What's your excuse? You ready to let it go?

So I read this article written by Kellie Davis at motherfitness.com the other day and it struck a nerve with me! Love it when that happens when you read an article! This quote in particular really struck a chord!

"I know this guilt disguised by excuse so well because I used it every single day for years."

This is me, has been me for a few months now. I know I've talked about metabolic damage, about how I just keep gaining weight and I'm just not in the mood to track my food, or workout like I used to (pre-competition), don't want to eat vegetables, want to eat what I want, etc. All of these things are true. But they truly are EXCUSES! At some point, I just have to suck it up! And guess what? The time has come. Yes, I believe I have some metabolic damage and yes, I believe it will take some amount of time to work through that. Absolutely! However, in the meantime, it really can't be my excuse for eating french fries on probably a weekly basis or going out to eat often and overindulging each time I do. Nope, I can't do that anymore. So it's time to tighten up the reins.

I don't need excuses or willpower. Nope...what I need is a PLAN! I've been free-falling for a while now and I think I'm okay with not doing that for a while. Until I at least like the way I feel, until I feel healthy again. Right now I'm carrying too much excess weight for me. I feel fluffy and out of shape. In case you aren't sure, these aren't feelings I ENJOY having! Haha!

I don't want to be drastic in my changes since I most likely won't stick to them all if I do them all at once. So I will be implementing these slowly. I'm not doing Donloree's 12 weeks of Fitmas but it's going to be something similar to that for me. These are in no particular order.
1) Weight workout 3 times per week - may include a class like TRX or Leanin' Up which is like a circuit class
2) Steady-state cardio (minimum of 30 minutes) 3 times a week - this actually has more to do with me needing to increase my cardiovascular strength than for any "weight loss" reason
3) Tighten up my food - eat homemade food for almost all meals, maybe go out once or twice a week and then eat "right", meaning no binge eating or eating everything on my plate just because I'm out to eat
4) Cook more meals (dinners in particular)
5) Add in more vegetables, either as smoothies or soup if the actual veggies don't sound appealing.
6) Don't mindlessly eat. Don't eat out of boredom or because it's just "what I do now".
7) Move more. Make sure I'm not sitting on my buttocks in front of the TV/computer/ipod touch every night. Once a week okay...but every night? NOT okay!
8) Be in bed by 10:30pm. That means not getting ready to get in bed. This means in bed, jammies on, teeth brushed and flossed, in bed...book in hand!
9) Foam roll every day.
10) Cook a "fabulous" meal at least once every other week!
11) Make a new recipe once a week
12) Enjoy my meals and workouts and give thanks for both daily!

So, there you have 12 weeks of new goals! Yes, again having a plan is key and having some baby steps to getting there is even more important. I will add one of these each week until Christmas since it's exactly 12 weeks from today. I think I'll be feeling pretty good by Christmas.

This week's goal then will be #2! Steady-state cardio 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time.

I guess I'm getting up off the ground (or the couch at least) and moving forward with a plan, a winning mindset, determination, and gratitude. Does that just about cover it? I think so! Anyone care to add anything? Anything you do/say/feel to help yourself stay on track? Any other ideas for mini-goals along my journey to have "better health"? Would love to hear about them! Hope your weekend is grand!

Take Action Now!

So this is funny. Today while I was doing my 40 minutes of cardio on the incline treadmill I was thinking about how you really have to set you mind to something and then just go for it and take action to get that something. Well then guess what? My ex-coach/mentor Gina posted just that exact thought on her member site today as well!! Isn't that just too funny? Sometimes I think she and I are connected at the brain. It's too funny!!

I can't remember what song I was listening to that made me think that but it said something about doing anything you set your mind to. It's such a good point. While I know this is true and I know it's what I should be doing, most of the time I don't do it. I'm much better about this than I used to be but every once in a while I get stuck. Or I think of a great idea and want to get started and then I just don't even know what step to take next. I think this is fairly normal human behavior. If we all knew what steps to take all the time we would be taking them, wouldn't we? That's why it's KEY to look to others for help, advice, and direction.

Talk is cheap when it comes to realizing your dreams. You can just talk about them, you have to act on them. Take a little step every single day. But do SOMETHING that will set you on your path. If you don't put your foot on the path, you'll never be able to go down it. I found this quote and boy, does it resonate with what I was thinking just this morning?

To accomplish great things we must first dream, then visualize, then plan . . . believe . . . act!

~Alfred A. Montapert

DREAM - Go crazy! Just get nuts with your dreams! Sit by yourself with just you, reserving no judgment, not wondering how you will get there. Just be and just DREAM! Let your mind go free. Act like you did when you were a child - innocent, invincible, and a dreamer! Be that child and just dream away. It will do you a lot of good and it's fun besides.

VISUALIZE - Whatever that is to you. If it's closing your eyes each day and seeing yourself at that pinnacle or if it's a vision board or a note or message or anything that will get you there, just visualize it. Believe it in your mind's eye!

PLAN - This is where a lot of us get stuck. Planning can be challenging but it's so worth it in the end. And by having a plan you've already set the wheels in motion. The plan is the key, I believe. By creating a plan it means you've thought about your goal(s) enough to actually formulate a plan. Think about anything you've successfully done and you'll realize that there's was always a plan to get you there...ALWAYS!

BELIEVE - Oh boy! Another tough one! You MUST, absolutely MUST believe in your dream, vision and plan! If YOU don't believe in it, how will you ever convince others to believe in it? As difficult as it may be, you must believe in you, your dream, and your vision!

ACT!!! - This is probably the worst sticking point for everyone. It's so hard to take action when you don't necessarily know what the outcome will be. But you have a plan now and that will only lead to taking action. Sometimes the actions have good results and other times not. That's all part of the plan though. We all know things don't always go as planned so we really must trip, stumble, fall and get up to take another action. See? Part of the plan.

I would also add to this TRIP, STUMBLE, FALL, LEARN, REGROUP and REDIRECT!! Because these are all the things that will happen as soon as you start taking action. But don't be afraid of these things. They ALL have helped us grow into the people we are today. So do you have a plan of attack? Are you ready for your dream to start being realized? Join me this month as we move forward into our dreams one little action at a time!!

In life, the first thing you must do is decide what you really want. Weigh the costs and the results. Are the results worthy of the costs? Then make up your mind completely and go after your goal with all your might. ~Alfred A. Montapert 

My reward for my early morning workout

I got rewarded this morning for waking up at 5:15 and getting to the gym. When I came out there was a beautiful HUGE rainbow!! So pretty. I just love the wonders and magic of nature and that is one I don't get to see too often. I did 45 minutes on the treadmill this morning at 15% incline and between 4.4 and 4.6. I had 4 egg whites and crockpot oatmeal (yeah, not so much!) with apples and walnuts. I thought that recipe sounded good but I don't like really mushy oatmeal and that was basically what that was so like I said...not so much!

Tomorrow is Thomas Jefferson's birthday so I'll leave you with this quote until later today.

“Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” ~Thomas Jefferson (American 3rd US President (1801-09). Author of the Declaration of Independence, 1762-1826)