Do not underestimate the power of 10 pounds

One of the biggest mistakes my new client can make is to say "I just, or only, need to lose about 10 pounds". Have you ever tried to lose ten pounds?

 In todays age of extreme weight loss with shows like Biggest Loser where the contestant loses 14 pounds in one week, we have become programmed to think that is not a lot of weight.  This could not be further from the truth.  The things we don't, and will never see on that show are the feelings and struggles with food that the contestants go through.  All they show is the tough workouts that make it look like contestant is working at 90% of their heart rate max for 5 hours a day, when I assure you, they follow a program just like I do, and the 90% max is only a fraction of the time.

The difference between Biggest Loser and the average weight loss American is that we still must live in our environment.  We don't have the benefit of group exercise for 5 hours a day.  We have jobs and families to distract us.  We have emotions to sift out at the end of the day.  We cannot dedicate 100% of life to weight loss.

In a real environment of life, ten pounds is a lot.  It may seem small on a journey of 100 pounds, but the first ten pounds are truly where we learn the most about how our body responds to the food we eat and the exercise we get.  We learn what works and what does not.  And when we get to 5 pounds, almost inevitably we will hit an obstacle weather it be a woman's monthly cycle where the scale goes up, or a man cold that brings him down.  These are real life situations that, in the first ten pounds, we deal with and learn how to get back up and fight.

This post was not meant to be a discouragement, but rather a realistic look to avoid the sabotage of disappointment.

It's all about setting realistic goals and being ready to stick to them for an amazing accomplishment!

5 minute blog post

In my profession I have times where I need to sit a lot.  I sit to write out a program, I sit to study a new certification.  Outside of my profession I sit to take my kids to school, drive to work, drive to pick up my kids, go to the grocery store…and the list goes on.  In 4 years I have put 95,000 miles on my van.  That's a lot of sitting.  I keep watching the scale go up.  This is very frustrating to me because I still work out every day, but it's only once a day and apparently not long enough to compete with the food I find to put into my mouth.  So I have been paying attention to what I am doing wrong.

#1. Not saying no to damaging foods.  Sure I eat a clean diet a lot of the time, but there have been too many moments of saying yes to refined sugary products and cheesy bread things (like pizza).  I can't seem to find moderation.

#2. Choosing to sit when I know darn well I should be moving.  For instance it will be a day when I have no training clients so I choose to put on regular clothes…well, I may as well put myself in a straight jacket because it practically immobilizes me and makes me lazy.

#3 Drinking too much coffee.  I DON'T even use creamer!!!!  That's right I drink it black!!!  But it is taking away from my water consumption.  When you hear reports about how we don't need as much water as they say…don't believe it, especially if you struggle to control your weight.

So I think I know what I need to do here.  

Anyone else struggle with these same things?

Bridging the gap is the most difficult part.

Recently with getting back to school and having to put some activities on the back burner, I have been struggling with my own goals.  I have put the pen to paper and written down my goals.  I have even gone as far as to map out each detail.  I have little problem with the work outs, but have definite obstacles when it comes to the food responsibility.  I feel as though I will be strong for one week or less, then I let life get in the way.  In the past I did not let life get in the way.  I had small children and a full schedule.  I would set my mind to it, and I would do it.  That is the key my friends to achieving the goal.  There is a gap.  The secret to your success is bridging that gap between wanting and doing.

I want to be successful------------------------------I am successful!!!

             What happens here is the mind connect

                 What is the vessel that will carry me over the bridge?

An upcoming vacation?
A dress size?
A body fat percentage?
Photos on a board?
A desire to be healthy?
A desire to be pain free?
A desire to sleep better?
The ability to keep up?

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO BRIDGE THE GAP???
WHEN WILL IT CLICK?????

Keep it real goal series R

Last school year my oldest daughter decided to set a goal to get all straight A's in school that year.  She diligently plugged away, putting anything and everything that interfered with her goal on the back burner.  I was incredibly impressed with her effort and supported her every step of the way, I also realized that this goal had little to do with pleasing me, and much to do about a huge accomplishment.  She struggled in one subject almost the entire year holding a solid B.  In the last quarter she received an A in that class, and got highest honors.  That goal for her was high, yet realistic.  Even if she had never gotten all A's in one shot, she still would have maintained an excellent GPA because she was so focused.

Recently we were watching the Adam Sandler movie Jack and Jill.  In the movie Jill is visiting her brother Jack in Los Angeles and she only has a week.  One of her goals for the week was to be on a game show.  She does end up being on the Price is Right, but in reality that is probably an unrealistic goal for a weeks time.

This is where we need to be realistic about our goals.

Think about what you want

How soon do you expect to complete your goal?

How long will it take realistically?

What does it take to be successful with you goal?

Are you willing to keep trying and pushing toward your goal to achieve it?

Is your goal really important to you?

What is your strategy?

I suggest taking the pen to paper and strategizing a plan.  Think about the hours you have in a day and how they can best be used to complete your goal.

When can you look through cookbooks to find meals for the week?
On Saturday and then grocery shop on Sunday?  Can you do it on a week night when the family is planted in front of the television?  Do you have time to run to the store after work?  Can you make a list for your loved one and maybe they can stop at the store on the way home?

Is it only you in this goal?  When would be a good time to prep meals?  Prep salads.  One thing I do is prepare a container with bite sized lettuce and celery, I even add the dressing because it is not enough to drown the lettuce.  Then I put my dry ingredients like nutritional yeast, nuts, seeds, and such in a separate container to be added just before I eat the salad.  Not into salad?  What about a sandwich on sprouted grain bread with brussels sprouts and hummus spread?

Keep your goals realistic, but aim high!

