The Winter Blahs: Fighting Back

It's very easy to get down in the dumps in the winter time. In addition to whatever life problems may be weighing you down, add to that the bitter cold and dreary weather and God forbid - SNOW and in no time at all, all meaning and purpose in life seems gone.

Ok, that may be a bit extreme, but I definitely get more easily bummed out when the weather is dismal than  I do in the bright and shiny summery sunshine rays. Or the bright and shiny rays of the West Coast. *sigh, someday* All I want to do is stay and my nice, warm, comfy, cozy bed and press the "off" button on real life and responsibilities. Unfortunately, that's just not an option.

So what's a girl to do, eh? Here are just a few of the ways I shake off the winter (or any kind of) blahs.

1) Put Some Pep In Your Step

Not everyone is a caffeine addict, but everyone likes some kind of warm beverage. One of the best things to do when you're cold - ingest some delicious warmth! Weather it be coffee, tea, hot chocolate or you favorite latte, sipping on something delicious and warm can definitely be a great tool to help you face the day ahead. 

2) Get Glammed Up

Even if you don't make a big fuss of what you look like on a day to day basis, I'm sure you still have some go-to pieces that make you feel like a rock star. When I'm at home, I like to just be comfortable. But when I go out, I like to look good! When I take the time to do my hair and makeup and put on a cute outfit, inevitably I feel better about myself and life in general throughout the day. For you, this could mean wearing your comfiest pants, showing off your snazzy new spectacles or throwing on some lip gloss just for the hell of it. Whatever - if it makes you feel good, do it! 

3) Don't Focus on Your Problems, Focus on Solutions

If you have something specific that's causing your mood to be gloomy, it's natural to put a lot of brainpower to it. Instead of feeling bummed about whatever the issue is, try to brainstorm ways to fix or at least work on the issue. Focusing on the problem itself isn't going to help anything and will only make you feel bummed out longer. Working towards a solution, even if it's only in your head for now will bring about a better mindset, a better mood and will help you take action towards solving your problem. 

4) If All Else Fails, Pretend

You've heard the term "fake it til you make it." Well, that holds true here as well. You don't have to pretend you're the happiest person on the planet. And you don't have to lie and tell people you're doing great when you're not. But even if you don't feel like getting glammed up or being super positive, just don't wallow constantly in gloom. This doesn't mean you can't take some time for yourself to just feel what you feel - but don't stay there. Don't live in the dreary parts of your feelings. 

These are my go-to tips for fighting the winter blahs. What are your suggestions?

xoxo, 

Sweet C

Why I'm All For New Year's Resolutions

Lots of people have strong opinions on New Year's Resolutions. Some strongly feel that resolutions are a stupid idea, while others are consistent resolution makers. I am neither of these. Some years, I make resolutions and some years I don't. I've even been known to go back at the end of the year and manually check off which ones I managed to accomplish. It's always most or all of the list.

Making goals and checklists works really well for me. It is, in fact how I thrive. For others, working with a group of people towards a common goal is what helps them thrive. This is why there are challenge groups, facebook groups and group workouts. As a society, we function through order. There are 7 days to the week. The work week starts on Monday. And for some reason it is just easier to begin something on Sunday or Monday that will continue throughout the rest of the week. We begin at the beginning. It's what we're used to.

This is all that resolutioners are doing. The New Year is a HUGELY celebrated, big beginning. There are a lot of people setting goals and making plans during this time. So, not only do we have the aspect of a new beginning, but there are tons of other people doing the same thing - making resolutions. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be better. Even to the point that we pick out specific issues we know need work, and decide to put effort toward those issues.

If you are someone who can just make up their mind to change and then change, that's amazing. It is truly an enviable character trait. Perhaps you're a person who doesn't really need help from other people once you've decided what you want to do. That's also really great. There are certainly many out there who will make resolutions and will never make any necessary changes to bring them to fruition. That's just life. Not everyone is wired the same way and you can't expect that things that are really strong traits for you will be strong traits in everyone. We're all different. Let's not forget about the resolutioners who WILL in fact accomplish a great deal of their goals. All because they decided to take action at a time that is viewed as cliche for deciding to take action. It's not as if no resolution ever was accomplished. There's not even a way to prove that most resolutions aren't accomplished.

Side note: If you're one of those people who believes that your personal anecdotal evidence of you and your circle's experiences is proof for anything, it is not. That is not data. Your personal experience is never data. It is personal experience. So stop it.

This is one of those areas where I say "Live and let live." Resolutions don't hurt anyone. Sometimes we can be way too judgemental of other people. If you don't want to make any resolutions because you can change on your own whenever you want - great! Don't make any freaking resolutions! If you want to make 20 resolutions even if they're the same ones you've made for the past 20 years - great! Good luck, I hope this is your year! One of my resolutions is to do whatever I want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, so here I say - do whatever you want! Don't let other people's negative attitudes over what you've decided to do hinder you, or else you prove them right. And don't have extremely negative attitudes towards something that really has nothing to do with you.

Happy New Year, errybody.

xoxo,
SweetC

Talk Yourself Into It

      Yesterday was a bad day. You know how some days your life feels like a country song? Not one of the adorable ones where some hot stud wants to make you feel "Wanted", but one where everyone including your dog has left you and life in general seems to be imploding on you? That was yesterday. Needless to say, at the culmination of all of such events, the last thing I felt like doing was working out. And I almost didn't.

     It's very easy to give yourself a pass when you're having a crap day. When you're choking back tears from all the various BS you're dealing with, it's not usually something you want to deal with in a public place. The thing is, I already had my workout scheduled into my day. I was wearing my workout clothes, it was next on the agenda and the gym was right down the street. I would have had to deliberately DRIVE PAST the gym to get home. And believe me, I wanted to. I almost did. I started taking a different route home telling myself that it was ok to skip today because seeing as how my life sucked, it was totally acceptable to go home and cry for a million years instead of working out. I was approaching the last turn that would have put me on the road to the gym. I was not in the turning lane. The light was red in the straight lane and green in the turning lane. The turning lane (next to me) was empty.

And I had a moment.

