I so admire the people who can keep weight off without logging food. How much more convenient life must be without having to write it all down! But I'm not one of them.
Rarely can I let junk food in the house. It's just to hard for me to keep my mitts (and tongue) off of it.
I've had people question and challenge me on both of these issues. In years gone by I have let others bully me into bringing foods that were not in my best interest into my home when I knew I wasn't strong enough to resist them. I've also felt ashamed that I planned to log my food even after I lost my weight, despite knowing it would help me to maintain, because someone told me that wasn't a realistic way to live.
But not anymore: These are two limitations I've had to acknowledge and respect about myself.
I have a friend who does what is necessary to keep her body fat at a healthy level when she pays a trainer/coach to help her. It's something she has to work into her budget to stay successful. She's not weaker than anyone else. Quite the opposite: She is strong enough to recognize and respect her own unique needs and then implement them.
Another person I know has to to to Weight Watchers meetings and weigh-in on a weekly basis in order to not gain her weight back.
Some do best avoiding restaurants; others can't stay home because they eat out of boredom. Some do best if they plan their meals ahead, while others will rebel and overeat if their foods are strictly dictated: They do better with a little (or a lot) more give in their eating plan. Still others do better if they avoid things like white flour or sugar all together, while there are those who find success when they can indulge a little from time to time.
Your picture of success will not look like that of anyone else. This is a good thing and as it should be. You have to be true to your personality and respect your own limitations. Maybe these boundaries will change with time. Maybe they won't. But for lasting success in the weight loss and fitness game, you are going to have to be honest and true with yourself about what works for you.
If someone else doesn't like it? Well....... Let them eat cake........
Or not......
Friday, December 28, 2012
Accept Your Body Type
"I want your abs!".
I get this comment a lot. While I know it's meant as a compliment, some of the people who say this are seriously trying to get abs just like mine. They will write me telling me they've eaten what I eat, exercised like I exercise, and done their level best to emulate me. And still they don't have my abs. They want to know what they are doing wrong.
And here is my answer: Nothing. They are doing nothing wrong.
See, other people doing what I do to get my abs is the equivalent of me doing what Figure Pro Erin Stern does to get her legs. Try as I might, I'll never have Erin's legs, because I am not Erin.
My lower half will always be my weak point, the place where I will always wish I could improve. There are broken veins and even at 10% body fat, when they are looking the best they can, there is always at least a little cellulite. To add insult to injury, at body fat that low there's also saggy skin right under my glutes.
So what's a bottom-heavy girl to do? I capitalize on my abs, arms, shoulders, and back (I have awesome back muscles!). I show these parts off. I hide my legs as much as I need to so that they don't take away from the beauty of my upper body.
This doesn't mean I don't work on my lower body, because I do. I work REALLY hard on it, because not only do I want to see improvement there, but also because those big muscles burn the most fat. And I need to keep my fat levels low for the sake of my health. So for me, it's about more way more than appearance- It's about being healthy and balanced.
But I have accepted that my legs and glutes will never be my strong suit. And you may need to accept that your abs will never be yours. Or whatever body part makes you crazy.
There are parts of your physique you can reshape: My shoulders are naturally very slight. I have worked to build muscle on them to help balance my wide hips. I've built up my back for the same reason. I've added muscle, and therefore definition, to my arms.
But some things (like wide waists, big calves, and bubble butts) can't be changed with diet and exercise. You might be very lean and still have a waist measurement almost the same as your hips, a bust line that is more than generous, or muscular calves that will never fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Like me, you might have to get down to an unsustainable and unhealthy body fat level to get true symmetry to your physique. The sooner you accept that the healthiest thing may for you may not be the most asthetically pleasing, the sooner you will be content with your body.
Change what you can, accept what you can't, aim for health over all, and celebrate the uniqueness of YOU!
I get this comment a lot. While I know it's meant as a compliment, some of the people who say this are seriously trying to get abs just like mine. They will write me telling me they've eaten what I eat, exercised like I exercise, and done their level best to emulate me. And still they don't have my abs. They want to know what they are doing wrong.
And here is my answer: Nothing. They are doing nothing wrong.
See, other people doing what I do to get my abs is the equivalent of me doing what Figure Pro Erin Stern does to get her legs. Try as I might, I'll never have Erin's legs, because I am not Erin.
