Resolution Run Makes 12 of 12 Races!

Boy it feels good to have this goal checked off the list! A big huge thank you to the master-mind behind the Resolution Run, Johnna. She made the race so much fun by having 5 different challenges along the race course. Below you can see Johnna, Sharon and I doing our challenges. It wasn't as cold as it looks in the picture. I definitely over-dressed for the occasion-it got super warm under my layers and winter coat mid-way through the race!


Anyway, I'm so proud to say that Sharon completed 12 races in 12 months with me. Johnna joined our goal in February so we'll be celebrating her victory next month as she's so close to the 12 in 12 goal!

In retrospect, the year of races has been a lot of fun. It's surprisingly going to be difficult for me to give up this monthly race goal as a month won't seem complete without partaking in a race. Especially since most races are for a good cause! It's definitely time to move on though, as monthly races is a way of life now. I think that's the beauty of setting a year long goal. By the end of the year, it's a lifestyle and isn't too much work anymore. That makes room for a new goal next year. I hope at the end of 2009 I can say the same about sweets as I did for races in 2008!

Come Alive People!

In the last two months I've come across two different instances where I've been in amazed by something.

1. The first was on television. I was watching an interesting documentary on the blue zones . Dan Buettner, the founder of Blue Zones, talked about the research he'd done in five or six regions of the earth that he found people lived the longest. I thought this was very interesting. In one situation he found a 92 year-old heart surgeon that still practiced! When interviewed he was asked why he still performed heart surgery. He said he loved it, it was his purpose. He doesn't believe in retiring and thinks everyone needs to always do what they love.

2. The second situation was in person. I have many clients that I meet with on a "periodic" basis, meaning I see them every couple months. This particular client I met with is a 67 year old woman. She's in impeccable shape! Her BMI is a very healthy zone, she's only got 25% body fat, she still takes up water skiing every summer and she's always made eating right and exercise a priority. She's 67 and wants to do her first 5K and half marathon in 2009. Proof that it doesn't matter what age you are in order to do something new! That night I just couldn't get over how great of shape she's in. So I asked her, "how have you always stayed in this good of shape?" and her answer was simple, "I have a purpose for living, I love life."

I thought it was no accident that these two occurrences happened so close together in my journey through life. It was so interesting to see how others lived and how even later in their years they had an amazing quality of life; doing whatever it was they wanted to do. They truly love living. Then last night I stumbled upon this quote and haven't quite been able to get it out of my head. I love love love this!

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

So figure out what it is you love to do....AND DO IT! Life is too short to do things that you don't like to do. Plus I firmly believe that if a person does what they love, typically they are really good at it.

Come Alive People! Do I have to shout this?

Client of the Month: Jenn

One client that's really stood out to me this month is Jenn. I've only been working with Jenn for a couple of months but she's really come a long ways in such a short period of time. Here's the wonderful things I've noticed that she does.

1. She does her assignments. (YAY-Happy Trainer!)
2. She eats right but is also honest with me about when she doesn't.
3. Jenn researches herself. I love this about her! It's so important for people to find out things on their own.
4. She's lost over 15 pounds in the couple months we've been working out together!
5. She accepts my help but yet doesn't use me as a crutch. She does it all on her own and I know she'll go all the way because she has this concept.
6. She's just like all of us, she balances work, being a wife and working as a mother of a toddler.
7. She never makes excuses.
8. I don't ever have to tell her to do something twice.
9. She's got a great attitude and outlook on life.
10. She knows what she wants and she's going for it!

Way to go Jenn, you've done an amazing job...keep up the great work!

Resolution Run Tomorrow!

Since there was a horrible thunderstorm this morning, the Resolution Run or Walk has been rescheduled to tomorrow morning at 8am at the community center. I hope you can make it even though we had to change the day!

Week 6 In Review: 100 Push Up Program

I've been horrible at finishing up the sixth and final week of the 100 push up program. Week 6 ended up being two weeks long in total. So the verdict? Can I do 100 push ups after completing the program? Is the program worth it? Does it measure up to all the hype? The answers are mixed. Here's the summary:

1. I can't do 100 push ups. I got 60. I'm pretty happy with that considering 6 or 7 weeks ago I could only do 12. Pretty pathetic for a trainer, I know, but at least I've come along. That's a 500% improvement...not bad!
2. Yes this program is totally worth doing. My upper body strength has really improved not to mention my biceps have more shape!

(well they might still be kinda scrawny but I can tell a difference---yes this is my bicep!)

I haven't given up on the 100 push ups. The program suggests to repeat weeks 3-6 if 100 push ups haven't been achieved at the end of the program. I'll probably start week 3 again next week. I won't do weekly updates but I'll be sure to post when I get to 100!

