Do you ever try to put yourself in another person’s life? Really, truly try to grasp how they live and what they’ve gone through. We of course will never know the way their life is, but sometimes it’s nice to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to make you grateful for what you have.
Last night, Nate and I were driving home from a Utah Jazz game and he brought up an issue he had with one of his coworkers. Nate has a supervisor role at a call center so he has to deal a lot with employee reviews and stuff like that. He took one of the reps aside to discuss some work stuff and the employee started crying and bringing up his past and pretty much told Nate his whole life story. Anytime Nate has to have a hard talk with one of the reps they always bring up this big, long sob story that really has nothing to do with the present issue. Poor hubby should be getting paid Psychiatrist wages, but isn’t J As Nate was telling me this particular experience, I kind of got frustrated because it seems that people always have some sort of sob story behind every bad thing that happens in their lives. Why can’t people just realize that maybe they haven’t put in their hardest effort at work and that’s why the performance review sucks? Quit trying to get away with putting in less than 100% because of something that happened years ago! Think of it this way, EVERYONE has a sob story. Whether it’s a divorce, abuse, drugs, health issues, etc. We have all had something that we can hide behind for the rest of our lives, but what’s the point. The best thing you can do with those life altering moments is learn from them, not hide from it. Instead of using your parents’ divorce as an excuse, use it as motivation to learn from mistakes they’ve made and make your relationship that much better. Instead of hiding behind years of drug use, teach others the impact it has had on your life. Maybe that one talk can save someone from going down the same road you’ve been down. If I’ve learned anything from starting this blog, its’ that being open and informative about issues will change your life as well as others. Don’t be afraid to open up about issues you’ve dealt with, just remember to embrace them instead of using it as your “crutch” through life.
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I don’t know what it is but lately I’ve been mentally battling myself a lot lately. I’ve been debating on this whole clean eating and fitness lifestyle that I’ve been maintaining. It’s weird because I go through times where it’s so easy to stick with the program and then others like the last couple of weeks where I just want to stop doing it. I go through these funks where I don’t know if it’s worth it.
The hardest part is feeling alone in the process. I feel like I’m the only one battling this. No matter what I do I feel guilty lately. If I eat the pizza, guilty. If I don’t eat the pizza, guilty. I’m having a hard time finding the happy medium where I’m eating healthier, exercising, but not stressing about it. I’ve said it before, but weight loss is more a mental game than anything physical. Here’s why I get frustrated… Why do I have to watch what I eat and exercise to get skinny when there are people out there who don’t do any of it and they have the perfect bodies? Sure I can tell myself that I’m not doing it be skinny and just because those people are skinny doesn't mean they are healthy, but do I believe it? Here’s what I decided to do. I've made a list of all my goals, the reason why I want to accomplish them, and what could try to hold me back. Seeing the visual of them will hopefully keep me more motivated to keep going for something that I've worked at so hard for so long. 1. Get down to my ultimate goal weight safely. a. It’s more than just a number. It’s a medal of honor in a sense, telling me that I can follow through with something that is a battle every single day and be victorious. I've gone into my weight loss journey with the idea that using any type of “weight loss supplement” was not going to happen. I will admit that at times I've been tempted to try them to get over my plateau, but I refuse. I’ll do this 100% on my own. b. The only thing that will stop me at this point would be my self-control. I need to stay away from certain foods that I know I have no control around and practice better portion control. 2. Become the strongest version of myself. a. I want to physically be strong. I want to have muscle definition and I want people to look at me and now that I’m a hard worker. b. I will need to continue to try new workouts and mix it up every now and then to shock my muscles. I won’t let myself get comfortable in the gym. 3. Help inspire others to become better people. a. I want to help others be stronger, lose weight, smarter in their food decisions, less self-conscious, and overall happier people. b. Feeling like people are judging me for it. I know people are always going to have something to say, but I need to stop letting it bug me. From this moment on, people who want judge me or talk down on my lifestyle can suck it :) I hope this article has in some way helped people understand that it’s okay to doubt yourself and second guess why you are on this journey. It’s okay as long as you don’t give into your doubt. Always remember why you started and what it means for your overall well-being. Some people are lucky and never have to deal with weight loss, but everyone should be aware of what is going in to their body whether you are fat or skinny. As long as healthy decisions are being made more frequently then unhealthy you should be proud of your progress. I've made some good points, now it’s time for me to start following my own advice :) I've come a long ways and I'll never forget it. This article has helped myself realize that I need to stop stressing so much and enjoy the journey. You wouldn't think that respecting yourself would be that hard. For some it's not and for others it's a constant battle. Lately, I've seen a lot of girls via social media displaying some questionable actions. Here's my advice for those certain individuals :) P.S. please take this with a bit of sarcasm. My aim is not to offend anyone just maybe bring some insight to the situations.