     Yes, today (and this month) in general are pretty horrendous for me. However, one of my goals in my bigger plan is to achieve a certain body aesthetic that I haven't yet reached. It is very possible, but I keep sabotaging myself. I workout, but haven't been as consistent as necessary. I eat pretty healthy...some of the time, but have also been a little more lax in that area than I need to be to achieve results. Yes, there are times when your workout is not the end-all-be-all to your day - but if every time my life isn't going right I use it as an excuse to skip the gym, I will never see the inside of a gym again.

     In a split second decision, I moved into the turning lane (I looked first!) and headed to the gym. I told myself that I could sit in the parking lot until I was ready to go in, and if I still wasn't feeling it - I could just drive home. I sat in the parking lot and thumbed through my ipod for what I wanted to listen to while I made the decision to stay or go. I chose one of my favorite motivational phrases that happens to be from a song. The song is from a musical from which I get my namesake: Sweet Charity. It's called "I'm The Bravest Individual". Without getting into crazy detail, the reason I like Charity is because no matter how bad things get for her and no matter how poorly she's treated by people she is a genuine sweetheart to, she believes that at any moment, things can turn around. If not today, then there's always tomorrow. And when you get to the end of your rope or when you're really scared, just tell yourself that you're the bravest individual you know. You'll calm down and be able to face whatever is coming at you.

She's the bravest individual she has ever met.

    After crying all the frustration that I had out while listening to the song in the car. I wiped my eyes, sucked it up and went into the gym and completed my workout. Because in the grand scheme of things, if I don't do all I can to accomplish my fitness goals - that will just end up something else that adds to the list of "things that suck right now." I have some degree of control over this specific situation, which is not the case for other things on the afore mentioned list. It's up to me to do all I can in this area.

   The takeaway is this: Even when it's hard, do it. Unless it's impossible, do it. If you don't feel like doing it, start doing it anyway and give yourself the option to stop or continue. Your ultimate success lies with you and whether you decided to suck it up and do it or to go home and cry.

xoxo,
 SweetC

You're Allowed To Feel Good About Yourself For No Reason At All

        It's funny that I always seem to have my "skinny days" on the days leading up to that time of the month. You know a skinny day - when for no particular reason at all, you are just feeling like "hey, maybe I'm not such a whale after all!" Well, I noticed something interesting on my most recent "skinny day." I walked past a mirror (not even a skinny mirror) and thought "Wow, I look better than I expected considering I ate oreo ice cream last night. Wonder if I'm actually losing weight or if I just dressed well today. I should get on the scale to see...."

        Seriously people? Am I the only one? I know I'm not. WTF is wrong with us? Honestly, re-read that situation and really take a moment to think about the nonsense thinking that can happen inside our heads. I looked in the mirror, I felt good about what I saw - but somehow needed to validate that I was allowed to feel that way by backing it up with proof. It wasn't enough to just feel great about myself. Nope. Only allowed to feel good if you actually lost a pound! Not to mention that I was probably heavier than normal due to my impending menstruation. Most likely bloated too. However, I clearly didn't FEEL that way at that moment. I felt great! So why was my first thought that I HAD to verify that by checking the facts?

       It is so easy to make getting fit a numbers game. Counting calories, measuring inches, pounds on the scale... these are all important aspects, but why are they the end all be all? News flash: they aren't. Having a skinny day and feeling great about yourself is an awesome accomplishment in and of itself. It doesn't need to be proven by numbers on a scale or a tape measure. I am learning now to appreciate my "skinny days" and just be happy that I'm in a place where I feel good about myself more often than I feel like a whale. And no, I don't need anything outside of myself to validate that feeling - and neither do you.

xoxo,
 Sweet C

What YOU Want

Because of my interests, I've amassed a large amount of social media contacts in the fitness field. Some of them more knowledgeable than others, and many of them, like me, still figuring things out. A lot of these people can be very intense at times. They set very lofty goals and go full throttle after them. That's great. I have nothing against people attacking their dreams with all they have. It's important to remember though that their goals and their methods to achieve them are just that - theirs.

I am bombarded daily with posts about double workouts, number of calories burned, number of calories eaten, temptation foods avoided, clean diet modifications and motivational sayings. I constantly see pictures of women with flat and defined abs, very little body fat, big boobs, tight butts, toned arms, glowing skin and shiny hair. Every day I read about the newest supplement, the newest diet, going gluten free, eating organic, plant based diets and cleansing. And admittedly, I'm a part of this. I talk about this stuff frequently as well. So I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with these sort of posts - there's not. But when it's the majority of what you see every day, it can definitely start to warp your thinking.  It just leads me to remind everyone, including myself to

Make sure the body you're working to achieve is the body that YOU want. 

At least once a day, I will see someone post a motivational picture of a woman with toned-to-the-T abs. You can see each and every defined section of her stomach and it looks as though her waist is actually too tiny to wear even a size 0. And that's wonderful that she worked to achieve that body and completely fine that someone else wants to work to achieve the same results. Personally, I don't want defined abs. I like a softer look on women. I like the look of being toned but still having a little fat to squeeze. That's my preference. I can't let what other people see as the perfect body affect how I feel about my own results.

 

   All of these tummies look great to me!



For those people who have the time, energy and willpower to do two-a-day workouts - that's amazing. I've done it for short periods of time before and it is certainly tough. My hat goes off to that kind of dedication. But just because they are down on themselves for not getting to their second workout of the day, I'm not going to feel bad that I worked out once. For 30 minutes. And that I may not get to a workout tomorrow because I have work and have school for 14 hours out of the day and sleeping is more important to me than cardio. It doesn't make me a bad person if I only do 5 workouts a week and if I think that that is a perfectly fine number of workouts to complete on a weekly basis. It also doesn't make me a bad person if I decide that instead of lifting today, I'm going to stay home and study for my test on Friday because at the moment, that is a bigger priority for me. And that's ok, it's allowed to be.

