that sacrifice I was talking about.

Self care requires sacrifice.

Sacrificing old ways, old beliefs.

Sacrificing ways of eating, things that you do eat, how you eat, and how much of it you eat.

Sacrificing time to get out and get your body moving in purposeful exercise on a daily basis. Sacrificing your comfort for discomfort that comes with exerting your body in new ways.

Sacrificing your sense of “entitlement” that you should be able to have or eat certain foods in the amounts you want.

Sacrificing old habits for new ones.

sacrifice2

It’s not easy boys and girls. I’d be lying if I said changing ingrained eating habits you’ve had for years and training your body to like exercise ( and look forward to it!) is easy.

On my journey I’ve had good days and bad days. Days I didn’t WANT to exercise and couldn’t imagine a day that it would be so ingrained in me that I couldn’t imagine NOT doing it. I’ve had days where I knew I ate more than I needed or ate when I knew I wasn’t truly hungry. I just shook it off and kept moving forward. In time, the bad days became less, as my new habits settled into place.

Remember what I said about so many quitting the process….you must take some not so good days on your journey along with the ones that make you feel on top of the world… and keep moving forward.

But… it’s so worth the effort invested… the sacrifice you will make. So worth your time to take care of your body…. which contributes to all of your overall health ( mental and spiritual too) and no, it’s not selfish. ( we’ll talk more on that in another post)

Which brings me back to my passion… to help others get it.. to encourage them that those daily sacrifices they make will in time add up and it really will get easier and become much more of a habit to do than something they have to “make” themselves do.

Maybe you’ve sidelined yourself more times than you can count. Perhaps you’ve given up after a few weeks declaring it was just “to hard” or “nothing is happening”. You’ve allowed self-defeating talk to rule you and your choices.

Come closer and I will tell you something…. are you ready ?

You don’t have to stay in that place. You have everything in you to be successful and achieve your goals.

Yes, sacrifice and struggle will be involved. Yes, there are times it will not be easy.

Don’t quit… you’ll never arrive if you do.

In the end though, you’ll see, it was all worth it.

Running, Tattoos, And Muscles

Yesterday I made a trip back to see my sports doctor. I haven’t seen him since last summer when I was in for my running injury.

I bit the bullet ’cause the crazy thing has never gone away. After seeing him, then my visits to do Airrosti in December, it was still hanging around.

And being a runner my stubborn thought was…. “well, if it’s gonna be there and bother me whether I’m running or not, I might as well run. If it doesn’t get any worse…. go.”

Injured-runner1

Did I say I was stubborn ? Head strong? Willful ? Why do I hear my mother in my head ? haha

Realistically, I know it needs to be fixed so I can really get back out there and run like I want to run.

So… it was back to see him… to see what was going on.

The first thing he says, grabbing my arm, “that’s cool… you got a new tattoo!”

Seriously? A doctor that remembers what ink you have on your arm ? And that you got a new piece ?

I did get new ink a few weeks ago… and it looks like this… I totally love it.

20160127_163318-1

Did I mention he’s cool ? He’s also an athlete so he understands you not just from a medical perspective but an athletic one as well. He asks about goals and plans you have.

A quick assessment put me right into the (still) diagnosis of insertional Achilles tendonitis. Ugh.

Soooo I will be icing…lots of icing it several times a day … using a topical ointment…. and…. rest from running…. as in….none.

Whatever.

So that puts me more into being confined and focusing on strength training… as in lifting heavy things and working on building those muscles while my feet recover. I will also incorporate boxing into it ( great cardio) and I can still be out on my bike as long as it doesn’t cause any pain. That at least lets me get the miles under me that I crave. I really wanna get a rowing machine since that is the perfect all over body work ( in my opinion) and it’s something else to add to what I do.

Actually, since my miles have been so reduced these past months, I have added more muscle ( ha… not burning it off) 😛 I don’t mind having the muscle… I just need to adapt with my jeans =)

Adapt.

Sometimes I embrace that word, other times, I loathe it.

The definition says to make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose; modify. To change so it functions better. Interestingly, it’s a verb.

Adaptation and adapting are active processes.

My body ( yours too) and the activities we put them through can definitely be an adapting process.

Weight loss, weight gain, building muscle, getting older, exercise, strength training.. so many things make our bodies change… aren’t they amazing things?

