Did you know that chocolate milk is not only good for your taste buds but is also one of the best post-workout recovery drinks out there? Forget protein powers and spending your life savings at GNC, when it comes to helping out your workout fatigued muscles (and your wallet) chocolate milk is the way to go.
This, however, does not give you carte blanche to go guzzle Nesquick by the gallon, disregard water, or treat yourself after every slow walk on the treadmill. Keep your servings small (think elementary school cafeteria size) and lowfat or skim. Also, make sure it’s real milk and not just a dairy-like beverage. (If it doesn’t have to be refridgerated, stay away. Far, far, away.) Also, drink plenty of water to replenish your fluids. Although we’d all like to think otherwise, one can not live on chocolate alone.
Someone recently told me that in order to truly reach your goals you have to look back at the times you didn’t achieve your goals and ask yourself, “What wasn’t I willing to do in order to succeed?” I had the goal of losing 5 pounds this month. I’m not going to lie, I did not achieve this goal. In fact, I may have gained some. Looking back, I know I didn’t make it because I wasn’t willing to devote the time it took to work out and plan for healthier meals. I could feel bad for myself and call myself all kinds of names – lazy, stupid, loser, etc… or I could make a plan. If I really want to succeed I have to be aware that it’s not going to happen simply because I want it to.
As they say, no one ever plans to fail, but they do fail to plan.
One of my favorite quotes is “Do one thing every day that scares you.” by Eleanor Roosevelt. My assumption is, rather than bungee jumping or deep sea cave diving, she meant those small fears we all face day to day, like talking about something difficult to your boss or significant other, tasting a new food, or trying a new class. We all encounter things that force us to step outside of our comfort zone now and then. Sometimes we do them anyway. More often than not, these things chip away at our motivation to move forward and we stay where we’ve always been, comfortable with the status quo.
What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? It’s time to face your fear and try something different.
What I’ve learned from facing my various fears* and upsetting the status quo is that it gets easier each time. You truly do discover that what doesn’t kill you (or make you want to die in the process) does make you stronger.
* I once posed nude for an art class. If that doesn’t put a person out of their comfort zone I don’t know what would.
Admit it, there is a weekday you and a weekend you. The first works hard all week to get things done, achieve goals, and is “good”. The second negates in just 2 days everything you achieved during the other 5.
All work and no play does make Jack a very dull boy. However, playing so hard that you have to make up for it by working that much harder is just plain frustrating. Don’t let weekend you sabotage your progress. You’re supposed to relax, not relapse.
If you’re trying to lose a pound a week, that breaks down to 500 calories per day you either need to burn, not consume, or a combination of the two. I happen to really like food so I mostly opt for burning the 500 calories while being mindful of what I’m eating. A few subtle changes to your food choices and a brisk walk can go a long way toward meeting that 500 calorie deficit.
What’s one change you could make or action you could take today to reach the 500 calorie goal? Here’s a link to 100 ways to cut 100 calories. Then get moving and burn 100 calories. Do 5 of those things every day and you’re there!
I don’t exercise because I am afraid…
A) I will look stupid
B) I will hurt myself
C) I will look stupid
D) I don’t know what I’m doing
E) I will look stupid
F) I might actually succeed and like it
If you answered: A, C, or E – I will look stupid: The truth is that everyone else is also so afraid of looking stupid that no one is paying any attention to anyone else. I was once doing so badly in a Step class that the woman behind me picked up her step and moved to the other side of the room so I wouldn’t throw her off as well. Now, I could have crawled into a hole and never shown my face at a step class again but I tried again despite my various fears. I’m still not that great at Step but I now teach my own 1 hour dance class that can be even harder. In fact, there is a woman who takes my class who has obviously decided that looking stupid isn’t going to stop her. She dances with wild abandon, eyes closed, arms and legs flailing, and is only ever half the time doing the same thing as the rest of the class. The thing is, she’s having more fun than anyone and making it fun for the rest of us. I don’t think she “looks stupid” I think she’s inspirational.
B) I will hurt myself: Get yourself some help. Hire a trainer, talk to the class instructor beforehand to tell them you are new. Ask the gym staff to show you how to use the equipment.
D) I don’t know what I’m doing: See B and try a class, rent a DVD (Netflix rents exercise videos so you can try cardio belly dancing in the privacy of your own home.)
