Sunday, December 22, 2013

"Aha" moments in the middle of a 30-day body transformation!

Heather's Half-Way Point!

At the 2 week mark Heather has lost 5 pounds!!! And, she is reporting a bit of, what I like to call, exercise addiction. She has actually lost 7 pounds since the "prep-week, a week for us to see how well her diet and exercise expectations felt. Her efforts and commitment is truly commendable. Heather, you are on a roll!!

Hard work does pay off, and often we surprise ourselves when we discover that we are made of a little bit of "dirt and grit". :)  The hardest part is the beginning and the second hardest part is the moment when you have that thought, "Oh, this is hard." We can't let that thought win, because nothing worth earning is ever easy. But, it's true it does get easier and then we actually begin to want to push ourselves even harder (oh, those wonderful endorphins). I asked Heather how she was feeling about working out 6 times per week compared to her one pt per week and running days. Below read Heather's "Aha" moments. ~ Meche



Memory Pic #1: Why oh why am I eating shaved ice and wearing a 
jacket on my beach vacation?  
I really should be wearing a bikini and frolicking in the waves.
Aha Moments: Increased Excercise: I really thought I would be sore and wishing for a break every day during this challenge, as my previous exercise schedule consisted of running a few times a week (at a very gentle pace) and one half-hour training session per week with Meche.  Now that I am approaching the halfway point on the challenge, I am doing intense cardio (for me - it really gets my heart racing) twice every day, and 3 short and intense personal training sessions per week.  The strange thing is, I am feeling more comfortable in it, which is quite the opposite of what I thought would happen.  Don't get me wrong, I reach muscle failure or end up gasping for air with every exercise I do, so it is not easy... it just feels more natural, the way it feels when you are learning a foreign language and find yourself speaking complete sentences without having to think too hard.  I would have never thought I was capable of this until I undertook this 30 day quest, and now I have trouble imagining a life where I don't have this new relationship with exercise.  The sweetest thing is stretching after a workout.  Its really quite blissful.  Who knew?


One more Aha Moment: Locus of Control:  I am learning what an amazing thing it is to admit that I need help.  I need people, I deeply appreciate them and crave their presence in my life, but I don't want to begin to think that my success of failure hinges on them.  The important thing for me now to learn is to take responsibility for my actions.  I am going through a daily exercise of making sure I am taking responsibility for all of my situations.  I want the locus of my control to be within me and not something outside of me/outside of my control.  This will take some practice.  



Memory Pic #2: Beach Vacations!  This is me two years ago in Kauai.  I love my 
suit that looks like a mumu dress, but boy oh boy, I cannot wait to trade it in 
for a more sporty style of beach wear J


From Heather's personal blog...

Encouragement is the best.
I went to my doctor yesterday to request a note for massage therapy. (I have chronic upper back pain from years of alternating between painting and sitting at a desk).  
Through our conversation discussing health and physical activity, I told him about how I had run a half marathon last year, but I had come in after the finish line was closed.
He immediately said “I am going to write something down for you, and I really want you to take it to heart.”  With that, he wrote the following on a sticky note:
FL>DNF>DNS
I was unfamiliar with this, so he explained:
"Heather,
Finished Last is greater than Did Not Finish.  
Did Not Finish is greater than Did Not Start.”
That was exactly what I needed to hear.  
If you see someone in need of encouragement, don’t hesitate to give it.  It is a game changer.
I cannot begin to count the number of times, when I am feeling terrible about myself or feeling like a failure, that my husband, or my parents, or my trainer has told me I am doing a great job.  Those few words stop me in my tracks down the mountain, and cause me to turn around and keep climbing.
PS.  In addition to giving me a prescription for massage therapy, my Dr. told me it was time for me to sign up for a new half marathon.  If anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them.

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Thursday, December 19, 2013

how to combat sabotage beautifully!!

Heather's attitude is CAN DO!

Mental toughness is a HUGE part of success. Of course, we ALL have weaknesses. E
very high-level athlete is continually looking for a mental edge. Why would the "average" fitness seeking person be any different? It's learning how to handle those situations that are against your mission and acting on what you know you NEED. One secret is to surround yourself with CAN DO people! There's nothing like that kind of motivation and the powerful "I Can Do It" attitude! 

