IN A RUT OF LOSING WEIGHT....ME TOO!

We've heard it said over and over and over again: Diet is 80%, exercise is 20% of losing weight.

 

I used to talk a lot about losing weight thru diet and food choices. I was a broken record sometimes on it. But since I'm in my own rut...up to nearly 3 days/week of exercise again...I thought I would revisit a previous, ambitious blog post I wrote July of 2011. I need to be reminded of the importance of exercise and highlight somethings to really zero in on to fully maximize weight loss efforts.

1. EXERCISE. Seems like the obvious, right? But how many try to lose weight withOUT exercising? Just start moving. Figure out what you really like to do & do it. If you enjoy your workouts, you'll do them. (How often have you seen people at the gym, w/ frowns, on a machine, not even into it? No intensity? Yea, don't do that.) Find a class, a program, or something you can't wait to do the next day. I'm dusting off my Turbo Workout DVDs to use since I know they work...when they are USED!!!!
2. SET GOALS. Most know the story of my husband (http://www.thislittlepiggywenttothegym.com/). His goal was to lose weight, not be a 400+ lb. man, and not die young. My goals have always been little increments of weight. For example, when I was 159 lbs. (after my 2nd born son), I said, "I'm going to get down to 155"...then it was 149, then I said, "I can get down to 145". And when I reach that I said, "If I work out a little harder, kick up the intensity, I can get under 140". I had hit 127 at one point, but my time got devoted to Bible college work. Now, I am starting at 136 lbs. and aiming for 129!
3. CHANGE IT UP. I know I said, find what you like...but you still have to change it up. If you like the treadmill. Go from walking to jog...then jogging to running...then sprints w/ jogging. Then try to tackle 5 mi. then 10 mi. Like the stairclimber...turn up the intensity, increase the level, increase the speed.
4. USE WEIGHTS. This may take a little homework or you asking someone to help, but you got to have resistance training. (If you're a woman, resistance training helps prevent osteoperosis.) Weight-lifting/resistance training revs up the metabolism, builds muscle, and gives you that toned, defined look. It's a win-win!

These are just some things to get you started. After you've lost those initial pounds, go thru the list and re-apply them. Somehow, some way, we easily steer off course. Reminding ourselves of some of the basics, helps us get back on track. In fact, I need to run....around a track....numerous times!!!!!

Clocking in at the mid-130s....not bad for taking an unplanned break to write my thesis and finish up school. But now that that priority is scratched off the list....It's time to put FITNESS back in it's place!

I am contemplating doing the Volkslauf this October, not sure if I'm up for the MUD! I don't mind running and sweating....I do hate mud though...Hmmmm. Got a few days to decide, we'll see what motivation and courage I can muster up!

 

Take care and encourage me any way you can...

my waistline needs it! ;)

Is the honeymoon over?

Yes, is the honeymoon over? At the beginning of the week I thought about this, entertain me and think about it too: "At the first signs of struggle/discomfort, the honeymoon is over."

I'm talking beyond marriage here. But let's think about marriage for a minute. Let's address how NO ONE tells you that marriage is the hardest thing you'll have to do. (Not a bad thing...just hard). NO ONE! How many of you were sideswiped with the demands of marriage. You probably had all these 'wonderful expectations' that 'now you had someone to serve you, always rub your back, meet your physical, emotional needs'...guess what, the person you married thought the same things. After you said "I do", you went on a honeymoon, and it's a week or two of down right romantic hugs and kisses and vacation. It's wonderful because you have time to serve eachother, rub eachother's backs...there are no distractions so you both meet eachother's needs...and it's all ooey and gooey romance, right?

Then you leave the honeymoon and life is still fresh and new together. You're excited as you put your gifts away from your wedding registry. Maybe you got a new place and so your environment is new and you fill it with new things. Life is new and you continue to be thoughtful toward eachother, you are polite to eachother.

And then one day, THE HONEYMOON IS OVER! Wifey doesn't take as much time to do her hair & her make-up, she lets her PMS ruin one week out of the month...every month. Husband gets busy at work, he's grumpy. He's grumpy to his wife, her feelings are hurt, she gives the silent treatment (even in the bedroom)...Husband gets even grumpier and the 'crazy cycle' has begun.

What happened, right? Folks, the honeymoon is a short-term 'fun' season in life. But we forget that life has demands and it's our responsibility to do what it takes to bring some 'honeymoon attitude' to our marriage month after month.

