Tag: Weight Loss

My “WHY” & believing in more

Posted on December 18, 2014 by - Inspiration

Today I heard something on a podcast I was listening to that went something along the lines of “it’s not just about fitting into your jeans, it’s about being happy”. So simple and so true. It made me think of my why, which is very simple, and yet very multidimensional and super personal at the same time.

This “before” picture is me probably middle school aged right before I went on my “first” diet. I was miserable growing up. I always felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere whether that was with my family or peers. My family was a mess. Never did I feel anyone believed in me. They didn’t even believe in themselves. I was painfully shy and would just melt into the wall hoping to go unnoticed. I really had no confidence whatsoever and could not relate to the girls my age. I was too shy to act out and rebel against my dramatic and unstable surroundings and yet I didn’t know how to deal with it in a positive way. And so I ate.

Food was my comfort. I was always the quiet girl either tagged as “nice” or “snobby” depending upon how my shyness and lack of confidence was interpreted. One night, my mom sat me down on my bed and told me I was getting fat. Well, she didn’t say it, she just said, “you’re getting…” and she puffed up her cheeks and held her arms out to paint the picture of a fat person. Hmmm. What a moment. Burned into my heart. Although there are far more loving and tactful ways of addressing such a topic, I took it seriously. I lost 20 pounds on my first diet. I was in the 7th grade.

I will say that I ended up gaining confidence through taking control of my weight. I followed a diet that allowed me dry toast and plain peppermint tea for breakfast, cottage cheese, pineapple and walnuts for lunch…I think chicken and veggies for dinner… I remember getting candy from friends at Christmastime and just saving it all up in my room, proud that I didn’t touch even one piece. And so the cycle began.

My weight went up and down over the years and so did my family. I had already been in therapy and continued, participating in group and individual therapy. (I HIGHLY recommend this and will talk more about it in a later post). Fast forward on this crazy journey. I realized that food was my drug of choice. I ended up struggling hard with an eating disorder for many years. Food offers you that substance that is not only legal, but necessary. I was able to hide my abuse of it by keeping my actions secret and using exercise and not strict dieting to cover up the damage I was doing. I could go days hardly eating a thing because of the binging I would do. Exercise became my saving grace. It was another addiction, though. If I didn’t get in my certain amount of minutes/days each week I felt out of control. I irrationally thought everything would unravel and I would turn back into that girl sitting on my bed when my mom told me I was fat. That was my nightmare.

In the midst of this, though, began my relationship with God. I knew that I was made for more. I knew that, I was more than the dysfunction I was born into. I knew I was more than my struggle with food. I knew I was more than my struggle with self-esteem. I knew that somehow, my life had purpose. What that was…I had know idea. But, I was determined to find it.

So, on life went, very touch and go with my disorder, always working on myself in therapy, a strong relationship with exercise, dysfunctional choices in men…and on and on. However, my faith has always been my true saving grace. God has truly been my rock, even when I felt that I was just flat on my face. There has always been an underlying, undying belief that there is meaning even in my pain, despite so many mistakes…

So, here I am. I have a nine year old son who I consider a miracle, simply because children are just that. I have been a single mom since he was 2. During these single mom years I have earned a masters degree in Health Psychology, gotten certified as a Health Coach and as a Fitness Instructor. Life is often far too busy for my own taste, but I am so very thankful. I finally can say that I believe in myself.

My “why” when it comes to health and fitness is about fighting. I refuse to be the person I believed I was growing up. It is never too late to become who you know you can be. It doesn’t happen overnight, but the journey is a beautiful thing. This is why I love doing what I do. Sure, it’s thrilling to see people lose weight and fit into their jeans. But, what I live for is those moments you see tears in someones eyes because they have found hope again. I have watched people get back in touch with this belief in themselves and I am SO honored to be a part of it. It takes great courage to “go there” and be that real with yourself and others. It is incredibly worth it, my friends!

So much love to you this Chirstmas!

Sticking to it!

Posted on November 29, 2014 by - Balanced Living

Wow, I have been so inspired by people I’ve had the privilege of coaching lately; whether that be individually, in a challenge group or in a class. It is motivating to me to see the hard work some of these people are putting into their plans and seeing it pay off! The truth is…there’s no magic potion or pill. Most of us really want that, though. Admit it. I’d sooooooo love to be able to sit down with a tub of ice cream at night and just go. to. town. AND wake up 5 pounds lighter. Magic.

It just sucks. It all takes work.

On the other hand…when it clicks and things are working…AMAZING. It feels beyond good to reap the benefits of honestly doing what it takes. It’s easy, though, to read a book, see an ad on TV, look at pictures in a magazine or WHATEVER and think, “OK. Today is the day!” How many times have you done that?

The things I have noticed in those who are just doing it?? Here it is…

They own it. Those who are really successful with a program don’t just do what is lined out, they tweak it to make it their own. They WANT to be successful and they do what it takes to make that happen. One gal in a class made a spreadsheet for herself to track her food in a way that really works for her. I’ve had other people make other charts that are similar. Some people take a Sunday and plan for the entire week ahead and that includes grocery shopping and food prep. Other’s need the freedom of having certain choices and then picking what they want dependent upon what they feel like that day. Being creative and building upon a program really makes it YOURS and makes it work for you. The one thing I would be careful about…NOT doing the program. Don’t change it so much that you aren’t doing it! It’s about enhancing a program, not nixing it altogether bit by bit.