Choose your battles

My sister once told me "Dude, choose your battles". When she told me that it was when my kids were small and I was still learning how and when to use discipline.  Those words stuck with me from then till now and, I predict, in the future.

When planning a goal you can ask yourself
Is it attainable?
What will it take to attain it?
Why is it important to me?

You won't be able to attain your goal overnight, nor will you be expected to.  This is a learning process right along with everything else.  I recently had a client begin calorie counting as she was at a plateau with her current program.  She told me that it was frustrating because she didn't know how to do it very well.  It eased her mind a bit when I told her it takes a good week to two weeks to get a handle on this lifestyle change, and that I was right there to help her through it.  (she broke through her plateau!)

I want you to know that if you are reading this and you have questions about calorie counting, or how many you need, please message me at yourstoryfitness@hotmail.com .

The more you work on your goal, your eyes will open to opportunities that you didn't realize existed in the past.  You will find new avenues to make your goal a reality.

One thing I love to do is sign up for races.  In order to complete a race I need to train.
I new very little about training, so I…
listened to podcasts
searched the web
checked out books from the library
joined an online community.

I did not do all these things at once, it sort of developed because running is important to me, as is maintaining a healthy weight.

So lets look at the questions I posed above and I will try to answer them by keeping with my previous goal example
Is it attainable?
I want to lose 10 lbs in 5 weeks by losing 2 lbs a week.
According to the experts my goal is attainable and safe.

What will it take to attain it?
It will take dedication
time
research
willingness to be uncomfortable
a lifestyle change
(this is a good time to think about who else is involved in your goal and how they will respond and how you will deal with their responses)

Why is it important to me?
This is truly the heart of the matter.  This has to be a strong pull for you as it is something that you will consistently return to in thought.  You can sometimes begin with surface reasons, but later change for deeper challenging reasons.  Sometimes as you begin to change or have a success, your goals will change to keep that success, such as "Wow, I feel so great right now and my skin is really looking great! Or "I feel so liberated now that I don't have pain in my knees when I walk and I can keep up with my family!"  I want to keep this up!"  This can make a positive impact on your food choices.

I am very excited to think that you are reading this and considering making and following a goal!

Please include me in your goals and your progress, I would be thrilled to receive an email.

Stay tuned for the next segment of my goal setting series.  

Putting the M in smart

When I first began my weight loss journey back in 2001, it involved a lot of measuring.  Probably more measuring of my food than anything.  I had planned some sort of weight goal in my head…probably something ridiculous like my 19 year old weight.  But as I got started on my journey I began measuring progress in more than just the pounds on the scale.  I would plan how far I would walk that day, I would have a back up plan for if I couldn't walk that day.  I logged how much water I drank, I estimated how many calories I was burning.  I wrote on the calendar how much I should weigh at the end of the week.  I was MEASURING my goals and didn't even realize it.  Long term is great, but short term is just as necessary.  

Let's make this focus on MEASURING progress, yay progress!!!  

Ask yourself how much.

  How much what? 

 I would ask this

How much effort do I put in?  How much do I eat?  How much do I burn? 

Very obviously, being a personal trainer, I can help you to figure all of this stuff out.  But if you are more of a trail blazer you can take advantage of the wealth of information out there.  Apps like My fitness pal, and Calorie count are just a couple.  Don't forget about the gadgets and gizmos we love!  

How many?  

How many days a week do I exercise?  How many calories a day do I consume?  How many calories do I want to burn a day?

How will I know when it is accomplished? 

This is something that points to the long term the big picture.  

So to keep with my goal for example purposes I will answer all of the above questions here.

I will put in maximum effort by keeping a food and exercise log reminding myself that it is okay to be uncomfortable.

I will eat 1500 calories on the days when I don't exercise, and 1700 on the days when I do

I will aim to burn at least 200 calories a day through exercise.

I want to lose 10 pounds in 5 weeks. 

I will know it is accomplished if the scale shows 10 pounds less on October 5th, than it was on September 1st.

Please keep in mind that this is an outline.  Once you get started there are so many variables to making this work.  I can think of so many as I write this out, but don't want this to become a novel.

Can you see how this can be motivating to stay on track?   

Stay tuned for ATTAINABLE.  Are your goals lofty yet attainable?  

Let's get this goal started, SPECIFICALLY

Let us begin with a SPECIFIC goal.  What is your long term goal?  If you are reading this blog, then I suggest it be fitness related as that is what we will be focusing on here.

I will be using a general goal here as an example.

My goal is to lose 10 pounds (not specific enough)
My goal is to lose 1-2 pounds per week (better, but needs more)
My goal is to lose 1-2 pounds per week in the next 5 weeks. (This is a very specific goal)

Hmm…needs more.  What is my plan to lose the weight?

I need to think of the things I might like to do.
I like the gym (but I don't know what to do there)
I like exercise videos
I like basketball
I like running
I like walking

I will begin with exercise videos that I can get from the library, Netflix, or Goodwill.  On good weather days I will walk outside 15 minutes in one direction and 15 minutes back.  I will do this 4 to 5 days a week before work.

Nutrition
I will focus on adding more fruits and vegetables to my diet
Right now I drink 1 beer every night, I will focus on drinking one beer every other night instead

Oops, I almost forgot to mention why I want to achieve this goal!

The very first reasons that have driven me to achieve this goal is to rid myself of the guilt.  I feel so guilty about my weight and how sedentary I have become.  I am tired of my feet hurting when I stand for long periods of time.  I want to go places and feel confident about myself.  Also there is this vacation and it involves Hawaii and a beach and a long flowing white swimsuit cover up I will be wearing.

Next post will be MEASURABLE.

Please feel free to give me feedback in the comments and/or on my Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/yourfitnessstory