goals | garagegym107

Posts Tagged ‘goals

Oct

Never Going To Steal My Joy

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

Encouragement for Newbs

By garagegym107 8 Comments

Categories: Nutritional Cleanse Experiment
Tags: BodyBuilding, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fitness, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, goals, Inspiration, Motivation, Weight Lifting, Working out, Workout

About a month ago I started helping a girl from another floor with some workouts. We go up on the top of our parking deck at work and we workout. We laugh, we play and we work.

I live by the philosophy of “each one reach one” because in my own little naïve way I believe that it can be done.

We started with just the two of us. As of this week, there are now 6 of us. All shapes, sizes, ages and fitness levels.

I want to talk to the newbies out there. All of you new to fitness and getting healthy.

Taking that first step and sometimes that second step is really hard! You might be last when you finish, you might be embarrassed because you don’t yet have a range of motion that you need and you might just have very little belief in your own ability to prevail.

Well let me tell you this, if you really want to make changes in your life, you really gotta work at it. You can’t just say “oh that was hard, I’m going to lunch with my friends instead”. You can’t just say “well, I was last so why bother?”. You can’t just say “I’ll start next Monday”.

You get to go through all of the growing pains of the process for a multitude of reasons.

First off you must prove to yourself that you are willing to change. So get up day in and day out and get busy. There is no quick fix fat fixer.

Secondly, you must get over yourself and any need you have to feel sorry for yourself. You are now making changes and some of them might hurt. Suck it up Buttercup!

Third and probably the most important of all, no negative self-talk EVER. You may not be perfect, you may have caught a bad deal in this life, but beating yourself down day in and day out fixes absolutely nothing.

Everyday find something in yourself to be positive about. If you look past all of the hurt, anger and loneliness, you’ll find the beautiful worthiness. It is in each of us.

Sep

Scales and What Not

By garagegym107 8 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, fitness, gaining self confidence, goals, Inspiration, Motivation, Weight Lifting, Weightloss, Well-Being

No, not fish scales. Weight scales.

I work with so many women regarding weight-loss and fitness. I’ve talked about scale weight before and how it fits in the big scheme of things.

If I could somehow be Glenda the Good Witch for just one day, I swear I’d love to banish all scales from the land!

Have I ever told you guys the story of going to our company “health-fair”? I consider myself pretty fit in the big scheme of averages so the health fair didn’t deter me. They checked both my good and bad cholesterol and both were impeccable. My blood pressure was also in the very good category.

So off I go the new super-duper body mass index machine. To use the machine you must be in your sock feet. I took off my shoes and when it was my turn, I jumped up on that bad boy only to receive this little ticker tape print out showing that I was by American standards “obese”. I literally laughed out loud.

One of the guys I workout with was right behind me. He 26 years old, six feet tall and has six-pack abs. Yes, I saw them during a workout class. You know what? His BMI put him in the obese category as well. I was already skeptical about our BMI standards anyway, but that pushed it over the top. The number one reason is that the technician never bothered to ask either of us if we work out on a regular basis. There is a different selection for athletes. Either way bad data.

Anyway, back to where I was going with all of this. Data is just data. It’s not a sign of success or failure, it’s a number. It is what we do with that number that matters.

If you struggle with getting on the scale to gather data then it’s time to ask yourself “why does this number matter so much to me?”.

What should really matter to you is if you are doing better today than you did yesterday. If you strive every single day to be a better person, whether it’s in your workouts, your finances, your savings, keeping your kids clothes clean and helping someone else out in some small way. You are moving forward.

Progress isn’t about what’s happening on the outside. It’s about what’s happening on the inside. When you figure out why you wrap success or failure around a number, changes begin to happen. You stop paying so much attention to the scale and to your appearance and start focusing on your workouts, how consistent you are, and if you are doing them correctly from a technical standpoint. Suddenly your body image starts to improve as does your ability.

One of the most refreshing things I’ve read lately was Lifting My Spirits about page and reading that she went on stage to compete in her first bodybuilding show without even caring what her BF% was. She just new by looking in the mirror and by doing the right things with her workouts and food that results were there. And that’s how this should be.

