Hey Suga!

Not too long ago I went on a strike....a sugar strike.  I had acquired a little bit of a pooch when I lost my mojo and to make matters worse I wasn’t working out as much as I had been, so I knew I had to "belly up" (hardy har har!) and make some adjustments. 

I thought long and hard about my eating habits and even started logging what I was eating into my trusty Lose It! app, again.  After a few weeks, I came to the conclusion that all my numbers were pretty good and the only trend I could really see was there was a little too much sugar going down the 'ole hatch.  Noooo I am not talking about sneaking a piece of cake, some candy or a can of soda pop.  Most of the sugar was coming from what I ate at breakfast; which was typically fruit...but...but...but fruit is healthy, right!?!  Yep, but with everything moderation is key!  The fruit that I was eating for breakfast was usually pears, pineapples, apples or peaches.  Those delicious, refreshing fruit that I was SO enjoying every morning were loaded with natural sugars....well, crap!

Sooooo, I decided to do a little experiment and started switching out my typical breakfasts of fruit for mostly vegetables.  By drastically decreasing the sugar I was eating and, at the same time, increasing my veggies my hope was my pooch would gradually goes down.

I flipped through all my fitness magazines, recipe books and lots and lots of websites looking for any and all veggie dishes I could find - surprisingly, I found tons of options. The first week or two was a little strange eating things like cucumber slices, cauliflower salad or even steamed broccoli for breakfast but after the weirdness wore off - it was no big deal at all.  I ate like that for 6 solid weeks and noticed a difference after only about 2 weeks.

The overall results were pretty incredible.  I haven't seen my tummy that tight and flat since I was in high school....that's right, I said flippin' HIGH SCHOOL.  Holla!! 

Disclaimer:  right around my 6th week, I was laid off and my lack of routine threw me a curve ball.  I realize I am making an excuse - but hey, sh*t happens!  My tummy is still smaller than it was before the sugar strike, but not as small as it was during it.  I 'm planning on going on strike again, real soon.  It had such a dramatic result for me, my ending verdict is a 100% thumbs up!

 

You didn't really think that I would do all this talk about my tummy slimming down without posting a picture of the results, did you? 

It's no abs of steel, but I'll take it :-)

I hope this post leaves you happy, healthy and shouting HOLLA! 

Operation Reboot

Several months ago I confessed that I had lost the ever important mojo in my journey to become a better me.  I pondered this dilemma for a while and ultimately came up with three key points to get me back on track.

Be Flexible – I’m not talking about touching your toes or doing backbends.   I’m talking about adjusting to situations instead of using them as an excuse.  This summer, I found myself using my daughter’s softball practices and games as a reason to forgo healthy eating.  Once I realized that I was using this situation as nothing more than a convenient excuse I began packing healthy options in my lunch bag and taking it with me to the games.  I packed enough items not only for myself but for the whole family.  And typically everything was gone by the time we made it home.  The old me would have totally went hog wild with the hot dogs, candy bars, chips and soda readily available at all the games. 

Rewind & Remember – When you’re on journey like I am, I think it’s easy to forget where you started because you’re always focused on going forward.  I found it necessary to stop thinking about the next 5 or 10 pounds to lose, but instead remember - find those old hideous overweight pictures of yourself, try on those now huge jeans that are several sizes too big for you.  Remember how you used to feel about exercising and eating right and how much you have learned since you began your journey.  I found it VERY rewarding and uplifting to stop beating myself up about what I was or was not doing ‘right’ and focus awhile on what I have accomplished.  

Below is a picture that my mom took of me and my family dying Easter eggs in 2011.  I never knew she took the picture and she gave it to me, along with a stack of other pictures, almost a year later – right in the middle of me losing my mojo.  Not knowing this little gem was hiding among the stack, I took them home and started flipping through them and this one stopped me dead in my tracks…I felt sick, tears filled my eyes and then I showed the hubby the picture.  It left us both speechless; he gave me a hug and simply said “I’m so proud of you!”.  At that moment it hit me how critical it is for me to concentrate on the positives and not the negatives in my journey. 

This was approx 45 pounds ago

 This picture now sits in my jewelry box, right next to where I put my wedding ring at night – so I see it every morning…and some days it still brings tears to my eyes. 

