Body-for-Life | garagegym107

Posts Tagged ‘Body-for-Life

Nov

The Fat Chick In My Head

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, change, Clean Eating, Community, exercise, gaining self confidence, Insecurity, Inspiration, mental-health, Motivation, non fiction books, nutrition, Weight Lifting

Today I had a visit from my old friend, the fat chick in my head. The old me. As I stood in the gym during my lunch hour she decided to pay me a visit. She doesn’t come around as often as she used to. As I stood there looking in the mirror, she said to me “I know you can see me” and in all honesty she was right. I could see images of the old me flash in my mind. Times when I wasn’t so comfortable in the gym, times that I wept thinking I would never get the weight off.

The fat chick in my head will always be a part of me, but she will never again be all of me.

The days she shows up in the gym are few and far between. It’s doubt that I might not get where I want to be. It’s a reminder that in order to achieve what I want there must be sacrifice willingly given. It’s a status check above all else.

Perhaps it’s just the fat chick looking for the long-awaited gratitude for looking out for me and keeping me safe all of those years. So thank you for that.

I’ve got it from here, I promise you can trust me now.

Nov

Body Image

By garagegym107 Leave a Comment

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: Body Image, Body-for-Life, Community, exercise, gaining self confidence, Garagegym107, Goal Setting, Inspiration, Long term weight loss, Motivation, Weight Lifting, Working out, Workout

I talk to a lot of women. Both young and a little further along in their young. Women who are fit and some who are just starting their journey. The most common thread I find that intertwines all of us are body image issues. Seriously, I have some BEAUTIFUL friends that allow themselves to see only their own perceived flaws.

Having traveled the journey I’ve traveled I have a whole bunch of stuff that I could go on about. Sure, some of them I’m darned tempted to surgically change, I mean really. You don’t go from 328 down to 165 without a thing or two hanging around. But that’s not what I’m talking about today.

Today I want to talk about embracing your body for the things you don’t see…yet.

Over the past 12 years there have been numerous things I’ve wanted to change about my body. I’ve worked really hard to change them. Some have changed, some have not. Ironically, the one thing I wanted to change the most still hasn’t really changed much at all.

I have a friend who suggested that instead of constantly focusing on what I want to change, that perhaps I should focus on what is good about my body instead.

Great things happened over the course of the following months. Each day I would write down 5 things that I appreciated about my body with the one rule that I couldn’t repeat the same thing.

For example I have very wide clavicles. I had someone say to me “I’d love to have your clavicles”. Hmm who knew.

This exercise taught me to love things I’d never even paid any attention to and to not be so very critical of my own flaws. You can bet there is someone out there right now that wishes they could be where you are today.

So start that little exercise today. Write down 5 things you truly appreciate about your body. If you can’t think of 5 try harder. The way you look isn’t all that matters.

On a completely different topic, here is my friend Caroline rockin’ the GG107 sweat shirt. She lives in Washington state and reads my blog and talks to me on FB and lets me send her son cotton fresh from the fields of Alabama. Thank you Caroline!

Nov

You Just Never Know

By garagegym107 4 Comments

I have a very small personal training business with only out-of-pocket money for equipment and so on. That being said, I recently put together an order for some cool Garagegym107 sweat shirts (special order only). I must say I have been very humbled by the ladies who have gotten shirts. Just the sheer fact that they are wearing my blog name on their back is humbling.

This morning in the gym, I was asked to order more shirts. When I stop and think of the fact that my friends and family are willing to wear them I get all teary-eyed. It is a very special thing for me. You just never know who’s reading or who might be hearing a much needed message.

My little brother would probably laugh at me for being sappy. But deep down he remembers how unhappy I was before I started my weight-loss journey.

I want people to look at those shirts and google this blog from those fancy smart phones everyone has now-a-days and I want them to see the about tab.

I want people to know that this is me keeping it real and spreading the message that if you want to get fit YOU can.

If you want to beat the odds, YOU can.

If you want to take a step to a healthier life, YOU can.

But the real kicker here is YOU.

There are days that this journey isn’t easy, but it is always doable. The statement “how bad do you want it?” is often used.

For me it’s “How good do you want to feel today?”.

For me that feeling good comes from doing the right things for me. Whether that’s clean food, a hard workout, a free meal or a rest day. Getting to the point of even understanding what your body needs takes time and patience. But it’s so worth every single second and every tear you may shed. Anything worth having is worth working for.

Everyday we go through this life just trying to live through it. I ask you, what are you doing to really LIVE?

For now just keep moving forward.

Oct

Let’s Do Some Sprints

By garagegym107 2 Comments

Categories: Nutritional Cleanse Experiment
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, change, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, fitness, food, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, goals, Insecurity, Inspiration, Motivation, nutrition, weight loss, Working out, Workout

Want to see a group of people visibly get better before your eyes? Have them run sprints together. Not just a couple of rounds of sprints but instead 6-10 rounds of 100 meter sprints. It’s suckage to say the least. It forces each person to work hard through the pain. It creates personal growth. Ages range from 28-54 and yes, they all ran together.