My Happening

The other day I decided to scoop the driveway for my husband. Typically he does this every time it snows so it was kinda new to me. As I grabbed the shovel off the hook I thought to myself how much easier this would be if I had a snow blower, not to mention how much more convenient it would be for me. I wouldn't have to work as hard and it would get done so much faster. I wouldn't have to put forth much effort or energy.

As I was rearranging the snow I couldn't help but think how snow blowers relate to most of our overweight problems as Americans. Most everything in life needs to be convenient, easy, and quick. After all that's what sells. We won't buy it unless it offers us an easier way of life.

Why are we so conditional to something we all so desperately want? No, I'm not talking about the snow blower! We all want to be at our ideal body weight and we want to look at feel great, yet we don't want to:
1. Give up or reduce our soda intake.
2. Make exercise a priority.
3. Hire a trainer or join a class because it's too expensive.
4. Reduce other activities so exercise will fit into our schedule.
5. Give up all the short-term satisfactions in conjunction with food.
6. Stay away from fast food.
7. Stop complaining about being overweight and doing nothing about it.
8. Give up the friends that tell us we can't.
9. Stop talking and begin doing.
10. Make a commitment to ourselves knowing we'll really keep it this time....even if it kills us.
11. Stop saying we'll do one thing and then do another.
12. Realize weight loss takes 110% dedication.
13. Face our real issues that lie within and know that they hold us back.
14. Take time for ourselves.
15. Understand we are worth the fight!!

I can't help but let out my frustration with all the conditions we put on ourselves. Why do we never have rules for ourselves except when it is linked with success? Weight loss is HARD WORK! Remember that when you're watching all the "quick and easy" workout systems on infomercial this holiday season. They know we all want something for nothing so they'll use it by telling you what you want to hear.

Dig deep and know you're worth all the sweat, tears, and hardship success will bring.
You have the fight within you, find it, keep it and start using it!

Notice

I'm going to try and be very faithful in putting up an inspirational/motivational "quote of the week" as well as a health/weight loss "tip of the week" each week! You can find them to the right. Check back often to see what's new as those won't get emailed out. Maybe you'll see one that you love or that really hits home. As for the tip of the week, if one speaks to you...try it. Who knows, it might just be the thing that will work for you!

Week 5 In Review: 100 Push Up Program

Think I should be sick of push ups yet? Are you doing to program with me and sick of them? Only one more week left! That's good news, an end in sight.

This week was a little off. I got a horrible cold where most days felt like my body was ran over by a train. I know, it's totally an excuse (see I do it too!) but that's my reason for only getting two days out of three in for push ups. I'm up to 50 on my fifth set--which is the max set.

Timeless Solutions....

I recently gave into peer pressure and joined facebook. I know, I'm one of those! Anyway, I stumbled upon a group and I thought the description of the group was exactly what I've been thinking about and trying to spell out to my clients or anyone who wants to attain a goal. Here's what it says:

Self confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your wits. Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.

If you want to make things happen the ability to motivate yourself and others is a crucial skill. At work, home, and everywhere in between, people use motivation to get results. Motivation requires a delicate balance of communication, structure, and incentives.

People at the top of every profession share one quality — they get things done. This ability supercedes intelligence, talent, and connections in determining the size of your salary and the speed of your advancement.
Despite the simplicity of this concept there is a perpetual shortage of people who excel at getting results.

Shyness is rooted in fear — an irrational fear of speaking up and being humiliated or ignored. Why are some people so afraid of speaking out? The main causes may be oversensitivity and insecurity. When you associate speaking out with pain and embarrassment, you’ll do almost anything to avoid it. Unfortunately, shyness is an enormous detriment to success. For people who share this problem, it’s important to understand the causes and work towards overcoming it.

This group will share ideas to enhance the quality of life ... promote health, wellness, healing and improve self-esteem.
Discuss everyday issues and suggest solutions.

It's that good? If there's a sentace that really speaks to you, I'd encourage you to cut and paste it into a document, print it out and tape it to your bathroom mirror or refridgerator. I think too often we forget what words we've heard before that inspire us to change.

The Switch

It's interesting to think about the last few weeks. They have been completely different than any two weeks in my entire life. It's been a snowball effect since I declared my goal of giving up sweets but once per week or once per month. The middle of December is almost here and I've only had one sweet this month. However, I've decided to let myself have a sweet each week in order to be more realistic in attaining my goal.