But then there are these times I have to adapt to what is going on with my body.

Recovery is not a patient place for me. Therefore, I am learning to adapt even more.

No running means using other activities to get in my cardio. It also means spending more time in strength training… and this activity will change my body differently from running.

I’ve learned these past few years as an athlete that my body can change a lot depending on what I’m doing to it.

I loved how I looked at the peak of my marathon/50K training last year. Lean and chiseled running 55-65 miles a week, I was burning off way more than I was taking in… and truthfully…sitting in the very low end of my weight range.

The reality is, I can’t stay in that top “peak” of training all the time. Our bodies aren’t designed for it. I’ve learned my body will change a bit in off season.

I’ve learned to adapt to that reality.

Now I’m adapting to the constraints of injury.

Adapt. Change. Transform.

It’s a big part of life isn’t it ?

What about you? Have you learned this process, whether in life, or in the way you have to handle your body ? Do you fight against it or embrace the change it brings ? What has adapting taught you ?

Getting Serious About Weight Loss

weeks of fitness

Goals. Resolutions. Plans. Ideas.

Where are you with yours a few weeks into the New Year ? Are you one of the many who has determined that weight loss and fitness will be what you finally achieve this year?

Sadly, many will start with the best intentions but quickly give up when their plans are a bit lofty and to restrictive, determining it’s to hard and give up.

Please don’t quit. Isn’t it more productive to have small forward movement than none ?

When I chat with people I often hear some… denial ? About how they eat ,what they eat, and how much they eat.

Trust me, it’s easy to disillusion yourself. Or there is some joking about it… about not eating well…. as if poor eating is a fun game.

Can I say this ? If you’re serious about weight loss, you need to be serious about what you eat.

Kinda just let that breathe over you for a second.

What kind of body have you built? What kind of body do you want to build ? And I don’t mean like… building a competition body or anything like that… although if that’s what you want you need to set goals to get there.

I mean do you want to lose some fat? Do you want to build muscle? Strengthen your cardio system to be able to do daily tasks without getting out of breath ? Do you want energy to keep up with your family and do things with them ? To achieve those goals means getting serious about what goes in your mouth, and how much of it.

Getting serious means taking a hard look at your eating habits and patterns. A study of your eating habits as it were. What triggers you to eat when you aren’t hungry? What foods do you reach for ? Do you know how to stop once your hunger has been satisfied or do you keep eating because it’s there or it tastes good ?

How do you nourish your body ? Is it with junk type foods? High fat? Sugar? Alcohol ? Fast food ? Over eating?

Or is it with healthy, colorful, flavorful life giving food to build you up in the best way possible ? Foods that will give you energy and vitality?

veggies

Listen, you won’t just snap into changes overnight. You will struggle and rebel against changes you want to make, know you need to make, it won’t come easy.

But…. you are more than capable of doing it.

One day, one moment at a time.

I guess it might sound pretty basic but if you’re gonna make changes you need to assess what you’ve got to do to start making that happen.

May I suggest a long heart to heart with yourself ?

Look at how you eat, when, how much etc. if it’s not a meal time look at snacking or eating when you aren’t truly hungry.

What or how do you feel that makes you reach for food ?

What foods do you reach for ?

In a day, write out foods that are healthy, good for you foods and then the “other” foods. Make a list… which list is longer at the end of the day. You might track this for several days. Make sure you also add in all sugary drinks, alcohol etc

Determine ( on the not so great category) where you can begin to make small gradual changes. For instance, if you’re a big soda drinker and have maybe 3? a day you might try cutting it back to two for a week, then down to one until you’re weaned off or save them for really special treats. Although by that time you might find them to be to sweet for you once your body has adjusted to not having them.

In the healthy section look at how you can continue to improve and build on healthier foods.

Where can you add more veggies ? Choose a healthier snack? Pass on vending machine “treats” ?

To move forward you must be serious with yourself on your eating. Understand your food triggers.

Take a critical look at the foods you eat. Can you make healthier substitutions for some things ?

Asking yourself some hard questions and making small gradual changes will begin to move you forward on your health and fitness journey.

start today

Diets And Your Relationship With Food

Oh boy. Here we go.

New Year and the diet industry is gearing up to guilt you into needing their products. You are being bombarded with all the reasons you need to get on their wagon.

