A few weeks ago I was talking to a friend about my tendency to "over-give" due to my borderline obsession with thinking about what's best for others. The choices I make for myself are often contingent upon how my actions or decisions will affect others, even if in a very indirect, sometimes fabricated way. For example - and don't laugh at me - if someone's actions are bothering me or hurting my feelings, I tend to avoid confronting them. Not because I don't like confrontation, but because I don't want to embarrass them or inadvertently hurt their feelings. Absurd, right?!
Anyway, I was telling my friend that this is the first time in a long time that I've felt genuinely content with everything happening in my life including: my environment, my marriage, my social networks, and my health. And much of this feeling of real happiness started to sink in when I began this journey to Superfitness.
Why?
Because this journey has been a tremendous opportunity to make myself a priority in my life. I am putting my feelings and my well-being before anyone else's, and I've felt better as a result.
There is so much satisfaction in putting my committment and motivation into a program dedicated to my life-long health...and the achievements of my goals- big or small- further add to my happiness. And I believe I can more effectively care about others when I am taking care of myself too.
So here's an interesting reflection: another way to look at improving or changing your life to one that is healthier means making yourself your priority, and in turn, enriches your sense of well-being!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
My Holiday Eating Update
First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Alright - so I've been back since Monday - gone for 5 days. In all, I have to say I did worse than I thought I would!!! I packed some pre-cooked portions of chicken and veggies and also my protein powder - which I consumed, but it felt like that was the extent of my 'clean' eating. It was like, as soon as we walked into my mother-in-law's door, the indulging began!
And as I mentioned in my last post, Ma is generally a healthy eater and is usually mindful of my healthy eating but this time she was in full-blown holiday-eating mode and there wasn't a fruit or veggie sight. My gosh it was all just staring at me in the face and I truly do love chocolate and wine. So I indulged here and there (my sugar, carb, and cheese intake went up!)..but tried to keep my portions small and protein and water up. I walked every morning and did yoga - just as I planned and made sure I had a healthy breakfast.
Overall, I'd say my eating was about half-and-half and I came home slightly worried about the 'damage' it may have done. However, I knew that I was going to get back on track.
I hit the gym the day after I returned and my workout was amazing! My body felt strong and full of energy. It felt like a few days of rest and eating helped nourish my body and potentially avoid a training plateau.
And if you really think about it, people spend much more than 3 days indulging over the holidays - from Thanksgiving to Christmas! Although I have to hold myself accountable to the treats I consume, I feel good about resisting temptations all season and continuining my walks while visiting the family!
How did your holiday eating go?
Alright - so I've been back since Monday - gone for 5 days. In all, I have to say I did worse than I thought I would!!! I packed some pre-cooked portions of chicken and veggies and also my protein powder - which I consumed, but it felt like that was the extent of my 'clean' eating. It was like, as soon as we walked into my mother-in-law's door, the indulging began!
And as I mentioned in my last post, Ma is generally a healthy eater and is usually mindful of my healthy eating but this time she was in full-blown holiday-eating mode and there wasn't a fruit or veggie sight. My gosh it was all just staring at me in the face and I truly do love chocolate and wine. So I indulged here and there (my sugar, carb, and cheese intake went up!)..but tried to keep my portions small and protein and water up. I walked every morning and did yoga - just as I planned and made sure I had a healthy breakfast.
Overall, I'd say my eating was about half-and-half and I came home slightly worried about the 'damage' it may have done. However, I knew that I was going to get back on track.
I hit the gym the day after I returned and my workout was amazing! My body felt strong and full of energy. It felt like a few days of rest and eating helped nourish my body and potentially avoid a training plateau.
And if you really think about it, people spend much more than 3 days indulging over the holidays - from Thanksgiving to Christmas! Although I have to hold myself accountable to the treats I consume, I feel good about resisting temptations all season and continuining my walks while visiting the family!
How did your holiday eating go?
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Seasons' Eatings
As I get ready to visit the inlaws in South Florida for 5 days, I can't help but think about how it's going to impact my current diet and training regimen!!
