Optimum Bodies Blog

It’s no easy feat to balance life when you are trying to make big changes to yourself. In the past few years I have experienced many different aspects of this firsthand.
In the beginning it is the constant stress and fear of slipping up. This is the stage when you need to count every calorie you consume and weigh every portion of food. This is when you have to avoid all situations that could set you up for failure in any way. It’s like walking a tightrope each time you open your mouth.
Next comes that failure. I think that everyone who has ever made any drastic changes to their weight and life will agree that at some point we all have some level of failure. Mine was Christmas of last year when I gained back 16 lbs of the weight lost. I had just become comfortable with myself and felt like it was OK to stop thinking about it because I had accomplished so much and thought I deserved a reward break.
Then you come to coping and acceptance of your life and the routines you have established over the time. With this you are OK with allowing yourself some freedom to live life without being weighed down with the guilt or without fear of returning to your old patterns. I am at this point now and let me tell you it is a great feeling.
Not everyone in your life is going to understand what you are doing. Some people may actually resent you for it, others will understand it but not fully support it. This is when I am thankful I am at the stage I am. Case in point would be this past weekend with terrific friends but not so terrific food choices. I can now respect that not everyone around me is going to want to eat just egg whites, veggies and chicken and that’s OK. It is also OK to allow myself some indulgences in moderation.
These days I find that I am perceiving food in an entirely different light. When I hear that someone had a snack of a Big Mac my brain thinks about that in a new view. Once I would have been right on board with a quick “snack” like this, then in phase 2 I would have analyzed the food choice and called my friend out on that bad decision. Now I can respect that its not my decision to make and that I should remember that rather than being quick to judge that not so many years ago I would have done the same.
Would I eat a big mac as a snack now? Not a chance.
Would I eat a big mac as a cheat meal? Its quite possible I would do it.
The point is that you have to find a balance in life and put things in perspective. You are not defined by your weight, nor is it the only thing that validates your existence (although at times it feels that way) but when you first make these drastic changes its easy to feel this way. The good news is that with time and persistence you will learn a great deal more about yourself. This weekend I learned that rather than stressing about bacon, eggs and pancakes consumed for breakfast on 2 days I should focus on the positives of my days. I know now that I can get lost in the beauty of green trees and sparkling lake water with a silly grin on my face as I launch into a morning jog. I have learned that I can run and play with my children with unbounded energy and soak in the memories. I am learning a balance between my diet, my exercise and my life and reinventing myself each day at a time.

Taking it one day and one step at a time,

Natasha

I remember it so clearly, that single thought and the let down I felt throughout my entire body, my inevitable failure.  This was about 5 years ago and I had decided that I was going to see if I could run a little.  I guess I must have had a day that was worse than the others and came up with this plan to feel better about my day.  I found a pair of sweatpants and laced up my shoes. I called out to my husband and laughingly said see you in 10 minutes.  You know what? I couldn’t even make it down the driveway and across my street to the mail box.  Not even that far. I walked back into my house and that was the end of that. I spent longer taking my shoes on and off than I did doing anything else. I returned to the comfort of my food and told no one about it, my husband never said a word about it either.

Now I am embarking on this journey again. Running is very challenging and I think its a good fit for someone who likes to push themselves.  Rather than just lace up my shoes and walk out the door set up for failure I decided that I should put some thought into things and plan.  I concluded that I would start with just walking for an hour several times a week, then I would add a little bit of jogging/running here and there when I felt I could.  I surprised myself by actually being able to do an entire minute at a time and that felt good when I thought about the previous attempt.  I am sure that all the time spent at the gym and the 50+ pounds removed from my frame made a big part of the change for me, but because I could do something? Well that was a reason to keep trying.  A fellow blogger posted a message to me saying I should try a free program called Couch 2 5K and so I immediately searched it out and purchased the app for my phone.

This app takes you through a 9 week program which requires 3 times running a week. Each week a little more is added to your time jogging/running and you spend less time walking.  You just follow the prompts that speak up over your music.  I am now on week 3, which I have decided to repeat twice as my lungs burned the first time around.

I’m not going to tell you that its easy because its not.  Do I feel proud of myself when I actually make it through the program list without failing a run part? You bet I do!! I feel empowered and although its currently only a maximum of 3 minutes at a time for my “long run” I feel like a total winner for doing it.  I know that with time and persistence I will do more.  I also know that I will most likely continue to curse and swear at that polite little voice that says,”Run now” as it gets harder for me.  However I may have to think it rather than say it because that man looked at me weird when I was jogging along, sweating like crazy and panting like a dog and muttering “say WALK you stupid  b#t2$!”  That said I let it slide off my back, waved over my shoulder and said, “there’s an app for that!” I’m cool like that.

