Find YOUR OWN Zone!

Have you ever gone to the gym, jumped on the treadmill, and you're pushing yourself, your in 'your zone', right? And then...let's say someone gets on the treadmill next to you...and they're walking...or they start off sprinting and take their intensity down a few notches.

What happens to you? Do you feel less ambitious on your treadmill?

Do you stay where you were, intensify the incline, increase the speed,

or do you start to slow down?

What about in the workplace? Let's say you're the most recently hired person, you show up to work on time, you're working when no one else is looking, you're sweeping/cleaning when all your other work is done - you take initiative and work hard all the time!

A few weeks go by & you notice that other employees are coming in a few minutes late, taking longer breaks than permitted, texting/talkin' on their phones when they're not suppose to.

What happens to your ambitious & superior work ethics?

Do you continue to shine in the work place & with your boss?

Or do you take your initiative down a notch?

Do you begin to run late from time to time?

Do you take/make phone calls when no is looking?

When I used to go to the gym, if someone got next to me (in good shape) strolled on the treadmill, I would go to the top corner onto a stairclimber to push myself ALONE! Now if someone who had obvious weight to lose got next to me, w/ their treadmill up high on the incline & they were sweating bullets, I was like "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!"  And stayed side by side & let their energy & determination motivate me.

I love being around intense people.

It encourages my instensity!

Are you there? Do you find YOUR OWN zone? Or, do you let those around you dictate your dedication? Do you set your own goals? Or do those around you define your destiny?

This week, I want you to identify your goals. Whether they are weight loss, financial, spiritual, marital, parental, or personal - figure out what it is you want to achieve by the end of the year.

Then I want you to identify the things & people who discourage you from reaching those goals. And while I'm not saying dump your friends, pay attention to how much time you spend with people to encourage you, challenge you, and inspire you...and then pay attention to who is draining your ambition, distracting you from YOUR ZONE! And then be protective of your time & energy.

Your coworkers will not pay your mortgage if you lose your job because of your lack of productivity. Your friends and family will not pay your doctor bills if you're treated for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes from eating what they do.

These are the very people who sometimes come & take the wind from beneath our wings. And while we have to share life with them, we need to stay committed to our plan/our goals.  You're in charge of your life, take back the reigns from those around you. Carpe Diem - Seize the day!

In fact, it will be your unwavering

commitment to your goals -

that inspire others to

set their's and achieve them too!

Over my bathroom door, I have a clingy wall decal that reads:

 "Be the change

you wish to see in this world."

- Ghandi

Midstream Adjustments!

Have you ever set out on a journey, you're headed in the right direction, but for some reason you are convinced you're on the wrong path? What do you do?

You look at your map, you find where you are, you find where you're going, and then you find the quickest route to your destination....then you see that you were on the 'scenic route' & not the quick route.

And we all seem to want the 'quick route' right? (I'll blog more on this soon...kinda in this season of fascination with people's desires for overnight results of change.) But we do. You hear it all the time, we live in a 'microwave society'. Does the meat out of a crock-pot taste better than the meat out of a microwave? Microwaved meat is tough, hard on the edges, and dry. Meat out of a crock-pot is moist, falls apart, is tender & delicious.

So why do we get frustrated when we've only devoted 2 weeks or 2 months to a workout regimen & we're not getting the 'super-quick' results. I have a friend who put on some weight in a 5-6 month time period. Now only 4 weeks into their program, they are frustrated with the results. Mind you, they have lost 10 lbs. in the last  2 1/2 months. Their weight is going up & down some.

Here's the thing, when you are not satisfied with results - don't give up, DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! There are good habits we start out with...and then get complacent with. So if those few pounds creep back up or are not dropping like you feeL they should, take these simple steps:

• GO BACK to measuring your food out to the 'serving size' on the nutrition facts label.
• GO BACK to keeping a food log and writing down everything you eat.
• GO BACK to the extra step of counting up your calories.
• Stay within your calorie range. (I'll work on a blog to help you figure this out).
• Push yourself during your workouts. If you're at the gym, increase the incline on the treadmill, raise the level of intensity on bike, increase your time spent doing cardio, go from A walk to a jog, a jog to a run. Take a spin class. Commit to P90X for 90 days (contact ME if you want this!) Do extra reps, go up in weight. Increase intensity - WEEKLY! When you feel like you can't even do 1 more - DO 1 MORE!