I have been eating extra clean for the few days prior to leaving and I'm already trying to plan how I can eat clean while on holidays. I know that a little cheating is inevitable - after all, we don't see the family often and I'd like to be able to enjoy a meal or two of momma's cooking! Fortunately, she does know that I've always liked to eat healthy so I know that she will respect that I want to keep it that way as much as possible. Here are a few things I'm planning:
- I'm going to take some protein powder and just make sure I'm having small, clean meals every few hours to ensure I don't get too hungry and start grabbing fist fulls of chocolate.
- I'm going to try to go on my morning walk every day and I'm bringing my Yoga DVD so that I can do yoga after my walk. I figure this 'rest' from weight training will be a great opportunity to stretch and relax those muscles I've been working so hard on at the gym.
- When I do eat with the family, I'll make sure I load up on the veggies and really watch my portions for everything else. Especially the stuff with lots of butter and salt.
- And I'm definitely going to make sure I drink a TON of water!!
I'm glad Brian will be there as he will probably will give me a lot of support and hold me accountable to my food choices. I obviously don't want to obsess over what I'm eating, but I want to be mindful of what I do eat because I've worked so hard to feel this good and it would be a shame to be weighed down by a holiday eating bender!
Most of all, it's a really good time to remember that eating isn't the only way to enjoy the holidays. It's about spending time with people I care about.
I'll be sure to update you when I return...wish me luck!! :)
I have been eating extra clean for the few days prior to leaving and I'm already trying to plan how I can eat clean while on holidays. I know that a little cheating is inevitable - after all, we don't see the family often and I'd like to be able to enjoy a meal or two of momma's cooking! Fortunately, she does know that I've always liked to eat healthy so I know that she will respect that I want to keep it that way as much as possible. Here are a few things I'm planning:
- I'm going to take some protein powder and just make sure I'm having small, clean meals every few hours to ensure I don't get too hungry and start grabbing fist fulls of chocolate.
- I'm going to try to go on my morning walk every day and I'm bringing my Yoga DVD so that I can do yoga after my walk. I figure this 'rest' from weight training will be a great opportunity to stretch and relax those muscles I've been working so hard on at the gym.
- When I do eat with the family, I'll make sure I load up on the veggies and really watch my portions for everything else. Especially the stuff with lots of butter and salt.
- And I'm definitely going to make sure I drink a TON of water!!
I'm glad Brian will be there as he will probably will give me a lot of support and hold me accountable to my food choices. I obviously don't want to obsess over what I'm eating, but I want to be mindful of what I do eat because I've worked so hard to feel this good and it would be a shame to be weighed down by a holiday eating bender!
Most of all, it's a really good time to remember that eating isn't the only way to enjoy the holidays. It's about spending time with people I care about.
I'll be sure to update you when I return...wish me luck!! :)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Power of Visualization
My favorite cardio workout at the gym is the cycling on the spinning bike. I go for 30-45 minutes at a light-moderate resistance and moderate pace. I absolutely LOVE how I feel afterwards.
There is a little TV attached to the bike where you can train to a variety of spinning videos. And every time I spin, I also am on a date with the guy starring in these videos! Not sure what his name is, but he's blonde, slim, and definitely not my type. But I've acquired a huge crush on him - because he coaches you through the whole ride, giving you positive reinforcement and guidance (um not to mention the fact he has a great smile and calming voice). The best thing he does is give you visualization exercises which I look forward to every single ride.
He says something a long the lines of this:
"Close your eyes and picture yourself on a road. It can be any where you want, the road is flat and smooth and it's just you and your bike. You are riding down that long road. And at the end of the road is you. It's the you of tomorrow, next week, next month, a year from now, whatever your goal is, that is who is standing at the end of the road. And you are riding towards that goal."
How cool is that? It's one thing to picture yourself in the middle of a forest on a peaceful journey, but there's something extremely special about riding to the you of tomorrow.
This provides powerful motivation and just makes me feel good, because I know I am moving towards that goal. No matter how far away, I am still moving forward.
What do you visualize when you are training?
There is a little TV attached to the bike where you can train to a variety of spinning videos. And every time I spin, I also am on a date with the guy starring in these videos! Not sure what his name is, but he's blonde, slim, and definitely not my type. But I've acquired a huge crush on him - because he coaches you through the whole ride, giving you positive reinforcement and guidance (um not to mention the fact he has a great smile and calming voice). The best thing he does is give you visualization exercises which I look forward to every single ride.