Oprah now basically owns Weight Watchers and her commercials have been going like crazy. Her mantra is to make “2016 the year of your best body”.

I’m certainly not against that mantra… I mean… I want to be better this year than last year. I’m down for another year of my best body.

I can still be stronger, leaner, more fit. I just don’t plan to go about it with all the hype and diet products to achieve it.

Coming up this week is a new TV show called “My Diet Is Better Than Your Diet”. I’m wondering if it will be the awful train wreck that “The Biggest Loser” is which also had it’s season premier this week.

I just have to wonder why it’s still around. I read a story on it the other day that the contestants workout 6-8 hours a day on about 1,000 calories or less. A gerbil eats more.

I’d say all of that is insane but I don’t even know it that’s the best word to describe it. People will tune in and watch as a form of “entertainment” forgetting these are hurting, desperate and needy people who have been brought to this point. They have vast amounts of weight to lose.

The fail rate (that they don’t tell you about) is tremendously high.

Why? Because there haven’t been key important changes made.

Namely this… and it’s true for those on a reality TV show, or you my readers, and true of myself before I figured it out a few years ago.

There is this missing piece… and it’s crucial for permanent, life changing success.

If you don’t get your relationship with food right, and in the right place in your life, you will forever battle it. It will control you.

If food is more important to you than losing weight to be healthy and energetic then it’s time to look at it’s role in your life.

I firmly believe that food is not the biggest issue as is the reasons behind what drives someone to eat beyond what they need to support their lives and feed their hunger.

Sometimes ( and often) there are hungers and needs deeper than our appetites.

Loneliness. Boredom. Pain. Feelings of failure. Loss. Need. Lack of love. Acceptance. Routine. Emotional needs.

Mindless, empty eating, we use to try and fill aches, pains, and other issues in our lives.

It’s why I don’t think these shows will ever really work. It’s why I’m troubled over the “quick fix” surgeries that can rapidly drop pounds, but it’s not addressing the real reasons a person eats so much food to be in that place to start with. If that person doesn’t make a mental shift and get food in it’s proper place, they will continue with the same behaviors and attitudes that made them fat.

The underlying issues need to be recognized to turn it around, to make food be what it is, enjoyable, life giving, but also controlled and managed appropriately. Food is much of a dangerous drug for someone as cocaine is to another.

This is why 6-8 week diet plans will fail. And good intentions will go down the drain and you’ll console yourself with food again. It’s why patients who have weight loss surgery will regain weight they lost and be able to eat as much later on after surgery as before.

Years ago I figured out some of my triggers. I realized I had grown up in a family of emotional eaters. It was weird how I clearly saw it one day and called it for what it was in my life.

It wasn’t overly controlling for me ? But in my mom and grandmother it was very easy to see. They were both considered morbidly obese. I could look back at times and see how food was used for more than nourishment. It was often used as a form of comfort. The more you ate, the better you would feel, right ?

My brother had struggled with it too.

Now I am able to identify it in myself when I see it going on. Only now I ask myself questions and question why I’m eating? Why am I doing what I’m doing? How am I feeling ? What emotions are propelling me to go to food ?

Trust me… this was a huge step in my health and fitness journey.

So yeah. Let’s make 2016 “the year of our best body” but let’s decide first to get real with some things in ourselves that hinder us from moving forward to that goal.

If I offer any humble suggestions to you in this it would be….

*Pay attention to why and when you eat ( beyond meal time)

*Question yourself. Really, you can. Ask those hard questions. What is making you eat at that moment? Are you truly hungry? How are you feeling?

*Look at your family. Your childhood one and the one you have as a grown adult ( married etc) what are the eating patterns and habits? How is food used ? For more than nourishment?

*Do you eat when you are out by yourself ? In the car? Drive thru’s? Is it a habit ?

*Do you eat alone at night? In front of Tv? How much “mindless” eating do you participate in?

*What hurts you inside? Do you use food to soothe your emotions ?

This is a place you can start. Understanding your relationship with food and taking a hard look at things like this can really help you move forward in your health journey…mentally and physically =)

Don’t Wait For Next Year To Change

January

“Well, I’m just gonna get started in January, you know, once the holidays are over.”

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it, yeah, a lot.

The New Years Resolution.

The New Years promise to finally “get in shape”, to “lose weight”, and to “get healthier”.