After you’ve finished the timing for them, have them do the timing for you. Little makes people feel better than to see the trainer suffer the same fate they have just endured.

Nothing makes them feel better than to realize what they’ve accomplished when they finish.

Struggling together creates an unspoken bond. You know as a trainer, deep down inside they are pushing each other to run just a tad faster than if they were running alone.

Lucky for me today, two additional people came up and ran with me. Humbling and motivating that I didn’t have to run by myself, instead I GOT TO run with them.

Healthy competition is great as long as you are grounded in improving yourself more than anything. I don’t believe that every workout has to be a competition. Some would say that makes me soft, I disagree. I believe that its me vs. me. Not me vs. you.

If I focus all of my efforts on beating someone else, the person I’m not watching is going to pass me.

You vs. you, always.

Oct

Fear

By garagegym107 1 Comment

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, Inspiration, Long term weight loss, Motivation, nutrition, Weight Lifting, weight loss, Working out, Workout

I had a conversation with someone yesterday and unbeknownst to her I could detect a strong vibe of fear radiating from her. Self-doubt. As soon as the conversation started the list of health issues came tumbling out. As if in some way that list lessened the importance of her overall goals. She said “I just want to be healthy”.

Being healthy is a great goal. In the beginning using the term “I just want to be healthy” is ok.

Fear of thinking too far ahead is very natural in the beginning, especially if you have significant weight to lose. I understand that fear. I’m absolutely certain I emanated that fear myself 12 years ago when I started my journey.

But I learned the hard way that you shouldn’t allow yourself to stay in that zone for very long. If so, you become reliant on your excuses. I remember the big one… “my knees hurt”…yes, when you carry 168# of excess weight everything tends to hurt.

At some point that vague statement of “I just want to be healthy” must transition to a plan. The plan must transition to action. The actions them must provide measurable results. If you can’t measure your success, you are subject to relapse into old behaviors, often.

See yourself as you want to be, not who are today, but as the fit and healthy person you want to be.

Oct

Issues, We All Have Them

By garagegym107 6 Comments

I was chatting with a friend who is struggling this morning. As we chatted, I was thrown back in time to that exact point in my journey.

I don’t know where these things come from, they just seem to come from deep inside somewhere teaching me again, that I have learned some lessons over this journey of mine.

“We all have issues. My issues are not smaller than yours. I’ve learned not to use them as an excuse to crap on my goals” ~Garagegym107

There is so much meat in that statement, I immediately had to type it out and claim it.

For years I allowed my issues to be my excuse for chronically sabotaging my fitness efforts with poor quality food. It took me quite some time to figure out that when I ate poorly, I in turn felt even more poorly and my issues seemed ginormous (yes, I know that’s not really a word).

It happens in the lives of most women who struggle with dealing with emotional eating. You are not alone.

Sooner or later, you must confront your fears in order to move past these issues. It’s not about willpower so much as it is about willingness to change and will to let go.

Our issues can stay buried deep inside and something silly can pull one of them back to the limelight.

In example, I’ve written about the online trainer that literally told me I needed to rethink my goals regarding physique training. In that moment that little liar in my head came screaming forward saying “see I told you so”.

I could have let both the negative self-talking voice and the online trainer derail me completely. The old me would have allowed just that.

The stronger, wiser and much more at peace, and confident me simply said “watch this”. My goals are set, my countdown app on my phone is set and I’ve been busy doing.

Sure, I have issues, we all do. Step back and think things through. If you are reaching for food, you are still allowing those issues to rule your roost.

Oct

Never Going To Steal My Joy

By garagegym107 22 Comments

Over the past month I have seen numerous postings of one of my best friends before and after photos. Ironically, these photos are being taken by people attempting to claim her success as being a part of whatever fitness and training quick fix they are pushing.

What’s been interesting about the whole thing to both of us is reading all of the comments associated with her transformation. Especially the nay-sayers. One woman claimed to be “a trainer with 30 years experience” she didn’t believe the photos were real.

In my humble opinion, I’d run from that trainer. If she doesn’t believe this type of transformation is possible then you sure don’t want to pay her to convince you that it is not possible.

That’s why I love my friend and I love my life. We live our transformations every single day of our lives. We don’t have to go around using other people’s pictures to build ourselves up. Instead we use our own photos to build others up.

You see, no-one can ever steal our joy, we built it, we earned it, it’s ours to share.

We can walk the walk not just talk the talk. Let me just say this, it hasn’t been a cake walk. It’s much easier now than it has ever been before for both of us. But were it not for the road we’ve traveled, I would not be writing this blog.

People want change but people want change for nothing.

For all the ladies in the house…grab a tissue because this is a good one!

Let me introduce you to my friend Michelle T. . She is real, she is authentic and she is my mentor.

She has listened to me sob over realizing that a goal I set wasn’t going to happen. She never said I wouldn’t, just said maybe now isn’t the right time.

She has stood by me and patiently watched me impatiently struggle with being too strict with food and over training myself in to the ground all the while knowing that in my own time, I would come out on the other side.