He says something a long the lines of this:
"Close your eyes and picture yourself on a road. It can be any where you want, the road is flat and smooth and it's just you and your bike. You are riding down that long road. And at the end of the road is you. It's the you of tomorrow, next week, next month, a year from now, whatever your goal is, that is who is standing at the end of the road. And you are riding towards that goal."
How cool is that? It's one thing to picture yourself in the middle of a forest on a peaceful journey, but there's something extremely special about riding to the you of tomorrow.
This provides powerful motivation and just makes me feel good, because I know I am moving towards that goal. No matter how far away, I am still moving forward.
What do you visualize when you are training?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
An "Off Day"
Here's the scenario:
You go to the gym, feeling mentally and physically prepared for your workout. You warm up for a couple of minutes, fully aware that warming those muscles up with greatly benefit your training. You stretch and head to the weights. You feel ready to tear it up!
And you fall flat. Really flat. You feel tired halfway through your first set and immediately know something is not right. You feel weak in your next set so you try to give yourself a pep-talk and mentally focus as much as you can. You try to summon that inner strength. But you're STILL flat.
Ever have one of these days?
Well I did, TODAY, when I went to the gym at around 6:30pm and it sucked. I just couldn't seem to give it 100%...I felt fatigued way sooner than I expected and I tried so hard to think aggressively and fight any mental blocks off. But I couldn't. I had to lower my weights by the 2nd or 3rd set and I was sweating heaps. And then my lower Ab workout...well...in my opinion it was abysmal.Then I had to push myself through 30 mins of cardio...which I usually enjoy after weights.
I probably sound super hard on myself, but honestly, this is the first time I've had an "off" day since I started a new phase of serious training. And it threw me off big time. Sure, I've had workouts where my energy was a little lacking, but I hadn't experienced such a weak effort like I did today. And it made me angry because I felt ready and I wanted to have a good workout.
I called my husband and complained for a few minutes...and when I got off the phone I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself. I realized that a bad day at the gym very likely happens to everyone once in a while...and I should feel good about finishing the workout anyway. I finished it - did not go home like I wanted to. And then I got to thinking about the different things that may have lead to an off day:
- Nutrition: did I eat enough carbs to ensure my energy stores were full? Was my pre-workout meal sufficient? I had a rice cake with almond butter and a banana and I had some carbs in every meal before then. I figured it was sufficient but maybe not today. Also, I had a coffee earlier while I studied - did I experience a caffeine crash? Or did I properly hydrate after consuming caffeine?
- Rest: or lack thereof. I am actually sleeping really well lately, getting around 8 hours every night. So maybe I need a rest day from training. There actually hasn't been a single day since the journey began that I did absolutely NO kind of physical activity. Even when I skipped evening cardio and weights, I would go on my 45 min morning walk. I wouldn't think that the walk would inhibit a body's attempt to rest, but then again, a full day of complete rest wouldn't hurt either.
- Mental blocks: blame it on the overcast weather? I don't know...I feel like I tried to get competitive but it wasn't cutting it. But then I thought of personal trainers and wondered if I would have experienced much more success if one was there coaching me. Maybe sometimes we just can't push ourselves in the way that a good trainer would.
Those are all the possible factors I have so far...anyone else have any ideas?
When I got home, I did a simple Google search on this topic and found an interesting article on Bodybuilding.com. If anything, it reassured me that I'm not the only one who has gone through this - and that it will likely happen at another point down the road.
What do you do when you're having a tough work out?
You go to the gym, feeling mentally and physically prepared for your workout. You warm up for a couple of minutes, fully aware that warming those muscles up with greatly benefit your training. You stretch and head to the weights. You feel ready to tear it up!
And you fall flat. Really flat. You feel tired halfway through your first set and immediately know something is not right. You feel weak in your next set so you try to give yourself a pep-talk and mentally focus as much as you can. You try to summon that inner strength. But you're STILL flat.
Ever have one of these days?
