Focus

Something occurred to me during today's workout. I took a break from regimented workouts over the summer which means I haven't seriously lifted weights since, hmmm... March? Lifting weights is ESSENTIAL to weight loss. Lifting builds muscle, muscle burns fat - even when you're just chillin', the more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn. But that's not all lifting weights does for you. It also makes you strong. I remember finishing my second round of P90X and how strong I felt. I felt like I could move mountains or hold my own if some creeper tried to mug me. It was this great sense of fitness and power.

Now, I'm just starting to lift again and I'm really upset at myself for waiting so long to get back to it. My strength level is not where it was at the end of my last round of the X. The good news is, I know from experience that it will come back quicker than it took me to build up. I'm not at the level I left off at yet, but I will get there pretty soon and hopefully surpass it. What I realized is this - I think I need to change my focus.

I spend so much time worrying about why I'm not losing any more weight and what I need to do to lose it. The reality is that figuring that situation out is gonna take a while. Any new thing I try will take at least a few weeks to show if it's working or not and if I'm stressing out over that entire time, I'll just be miserable. My workout tonight was actually fun. I did a HIIT from Turbo Fire and some lifting from P90X. If I just focus on enjoying my workouts and giving it the best I have, at the very least I'll just continue to get more fit. Being fit and feeling fit makes me feel good and EVENTUALLY that fitness has to lead to the weight coming off.

Thankfully, we're entering the cooler months and I don't need to worry about showing skin. It's the perfect time to relax my attitude (not relaxing the workouts). I can still bust my butt and work super hard, but I don't need to worry quite as much about seeing those ab muscles just yet. I have quite some time before they need to be seen by others. I really want to focus on getting in the best shape that I can and let the weight loss come as a result of that.

If anyone has not signed up to join my September fitness challenge, you must do it now! You don't want to be that person making resolutions YET AGAIN on 1.01.11. Why wait? Why not have the body you want BEFORE the new year rolls in? You have nothing to lose but the weight!
Click Here To Join The Fitness Challenge!

I Hate Waiting

This is my first week back on a regimented workout routine and I AM SORE! In a way, the soreness is a good thing because it means my body is definitely feeling the workouts - but on the other hand, soreness is painful and uncomfortable. I know the soreness eventually goes away but it certainly reminds me of why it's better to just stay in the habit of working out. Starting up again re-starts the soreness!

The hardest part about this round of workouts is the waiting. I won't be able to tell for a couple of weeks whether or not my new diet and workout plan are working together. A couple of weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time, but when you've already been plateaued for a year - you know that a couple of weeks could bring you good news, or could end up feeling like more wasted time.

But the only thing I can do to tell if it's working is to ride it out and wait and see. As with most people, I want results and I want them RIGHT NOW! There are literally so many factors that could be contributing to me not being able to lose any weight and unfortunately, the only way for me to figure out what's going on is to try a bunch of different solutions and wait to see what works.

It's a very lonely experience. Even though several people are willing to offer their advice and experience, no one else is going through this situation with me. Most people have already figured out their problems, or have never had this experience in the first place. Spending a year being dedicated to intense workouts and clean eating with only a few pounds lost to show for it is really taxing on your psyche. Sometimes I'll look back and think to myself "maybe I just didn't try as hard as I thought I did." But then I'll look at my workout calendars and my food logs and I see the work that I put in and I know that I'm doing all I possibly can.

And now all I can possibly do is wait.

Don't Just Stand There, Let's Get To It!

My biggest weight loss problem over the past year is breaking plateaus. I've been able to lose a little weight this year, but nothing near what I should have been losing in comparison to the work I put in. We are NOT all cookie cutters. If there was one workout and one diet plan that worked for everyone - there wouldn't be thousands of diets and workout plans. There would be 50 versions of the same one, but that's not the case. We all lose in different ways - so right now the toughest part is figuring out what my body needs to lose the weight.

I've tried doubling my workouts, cleaner eating, reducing carbs, increasing carbs, reducing calories and increasing calories. None of these things have worked for me. Most people can't seem to understand when something that worked wonders for them doesn't work for someone else. They assume you must be doing something wrong or maybe your'e not quite calculating your calories correctly... Get over it people. Just because it worked for you, doesn't mean it will work for me. I tried it, and it didn't - so pick your jaw up off the floor and move on. Understand that some of us are gonna have to try several different methods to get to the results that we want. I only just recently found some other people who are experiencing the same difficulties as I am - so at least I don't feel like such a freak of nature anymore. One of the hardest things is to feel alone and hopeless. So at least I've found people who are helping me try other methods.

