Chose Your Hard

I've been thinking about this post for a long time.  Every time I hear a, "it's just so easy for you"; or "I just can't commit that kind of time or dedication" or whatever the excuse that is given to me.  I know it's hard to be fit and  healthy.  But I also know it's hard to be fat, overweight and unhealthy.  I think we have to pick our hard.  

I was at the local art museum this weekend with my family to see a very popular exhibit.  It was very crowded as we went on a rainy cold afternoon that also happen to be the free to the community day.   As I was waiting in line to see this exhibit, I couldn't hep but notice the people around me also waiting with their families.  What still surprises me when I am out in many settings is the sheer number of people who are overweight.  Not in the, maybe could stand to lose 10 - 20 pounds, but are having a hard time standing in line waiting, whose shirts fit so tight around their stomach area, or have more than one stomach area.  Who are holding their back because it hurts to stand that long holding that much weight.  No one can tell me that for the majority of people like this, that it's easy to be this way.  That it doesn't hurt or they don't feel the stares from others who maybe aren't like them.

No, I have never been overweight, and there is a real reason behind that.  Yes, I have always been active and am pretty vain when it comes to what size clothing I want to wear.  Like most women, I tend to freak out when the scale or sizes move too much in a direction I don't like. The real reason I focus so much on my health has a lot to do with my mother.  Beautiful, funny, smart, good at trivia, lover of football, and overweight.  My whole life.  I don't ever recall my mother being thin.  She was who she was.  When I was little, I didn't know any different.  As I got older and she kept getting bigger, I realized other mothers weren't quite like that.  She continued to get a little bigger every year. When I would have long lapses in seeing her, I would notice.  I also noticed that it was hard for her to move around.  Hard for her to find clothing she liked, hard for her to do many of the things she liked doing, like riding roller coasters, and even flying on planes.  I didn't want that for myself.  I didn't want that for her, but I couldn't help her. I don't think she was happy with her physical appearance, but she didn't know where to begin. In the end, her weight had direct consequences on her health and she died too young.  

I couldn't save her, but my hope is that I can save others from her fate, other families from that heartache. My daughter will grow up knowing it's okay to take time for yourself to take care of yourself; that being active is healthy and normal and can be a shared activity.  My daughter will grow up knowing it's okay to eat a cupcake, but you should also eat your fruits and vegetables.

There are days when I don't want to work out, I don't want to get out of bed and I don't want to even look at a vegetable.  Luckily, I have many reasons to fight those feelings and push through.  And some days, I just don't.  I sit and read and eat whatever I want, because I need those days too.  

So I do understand that it's hard and it takes commitment to be fit.  But I also understand how hard physically, mentally and emotionally it is to be the opposite.  If I can help one person every day, then I am doing my job.

Beating the Holiday Weight Gain

It's that time of year again.  When it's gets colder outside and our social and family calendar gets even more full.  Our stress levels are raised with all that we are expected to achieve and how much money we may be spending on this season.  We get invited to cocktail parties, holiday cookie exchanges, family dinners with rich foods, we are out shopping so we eat out more and just indulge way more this month that we typically would.

Let's stop this madness!  We can actually make it through and enjoy the holidays without having to gain weight or be overly stressed!  It really can happen.  Am I saying that you have to be super strict on your diet and cannot enjoy anyone's company?  No, absolutely not.  I am going to challenge you to look at this season a bit differently.

When looking at all that your are invited to, decide what's really important to attend and what you really want to attend.  You don't have to attend everything!  Clearing a little time on your calendar to spend time with the people you really want to spend time with, or even just alone time is a great stress reliever.  When it comes to gifts, set a budget and stick to it.  There is no reason to go into debt for Christmas.  Honestly, I'm fairly certain your family and friends don't want that for you either.

Workout!  It's pretty simple really!  Working out is a great stress reliever.  Get in what you can on 5 or more days per week.  You don't have to go crazy and do long grueling workouts,  You just need to move!  If you need accountability, get a workout buddy or coach who will keep you motivated!

When attending a holiday party, eat a little something before you do,  If you show up super hungry, you will eat and most likely eat more than you anticipated.  Eat something healthy and fiber filled. That will help you feel full and eat less.  When it comes to drinking, make certain you have water between alcoholic beverages.  You will take in less calories and will wake up the next morning feeling much better!

Remember that this is the season for spending time with your family and friends, for showing them how much you love and appreciate them.  Take the time to enjoy the conversations, to catch up with people you don't often get to see, to celebrate the relationships you cherish.  Stay focused on where you want to be and you will get there.

Enjoy this special season!

Consistency

Today's post is about something that I need to work on myself, consistency. Consistency is a noun that means a steadfast adherence to the same principals, course, form, etc.

