Goals

             Have you seen that commercial for AARP? You know the one that says “Michelle just finished her first marathon at forty. Proof that not everyone peaks in their twenties.” Something like that, I can’t remember the exact wording. Well, this got me thinking about my brother-in-law. See last year, Aaron decided that he was going to run a marathon. At first I thought he was crazy, I even thought he was crazy when he was visiting and had my sister drop him off ten miles from my house and he ran back. I really thought he was crazy when he arrived and his toes were bleeding. I mean, for the longest time if I hurt, I’d stop. So his actions had me confused, why would he do something that hurts his body? But now I understand, he was determined and wasn’t going to let anything prevent him from reaching his goal. I remember this every time I work out.

             Goals are great, but what if you don’t reach them? Like say you have a goal of a weight loss of 2 pounds per week, but you don’t meet that goal? Well, don’t give up! Just try again. You know that saying “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Well, that’s exactly what you need to do. Don’t get down on yourself because you didn’t meet that goal and give up. Do the work, and get out of your head. I can’t say this enough, GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD!! Here’s what I do, Every month I set a goal of 2-6 inches lost. I don’t really worry about the number on the scale, after all it is just a number and that number DOES NOT define me. I do get on once a week to make sure that I haven’t over done it. But that’s it. Sometimes I meet my goal, and sometimes I fall short. But after I pick myself up and brush the dirt off my shoulder I get back to work. I focus on each rep, or the intensity of my workout. Then I track all of my food. Sometimes I forget, I mean we all do every now and then, but I try.

                  Setting goals are important, and there are a times when you can sabotage yourself when you set a goal. There are a few rules, that I try to follow when setting my goals. I think that you will find they are very helpful.

- Set a realistic goal

      Know what you can do. If you know that you have a hard time losing weight, don’t say “I’m losing 40 pounds in three months.” First off, that isn’t safe. Secondly, it’s only going to upset you when you don’t meet that goal.

  - have a visual / tangible goal

      By doing this, you can see how far you have to go. This will also be a constant reminder. This past march I bought myself a swimsuit and I hung it up on the wall in my room. I saw this suit when I woke up and went to sleep. I would see it and think, how much work I had to do and then push for that.

-divide and conquer

   I have found that focusing on my long term goal, makes me a little nervous sometimes. I mean it’s going to take A LOT of work to get where I want to be.  Divide your long term goal into smaller achievable goals. Then celebrate, but not with food, YOU ARE NOT A DOG.  You’ll feel accomplished and this will push you to continue.

- Give yourself a deadline

   I’ll be honest, I’m not really good about this one. I have however, decided that by March I will have lost a total of 45 inches. I’ve already lost 29.5 inches so I’m not far off. If I reach a total of 45 inches before then, I will have to reset my goal.  By setting a deadline, you are forcing yourself to be accountable.  But again, be realistic in setting your deadline.

- Take it one day at a time

      Every day, I make sure that I get all my water, have two juices, drink two protein shakes, and that I don’t eat after seven o’clock. Some days, I do  this perfectly, and others I don’t. But, I try  to focus on this each day, because by doing this I’m not worrying about the result, but more about the work. Once I get focused on the work, I will see results. I talked about “the circle” before.

Now I want to share my goal with you. It may seem like an unrealistic one, and some may poke fun at me or tell me I can’t do it. For those of you, go ahead, because your ridicule will only fuel my fire. In a year, maybe a little less, but by my birthday next year, I would like to be in shape to compete like my inspiration Cody Lawyer at the protein princess. I won’t compete, but I’d like to be in the shape to do so. I have a buddy, My dear sweet sister, Emily has so kindly agreed to join me on this journey. We will keep each other on track.

What is your goal? If you don’t have one, set one. Make yourself accountable, and then achieve it. You can do it, I believe in you.

Motivation…….

It’s easy to lose your motivation along the way. What is it that causes this to happen? Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, it is often because I’m looking at how much work I still have to do versus how far I have come. My wonderful trainer reminded one day, when I was complaining about how I feel like I’m never going to loose my jelly belly, that if you put in the work and take things day by day , that it will all take care of it’s self. Now that doesn’t mean that I can bust my butt at the gym, and then go home and eat a snickers and expect the weight to fall off. Wouldn’t that be nice?! It means, give your workout everything you have, and then go home and eat clean, and everything else will just fall in place.

It’s like the guy that performs the wedding on I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry, when he says, “It’s like a circle,” (that was for you Carlos ). When you do the right things, everything else just follows. I remember in a nutrition class that my trainer taught and he showed the effects. I wish I had that picture now to better describe it. But, to save you from having to read a bunch of words that don’t make any sense, I’ll spare you that. I could go on and on, and you’d still be clueless as to what I’m saying. SEE ? I lost you already. HAHA.  But this is what I have figured out, it takes 21 days of repetition for something to become a habit. So, 21 days of going to the gym, led me to 21 days of eating clean, which has led me to 21 days of avoiding being sedentary at home. See? Each habit, has caused another habit, and so on.