You see, here is the thing about all of that weight-loss. Everyone is different. With personal patience, self-awareness and a personal belief that never waivers, long-term successful weight-loss can happen.

Each one reach one…Thank you Michelle for paying it forward!

YES this picture is real! Yes I have seen her in a two piece! YES IT CAN BE DONE!

Sep

I Don’t Have Time

By garagegym107 6 Comments

Categories: Living Fit Daily
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, exercise, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, goals, health, healthy-living, Inspiration, Motivation, nutrition, push ups, Training, Weight Lifting, Working out, Workout

I hear this comment often. “I don’t have time to train and eat right. I can’t imagine packing my meals and being at the gym at 5:30am. ” “I can’t imagine doing that with 3 kids”. In reality we all have the same number of hours in our day.

Some days I’d like to be a real hard nose about it, but the old fat chick in my head says “remember when that was you?” so I refrain.

What I would really like to say is this. You have a lot more time than you think you do so stop saying you don’t have time.

Swap half of your social media time for working out. Swap all of your TV time for food prep and you just might find a little extra wiggle room in there. I the beginning it seems like an undoable, impossible idea. It does for most people so you are not alone.

Give it two weeks. Set a timer and limit yourself to 10 minutes of social media at a time. For the next 10 minutes, try doing some air squats or some push-ups (even if your push-ups are on your knees or your leaning against a wall) or some good old-fashioned sit-ups, just do it for 10 minutes.

You will soon realize that you don’t have to move a bus to feel better, just move yourself. Care about yourself enough to do it.

I’ve learned that my commitment to consistency has been the greatest link to my success. Day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year.

Things got so much easier when I quit chasing “the end” of each phase. When the end comes, it’s over but you are not finished. I never imagined when I was 38 and just getting started that I would be creeping up on 50 in the best shape of my life and still working out consistently 5-6 times per week.

Ironically, I’m not finished. Now I see 80 as a new challenge. Just how good of shape can I keep myself in over the next 30-ish years. And even better? What do I want to accomplish?

Getting and staying fit is the greatest gift I could have ever given to myself. Learning to live this lifestyle has taught me that anything is possible. Now go get your greatness!

Sep

Ignorance is Bliss

By garagegym107 1 Comment

Most people really truly don’t want to acknowledge the truth about fitness and weight loss. If they hide behind the veil of ignorance then they don’t have to hold themselves accountable. I did that, for a couple of years, in fact. I managed to pack on an additional 168# in two years. Yes, that’s correct, in only two years I went from a relatively healthy size 10 woman to a grossly unhealthy size 22. That’s an average weight gain of 1.61 pounds PER WEEK.

Talk about a sad sack. But ignorance was bliss. No one really ever said anything about the weight as it progressively increased.

I could have stopped it, I could have changed the course of my life. But instead I used every excuse I could dig up, meds were making me fat, job related stress was making me fat, my obnoxiously nasty divorce was making me fat. But you know what?

I was making me fat. I was the one stopping by the fast food joints picking up a bag full of whatever daily special was going on at whichever place was super-sizing everything.

The beautiful thing in my story is that I truly believe that people can change and those changes can stick, like glue.

I know personally many people who have successfully changed. Taking themselves from being slightly overweight, or emotional eaters, to those like me, who were obese.

They’ve taken responsibility for educating themselves. They’ve put their own ego’s and pride aside to make these changes. They’ve humbled themselves to the point of learning and humbled themselves to the point of DOING.

The most important thing that we’ve all learned is that in this life is: it’s not always about me.

Reach out and do something nice for another person. No need to tell anyone what you did, just do it.

Each one, reach one.

Sep

The Past

By garagegym107 Leave a Comment

Every now and again I’m delightfully gifted with the opportunity to share my story and a few things I’ve learned to a live audience.

I derive so much joy from having these opportunities. Talking to others reminds me of various places I’ve been along my journey. It also reminds me that I’m still on my own journey.

This past weekend I was reminded of one aspect of my journey. The mind has a very powerful ability to replay old conversations years after the occurence.

That being said, I believe that we are in control of rewinding and re-recording over those powerful negative messages with positive new ones.

For example, I started running (well, what would be barely considered jogging to a runner) when I weighed just shy of 250#. I remember the negative thoughts going through my mind step after step, “you’re too fat to do this, you are too slow to be running, you can quit this now”. Over and over I would allow my negative thoughts to rule. It took me years to clear the cobwebs enough to realize that I was, simply put, defeating my own purpose.

Once I began to understand that nothing has the power to impact me, unless I give it the power did I realize great positive change from the inside.

I began changing my mantra to “you are strong and you are capable”, “you are strong and you are capable”. Over and over, year after year, I’ve repeated those words many, many times.

We truly are what we think we are so it is extremely important to make sure that we use “no negative self-talk, EVER”.

I have that saying written in chalk in the middle of the chalk board in Garagegym 107. My clients see it. It’s a constant reminder of the way I live. I see it every time I start my day. I believe it.

Empower yourself to make changes to negative experiences from your past.

Our past contributes to who we are, but our past doesn’t dictate who we become.

The chalk board project. The humble beginnings of GG107.

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