The Dreaded "Maintenance"

Well, I did it. I had two kids, and both times lost all of the weight I gained, plus a little more. My motivation was there, my goal in sight, and I did it. Yeah, great. What now?

Maintenance. Ugh. The no end in sight, but still need to keep momentum: maintenance. It's not that I hate working out and eating healthy. That's definitely not it. But it is hard to be strict, but not too strict. Be consistent, but allow enough leniency to not burn out. And the truth of the matter is, I'm still learning. I'm right in the middle of trying to find my "happy place" in health and fitness.  Let's look back to a few months ago.

Late June I completed a program associated with Fit4Mom (previously named Stroller Strides). The program, Body Back, included goal setting, food journaling, intense workouts, as well as accountability. In short, the program rocked. Through the program, I got down to my lowest weight in years (possibly ever) and really felt like I could do or achieve anything. Here is my "before and after" photo:

Flash-forward to now and I am looking more like my before picture and less like my after. So what happened? Life. After the program it wasn't an immediate jump back, but a much more gradual "undoing." A little more bread here. A couple more sweets there. And, now, here I am.  I'm not mad at myself, but clearly, my maintenance has not been as successful as I hoped.

As monotonous as the word "maintenance" sounds, for me, it looks more like a constant up and down. I will figure it out. I will live life happy and healthy, but I want that to include being in my best shape (aka my after picture). I know to get closer to my "after" I need to cut my refined sugars, I need to eat as close to nature as possible, and I need to bring intensity to my workouts. I'm not saying that every day everyone should be killing themselves with sprints, weights. and plyo-craziness. But should you have a high intensity work out at least twice a week? Probably.

I am excited to announce that in two weeks I will be getting Body Back certified. I figure becoming an instructor can only help me understand why the program I loved was so successful in changing my and other people's health and bodies for the better. With a certification, I can better help coach and inspire others to achieve their own heath goals.  And I can't wait.

In the meantime, off I go into battle, armed and ready for this war I've raged against the dreaded "maintenance." If you're in your own battle today, I wish you luck, as well.

Getting Back to It

After a looong sabbatical, I'm here to say that I have every intention of getting back to it. Although I don't  feel as though this blog is one many read, and at times I am nervous to write how I really feel about living a healthy lifestyle (I don't want to step on anyone's toes and worry of sounding too preachy), I do feel that this blog deserves a chance to achieve it's true purpose - to inspire. Therefore, I'm going to give it another shot. Stay tuned for what should be an honest (a possibly lengthy) update.

Damage Control

After having my baby I was more motivated than ever to get fit, eat healthy, and lose the baby weight. I was proud when I conquered those goals and was happy to feel that I was the healthiest I'd ever been in my life... But then it all just started slipping. I was weighing in at the lowest weight I'd been since high school so I took more liberties than usual (liberties being in the form of portion size, cheesy foods, and anything having to do with chocolate). Slowly I was back to what I consider my "go-to size."

AND then vacation came. And, like I'm sure you're guessing, even more liberties were taken. It could have been the buffet breakfasts EVERY morning, or the burger joint we hit while getting lunch in Yellowstone, but lets be honest, it was all of it. I came back from vacation a couple pounds heavier and feeling more like a sloth than a fitness and health buff. So, now what?

Here is what I am not going to do: I am not going to get down on myself, call myself negative names, or even regret what I consumed while on vacation. What I am going to do is use this little setback as motivation. I am going to get back on my work out train, including working out MOST days of the week (good philosophy, right?). And I am going to get back to cooking more meals at home and snacking on fruits and veggies rather than those carb-loaded snacks I've taken to.

The moral of the story: setbacks happen. Big whoop! For me, I will look at this setback as a good thing because it may just be the spark I need to get me back on track :)

How are the Holidays Going?

Wellll... To be honest, I haven't been perfect. Holidays and food seem to go hand in hand and my holidays definitely reflect this. Fortunately, the major feasting is now over and I can get back to my normal, healthy choices. I definitely have to be grateful that even when things are busy over the holidays, I can still keep a consistent workout regimen. Without my workouts, I would surely fall victim to the holiday pounds.

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays as much as I am. Remember, don't fret if you haven't been as healthy as you like... just get movin'!

I've Been Bad

So, the last time I posted was the last time I ran. Yikes. During the run, I felt pretty good and was happy I did it, BUT my coughing got worse again and my doctor recommended no running until I was REALLY over my sickness. Bummer.

Here I am, 11 days later, feeling like a cow, with only 1 workout under my belt (yesterday, I played soccer- cough seemed fine). This isn't the first time I've had a setback in my working out. This time it was because I was sick, but come on, we all go on vacations, or have lapses of no motivation where the last thing we want to be do is work out.

Here's what I'm going to do..

• I am not going to fret. Setbacks happen. Sitting around pouting is not going to work off the possible extra lbs. I packed on in the last week and a half.
• I am not going to weigh myself. Everyone is different with scales. Personally, if I actually see that I have gained weight, I can get really down on myself. After a solid week or so of working out, I will hop on the scale. This usually helps because maybe you've already cut a couple pounds off and then will feel less depressed about what you have to accomplish.
• I am going to get moving. I plan on running a few times this week and also will plan ahead at least one work out class at the gym (love, love, love kickboxing).

That's my plan. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed to talk about my weight gain on the blog, but I'm over it. That's not the point of this blog. Bottom line is, what I've done, needs to be undone. So here goes nothin'.

No Motivation

It's happened again.. It creeps up on me without warning, leaving me to feel victim to its attack.

I am lacking motivation to work out.

I've been sick, I had a super rough 8 mile run Saturday, I have work in an hour and half, I'm feeling tired.. Can't I just put off my run one more day?

I hate the feeling of having no motivation. I feel guilty for feeling it, and also, can't shake myself out of it. What to do? What to do? Honestly, as I write, I'm still not sure. I could go quickly before work and get it done, or wait until after work. The problem with waiting is that I know this feeling of having no motivation could increase after a 5 hour shift of waiting tables. Maybe I should just go.

This time I'm not going fall victim. I'm gonna get my stuff on right now and not think about it for one more second. I'm gonna start running before I can tell myself "no." I know once I start, the battle is over. Okay, I'm off.