Change is good

ha ha ha ha ha. I have to laugh  at my self because after six weeks of immersing my self in locking my hair. I have removed them. I am not ready, it does not mean I wont do it in the future, just not now.

I am also embracing my days off a little bit more,I have been in overdrive for a year and my days off seemed to have disappeared as of late. I was reading Oxygen magazine a few days ago and I realized that some months I go 3 weeks without an adequate rest day.  Rest is necessary for your muscles to recover and I need  to take rest days more often. I feel awesome and recharged after a day of rest last week.

As you can see from the ticker on the side I  have taken a break from the scale, it has been refreshing in fact. I will jump on the scale Saturday to see what my progress has been. I am looking forward to making it to goal. It seems so close but so far away sometimes.  A new year is approaching, stay tuned I will post my 2012 goals soon!!!

Motivation

I keep getting asked what keeps me going on this journey.  What is my motivation?
I have my days were I am like F&^% this!!! and I want to drown myself in chocolate. Days where I feel like just sitting all day and not moving off the couch.  The thing is I have been on this journey before  and I have given up before. Only to slowly roll back into the same position I was in before.  

Part of my motivation is that I know what it is like to be stuck on the "couch". The couch is just a metaphor for where ever you cant seem to get away from because of your weight. So I have been stuck in the "plus size section" and benched during the game. Unable to ride the rides at the amusement park and uncomfortable on the plane. I have been ridiculed for my weight and laughed at.  I have always been a strong person but I cant say those things have not been motivation. Why would I want to be back in that position again. A position that I myself would be creating.

Beyond the superficial reason I have already listed, I have to say that I feel differently now. I  am much more energetic and positive because of who I have become. I know that there is a solution to every problem, that I just have to find.

So when I am feeling like giving up, I take a moment and remember where I came from. I think about all the hard work a dedication it took to get where I am. I enjoy a piece of chocolate and  then head to complete my workout. Half way through my work out I usually forget why I doubted myself in the first place.

I also want to add as  mothers(fathers), wives(husbands),employees,  friends etc. we have tons of responsibilities. If  you are to be successful you must dedicate time to your self everyday.  With out excuses, nothing can come in the way of your time. You must make time even on busy days to take care of yourself. That is the one thing I do now, is I invest in me!!! If I know that I will have a busy day, I plan everything around my workout.  I love my family but if i am not happy they wont get the best me. So I have to put me first for 2 hours a day!

Thanksgiving is coming......

Seriously when you are trying to lose weight Thanksgiving is definitely the elephant in the room. Forgetting what is is really supposed to mean , this holiday is all about food. Not just any food but fattening and extremely tasty food. If you grew up in my family, it was never done on a small scale. The amount of food that was available could have easily fed the entire neighborhood. In fact it usually did feed the neighborhood and there were leftovers.

I have some awesome memories from those holiday but now that look back. It was not about the food but about the family and friends that we got to share it with. In the past eight years, I noticed that thanksgiving has not been the same, the same food was available  but the people were gone.  In the past few years I have been reducing the amount of food that I cook for the holidays. Making it a simple meal instead of one that lingers in the house for days. 

This year I am deviating from the traditional menu, I am actually making a seafood dinner. Steamed seafood , pasta salad and a vegetables . I am making one yummy desert but I have to figure out what it will be. Our gym will be open on Thanksgiving, so we will start the day off in the gym playing basketball with the boys.  Then head home and everyone will have something to do in the kitchen to help prepare our meal. I am excited about thanksgiving this year because I think we will be creating some new traditions. I want my children to remember this time not because of the food but because of the memories we made.

There is no such thing as failure!!!

Yes you read the title correctly, there is no such thing as failure when it come to fitness.  This is a journey that will last a lifetime. You will never fail as long as you keep going.  I have been doing some research and have some great things to share.

Burning fat: Are you burning fat when you workout? Well if you are working out for less than twenty minutes, then the answer is no!!! You don't start burning fat until you  have been exercising for twenty minutes.   What does this mean? Well it means that you need be exercising for at minimum of 20 minutes.  To be honest it should be at least an hour a day to make significant progress

Building Muscle:  Are you doing resistance training?  Muscle burns more calories than fat, so if you have lean muscle you will burn more calories a day.  There is a myth that lifting weights will make you bulky. It is in fact a myth.  Lifting weights will only build lean muscle that will in turn help you burn more fat!  You should be weight training at least 3 days a week.   Don forget to change you program every 4 to 6 weeks.  a Plateau occurs when you do are doing the resistance exercises for a long period of time. You want your body to remain confused, so variety is necessary. I alternate 3 different programs every 4 weeks .

Cardio or Weights: Many of us go to the gym and we do both weight training and cardio in the same session.  Most of you will do your cardio first , just to get it out of the way.  However since you don't start burning fat until 20 minutes into you workout, you should do your weights first. You are going to expel more energy doing cardio. So you want to burn most of your fat doing  your cardio.

I hope these tips were helpful.