1. If he cheats with you, he'll cheat on you. Men are easy creatures to figure out. They are creatures of habit. So if he cheats on his "significant other" with you, there is a very good chance he'll cheat on you with someone else. His "habit" is cheating and trying to find the next best thing because he is lacking something in his own life. It has nothing to do with the person before you or the woman before her, it's him. He is missing something in life and having sex with some new pretty girl is how he's dealing with it. I know people can change, but seriously be very weary of him. Respect yourself enough to break his cycle and get out before you become just another girl to him. Don't fool yourself in thinking you can change him, you can't. You should never go into a relationship where you feel you need to change each other. If you're okay with him cheating previously and you wouldn't change it, then good on ya and good luck :) 2. Why blend in, when you were born to stand out? I see soooo many girls who are constantly changing themselves for friends, boyfriends, family, etc. I get that change is inevitable. We all have to change or we would never learn what we like and don't like. But when you're changing your ways because you feel like you have to to "fit in" then it's time to stop. Stop trying to be like these people that won't accept you if you are different. I promise you that once you stay true to who you are, you will be the absolute happiest in life you've ever been. If they truly like you, they'll accept your differences and respect you for staying true to yourself. 3. It's all about respect. I am amazed at the lack of respect I see young women show themselves these days. Most of all, I'm amazed at the lack of discipline and respect that parents are showing their own daughters. Parents: respect your daughters enough to make them change their clothes if they are leaving the house looking like a two dollar whore when they are 14. Respect them enough to teach them that being smart, nice, and caring is far more important than getting attention from boys by being mean, acting dumb, and dressing completely inappropriate. Teach your kids to respect their teachers and leaders. These people will have a high influence on their lives if they let them. I know I may not have any experience in most of these areas, however sometimes the best advice comes from someone with an unbiased opinion. I have been on this quest of self acceptance for a while now and it has taught me so much about myself that I can't wait to teach my daughters. I can't wait to show them that in a world full of hatred and disrespect that she can be strong and soft all at the same time. Strong enough to stand up for herself and what is right, but soft enough to accept herself and others. I’ve let fear hold me back a lot in life. I let fear control me in a way that I never should have. Fear has stopped me from accomplishing my goals, it has made me make life choices that would have never been made, and it has pushed me in a way that I never knew possible.
I know I talk a lot about my previous marriage quite a bit in my entries, but that one relationship has shaped my life in the best way possible. I won’t go in to too much detail regarding the details of this relationship, but I lived in fear every single day. I didn’t fear for my life or anything like that, but I did fear for my future. I was constantly scared of how we were going to pay bills, whether or not he was going to lose his current job, and scared of how he would treat me that day. For 5 years I lived in a constant state of relentless fear. At the end of our marriage my ex was on drugs. That was the final straw. He was completely uncontrollable, didn’t make any sense when talking, would wake up screaming and fighting with me for no reason, call be horrible names, etc. I was pushed past the sense of fear and had only one option and that was to be brave. I was brave enough to pack up one suitcase, my work computer, and leave. I am telling you this because I truly believe that this one life experience has shaped the rest of my life for the better. I had to be brave and have gained so many amazing things because of it. Knowing that amazing things can be the result of fear has led me to make a decision about something I’ve been debating on for a while. Lately I have been feeling like something was missing in my life. I couldn’t put a finger on it but I knew I needed something to challenge me. I have had the most fun in my life losing weight and gaining a knowledge of what my body needs and what it can do. I have been scared to go through with it, but I have finally decided to get my certificate in Fitness Nutrition. I want to be able to fully help and educate others about how to lose weight, get the proper nutrition, and build muscle the correct way. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it! I eventually want to design meal plans, fitness plans, and more for my clients. I know how overwhelming making a lifestyle change can be, and I want to help ease that feeling a little bit. I’ve got this dream inside of me and I’m no longer going to let the fear of “not being successful” stand in my way any longer. I want to help those who are too scared to reach out to someone because they are self-conscious or afraid to take that step in life. Most of all I want to help people know what it feels like to be brave. Lets talk about food. It's no surprise that I love food. I like it so much that I ate myself to being 150 pounds over weight. I like it, I like it ALOT (insert Jim Carrey impersonation here)! Anyways, learning to deal with my love of food has been a constant struggle since starting my weight loss journey 3 years ago.