I mean it. If we want to lose enormous amounts of weight OR decrease our body fat percentage, we have to get INTENSE!

Intense results takes intense efforts!

Don't give up, persevere, push yourself! Be honest with yourself on what you are REALLY eating and drinking and start eliminating the extra calories ASAP! Refuse to get discouraged - get proactive!

That's right...instead of wallowing in discouragement, say out loud, "It is what it is - now is the time to get proactive, get intense, and turn on the burners".

Weight loss is a journey, you will have to make midstream adjustments. Diets and exercise programs are not a 'ONE SIZE FITS ALL' - you've got to put in the effort to figure out what works for you and gets you the best results. Make the adjustments. Increase intensity, decrease calories where you can! Stay honest with yourself - and stay positive! Keep making adjustments until you crack the code & then DON'T STOP!!!

You'll it to your destination soon enough, take it day by day, and do what you should! YOU WILL REACH YOUR GOALS when you stay committed long-term!!!! You will get there, you will see!

My Personal Workout Update

This Monday marks Day 1 of my 4th week of Insanity. I am finally shaving off one pound at a time and held at 131.0 today.

I have a ton of people asking me, when are you going to stop losing weight? And here's my thoughts on that question. It's easy to reach a goal weight...and be done, and then just 'maintain'. However, the last time I was 'maintaining', by doing my routine workout, my routine 'eating'...3 lbs. creeped up on the scale. My goal at the first of the year was to continue to weigh in from 130-134.

Last month, I hit 136 while 'maintaining'. I guess you can't call it 'maintaining'...but gaining, right? I know some of you think I am being rediculous, but if you seen how hard I was working out, my 4 days a week, you would understand my frustration with a 2 lb. gain.

The truth was that my eating was getting out of control. I was cheat eating. I was eating a few bites of the kids' noodles/spaghetti, I was having 2 Fiber 1 bars/day, I was having the last bites of basically anything that was on the kids' plate - AGAIN. This is a consistent area that I struggle with.

But instead of focusing on 'not eating' their food, I focused on eating 'my food' while they ate. My tummy was full and it was easier to just toss what they didn't eat in the trash. And then, I focused on the exercise component. Although they say it is 20% - exercise and 80% - food in losing weight, I knew in addition to stopping the cheat-eating, I had to step it up with my exercise program as well.

As a result of get stricter with my food (the 80%): measuring out my servings, cutting the kids' food out, cutting the bars out, adding more water, fruit, lean meats - I've dropped weight.

Getting more consistent with my workouts also helped do the trick. I went from working out consistently 4 days, maybe 5, to working out daily - 6 days a week. I'm still only working out around 45 minutes. (It's the most intense 45 minutes of my day, by the way.)

I did what I needed to do. I was honest with myself and admitted where I was slacking off in my eating, I confessed that my workouts were not priority. I basically identified what I needed to change.

Then, I came up with a new goal. My goal wasn't necessarily to "LOSE WEIGHT". I set a measurable goal of "Complete a workout program, start to finish". With the exception of missing 2 days due to a serious sinus infection/bronchitis last week, I have not missed any workouts.

The results: Down 5 lbs. in 3 weeks! I have this week to finish out, then a 'Recovery Week'...and then the Insanity get's even more insane for the last 4 weeks. I'm hecka nervous, the titles of each workout on the calendar have the word MAX in them. Yikes is right!

Going back to the word maintaining...I don't think for me that the goal of 'maintain' is good. "Maintain" means: to keep in a specified state, position (as per dictionary.com). But when it comes to weight loss, I feel like 'maintain' becomes stagnant. You are no longer challenging yourself, so you get lazy. When you miss a workout, it's easier to not be focus on eating good. So my advice: Never just maintain.

If you get to a weight that you are happy with, then set a goal of running in a 5K/10K, complete a workout program, take a karate class. Set a goal of something that has exercise at the center, something that will keep you focused on training your body. So my advice:

Don't maintain, don't gain - just keep training your body!

Don't know how to step it up & train?

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