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

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

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

Week 1 Back On The Workout Wagon: I Sincerely Don't Want To Do This

So, after several false starts - I've finally managed to get through a full week (well almost - full week tomorrow) of my 2nd round of P90X. I realize now how much easier it is to do this when you just stick with a routine. When I had my workout & diet routine going - it was a lot easier to stick with it and not cheat. Going off of it and trying to get back on - not so easy. So for this first week, I eased my way back into it. It's always so tempting to go full throttle right away. "I'm gonna have a perfect diet! I'm gonna work out every day, twice! I'm not gonna cheat ever!" These are all great goals, but going straight into all of this at once can be overwhelming. I thought since I had done all of these things before, I should be able to fall right back into it. Wrong. It's almost as though I'm starting from scratch. So, while I am mostly back to my diet of eating from the top two tiers of Michi's ladder - I did allow myself a few cheats this week. My main goal for this week was - do a workout everyday. Every other day - I was fine, but those days in between... I laid in my bed or huddled on the couch, freezing and complaining to myself: I sincerely do not want to work out right now. However - the goal this week was a workout a day, so I would just somehow convince myself to get up. What worked the best for this week was the thought that once I started working out, I wouldn't be freezing anymore.

I also bought a new pair of jeans that are too small. For as long as I can remember, I've had clothes lying around that I purchased becaused I liked them - but they didn't have my size, or I figured I'd be able to squeeze into them eventually. Well, as of Novermber - I fit into all of those clothes. I think that's part of why I lost some motivation. Now, with a shiny new pair of Lucky Brand Jeans hanging in my closet just staring me down everyday - it's a little bit easier to get up and do cardio, or resist that piece of chocolate cake.

Each week, I'll set a new goal and carry over all of the goals from the previous weeks. I think next week's goal will be having all of my meals prepared the night before work - so I don't have to worry about buying breakfast or lunch. I am not a morning person in the slightest, so I really have to have breakfast and lunch ready to go the night before. Because given the choice between more sleep and fixing breakfast - I will always choose sleep.

It still feels unfair that I've come so far and yet still have so far to go. Especially when some people are just born thin. I mean wtf is that? That's the way it goes, I guess :-/