New Series: For Fit Sake

Okay so obviously I wanted to write about my fitness journey or health journey or weight loss journey – whatever you want to call it – when I started this blog.  In my mind it would have a bit of everything from my life and right now the three most important pillars that define my day to day life are my love life, my career and my quest to get healthier with the side effect of getting smaller.  If I’m really honest it starts with wanting to be smaller and I just know that the truth is I need to be healthier if I want to shrink.

Notice something about the blog? Two of those things get posted about all the time but something is missing. I haven’t been able to write honestly about my fitness journey because truthfully it’s been a mess.

Like anyone else, I prefer to write about my successes. I imagined myself writing these posts about having done this exercise or eaten that food and seeing results that made me happy.

Well here I am at my heaviest.

Damn it – that sucks to write. It sucks to admit publicly and to even think about going on, talking and writing about being here. It feels like the same old same old – I’ve been ‘at my heaviest” for some time now, except that number, what that phrase means on the scale, has been creeping up.

One of the most successful strategies I’ve had for losing weight in the past has been when I posted more regularly to my fitness-focused instagram. Of course I plan to get posting and engaging there again because it helped but I realized that this blog was always meant to have fitness on it so why shouldn’t it be a part of my accountability posts?

For Fit Sake is going to be an ongoing series posted every Friday where I’m making myself stay accountable about the week. I don’t want it to be just a diary so i’m going to encourage myself to learn each week and have something with a bit more substance to share and hopefully in the process of creating a series I’m proud of I’ll also be building a lifestyle that matches.

Things to look forward to this Friday and in near-future Fridays:

• I’m starting again with the Body Love app by Anna Victoria. I really like her workouts and her as a fitness coach – she’s created a great community and a beautiful app so there’s no reason for me to go somewhere else at this moment. (Hint: 1 week in it’s going well!)
• Updates to my fitness journal – what it looks like, how I use it, I’ll try to share.
• Setting up space for myself to workout. I’ll share what working out at home means to me and how that’s changed.

You can find my instagram if you’d like the daily updates and details, too! My fitness focused instagram is @fitish.kitten

Since I’m starting here I want to know – what are you biggest struggles in creating a fitter or healthier lifestyle?

100 Healthy Days

I haven’t talked about my weight loss and fitness journey a whole lot even though it’s one of the main things I planned to blog about.  The truth is that’s because I haven’t really been focused on that journey as much as I intended to be.

It happens to the best of us – we were moving, traveling, socializing etc.  Life got busy and I lost focus on my weight and fitness goals.

So I got to thinking about ways I might re-focus on these goals.  I have always enjoyed a good challenge.  It adds structure to the goals and gives me a structure for measuring progress.  Perhaps more importantly, they can take the focus away from the struggle.  If I’m focused on meeting the challenges I’m less focused on the ups and downs of working out and losing weight.

So this is the challenge I’m planning now, starting today. 100 Healthy Days is more of an idea than a set challenge – while there are lots of challenges you can find written by trainers and other health professionals that have set rules and food plans this challenge is different.  As the name suggests, it’s time-based.  The way I am setting up and thinking of the challenge is to make good choices for these 100 days.  Rather than set or subscribe to a specific plan that would dictate these aspects of my life I’m maintaining control and decision making.

There are different mini-challenges and experiments that I will try within these 100 days.  For example, my girlfriend is challenging herself to go as carb-free as possible for three weeks and assess the presence of carbs in our diet after that,  and I’m gladly following that effort to see how it will affect me.  Plus I really am a bit of a bread-o-holic and it wouldn’t hurt to reign that addiction in a little (there’s a good chance it’ll be a good step in reigning in the waistline!)

I’m also looking to return to my yoga practice beginning with a 30-day challenge from Do You Yoga and a 30 day “Original Yoga Challenge” from Bad Yogi on Youtube.

Our treadmill is currently buried from moving but my husband has made a plan to unbury it this week.   So I should be back to my couch-to-5k training next week.  I might have started training outside this week but it would appear here in Canada April is having an identity crisis and acting like an angry November so that’s not happening.

So there will be different mini challenges and experiments for me to work through and post about throughout the larger 100 days challenge.  Stay tuned for how focusing on my health and fitness goals for 100 days impacts my life and progress!

Since fitness is a visual journey there may also be a few extra updates on Instagram so find me there @OhMyMermaid.Blog

What’s your fave way to challenge yourself?

For the Love of Fitness

Real talk: There’s a lot I love about fitness, of course. But I’ve fallen off the wagon so instead of talking about what’s happening or going well today I need to talk about what’s not happening on this journey and how I ended up where I am now.