Do the right things and results will come.

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

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.

Aug

Are Anger and Frustration a Catalyst?

By garagegym107 6 Comments

Yesterday I had a conversation with an online trainer. I’m not here to bash this person because there is an off-chance there may be a bit of truth in his message.

His message was that someone with my history, the history of obesity to fitness, isn’t likely a good fit for taking things to the next level of getting leaned out.

It really struck a chord with my insecurity for about an hour. For that whole hour I had mental tapes from years past replay over in my head. All of the moments I heard the term “you can’t” “you won’t” “it’s not possible” to lose the weight.

He never said those exact words, but the words he said were direct enough to make me take that road trip backwards for the hour that I allowed my mind to venture.

Then I got really miffed. Miffed like I haven’t been in a decade. I got miffed because I allowed another human being to create doubt in a space that is off-limits. A space that I’ve maintained, manicured, furtilized with positivity, grown from a desolate space of nothingness into a positive field of successful DOING.

I know that people are trained in given fields. They fill themselves with statistics and data. They become an encyclopedia of their field of study and then they get comfortable spewing that data as one size fits all gospel.

Well, I’m here to tell you that is well and good. But there are things that none of that data can capture. Those are human spirit, soul and determination. The odds may be stacked in favor of the data, but there is always the off-chance that the underdog can and will prevail.

I choose to be the underdog. I choose to be the one that will succeed. My next level may not be the same as a superstar, but it’s mine for the taking.

I saw this the other day and yes, it came to mind by the time my head hit my pillow last night.

“Never let anyone tell you that you can’t”

Aug

Emotional Eating

By garagegym107 Leave a Comment

Quite a few people know what emotional eating is. Some folks think it is conjured up and an excuse.

I found this definition on the interwebz but it’s a bit harsh for my liking.

“Compulsive overeating, also sometimes called food addiction, is characterized by an obsessive/compulsive relationship to food.”

You see in the South we celebrate every occasion with food and therefore tend to connect every type of emotion under the sun with food. EVERYTHING.

Ironically I married a man who is NOT emotionally attached to food. I’ve learned a lot from him.

Food either tastes good to him, or it’s meh… He never eats because he’s stressed or anything like that. In fact I at times I put food in front of him as a reminder to eat.

It’s actually quite cool as an emotional eater to witness in reality that non-emotional eating really exists. It has helped me come to the following conclusion on handling food.

-When you look at food you shouldn’t be trying to decide if it will make you feel better or worse. You should only be thinking “it’s time for me to fuel my body with the best possible option, is that what this particular food will do?”

Once I accepted the responsibility that I managed food and it didn’t manage me, things really begin to change.

When you are caught up in the cycle of eat bad, feel bad so eat more bad and feel worse, it is totally up to you to break that mental cycle. It has nothing to do with the food.

You see when I first started losing weight, I had weight loss momentum on my side. I ate clean 6 days a week, had a free day and I worked out 6 days a week and rested one. The weight literally started falling off. 125# in the first year.

But the real changes for me didn’t start happening until I started unpacking my baggage chest. For 8 years I went up 20 pounds and down 20 pounds. Constantly yo-yo dieting and never really putting my finger on what the issue was.

One day I stood in my kitchen with my hand literally in the cookie jar, with my cup of milk about to commence in the Oreo dunking party when I realized that I was defeating my very own purpose.

At that moment came the first epiphany. That ah-ha moment when I cracked open the proverbial baggage trunk for the first time. I was flooded with guilt and shame and all sorts of emotion from the shoe boxes within that chest.

At that moment however, true healing began.

One shoe box of baggage at a time was revealed, acknowledged, ultimately forgiven and then released into that unknown space of healing.

I wrote letters to people who had wronged me, vented all of my frustrations, then burned them. Somehow this process allowed for me to let go of bitterness and hurt I was holding on to.

I wrote letters of apology and requested forgiveness and actually mailed those.

Once I had dealt with the process of letting go, surprisingly the emotional eating episodes slowed down and now are almost completely non-existent.