When it comes to achieving your perfect body, it does not need to be what other people think it should be. It should be where YOU will be happiest. If getting down to a size 10 has been your lifelong goal and you are in a healthy weight range with a clean bill of health from your doctor, then who the hell is anyone to tell you that you don't look good enough? Not everyone was made to be a body builder and it's not in the cards for all of us to have a washboard stomach. Is it possible? Yes. Of course if that's what you want to achieve and are willing to work for, it's definitely possible. Is it necessary? No, it's not. Not if that's not what you in your heart of hearts want for yourself.

Thank God we live in America. A free country. Where you're allowed to want what you want and feel what you feel and for the most part do what you like. If you want abs, go get 'em. If you just want to drop a few pounds, then lose 'em. If your idea of fit doesn't "fit" with what everyone else seems to think, so long as it fits with your medical stats, then eff 'em.

Be Prepared

We can all learn a lesson or two from Scar.

I'm a full time student with a part time job. On weekdays, most often I'm leaving my house in the morning around 7am and not returning home until 11pm. The idea of purchasing most of my meals randomly throughout the day is unheard of for me. Buying food a la carte, whether it's fast food or healthy food adds up. It will never be as inexpensive as food shopping for the way I eat. I eat 5 to 6 times a day. Also, when I prepare my food myself - I know the ingredients, the nutrition content and the calorie count. Or at least I have a better general idea than I would if I was getting all of my food elsewhere. So - as a nutrition (I care about what I eat) student (I'm extremely poor), prepping and taking my food with me daily is necessary.

Although it may be necessary, that doesn't make it easy. I'm not a morning person at all. The fact that I have to be exiting my home at 7am is already quite a stretch for me. There is no way much of anything productive gets done before I leave in the morning. So not only do my meals for an entire day need to be prepped, they need to be prepped the night before. As you can imagine - with this kind of schedule, I don't have much time for cooking during the week. I pretty much need everything to be as "grab and go" as possible to make it work. So, for any of you in a similar situation, I though I would share with you what I do to prepare for my week.

1) I happen to eat the same basic things every day/ every other day which makes my prep slightly easier. If you have to have completely different foods daily, I don't know how to help you. That's not cost effective for me and I also don't have a problem eating the same things daily so I just stick with that. It's not the exact same every day, but it's the same general pool of food choices that I'm pulling from.

2) Cook everything. For this week's prep - I cooked chicken and turkey bacon, made egg quiche and steamed quinoa in the rice cooker. For the egg and the quinoa, I didn't even have to do much except wait for them to cook. The meat takes slightly more effort but I just cooked that while the quiche was in the oven and the quinoa was in the rice cooker. Multi-tasking.

3) Slice stuff. If you have veggies you'll be using as snacks or in a salad, slice them now if they'll make it the week. If they can't make it that long, slice what you need for the next couple of days. I sliced my tomato for my breakfast sandwich.

4) Store stuff. Tupperware is your best friend. Once you've cooked all this food, you need somewhere to put it. Buy a bunch of tupperware of appropriate sizing you can use to store your food for the week. Make snack bags for anything that comes in mass quantities like pretzels or nuts. Make several bags now so they're ready to grab and go during the week.



Oatmeal is quick, semi-convenient
and nutritious meal choice.


5) Prepare your meals for the next day the night before. I structure my meals/snacks into my day so I can plan the night before what I'll eat when for the next day. Whatever is non perishable can be packed in your lunchbag and ready to go. Place the other stuff in one location in an easy grabbable spot in the fridge.

6) Pick your battles. I know this method is not always the "freshest" or the the most palatable for everyone. Again, for my lifestyle - this works and this is the way it has to be. I try to minimize the amount of processed food I eat, but there is still some. And I don't beat myself up for it. I need to find a way that I can eat what I can afford, what fits into my schedule and what also fits my personal guidelines for health. Buying locally farmed, organic only food would be heaven - but it's not realistic for my lifestyle. The tomato that I buy may not be of the perfect quality, but it's still a tomato and not ketchup. And technically you should use the entire tomato the same day that you cut it. I sliced mine and will use it throughout the week. And I'm not gonna feel bad about that. Don't get so anal with your rules of food that you begin to think that the tomato you're eating was a bad choice. It's not.

Here's what I prepped for my week.

Cooked 6oz chicken
Cooked 1 package turkey bacon
Cooked one rice cooker of quinoa
Cooked 4 cups of egg white quiche
Bagged 5 bags of 1 serving of almonds
Bagged 5 bags of 1 serving of oatmeal

Other stuff I have:
Granola Bars
Apples
Bananas
Sparkling Water
Protein Powder
Frozen Fruit
Whole Grain Bread
Carrots and Parsnips
Frozen Vegetables
Black Beans
Peanut Butter
Yogurt
Sugar Free Gum



And here's what a typical day of meals looks like for me:
Breakfast: Egg Quiche (egg whites, spinach, mushroom, onion, pepper) on an Ezekiel 7 Grain Muffin with a tomato slice, turkey bacon and mustard

Snack: Cliff granola bar (not the meal bar, the granola bar) and a small apple

Lunch: Quinoa with broccoli and black beans

Snack: Chobani plain greek yogurt with fruit or fruit jelly, almonds

Dinner: Plain oatmeal with peanut butter and banana

Post-Workout: Vanilla protein with sparkling water and frozen fruit

I bake an egg quiche for
breakfast for the week.

Now, also important to remember is that my diet is not your diet. My choices are based on my palate, my nutrition preferences, my physiological needs and my time and budget. I eat meat, dairy and carbs. I don't have a gluten sensitivity and I'm not morally opposed to animal products, so I do what I do. There's not a right or wrong, there are choices. And we are all free to make our own. Ain't it grand! And you're not locked in to any one way of doing things. Try something out, and if it doesn't work for you CHANGE IT. How will you know unless you try it first though?

So, what are your tips for being prepared? Do you do something differently? Any other pieces of advice to help us busy but wanna be healthy people? Would love to have you share your thoughts and questions below!

xoxo,
Sweet C

Quit Debbie Downing Yourself

So, I had a crazy busy summer and have entered the fall in territory that I have not been in for a loooong time. I am a full time student again. I graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in 2004 and have just started classes this fall for my second degree. I am a bonified, college freshman. Again.