I am STILL ten pounds away from my goal weight and I haven't been able to shake any of them even with super clean eating and intense exercise. I took a break this summer to give my body a rest and re-set. Well, now it's time to get back to the drawing board and get back to work. I'm determined to get my body to where I want it to be and giving up is just not an option for me. If you haven't started working on your fitness journey, there's no time like the present. I have been through it ALL so if you need help with where to start - send me a message and let's get to it. There are no excuses for how you look and feel - it's completely up to you.

I Was Gone For A Minute, Now I'm Back

So yes - it has been a while since I've posted anything. This summer, I got an amazing opportunity to return to a Director position at a summer camp I've worked at since I was in high school. It is the single best working experience of my life and I'm so glad to have had the chance to go back and do it once again. It does tend to be an all-encompassing type of deal, which is why I've been M.I.A. for a while. It was absolutely my choice to give 200% of myself to my job and not the fault of the job itself, but it's so worth it to me.

That being said - summer camp is over! Now it's time to play catch-up with my actual life which was put on hold for a month and a half. I will admit, that I did not get in regular workouts daily. I did a few here and there and I even brought some to camp and did them on my off periods while my co-workers looked on, not surprised in the slightest. My job included a lot of walking around as well as a lot of dancing, so I did still get some daily cardio in. I will also confess that my diet left much to be desired. I started off well enough, but once the groceries ran out and the time to shop did as well, my diet did suffer a little. The only reason I didn't stress about it was that I was still coming out of starvation mode, so I figured just confusing the heck out of my body with calories wasn't gonna hurt me too much. I'd rather be eating too many calories than not enough when trying to break starvation mode. All in all, I ended camp 1 pound down from where I started - which I don't consider a real loss, but exactly the same as where I started.

The funniest thing I found was this: for most of the summer, I felt better about my body than I did before camp. I was surrounded by people who have known me much heavier and who can recognize my progress. I was also surrounded by teenagers who I once wished I could be as small as, and I realized that I actually am pretty close in size to a lot of them. Even though I didn't actually lose any weight, I FELT skinnier. It goes to show how much your self esteem plays a role in how you appear to yourself.

So now, I need to get back on the horse. I'm working on a grocery list and setting up a new workout schedule. I'm planning on combining the intense cardio of Insanity with the weight training of P90X and mixing in some Turbo Fire and PiYo for stretching days. I'm excited to get back to a regimen and hopeful that the few weeks off will help re-start my body and get these last few very stubborn pounds off!

How did all of you do this summer with your fitness?

Pushing the Re-set Button

So for those of you who like to stay up-dated on my fitness progress, trials and tribulations - I wanted to let you know what I was up to.

I did finish the full 60 (actually 63) days of Insanity. Unfortunately - I didn't get the results that I was hoping for. Imagine working your ass off for two months straight and not losing any weight. How is that even possible? If you eat right, and workout - you should lose weight, right? And if you eat less and workout harder, you should lose even more weight, right?

Wrong, wrong, so incredibly, unbelievably wrong.

In our society, we're taught that eating less = losing weight. And in a lot of cases, that's true. When it comes to consistent working out however, this is not always the case. At some point, your calorie intake will need to be increased to accommodate fueling your body's muscles and energy level. Most people who are trying to lose weight are extremely resistant to the idea of increasing calories to lose weight. But even they soon find that fighting this principle will result in slowed results.

What happens when you're not eating enough calories is something called starvation mode. Because your intake is too low, your old-school caveman instincts kick in and your body thinks you're starving. To keep you alive longer, it holds on to all that mushy fat that insulates your organs and keeps you alive. This doesn't happen after one day of eating too little and conversely can't be fixed by overeating for one day. A lot of people mistakingly think "I'm not hungry, so I can't be starving". Starvation mode isn't about your hunger, it's about what your body needs to function.

The hardest part about figuring out calorie intake is that all of your numbers will be based on estimates. I eventually figured out that my estimates were WAY off and that I deprived my body of the proper calorie intake for a few months. Which is really bad. So - I had to hit the re-set button. I had to lay off of hard exercise for a while and make sure I was taking in enough calories for my body. Technically, I should have done it while still eating clean foods - but let's face it - it's much easier to get in more calories with pizza than with broccoli. So I gave myself a break from striving for perfection for a few weeks and ate some junk food. Even then - I still had to make sure I was eating several times a day and taking in enough calories.