In order to truly be successful in anything, we have to be consistent with our effort.  Most of us don't get to where we want to be in life by sometimes doing the things we need to do.  Sadly, many people don't get where they want to be because they are either unwilling to try that hard or to scared to go for it.

To be good parents, we have to be consistent with our discipline, rules and expectations.  To get or stay out of debt we have to consistently pay our bills on time and spend less money than we actually have coming in.  To save money, we have to consistently put money into savings, decide on an amount per week or month to get to where we want to be.  To lose weight or become more fit, we consistently have to eat well and exercise.  It doesn't work if sometimes I eat well and other days I eat fast food and lay on the couch.  If you want a raise or to be noticed as a great worker, you have to consistently be doing a great job, doing more than what you were asked of.  If some days you came in and did a great job and other days were a total slacker, do you think that promotion would come any sooner?  No.  To truly get where we want to be in life takes consistent behaviors.   Can we sometimes fall off and still succeed?  I believe that yes we can.  We just can't fall too far for too long.

Decide what you want in life, figure out what you need to do to get there, then be consistent about those activities, behaviors, attitudes, etc.  You will eventually go where you want to go.
Don't give up when it gets hard, that's when you need to dig deep and push even harder.  That is where the true benefits are.

This philosophy certainly related to your health and fitness, but it should be applied to all aspects of life; relationships, career, etc.  

This is something I am certainly needing to work on, perhaps this reminder will help you too!

Thanksgiving - How to survive

As I am sitting here putting together my Thanksgiving menu, I am thinking about how this Holiday is the highest caloric intake day in this country.  My advice for Thanksgiving is to allow yourself to indulge.  This is a day about giving thanks, about being with the people you love and sharing a meal together.  You should be a part of that.  You should enjoy that time with everyone and with food.

So, how can we survive it without going too crazy.  Here are my tips for a successful Thanksgiving:

Workout in the morning if possible.  A great workout will make eating all that food seem so much better.  There are so many Turkey Trots and runs that your family members could partake as well.  Gyms are always open Thanksgiving morning for that reason, to give people a chance to get a good workout in before the big feast!  Push play on your favorite workout program, whatever it is do something.  If you feel pressed for time, I can share with you a 15 or 20 minute workout that will be perfect.  Also, try to workout the day before.  The more calories you burn, the better you will feel about adding in more.

Eat a decent breakfast before you attend the big meal.  I know people want to not eat at all that day and save it up, but really you are doing yourself no good by putting your metabolism on hold.  If your metabolism is at a steady pace, you will be able to burn those calories off faster and won't eat as much. 

Drink water before and during the meal.  Water will make you feel more full and you will eat a bit less.

If you are making a meal or dish, make something that isn't loaded with a ton of fat or calories.  Roasted sweet potatoes are delicious; roasted root vegetables with a little olive oil, sea salt, pepper and some herbs; a mixed green salad, mashed potatoes made with chicken broth instead of butter.  There are so many options for delicious sides beyond stuffing, mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.  Be creative!

If possible go for a walk with some of your family members after the meal.  This will aid in digestion and just help you burn that food faster.  Or instead of plopping own in front a TV to watch football, play a game as a family. If it's active great, if not, just doing something together that involves more than just sitting, napping and eating will be great for all of you.

Enjoy yourself.  Give thanks for all of the good in your life.  Be grateful for where you currently are on your fitness journey and know that one day won't do too much damage.

Breaking Through That Plateau

I'm stuck.  I was doing so well and now I cannot get the scale to move.  The number won't budge.  My body is just stuck where I'm at.  Sound familiar?  That's called the dreadful word when working out, plateau. 

A plateau period is simply your body taking a break and catching up to all the changes you have been making.  It's not that you really aren't making any more progress, it's that your body has finally caught up to the changes you have made.  So, in order to shorten the life of this plateau, you have to make more changes.  If you've been cutting calories, it may be time to increase by 200-300 a day.  If you've been doing the same routine, it's time to mix it up.  If you've been heavy on the cardio, it's time to add strength training.  If you've been doing strength training and are at the higher level of repetitions, it's time to go heavier on the weights and decrease the repetitions.  If you've been killing it with weights, now you need to add a cardio component. 

Look at your nutrition.  If you've cut way back on carbs and don't have a lot of energy, start adding them in (a little).  That should help with the energy level.  Maybe you are over-training.  Are you getting the rest and break that your body needs?  Vary your workouts and the intensity of them.  Take a rest day at least once per week.  If you feel like you cannot "rest" then do yoga or take a walk.  Giving your body a break is needed to recover and perform at its best.

These don't have to be big changes, just some minor adjustments to get your body guessing again and you will plow through that plateau and start seeing and feeling the results again.  If you don't know how to change things up, ask a professional.  Ask a trainer, a fitness coach, someone who understands what you are currently doing who can give you guidance on how to mix it up just enough to get you where you want to go.