What it might amount to is a fairly guiltless free for all of eating for weeks like a man condemned to the gallows never to see good food again.

Then with a rigid determination come the official first of the year and a stoic do or die approach, you set out to finally lose weight.

All the good foods are gone ( you might have helped eat them to “get them out of the house”) you’ve stocked up on celery and rice cakes and pulled out the Jillian Michaels workout video that you will overdo on and hurt like heck the next day ’cause your body is protesting all that activity. You will hop on the scale looking for it to show some “loss” to reward you for your first hard day of labor and suffering.

Ha.. ok.. I’m messing with you, but maybe you see yourself in there somewhere.

I do. I used a lot of my past to kinda make fun of the predictable behaviors so many go through each year.

Sad thing is, those good intentions, almost never last past that first month.

I just want to encourage you to not wait for the New Year to start focusing on taking care of yourself. Each day is a new opportunity to eat well, and get in some good purposeful movement. I was talking with someone and again the conversation came up that exercise is something our bodies require for health and wellness, not just to be used as a tool to lose weight ( although it helps with that too).

Exercise is crucial to our overall well being! And needless to say, eating well, gives us good energy to move through our day.

I want to challenge you to not wait for 2016 to start making changes, but begin today.

Taking small steps each day will position you to continue forward movement after the holidays are over towards permanent healthy changes.

Can you think of a better way to start off your New Year ?

Transformation And Body Change

October… the month that heralds in Fall, crisp air (hopefully), hot coffee, big sweaters, leggings and boots.. well maybe.. here in Texas I’m hopeful for that 😉 October is always a milestone celebratory month for me as it’s one more year on my health and fitness journey to claim success.

It’s hard to believe it has been 8 years since I made a choice to do things differently. To get off my butt and make things happen.

20150909_202653-1 — Me circa… thicker days…. before I started my journey…in the double digit sizes…

As I’ve shared with you before the plan was simple.

Make more choices in my day that were good and led to my goals over ones that didn’t support getting to my goals.

Don’t beat myself up for days that bombed. Don’t make excuses for myself or any laziness that would hinder my progress.

Be realistic about what I wanted to achieve.

Learn to eat better foods all within appropriate moderation.

Listen to my body’s natural signals.

Move every day to work my body ( for weight loss and because our bodies are designed to be active and move!)

Don’t allow myself any sense of entitlement that I “deserved” to have something.

Love and be kind to myself on my journey.

Take one day at a time.

8. Years.

Heck yes, I’m thrilled. But you know, I’m not just celebrating the fact I lost enough weight to make a hefty size toddler, or the fact I dropped 6 sizes and who knows how many inches.

No, what I celebrate is that I’ve kept that weight OFF… it left… and never bounced back. That to me, is worth celebrating.

You know why it has ? Because along the way I was building new habits, rewiring my mind to embrace new things and make them so habit forming I wouldn’t be able to think of NOT working out or making the choice to eat veggies ( more likely, wanting to eat them now over other things) or learning to balance occasional treats, to look at food as fuel and consider the kinds of fuel I was putting in my body. To find physical activities I enjoyed and wanted to keep at. To learn to eat enough food to support my goals and satisfy my hunger, and stop when I was comfortable.

A daily, consistent, relentless, pursuit to reshape behaviors and habits that had been a part of most of my life.

Today, I am more convinced than ever, if someone wants to be successful and have a lifestyle change they must build new, consistent daily habits that will become second nature to them. Then the weight goes away… for good…

Is it challenging? At times yes.

Does it happen over night ? no.

My body’s transformation has been a slow, steady work in progress of losing fat and building muscle.

Consistency. Patience. Not being focused on it happening in a short time.

Besides the fact in 8 years I’ve kept off weight, gained muscle and strength, I also like to focus on new things I’ve been able to do. Challenges I would have run from and laughed at 8 years ago. Running for casual distances somehow morphed into distance running, which somehow led to me doing a second full marathon Dec 2014 and then on to two half marathons in March of this year (7 so far) followed by a 50k at the end of the month. I’m cycling more than ever now getting in 20-22 mile bike rides at least 3 days a week, sometimes shorter ones too. I can lift more weight and push my body harder than I could even a year ago.

I’m a woman smack in middle age territory and I have less body fat, more muscle, strength and mental toughness than I had 20 years ago. Basically, I’m in the best shape ever and look ahead to continuing that course.