I’ve been thinking about the factors that hinder my fitness journey.  I mean, you’d think if I really wanted it then the commitment would be easy, right? So how am  I sitting here at the heaviest I’ve ever been feeling like today I’m at the beginning, again? (or still?)

Of  course, I’d be starting today because it’s a Monday – all new journeys are best started on Mondays.

But what makes it so hard to get anywhere with this journey?

This week I realized that one of the biggest factors has been the source of my motivation.

You see, the very first time I even thought about a treadmill or “getting in shape” it was because I hated my body.

But the longer I’ve been on this fitness journey the more I’ve found it’s a journey of love, not hate.  It’s a journey that encourages us to love what we do. Be it yoga, running, lifting, swimming or a sport – we’re supposed to enjoy it. And when it comes to our bodies, we’re supposed to love them too. Love them because they carry us, support us, they are how we participate in that activities we enjoy. So we owe them some appreciation.

How can I enjoy an activity I’m only doing to change a body I refuse to love? I was trying to enjoy a lifestyle that is full of positivity but I was approaching it with all the wrong ideas about motivation and dedication.

Hate only gets you so far.

There are lots of enlightened quotes about karma and positive vibes and letting go of the negative in our lives.  We usually think of these mantras as survival tips for jobs, and friendships and family.

But they work in fitness too.

You have to let go of that negative energy and not act on it.

I get about two and half weeks of progress when I’m working with hate. I get two and a half weeks of routine treadmill time, vegetables and daily water quotas.  I get two and a half weeks of forcing myself to do all the things I’m told will help me leave behind a body I hate and build the dream bod.

And then…

I focus on things I love.

Because it’s easier. And more pleasant. And feels more natural.

However if choosing to eat right and work out were only things I did in response to negative thoughts, those objectively healthy habits get left behind when I start seeking all things positive and pleasant.

It’s like a natural process for self preservation or some other psychological babble – I can only live a daily routine based on negative thoughts for so long before I’m unconsciously procrastinating activities based on those negative thoughts and favoring anything with positive associations.

So it’s Monday and I’m trying to change how I think about this beginning.

In the past I’ve thought about how I weigh too much – I need to eat less. I am too big – I need to work out. I can’t do things I want to – I need to eat less and work out.

Today I’m remembering that working out comes with an endorphin rush, the positive effects of which cascade through everything I do.  I’m thinking about how much I value taking time for myself and working on myself in a tangible, physical way. I’m thinking about what my stronger, fitter body will be able to do and not just how it will look.

I have a fitness instagram account and that’s where I’ve discovered a community that has shown me the love that fitness can come from and inspire. Feel free to follow for more routine updates there – @fitish.kitten

Comment with your thoughts  =)

Focusing on Fitness

The truth is most of the reasonably reputable fitness programs out there do work.

Whether it’s a 7-minute workout app, one of Anna Victoria’s programs (my personal faves), the programs of her competitors… or just a regular old treadmill and schedule… most programs do work. The missing ingredient isn’t what one program has and another doesn’t, it’s participation and follow-through.

I like things to happen instantly. I guess I am used to the instant satisfaction of social media and high-speed internet, instant downloads and such.  So I acknowledge that this is true about me: when I get a few weeks into a program and don’t see crazy results I start being curious about other programs and can be seduced by their promises.

It’s easy to forget that the before and after photos for ANY program’s advertisements are going to show people who have done the WHOLE program. Not just part of it. So why am I holding it against the program that I don’t see those results when I’m only part way through?

It’s not a super logical way to go about fitness. However, since I myself am susceptible to thinking that I should just move on I’m here to remind you the key is working hard. You can choose any framework and plan to give yourself structure and timelines but no plan works unless you do.

Here are my top 5 strategies for staying focused:

Don’t Negotiate

You know you want to get fit and healthy. And you know how. You have good food and a workout plan picked out… but this is about you.
You start thinking you’re so busy, or so tired, or not wearing the right clothes… you start to negotiate with yourself about how you didn’t snack so you don’t need to do the full workout or how you could just do two workouts tomorrow instead of one today and one tomorrow…

Stop.

When you start negotiating you start slipping. Don’t let yourself do that. Hold yourself to a high standard and remind yourself that if you compromise on your workout and meals, even just here and there, you’re compromising on the big goals that inspired you to start this plan.