So now I'm ready to re-set again and get back to the clean eating - just eating much more of it. Let me tell you - it is really hard taking in a lot of calories of clean food! A cup of broccoli is like 40 calories. Not that helpful in contributing to a 2,300 calorie daily intake. At least I get to include peanut butter daily now. I loves me some Peanut Butter. I will also be doing my newest workout: Turbo Fire! It definitely looks like it's right up my alley with heart pumping cardio and hotness music. Looks to be a little more fun than Insanity, but still a great workout. I also purchased a Bodybugg which is a little armband that will tell me how many calories I burn a day (which is WAY higher than I was estimating) and hopefully that will help me know better how much to eat.

Remember, success comes to those who persevere.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.” - Conrad Hilton

Shake-Shake-Shakeology pt. 1

I know a lot of people have questions about Shakeolgoy, one of which is "What does it taste like?" Check out my youtube video on my first taste of Shakeology and stay tuned for my post on why it's so beneficial to your diet.

Insanity: Week 7 "This Workout Is All About You"

Amen Shaun. Amen.

Sorry if this post seems overly aggressive. It's really not, I just don't sugar coat things - it's not my style.

I think one of the hardest parts about pursuing my goal of a fit body is dealing with outside influences. All the people who offer up unsolicited advice. All of the people that say "you really don't have any more weight to lose". All of the people who seem to be getting results much faster and much easier than me. Dealing with these influences is pretty stressful. It can seep into your already fragile mindset and make you crazy, make you sad, make you doubt yourself and what you're doing.

I've never really been someone who cares what other people think of me. I am who I am - and I try to be a good person who does good for others. That's good enough for me. Other people's opinions aren't really necessary. So why is it when it comes to my fitness I let outside influences get to me so much? I get really annoyed when people tell me that perhaps the reason I'm having a hard time losing weight is because there isn't any weight to lose. Like super annoyed. To the point that I've told those people "when you say that to me it really pisses me off." Even more annoying is people giving me advice that I A) did not ask them for and that B) is just plain stupid. While I appreciate that they are just trying to help - if you've never had to work to lose a pound a day in your life, you seriously have no idea what I'm going through. Get back to me when you've had to work to lose a minimum of 20lbs. since I've lost over 50. Thanks. Don't even get me started on the people who say "that program doesn't work, you should do this instead". The idea that any program that has you doing physical exercise everyday won't work, but "your particular program" that ALSO has you doing physical exercise every day WILL work is completely moronic. Even more moronic is someone saying something doesn't work when they've never even tried it. That's like saying "deodorant is dumb, it doesn't work" - well have you tried any? "I don't need it, I don't sweat" - soooo it doesn't work, yet you've never tried it? Yes, well, THAT makes sense. You sound like an authority on the subject, so of course I'll listen to you.

Yeah - I know that seems harsh. But honestly, ignorance on all levels just annoys me. Everyone is free to have their own opinion. But seriously - don't comment on something you know nothing about. It just makes you sound like an idiot. Regardless of any of that - the point is, I've been letting all of the influences affect me and how I feel. And they shouldn't. What it boils down to is - this isn't about anyone else but me. I am doing all of this for me and what I want. People will always have something to say about what you're doing. Why? I don't really know and I can't really say. But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what I want out of this. I am the one putting in the work day in and day out. I am the one who knows what I'm going after. And I am the one who will be saying "I told you so" to everyone when all is said and done.

Don't get me wrong - I am all about sharing my journey - thus these weekly updates. My intent is to help other people who are going through the same struggles as me. Who have to deal with the same problems that I deal with. My hope is that I can save some people the headache of doing things the wrong way or help some people understand that they are not alone and we all struggle sometimes. What we all need to remember is that your personal fitness journey is just that - your journey. You can't look at someone else and their results and wonder why you can't have that. Because you are not them. You have your own journey and issues to deal with. Some people can cut carbs and drop a ton of weight. Some people will lift weights and get lean really quick. Some people can increase their cardio and drop pounds easily. If one workout program and one diet worked for every person - well we wouldn't have so many to choose from, would we? You have to do what is right for you and what works for you. That may mean experimenting and trying different things to see what your body responds to. It certainly means giving something a chance before you say it doesn't work. Just stay focused, forget the negatives and remember who you're doing this for.

As always, if you're looking for help with your fitness - leave me a comment. I'm always here ;)

xoxo,
Sweet Charity

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