Never Compare

"Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another."
Marquis de Condorcet

I like this quote and it really relates to time at the gym. Last week, I was stuck in a small town in south Texas with no internet, phone or gym. I managed about 3 workouts that week, but am truly happy to be back to civilization and back in the gym. Eating while traveling has also not been my strength this last week and I really wanted to hit it hard. 

I gathered the kids in the jogging stroller, walked the mile or so to the gym and headed for the faily room. Already warmed up from the walk over I jumped on the treadmill and did a tabata of a 7.0 mph  sprint at a 5 incline for a little more warmup than jumped into it. Another woman was on the treadmill, so my workout consisted of 21-15-9, burpees with a press, 250m row and med ball cleans. Workout with the kids need to be fast and intense, because someone is gonna want something! I could feel the woman on the treadmill watching, perhaps wondering what I was doing, perhaps gasping at the fact I was in my socks (I have a blister :) but I got the feeling I made her uncomfortable, maybe because for the whole 25 minutes of my workout she jogged on the treadmill at about 3.5 mph with short bursts of probably, 5.5 mph sprint.

Now, I might just have had this going on in my head. But I really wanted to tell this woman, "at least you are here". Too many people feel intimidated at the gym and try to 'keep up' with someone anonymous competitor. Though its good to push, we need not compare ourselves, especially at the gym! My 25 minute workout was short and intense, but half what I normally do because of poor self control the last week. I started doing almost the same thing, years ago, 20 minutes on the elliptical! Everyone has to start somewhere and we should not bother ourselves with where others  might be. Sticking to it matters most and eventually you will be at your destination. One the same side, we must not judge others for where they are not yet at. I once had a woman come into the gym I was a manager at and asked to have the "large" woman on the treadmill in front of the window move because she was headed to the Chinese place next door and it was "gross." I kicked her out of the gym and told here there was not way I would ask her to move. The nerve! 

My point is, we all have to start somewhere and we all have to train ourselves not to compare ourselves to others while we get there!  

Duck Dynasty and Simplicity

This blog has really little to do with fitness, however, everything to do with health. Health is not just as simple as being in shape and eating right. Our mental and emotional help can play a huge role in everyday life with relationships, to include both personal and professional. So Duck Dynasty??
If you haven't seen this show it about a family in Louisiana that developed and marketed a dog call and became millionaires. I am not a fan of reality TV, however, I like this show. Where other shows, like Real Housewives or Jersey Shore are rule of drama and people always trying to get things they don't have, these fellas on Duck Dynasty spend time telling jokes, playing gags and bickering amongst themselves. Its entertaining and its not at the expense of someone getting hurt. Even those this family is rich, they maintain much of their original lifestyle, Phil, the actual designer of the duck call, still lives in a trailer; they all show gratitude for what they have and they don't stress on the things they don't have. I appreciate that.
In our modern world where there is so much stress to be perfect; the perfect wife, the perfect mom, the perfect student and stress to have perfection; the perfect car, the perfect house, the perfect body; it is nice to see a change and watch these self proclaimed red necks allow themselves to be video taped and laughed at to a wide viewing audience. And if there is anything that can relieve a little stress and anxiety (which will add the pounds on) its a little laughter. If you haven't seen this show, you should do your body a favor and take 25 minutes to relax and have a laugh!

Weekend Defeat

My baby is nearing the eight month mark. Time goes by so fast for these little ones and especially for Mama. I am still holding onto about 15 pounds of baby weight. It can certainly be very frustrating and though I know post pregnancy weight loss differs for every women and possibly with every pregnancy, its is still irritating to feel stuck, and particularly so when working out for 4-6 hours a week. As easy as it is to blame my static state on my postnatal condition, I have to look back and be realistic. 
Every week I track my food, eat my greens, down by protein and calculate calories burned. Then the weekend hits. Its shopping and outings which leads to pizza and sandwiches, sweet breads and coffees. In the end, I have to admit weekend defeat. 
Many people feel like they have hit a stalemate, but if they are truthful to themselves and look back at their consumption versus expenditure, it is likely you can see the issue clear as day. What is the purpose of this post? First, it means "saying" it aloud is admitting to fully. I know why I have stalled. Secondly, its to get people out there to be honest. I don't think people lie intentionally about food or exercise, we just don't always see the truth. I hear time and time again, "I don't eat that much," however, 99% of the time people are eating more than they think. Exercise can be deceiving also. Just because you sat on a bike in the cycling class does not mean you burned the 700 calories it claims to burn. You have to actually do the work. You have to push, you have to sweat, your heart has to push hard and above all, you have to be honest to yourself. Now, I just have to get these weekend under control and take responsibility for my own state of weight and break out of this cycle of weekend defeat.

Working on Willpower

I have a weakness for food. I love food; fruits, veggies, sweets, salty, you name it, I like it. I sabotage my own efforts, because I have no willpower to abstain. For the most part I have dealt with this by not having certain in foods in my house. We don't stock chips , cookies or ice cream; if i want it, I have to go get it. But then the problem comes in with my husband. He tends to buy things in quantity, like chocolate. So my new goal is to stop making excuses and stick to my guns and develop the willpower to say no. After all, do I want the chocolate, or do I want to get rid of these last 15 baby pounds? I know its going to be hard, but I know I only have myself to blame for both my successes and failures I cannot blame anyone else. What is your weakness? How have you learned to cope with it?