In all seriousness though? Although it is hard and I approach it with caution and bad knees I have taken a lot from the experience so far.  My original goal was to complete a 5K run in September to celebrate my 40th birthday, I then decided I wanted to be part of the CIBC Run for a Cure 5K on October 2nd (why don’t you come out and join me with our Optimum Bodies team??) and now I have decided to do the July 2nd 5K being run by the boys over at Do Life who I have found much inspiration from.

I never thought that a time would come that I could say that last night I walked/jogged 3.4km. I didn’t think that was possible.  I can say I have done that over 12 times now. One day I will look back on this and remember when I only did 3.4km, the great thing is I know this now and so it drives me in the best possible way.

Simply put? Like anything else in life, if you just have faith in yourself you can do it.

Taking it one day and one step at a time,

Natasha

If you want to get weight off you really need to do one really important thing and although it is simple enough in concept it is harder to do than it seems.  You need to be accountable for what you eat and when you eat it. I struggle with this on and off for many reasons.

It’s simple to say that you want to take off weight and that you are going to consume less calories to do it, however that’s not always how your body works.  I mean yes, you do have to eat fewer calories than you expend if you want to take off weight.  You need to find a balance and maintain it if you want your body to lose.  I find this balance hard, I seem to either be in Eat Nothing mode or Eat Lots mode and neither of these will help with my plan. Remember that a pound of fat is actually 3500 calories. That deficiency can’t be achieved in just a day, you need consistency so that your metabolism doesn’t slow down and ruin your plan!

For me I find that I need some serious accountability.  One great way is to track your calories and this was the route I used in the beginning. I logged every ounce of food that went in each day.  The best thing about this is that most sites out there will not only show you what calories you have consumed but also an analysis of your daily nutrients which if you are eager to learn will educate you about making better food choices.

The best tool I have to keep me in line is my trainer and the wonderful world of Blackberry Messenger.  Each time I eat I message her what it was and if I forget? Well I can be sure she will pipe up and mention that I haven’t done so.  Not every training facility will offer something like this but you can still follow this idea. Have someone you work with and to who you are accountable for your food intake.  Be it a friend, a food log, a calorie counting site or a blog.

Sabotage – It’s a word we all know well, even more so if you have ever taken on the daunting task of weight loss. I am the queen of sabotage and have spent the better part of my life in various states of self-destruction so I could be considered an expert on the matter!

When it comes to exercise and diet, the number one thing that will derail you will be sabotage. The most common form will be your own, meaning that you will allow yourself to give in to temptation. I know firsthand how easy that is to do, to fall back into those same old habits and make excuses for yourself. Oh! I just don’t have the time to get to the gym; I just don’t have the time to cook dinner tonight!! Maybe you really don’t have the time but you need to evaluate the situation and make changes accordingly. I have learnt this first hand over the last year and found that I need to be accountable to myself. Let’s face it, we know our own schedules right? So we know about those time restraints and could plan for it if we put some thought into it. A prime example of this would be this following weekend for me as I know that I have no time to do either of these things as we are going away camping. My simple solution? I will go to the gym in the morning and I will make dinner in advance so we can eat it on the ride up to the campground. This is a solution that allows me to stay on track and the planning is my solution to potential self-sabotage.

We then have the emotional eating.  Most people in my boat are emotional eaters. Be it boredom, depression or whatever the reason.  I have identified and come to terms that I am one of these people. My instinct is to now think about if I really need to eat something or not? Am I eating for hunger or other reasons? This usually works but we all have our bad day’s right?  No different to anyone else I have low days that leave me wanting the comfort of food.  How can I deal with this?  I can make smart choices.  So rather than wolfing down a bag of 2 bite brownies I can make a better decision to eat half a dozen two bite protein muffins I baked and froze.  The end result? I did eat for emotional reasons but rather than feeling guilty and worse about myself for what I did I can look at the single positive thing I did. Pick a better food.  One day I would like to ban the whole emotional eating thing from my life but Rome was not built in a day and we all have moments of weakness. The trick is to find a way to make a situation as positive as you can.  It is just too easy to let yourself give up and then the cycle becomes worse as you then feel worse about yourself.

You have to be open to growth in yourself, each day you will learn more and become a stronger person for it both emotionally and physically.

Taking it one day and one step at a time,

Natasha

Click here to follow me on my journey to shed 100 lbs and reinvent myself.

Optimum Bodies Personal Training & Wellness Studio
619 Kingston Road West, Ajax ON
905-231-2234
www.optimumbodies.ca