I am also poor like a college student. Actually, poorer since at least in college-first-time I had 3 campus jobs and didn't have grown up bills like car payments and car insurance. They actually want you to pay that ish every freaking month. Did you know that they are still touting that crap that you're supposed to spend two hours outside of class for every hour in class? Do these people understand the real world and that most students are working their way through school? Ridiculous.

With a brand new schedule, adjusting to studying and adjusting to a much, much, MUCH tighter budget - clean eating and working out have been super tough to work on. And guess what - believe it or not, they are not at the top of my priority list. *Oh shock and disbelief!* Hey, we all have lives to lead. And these things can't be number one all of the time for everyone. You know what? THAT'S OK!

Broke-ity-broke-broke

Perhaps you're one of those people that gets really upset with yourself for not getting in your workout 5 days a week. Maybe you get really angry at yourself for straying from your diet for one meal. You might even consider diversions from your plan as failure. I'm here to tell you, just stop it. Fitness is not a perfection that you're striving for. It's something you incorporate into your life. There was a time when eating clean and daily workouts fit themselves perfectly into my daily schedule. Right now, I'm still trying to figure out how to make these things happen. So no - I don't ALWAYS get a workout in. Yes, I occasionally grab something on the go that is not all whole foods and might even have some added sugar. But I AM actively working on it. I'm trying to figure out when I'll have time to workout and study and find a job before I become homeless. I still track my calories and try to make the best food decisions possible in the situation. And eventually I'll figure it out and get into a groove and figure out how to achieve my goals on a budget. But I don't consider myself failing in the meantime.

It's ok to not get it right straight out of the gate. It's ok to take weeks or months to figure out how to make a healthy lifestyle work for you. You can't come down on yourself for not being the model fitness citizen in 24 hours. That's ridiculous. If you give up because you can't be perfect, you're much worse off than if you keep pushing through and figure it out. As long as you're actively making an effort and not just sitting around and complaining without actually DOING anything, you're headed in the right direction. All you have to do is just keep going.

xoxo,
Sweet C

I Can't, Won't and Don't Want To Do It For You

Let's face it, most people are lazy. That's it - flat out lazy. While there is the percentage of the population out there who have valid reasons and problems as to why they can't eat better or workout, the majority of people are lazy and/or just making excuses. Someone who spends half their time watching television, playing video games and going to the bar - then turns around and says they don't have time to workout is making excuses. You have time, you're just not devoting it to a workout and you're not fooling anyone. A single mom who works two full time jobs just to keep food on the table and clothes on her kids' backs who has just enough time to get home and fix them dinner, sleep for a few hours just to wake up and get them ready for another day - SHE has no time to workout.

Let's be clear - people who make fitness and health a priority in their life do it on purpose. They MAKE the time to workout, they spend their money on healthy things instead of junk which is how they can afford it. They don't waste time sitting around playing in virtual reality for hours at a time while consuming thousands of calories. People who make fitness a priority fight mini battles every day. You think I don't want pizza and brownies all the time? You think that given the chance I wouldn't eat Chinese food all day long? If it were possible to LIVE off of french fries and chocolate with no health side effects, there's no question that that's the life I'd be living. But I don't do any of that. I've made a decision that being fit is more important to me than any of these things. That doesn't mean the desire to eat bad things goes away. On the contrary, it's a little voice inside me that I have to argue with daily. Eating french fries every once in a while? Yeah, sure - I'm ok with that personally. Eating them every day? That's basically daring God to give you a heart attack or heart disease.

I'm always happy to help others find their way in fitness. It can be a big, strange, confusing world for anyone who isn't used to living this way. I get it. So I'll always give you tips, pointers and step-by-step guides on how to get involved. I will answer any questions that come up, help you understand why what you're doing matters and make lots of suggestions to help you find a way to get fitter and even like what you're doing. I can be your sounding board, an ear to listen and a voice of reason.

What I can't, won't and surely do not want to do is do it for you.

I can't even count the number of people who have asked for help, received it - and then done NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. Made no changes to their lifestyle whatsoever, not even the small ones. Yet they will continue to feel bad about themselves and complain. Where did people get this notion that they could sit back and let someone else do the work for them to benefit from? Who even takes pride in that? Everyone wants a magic pill or a miracle to make them be able to keep doing the same thing they're doing, yet SOMEHOW magically lose weight by changing nothing. Are you serious? Do you understand the amount of effort that I have to put into my fitness daily? Why would I do that two-fold for you even if that were possible?

Why is it that working for something is no longer valued? Our country is built on the principles of bravery and fighting for what you want. Where did that go? Why are so many so unwilling to put forth a little effort to get what they say they want?

I don't know the answers and I can't understand that mindset. I've always been the kind of person to go after what she wants and if you don't get it - SO WHAT - at least you tried. And at least you know you tried. Which is better than failing as a result of making no effort whatsoever. I'd rather do my best and make my best effort and take pride in knowing that I'm doing all I can. I certainly don't sit on the sidelines and wish, hope and pray that someone else will do it for me - because guess what? They won't.

You can do it, and I can help you - but I refuse to do it for you.

xoxo,
 Sweet C

What's The Deal With You and the Scale?

Alright people, this is the hot button issue when it comes to people trying to get in better shape. I understand that in our country "weight loss" is most easily measured with a scale. We also quickly feed our hunger with unhealthy foods and expect every solution to come instantly in the form of a pill, technology or the push of a button. If we're already getting so many things wrong, why do you expect the most popular measure of weight loss to be any different?

What do you mean exactly when you say you want to "lose weight?" Do you only mean that you want the numbers on the scale to go down? Let's say I tamper with your scale in the middle of the night. And every week the numbers go down steadily, but your actual body never changes because it's just me messing with your scale. Would that make you happier? The fact that a machine is telling you you're consistently losing weight although you're not actually losing anything?

By "losing weight" do you mean that you want less physical fat on your body and you want to fit into smaller clothes? Because when you lose inches, that's what's happening. Your body is getting physically smaller. This option is definitely the one that I am concerned with. In fact, I don't even use the term "lose weight" anymore because my actual weight on a scale is circumstancial. I'm just trying to get fitter and drop my body fat percentage. I'm really not so concerned with what a little box tells me so long as my clothing and my reflection are doing what I want.

