so it’s that time of year again, where are you hit the panic button for any weigh you still haveto lose. It’s that time when whatever slacking you’ve done is about to cause to you to go over the edge! bathing suit season is right there just a few weeks away and you’re wondering if the whole body 1920s bathing suits are ever going to come back in style. I have decided to do the 3 day diet, also known as the cabbage soup diet, and report on the results. This is your standard low calorie diet but with the level of fruits and vegetables that are a part of it it is less detrimental then many of the crash diets. this is by no means an endorsement of the diet. It is more or less an experiment with not only how easy it is but also its effectiveness, its overall results and the side effects if any. My intention is to start the diet tomorrow and report every day on my results. so expect to see numbers and explanations in the coming days.
If I could do it for them … Motivation the dark side
I will admit to something . I have gained a bit of weight in the last months of 2014. Part of it was the simple good food of it all , part of it was me being away from home and dealing with a mad stressful situation and part of it was nothing is harder than working out in the cold when you are already unmotivated by circumstances. so now the 10 lbs I was trying to lose has risen to 25.
I have had a hard time motivating myself . I have the a fitbit and a Jawbone UP24 ( yes I have them both) and I invite people to add me to their teams because competition does help me but that does not help with the other thing. The other thing is eating , specifically boredom eating. I look at women with tiny tight bodies and think I can do this then I am confronted with fudgy brownies and I decide that it is overrated and unfeminine to be muscular. in other words I fill my self with crap . literally and figuratively ..sorry.
I then thought about the times when I lost a great deal of weight . the first was when I was 26 and lost 60 lbs in about 4 months. yes. 4 months. How? How did I do this feat of magic that left people that had seen me in month one scratching their heads at month 4 ? it was hate. yes. the most toxic thing ever . HATE. I found out that my ex was a cheater and a liar ( both things are exclusive) and I decided that I had to be so hot that he would want to kill himself over me. it backfired because he actually kidnapped me and trying to force me into a marriage because hate is a bad thing but the point i started with was that I did lose 60 lbs in 4 months.
The second time was spite. I had lost weight and had gone from a size 16 to a 10 and someone asked me if I was a size 20! A FUCKING 20! So I immediately lost an additional 20 lbs and landed in a size 4. take that bitch!
So i thought about those things and realized that I am not a difficult motivation person I just need something that makes me dig my heels in . and this time I decided that if I can do these things , that I have to stop saying that I am unmotivated. I am very motivated. and If I can do these things for hate and spite I can do them for me. I can decide that I love myself as much as I hated my lying cheating EX and the woman at the store. Here is some of my tricks .
- Mantra ; yes it is hokey. It is also effective.”If I could do it for them I can do it for me” has stopped me from diving head long into late night eating more than once.
- substitution. I have to say this , JIMACA IS NOT FRENCH FRIES!!! If one more website suggests that I eat a sliced Jimaca when I want fries I will scream. That having been said if you must eat having something friendly to eat is helpful. like olives or pickles.
- affirmations . Mantra’s bigger hokier brother but again effective. a nice lively round of ” I is good , I is smart , I is important ” really does help you not to finish off a pound of … well a pound of anything really. eat by the pound can’t be healthy.
These have been my things to replace the whole hate/spite thing and so far it has helped me tremendously.
Friday sidebar ; feminism
This month I have seen a lot of things about feminism both pro and con. I have seen people villainizing women for saying that they aren’t feminists and villainizing women for saying that they are.
I would imagine that one of the more difficult things about being a woman of power in Hollywood it is people wanting you to fit in a box. Take for instance Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer Aniston is one of those people that the world of the Internet and celebrity Watchers has deemed victim. Every cover you see Jennifer Aniston on she is portrayed as this woman who is desperately trying to build a family, find a man, and generally getting over this terrible break up that shattered her life. And anytime that she says anything to the contrary people get downright ugly. I was reading today about how she isn’t sure what she wants she doesn’t feel like feminism should be this hard and if she decides she doesn’t want to continue to be pressured or judged on the fact that she doesn’t have children. And then you go down to the comments and oh my god, the world is not happy with her declaration that it is OK to be childless. On the other side of that there is Kelly Cuoco who was villainized as well this week for saying that she is not that feminist. In a magazine article she expressed that she enjoys being a traditional woman with her significant other and that she has never been that big of a feminist anyway. And oh my god once again the comments blew up.
