January 1st: And my New Year's Resolutions will BEEEEEEEE..... oh to lose weight of course! But this time, it's different! THIS time, I'm going to work out 5 TIMES a week! No carbs or sugar for me anymore. I plan to eat spaghetti made from spaghetti squash, veggies at every meal and live it up with vanilla yogurt once a month! I'll be in a bikini by summer!
January 2nd: Doing pretty good on my new diet! I ate chicken and rice for lunch, a potato at dinner and for my dessert, a graham cracker dipped in yogurt. I'm hungry, but confident. Went to the gym today and did the treadmill for an HOUR! Then, I did the bike for a half hour! I'm feeling good.
January 3rd: Slipped a little this morning when the boss brought in donuts. But, I only ate two maple bars so I just thought I'd skip dinner. But, by 2pm, I was starving and when I left at 4pm, I went through a drive through and got a Beef 'n' Cheddar. I didn't get the fries so I think I'm still ok. My legs were kinda sore but I still went to the gym and did the treadmill again for an HOUR! Then, I did the stair steps for a half hour!! Had some trouble walking as I had jello legs afterwards. That's got to be good, though, right? No pain, no gain type of thing?
January 4th: Good god, my legs are killing me. I can't barely walk and the thought of working out is insane. So, I waddled to work today and had another maple bar. That's ok, I'll work it off later ... somehow. For lunch, the girls went out to Chipotle. The girls were getting burrito bowls, and salads. I decided on a burrito - it's all fresh, so how bad can it be? I can't work out tonight with my legs like this, I'll go back in a few days.
SIX MONTHS LATER .... I never went back, I've gained 10lbs and my New Year's Resolution has floated away in the wind like so many others.
Sound familiar?
Besides the fact that I had no idea what I was putting into my body during my New Year's Resolution in the example above (that's a whole other post so won't be covered here), I was unrealistic about exercise. I mean, you watch Biggest Loser and the trainers are grilling the contestants and working them hard so why can't you do the same thing? (By the way, I love Biggest Loser, I read Bob's book (great book) but I don't think their methodology is for everyone or can be maintained by everyone ... that could be it's own post and maybe it will be someday but for now, I'm off my soap box).
Here's the deal ... being a "fat chick" is not just about food. And, it's not just about the underlying causes like self-esteem, sabotage, etc. It is also about exercising. And for whatever place you're personally at right now, running off and doing an hour and a half's work out five times a week may be unrealistic for you at your given place in your journey. You need to remember that, especially if you are really over weight, you're body is not used to working out and you can injure yourself easily if you over do it.
If you are viewing your resolution as a DIET (note the word DIE in that word, that is no mistake), it will be short lived. If you just want results quickly, you will either lose and gain back (many times, more than what you started with), injure yourself to the point you cannot work out or give up because the food is just too difficult to maintain. I won't even talk about what that does to your self-esteem!
One of my rules is that I never work out enough so I can't walk the next day. Start with a shorter workout. Maybe do 20 minutes or 30 minutes on that treadmill. And, going from doing nothing to working out five days a week is just unrealistic. Start with 2 or 3 work outs a week. I had a trainer for 2 years so I definitely know how to work out effectively. Sweet boy that he was, he knew his field and taught me well. I'll be going over exercise eventually with you but for now, I want you to be realistic in your viewpoint on YOU and exercise.
At this point, ANYTHING is better than NOTHING. Walking your dog, a short bike ride, a hike ... something. As your muscles, tendons and ligaments begin to adjust to this new activity you are giving them, they will also strengthen and you will eventually be able to increase what you are doing. The results are going to be SLOW, my friends, but eventually, you'll start to see a change. What's the rush? You've taken your whole life to get where you are at today .... and you have your whole life to travel this journey to where you'll be in the future. Don't get discouraged by the slowness ... just keep going. Don't give up.
Challenge of the Day
Get moving, Sisters! Don't kill your body to get in a work out, but go do SOMETHING. Make the commitment to do SOMETHING 2 - 3 times a week. And, never, ever, forever, NEVER work out til you injure your body! You can do this! Until next time, lovely ladies ...
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