Affirm – I learned about affirmations from my previous employer.  The organization used to ‘highly encourage’ you to attend a personal development class which had a lot of emphasis on affirmations.  For those of you that are not sure what affirmation are all about, here is what Dictionary.com says about it:

• The assertion that something exists or is true.
• A statement or proposition that is declared to be true.
• Confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc

I think I was on Pinterest or Instagram when something popped up and reminded me of the concept of affirmations.  I thought about it for a while.  I wondered if I could make it work for me and my then-lost mojo.  I decided “What the hell” and decided to give it a shot.  I came up with about 5 statements that I wrote down and began saying to myself while looking in the mirror, it then evolved and I started saying them to myself during my long commute from work to the gym and sometimes even during my workouts (I’m sure those around me thought I was a nuts, lol).  I discovered in a very short time, IT WAS WORKING - just hearing the encouraging words coming from my very own mouth would be the perfect medicine to help cure my lack of mojo.  

Here are some of my affirmations:

• I am a work in progress; which means I will get there a little at a time, not all at once.
• I have it within me.  Right now, to get where I want to be!
• I am in charge of my future
• I am a force to be reckoned with! (personal favorite)
• It does not matter how slow I go.
• I CAN do this!
• I am a role model for my family

Go ahead, try it - what's it gonna hurt??

These are my three main concepts that I used to get my mojo back, but there are several mini ones that I used too.  No worries, I'll be sharing those soon.  In the meantime, I hope everyone has their mojo and rocks it hard!

Later Gators!

Nose in the Corner

I've been a bad blogger lately.  I have at least six posts half written and then I get pulled in another direction.  I am still on my journey and still making progress; I have hit some more mini goals and can't wait to share them with everyone.....but 'real life' has slapped me in the back of my head.

Last week I was informed that I no longer had a job.  I was assured that the decision had nothing to do with my performance and everything to do with an ongoing merger taking place.  I was shocked, pissed, hurt, sad  and confused.  I allowed myself a few solid hours of crying and feeling sorry for myself and then realized I'm a big girl, dusted myself off and I decided to turn this negative into a positive.  I get to spend more time with my family, more time with the kids before school starts back up and maybe, just maybe, a little more time on me.  Just like Bob Marley sings, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"; which is seriously one of the best songs ever!!

If Bob doesn't bring a little smile to your face check out the video my sweet daughter created last night.  I swear she is going to be a director or something when she grows up - she is ALWAYS doing something with a video camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAjvbMR87EU

Hope ya'll have an absolutely fab week-end! 

Short and Sweet

I have been working HARD on getting my mojo back.  Being the type A personality that I am, I have a whole plan of attack that I have put together - I've been referring to it as Operation Reboot (totally dorky, I know). 

And while I'm not quite ready to share all the details on Operation Reboot just yet, I do want to share the underlying theme throughout.  Don't.  Look.  Back.

Hope your remaining week and upcoming week-end bring you joy, success and a whole lotta mojo!

My Dirty Little Secret

Well, it happened....my mojo, my umph, my determination; whatever you want to call it is lacking BIG TIME.  About 4 weeks ago, I hit a point that I decided my body deserved a short break from the constant working out.  I consulted with my trainer and he agreed that it would be fine and sometimes your body does just need a break.  So I took a full week off of everything - working out and eating right.  I also decided not to weigh myself; I wanted a complete and total break.

It was so nice not to have to mess with packing my workout bag every morning and racing home after my workouts to squeeze in all the domestic goddess stuff that had to be done and spend quality time with the kids and the hubby before it was time to go to sleep and start the whole cycle over again.  Oh yes, it sure was nice....

On my first day 'back', I decided to try out Living Kell's* piyo class.  I have never done piyo, yoga or pilates so this class was a whoooole new experience.  It was good - some things I was able to do pretty easily; while other things were a challenge.  I left the one hour class sweaty, with a raised heart rate and a lot of respect for those that are frequent flyers of the mind/body type classes.  Although, I don't think I could do a piyo class every week I do think, for me, it will be a good class to attend to change things up and prevent boredom every now and again.

By about my 3rd day back on my journey, I decided to weigh myself - holy crap, I had gained 4 pounds!  OH MY GOSH, it took me forever to lose those 4 pounds - UGH!!!  I couldn't believe that I had allowed myself to gain back 4 freaking pounds. I tried to get back on track and attend my typical classes but it seemed like something "kept coming up" where it would prevent me from being able to attend....and honestly, I was fine with that.  I was still experiencing burn out; I didn't want to hear those same darn songs in my Zumba class and the thought of attending the BodyPump class made me throw my head back and groan outloud (no, seriously it did).  I kept telling myself, "This is not good, not good at all"!  I racked my brain to think of how the heck I was going to get my mojo back.