Habits

It's so easy to fall into habit. Not eating breakfast, grabbing a burger at lunch, or sitting on the couch after dinner. It's just as easy to fall into good habits. Grabbing oatmeal or whole what toast with peanut butter, packing your lunch each previous night to ensure its healthy, and even making taking a walk after dinner your new family ritual. Just as bad habits form, so too, can good habits be established.
I have been working out no less than 3 days, but more like 4-5 a week since my baby was 2 weeks old. I have had so much energy and feel so much better than when I don't work out. That being said, I have not worked out in two days, and I can say for certain, workout is on today!
Don't tell me you don't have time, don't tell me you don't know how, don't say you can't, stop the excuses and just do it! Start today and get on the road to making that good habit stick!

Eat Breakfast!

I have always been an athlete. Throughout elementary school and high school I played a variety of team sports. I always took school very serious. I am decently intelligent, school came easy to me. I made sure I was rested and between needing food for brain fuel and needing food for sport fuel, I have always been a breakfast eater. Now, apparently this is uncommon. Huffington Post says that 10% of the American population does not eat breakfast. Its no wonder we have such an issue with overweight and obese people.
Breakfast is not only what jumpstarts your metabolism after a (hopefully) long and restful night, it also jump starts the brain. It is even more important that children are eating their breakfast! WebMD reports that children that skip breakfast are more often absent or late from school. Get those kids up and make sure they are eating. Some nice whole grain cereal with so low fat milk and orange juice is the perfect way to send your children off to school alert and ready to learn!
And adults, it is proven that skipping breakfast can cause weight gain and damper weightloss efforts. On the surface, it may appear that skipping a meal would mean less calories, (which it does) and in the end, would mean less weight gained or more weight lost (which it does not). You're body runs on fuel, it needs rest and then needs to be recharged. Even a busy mom has time, grab a breakfast shake or banana and low sugar granola bar. Skipping breakfast tends to lead people to bad snacks and endless grazing. You might save 300 calories at breakfast, but find your hand in the candy dish several times before lunch. It's simple really, if you want to maintain or lose weight, EAT BREAKFAST!

Fitness and a 'Healthy Glow'

I'm from Pennsylvania and I am about as pale as they come. I don't tan, I burn even wearing SPF 50. When my husband and I got married, I thought I would try to get a nice tan. I started going to the tanning bed and lying  in there for about 5 minutes at a time. My husband asked me what I was doing. I told him I wanted to look nice for the wedding. He told me, he loved my pasty skin.... Now that is about as sweet as my dear hubby gets, but it was enough for me to stop, seemed like a waste of money and an even more waste of time. Well, that was about seven years ago, right around the time I first got certified as a personal trainer.
After we married, we were stationed in Warner Robins, GA and I was hired at a Gold's Gym. Not only did we both get free gym memberships, we received unlimited tanning. Now, as much as I didn't want to tan, my husband is Mexican and people just don't get much darker than he is already, so, needless to say, we never once tanned. But working at the desk, day in and day out, I would see the same people, workout then head to the tanning bed. A coworker of mine included.
She was so pretty, tiny little thing, very fit, with pretty brown hair. I was about 23 and she was about 34. However, she looked so much older, all the tanning had lead to premature aging on her face, it was sad to see. Another customer, who had been apparently tanning for years, was so dried out, her legs looked like leather. All I could think was, if that they were not worried about skin cancer, did they at least not see the way it was making them look?
I'm 30 years old with two kids. My 6 month old wakes up about 530 am each morning, I am often over tired. However, I still get many compliments that I do not look even 30 (not that 30 is old). I contribute my youthful face (and you should see my older sister) to exercise, lots of water, not smoking and most of all, wearing sunscreen! If how you look is not enough for you to reconsider baking yourself in the sun or a nice man made torture chamber, how about your health?
It baffles me that fitness and tanning seem to be interlinked. A vast majority of health clubs offer tanning, many time, unlimited, with no additional cost. Its seems utterly ludicrous. The idea of being healthy and then willingly upping your chances of skin cancer, makes me wonder, 'why bother?' Why go through the trouble of staying fit, just to risk cancer? With so many risks already inherently ingrained into our modern lifestyle, why would you add to it? I have two theories, 1) Ignorance, people just don't know about the risks and many believe indoor tanning is safer than sun bathing or 2) People just think it won't happen to them. I think #2 may be more likely, considering that the majority of people using tanning beds are women under 35; the young have been known to believe in certain youthful invincibility. WebMD states that 85% of wrinkles are caused from sun damage (or indoor tanning) Sun damage leads to a number of cancers including basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and even cataracts. WedMD
Maybe we need to read up. Here are some facts about tanning :
Skincancer.org
Healthology

Just remember, that healthy glow now, will be a nice uneven skin tone, with red blotches and possible cancer in future.
According to aad.org

• By 2015, it is estimated that 1 in 50 Americans will develop melanoma in their lifetime
• About 75 percent of skin cancer deaths are from melanoma
• In 2010, new research found that daily sunscreen use cut the incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in half
•  Exposure to tanning beds increases the risk of melanoma, especially in women aged 45 years or younger.¹⁵
  • In females 15-29 years old, the torso/trunk is the most common location for developing melanoma, which may be due to high-risk tanning behaviors

There is a simple solution, wear sunscreen and cover up!  Stay healthy and live a happy, productive life :) Don't make the lifestyle change to exercise and eat healthy, just to slowly roast yourself like a Thanksgiving Day Turkey.  Be healthy and well rounded in all aspects of life and remember, what you do today, will have repercussions tomorrow. Newton told us long ago, "For every action, there will be an equal and opposite reaction."