I mentioned interesting above but surprising might be a better word. I'm in the midst of what I call, "Mandy experiments" where I put myself through some sort of test in order to see what ramifications take place. Here's what I've learned this far:

1. I had many moments over the last few weeks where I questioned myself as to why I would ever want to give up sweets. Many instances where I was so mad at myself for publicly saying I would do this.
2. There seems to be a detox period. Last week was HELL. It was so hard to limit my sweets to practically nothing when I was used to eating them every single day.
3. The Key: We have absolutely no sweets in our house. My husband brought home a giant cookie for our son and it about killed me. I wanted so badly to gobble it up in one bite. However he reminded me that if I ate it, I would be taking from our son...nice Aaron!
4. It's all a mental game. I am stubborn enough that I will do this all of next year. Too many people have told me I can't do it (which just pushes me more to prove them wrong). I have mental checks through most every day-keeping my brain on the right track.
5. Sweets has been great for weight loss. I've been trying to get past a certain weight, you know where you're just stuck. Well giving up sweets 99% of the time helps with weight loss. Go figure! For my last 3 weigh-ins I've hit the same number, the number I haven't been able to hit when even training for a marathon.
6. There are easy weeks. This week hasn't been too bad and my theory is because my brain knows sweets aren't even an option. It's much easier when there aren't as many options.
7. There is this thing called a switch. It's when you're sick of being sick-and-tired. I think that's the point I've hit. I'm sick of giving my body crap just for my temporary pleasure. I want more....more out of life and more out of my body. I know if I feed it well it will give me more of what I want, energy and feel good. Treating my body right is a must as it does so much for me. I understand it's easy to take for granted....until it stops doing what you want it to do.

Email to my Clients

This morning I felt compelled to email my ladies. I think it's something we can all relate to so I'm adding to the blog!

Hi Ladies,

I hope this finds you to a pleasant Friday morning. Yesterday afternoon I met with a trainer friend; we’re working on a project together but, of course, we talked shop as well. He definitely has a different training style than I---more like a Jillian instead of a Bob if you watch the Biggest Loser and know their personality types. You all know I’m more of a Bob, however, after yesterday’s chat I’m thinking about working towards a Jillian style approach. I know none of you will like this change, so this is my “warn” (or threat as Ginger calls it). Here goes!

I know we’re in the midst of the busy holiday season and things seem like their going a mile a minute. But you know, I think that’s just an excuse. Life isn’t easy, weight loss isn’t easy and definitely meeting a goal isn’t easy. I know the media likes to promote easy and fast results….a weight loss method that doesn’t take much effort. I hate to burst a bubble but that approach doesn’t exist. Unfortunately easy and fast sells and the truth doesn’t. There’s gobs of sweat and tears that will go into each and every inch and pound lost.

All that being said, how much are you investing on a daily or even hourly basis to reach your goals? Are you taking the easy way out like the rest of the nation telling yourself you’ll start in January, that the holidays are just too hard to eat right and make exercise a priority? Are you all in? Or are you just hanging out, hoping and praying that the 1-2 exercise classes per week will do the trick? How are you living your life every minute of every day?

These are all things that you, yourself will have to answer. You don’t owe me any explanation and I’m not judging any of you….I don’t roll that way. Each and every one of you DESERVE to look and feel great. I believe with all my heart that each of you has the strength to meet your goals and I so badly want that for you. Believe in yourself, you have the strength to do anything you want to do. Anytime you doubt that just think about all the exercises I make you do in our time together. They are typically very difficult exercises designed to challenge you. You all complete them….that’s strength (in more ways than one)! Get focused on the accomplishments you have made for yourself because I know each of you have gobs of them.

Week 4 In Review: 100 Push Up Program

Still plugging along with the program. Only 2 more weeks left! Up to 40 this week.

Advice: If we're at week 4 and our push ups are getting sloppy, go to your knees if on toes or switch columns. It's better to have quality over quantity...even though this program seems like quantity is better. Quantity will come if quality is present.

Sweet Dreams

This week has been the first few days of my "sweet eat" 2009 goal where I work at limiting my sweets to either once per week or once per month. My goal is once per month but I'm trying it out this month to see if that's realistic for me to be successful each month of 2009.

I have to say this week has been rough. I've probably gotten at least 4 servings of fruit a day. Tuesday the only thing that got me through was my Bare Naked granola and organic vanilla yogurt. I understand these first few weeks are going to be the most trying, after all I'm basically on detox from all the sweet crap I used to feed my body daily. I think it's a good thing though. The best thing about it is I'm not alone. My amazingly wonderful clients have stepped up to push through 2009 (and start practicing in December) with me. They are being very smart and realistic about it, one sweet per week. Johnna, Ginger, and Pam have definitely told me they are in. I'm still working on a few....which I think I'll have broken soon:)

So the point of this post? Last night I can actually say it's the first time I recall dreaming of sweets. I was dreaming about doughnuts. Then I remember drinking a smoothie, you know the really unhealthy ones from an ice cream parlor. It's humorous that I'd get sweets into my life somehow, even if they are only in my dreams.