Author: nitrice

I am sharing my Fitness journey with others. I have experienced weight gains and weight loss both unhealthy and healthy. My journey now is one of a healthy lifestlye with fitness and nutrition.

How Could I ?

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How could I?, before I complete this let me share a few details.  I begin a new workout and still as I begin week 3 am uncertain if I will endure the 5 day, 30 minutes a day, 8 week program.  I committed to sharing my response to this program in weight loss or gains as well as in inches lost or gained.

This new workout is Barre and I’ve recently heard of barre but never thought to explore it until by streaming workout offered it. So here I am and it is not at all what I envisioned or thought after the first 10 minutes.  It’s a combination of Pilates, yoga, muscle training, ballet and just everything.  Yeah it has it all and the weight use is light.  Okay back to the the topic, How Could I?

I did good on the first week in inches more so than in pounds but I was satisfied. Nonetheless, week 2 I just lost it I ate a entire sleeve of Girl Scout cookies, and two days later I completed the second sleeve.  Now I’m still eating my usual meals and I log my intake and workouts.  Calories in, calories expended through workout and just daily steps and whatever activity I do and they vary.  I also went to a friend’s birthday party and I showed out in eating but not all at once. I ate cake 2 different flavors, and oh my those potatoes and corn with the crawfish were too delicious. I don’t eat crawfish but I confess I indulged in the potatoes and corn. NOPE I’m not saying how much I ate cause you’d loose a few breathe.

Now I weighed myself and took measurements I had the audacity to question what, I ran a few times last week and I monitored my intake. I lost 0.9 lb and 4 inches much less than the following week. What the heck is going on? I asked myself and myself reminded me. You enjoyed those cookies, corn, potatoes so that’s what’s going on.

I’m not saying you cannot enjoy life but I know you do have to monitor portion size and if you do over indulge one day then it should be that one day not every other day, which I am so guilty and raise both hands to guilt.  With a slow metabolism I knew better. SO with that “How Couldd I” expect a greater loss.

Working out no matter the level of intensity I the nutrition is off except a slow response. I’m not angry with myself because I staggered off my fitness journey but this week I am SO COMMITTED .  I say when you get off your fit journey or any journey just get back on. Don’t stay off, don’t get angry.  Keep it moving me, you, we are human we make our own positive recovery.  To a Positive WEEK.

I Gave Myself Permission

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Have you experience one of those blah days and you need just time to yourself and your schedule isn’t as tight but you feel guilty about not following your routine.  Well this was me just a few days ago.

I felt guilty and yet I just wanted to lounge around.  It took me a few minutes and YES. I stood up shouted my name and gave myself permission to just do NOTHING.  Of course this was not for a long period of times but for a couple of hours and I felt good.

I was very pleased at myself afterwards and my day went GREAT.  My energy and focus were on point, I got a lot accomplished. Will I do this regularly, NO but I now know should I make this decision not to feel guilty.

I encourage you too to give yourself permission to do something you feel guilty about, now make certain it’s legal and not harming you or anyone else.  Enjoy it and feel the reward later. I Gave Myself Permission and now so should you.

 

Accept ME Accept YOU

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Reflecting on my fitness journey and the struggles I  had at the beginning and how many times I begin and stopped.  Really the the number is, I don’t know but I can say it was greater than 20.  Yes that many and why? It took me a long while to understand me and why I would stop.  The BIGGEST reason and it was only one, the others were just excuses to satisfy myself.

The BIGGEST REASON, I was not accepting me for me for the now.  I was not happy with myself, how I look and how I felt  and just kept thinking I don’t like me.  I was not accepting myself for where I was and the person I was at that time.  When I begin to accept me just as I was and looking at myself loving me for me just as I was but willing to adjust  you know begin tweaking me.  Yes, accepting myself I was able to see what changes I wanted to do and those I could implement immediately, plans, writing it down, staying focus. I had to accept the current me to grow into the me I wanted to be.

But this applies to not just fitness journey, it applies to any journey.  So today if you’re wanting change and keep stopping to start over again, I ask you to STOP the stopping.  I want you to ACCEPT YOU just as you are right now, love you. Now the changes you want, the goals, write them down, and every day evaluate, tweak but continue to ACCEPT YOU and keep moving toward those goals.

So WHAT

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So WHAT, now do you know the meaning of that? I bet not, but so what.