Do you realize that you've been TAUGHT to rely on a scale? The same way we're taught what beauty is, what's in fashion and who we should love. These are all influenced by the environment you live and grow up in. If such a unit of measurement as the scale did not exist, how would you measure your progress? If you could only  judge by your reflection and your clothes, what would be more important to you then - the inches or the pounds? When you stop and think about it, what difference does it make how much you weigh? Do people regularly pick you up? Unless you're a cheerleader or dancer, I would highly doubt that you are lifted by strangers on a regular basis. Do people regularly see your actual physical shape? Because when you lose inches - THAT is the change that gets noticed. The scale just gives you a little number that only you and your doctor know. You're not required to tell anyone what it is and even if you are, you can lie about it. You can't lie about your physical shape. In fact, you may have actually lost ten pounds - but if your body doesn't show it and you tell me you did, I'll think you're lying anyway. So really, what did those ten pounds get you? If you told me you lost ten inches - that's something that would show on you.

I know that in most people's brains, logic says that losing inches should equal losing pounds too. Let me clue you in - YOUR LOGIC IS WRONG. Plain and simple. Losing inches does not equal losing pounds and getting smaller does not always equal losing pounds. I can tell you that I have been two completely different dress sizes at the exact same number on the scale. I don't even know what scale numbers mean anymore. You can take 5 people who all weigh the exact same amount and stand them next to each other and they will look nothing alike. Some may be fit, some may be fat - they'd all weigh the same but look completely different. Because a scale number isn't telling you much. It doesn't tell you what's muscle and what's fat - and believe me that makes a huge difference. It doesn't tell you what size pants you'll fit into.

5lbs. of FAT vs. 5lbs. of MUSCLE. Which one takes up less space? Both show up as 5lbs. on a scale. 

You need to un-teach yourself what you've learned. Stop relying on the scale as your main measure of progress because you will miss the actual progress you're making. You should never make the statement "I'm losing inches and my clothes are getting bigger and I see definition BUT the numbers on the scale...." This is the one statement that makes me crazier than any other. It names all of the things that people typically set out on a weight loss journey for - all of the progress is happening right there. But people are SO caught up in stupid little numbers from a stupid little box that they completely ignore all of their actual progress for something that doesn't actually measure progress. Completely.Ridiculous.

I know that many of you who read this will continue to obsess over your scale. My sincere hope for you is that  one day you will look up and look for your progress where it matters as opposed to staying obsessed with a number you've been taught to obsess over. If this post describes you, please stop. Please throw your scale away and never look back. Please only weigh yourself when you go to the doctor and even then - take into account the fact that you're wearing clothes (hopefully) & have food and liquid in your body. If you're looking the way you want to, if you're losing inches of body fat and getting lean muscle, if your clothes are starting to fit better or get bigger - please, please, please congratulate yourself on ACTUAL progress and stop looking to inanimate objects to give you useless information.

Bubble Girl

I function in a bubble. I have a set routine that makes it easy to stick to eating clean and working out because I do things the same way all the time. I have set hours that I'm at work, based around those hours - I have set meal times and a set time to work out. I go food shopping on the same day of the week every week and I prep my meals on the weekends. Organization and routine is basically what I thrive on and I get extremely upset when that routine is disturbed. I am as far from spontaneous as you can get. In fact, most of my friends know that when they want me to hang out or do something with them - I need a minimum of a week's notice. I need to be able to put it in my schedule and still plan around it. And if they think I'm going out every single weekend, that's just not happening. I actually get a lot of things done on the weekends and I just can't spend each one doing things that aren't in line with my goals and priorities. Eating out and drinking every weekend when you're trying to lose weight and save money is just not a smart move.

Well, this weekend was one of my few-and-far-between outings. A friend of mine will be moving to another country soon and she had her going away party about 3 hours away from where I live. This meant it would be an overnight excursion and a definite change in my routine. When I plan these events into my schedule - I place them in as a planned cheat meal. Since I only do it about once a month, I don't feel bad about letting loose with friends. So, at least that part's taken care of. But, I also realized a few things.

I don't particularly care what people have to say about how I look or dress. Most days, I'm in workout gear because it's easier to have it on and ready for my workouts. But after my workout was done and I was ready to head out, I wondered for a moment if I was appropriately dressed for the public. Once again - not that I care, but there are so few times that I'm actually going out to socialize with people - it felt very strange to get dressed not for an event, and not for working out - but just to go see people that I knew. I wore leggings, a tank top and boots. An overall very form fitting ensemble. I was actually really proud of how I looked because a few years ago, there was no way that this is how this particular ensemble would have looked on me.

And suddenly it dawned on me - THIS was what all the work I'd been doing in my bubble was for. This is why I spend so much of my time sticking to my routine and working hard. So that on the occasions where I DO come out of my bubble - I can feel this happy and confident about all I've done. So I can wear what I want and feel good about it. So I can have some drinks with friends and going away party cake and not beat myself up for it. THIS is the reason for the bubble.

It kind of helped me remember to not get too wrapped up in this weight loss thing. If you put too much focus on it, it will make you crazy. I mean, what's the point in doing all this work if you don't get to show it off? It's fun coming out of the bubble once in a while, so long as you don't let it completely derail your progress. I definitely indulged more than I should have this weekend, and perhaps that's because I'm not out of my bubble often enough. But that's something I can learn from and work on. I'm back on track now, so once again - it's no reason to freak out. This journey is all about living and learning and trying - not being perfect.

I'm Only Human

I can be a bit of an emotional eater at times. For me, controlling my eating is similar to how I control my emotions. I try not to get bent out of shape over small things. I allow myself to be upset for a little bit - and then I move past it. I also try not to react with a bad attitude to most things and try to calmly think things through and look at the positive side. But after a while of doing this, I always have a breaking point. There's always a moment where I get tired of being rational and just need to let it out in the form of crying or yelling. But usually crying.