3 years ago I tried the whole "restriction" diet where I limited my calories to 1200, no sweets, no pasta, etc. I was ornery, light headed, and craved everything I couldn't have. When I'm told that I can't do something, I say "watch me"! Same thing with food. If I can't have chocolate, I eat it! It's a total mind game. I've went back and forth with it for a while until I read up on flexible dieting. As I was reading it I thought that it made a lot of sense and seemed easier than what I was currently doing. So I started counting my macros. I had a hard time hitting my macros. I was always over my carbs and never even close to my protein. It frustrated me so I quit doing it. Fast forward 2 years and I am finally confident in my food choices. I've had a moment of clarity where I realized that I've got to change the way my mind thinks about food. It's not a reward and it's not all about taste (however who wants to eat gross food?) What you've really got to do is train your mind to think of how the food you are about to eat is going to help your body. Does your body need the carbs or is that just you wanting the carbs? Does your body need the chocolate or would it benefit from an apple more? My moment of clarification came after I'd been lifting and going to the gym for a while. I was putting in so much work and didn't want to feel like I was wasting my time. Since changing my way of thinking and have got the hang of counting macros, I have seen way better results. I'm toning up, building muscle, and still losing some weight. I had a really rough day today. At about 2 PM I got a call from my doctors office to confirm that my blood work came back negative which means the round of fertility medicine I have been taking all month did not work. The hardest part is going through all the emotional changes and having nothing to show for it. I felt like a failure and it sucked.
The moment I got off the phone with the nurse, I broke down crying and wanted pizza. I seriously could not stop thinking about food for 3 hours straight. I went into a daze of depression and couldn't focus on anything but food and wanting to curl up in a ball on my couch and cry. The way I handled it scared me. It brought back so many emotions of how I used to handle my life. It reminded me of the old me who ate to cover up how unhappy she was with life. The old me who let her health go so she could cater to those around her. The old me who was so unhappy she gave up. I got home, made dinner, and went to the gym. I tried and tried to talk myself out of it but between myself knowing I needed to go and my husband motivating me I would not have went. I am so glad I did. At the gym I kicked my own ass! I pushed myself physically and it felt amazing. Pushing myself to the point my muscles are shaking, pushes myself mentally in a way that helps clear my head. The therapy I receive while lifting weights is something I can't explain. I left the gym stronger. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. Once again I have been knocked down, but I got back up and I will try again. I won't let the old me control my emotions. I'll keep fighting to become the healthiest version of myself. I left the gym lighter. I left the gym a better version of the new me. I think one of my favorite words in the English vocabulary is, Passion. It holds so much meaning. It literally means, “Strong and barely controllable emotion.” It’s beautiful. Without passion the world would be boring and weak. We would have less enthusiasm for the things we do and the people we see.
A quote that has stood out to me lately is “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”- Julie child I love this. We should all find something that we are extremely passionate about and never forget how much we love it. Never let anyone make you feel inferior for your passion. Grasp on to it and never apologize for it. A lot of times I feel like I’m being judged for my excitement for health and fitness. I don’t want to annoy people with my posts or pictures about it so I honestly hold back a bit. I can stress the reason for my passion behind health and fitness, but until someone has seen the way I looked or felt the way I felt, they never will fully understand. My wish for everyone is find something(s) that they are completely passionate about. Something that you become a better person for loving it so much. Carb cycling is an eating plan where you switch between high-carb and low-carb days. What’s even more perfect is you can incorporate a reward meal every day and even have a reward day! The idea behind it is that by alternating high and low carb days it trains your body to become a major calorie burner. On High carb days you are storing your body with fuel and on low carb days your body burns the stocked fuel.
