Top 10 List Kinda

I made a wonderful discovery today and that discovery was if you are ever at a loss as to what to blog about talk to my client Kathy. She always makes me think about different topics. Then I really try to find a way to help my peeps begin the journey to better health.

So Kathy...thanks...once again for inspiring me to write!

I wanted to come up with a top 10 list, and it really isn't 10 things it's more like 9 on one list and 3 items on the other. By the time I finish this post it may be more or less. Anyway, my conversation with Kathy was about diet, exercise, losing weight, gaining weight and feeling a whole lot of frustration along the way. The only frame of reference that I have is my own story and journey, so I thought I would come up with a list of what has helped me along the way.

First list up is eating and what I have done over the past 3 years that has helped me first lose the weight and now sustain my weight loss.

1. Eat healthy foods 90% of the time. If this is too much at first then go 75%, then 80% and so on.
2. Enjoy treats or splurges the other 10% of the time in moderation. Have a freaking Margarita or piece of cake or dip of ice cream in MODERATION!!!
3. Be mindful of what you are eating not OBSESSIVE! You know what is healthy and what is not...make good choices and move on with your day.
4. It's not all or nothing! All of this low carb, no carb, no fat, half fat is for the birds. If you eat a nutritious diet of whole grains, lean cuts of meat, chicken, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy then you are eating healthy things so RELAX!!
5. It must be doable and sustainable. If it is hard to make recipes or boxed food that is costing you an arm and a leg each month and you are so sick of it you can't eat another bite then it is NOT doable and sustainable. Figure out what types of healthy food you like and stock up on it and eat it!
6. Eat like you are a new born...every 3 to 4 hours. Don't get so hungry that you are going to trade your firstborn for a burger!
7. This brings up #7! Be prepared! If you need to cook a lot of food on Sunday afternoon so that you have it cut up, prepared and ready to go for the week JUST DO IT! YOU are WORTH the time it takes to eat well!
8. Know your weaknesses! If you are a stress eater then go for a walk or call a friend or read a book! Don't walk in to the kitchen or pull through the drive thru of McDonalds when you have just had a smack down with your husband! If you eat at night then have something that is healthy to pick up instead of that gallon of Rocky Road ice cream.
9. Try eating clean and healthy for 21 days! If you can make it 3 weeks doing something then you have GOT IT!
10. Modify as you go! You will get better the longer you eat well!

The next list is exercise! This is my favorite area and it can be your favorite as well! I can hear Kenda right now!

1. Do something you totally don't HATE doing! Try different exercises until you find one that you at least enjoy a little and then DO IT!
2. Schedule your exercise just like any other appointment. Take a pencil and mark it on the calendar and then it is on the books. Don't let other things take up this appointment time. It must be a priority as well.
3. SHOW UP AND MAKE IT COUNT! Be consistent. If you work out once a week it will do nothing, but make you sore and piss you off. Three times a week should be your minimum for better health!
4. Take baby steps with exercise! Don't jump in full force if it has been awhile since you have trained.
5. Enlist a friend that will SHOW UP! I know that Deana will come and run with me no matter what! Be accountable to them and them to you!
6. Try it for 21 days...it works with exercise as well.
7. Modify as you go...it works with exercise as well.
8. Be prepared...it works with exercise as well.

There you have it! As I stated before, I only know what works for me and this works for me! I don't take any magic pills or do a whole lot of 5 hour work-outs to maintain the weight loss. I know that the only person or thing that can take this weight loss away from me is ME! If I screw this up it is my own fault. I follow the above ideas and it works for me! I hope this helps!

Show up and make it count!

Stretch It Out

I get lots of questions about different aches and pains and what type of stretching would be good to do for that particular part of the body that is hurting. I wanted to come up with some type of video that you could watch that might help you get through that particular ache or pain. I found a wonderful group of video's at the Runner's World website. They have an extensive video library. You may check out the section on injury prevention by clicking here. They also have videos for training, nutrition and weight loss, motivation and shoes and gear.

Another item that I love and use on a daily basis is my foam roller. I bought mine at RunOn in Coppell or you can get one at Target. They are awesome and are a wonderful way to roll out the pain of your back, hamstrings, glutes, quads or even your shins, IT bands and calf muscles. It is the closest thing to a deep tissue massage. They are wonderful and have gotten me through several leg work-outs when my back gets really bound up. Basically you just roll the muscle group that you want to massage over the foam roller. I would be happy to go over the use of the foam roller if you are interested.

Show up and make it count!