But here is the problem with all of these things be it Jennifer Aniston, Kaley Cuoco, Angelina Jolie or any other female the fact of the matter is that however you see yourself and the role of feminism is yours to see. I am often distressed by the amount of women that attack other women for differing views. Let’s take the case of Jennifer Aniston vs Angelina Jolie. Jennifer Aniston has been deemed victim and is only allowed to live in that role. I read the comments today about how they used to feel sorry for her and now that she’s making some big stand she’s just bitter. What I’m reading is I’ve decided that you are and telling me you’re not sad and that I can’t be superior to you in that way is making me angry. On the other side Angelina Jolie has been deemed a villain for stealing a man. So Jenny is a poor little lamb, Angie is a she devil and what is the opinion of the only person in this that actually cheated. Oh yeah ,that’s Brad , we love Brad. That in a nutshell is nutshell, is that I have with all of this arguing back and forth about feminism and everything else that has to do with women. We act as if women are supposed to have everything figured out, be sexy, smart, and never ending light and if and when they stray from that they are monsters. Men on the other side are always shielded by boys will be boys.
I am a feminist, I am a female, I am a mother, I am a woman, I am flawed and I am fallible , because a, I want people to pay attention to this, just like my non decumbent urinator counterparts I’m human. Feminism shouldn’t be this hard on women. It is not a choice between being a mother or career womana career womana choice between being A modern woman and a doormat. It is not a choice between being girly or being feminist. I am both. I have the ability. I think we need to redefine what it means to be a feminist. Feminism should mean I have the right to do what I want with my life. If that means I want you to be a stay at home mom that gets up in the morning and makes breakfast for her family and does not stretch yourself in any other way except to make a happy family, that should be ok. If I decide to run a business and never have children and never get married that should be ok. If I decide to run a marathon, make the world’s best pancakes, be sexually free or decide that I am never having sex with a member of any gender, that should be ok! We have got to stop being these Mean Girls looking for ways to hurt each other and realize that feminism is just women being allowed to choose just like the boys.
Challenges
All world is full of challenges. Both literal and metaphorical. And in my experience challenges weather real or imaginary are good for creating drama. I know what you’re thinking drama isn’t good, but I would counter with the argument that without drama you will not have change. When things are calm or stagnant we tend to fall into A rut. But when we have drama, something that makes us feel like we have to move, we usually rise to the challenge.
Sometimes in life we have to challenge ourselves, or create our own drama. Like we did when we were teenagers and nothing was wrong, but the world was ending. Back then we were great at creating drama. Everything was a crisis. Every day at school, every party that we were invited to you or not invited to, every day was filled to the brim with drama. And no matter how you look at your teenage years you have to admit that it was a time of great change. And thank God it’s over.
But sometimes, like when you are trying to make a great physical change you need to create some drama or to take on a challenge. There are several workout challenges in both app form and in online forums. The 30 day squat challenge, the 30 days AB challenge and the 30 day plank challenge are all very popular.
There is also an app called dietbet that’s has you put your money where your mouth is, almost literally. With debt you compete with other people for actual dollars. My pleasure anywhere from $5 to $50.00 and you are pooled with other people making a pot, sometimes very high into the thousands and split among the winners at the end of the challenge. Anywhere between 30 days and 6 months. That is definitely something to look into if you really want to motivate yourself into better shape and you are a money motivated type of person.