My lower half will always be my weak point, the place where I will always wish I could improve. There are broken veins and even at 10% body fat, when they are looking the best they can, there is always at least a little cellulite. To add insult to injury, at body fat that low there's also saggy skin right under my glutes.
So what's a bottom-heavy girl to do? I capitalize on my abs, arms, shoulders, and back (I have awesome back muscles!). I show these parts off. I hide my legs as much as I need to so that they don't take away from the beauty of my upper body.
This doesn't mean I don't work on my lower body, because I do. I work REALLY hard on it, because not only do I want to see improvement there, but also because those big muscles burn the most fat. And I need to keep my fat levels low for the sake of my health. So for me, it's about more way more than appearance- It's about being healthy and balanced.
But I have accepted that my legs and glutes will never be my strong suit. And you may need to accept that your abs will never be yours. Or whatever body part makes you crazy.
There are parts of your physique you can reshape: My shoulders are naturally very slight. I have worked to build muscle on them to help balance my wide hips. I've built up my back for the same reason. I've added muscle, and therefore definition, to my arms.
But some things (like wide waists, big calves, and bubble butts) can't be changed with diet and exercise. You might be very lean and still have a waist measurement almost the same as your hips, a bust line that is more than generous, or muscular calves that will never fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Like me, you might have to get down to an unsustainable and unhealthy body fat level to get true symmetry to your physique. The sooner you accept that the healthiest thing may for you may not be the most asthetically pleasing, the sooner you will be content with your body.
Change what you can, accept what you can't, aim for health over all, and celebrate the uniqueness of YOU!
Don't Jack With Your Program!
You know what I think is one of the biggest reasons people don't lose weight on a program? Because they don't follow the program in it's entirity. They do part of it, but not all of it. They hire a coach and do the exercises he says but don't follow the eating plan. Or do a pretty good job of following the eating plan 5 days out of the week, but go off the rails and eat whatever they darned well please two. Or follow the eating plan perfectly but don't exercise the way he tells you to. Or decide they're going to have rice with dinner even though the coach told them to just have asparagus and fish. You get the idea.
Here's the thing: With most programs, whether they are a company-owned plan like Jenny Craig or a pricey one made by a coach personally for you, your best success is dependent on doing ALL of said program. It's made to work as a whole. You take one part of it out, and like the gears in a watch, either the whole mechanism stops working or it isn't nearly as effective as if you did the program in it's entirety.
If you are working with a coach, I would advise to put blinders on and just DO it. Don't read Weight Watchers material if you are following Julie Lohre's program. (But if you are doing Weight Watchers, read ALL of the material.) Don't decide it's time to brush up on the Paleo diet or read "The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women" when you are paying Mike Davies to make a program for you. Why? Because in there somewhere is going to be something that isn't going to be what your coach or program has lined up for you. You will start to doubt the effectiveness of what they have you doing. And with doubt comes lack of enthusiasm. And with lack of enthusiasm comes lack of adherence. And with lack of adherence comes lack of results.
Commit to whatever plan you are doing in it's entirety. Focus like a laser beam, block everything else out, and just GO! Pick a plan, follow the WHOLE plan, and stick with it. You'll be the one getting the results while others are saying "This plan just doesn't work for me."
Here's the thing: With most programs, whether they are a company-owned plan like Jenny Craig or a pricey one made by a coach personally for you, your best success is dependent on doing ALL of said program. It's made to work as a whole. You take one part of it out, and like the gears in a watch, either the whole mechanism stops working or it isn't nearly as effective as if you did the program in it's entirety.
If you are working with a coach, I would advise to put blinders on and just DO it. Don't read Weight Watchers material if you are following Julie Lohre's program. (But if you are doing Weight Watchers, read ALL of the material.) Don't decide it's time to brush up on the Paleo diet or read "The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women" when you are paying Mike Davies to make a program for you. Why? Because in there somewhere is going to be something that isn't going to be what your coach or program has lined up for you. You will start to doubt the effectiveness of what they have you doing. And with doubt comes lack of enthusiasm. And with lack of enthusiasm comes lack of adherence. And with lack of adherence comes lack of results.
Commit to whatever plan you are doing in it's entirety. Focus like a laser beam, block everything else out, and just GO! Pick a plan, follow the WHOLE plan, and stick with it. You'll be the one getting the results while others are saying "This plan just doesn't work for me."
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