Well I did, TODAY, when I went to the gym at around 6:30pm and it sucked. I just couldn't seem to give it 100%...I felt fatigued way sooner than I expected and I tried so hard to think aggressively and fight any mental blocks off. But I couldn't. I had to lower my weights by the 2nd or 3rd set and I was sweating heaps. And then my lower Ab workout...well...in my opinion it was abysmal.Then I had to push myself through 30 mins of cardio...which I usually enjoy after weights.
I probably sound super hard on myself, but honestly, this is the first time I've had an "off" day since I started a new phase of serious training. And it threw me off big time. Sure, I've had workouts where my energy was a little lacking, but I hadn't experienced such a weak effort like I did today. And it made me angry because I felt ready and I wanted to have a good workout.
I called my husband and complained for a few minutes...and when I got off the phone I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself. I realized that a bad day at the gym very likely happens to everyone once in a while...and I should feel good about finishing the workout anyway. I finished it - did not go home like I wanted to. And then I got to thinking about the different things that may have lead to an off day:
- Nutrition: did I eat enough carbs to ensure my energy stores were full? Was my pre-workout meal sufficient? I had a rice cake with almond butter and a banana and I had some carbs in every meal before then. I figured it was sufficient but maybe not today. Also, I had a coffee earlier while I studied - did I experience a caffeine crash? Or did I properly hydrate after consuming caffeine?
- Rest: or lack thereof. I am actually sleeping really well lately, getting around 8 hours every night. So maybe I need a rest day from training. There actually hasn't been a single day since the journey began that I did absolutely NO kind of physical activity. Even when I skipped evening cardio and weights, I would go on my 45 min morning walk. I wouldn't think that the walk would inhibit a body's attempt to rest, but then again, a full day of complete rest wouldn't hurt either.
- Mental blocks: blame it on the overcast weather? I don't know...I feel like I tried to get competitive but it wasn't cutting it. But then I thought of personal trainers and wondered if I would have experienced much more success if one was there coaching me. Maybe sometimes we just can't push ourselves in the way that a good trainer would.
Those are all the possible factors I have so far...anyone else have any ideas?
When I got home, I did a simple Google search on this topic and found an interesting article on Bodybuilding.com. If anything, it reassured me that I'm not the only one who has gone through this - and that it will likely happen at another point down the road.
What do you do when you're having a tough work out?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Goal: Superfitness
What is Superfitness?
I've been giving this a lot of thought today, probably because I just started the blog and realize that people may wonder what it means. I made this word up about a month ago and for some reason have been using it ever since. It just seems to perfectly describe my goal - where I want to be.
To be clear, Superfitness isn't hulkingly muscular or ironman-fit.
Optimum physical fitness is defined as "the condition resulting from a lifestyle that leads to the development of an optimal level of cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and acheivement and maintenance of an ideal body weight."
Superfitness is all of the above but includes what I think is an extremely important component: Strength from within.
How many times did our mind convince us we couldn't finish that set? It's like a little button that when pressed, it doesn't matter how much we hate those bicep curls or sit-ups, we WILL do them and we will feel so much stronger, inside and out.
Yes I want to be lean, toned, and have a high level of cardiovascular conditioning.
But so far throughout this process I've felt an inner-power unfold, the attitude that:
I can and will reach my goals,
I will give my all in that next set
I will be resilient during the food cravings
My inner strength will aid my physical strength
And I will achieve Superfitness.
I've been giving this a lot of thought today, probably because I just started the blog and realize that people may wonder what it means. I made this word up about a month ago and for some reason have been using it ever since. It just seems to perfectly describe my goal - where I want to be.
To be clear, Superfitness isn't hulkingly muscular or ironman-fit.
Optimum physical fitness is defined as "the condition resulting from a lifestyle that leads to the development of an optimal level of cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and acheivement and maintenance of an ideal body weight."
Superfitness is all of the above but includes what I think is an extremely important component: Strength from within.
How many times did our mind convince us we couldn't finish that set? It's like a little button that when pressed, it doesn't matter how much we hate those bicep curls or sit-ups, we WILL do them and we will feel so much stronger, inside and out.
Yes I want to be lean, toned, and have a high level of cardiovascular conditioning.
But so far throughout this process I've felt an inner-power unfold, the attitude that:
I can and will reach my goals,
I will give my all in that next set
I will be resilient during the food cravings
My inner strength will aid my physical strength
And I will achieve Superfitness.
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