How Heather has stayed on the Path....

Heather's Journal Wed, Dec 19, 2013

Challenges:  "Sabotage?" - Sabotage seems like such a harsh word, yet when many of us try to tackle a goal, we refer to behaviors of others that may disrupt our progress as sabotage.  In the last blog post, Meche mentioned that someone ordered me my favorite pizza, even though they knew I was doing this transformation.  That individual was my mother-in-law.  She is a kind and nurturing person, who was speaking my language of love: comfort food.  When I told her I couldn't have any, she felt bad for me having to go without, and tried to reason a way that I could make an exception just for that day and enjoy myself a little bit.  After all it was a family get together to celebrate the safe and healthy delivery of our niece.  She had the best intentions, and nothing from my past behavior would have given her an impression that I would do something different on this day. Soooo.....

Solution: Shopping spree at Whole Foods:  Luckily, I had an accomplice (my trusty husband, Dustin), and he could tell that the smell of pizza and my hunger was a bad combination of overpowering temptation for me.  He jumped in and suggested we take a trip to whole foods, We grabbed a rotisserie chicken, some blueberries,and some veggies.  Problem averted, but I was reminded today that this was kind of like a strategy game.  What if I am tempted when I don't have my accomplice nearby to hold me accountable?  We found a solution for that particular situation, but I realized that I need to have a plan of action for every circumstance I may run into.  I can't isolate myself to accomplish my goals, and constantly exercising my willpower seems to deplete it.  At least I have this chance to share my struggles.  Every time I have a challenge now, I think "How will I write about this in a useful way?"  What would I like to tell people my solution was? 

WORKOUT PROGRESS:
This workout is 4 minutes rounds of...
5x 1 arm DB Snatchs 20#
5x 1 arm DB Row 25#
10x Leaning Tower
5x Burpees
Look at that lift off!!! Awesome Burpee Heather!!

Last week Heather completed 1 & 3/4 rounds of this in week 1. At her second attempt to this workout in week 2 she completed  two full rounds, plus 10 more reps!!! Yee Haw!! She is STRONG!! Then she did it two more times!!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The second week of the body transformation...


Heather is in the "zone"! I believe she has truly accepted the mission. She mentioned to me the other day that someone had ordered her a pizza and she firmly (and politely) stood her ground that she was unable to eat it, then she made a beeline to Whole Foods to get what she needed. Bravo Heather! Bravo!!

Heather's Journal Tuesday, December 17th:
Challenge:  I don’t have very good willpower.  Back to the theme of knowing myself better, I have had to admit that I don’t have incredible willpower.  If something delicious is nearby, I get a compulsion to eat it.  At some times in the past, I would impulsively eat something so fast that I wouldn’t even taste it or enjoy it.  So the question was, how was I going to make this experience different than every other time I have attempted to change my lifestyle. 

Solution:  Multiple Solutions: 
·      ~I sought professional help from Meche. 
·      ~I asked my husband for help
·      ~We did everything we could to stay away from situations where I would be tempted… but when we had to show up,  we came prepared with our own food
·     ~I made my journey public. I've even been sponsored to help with my personal training sessions.  There was no greater commitment device than this.  If I am tempted now, I think of all the people who are watching my journey and have invested time and money in my success.     

·     ~I have to keep an open dialogue with myself, and whenever I want to skip a workout or eat outside the meal plan (which is carefully planned down to the ounce!) I think of the trajectory of progress that I am on and remind myself that I could be at my ideal weight within a matter of months.

Useful Tools:  Professional Help, A Good Friend to Encourage you (you have to ask them to do this), and a commitment device.


Another commitment device:  A Visualization of Success. 
This is Dusty and I leaving our wedding almost 12 years ago. 
I weighed somewhere around 115 lbs, and I didn’t even exercise back then,
I was just young.  I can’t wait to see a fit and healthy Heather emerge.
 


Heather's Workout Week Two - WOD 1: http://youtu.be/kTSawpImIo0
Workout Details:
50x Waling Lunges with 25#
10x Plank to Push-ups
15x Barbell Squats 55#
10x Smith Muscle Ups

Last week Heather completed this series in 5 minutes and 29 seconds, this week she beat her time! She completed the same series in 4 minutes and 59 seconds!!