What does this have to do with motivation? Well, often times (speaking in my case) I may skip a day, and then I feel yucky, and it effects the next thing. Eventually, I just feel gross, and I don’t even want to try anymore. I’m not saying this happens to everyone, because there are women at the gym that I see put in 2 hours a day, leaving everything they have there, and then eat clean at home, and then they still feel like they are losing motivation. Have I lost you yet? Sometimes, that does happen to the best of us. So if you have fallen off the wagon, or feel like you are going to, or maybe you have fallen off and are still holding on to the bumper as it drags you behind. Scuffed up, and ,maybe bruised, pick yourself up, brush the dirt off your shoulder, hold your head up high, and shout to yourself “I CAN DO THIS, I’M NOT BROKEN, AND I’M NOT DEAD. THIS IS NOT MY END, AND I WILL NOT GIVE IN!” Now say it, say it everyday if you have to, but say it. Don’t throw in the towel, you have come so far and you are capable of amazing things.

Last month, I was feeling awful, and I was being drug by the bumper of my wagon. I wasn’t going to let go, but I was getting close. One of my buddies had a crazy idea, “Let’s do the CAGE!” Now for those of you that don’t know, the CAGE is a serious workout, they have a barf bucket labeled, “BARF BUCKET” Enough said. It’s an intense workout, and as I’m drinking my water during a quick break, I watch in amazement at the women participating in this voluntary beating.  So, I do it! Prepared to barf maybe more than once, I go with her. I made it through the hour and never barfed! I crawled out of there exhausted, but I made it. I flipped this giant tire, I ran two inch thick ropes, I squat pressed a 45 pound bar, I kind of did pull-ups, I swung a 55 pound kettle bell, and I did sit-ups with a 30 pound bar! All of these things amazed me! I got my pep back and was ready to attack my fat! This not only motivated me, but as I was speaking to my husband about my excitement of accomplishing such an amazing feat, he told me that I have motivated him.

Push harder, when you want to give up. Hold on tighter, run faster, press just once more, because someone is watching. To someone, you are their motivation, and they are looking to see what you do when you want to give up.  In the spirit of motivation, I’m going to share who has motivated me throughout my journey. I will just have to name some names, because I haven’t been granted permission to photos of each person.  

                     

This is Katie, she has lost 70 lbs. in 8 months. On top of that, she has lost 56 or more inches, and built a great deal of muscle! She is awesome. I have seen her push through pain to complete an exercise, press a great deal of weight, and she pushes me to increase my weights every time. She doesn’t let me give up or give in, and she reminds me that I can do this.

This is Jocelyn, she is a friend from high school. Like most women, she got married and had a baby and the weight crept on. She has lost a lot of inches and I think 35lbs, and is continuing on her journey. She is now becoming known through out the weightlifting community. This girl is like the energizer bunny.

Gloria, is a wonderful woman that I have met through boot camp. She is amazing. How can I put this without sounding horribly rude? She is a seasoned woman. She  got up and worked out through the aches and pains. She has lost (I may be wrong on this) close to 40 inches, and (if I recall correctly) is off all of her medication! That is something that she should brag about, but doesn’t because she is so humble! I could take a lesson or two from her on humility.

Brittany, is a young mom like myself. I have watched her push through every work out as if it is a breeze. I’ve seen her push to be faster, or get out more reps each and every day. Secretly, I wish I had her stamina and the ability to not sweat off all my makeup like her (her face is always fresh as can be, when I’m dripping sweat like an SNL sketch).

Nina, is an amazing mother and she has been one of my fitness gurus. I remember watching her hop on her bike one day at the park (it had an attached stroller for her sons) and she was going to ride back home. That was one of the days that I thought to myself about a change. Did I mention that she is 20 weeks pregnant and still has the energy to continue working out?

Mel, is one of my sweet friends. She has been my other fitness guru. This gal, has a very special spot in my heart. She has taught me a lot through her actions and kind words of wisdom. I always know that if I need a comforting pep talk that she is there for me. She is a running machine, and I hope to be able to keep up with her one day.

There are so many people that motivate me that if I sat here and named every single person, this post would take hours to read. So know, that I find inspiration in everyone. Each and every one of you, I can guarantee, has motivated me through your actions or words. I can’t thank you enough.

Remember, when you are struggling, and want to give up, that is when you need to push harder and give it all you’ve got.

(I hope that I have in no way, offended or upset anyone by using them in this post, or not using them in this post. Like I said if I named each person and why they motivate me this would be a novel. I love each and every one of you, and I thank you for all of your support!)