Day One, it's always easy!

HAPPY St. PATRICK'S DAY
So per my challenge rules I will journal my fitness, nutrition and corresponding activities, thoughts, mood, etc etc. etc daily. The first day of anything is easy, it's the long haul that throws most of us for a loop. With that being said it is important to verbalize your goals and desires almost daily. To put your mind ever in the present with your eyes still on the prize. Here is what Day one looked like.

Weight, do I really have to write it.....? Okay I weighed in yesterday at 189lbs. I gained about 16 pounds back. I did not take my measurements but will get right on it. I have a goal of about 2 pounds a week with an ending weight of 155. It will take longer than my imposed 12 weeks but I feel like it is very achievable. I am tall and have a bit of muscle already. At 23 I weighted in at 150 pounds and was very thin. Am I compensating here? On to the Nutrition and Fitness journal.

I struggled through 50 minutes of circuit training using 10 lb. weights and body weight resistance.

OPT Model Stabilization Endurance

SMR and static Stretching (2 sets)

SL Bridges 15 ea. Side (2 sets)

Floor Crunches 20 (2 sets)

Scissor kicks 24 (2 sets)

Prisoner Squats 20 (2 sets)

Jumping Jacks 30 (2 sets)

Push ups 15 (2 sets)

Mountain climbers 30 (2 sets)

Front Lunge 15 ea. Side (2 sets)

Skaters 30 (2 sets)

Triceps extension 10 lbs. 15 reps (2 sets)

Frontal Plane Jump with Stabilization 15 (2 sets)

Bicep Curl 10 lbs. 15 reps (2 sets)

Transverse Plane jump with stabilization 12 (2 sets)

Ball Cobra15 (2 sets)

Cool Down with a repeat of SMR and static Stretching

* I will modify the program every 4 weeks . This routine will be preformed 3 times per week. On three other days I will hike or bike.

Day One Week One

3 Scrambled free range eggs

3/4 cup Broccoli, Cauliflower mix

Coffee with 1 tbsp. half and half

Water

Mixed Greens with Pork Loin Medallions and Dijon roasted garlic vinaigrette

Orange slices

Water

3 Tbsp. Macadamia Nuts

Water

Small Banana

Salmon Cakes from Wild Alaskan Salmon

Sliced strawberries

Mixed Greens with Grape Tomatoes, Buffalo Mozzarella, and Lemon Balsamic

Vinaigrette made with Olive Oil.

Water

Coffee with a tsp. of Half and Half

At the end of the day I felt pretty good and didn't miss my typical pass out in front of the television ending. I stayed focused on several tasks and accomplished my to do list. Even read up on some anatomy. Let us go forth and see what this day holds.

May the luck of the Irish hold your hand today!

What to do when you fall off the wagon again

When I first started my journey to fitness I had about 40 pounds to lose and lots of soul searching to do. I have came very close to my goal but never quite got there. Life and weight gain are what happens when you are not paying attention. I have been on a steady gain for about the past three months. I think that after my certification I felt like all of my hard work had come to an end so to speak. Trying to gain clients, keep up with family and a car accident got the better of me. I let myself fall off of the fitness wagon and spiral out of control. As someone who wants to make a living in the fitness industry this was pretty devastating to my ego. Every day would come and go with unspoken promises to hit the gym and eat my vegetables. Eventually I came to the realization that trainer or not I am just like anybody else who struggles with weight issues. The old adage “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make them drink” rings true. It would not matter if I had a masters degree in exercise physiology, if I am not living it I can’t preach it. I am going to bare it all in a challenge to help motivate myself and anyone reading this. Starting today I will do what I expect my clients to do. I will succeed and prove once again that it is possible to pull yourself back up onto your wagon and keep going. This is sort of a retake of my blog. I want to stress that people will fall, just get back up. One meal, one workout, one healthy thought, this is fitness for real people. I want to add that it has got to be one of the hardest things to accept. When we have achieved a weight loss and/or fitness goal and gain it back or stop exercising it is the ultimate form of self betrayal. I have wanted to bury my head under a rock Am I alone in this? Not at all. As a women I have a sisterhood with all who have or will do the same thing. We can break this miserable self sabotage and achieve lifetime goals. Living the healthy lifestyle starts with our thoughts. Getting to a place of acceptance and a desire for change must happen first. Okay so we really messed up and went off track, if we immediately shift our focus to staying committed and getting on course then we will leave no room for negative consequences. We are creatures of habit good or bad. Get in the habit of picking yourself up the moment you fall.

Okay now for the rules of the challenge. I will track my progress for 12 weeks and eat as close to a Paleo diet as possible.

Rule number one: Weekly weight and measure check in. This will not be easy. What is out of sight is out of MIND!

Rule number two: Food diary, this is very important! The diary aspect of this challenge will keep me focused on achieving a level of nutritional value and hold my lips accountable.

Rule number three: Chart my exercise program as I would for any client. Keeping record of how and when you exercise is a great way to track progress and set goals. I love to feel the burn as they say however if you spend too much time away from exercise it becomes habit to sit on the couch. “Energy begets Energy”

Rule number four: Entertainment must come in the form of activity, not the television. I am going to turn off the television set for 12 weeks, this will be one of the hardest rules to follow. I am without a doubt a T.V. junkie

I challenge all who reads this to join me, feel free to send me your progress. I would love to hear your story.