Whichever way you are motivated, bit through gamification or competition I say starting now you should definitely create some drama for yourself to help you push to that next level. Myself, I have decided to run a 5k in the spring and using the app called doublerun I have begun a training program that should have me at least able to finish my first 5k by the end of March. I will keep everyone informed as to my progress as well as my results with the app.
Motivation to Move
Biggest obstacle to my fitness is motivation to move. I am NOT a huge eater, nor am I particularly into very bad for you food. And when I get in working out I am the master of inertia, once I’m, I will keep moving. But and this is a big butt, haha, I do have a problem when I stop. At first I can convince myself that I will to start again but i do allow small obstacles to get in my way. I have decided to invest in a fitness tracker to help with that part of motivation. After several days of consideration and full disclosure finding out that I could not locate a Samsung gear fit due to the fact they were oversold during the holidays I chose to go with A jawbone up24. So the jawbone up24 , I am positive you are aware is a fitness tracker essentially. It measures your steps your food intake and your sleep habits. It is integratable with several different fitness apps and websites and so far is fairly functional. The newest round of fitness trackers of which the jawbone up24 is not one, also measure your heart rate. I am so far fairly pleased with this one. Although my walking in earnest begins next week this has given me an idea of how much I walk on a normal day, as well as including of inactivity monitor which you can set to remind you at varying intervals that you haven’t moved in certain amount of time. I have mine set at the lowest which is 15 minutes. I have it currently set also for standard goal of 8 hours of sleep and 10000 steps per day. I’m hoping to push this to you about 15,000 steps per day, but that is a blog for another day.
New Year’s resolutions
Happy New Year’s Eve. The time of year that those of us for whom the thigh gap is a physical impossibility usually take to shame our self into new fitness goals. Well, how’s that been working out for you?
I do think this is an excellent time of year to reflect on your goals and what it is that you’d like to accomplish further. And making a new years resolution or several is absolutely fine as long as you do it in a positive and life-affirming way. Look at your goals as further accomplishments you would like to achieve and don’t beat yourself up about anything that you have not done yet.
I don’t remember if I ever told this story here, but I’ll relay it now even if I have. I lost a great deal of weight twice in my life. The first time was 2002 and I decided to treat myself with a gym membership. One day at the gym a girl came in, she was obese but I only noticed her because she was probably the saddest looking person I’ve ever seen in the gym. She looked completely like a fish out of water and further that she looked like she had been forced there at gunpoint. I didn’t think much of it and to be honest, I had a workout I was getting to. Now fast forward an hour my class is done and I head to my car. In the parking lot I see the girl I’d seen earlier and she was crying as hard as I have ever seen anyone cry in my life. She was bawling like she had lost a part of herself. I to this day, wish I had walked over to that girl and said you can only start where you start. Because yes the women, many of them in the gym are amazingly fit. They have bodies that many of us could never attain. And part of that is just genetics. I am never going to be tiny and small busted. Not without the intervention of medicine, more specifically surgery. Can I have thinner thighs, yes. But as evidence by Beyonce being a size 2 and still retaining her basic shape no matter what you will be you. And guess what, that is perfect. Comparison is the least positive things that you can do. Unless you’re looking at a new cell phone or shopping around for TV comparison is unnecessary. Do not compare yourself to anyone but yourself. It is fair to say I’d like to look like the best me, but be realistic about it. If you have never been a hundred and ten pounds, then there’s a good chance that you’re just not meant to be a hundred and ten pounds. Now if you’ve never been a hundred and ten pounds because you don’t move, or you’ve never said no to a meal, even if you weren’t even a little bit hungry then maybe its time to get to those goals. Realistic evaluation of your less than lovely habits is allowable. But even in that, make sure that what you’re talking about is a positive change. Instead of deciding all of the ugly things that you do, start off with some positive changes. Don’t think in I am never phrases. Such as I am never going to have bacon again. Then I am going to press. Such as I am going to have more fruit daily. I am going to walk at least 3 times a week around my neighborhood. I am going to try new things.