Think about other things you may have the honeymood come to end with too soon:

You get a new car, life is fun, you go everywhere in it, take your friends out in it...then everyone expects you to drive them everywhere, you can't afford the gas cuz you just got that big car payment in the mail - THE HONEYMOON IS OVER!

You get a new home, get to decorate it, buy all the new fun gadgets for it, paint it fresh vibrant colors....a few years down the road, your friends get a newer home, you're roof springs a leak, the colors seem outdated - THE HONEYMOON IS OVER!

You start a new diet, you've got results in the first few weeks because you went from eating EVERYTHING to eating nothing, then you hit a plateau, you don't want to work out maybe, you don't want to give up those few bad things that you've hung onto, you get discouraged and want to throw in the towel - THE HONEYMOON IS OVER!

I could go on and on (those who know me, know this to be true)...but we've got to snap out of it! JUST SNAP OUT OF IT!

Life requires you to be responsible. Life requires you to put others first. Life requires effort, sweat, and hardwork. Life requires discipline, sacrifice, and self-control. Life needs you to be the best YOU and hang in there when it gets tough.

Newsflash: LIFE IS TOUGH! It is. We have daily struggles, we have seasons of serious trial and wilderness...but the key is to hang on with a positive mindset and hope. Press into the adversity, let it mold you into an even greater person of determination, perseverance, and integrity. Decide today that when THE 'HONEYMOON IS OVER', you're NOT DONE!

We have to be willing to not give up! Not give up on our weight loss efforts, not give up on paying off debt, not give up with our new business, not give up on our kids, not give up on our relationship with the Lord, not give up on the marriage to our spouse. Not give up on LIFE!

We can't cry over spilt milk. We have to be bold and clean it up, put out some energy, and rise to the occasion! We have to endure to the end - even when the comfy, cozy, romantic, newness of life and experiences grow stale. We have to hang in there! PERIOD!

My Heart is to help YOU - You're not alone!

I have such a burden to reach out to people who struggle in life. This is what I wanted to share yesterday, but during my a.m. time slot to blog, blogger was down. So instead of featuring a Success Story, I want to share my heart today.

I love you. Really. Most people reading this know me, and some I may not know at all. But I know me, and I know I have a deep, genuine concern for people and my heart is for you to be successful.

Since becoming a 'coach', I have had so many people reach out to me and share their struggles with me. Struggles about weight loss and the 2 components: food & exercise. Too much food, and not any exercise. If that's you, I want you to know that you're not alone.

You're NOT ALONE in this struggle. There is a ton of people who have the same struggle as you. And if I let myself get into the habit, I have the struggle too. (I'll address this word habit next week in the context of diet & exercise).

What helped me is realizing that I didn't get overweight - overnight. It took a few months, a year or so to pack on some weight. It started by me allowing myself to eat what I WANTED, not what I should. I gained weight because I ate the pizza that was at the birthday party, followed it with some cake. I gained weight because I gave in and had the bacon egg biscuit to-go. I gained weight because I continually ate foods that were not lean or healthy. They were high-carb & fat-laden foods.

I gained because I did not exercising consistently. I was taking my son for walks. And I thought they were really burning calories, yea, I don't think it was enough. I stayed big. And finally, after being miserable with myself, I decided I had to take drastic measures. I had to exercise with more intensity...and I could not eat whatever I wanted, or whatever was there.

That meant, if I was going to a party, if they didn't have some salad without drsg. or any lean meat, I would not eat. I (like my husband who lost over 200 lbs.) typically ate our healthy meal before, showed up to the party and declined eating. "Proper etiquette", I don't know. I didn't care. Maybe the chili dogs was the only thing in the budget & that's okay. But I'm not going to scarf down 1,000 calories in one sitting to 'not hurt the host's feelings'. I would just politely say, 'no thanks, I already ate'. I had goals and the only way I was going to reach them is if I took drastic measures.

This also meant I had to plan ahead. I needed to have healthy choices ready to eat. I had to cook up extra chicken breast, boil up eggs (to eat the egg whites), have fresh produce ready to eat, and I had to try to find ways to avoid wanting to raid the cupboard.

One that I found was that working out crazy hardcore helped me in 2 ways. One, it burned a ton of calories to get to that stored fat that just loves staying glued to my hips off...and it made me think twice about what I put in my mouth. I would tell myself & others, "I work out too hard to eat that". My philosophy is/was: Why am I going to push myself sooooo hard to turn around & eat that? Most people's philosophy is: Oh, I worked out so I CAN eat it! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that's why you're not losing weight & getting results...you're not creating a calorie deficit.