As of this week I’ve started carb cycling. Honestly, I feel like it’s kind of what I’ve been doing all along, but in a different order so I’m going to tweek a few things to get more organized and see how it goes! I’ve read a lot of really good things about carb cycling including its benefits for PCOS sufferers with insulin resistance. If you have ever watched the amazing transformation that happens on TV’s “Extreme Makeover Weight loss edition” then you have already seen what carb cycling can do. Chris and Heidi Powell love carb cycling and it is what they choose to do for the contestant’s body transformations. The results are amazing and I am so excited to try it out. I have always said I don’t believe in diets or adding a bunch of fake supplements to help aid in weight loss. From the beginning, I have went into my weight loss journey with a natural approach. I feel that it has helped me educate myself about my body and what nutrients I need more or less of. Once I started tracking my macros I could feel my body changing and could tell how my body felt with not enough carbs or fats. One of the things that I will always take away from my weight loss journey most is the connection I have between my body and mind. The thing that I found so interesting with carb cycling is that you get to cater it to your personal lifestyle. I checked out Chris Powell’s website www.chrispowell.com and read up on his approach to carb cycling. He has different options to choose from Easy, Classic, Turbo, and Fit. I would highly suggest going to this site and reading up on it for great, detailed information. I guess I’m a bit of a rebel, so I’ve decided to try my own Carb cycling routine. Again, the reason I like the idea of carb cycling is because of the personalization you do for your own goals. I have a set fitness routine and I feel it’s important to have my high-carb days on my intense work out days such as leg day, so I’ve catered the plan to that. Here is what I will be doing: Sunday- Low-Carb Cardio Monday- High-Carb Shoulders/ Full cardio Tuesday- Low-Carb Arms/Less cardio Wednesday- Low-Carb Rest day Thursday- High-Carb Legs/Full cardio Friday- Low-Carb Cheat meal Rest day Saturday- Free day! Extra 1000 calories Back/Full cardio With this plan on your low carb days your calorie goal should be around 1200-1400 and 1500-1900 on high carb days. Your total calorie per day should be based on your weight and activity level. It won’t be the same for everyone. On High-Carb days you’ll want to aim for 1 gram per body weight. So a women weighing 165 pounds would need 165 grams of carbs. On Low-Carb days you will aim for .2-.5 grams per body weight. The best way to track these numbers is with a calorie tracker app like myfitnesspal. I get that new plans can be a bit overwhelming. I remember feeling like this with macro counting. It takes time, discipline, and a bit of extra work but it pays off in the end. It’s all about finding a routine with meals and how and when you’ll enter your data. Some like to wait until the end of the day to enter in your daily meals others like to enter it throughout the day as you consume the food. I’ll keep you all updated on my progress throughout the carb-cycling process. I hope to see some good results and get even more in tune with my body! I have a confession. I’ve lost 145 pounds without stepping foot in a health food store. Crazy, I know, but I have never ever stepped foot inside one before. In fact, they scare me. I feel like they are full of scary food like dried crickets and things I can’t even pronounce. It took me a while to figure out how to pronounce Quinoa (Keen-wah). The fact that I pronounced it qua-een-o-ah for a long times makes me want to climb under a rock from embarrassment. I prefer to stick with my trusty ol’ Wally world and small family owned markets that I know like the back of my hand.
I do believe that health food stores have great qualities. I mean the fact that it’s full of nutritional foods and goodies make it a health junkie’s heaven. Plus there is no temptation, everything there is “healthy”. So why don’t I shop there? Besides the fact that I don’t like change and I’m scared of crickets, it’s because I feel I have better options for myself. When I first started losing weight I lived in a really small town. We have one grocery store in town and if you need something that they don’t have, it’s an hour each way to the closest Wal-Mart. I got good at choosing healthy food from a small selection. As long as the store you’re in has a produce, meat, and dairy aisle you can eat healthy. Costco has a great selection of Organic food that I love to get. They have organic produce, snacks, meals, etc. Remember this, just because it’s organic does not mean it is right for you. Make sure to read the labels and make sure the organic item does fit into your calorie and macro count. The city I live in now is getting a new health food store and I am pretty excited to conquer my fear and go shopping there. I know a few of my co-workers shop at another health store and they always come back with some cool things. I will update you once I’ve shopped there and let you know what I think of it. IIFYM stands for If It Fits Your Macros. Macros are the 3 macronutrients that our body needs to sustain, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Protein. Each macro is needed in different ways depending on your activity level, metabolism, and other key factors.
