Don't Give Yourself The Gift Of Sabotage

It's that time of year. It begins with Halloween and goes through the New Year. Many of us find ourselves using the holidays as an excuse to overindulge. The average American gains 8-15 lbs during the holiday season; only to shamefully make changes during a New Year's resolution.

Here's my challenge to you. Don't be average. I was giving this some consideration in the context of achieving my own goals. I keep picking an NPC show and then I keep moving it out because of whatever circumstances. I will not get on stage and embarrass myself if I'm not ready. BUT my plan is to BE READY for the Max Muscle Classic in April. That gives me 24 weeks. Yikes! The countdown begins... And guess what's right smack in the middle between here and there??? Yep. THE HOLIDAYS!!

I was just talking to a nutrition client this morning (Go, Lanya!) about this very concept. The way that we approach nutrition at Max Muscle is to allow yourself a cheat meal every one or two weeks. Staying on that plan is simple during the holidays when you plan ahead and demonstrate a little self control. Here's the deal: Thanksgiving Day meal and Christmas Day meal can be your cheat meals! BUT that means that you have to behave yourself for the rest of that week. Have a holiday party coming up? Eat like you know you should for the rest of the time - even the day of the event - and then have your cheat meal at the party. It really is that simple. Don't sabotage your goals because there are Christmas cookie trays and candy jars readily available at every turn. You don't have to eat the Halloween candy your kids don't like. I am giving you permission to cancel your membership in the "Clean Plate Club". Don't wait until January to start taking care of you. Give yourself an early Christmas present. Take care of yourself now.

I will be enjoying Thanksgiving Day with family. I am going to eat some of my wonderfully indulgent sweet potato souffle. I am going to have a big spoonful of my sister's mashed potatoes. I LOVE Cranberry sauce - gonna have some of that, too. I will likely have a slice of pie. And??? So what. I will be disciplined the rest of the week. I will not stretch the leftovers into a three day binge. I will follow that same pattern for Christmas. And I will stay on track because of it.

Guess what? I REALLY want to stop talking (and blogging) about it. I REALLY want to strut my muscley self on a stage in 24 weeks. Maybe you could help encourage me. Maybe you can encourage others around you. Maybe you could encourage yourself. Ooooooh. Yes. Let's.

See you in the gym!

What's your secret?

Lately, I've been posting a lot of pictures of my "Before and During" pictures on various FB pages about transformations. I am back on track to my goal of getting on stage in a teeny bikini. It is a self-encouragement to see how far I've come. But I want to get to the point where I don't feel like I have to wear my before picture on a t-shirt to prove how far I've come.

But a lot of life's adventures are like that. We don't want to be a summary of our past actions. Every day is a chance to show people what you're made of. I am starting to get comfortable in my "newer, improved" body. I apologize for the way I currently look less and less. When people say I look great, I'm working really hard to not say, "well, I still have this innertube... but look at my loose skin... I have a long way to go...". I'm starting to say "thank you" and leave it at that. Because I do look great. I am at a "fair" bodyfat percentage. I am active. I eat right.

So, you know I always have to bring it back around to you. Is there something in our life you've been working on and made progress? When someone compliments you, say "thank you". And move on.

So what's my secret?? Workout hard. Eat clean. Drink lots of water. Get some sleep. Smile. But you already knew that answer.

Shame on Me!

It's been HOW long since I have made a blog entry?? And you know why? I've been ashamed that I've had no good news to report.

I co-own a Sports Nutrition store that opened in January. I had no idea it was going to be this hard. I am probably not as stressed out as I should be, but I have become somewhat numb to the process. I guess I just thought if I did some advertising, created a few relationships - BAM! Everything would blossom. That has not been the case and it is a daily struggle to get people in the door. You know what? I have allowed the store to be an excuse to get in the way of my fitness goals. So, for the purposes of this blog entry, I will set aside what is going on with the store. BUT if you are in the Raleigh area, please visit Max Muscle Raleigh! For details, visit here and like us on Facebook.

This Lindsey Valenzuela. She is a bad ass. This is what I
want to look like. I am hoping I can get there without
joining a CrossFit! I can't even do ONE pull-up yet!

So what's been going on since November as far as me reaching my "Bright Lights, Teeny Bikinis" goal?? I had a great run for a while and am proud to report that my BF is finally in a "fair" range. I am comfortably out of the obesity category. But I've allowed myself to stumble. Money got really tight this Spring and I had to give up personal training. Personal training has been my life blood since the beginning. I am still a firm believer in using a trainer - especially when you are just getting started. But I was presented with the idea that I had to motivate myself to get into the gym. My workouts weren't for anyone but me! It was really hard to wrap my head around that. So... I slacked off. For about 3 weeks. Yuck. Shame on me!

Last week, a dear friend (you know who you are!) gave me some much needed tough love. It's essential for all of us to have at least one friend who is willing to give it to us straight; willing to make us mad; willing to make us look in the mirror and arrive at the truth we already know. So, I stumbled...AGAIN. So what. I spent the first 37 years of my life with no plan, no direction with regard to fitness. I have been at it for about 4 years now. I'm still kind of new at it. BUT - do I really want this for ME? Do I really want to achieve my goal or do I just like talking about it? Well, crap. Eeeeuuuuuurch! Gut check time.

I want this. I want this for me. I am not ready to give up. I know I will stumble again. I know I will find excuses. I know this is hard. If it were for everyone, then those bikinis would be a heck of a lot cheaper, because the demand would be so great! It's not for everyone, but it sure as heck is for me.

So, here I go again. Trudging forward. I'm headed into the gym to kill it today. Know what's interesting? Just like every stage of this journey, I've learned something new. I LIKE working out by myself. I like pushing myself to see what I can do. This is just another leg of the journey. I can still see the finish line. It's blurry from all of the sweat (and sometimes tears), but I can see it, nonetheless.

Who's on a similar journey? It might not be weight loss. It might be getting a new job, quitting a bad habit, spending more time with family, getting back into church, eating more vegetables??? Have you stumbled again? So what. Get up. Suck it up. Walk on.

I WILL see ya in the gym!