Let's time travel 3 weeks forward to today and I am STILL struggling, but now things are even more complicated...my daughter is playing softball and between the games and practice there are a lot of times I cannot attend my classes and I cannot eat properly no matter how much prep I do in the morning or evening.  I try, oh how I try, but sometimes it just doesn't happen :-(

Of those 4 pounds I regained I have lost most of it again but I can really see the lack of consistent workouts on my body.  This makes me oh so very sad and depressed and makes me feel fat and pudgy.  So there you have it, my dirty little secret - I've lost my mojo.  But I am trying to get it back and hope to continue down my happy little journey that I was once on.

*For those of you that don't know Kelly of Living Kell you really need to check her out - she has a great attitude, gives out fab advice and is seriously one of the sweetest gals I know.  Be sure to check her out; you can find her here and here.

Life is an Adventure!

I recently attended an event on Leading Yourself Through Change at work.  The presentation was directed towards professional women in the work environment but I found myself applying the concepts, advice and discussion topics to the journey my after.

It reminded me that life is an incredible, unpredictable and wonderful adventure.  Change IS going to happen; sometimes it's planned and other times it's totally by circumstance. Regardless of how change comes into your life, the most important thing is the way you react to it. 

~ Tackle the change of your eating and physical activity habits as if it's an adventure.  Look forward to each new step and what changes will result from them.  Become, dare I say, risky with your food selections.  Branch out, try new things!

~ Get excited about what YOUR after will be.  Think big, think amazing - sky's the limit, baby!

~ Get pumped about what you’ll learn and how you’ll grow; both physically and mentally.

~ Think about what non-scale victories you have accomplished.  Write them down and how you felt, you don't want to ever forget that feeling when you finally pranced around in that bikini after busting your ass for over a year, do you!?!?!

~ Keep your eye on the prize.  Remember WHY all these changes are in your life and WHAT the outcome will be.

~ If you're having an 'off' day - STAY positive.  Don't you dare allow those negative thoughts control you!  You must learn how to deliberately focus on the positive thoughts you're having and purposely ignore the negative ones. 

~ Practice imagining!  Sometimes when I am swimming laps and I have the whole pool to myself - I will literally mumble to myself "I can do this, I can do this, I can do this" all while I am imagining myself wearing a cute a pair of skinny jeans.  When I am doing weighted squats, I usually close my eyes and turn on the little voice in my head that says "little ass, little ass, little ass".  As silly as all this sounds, it works for me :-)

Q & A

I get phone calls, emails, instant messages, facebook messages, text messages and many comments and questions about what I am doing, not doing and such ALL THE TIME!  I totally get it, everyone wants a quick and easy answer to "How are you doing it?'.  Bottom line, it's not quick and it's not easy BUT it definitely is worth it.  I feel (and look) better than I have in almost a decade!  Below are some of the common questions that I get asked.   

  

Why Did You Start Your Journey?
The 'why' is a variety of reasons.  It started out with just a very simple desire -  I didn't want to gain anymore weight or go up (again) in my clothing sizes.  I was out of control with my eating and lack of ANY type of exercise - I simply didn't give a crap.  I would wake up in the morning and my back would ache so badly that I often had trouble taking those first few steps out of bed.  I 'blew out', as the doctor put it, my calf muscles in December 2010 when I turned suddenly - this happened at work, in front of a bunch of people and I was so embarrassed that I was in horrible pain and couldn't walk from turning my in a quick manner - GEESH!!  We lost a family member last year to cancer, she fought her ass off and would have given anything to have a healthy body.  I felt guilty for having basically a healthy body and letting it go to shit.

I hated shopping for clothes.  I hated going into my closet and  trying to find something to wear.  I hated even thinking about the idea of going to a social situation where it wasn't just my very closet friends or family.  I hated that my kids could possibly only know me as a chubby mom.  I hated what I was teaching my children.  I hated spending so much time doing my hair and makeup JUST to try to disguise my fat face and double chin.  I hated getting pictures taken of myself - I have nearly none of me and my now 4 year son together {insert frown}.  I had ALOT of 'hate' swirling around my head.  After focusing the last few years on taking back control of other area's in my life, I knew it was time for me to take control of ME.

Are You Losing Weight on a Particular Program? 