They DO it. Ok, this might sound weird following the paragraph you just read. However, I have to emphasis the last part of that point…the program still needs to be followed. Make sense? Probably not. Am I confusing you? If you have a certain amount of food you are supposed to eat (yes I’m talking about calories) and you are supposed to exercise a certain amount of days per week (granted there are other parameters, but let’s keep it simple)…then do that. BUT, you can make up your own recipes, do the kind of exercise that you like, workout in the morning OR afternoon…up to you, etc. The bottom line is, you still have to do it if you want the benefits of following the program.

Little rant…there really are a gazillion programs and plans out there floating around that WILL work (even if some of them aren’t the healthiest options!!!). People go on and off of those programs daily. Is it the program’s fault?? Typically not. Unless you have underlying issues, such as thyroid, you’re on a particular medication, etc, then you should have success on a plan that you are indeed following. But, are you actually following it like you think you are? Or sneaking bits of this and that? Oops, too busy to workout for the third day in a row… It was so and so’s birthday, so I HAD to have the cake so they didn’t think I was rude (but I had two pieces! AND three pieces of pizza). Are ya pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down here? That leads to my next point…

They want it. Those people who want something SHOW it and they do something about it. They don’t just buy a book or sign up for a class. They have taken a good, hard look in the mirror and decided that how they feel now is not worth it. No excuse is good enough for these people. Instead of saying, “well, Thanksgiving is coming so I’ll be eating and hanging out with family…” they do what one of the participants in a class I’m teaching told me tonight. She said she’s aware of Thanksgiving and being away from home and around other family and she’s nervous about how she’s going to fit in her workouts…so she’s coming up with a plan ahead of time. YES. Of course there’s a fine line. We don’t wan’t people to freak out if they can’t workout and then end up obsessed and in a very unhealthy place (I have lived that life and I don’t miss it). But, if you have a significant amount of weight to lose and you can be honest and be real about the fact that if it’s not that excuse then it’s something else…then YOU, my friend, need to worry far less about becoming obsessive and fare MORE about DOING THE WORK!!!! Are you an excuse maker or an excuse smasher?? Get rid of them!!

If they fall, they get up immediately! Key word here is “immediately”! It’s one thing to slip up and have more than you thought you would at the part, or have an emotional day and use food to comfort you. However, do NOT let that carry into the next day. Start fresh and NO LOOKING BACK. We all mess up. We all stumble. You have to keep going and pretty soon those fumbles will happen less and less. I promise.

That’s really it in a nutshell. I could go on and on about this. Don’t be surprised if you are doing awesome and I come to you to pick your brain about it! I want to help other people have that same drive. It kind of fascinates me how some people just dig in and GO and others just chase their tails. What gives??? I am going to find out!

With that said…have yourselves a beautiful Thanksgiving! And, I hope you enjoy your last days of November as we get closer to Winter!!!

Love & blessings,

The faith conundrum

Posted on November 19, 2014 by - Balanced Living, Fitness

Well. How to start a post like this… My faith is huge to me…HUGE. It drives my health and fitness. Running or hiking are two of my favorite ways to connect with God. By myself, sometimes with music, sometimes not. Out in the elements, whether that’s heat, snow, rain, wind…I LOVE those times. I crave those times. That’s when my head and heart get clear.

There’s more, though.

One of the biggest messages I “get” from the Christian perspective is that people think focusing on themselves is selfish. I say “get” because it’s something I observe more than something people say out loud. I think focusing on your fitness and nutrition is categorized as vanity. Selfisness.

What’s the truth here? Sure, I agree 110% that one can easily go to an extreme and become shallow and motivated by purely appearance and attention, etc. What I see more often, however, is faith being used as an excuse NOT to seek a healthy lifestyle. We don’t want to be perceived as being focused on worldly things. We fear what people will say about us. Really, what I think we really fear is work! Honestly…this excuse to not be caught up in ourselves is something to hide behind.

Now, take a minute to think of what we are doing when we are ignoring our health. Food can be a very intense drug for some. It can be worse than drugs or alcohol in terms of the grip it can have on our hearts and spirits. We worship it. We love it so much we dream about it, obsess about it, can’t say no to it. It is the centerpiece to most of our gatherings and times of fellowship. We are “fellowshipping” ourselves into an early grave.

Food tends to help us numb out. It becomes a buffer between us and people and us and God. If you don’t see this, try getting together with people and NOT eating. Try fasting and spending some time praying. Give up your evening ice cream and spend some quiet time instead. Woah. That’s boring. What’s the point? The point is…food is a huge distraction.

What I suggest is balance. Balance can be pretty hard to figure out when you’re used to….well…not having balance. Having normal portions and exercising regularly…you would be surprised how much serenity that brings to your life. Having just enough and allowing your soul to breathe…it’s kind of nice. NOT hiding behind desserts, but really connecting with people. Amazing. Feeling strong and healthy and better able to be there for others. Wow. Why would any of this not be a good thing?

I really challenge you to think deeply about your excuses for not taking the steps to create strong and good habits in your health and fitness. Be real about who you want to be, who you think God wants you to be and what that means in terms of your health and fitness. I would LOVE to hear from you and know what it is you came up with….even if you disagree with me!

Remember…YOU are entirely up to YOU!

Love and blessings…