I'm in the same boat with cheating on my diet. For the most part, I can talk myself out of straying from eating the right things. But after a certain amount of times talking myself out of it and a certain number of issues arising in my life - I lose it and eat something that is not-so-diet friendly. This week, I was beyond frustrated with my computer. Technology and I already are not the best of friends. If you glance at the previous post, I have a 30 day video series to send to my subscribers. Well, both my webcam and editing software decided that they no longer wanted to be civil to me at all and stopped being cooperative. After the first 24 hours of trying to edit a video to no avail - I hit my first breaking point with the crying. After the following 24 hours (we're at 48 total now) I hit my second breaking point of carbs. Then finally, after 72 hours ~ I absolutely decided that I deserved chocolate. I mean, seriously you have no idea how many times I had to watch myself on video saying the same thing over and over and over to re-edit the same video. I like me, but c'mon.

So, what's my reaction to my carb and chocolate cheats? What would YOUR reaction be? I know a lot of people beat themselves up over this kind of thing and allow it to lead to a downward slope of eating badly for days and feeling down on themselves. That's completely pointless. Yes - I ate some things I shouldn't have. Yes - I skipped a couple of workouts to be glued to my computer and trying to fix this problem for 3 days straight. No - I am not going to make myself feel bad for it. It's called LIFE and it happens. No one is spot on with their diet and workout routine every single second of every single day. Do I wish I would have handled things differently? Absolutely, but it's something I can learn from. I can know that next time - I can't let what's  important to me suffer because of something else that's important to me. It has to be in balance. I got my chocolate and carb fix and I will try to at least balance it out with some extra workouts this week. Not the same as eating clean, but it will make me feel a little better.

I'm only human, and sometimes - I need chocolate. It's not the end of the world and I'm not going to gain 5lbs. tomorrow. I also don't have to let it be the beginning of a llloooonnnggg eating binge. It was one day and one bar of chocolate. And now it's done. I'm moving forward. Allowing yourself to make mistakes and committing yourself to learning from them is all a part of the process.

30 Day Video Series

So I'm super excited about this idea! In my mission to help 1,000 people with their ftiness this year - I've come up with a fun project. I'm going to do a 30 Day Video Series called "30 Days of Fit Tips". What it will be is a 30 day video series of me giving tips and ideas that I've learned over the years to help you on your fitness journey. One new tip each day. I'm not a professional (yet), but I've been through a lot and I would love to share all of that information with anyone who can stand to benefit from it. Every day (for 30 days) there will be a new video that gives you a tip, an idea or a piece of advice that will hopefully help you on your fitness journey.

All you have to do to see the videos is subscribe to the series by leaving your e-mail address below OR messaging it to me. You must subscribe via e-mail in order to get the secret links to the videos. This is an exclusive video series for those who subscribe only. The series will start on March 20th. Anyone is welcome to subscribe! Tell your friends, anyone you think could use some help. It's completely free and will just be short daily vids that give helpful information for you to use on your fitness journey. It will be me delivering my brand of tough love - I don't BS and I keep it real. 

I would love to help you on your fitness journey and I hope this video series can do just that! Please send me an e-mail and ask to be added to the video subscription list BEFORE March 20th! April 24th!

You Can Lie To Yourself, But Don't Lie To Me

Let's get real. A lot of you are lying when you tell yourself that you're doing all you can to lose the weight. You tell yourself "I'm working so hard and nothing's happening!" Then when I ask you what's going on, your words paint a different story. Here's why you may not be seeing the results you want.

1) You're eating too much fast food and eating out too often. Fast food is not healthy. Period. With the exception of Saladworks and maybe a salad from Subway, you're wasting money and calories if you're trying to eat healthy. Even then - they're still giving you processed meats. Fast food will never, ever be as good as grocery-store-bought whole foods. Ever. As a last resort - ok. As an unexpected delay in meal time option - ok. As a daily lunch choice - no bueno. You absolutely should not be eating out every day and then complaining about weight or money since you're readily wasting both. Paying $7 for a meal daily is far more expensive than buying groceries and making that exact same meal yourself, but healthier. It requires you to prepare a little bit more, but so what? If you're really trying to get healthier, you need to be willing to do what it takes.

2) You're not working out enough or efficiently enough. Adding exercise slowly to your routine is a great idea. Doing a half hour of cardio a week however will not get you far. And if your cardio consists of slowly walking your dog through the park that one day - that's really not gonna do much for you. To efficiently work out and burn calories - you should be working your way up to 5 workouts a week and they should be aerobic. Your heart should be pumping and you should be sweating. Yes that sounds hard because it's supposed to be. That's the point! Find something you like that gets your heart rate up but is also fun. Cardio kickboxing and Dance-Fitness classes are great ways to move it and enjoy it while you move.

3) You give up too easily. Getting fit is not a goal you hit and then stop. It's a lifestyle. Even once you reach whatever goal you have for yourself, you still have to work to maintain it. It doesn't stay on it's own. Your life has to be one that's geared towards change. It's ok to mess up, it's even ok to backslide sometimes. It's NOT ok to stop. What would be the point? If you stop trying, all you'll end up with is being sad and back to where you started. Who cares if you mess up? Who cares if you skipped two weeks of workouts? Just start again! Get back into it. There's no rule that says if you don't do things perfectly, you're out of the game. You are on a personal journey. It's up to you to live it how you want. So quit complaining and get back in the game!

xoxo,
 Sweet Charity

My Mission To Help 1,000 People

Most people make New Year's resolutions on January 1st. We promise to become better versions of ourselves and make this year different than the last. We vow to lose weight, stop smoking, start reading, spend time with family, watch less tv and stick to a budget. Out of all of the people who make resolutions, about 1/3 never make any changes and half of the remaining resolutioners quit within the first two weeks into the year.
So hare are you doing with your resolutions?
I can't say that I make New Year's resolutions. I'm constantly setting goals for myself, all throughout the year. And when I decide I want something, I go after it with all my heart and soul. It's not about how quickly you can achieve your goals - it's about giving your best effort at all times.
So I'm setting a new goal for this year. And I think it's totally do-able, but...

I WILL NEED YOUR HELP!