Tone Endurance Strength

This blog entry was inspired by my adult fitness client Lorrie. Her question to me is do I lift heavier weight with less reps or lighter weight with more reps? I will attempt to answer this questions as it comes up time and time again.
I have referenced my trainers manual from ACE. The following information is a cliff notes version of what I read from this particular journal. This is my understanding of the information. Basically to get overall tone and build muscle endurance (get in better shape all the way around) you can best achieve this from doing lower weights and higher reps. This would be where you could complete 10 to 12 reps of that weight with fatigue setting in at the end of the last two or three reps. I think this type of lifting is really beneficial to most of my peeps. This is what we do during the adult fitness group classes. This type of exercise gets you toned.
To build strength in a particular muscle group it is best to do fewer reps with more weight. An example of this would be the bench press exercise where a person would do 3 sets of 3 reps with a few minutes rest in between each set. You would increase the weight for each set and it would be within your one rep max range. The one rep max is the amount of weight you could do for only one rep. My one rep max for the bench press is currently 125 so I would do the first three reps at 95, then 105 and finish with 110 or so.
I have to add that I have benefited from all types of reps and weight ranges when working out. I have lifted lighter with more reps and worked my way to low reps with the most weight I can handle.
The best advice I can give for this is to always keep yourself challenged. If the 10 pound dumbbells feel light to you then you need to move up to the 12 pounders. Your body will adapt to a certain work load and you will stop seeing results from your work-out. It is up to you to recognize that and work harder. I can usually tell right away if you are selling yourself short and need to use more weight.
It is the same with conditioning and cardio exercise. Your body will adapt to the work load of the heart and it is up to you to move faster or jump higher. If you are walking go farther or jog some of the way if able. You can add the incline factor in to your work-out as well. If you are not breaking a sweat during the work-out then you probably need to work harder.

Show up and make it count!

Chubby Girl Meeting

As most of you know I lost weight through diet and exercise. I totally believe that you have to do both to win this game of weight loss. I continue to believe that you have do to both to keep weight off. The photo just above is one that I carried around in my gym bag so that I could remember where I had been. I believe this photo was taken around May of 2002 and my weight was probably over 170! The photo at the very top was taken this month and my weight was 133 that morning. I have fluctuated from a low of 123 right after knee surgery (muscle atrophy) to a high of 135 (too much holiday stuffing and heavy squat work).

I continue to go to the Chubby Girl Meetings as I fondly call them at least once a month in order to maintain my Life Time membership with Weight Watchers aka Chubby Girl Meetings. I went to my monthly meeting last Thursday and wanted to share some thoughts with you. I noticed that the meeting consisted of alot of talk about food. The other members talked as though they were living to eat instead of eating to live. I have never heard so many suggestion on how to use cream cheese spread. I had one thought for the rest of the day and it was this...it is not about the food when it comes to losing weight. I feel like you have to separate yourself from the food and not let it have so much power over you. I thought to myself to just let it be fuel instead of trying to figure out how to manipulate it so that you could have more. I found myself wanting to stand up and say "Do any of you people exercise"? I know that there must have been a point where I was all about the food and wanted to figure out a way to get more of it and not gain weight, but I am happy to say that I am past that feeling. My goals now are to use it to fuel my body and my activities and to contribute not contaminate by eating nutricious things instead of cream cheese.

I am happy to say that Weight Watchers has jumped on the healthy eating band wagon and are suggesting that all of us Chubby Girls of the world pick healthy filling foods instead of contaminating ourselves until we are just content for the moment. I applaud this move my Weight Watchers.

Please don't get me wrong...I think Weight Watchers is the best program if you want to lose weight and keep it off. I will always remember who I came to the dance with as far as weight loss is concerned. The meetings are always informative and I am always inspired by someone there. I always feel welcome and I always feel like I am not alone in my weight loss journey. If you are looking for a way to jump start your weight loss then I think you should at least attend one meeting and check it out for yourself. I would be happy to go with you if you are ever interested in going to a meeting. They also offer their program online if you can not attend the meetings.

Show up and make it count!

12 Minute Sell Out

Each month we do a test day to see where everyone is fitness wise. The test day is 6 different exercises that we do for one minute for two rounds. We started this new test out in December and it is a really good measure of where you are and where you can go physically.
I have to brag on the group that came last Friday because I will forever be the cheerleader at heart! Sorry Deana!! Anyway, my beloved Joe who I might add hates working out rocked this test out day with a total of 606 reps. Joe has lost over 30 pounds and is looking totally hot. I can say those things about him since he is my sweet hubby and won't think to sue me for harrassing him.
The leader of the women folk was Dee. Dee started training with me a few months ago and is doing AWESOME!!! Dee is great just because she is Dee, but I think she totally rocks because the girl is 60!! Yes...60 years young and she will kick your butt in the weight room if given the chance.
It was Kenda's first run at the test out and she came with her A game. You see Kenda is a breast cancer survivor and this girl managed to do 12 push-ups. This is totally impressive to me because duh...the girl is a breast cancer survivor and let's just say that her chest has been through hell and back and she still did 12 push-ups.
The last two ladies that tested out where my sisters Kathy and Lorrie. I thought I might have to separate them because let's just say that they are on the competitive side. They finished with Kathy having completed 457 reps and Lorrie was just under her with 454. I am thinking February test out will be very interesting if those two girly girls show up again.
Way to go peeps! You all totally rock and I continue to be inspired by all of you in one way or another!
Show up and make it count!