I chose to start focusing on this technique because it seems to fit the way I have been doing things from the beginning. But instead of allowing myself one cheat meal, I can have a cheat meal everyday as long as it fits into my macros. It allows so much more freedom in your diet so you don’t feel restricted. Basically you eat what you want to fill your daily macro goal. I know what you’re thinking “So I can eat like crap and still drop weight?” Umm no. Far from it. In order to hit your macros which are usually high amounts of protein, lesser carbs, and even less fat you cannot hit those goals eating chips and brownies all day. To hit your macro count you have to be smart and eat a lot of normal body building foods like chicken breast, fish, eggs, dairy, whole oats, fruits, and vegetables. When I say that you can have a cheat meal once a day if your macros allowed I’m meaning you’ve been strict with your food intake all day and have macros left which allow your cheat meal. I use the app www.myfitnesspal.com to track my calorie and macro intake. To change your macro intake to fit your personal settings go to your main screen on MFP and find the goals section. There you will see nutrition goals, click on that. From there, go to the advanced nutrition goal option and it will let you manually enter what your goals are. Once those are updated you can click on nutrition throughout the day and it will show you how close you are to hitting your macro goal. Easy peazy! A traditional diet meal plan consists of a lot of boring foods which I absolutely hate. Using the IIFYM technique allows me to eat the foods I want in moderation and still hit my weight loss goals. Here’s a typical day for me Breakfast- Oatmeal with almond milk, cinnamon, and truvia Macros- 3 g fat, 28 g Carbs, and 5 g protein. Snack 1- Hardboiled egg, 12 black grapes, ½ apple Macros- 5 g fat, 15 g carbs, 8 g protein Lunch- Chicken breast, whole wheat tortilla, Buffalo Wild Wings Garlic Parmesan sauce. ½ cup Cottage cheese. Macros- 21 g fat, 19 g Carbs, 54 g protein. Snack 2- Air popped popcorn with cheddar Jalapeno seasoning Macros- 1 g fat, 12 g carbs, 2 g protein Dinner- Crockpot Chile Verde Macros- 21 g fat, 18 g carbs, 25 g protein Post workout- Chocolate Protein drink Macros- 1 g fat, 6 g carbs, 50 g protein All that combined equaled 83 g carbs, 47 g fat, 136 g protein, and 1296 calories. I am still way behind my macros so I’ll add nachos, pizza, or whatever fits my remaining macro count. There really is so much flexibility with IIFYM! I’ve done a lot of research on PCOS diet and it seems that everything points to a really low carb intake, however when I was eating 80 g of carbs a day like I read to, I had absolutely no energy. I couldn’t even run for 10 minutes because I felt so weak. I think the most important thing to remember anytime you’re changing your diet in any way is to pay extra attention to how you feel. Realize any changes that are happening in your body such as energy level, physical appearance like hair loss, how quickly you see weight loss, gastrointestinal changes, etc. To some macro counting is a lot of work and it is. You really have to educate yourself and figure out what your body needs or doesn't need. I've changed my macro goals a few times because I could tell something was off. Honestly, that is why I’ve chose to stick with flexible dieting. I feel great, my energy level is up, I’m digesting the carbs okay, and my body is changing in ways I’ve wanted. At first it was a lot to get used to, but now it’s simple. I read food labels a lot and I feel way more educated about what is really in my food. I’m getting smarter and seeing better physical results…Winner, winner! I don't follow the guidelines as strictly has most. My general logic to eating is as long as it's healthy, has nutrients, and actually helps my body then it's ok to eat. I've figured out its personal preference how you choose to live your life and eat your food so what works for me might not work for others and that's okay. |
AuthorHi my name is Whitney and I'm a mom to 2 adorable boys and the wife to a sports loving, handsome man. I'm outnumbered but wouldn't have it any other way. I'm navigating motherhood one fart joke at a time. Welcome to my crazy life! Archives
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