I'd like to help 1,000 people with their fitness this year. Fitness is a huge part of my life. It's not just what I love, it's part of who I am. The amazing changes that have come about in my life especially in the past few years can be traced directly back to my commitment to working on my fitness. I'd love to be able to share the happiness I've found with every single person I encounter, and this year - I want to make sure that I do just that.
If you feel that I have helped you in any way whatsoever with your fitness - physical or financial, please visit http://www.sweetcme.com/ and click the "Like" button so we can keep a count of all of those I've helped. If you'd like my help, all you have to do is send me a message! And if you know of anyone that you feel could use my help, please send them my way too. This is the most exciting goal I've ever set because it's not just about me, it's about all of you too. So join me in spreading the message of fitness to all you know and help me reach 1,000 people by December 31st!

xoxo,
Sweet Charity



The Keys To My Weight Loss Success

So many people ask me questions about my weight loss success. What did you do? How do you get motivated? Where do I start? What do I eat?

The answers to these questions really aren't that complicated. At least not for me. My motivation? Simple. I don't want to be fat ever again. I want to look in the mirror and like what I see. That's all the motivation I need. Where to start? Just start. You know the basics - start with that. Stop eating crap. Now. Stop buying crap to eat. Workout. Do any workout -  it doesn't matter which one. Do something rather than nothing.

The bigger question is - how? Here are my essentials - the things that I know I must do for success.

1) DO THE WORK
I don't have a problem with complaining. I complain all the time. But you earn the right to complain by putting in the work. You don't get to complain about how hard it is or how inconvenient it is unless you're doing it. If you're too lazy to make an effort - then stay fat and shut up about it. Don't complain if you're not putting in effort. What's the work?

Work out 6 days a week.
Log what you eat - all of it.
Eat clean. Cheat minimally. Don't dwell on the cheat - move on.

That's really it. That's the core of it. Learn to master these things and you'll see results. You don't have to perfect right out the gate. I've done this for a decade and I'm still not perfect. Just do your best and keep making your best better. Don't wanna log your food? Don't wanna work out? Fine - don't. But stop complaining that you can't lose weight.

2) LEARN & GROW
You know what cutting carbs did for me? Nothing. Jack squat. My body was not impressed. You know what eating from the top two tiers of Michi's Ladder did for me? I lost 5 lbs. Learn what works for your body by trying it. You can't gauge your own success by someone else's. You are not them. Don't wish you were, just find out what works for you. If one diet and one workout worked for every body - there wouldn't be so many different ones to choose from. Find what works for YOU. But don't just try one thing then give up. Don't be lazy.

3) DO NOT QUIT
Losing weight isn't easy and results don't happen overnight. If this were the case - then no one would have weight problems. If I stopped trying just because I didn't see results quickly - I wouldn't be where I am. If you really want to see results - you have to keep going. Getting fit is not something you do for a while and then you're done forever. IT'S A LIFESTYLE CHANGE. You have to know what's helpful for your body and what's harmful. I'm not gonna lie - I still love me some french fries and pizza and chicken nuggets. I know the bad crap that's in fast food and I find it delicious anyway. However, I can count on one hand the number of times I'll actually get fast food in the course of a month ... a few months at that. A year's time - that's probably both hands. Point is - it's not as often as it used to be.

Bottom line is - JUST TRY. Make an effort. Don't talk about it, be about it. Get off your butt, and do what you know you need to. Once you start and see the fruits of your labor - it makes it easier to continue because you'll want to continue seeing the results! Make a plan. What can you do right now that will put you on a better path? Need help? Send me a message and we'll make a plan together!

xoxo,
Sweet Charity

Weight Loss Transformation Video!

So, I already told you that I reached my goal weight. Well, I promised myself that I would do my first transformation video once I made that weight. So - here it is!

Confetti and Balloons Please!

I can't believe it! I really can't! I did it! This is the most surreal moment I've ever had! I can't stop using exclamation points!!!

I REACHED MY GOAL WEIGHT!



Confetti :)



Goal: the weight that I started this journey trying to reach. The number that I chose in my head when I was 18 years old. The battle that I have been fighting for the past 11 years. I have finally won! When I first set out

Nobody's Perfect

Too many people have this idea in their head that if they can't hit their diet and exercise PERFECTLY, then there's no point in doing it all. I don't really understand this mentality at all, but there are so many people who feel this way. I have some friends who say:

Well, since I ate so poorly today - I didn't see the point in working out.

And then there's people who get so down on themselves because they slipped up and ate something bad, that they completely tank their whole diet because of ONE slip up:

I was doing so well, but then I had french fries and then 3 scoops of ice cream, and the next day I had a burger and I just couldn't stop eating bad stuff!

People also beat themselves up about working out:

I only did 30 minutes in the gym today. I'll never be thin :(

I didn't get to my workout today, what is wrong with me?!?

If any of these people sound like you at one time or another, this is my plea to you to

STOP!

Stop beating yourself up for little mistakes.
Stop thinking that just because you didn't do it perfectly, it doesn't count.
Stop expecting yourself to change overnight.
Stop expecting to see results in a matter of days - that's not realistic.
STOP being negative, period!

If you have a negative mentality towards any aspect of diet or exercise - it increases the likelihood that you will fail. You can not beat yourself up over every little thing. People who are fit and lead healthy lifestyles didn't get that way by being perfect. They got that way by being consistent. They did not let small setbacks completely de-reail them from reaching their goals. If you eat poorly one day - SO WHAT?! You know that you ate poorly - that doesn't mean that one day has to turn into one week and one month. It was one day of your life. MOVE ON. You recognize the bad behavior, you learn from it and then you change it. And when you do slip up and eat poorly - that is all the more reason to work out!!! You need to try to cancel out as many calories as you can. Even if the result of that workout won't be a drop in pounds, at least it will help you from gaining weight which would be a step in the wrong direction.

Life happens. Sometimes you just won't be able to resist that piece of cake. Sometime, you won't be prepared and you'll buy fast food. Sometime - you just won't have time to get to your workout. These are all normal things that you should not feel horrible about. What you should do - is pay attention to why it happened, and plan to not let it happen again. Could you have prepared your lunch the night before so that you had it to take with you instead of buying fast food? If you scheduled your workout in your day the way you schedule work and schedule watching your favorite TV, would you have missed it?