So as I celebrate another milestone year…. I celebrate so many other victories and goals reached on top of “just” keeping my weight gone.

20150119_181146-1 — Feb. 2015… abs…. such a work in progress….

I would say to anyone, wherever they are on their journey, know transformation takes time. Settle in and know that other things are going on too.

How you mentally feel, your increasing confidence and empowerment, your new strength and abilities to take on new challenges, your thought process on eating better, your improving lab work, new habits that begin to feel “normal”… so many things that are good. It’s a win/win thing.

I want nothing more than to encourage you on your journey. To remind you that you can do it. That it’s a slow and steady process but more than worth it. Change does take time but really, are you on a time limit to make it happen? The goal is to get there… to get to your destination and celebrate your victory…. for a lifetime.

Are you on a journey to a permanent lifestyle change ? Where are you? Close to goals ? What steps are you taking to reach them ?

20151009_160415 — Oct 10, 2015…. it still freaks me out I can buy size 4 dresses now.

Lean Habits For Weight Loss Book Review

When it comes to health and fitness, you know I’m pretty vocal on some subjects.

For instance, I have no use for any of the over hyped current trending “health/nutrition/weight loss” products that abound right now. I think these big multi level marketing companies prey on people who are needy and often are willing to grab onto anything that might be the “magic fix” to help them lose weight and get fit/healthy.

For the tremendous amount of money it costs, I think, it would be better spent on good food, but hey that’s just me.

I’ve read various books on health and fitness. I take from them what I find useful and move on. Again, there are lots of books on the market, everything from diets and dieting to crazy trends.

Again you know, I’m not into crazy fad or trendy diets. They just don’t flippin’ work.

What has worked for me is changing how I do things in my life. How I do things, day in, and day out. Eventually, I built some new habits and in the process of doing that, I lost weight. I was out moving more. My body started changing. I was living my life and enjoying it and not feeling deprived or left out ’cause I had to “diet”. I wasn’t the poor victim at the family BBQ sucking down celery sticks and feeling miserable. I had occasional treats when I reallllyyy needed something.

Playing by my own rules worked for me. I just plodded along letting the weight almost effortlessly come off in a slow, steady, and sane fashion. I didn’t push it. I wasn’t on a plan to get if off in “just a few weeks”. I think these tactics have worked for me…..

Now imagine my interested delight when I stumbled across a book that had shown up in my Facebook newsfeed via a fitness page I followed.

As I read previews on it I was struck with the thought… “oh my gosh. THIS is what I’ve been doing the past 8 years. I’ve built habits and have changed my life and in doing so that’s allowed me to lose weight and keep it off. Someone wrote a book on it. A very GOOD book that helps you practice new habits for successful weight loss.”

I bought the book and well, devoured it. 😉

It is based on learning and practicing 4 “core” habits….

Eat 3-4 meals a day without snacking
Master your hunger
Eating just enough
Eat mostly whole foods

it follows with 12 supporting habits ( I’m not gonna tell you those ’cause you’re gonna want to scamper out and get this book and learn them yourself)

Well, maybe I’ll share a couple I liked. She addresses dealing with emotional eating (hello?? who on plant earth hasn’t dealt with that ??) and another…being 100% aware of treats you eat.. I think that’s a huge area of struggle for many people.

The premise is you will read and get familiar with one habit at a time, practice it, and move on to the next one. Georgie does a great job laying out ways to track your habits and be accountable with practicing them.

I also loved the approach that “perfection” isn’t what is expected, but a steady forward movement of practicing these habits until they become, well, habitual 😉 thus forming a way you are living your life… easily losing weight and getting healthy and strong.

It’s making your own routine that becomes natural and comfortable to you.

No diets or trendy angles on food.

No calorie counting or restrictive diets.

Not being told what you can or cannot have and avoiding or cutting out your favorite foods.

Not being restrictive and building new habits leads to permanent and sustainable weight loss.

Another term I related to because it’s how I refer to my personal change is.….it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. You will begin a lifestyle of freedom.

As you move through this book learning about building habits you will understand your relationship with food and the how’s and why’s of interacting with it.

This is a book I can get behind. I guess because I relate to so much of what is written and I know these principles can and do work.

Please hear me…. this book… it’s worth your time reading…what I like best about it is that it’s practical and doable for anyone.. and I mean anyone.