Okay I have to tell myself this and I think others should too as long as we’re not doing it on a regular basis.  I am good for meal prepping, or have ready made salad fixings especially when I’m extremely tired. BUT there are days I do toss it to the side not intentionally.  Like when I forget to make a grocery list and pick up everything else but what I need for me because I have enough.  I was wrong .  This is a recent occurrence and what did I do.

Well I stopped at Burger King and purchased the Impossible Whopper.  It was okay, a bit large in size and I was only able to consume 1/2 of it .  I was okay with this and said so what.  Yes because I knew I would not eat it again at least for awhile.

So what is not only for me but for Anyone feeling guilty about deviating from a workout, well you will resume so what, if you’ve gain weight and not happy about it but you have begin working out and changed your nutritional intake, so what to the weight gain.

What I’m saying is making change to a better you and with change you cannot focus on reaching goals if you waste time on the past.  Yes that burger is the past because I will not eat it again for several weeks most likely months.  Did it hinder my workout umm just slightly.

So WHAT, what matters and is so important is the change or changes you,me, we have decided on to reach our goals.

It’s OKAY to Slow Your Pace

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Slowing your pace does not mean to stop or decrease the frequency already planned for your workouts.  Or if you are like me and have a calendar to follow do that by all means. Slowing your pace means to not over exhaust your self and cut calories to almost nothing.

There are days you may get that extra energy and do more than one workout.  I definitely have these days.  I may do a calendar workout, run physically on the pavement or the treadmill (yeah I get lazy sometimes) and the elliptical.  Or a boxing workout, okay let me share, I must.  My daughter gifted me with boxing gloves and a bag I was so excited although it was on my list.  Excited, I was so on my rest days I will box and include cardio. BUT I am not going to exhaust myself with as a few friends have shared.

Yes doing two calendar workouts, run and later repeat and then they felt as if changes were occurring too slow and their patience for change was not happening the way they planned.

First change in the body and I’m speaking of those pounds and inches and not 5.  It did not happen with a few days of overeating or missing a week of workout. NOPE  so

1. Be consistent- set a workout schedule and follow or if you’re like me streaming your workouts then follow the calendar the trainer has for the best results
2. Stay focused on your goal acknowledge your non scale victory and know the scale will fluctuate depending on your intake (but it should not be a huge fluctuation)
3. Change is double fold on a fitness journey for lifestyle change- workout and the kitchen. Uh huh NUTRITION major component.

So yes, SLOW YOUR PACE, just BE CONSISTENT, STAY FOCUSED, DON’T NEGLECT NUTRITION 

It Is Not Always Easy

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No, it isn’t. what am I speaking of, my fitness journey of course.  There are days I have to do a prep talk to myself to get up and I’m going to share a few of my stumbles and I how I recover before I fumble BIG

  1.  Those days I do not want to get up early for a work out because I didn’t either go to bed for adequate hours of sleep or I am just damn lazy.  I allow myself a few minutes to waddle and then just get up.   Usually there is no excuse large enough to deter my working out. Now I don’t reset the alarm or close my eyes I actually just stare and force myself up.
  2. Not wanting to increase my weights as recommended by my trainer (Beachbodyondemand). I will increase for at least 1/2 of a set then drop the weight. For example working out with 15 lb weights for 5 reps then drop to 12 or 10 lb for 5. However if the drop set is not challenging I will return to the higher weight.
  3. If I’m too fatigued I will use a lower weight or if I don’t get enough sleep and doing an early AM workout.  Under these circumstances I know my strength is the ……., yeah, but I will workout and complete the workout, remember NO EXCUSES.
  4. If the move in cardio workout is too challenging and my clumsy butt is going to be falling or too challenging I modify.  I am so happy with my streaming workouts there are modifiers.

It is not always easy, however I know to reach my goal I must stay focused and committed.  I am committed.

Yes, I Do

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Yes, and yes I do.  I had a person I chat with that once was on a regular but I am re thinking our association.  Okay that’s neither here or there. Oh yeah and Yes I do is not me committing to a proposal but acknowledge that I have body fat.  Yes I do.

I am on a fitness journey and believe me I have made HUGE changes in my body and physique.  Am I where I want to be?, well let me think uh. NO.  I will continue to workout and do as I am doing now.  Yes I do need to focus a bit more on my nutrition but again I have come a long ways.

Critiquing my body and me where I am today will not stop me on my journey because I am not where you think I should be or because a fitness journey for life change is not just about appearance though it counts.  There are so many non scale victories that only the individual will see and feel before others.

With that said YES I DO and YES I WILL continue on my journey regardless of the negative thoughts of others.

This week I’m encouraging all to stay focused, be you and your goal is reachable.