Schedule or Create a Daily Deadline

Okay so, of course, it seems ideal to just schedule your workout and know that at this particular time you need to be getting sweaty. But if you find that nailing down a time doesn’t really promote the commitment you need then give yourself a daily deadline. For example, I know that I get my best results (I work hardest, and I make better decisions for the rest of my day) when I work out in the morning. Doesn’t really matter if it’s at 8:30am or 11:30am… as long as it is before noon. Noon is a mental divide for me. When I workout before then it sets my mood for the rest of the day and translates to better decisions food wise and continuing to move and be active.

But if I don’t work out before noon I tend to stay lazy. I snack passively and never really get moving or active.

So even though I don’t set a specific time to work out most days, I know my daily deadline is noon and I need to plan to workout before then.

Really, it comes down to having a plan, whatever is the most effective style or format for you.

Add a little Social Support (and a little Social Pressure)

I talked in my post How a Virtual Community is Fuelling Success in Real Life about starting my fitness-focused Instagram account, @fitish.kitten .  I had that account locked down as tight as I could – new followers had to send a request and be approved, and I used a quote instead of my face for a profile picture. If it came up in my friend’s social feeds as a recommended account it wouldn’t come up as me; my name and image were invisible unless you followed me and I did not allow most people I knew to follow me.

It was as though my desire to get fit was a secret.

My most recent progress photo (4 Weeks at the Beginning of BodyLove app)

 

I have photos of myself in typical stripped-down fitness wear for “before” photos and progress photos on this account. Originally the idea that people I knew, friends and family, would see these photos was horrifying to me. Like stop dead in my tracks and sweat a lot horrifying.

Recently I realized it shouldn’t be.  It’s no secret that I want to get fit. My body isn’t a secret, either. So I’ve got a little more curve than I want… it’s not a sin and it doesn’t need to be a secret.

There’s a lot of social support in posting online. There’s always positive role models and friends to remind you of your accomplishments and provide advice and encouragement through challenges.

Sometimes even more needed though is the social pressure. At this time I have 875 followers with @fitish.kitten. That blows my mind! I’m so honored that all those people wanted to see where I take my fitness journey… and sometimes, not wanting to let them down is the only reason I work out! (shhh!)

It’s like they say, pressure makes diamonds!

Focus on Feeling Better

It’s a body-positive world. For the most part, when you’re focused on a slimmer body and looking better you’ll find that these goals lose impact over time. One day I put on an outfit that doesn’t fit right and I hate the shape of my body so I get really motivated for working out and eating better.  But a few weeks later I buy a better-fitting outfit and I can move on.

I don’t need to lose weight to be loved. I don’t need to lose weight to be attractive. I don’t need to lose weight to be who I am and contribute to society.

So… why do I need to lose weight? Why do I need to take time out of my day to bond with the treadmill? And why do I need to put down the fries and make veggies my new BFF’s?

Because I can feel the difference. The moment I can go from my basement to the top floor of my house and not be awkwardly out of breath with a racing heart. The moment I can walk my hyperactive dog for an hour an a half without breaking a sweat. The moment I can say yes to trying new activities without doing the mental math on if I’m physically capable and how embarrassing failure might be.

These are the moments that keep me going and focused and motivated. The looks are a great benefit to having a healthy lifestyle but when changing my appearance was my only reason, I found better things to do with my time.

Pick Treats that add Value to your Lifestyle

I fully believe in cheating on your diet from time to time. I’ve come to feel there’s a difference though between just cheating because you miss junk food and cheating because it’s part of a larger lifestyle to enjoy a healthy indulgence now and then.

 

Remember that fitness can be fun, too!

For example, there’s a difference between me crushing a bag of chips alone while binging through the latest Netflix release simply because I deserve them as a treat and like snacking while I watch tv…. and me enjoying a super greasy burger while out with friends.

 

In one scenario the junk food has no purpose and adds nothing to my life. I would have watched the show anyway and I could have snacked on veggies or fruit with the same effect. However in the other scenario, the food wasn’t really the point – the social time with friends is. It’s nice to say yes to a cheat meal when doing so frees up the mental energy of eating healthy for you to give your friends your full attention while enjoying a night out.

Besides, for me personally, when I give myself a treat meal in isolation it’s almost like nobody saw it so it didn’t happen and I can just casually have another, and another until I’m binge eating whenever I’m alone. Which is every day given that I work from home and my partners have 9-5 jobs outside the home. It’s not healthy for me to develop habits like that so now I’m focusing on cheat meals that add value beyond just being a cheat meal for the sake of it.

 

What are the go-to ways you keep yourself on track?