Down 30lb just shy of 6 months in. I've lost and gained the same 3lb the past 6 weeks. Ah, the dreaded plateau, you say? No.....the dreaded feeling of comfort. I'm new to this whole regime, but I suggest that the plateau is not a physical road block, but a mental issue. At some point, one realizes that they're pretty happy with where they're at and feeling pretty good, so as humans I suppose we have a natural inclination to take it easy and coast. We stop seeing the fast and fierce results, so we cry plateau. Ok, maybe that's not the truth for everyone. But the "plateau" that I've been on the past 6 weeks is directly a result of garbage in-garbage out. I'm pretty happy with my results. I get mad compliments, I get hit on, I enjoy buying clothes again. I'm ok where I'm at....so I coast. I slack a bit on my diet requirements, I skip cardio a couple of times a week. All of the sudden I've wasted 6 weeks. I've still been working hard, but not with any results. So I ask myself- WHY would I continue to work so hard and be content with ZERO results?! I haven't reached my goal. I'm not done. This is not ok. So, the question is- how do I get hard core again? What's going to flip that switch back on, so I can move past my mental plateau?
For me, sitting down and making a list of my (new/revised) goals, putting that bikini on a hanger somewhere I can see it when I want to nibble unnecessarily, picking a new event to work towards, and making a list of what I call "why I'm better than everyone else"; all the things I do and don't do, as a reminder:
1. I don't eat fast food
2. I don't drink soda
3. I eat as close to the food source as possible
4. I eat only real food; nothing from a package
5. I do some sort of physical activity 7 days a week
6. I don't eat anything with added sugar
You get the idea. These are my affirmations. They're the "How" of my plan to transform my body to a machine. Reminding myself of these goes a long way in getting my mind right again. I also try to get a mental picture of what I want to look like in 6 months, because I know I didn't come this far to stop here!
Finally, I create a calendar and map my work outs, so I can visually see the plan, and plan how I'm going to get in my cardio and hit every body part with weight training weekly. At this point, for me, it's all about targeting at this point. I'm fit, but I'm not fierce...yet. So I need to target and focus on cardio to melt some of the remaining fat. Then I need to target those tough spots; inner thighs, triceps. Mapping out my work outs helps me focus on those areas, while not ignoring the others.
So next time you start to moan about hitting the dreaded plateau, I suggest you sit down and really examine your level of effort and focus, and see if you've really hit a physical plateau, or a mental one!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The transformation
The Transformation
So as of today I'm 10 1/2 weeks in to my transformation from fat to fierce. At the onset of this (on March 1), I committed primarily to clean eating whenever possible, and giving it 110% at the gym. To do this, I've had a few critical tools; the first being my personal trainer, Anton, who is as far as I'm concerned, A GOD. Second, is a new found willingness to learn as I go rather than expect perfection. This has been critical in the transition into clean eating. And third, is a good friend who is also obsessed with getting fit and lean. A gym buddy is so fiercely underrated. I can't even tell you what a difference its made!
So, about Anton. He's probably the one (aside from myself) with whom I should credit the initial jump I needed to propel me into becoming a gym rat. Having a great trainer is critical to me. What defines a great trainer is truly individual, I think. In terms of where Anton excels- he's motivating. He knows what to say to push me. He's funny (and not bad to look at) and seems to know how to get into my head so that I develop a sense of needing to be accountable to him, and wanting him to be proud of me, and it all just steamrolls from there. Most importantly, he pushes me farther and harder than I will push myself, and to me that's the key reason to have a trainer. Also key to me is that he explains a bit about the why's and how's of what we're doing.
Cleaning eating has also been a major breakthrough in this transformation. It all started with a "diet" program that a nutritionist gave me at the gym. It was a 2 week plan of grilled chicken, vegetables, oatmeal, egg whites, minimal dairy and nothing fun. But one thing about me- I go all in or I don't go at all. So, I committed to the 2 weeks. I did it, an dropped a solid 6 pounds. More importantly, my skin cleared up and got brighter. I found I had more energy for my work outs. I didn't feel sluggish during the day. Most importantly, I didn't crave junk! So this created a viciously good cycle: Better eating meant better work outs, better work outs meant better sleeping. Feeling better made me feel stronger and feeling stronger made me want to keep eating clean and keep working out. And on and on it goes. The biggest thing with this is realizing that it isn't going to be perfect from day 1. Sometimes I eat things and only then realize how much crap they have in them. I only recently thought to look at Whole Foods for a natural replacement to my Myoplex protein shake. Every day I make another stop towards wholesome eating. Overall though, I eat 300% better than I did on February 28th, and that in itself is a win!