I am not counting calories, points, carbs or anything like that.  I have issues with control and living with that type of control in my life is not my cup of tea.  So I begin reading health magazines (Oxygen is my favorite), researching online, talking to health conscience friends and family and of course I asked for help from my hubby.  I wanted to give this healthy living stuff a REAL try and it had to be something that I could live with for the rest of my life.

In general I do not deprive myself of anything; if I REALLY REALLY REALLY want it I will eat it - but the portion has to be small.  I use the size of my closed fist as a guideline on my portions; except for veggies - I eat as much as want of those.  Per my hubby, I paid attention to increasing the amount of protein in my food.  I eat about every 3 hours - anything longer and your body want to store into fat (just like a bear going into hibernation).  I also used the app Lose It!, faithfully the first few months of my journey just to better understand the nutritional amounts (specificially, calories, fat, protein and sugar) in the foods that I was eating (or wanting to eat). 

How Long Have You Been on Your Journey? 
I officially starting working toward a 'better me' on July 25, 2011.  The hubby and I had planned weeks before to take that entire week off for a family stay-cation, so I figured that would allow me more time to think about how and when I was going to exercise as well as plenty of time to think about what I was putting into body.  Not only was I able to spend lots of time talking to my hubby about things, we signed up for a membership at our local YMCA and I also was able to grab lunch with a dear friend that has an incredible physic and is very conscience about what she eats (and what her kids eat).  Our lunch ended up in a grocery store looking at different foods.  I was inspired, excited and determined!   


How Much Have You Lost?
I have lost 45 pounds and am currently the size I was when I graduated high school (over 20 years ago).  I wish I would have took my measurements before I started losing weight, I think those numbers would be VERY interesting.  My silhouette has changed the most - my body has never looked like this - EVER!  I attribute the dramatic change in my silhouette to the weight training that I do.

How Many Sizes Have You Gone Down

5 jean sizes {insert smile}

What's Your Workout Schedule?

Tuesday:  1 hour of Zumba & 1 hour of Resistance Training
Wednesday:  1 hour of BodyPump
Thursday:  1 hour of Zumba
Saturday:   Occasionally, I do 1 hour of BodyPump

When it's warm outside I like to swim laps after Zumba on Thursday, too.  I started doing the laps as basically a way to cool my body down quickly after Zumba - I don't swim long; only about 20 or 30 minutes.

Additionally, I got a snazzy new bike last Christmas and plan to do plenty of riding once the weather begins to cooperate and I have just begun to train (term used very loosely) for a 5K run. also. 


Where Do You Work Out?
I work out at the Blue Springs YMCA.  During my stay-cation week, I visited all the local gyms before deciding on the YMCA.  Some of the gyms were too big, some didn't have the opportunities that I was looking for my 11 year old and some had classroom schedules that didn't coordinated with my own personal schedule - and the Y is a mere 5-7 minutes away from my house.

What's Your Favorite Work Out?

Zumba hands down!  When I started I was barely able to keep up physically and my coordination wasn't so great either.  But the more and more I went, I realized that not only was I burning a boat load of calories and toning muscles, I could see a difference in the way my body was moving and my flexibility.  It was like 'How Shannon Got Her Groove Back' !  I also just adore the other 'regulars' that go - I have a number of pals that I truly enjoy interacting with. 

What's You Favorite Healthy Thing to Eat?
Baked sweet potatoes
Kale chips (duh)
Boiled eggs with hot sauce
Black and blue salad (salad topped with 3 or 4 thin slices of grilled steak and blue cheese crumbles)


How did you get your kids on board with your new eating habits?
They often are not 100% sold on some of the items that I serve them; sometimes there is just no way they are going to eat what I put out.  But OFTEN after the 3th or 4th time of me putting something on their plate and seeing their parents enjoying something they will give in.  In fact, my 11 year old daughter loves kale chips just as much as I do and my 4 year son won't eat normal french fries anymore; they have to be 'orange' fries (aka sweet potatoe french fries).  I also post a menu for the week so that EVERYONE knows what they can expect for dinner.  They also see and hear my hubby and I talk about fitness and eating habits all the time - we are leading by example.  They are doing very good with all the changes and I expect that it will pay off in the years to come.


I'm Just Getting Started, What's Your Best Advice? 
Don't expect instant results.  It's been proven time and time again the slower the weight falls off, the more likely you are to keep it off.

Use milestones and baby steps to move forward on your own journey.  If jogging a mile is too much, start with jogging 1/2 mile instead and then the next 3/4 a mile and so on.

Reward your successes with things beyond food.

Get the support of anyone and everyone you can; having a little bit more accountability works wonders.