Never give up on yourself. Learn to love and appreciate the wonderful things you are capable of and forgive yourself for the seemingly stupid mistakes you’ve made and move on.

Life is so much better with a trunk filled with peace.

Aug

The Only Constant is Change

By garagegym107 3 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: change, Community, exercise, fitness, Goal Setting, goals, healthy-living, Insecurity, Inspiration, Motivation, weight loss, Well-Being, Workout

I’ve found over the course of my fitness journey that the only constant is change. How we deal with that change makes all of the difference.

We can get all jammed up, or torn up, or even give up, but change will keep coming.

I used to wallow in change. It gave me the excuse to eat what I wanted, skip workouts, feel sorry for myself. Ha…those were the days of backsliding down the slippery slope to set-back!

Learning to keep it together when we want to fall apart is just as important as work-outs and nutrition.

And learning not just to keep it together but how to adapt so that future change doesn’t hit us like a sledge-hammer.

I’ve learned to separate my emotions from the facts. Instantly I feel more capable of adapting. List the facts in black and white and tackle them one by one.

Sure feelings get hurt or ego gets bruised, but change is still coming. So taking the emotion out and dealing with the remnants makes change a bit easier to swallow.

One of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou:

“If you don’t like something change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

Aug

Go Ahead Take That First Step

By garagegym107 5 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: Goal Setting, goals, Inspiration, Motivation, Training, Weight Lifting, Working out

Setting a new goal is all well and good. Taking those initial steps to solidify the decision on the other hand, can be daunting.

Tools that have worked for me, in no particular order, have been:

– Tell someone who you trust, whom you know will hold you accountable.

– Make it specific. Don’t say “I want to lose weight” instead say “I want to lose 10# by Dec. 31st”.

– Set a date to have this goal accomplished, no matter how long-term.

– Break the long-term goal down in to smaller goals that support the outcome of the long-term goal.

– Start today, not next Monday, working toward the smaller goal.

– Write things down! Be specific, both in goal setting and when logging workouts and nutrition. If you get stuck and don’t feel yourself progressing, you want good solid specific data to share with a trainer or friend to help you determine what you may need to change.

– Set a plan and stick to that plan.

– Be consistent.

– Be committed.

– Take the first daunting steps of putting your plan in action and don’t look back in doubt. There is so much more to see when you look through the windshield than in the rearview mirror!

Aug

It Is Not About Them

By garagegym107 1 Comment

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: change, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, fitness, food, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, goals, Gym, healthy-living, Insecurity, Inspiration, Long term weight loss, Motivation, nutrition, Training, Weight Lifting, weight loss, Working out

In the world of weight-loss it’s easy to play the victim. Blame all of our shortcomings and lack of results on our upbringing, our past relationships, our lack of relationships, our jobs, our family time, our lack of money, and the list could go on for a full paragragh. In all honesty, it is not about them, it is about you.

You can make valiant attempts to make lasting change, but until you realize that you are ulitmately responsible for your food intake and moving your butt, you are playing victim. Sure life will give us lemons on occasion and we’ve got two choices, sit and sour along with the juice or make some lemonade.

Today I was heading outside to work-out with a coworker. As I turned the corner to go down to the locker room I glanced to the left and saw two gentlemen coming into the facility to enjoy lunch in our cafeteria.

One was suffering from health related issues, I have no idea what, but he struggled to walk slowly with his friend supporting his arm on one side and walking with a cane in the other hand.

I smiled and nodded as I usually do and as I continued on to the locker room I was overcome with gratitude. Gratitude that the man had a friend to lean on and walk with and emmense gratitude that I am now healthy.

When I weighed 328# I used to see the obstacle of weight-loss as chore. I used to pout when I would have to eat a salad and someone around me would be eating crap, that whole “why me” thing.

Over time (not overnight) I realized that I was starting to feel better, my clothes fit better and then it got easier. My mind shifted from this is a chore to this is a choice. That one little switch changed everything. The sooner you acknowledge that you are willing to do whatever is takes willingly to succeed the easier this path will become.

Hat Tip: Elements of Your Life

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