And then there's the other critical piece- a great work out buddy. Annie is my hairdresser that I meant by chance when I asked a woman in an airport in Newark, NJ who cut her hair (she'd been on my flight from Ft. Lauderdale). 2 years later, Annie is one of my dearest friends and makes me feel beautiful in a million different ways. She is a pillar of strength- mentally, physically, spiritually. That's motivating! She encouraged me to try pilates, has helped me to become a regular at Sunday morning yoga, and harasses me daily about if I did my cardio and what I've eaten, etc. We both suffer from the same head trash, so we're ideal motivators for each other. We talk each other up as much as we talk each other off ledges. Everyone needs a gym buddy like that!!!
The Goal
So, most of this all started with this plan to run this Warrior Dash in Boston in June. I'd committed to it before but failed for various reasons. One major one being shin splints, which will be another topic for another day. Having 6 or 7 friends who can all run sign up for an event with you is motivating. I refuse to be the one who has to say "go ahead guys, I'll catch up". No way, not this girl. I've asked soldiers before what makes them fight and run towards enemy fire, and their answer is always "we do it for the guy next to us". The same applies here. So the goal is June 25. 3.2 miles and 12 obstacles through mud and fire. The photo finish is the image I have in my head when I run, or when I do a dead lift and want to puke. The photo finish of me and my friends, covered in mud and warrior paint, and the feeling I can only imagine of "I DID THIS". That's not the only reason I do this. But it's the reason I look to right now. On June 26, I'll already have a new one lined up. Why? Because I will keep doing this!
So as of today I'm 10 1/2 weeks in to my transformation from fat to fierce. At the onset of this (on March 1), I committed primarily to clean eating whenever possible, and giving it 110% at the gym. To do this, I've had a few critical tools; the first being my personal trainer, Anton, who is as far as I'm concerned, A GOD. Second, is a new found willingness to learn as I go rather than expect perfection. This has been critical in the transition into clean eating. And third, is a good friend who is also obsessed with getting fit and lean. A gym buddy is so fiercely underrated. I can't even tell you what a difference its made!
So, about Anton. He's probably the one (aside from myself) with whom I should credit the initial jump I needed to propel me into becoming a gym rat. Having a great trainer is critical to me. What defines a great trainer is truly individual, I think. In terms of where Anton excels- he's motivating. He knows what to say to push me. He's funny (and not bad to look at) and seems to know how to get into my head so that I develop a sense of needing to be accountable to him, and wanting him to be proud of me, and it all just steamrolls from there. Most importantly, he pushes me farther and harder than I will push myself, and to me that's the key reason to have a trainer. Also key to me is that he explains a bit about the why's and how's of what we're doing.
Cleaning eating has also been a major breakthrough in this transformation. It all started with a "diet" program that a nutritionist gave me at the gym. It was a 2 week plan of grilled chicken, vegetables, oatmeal, egg whites, minimal dairy and nothing fun. But one thing about me- I go all in or I don't go at all. So, I committed to the 2 weeks. I did it, an dropped a solid 6 pounds. More importantly, my skin cleared up and got brighter. I found I had more energy for my work outs. I didn't feel sluggish during the day. Most importantly, I didn't crave junk! So this created a viciously good cycle: Better eating meant better work outs, better work outs meant better sleeping. Feeling better made me feel stronger and feeling stronger made me want to keep eating clean and keep working out. And on and on it goes. The biggest thing with this is realizing that it isn't going to be perfect from day 1. Sometimes I eat things and only then realize how much crap they have in them. I only recently thought to look at Whole Foods for a natural replacement to my Myoplex protein shake. Every day I make another stop towards wholesome eating. Overall though, I eat 300% better than I did on February 28th, and that in itself is a win!
And then there's the other critical piece- a great work out buddy. Annie is my hairdresser that I meant by chance when I asked a woman in an airport in Newark, NJ who cut her hair (she'd been on my flight from Ft. Lauderdale). 2 years later, Annie is one of my dearest friends and makes me feel beautiful in a million different ways. She is a pillar of strength- mentally, physically, spiritually. That's motivating! She encouraged me to try pilates, has helped me to become a regular at Sunday morning yoga, and harasses me daily about if I did my cardio and what I've eaten, etc. We both suffer from the same head trash, so we're ideal motivators for each other. We talk each other up as much as we talk each other off ledges. Everyone needs a gym buddy like that!!!
The Goal
So, most of this all started with this plan to run this Warrior Dash in Boston in June. I'd committed to it before but failed for various reasons. One major one being shin splints, which will be another topic for another day. Having 6 or 7 friends who can all run sign up for an event with you is motivating. I refuse to be the one who has to say "go ahead guys, I'll catch up". No way, not this girl. I've asked soldiers before what makes them fight and run towards enemy fire, and their answer is always "we do it for the guy next to us". The same applies here. So the goal is June 25. 3.2 miles and 12 obstacles through mud and fire. The photo finish is the image I have in my head when I run, or when I do a dead lift and want to puke. The photo finish of me and my friends, covered in mud and warrior paint, and the feeling I can only imagine of "I DID THIS". That's not the only reason I do this. But it's the reason I look to right now. On June 26, I'll already have a new one lined up. Why? Because I will keep doing this!
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