The key to losing weight is simple math: Create a deficit. Burning more calories than you eat = Results. So, example, yesterday, I burned 805 calories, I ate around 1200-1300, so really my body received only 500, but because I was eating healthy foods, often throughout the day, I didn't feel hungry, my metabolism stayed revved up. Now, if I was to not eat but only 500 calories/day, without working out....well, I'd sabotage my body - period. See that is the beauty of working out! In fact, I've already burned over 3500 calories this week & I have 2 more days of my INFERNO to do!

I went off on a tangent about working out and eating good, because that's what many of you are not doing. And that's why you struggle with your weight. I think it would be safe to say that many are addicted to food.

Now before you get defensive, I want you to do an experiment. Answer this: What is your favorite food? What do you just love to eat? Now, when you eat it, do you eat just one or 2 bites or it until you are stuff? Do you smile and moan when the food is in your mouth? If it's around, and you just got done eating, do you want to eat that favorite food? Now, what is that favorite food? Is it healthy? Is it fries, pizza, candy bars, cakes, ice cream? If you think you are not addicted...I have a challenge for you. Whatever that 'fave food' is - give it up for 1 week. If you can do that, give it up for 1 month. See how your attitude is without it. See how your attitude is when it's in front of it and you don't eat it. (Email me if you do this, I'm interested in your results.)

I have a heart for food addicts because I've experienced addiction before. Addiction is crazy. Shoot, my addiction to home-brewed Starbucks coffee is what got me out of bed today (yes, I'm already planning to address it). But addiction is real, and addiction to food is real. And if we don't start addressing it as an addiction, I'm not sure we can conquer this obesity epidemic.

My heart is to help people who feel powerless against food. It's a real feeling that many experience. If you want help, email me at jennifermorin@beachbodycoach.com. Find me on FB - Jennifer Morin....and I will help you the best that I can!

Metabolism - The rate of calorie burn!!!

Metabolism. We hear the word all the time, what does it mean. This is the rate at which your body burns calories. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you burn...the lower your metabolism, the less calories you burn. We all want to be at a healthy weight, right? You doing your part in getting your metabolism up and running at a speed that is healthy is key to you achieving this.

There are potions and pills that can temporarily boost your metabolism, no doubt. The downfall, when you stop popping the pills, your metabolism crashes & you gain weight - totally counterproductive, right?  After doing some research, here are some things that are natural that you CAN do to help your metabolism stay revved up:

1. Eat often. This means DO NOT SKIP MEALS. Somewhere we got caught up in thinking the less we eat, the less we'll weigh. I have experienced weight loss the first week or 2 of cutting calories drastically, however, my body is smart, so it goes into 'calorie-conservation mode' and stops burning as many calories as it was that first week, then I hit a plateau, then I'm stuck. I have to take drastic measures of exercise, while adding calories again...I have to be fine w/not dropping weight for the time it takes me to get my body back on track. It's a short-term fix, but the long-term effects are not worth it. Eat breakfast, lunch & dinner, w/ a couple snacks. Remember, nutrient-dense foods, lean & packed w/ nutrients are the best way to go!

2. Work out. Two types of training that will really boost your metabolim are: Strength training, which builds muscle and as fitness expert, Chalene Johnson says in her Turbo Sculpt workout dvd, "The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is, the more calories you burn when you're just chillin' out". Another style of training, (which is what Dave does at the gym each day) is interval training. This is where you run your fastest for 1 minute, jog for a minute, run your fastest 1 min., then jog...do this for your "20 min. cardio time" and you will see a significant change in the number on the scale. And then when you've got the stamina, step it up to 30 min. You can also use this idea on a bike, a stair climber, any machine. However, you don't even need a machine. Find a hill & run up as fast as you can, then climb down, run up, then down.

3. Other things. Other things that can help: sufficient water intake. Drink that water!!!!! Green tea has components in it that boosts your metabolism. It's also deliscious & a great substitute for coffees & black teas that are super high in caffeine (which can dehydrate you & leave you tired/lethargic). And make sure you're taking your vitamins. B vitamins pack a great boost for your metabolism as well as energy.

To sum up: Take care of your body, eat the healthy foods for proper nutrition & fuel and exercise. It really is that easy. If you want help with figuring out if you're eating the right foods, working out hard enough - email me at jennifermorin@beachbodycoach.com. I will help you. Sometimes, all it takes is a 3rd party's perspective to shed light on things that you can change!