Posts Tagged ‘weight loss

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06
Jun
12

Random Food Thoughts

By garagegym107 7 Comments
Categories: Random Thoughts
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

–  You control food, it doesn’t control you.  It has no feeling, it’s not out to get you.  It doesn’t sabotage your efforts.  Get over it.

–  You can overcome emotional food issues.  It starts with accepting the statement above.

–  You can still have your cake and eat it.  It is far better to go to the store and buy one cupcake every couple of months instead of home-baking a whole dozen for the same price.  You don’t need a whole dozen of anything.  Get over it.  Well except maybe shoes.

–  You can live without mac & cheese.  In fact you’ll likely live a lot longer without it.

–  Healthy fat won’t make you fat. 

–  It takes about two weeks to get over sugar cravings once you relinquish your strong hold on sugar.  Try it.  You’ll see.

– You can always find an excuse or justification for eating poorly, don’t kid yourself in to thinking they are legit.

– It takes minimal planning to make sure you purchase what you need to make great, simple meals all week.  Failing to plan = planning to fail. 

– There is not one thing that you can put in your mouth that will make your emotions feel better so H.A.L.T. first.  Hurt. Angry. Lonely. Tired.  Identify if you are truly hungry or just messing around with a cover-up of one of the other emotions.

–  Remember, that fork doesn’t get up off of that plate and fly in your mouth.  YOU put it there.

– Water.  Sometimes you just think you are hungry.  Hydrate instead.

Vacation Food

More Vacation Food

05
Jun
12

Change “IS” Hard

By garagegym107 9 Comments
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I talk to so many people about fitness, health and weight-loss.  Interestingly enough I have found that on average when the going gets tough, people literally stop as opposed to getting uncomfortable. 

It’s the rare occasion when someone will choose discomfort and success over the just giving up on themselves. 

The thing that I’ve found to be most common even with myself is I get to a crossroads and have to decide to get more uncomfortable.  I’ll ponder for a day or five about “what now?” and those moments usually come when I feel like my progress is stalled out.  I’m not talking about scale progress.  I’m talking about fitness progress of getting stronger or faster or it’s as simple as if my form has improved.   And of course the ultimate goal is always to remain injury free.

I came to this fitness game a little late, mainly because I spent 10 good years battling the shame and insecurity of being heavy.  Sure, I shed the weight consistently, but it took me a bit longer to shed the insecurity. 

A really good friend told me this morning that she had recently seen a young woman with a tattoo that read “I am the hero of this story, I don’t need to be saved”.   Every person should feel that way about themselves and be that confident in their own ability to take care of themselves. 

I believe that most people have the ability to choose whether they get fit or not.  And the average person sometimes needs a good nudge from someone who will be brutally honest with them to get them jump started.

All throughout the process I had to learn to stop taking things so personally all the time.   When you get really fat, you get really sensitive whether you willingly admit that or not. 

Sometimes that sensitivity can become a crutch and it will hold you back.  It takes courage to step back and ask yourself “I am being the best that I can be or am at a least headed in that direction?” from an objective stand point.

I do this on a regular basis now but in the beginning it took a couple of objective people to kick me in the pants.  One was an internet acquaintance that I met while doing multiple Body-for-Life Challenges.  He basically said “If you don’t like your results, what are you going to do about it?”.  

After I won the 2009 Body-for-Life challenge another friend took me to a track and showed me beyond doubt that I was a long, long way from my physical limits and potential.  Initially I took this process very personally because I was overly sensitive.  The fat chick in my head said “you have a ton more work to do so why don’t you just quit now?”  The fighter in me said “I will not quit, not now, not ever!” and off I went to get even better. 

And most recently was one of my very best friends Michelle (see the link to the right) said to me “what if this is as good as it gets for you?”  It was at that moment that I realized I was not where I wanted to be, but at some point in my life I will inevitably get that point. 

It was a great moment of realization.  Fitness doesn’t always have to get tougher and tougher, heavier and heavier or faster and faster.  Sometimes it just has to get healthier and healthier from the mind, not the food you eat, not the workouts you do but from the thoughts you think. 

Your actions are driven by your thoughts.  Be sure you’re thinking the positive thoughts that will take you to your goals.

29
May
12

Old Behaviors Die Hard

By garagegym107 4 Comments
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

In the process of morphing in to the fit woman I’ve learned some powerful lessons.  One of them is that old behaviors die hard. 

It’s not for lack of will power or discipline because I have a pretty good set of both of those tools.  It’s changing what used to be a normal behavior in to a new one.  

For the most part I do really well with the newer versions of behavior.   I prefer the taste of fresh clean foods over all others.  I prefer the flavor of water or water with lemon over the taste of anything artificial.  But inevitably boredom or even lonliness kick in from time to time.

All of that being said, the old behaviors like to live dormant.  They don’t simply disappear or find someone else’s head to live in.  They stick around but I’ve had to learn to control them as opposed to allowing them to control me.  I’m not perfect. 

All it takes is a weekend of inconvenience to have those old behaviors yelling “drink me, I’m diet, I’m refreshing, you are sweating puddles, come on, I won’t hurt you!” and in all seriousness, that diet soda tasted good for a few minutes.   The next thing I know I’m bloating up with water retention when water would have been just as satisfying. 

Or the other example, those famous sandwich cookies in the golden version, which used to be my favs.  One wonders what are they doing there in the first place?  The spousal unit is still a junk food junkie no matter what I do.   Yep I reached in to the cookie jar and pulled out a couple of cookies and proceeded to test the waters.   To my delight (yes seriously), all I tasted was the fact that those little devils were processed and that I could taste that clearly!  

Part of me had that little nagging thought of “you should feel guilty for eating that” but the morphing of a fit woman doesn’t allow for guilt or shame.  Neither of those are permitted to reside here.   Only acknowledgement of eating them and analyzing of data.    I ate them, yes.  Did they make me feel bad or good, no.  Will I do it again, not likely.   I analyzed the data and it says don’t waste your food pleasure on something that tastes like crap!

Those old behaviors will always be lurking.  Usually they are lurking with temptation in an effort to lure me back to the fat person that never really cared whether something was good for me or not.    

Now I practice “love me some me” instead.  I know that sounds so cavalier, but it’s not meant as such.  It’s meant as truth. 

This life attempts to beat us down from every direction.  It keeps us confused with too much data, it holds us back with thoughts of fitness being too demanding, both in time and financially and my favorite is why bother.   

I’ve seen so many people come and go from the gym because things eventually get hard or boring and they don’t get instant gratification so then they answer the call with “why bother” instead of sucking it up.

I bother every single day because I know how much better it feels living in the light of happiness and with the ability to help others.   When you start actually looking at all of the bright spots in your life, you realize this really is a great life. 

And just when you think you’ve got it bad remember that there is always someone else wishing they could be where you are today!

 

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