My road is your road

WOW it has been a long time since my last post and much has changed. I recently became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and turned my hobby into a business. During my outer transformation I under went many internal changes as well. I realized that it is not about the end, there is no end in the pursuit of fitness. We transform in degrees and small steps, change is not always visible but rather a mind set, a twitch in our thought process. So most of you are wondering did I reach pay dirt, have I achieved that ultra fit body. The answer is yes and no. I have achieved levels of physical fitness that I never thought possible but I still have weight to lose. 40 before 40 is my goal and I am happy to say that I am half way there. I am confident that I will reach my goal. During this process my desire to pay it forward increased 10 fold. By helping others I help myself. Living in the moment with my clients goals, hopes and fears brings to light my own. Your struggles are mine, and my road is yours. We can be fit one step at a time. Yours in Health

Tiffiny

What Happens In Vegas....

We have all heard the famous marketing campaign to lure tourist into sin city. Miles of forbidden indulgence tempt even the purest soul into a walk on the wild side. Only in Vegas will your secrets stay put. I have taken a recent trip into diet hell only to discover that my walk on the wild side shadowed my every move even after I removed my hand from the cookie jar. The Easter Bunny called and wants his candy back! It all started the day before Easter Sunday. I had a lavish dinner planned starting with Fresh hot cross buns and homemade orange marmalade. A crown Roast with herb gravy and Roasted root vegetables, garlic mashed potatoes, braised baby greens and last but not least the pièce de résistance a double layer coconut cake with Swiss meringue frosting. Well with all of the prep for dinner we ate out Saturday evening. During the exploring of Easter baskets and such we had french toast and coffee and a nibble of a bunny ear or two. I felt the effects of that weekend for a week and on the seventh day we dumped the candy jar and I settled in for a nice heart to heart with my self. Why is it then when we start to slip from our path we fall off of a cliff. It is without a doubt a diet mystery. What I have learned is "What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" when we have a cheat day and relax a little with our meal plan leave it as such. Get back on track with the next meal and get over it. Indulging is OK and should be treated like a weekend in sin city. once your on the plane home life should resume as before. With that being said I must admit that ever since it is a daily struggle. My progress has been steady however I feel I may be reaching a plateau. My best bet is to re-evaluate my eating plan, review my food journal and kick into over drive. I will be posting my stats in the next post along with my workout routines and what I have been eating. For all of you who are struggling to stay on track keep the faith and get on that plane.

Overnight Celebrity

Before I get into this post I want to appologize for falling behind on my post. I have set a personal goal to post 3 new blogs per week.

Recently I was featured in our local newspaper the Republican in an ad ran by the gym where I get my Guru sessions. It touted their expertise and my unwavering success in reaching my fitness goals. It has been a long road to travel in such a short time. I have sweated and cried out in pain, limped my way to bed at night and scrutinized my dinner plate too many times to count. Through all of this I have had the support of an amazing team and a group of women who know my struggle. In an effort to honor my Guru Crew, I want to give a shout out to all of them. I am a member of the WIldwood Athletic Club in Oakland MD. This gym is a fitness pillar in our community not only do they provide a fun, clean, state of the art fitness center they also provide a place for the youth to come and practice in the batting cages. I have been given a gift and I hope that I can stand as an example of what a great gym will do for a person who wants to change. Thank You to all of the staff at Wildwood.

Magic In A Jar

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall


I am sure that most of us have tried many different kinds of vitamins and weight loss supplements to help achieve our weight loss goals. Currently I am taking a handful of supplements that are recommended by many health/nutrition experts. Before I list them I want to say that nothing can substitute mother nature and good ol' hard work. With that being said I also want to add that it will require lots of variety and color on your dinner plate. You might ask "So why supplement then?" The more processed the food item is the less vitamins and minerals it contains. We are in a world where time is everything and the less time we have to spend preparing meals the better. Our food chain does not exist as in the past. It may come from hundreds if not thousands of miles away and contain GMOs, pesticides, hormones, and a slue of other things and even lowered nutritional content. On to the list of what I feel are the best supplement for me. These were also part of the Perricone Prescription.

Fish Oil - The name says it all. Omega 3 fatty acids are crucial in so many of the bodies functions including metabolism. I take (6) 1000mg capsules daily

Alpha Lapoic Acid
CoQ10
L-Carnitine
L-Glutamine
Astaxanthan
Maitake SX Fraction D
Chromium Picolinate
Borage Oil (GLA)

Lost Without You

Wow it has been a long time since my last post. Many changes are taking place with my body. I recently had my first weigh in and measure and although my weight only dropped 7 pounds I was happy to learn that I lost 6 inches off my hips and several more off the rest of my body. It has not been an easy road thus far, I struggle daily to eat healthy and maintain a proper caloric intake while dealing with tobacco cravings, carb cravings, and the occasional urge to down a bottle of stolis'. During my Guru sessions I seem to be able to go longer and have increased my strength and overall stamina. In an effort to lower the number on the scale I went back to an old favorite, the Perricone Prescription. It entails a diet high in omega fatty acids, fresh vegetables and fruit, a few choice supplements and abstinence of sugar and all things white, including white flour, white potatoes, white rice, white pasta, or anything that is starchy. I stuck to this diet 2 years ago and had great success, lately I feel like robbing the dunken donuts and drowning myself in sweet coffee and crullers. What I have come to realize is that when I go to extremes and deprive myself of certain foods my body fights back and with brute force releases all sorts of chemicals that tell me I need carbohydrates. The weight sure does come off a lot faster when I restrict all things glycemic however I end up feeling miserable and cranky. I started having oatmeal a couple of times a week and allow my self a whole grain low calorie high fiber bread on the other days. I usually consume these in the morning or afternoon to gain much needed energy for my workouts. Do I miss those luscious white flour carbs that call out to me like a two faced banker crying for a bailout, of course deep down I know what the best choices are.I recommend seeking advice from a nutritionist and certified personal trainer before beginning any weight loss program. Your success rate will be much greater. Next time lets talk Vegas Baby!