Week 24 Recap : Three Golden Rules

I had a bit of blogger's block this week thinking about what I should write about for this recap. Usually I can just start typing on the page and it comes to me. Well, not this week. I thought about blogging about a recipe or new workout but I wanted to dig a little bit deeper. Then today, someone asked me how I keep my motivation and the idea came to me. I [hope] I'm about to write a really insightful post here about how to get and stay inspired. Without further ado, I present to you my three golden rules about how to get started and stay on a 'health' plan.

1. Identify your weakness

I'm not talking about chocolate cake, macaroni and cheese or the fact that you don't have a gym membership. Those things can all be overcome as long as you are in the right mindset. What I'm alluding to here is what in your mind in getting in the way of starting, or continuing a fitness/weight loss plan. Do you not think you're worth it? Do you think it's going to be too hard? Do you keep making excuses? I'm not trying to sound like a self help book here, but I've identified that being successful at this is mostly about your mindset (I would say 90% mindset, 10% nutrition and hard work). No, really. If you are not in that frame of mind to push farther, eat healthy and give the whole thing 110% you might as well throw in the proverbial towel from the start. My discovery about myself was that I was not holding myself accountable for my [lack of] actions - I made constant excuses to myself about why rarely working out and eating empty calories was ok.

2. Plan and implement real world solutions to overcome your weakness

This is also very key. I can't tell you how to do this except to tell you what I have done. Having a lack of accountability to myself, I had to find a solution so that I would be accountable. Enter real world solution : A weight loss contest. This works for many people for one reason or another. But for me, I know I perform my best in a competition environment [that's the Leo in me], where someone is watching my every move. Having 80 other contestants and someone weigh me in every month for four months forced me to be accountable. It also stopped me from making excuses because if I did, I would have to answer to someone else at the first of the month. Making this four month commitment helped me learn to be accountable for my own actions when it came to getting healthy. Which leads me to step 3.

3. Find allies

I was again faced with the challenge of how I was going to continue to hold myself accountable and keep up the great results after the weight loss competition was over. So I started blogging, and posting my blogs - everywhere. I shared the blogs on a variety of social media sites (FB, Pinterest) so pretty much anyone that knew me or was 'friends' with me is well aware of what I am doing. Blog reader, you are my ally in this journey. I found out quickly that if I let the world know what I was doing and where I was trying to go people would ask me about it - it became expected of me to keep up the results. It also helps if you have family and friends that are entirely on board with your plan - I am very lucky in this way. My mom goes to nearly all fitness classes I attend and I have a person in my life that cooks and plans healthy meals, goes hiking and is going to do boot camp classes with me. Also, the person that was weighing me in once a month for the weight loss competition happens to be the instructor for nearly all my fitness classes. I planned it this way. She expects to see me there, and will ask why I wasn't there if I didn't show up (that hasn't happened yet). I have a lot of allies in this health journey, and I feel looking better and pushing myself farther is, in large part, because of these people. It is also what keeps me motivated and in the appropriate mindset for success.

So there it is. I believe once you think you can do it, you will. Once your brain is in 'go' mode, overcoming other obstacles becomes significantly easier. 

Workout this week : 

Monday : Spin & Sculpt [501 cal]/30 min treadmill run & hike [320 cal] = 821 calories!

Tuesday : Bodypump = 360 calories

Wednesday : Spin & Sculpt = 450 calories

Thursday : 2.5 mile walk = 300 calories

Friday : Crazy shopping day!

This week was pretty crazy but I still got 5 legit workouts in [I'm not counting the shopping day]. I still have to try and make time for my ab routine, I only did it twice this week, but I completed the whole thing. This week was Landon's birthday and I still behaved ok in the face of massive amounts of sugar! I did have a piece of cake and some relatively low-cal ice cream, which I didn't even have for my own birthday but I didn't think I overdid it this weekend. I really would've like to get to a spin class Friday but it was a super crazy day, driving around and shopping the whole day. Lost another pound this week which is fine, still progress. Two would've been better but I'm going to go full throttle this week and get it done! Next week I WILL hit the 40lb mark!

Another cool thing - I have been stashing away two pairs of the smallest jeans I own. Mostly because I bought them, they were always too small but I couldn't bear to get rid of them. These jeans are new, but three years old. Well, this weekend I finally pulled them out. Now, for a person who had sworn off any sort of sized pants for the last two years this moment was certainly intimidating. I realize I have been walking around in stretchy leggings and dresses through the cold months, and forgiving sundresses in the warm ones. But it has been a long time since I've worn jeans. I was literally crossing my fingers as I slid the first pair on - and it buttoned and zipped with no muffin-top action! I remember about six months ago I tried them on just for the heck of it and was so upset when I could not even get them up over my lower hips. They would get to the top of my legs and that was it. An even cooler surprise, I managed to catch a glimpse of the size tag taking them off - I swore they were a 16, but no, they were a 14!!!!. Another 10lbs and I will really be exited to be shopping for fall clothes! Considering the last sized thing I bought was a 22 (dress, not pants), this was a pretty incredible moment for me. I love that there are going to be more moments like this one, when I can physically see the size difference, in the near future. Oh ya, and the other pair was too big, it was a 16....

It's Monday and I'm going to give it all I have this week. I feel rested and ready to take it on, really push myself. As soon as I hit that 40lb mark another pic to come!