E) I might actually succeed: I once had a moment where I thought, ‘I don’t want to do this because then I’ll have to keep doing it.’ The thing is, you do have to keep doing it, but with the proper attitude and tools you’re actually going to want to.
I saw this piece on CBS Sunday morning this week. It’s about one man’s life with cerebral palsy and how dancing and training changed what his body could do. Fascinating.
How often in the next couple months are you going to hear yourself say something like the following: “Ack! My fat pants are now my skinny jeans and I am so sick of myself. I’ve tried everything to lose weight and nothing works. I’m just going to give up until January 1st!”
Believe me, I hear you. I’m pretty sure my dryer has turned against me and has shrunk not just the waist band of all my jeans but also the length of all my shirts leaving me with a muffin top I am forced to show it off. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Even though we would like a quick fix, or to just let ourselves go for the next few weeks, when it comes to weight loss, consistent, slow and steady is much better than sporadic, drastic and temporary. Sure, you could go on the grapefruit and cayenne pepper diet but you can’t sustain it for long (blech!) and any weight that you do lose won’t stay off.
So what’s a girl with a too tight wardrobe and a month full of holiday parties to do?
‘Tis the season of overindulgence but weight gain is not necessarily a given. Stress however generally is. And stress leads to overeating. If you are concerned about weight gain, you are going to create a vicious cycle – worry about overindulgence will lead to deprivation will lead to depression/stress will lead to overindulgence. What if instead of freaking out that there is going to be eggnog and you have to have eggnog because you can only get eggnog at this time of year and you simply can’t live on spritzers when everyone else is having eggnog!!!, you decide to actually have the eggnog? Not only might you get off the guilt-mobile and take some of the stress off your shoulders, but you might actually enjoy yourself at the party. (I can’t do anything about your annoying co-workers. Sorry.)
Here’s my suggestion for at least maintaining your sanity if not your current weight over the next 3 weeks: Keep a food journal. Instead of worrying about all the calories heading your way, simply start writing down what you eat. You can add as much or as little details as you want. Over time I have found that the days I stressed myself out the most about eating too much were actually the days I did ok foodwise. An added bonus is that knowing you have to write down the forty-five things you want to try on the buffet may be enough to regulate you enough to stop you from doing just that.
…that 80% of people who start a fitness program (i.e. join a gym) drop it in 2 to 3 months?
If you’re one of the 20% who have made it past the 2-3 month mark, congratulations! I’d love to hear what made you keep going. Friends? Goals? Results? Bribery? Perhaps, dare I say it, you started to actually enjoy working out?
If you’ve been one of the 80% who didn’t quite go the distance, what do you think would keep you motivated? For me it started with my health insurance. In order to get money back I had to go to the gym 3 times week for 11 of 14 weeks. I didn’t make it the first time I tried. But by the time I managed to do it I had a fitness habit. I endured until I enjoyed.
If you’re willing to give it another try here are a few tips to keep you motivated:
Write down your goal(s) and make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic (or Rewardable), and Time specific).
Have a goal that is event or activity oriented. You could go so far as to sign up for a race or to simply take 15 classes between now and Thanksgiving.
Break your goals up into bite size pieces. If you want to lose 50 pounds, start with losing 5.
Find a support system – a friend to go to the gym with or join a class. Introduce yourself to someone you’ve seen at the gym. It’s pretty motivating when you know someone will ask where you’ve been.
Get back on track after you’ve been derailed. Instead of getting down on yourself, get back up. No one, and I mean no one, has done everything right the first time. What would be the point?
Develop strategies for success. Look back over your past behaviors to see what you might do differently this time. Did you stop working out because you had no time? Were you better able to go to the gym when you’d put it in your calendar? Did you stick to your healthy eating when you wrote it down?
My name is Amy Fortier and I am an NASM certified personal trainer at the River Valley Club in Lebanon, NH. For information on how I became an "accidental trainer" see the "My Story" tab above.
If you'd like to contact me please send an email to
amyfortier at surfon dot com
Did you know that chocolate milk is not only good for your taste buds but is also one of the best post-workout recovery drinks out there? Forget protein powers and spending your life savings at GNC, when it comes to helping out your workout fatigued muscles (and your wallet) chocolate milk is the way to go.
