Thursday, March 24, 2011

Day 4 For All The Right Reasons

I'll start with a quote today: "The greatest battles are not physical, but psychological. The demons telling us to give up when we push ourselves to the limit can never be silenced for good. They must always be answered by the quiet, steady dignity that refuses to give in." ~Unknown

I heard a story today from one of our trainers (one who really cares about his client) about a girl who lost weight and fat percentage and was upset about it because it wasn't enough.  She's a beautiful woman, had noticeable change, she thought so herself until she stepped on the scale.  She let that single instrument measure her success.  I'm very saddened by this.  She should be rejoicing!  She made tremendous progress!  Sometimes, we get so bogged down in numbers, we lose focus of the whole picture.  Instead of focusing on numbers, focus on progress, success, achievement - these are your driving forces!  When you get too bogged down in the numbers, you will sabotage your efforts every time.  You will raise your cortisol levels and prevent further advancement. I know this for a fact as its happened to clients and myself over and over again.  I can eat almost perfectly, exercise like crazy but if stress is involved, cortisol is raised and IF I am looking for a number to justify my success, the numbers will fail me.  Its hard to get past this cycle.  You have to make a conscience effort to change the way you THINK.

To prove my point, I have 2 team members right now.  Both have been doing an excellent job.  They took praise and success as ammunition.  (I give little "shout outs" and recognition when its deserved) They FEEL better and KNOW the changes they are making in their life through diet and exercise is improving their life bit by bit.  They don't expect instant results and understand this is a journey.  I'm am very confident these two people will exceed their expectations and find that its about being healthy, enjoying the journey and making this a lifestyle.  Their end result will be sustainable weight loss, forever energy and a fulfilled life.

I was listening to a radio show (The Bert Show Atlanta) this morning on the way to a meeting.  They were discussing how women tend to be more body image conscience over men.  The men chimed in and admitted, this was not so and they were very image conscience.  They constantly worried about the extra bulge they carried.  I so wish I could have chimed into this conversation.  If everyone stopped looking in the mirror, ate and were physically active because it made them FEEL good, the perk or side effect would be a healthy lean body.  Thinking too hard about the image will backfire every single time.  You may lose a few pounds, but time and time again...once you've reached your goal and start to feel confident, you'll revert back to your old ways and regain the weight lost.

This has to be a lifestyle for health benefits, to FEEL ALIVE!  The result will be a long happier, more energetic, healthier you. Your skin, hair and body will automatically look phenomenal. You've got to take the STRESS out of it.  All of our bodies react differently, some lose quickly, some slowly.  Embrace who you are, treat yourself the best you can because THIS is what you deserve.  What good is looking like a supermodel (in which, many of us do not have the body types for no matter how hard we tried) if we feel tired, depressed and obsessed about everything we ate or if we didn't workout that day.

So far, in my journey this is EXACTLY what I am doing.  I've stopped measuring, counting, weighing myself.  I'm eating what is right for my body, when my body tells me it wants it.  Period.  I workout because it feels great, to release all the new-found energy I've created, because I ENJOY it. 

Stop with the instant gratification.  One of the CEO'S at X3 Sports said a statement that stuck in my head this week.  "Just because you don't SEE yourself gain weight right after eating a donut, doesn't mean its not effecting your body."   It's a very good point.  Too bad there is not instant visual of this...donuts would be history as it should!  My point is, just because you don't SEE the results you want, it doesn't mean your body isn't changing.  Sometimes, it just takes time, persistence, a long term commitment.  It takes tuning into your body, enjoying the journey and FEELING the benefits along the way.  Just because you don't SEE the donut hit your hips right away....go ahead ...keep eating it day in and day out...see what happens!

Back to my experience...I can really preach sometimes. I woke up this morning HEADACHE FREE!!!! YAY!!!  I usually always wake up hungry, this morning...not so much.  I had some spaghetti squash and later when I finally did start to feel the hunger pang, ate a few eggs. For my next meal (not sure of time...not timing it...not eating on normal times whatsoever) was some beef, bacon, chicken sausage - all organic.  Later I baked a chicken and DEVOURED it.  It was so juicy and yummy!  No, I didn't eat the whole thing, but more than I would if I was measuring.  (may have hurt the tummy...just a tad :)  ) I ate a little broccoli, not much veggies today.  My last meal...the chicken was at 3:30, left me plenty sustained for the rest of the day.

The energy wasn't bursting out of me like yesterday in the am, but I felt great all day!  The "burst" did come, however, this time about 4pm and I just HAD to get up and move.  So I did just that, turned up the music and did some Russian kettle-bell swings, pull ups, push ups, ab work.

My mind is sharp. In fact, my mind has been non-stop in the whole process.  There is so much I want to share with you, I wish I could just record my thoughts and hand you over the tape.  I do believe this process is what will make me successful.  I have a story to tell. Something to prove.  At the same time, I'm helping people.  Being able to put this all in writing is inspiring, accountability, allows me to use my brain and be creative.  It drives me in a sense. It gives me something to aim for, to look forward too; a story to tell...a small goal...everyday...to reach the larger goal.  Yet another technique I teach my students from the beginning and going back to previous post...goal setting...its HUGE!

Another great day in the making!  100% compliant!

Going strong....all day long! 


oh...and a picture of my bird! :)   

I'm KIDDING!!  Here is my bird!  :)



Hungry??  The pleasures of being on top of the food chain! :)

1 Comments:

Anonymous js290 said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

March 25, 2011 at 2:17 AM  

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