Be patient with your body, if you continue to work toward your goals, you will reach them!

Is Lack of Sleep and Stress Sabotaging Your Weightloss Goals?

We've all been guilty of not getting enough sleep and that feeling of being overwhelmed and truly stressed out.  I have clients who are doing all of the right things, eating well and exercising, and the results are slow or the belly fat is just hanging on, but the definition is coming to the arms and legs.  Most likely the cause is either too much stress or not enough sleep and often it's the combination of the two.  There is a direct link between the fight or flight hormone that's released (Cortisol) and visceral (belly) fat.  When cortisol levels are high for an extended amount of time in can also increase your belly fat.  Seriously!!  Unfortunately, for some people all this hard work and little effort causes them to stress even more!  When you are stressed, you don't sleep well, causing the entire cycle to just keep repeating.

Okay, so now what?  You have a stressful job, day, life, I get it.  How can you reduce the amount of stress in your life?  Learn to delegate.  In your job and at home, ask people to help with or take care of the things you don't need to do yourself.  No, you really don't need to do everything!  Enlist your kids to help with chores, enlist your spouse to help with cooking or shopping.  Ask a co-worker for some help on a project, or ask your boss for a little more time so that you can do the best job possible.  I do understand that you get asked to take on more and more at work, but you truly can say no.  If you open the lines of communication with your boss (keep it about work, not outside of work) and explain the project load you are already under.  Come up with a plan to extend the deadline, take something off of your plate, or shift responsibilities.  Your boss would be much happier with that opening conversation than coming to them later when everything has fallen apart, or stating that you couldn't make x, y or z happen.

Take a walk.  Exercise is a great stress reducer.  Even a 10 minute walk will help you clear your mind and you'll be able to refocus your energy, as well as boost your happiness levels!

Our electronic devises are huge stressors for us.  We love them, but they also allow the impression that we are always working or available to others.  Turn them off or on silent on the drive home, during dinner time, and after whatever time you've decided that you no longer should be working.  For me, it was 6:30 pm.  I turned my phone to silent so I could actually be present and enjoy the moments with my family.

Sleep is another big thing we don't get enough of.  Try turning in a half hour earlier. Maybe don't sleep, but read a book or write your to-do list for the next day.  Spend a few moments being grateful for the good things that happened today.  If you get in the habit of putting yourself to bed earlier, your body will adjust and you'll be able to fall asleep sooner too!

I know it's hard, but reducing the stress in your life and getting more sleep is going to make you feel better, be healthier and look better in that bathing suit!

Tips for Avoiding Stress or Boredom Eating

I hear it all the time, "I know how to eat right, but I eat when I'm stressed/bored."  That's what derails me.  I get it, I really do.  I know how quickly one can go through a bag of chips, candy, cookies, even "healthier" items like pretzels, popcorn, nuts and dried fruits.  It can add up pretty quick and create some major caloric damage. 
We all have stress.  These are stressful times when we are urged to do more with less, take on more, be everywhere, and look perfect, have super clean organized homes, etc.  It's all overwhelming!!!
And, as crazy busy as some of us are, we do get bored.  Maybe not like, there isn't something to do, but we are bored with what we have to do.
So how can we stop this stress/boredom binging.

First, take a deep breath!  If you can, go for a quick walk.  Sometimes getting outside changes your perspective, allows you to think, gives you something to do.  Call a friend.  If you are stressed about something call or message a friend to release what's stressing you.  This also works great if you are bored!  If you are bored, look at your to-do list, is there anything you can do right now?  Do a chore you don't mind doing.  I personally like to vacuum.  Don't know why, but I find it peaceful.  Stressed?  Meditate.  Seriously, close your eyes for a few minutes and just breath.  A solution may or may not come to you, but you will feel better.
Drink water.  Sometimes having something will help curb the, I need to eat feeling, and more often than not, you need more water anyway. 
Write.  Write down on a piece of paper what is stressing you out and think of some conclusions to make it better.  If you are bored, write about what you want to do, your goals, dreams, etc.  Sometimes being create is the best medicine.
Read, if you have a good book, read it.  If not, find one, I'm currently reading a great one called The Slight Edge, fascinating book, that I highly recommend, but that's for another day.

Don't keep junk in your house!  If you really must eat, have cut up veggies and hummus, fruit, frozen grapes if you need something to crunch on.  If you know you have trigger foods, don't have them in your house.  Honestly, your family will get over it and it will be better for them too.

Have kitchen hours.  Seriously, like a restaurant.  Kitchen's closed for certain hours a day and really close it up at night.  Once you get into the habit, it is much easier to keep.

My point is, we all have stress and we all feel a little bored at times.  Find outlets other than food and you will feel better all the way around!