Think positively and speak positively to yourself. Pep-talk yourself! If it's not something you would say to your best friend in the world, you shouldn't say it to yourself. Would you ever tell your BFF - you're such an idiot! I can't believe you did that! ? Then don't say it to you. Instead, say to yourself - ok, I'm definitely gonna do some extra cardio to make up for that slice of cake! Or, I am absolutely packing and bringing my lunch tomorrow!

Nobody's perfect. No one gets it right 100% of the time. But if you shoot for 100% consistently, I guarantee you'll at least land in the 90th percentile. This week alone, I've gone off my eating plan - twice! Did I beat myself up over it? Absolutely not. Did I adjust my weekly calorie intake around it AND do a few extra workouts? You bet I did. And if it results in a slight setback for me this week - then that's the price I'll have to pay. I'll learn from the experience, and figure out a better way to resist the temptation the next time. I'm not gonna stop working out and I'm not gonna pig out and eat everything in sight. I'm going to stick to my clean eating plan and daily workouts because that consistency is what has led to lasting weight loss for me. It's not being perfect every step of the way that gets you results, it's continuing on your journey - no matter what that will get you there.

xoxo,
 Sweet Charity

It's Not Always About The Scale

When you're working really hard on your fitness journey, you absolutey CAN NOT measure all of your progress by the scale. First of all - not all of your weight loss shows up on the scale. If you're building muscle and burning fat, the scale does not distinguish between muscle weight and fat weight. It won't tell you "hey, you burned 7 lbs. of fat but you gained 3lbs. of muscle" it will just tell you your 4lbs. down. Which is not a true measure of your loss because 3lbs. of muscle vs. 3 lbs. of fat is a BIG difference.

It's really important to celebrate your non scale victories as well. What can you do now that you couldn't do before? What changes have been brought about in your life because of your fitness efforts? Maybe it's the fact that you can walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. You can keep up with chasing your kids around. Your cholesterol has gone down. Your clothes fit better. You feel better. You sleep better. You can run farther, work out harder and go for longer. These are all things that are way more important than 3 little numbers on a scale.

It took me quite a while to realize this. Like so many of us, my attention was so wrapped up on the scale numbers that I wasn't realizing all the progress I was making. I didn't get winded when I went out dancing with my friends - I didn't have to sit out every other song because I was exhausted. I was on my feet dancing all night, in 4 inch heels! My endurance improved - I could run for longer than 5 minutes without stopping. Then, longer than 15 minutes, longer than 20, than 30 - over an hour of running without needing to stop! I could never do a pull-up or the bent arm hang in High School physical testing. The monkey bars? Forget it. How is carrying my own body weight across a series of bars supposed to be fun? Well - it's still not really fun, but I can do it. My pull-up count is up to 3 on a good day and I can bent arm hang 'til the cows come home. I can see my arm muscles without flexing. I'm not on Michelle Obama's status yet, but I will get there!

I have just recently reached another non-scale victory. It's no secret to those that know me that I like to wear tight clothing. I just do. Most of my clothes fit me at many sizes because a lot of the things I wear s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Still, fat rolls under tight clothes just ain't cute. So for most of my life, I've had to wear some sort of Spanx garment to at least smooth everything out under my clothing. The past few weeks - I've been able to put on things that usually take a great amount of specific placement and adjusting to hide bulges, without all the effort. I just get dressed. It's still fairly new to me and I'm still kind of shocked over it. I absolutely still suck my stomach in all day, but in general I feel different.

So today, I am celebrating this non scale victory and I think I look pretty dang good. What are your non-scale victories?


Celebrate your non-scale victories!



What Muffin Top?

For the 3 people out there who don't know what a "muffin top" is when referring to a woman's body shape - let me quickly explain. The way modern jeans are designed, the waistband doesn't actually fit anywhere near a woman's waist. It actually sits somewhere below her belly button. Now the waist - that would make sense - it's a natural place in our bodies where our shape curves inward - the middle of the hourglass, if you will. But no - jeans are designed to hit in the middle of our belly fat where there is no natural indentation. So, in the case that you have EXCESS belly fat, splitting it through the middle with a pair of jeans results in fat spilling over the top, very similar to the way the top of a muffin "spills" over the top of it's paper cup holder. Thus the muffin top analogy.

Muffin Top

Now - most people don't even realize that I have a muffin top, but do not be fooled. I was a fat child and an even fatter teenager. If you think that I don't know how to disguise my body so that the public only sees what I want them to see, you are so, so wrong. I have been TRAINED. I suck in all day, every day. That is not a joke or an exaggeration. As a reflex action, my belly sucks itself in the second cloth of any kind touches it. I can strategically place padding, belts, shirts, jackets - you name it - to make my boobs look bigger and my body look smaller. Trust me, ya'll have no idea what I got goin' on! My muffin top is one of my BIGGEST foes in the battle for weight loss. Let me tell you, it is a pain in the butt trying to disguise it in some of my cutest outfits. And of course, my lower belly and thighs are the last places I lose weight, so I've been trying to obliterate this muffin top for years.

The office I work in has mirrors everywhere. On a normal day, I'm adjusting my outfit a bajillion times to make sure said muffin top is not jumping out and scaring people. On this particular fall day - I'm wearing a little jacket that was sent to me c/o one Chalene Johnson. (Love her.) I'm still getting used to the fact that it's a small and it actually zips on me without me suffocating. I didn't notice until today, but because of my body shape - the bottom of the jacket tends to ride up a little bit and rest on my muffin to...

Are you there muffin top? It's me, SweetC.

Wait a second. The jacket rests where my "muffin top" is usually bulging, but today - there's no bulge. I mean, there's still more there than I would like, but it's not spilling out of my clothing. I didn't even think about the fact that when I got dressed this morning, I did not have to strategically position my tights to be sure the muffin top was being controlled. Yes, those are TIGHTS - not pants.

So it looks as though my hard work is paying off. Who knew?

Keep workin' people, it pays off.