Therefore, since I’ve already stated how I feel about various health/weight loss/ diet things and I’m very particular about what I endorse and suggest to others….and you know I only hold out sane and reasonable ways to get fit and lose weight….

I really highly recommend you trot on over to Amazon and pick up a copy. It’s an easy read and the information it contains is invaluable. Get it here…. http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Habits-Lifelong-Weight-Loss/dp/1624141129/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444257014&sr=8-1&keywords=georgie+fear

Not only that it’s wayyyyyy cheaper than even a single month of a “health/weight loss product” 😉

Oh, and yes, the author does look amazing. Yes, for me, those abs are a reminder to continue my personal work in progress. For you, as I’ve mentioned before, you might have different goals of what you want to achieve… don’t worry about what others set for themselves. Yours could be improved lab work, more energy, strength, confidence, better health and overall wellness etc…

Your goals. Your life. Your success.

Forget diets. Forget dieting. Learn about developing your own lean habits for permanent weight loss and a new lifestyle change =)

The Scale Experiment

It’s no secret I’m not a huge fan of “the scale”. In fact, I’ve already written a blog on it (which you can read later called, “That Stupid Scale)

No, I won’t be repeating myself here. And no, I don’t have issues with the scale ’cause I don’t think it offers up numbers I want.

I don’t like how it can be a random object that can be controlling of so many lives.

Let’s establish this truth. It’s a tool. A TOOL.

When I was actively trying to lose weight, I used that tool, maybe once a week to check my pounds lost progress. If you are actively trying to lose weight, I’d encourage you to use it only once a week as well, note your numbers and move on with life.

What I knew and understood, and you need to understand too, that tool isn’t a measuring line to your overall health. It can’t measure how good you feel after your workouts, how many inches you may have lost, the confidence and empowerment building in you as you take on new things, your improving lab work or all the good food choices you’ve learned to make and a long list of other things.

For me it meant knowing those numbers didn’t define how fast I could run, how many miles I can cycle, how many pounds I can lift over my head, how long I can hold a plank, or how many push ups I can do.

Because so many seem to be a “slave” to this tool, I thought I’d do a little experiment. My experiment involved me weighing myself from morning and through out day at various times, up till bedtime.

I hope you appreciate my guinea pig status in doing this. I haven’t weighed myself this much in the past couple years, and I don’t exaggerate that.

I think I’m on a scale maybe twice a year.

The point of my experiment ? To show how our weight can fluctuate through out an entire day and look at what “changes” actually occur.

Seriously, how many times have you hopped on all excited, and instantly get deflated by what you see ? Or on the flip side, if the numbers are what you want, the day just went all major sunshine on you.

A tool controlling your happiness …no… just no.

So what follows is my experiment and what I noted through out an entire day of charting my numbers.

6:30 a.m. morning weigh in. This weight is accurate based on a visit with sports doc last month.

8:45 a.m. After workout weigh in. Down 2 pounds.

No, I didn’t get all happy and proclaim I had “lost 2 lbs!” More like, I knew I needed to consume 32 ozs of water to replace the fluid I had sweated out ( 16oz for each pound lost) THEN continue drinking to stay hydrated.

9:45 a.m. After an hour and plenty of water my weight is now back to what I started morning off at. This tells me I’ve replenished what I lost through sweating.

12:45 p.m. After lunch. Add a half a pound.

3 p.m. After spending over an hour in the sun mowing grass, I checked in with the scale. I was almost down to my weight from my morning workout. 1 1/2 pounds “lost”. Time to replenish fluids again from sweat.

5 p.m. Still down a half pound from my first morning weigh in.

7 p.m. After dinner, I’m up 2 lbs, but only 1 lb over from my morning weigh in.

10:00 p.m. Before shower weigh in. Back to my morning start weight.

Do you see the “ups and downs” in my day ? I lost no fat. My losses in my day were fluid. It’s important to replace fluid lost through heavy sweat and exercise.

Do you see how if I were looking at the scale for validation for “losing weight” how my moods could have been on a wide swing ? I want you to see how our weight can literally bounce all over the place in a single day so weighing in for the purpose of weight loss is best captured on a weekly basis. Take that number and don’t be worried if your numbers bounce in a couple pounds in either direction through out your day.

Measure your fitness and health success by more than just numbers on the scale =)