So, in conclusion, I would like to say that 2015 is a year of awesomeness a year for positivity and I would like to extend my wishes to all of you for the best most love, light, and joy filled year that you have ever enjoyed.
Kettlebell training
Starting next Monday I will be involved in a kettle bell class. Kettlebell is a Russian discipline of working out that is supposed to build stamina and strength. Adding this to my current exercise will hopefully help me with my never ending war against lunch lady arms. When I have discussed, at length, is the bane of my existence.
I will be in a training class with a coach and some limited number of other athletes. the others range from newbies like myself all the way to competitive athletes.
I have only done first assessment class so far I am loath to comment on exactly who and where I will be training. But it is my intention to give you a full rundown at the class, the coach, and my impression of that discipline.
Monday’s Motivation : Hitting the arms
Oh I might have mentioned this , I hate my arms. That’s so unfair , but I really kind of do. My arms are my weak point. My mother is one of these women with thin arms , even when she was well into a size 20 she had thin arms. Me, well , no so much. My arms tend to gather fat.
So ofcourse I am always hitting the weights to really get into that anabolic work and get that lactic acid burning that arm fat … yeah … right! I should and damn it I love it when I do but this is again me being honest and expressing that my arms are so often ignored when I workout. Since I know that I am not the only woman that can not seem to get to the summer season and look at all the strapless dresses and think “DAMN!” I wanted to pass on some of my anti-lunch lady arms workouts via YouTube
Arms
Madonna – This Mama is well into her 50’s.
Michelle Obama – political associates for or against you have to admit this woman does not have Mommy arms!
Bat Wing Bye Bye – A great no weight/light weight option.
My New Great Love ; Tabata
There are days when 20 minutes of working out really feel like I can’t do it. I think it’s the warm up that sometime just knock me out, I mean I am already 80% not wanting to do it and you start me off with the least interesting kind of work. Yeah , no sometime I get to ” Jog in place” and think , Fuck this, I’m just not motivated today. This is me being honest. Sometime 20 minutes is too much.
Enter Tabata , The high intensity workouts ,each workout last four minutes and 20 seconds (with 10 seconds of rest in between each set). Yes, my fellow motivation impaired , a full workout in 4 minutes. Yeah , I can workout 4 minutes a day and be fit forever. NO. NO.. but I can get a full body workout in 4 lovely minutes.You can do it several times of day, or just use it to springboard your morning.If you are like me, that can help motivate you to keep going. Some research say adding the Tabata to your day can change your anaerobic/aerobic fitness.
You have to truly push yourself in those 4 minutes. You have to go all out for 20 seconds. ALL OUT, don’t sacrifice form but give yourself the full boom! For 20 seconds, push yourself as hard as you can . Then rest for 10 seconds until you complete eight sets.Lovely thing #2 , you choose the exercise.Love squats, do squats. The most important things are giving it your all and form. Not sure what to do here are some I like, Bex and Brad , just to give you an idea.
This helps me when I just can NOT get the motivation going to push play on a 45 minute workout. Another bonus , if you do this first thing in the morning it is simple and easy , all done and buttoned up and tends to help you start off the day with the right idea. The better you start your day the better you tend to end it. Working out , for those of us that movement is not a first language, needs to become a habit and I think Tabatha is habit-forming.
Fresh Start ;clean eating
Good nutrition is important we all know that . We also all know where the closest McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and in my neck of the woods, Jack in the Box.
It is a challenge in today’s society to find or maintain clean eating. Probably one of my most difficult challenges not succumbing to impulsive, especially when it comes to eating. I am the type of person that definitely needs a plan, in order to get or maintain success. Because I am the type of person who will, in a pinch, eat garbage. Not literal garbage, well its never come to that, but nutritional garbage. Your standard Fast Food fare, so I will attempt to make the smartest choice as possible in a fast food environment, there’s still that temptation. Continue reading
Thick Chick Fitness Blog 