Swimsuit Season

I have a confession to make:  I'll be 40 in less than two years.  Can we say "mid-life?"  Forty is a milestone where you start to think more about what your life is like, what you thought it would be like, and what you want it to be like.  I'm happy with most areas of my life these days, and have met a lot of personal goals, but I do have one physical fitness goal that I haven't reached yet.....I'm still not satisfied with how I look in a swimsuit.  

After three kids, I feel that I'll never wear a bikini in public again.  No matter how much body fat I lose, bodies are very different after having several kids.  Enough said.  To push me toward my "look smokin' hot in a swimsuit" goal, I went and tried on a bikini today just for the heck of it for my eyes only.  Trying on a swimsuit in the store has always been a reality check for me, and can be for anyone.  It's usually produced a reaction of disgust at myself when the style I want doesn't fit quite right or things are bulging out.  It's hard to hide much in a swimsuit!  In fact, I've been trying to hide in swimsuits that have shorts on the bottom for about 20 years now. (If you'll remember from my earliest posts, I had been "skinny fat" since I was a teen!)  When I'm at the pool or beach, I walk around with a towel around my waist because I want to shield those "trouble spots" from the world.

Well, guess what?!  I put that bikini on today and I didn't feel disgust.  For once in my adult life, I looked at myself, twirled around a few times, and thought, "Well, besides needing a tan and a wax, I'm ALMOST there!"  I'm almost stride-across-the-beach-without-a-towel-around-my-waist shape!  Instead of disgust, I felt happy that after all of my YEARS of hard work, I was almost swimsuit-ready in my eyes.  Not too shabby for a mid-life mom of three kids.

What does this mean for all of you?  No matter how old you are or how many kids you've had, you can still reach your physical fitness goals.  Yours doesn't have to be a swimsuit, it could be that pair of pants waiting in your closet.  Keep going toward it, be patient, and work hard.  Go get it!

I'm not a runner....

Just today, I was asked twice if I'm "a runner."  In fact, I get asked this quite often.  How come I never get asked if I'm "a lifter?"  When someone is well conditioned and in good physical shape, don't just assume that they run to get that way.  The activity that will change your body the most dramatically over time is strength training.  You can sprinkle in running with it, but as I've written before, strength training should be your PRIORITY.  Why?  Let me recap:  strength training builds (or at least maintains) your muscle mass and that means burning more calories daily and having a sizzling metabolism.  Let's think of it as "muscle burns fat."  So, you want to have muscle. Strength training also means stronger bones too.  When you build muscle and burn fat, guess what happens?  Nice muscle tone showing up for all to see.  Take the fat off and see the muscle underneath.

Running, on the other hand, does other things.  Serious runners that are training for distance runs (aka-marathons and such) are working to make their bodies more efficient.  They generally want to be lighter in their build.  What I'm going to say next is important:  Run for fun, or run to train, but do NOT run for fat loss.  Do not run to build muscle.  Don't believe me?  Look it up, there are all kinds of articles out that that talk about running for fat loss and how it doesn't work. Look around at the finish line of any distance race...there are people of all shapes and sizes.  In fact, I have a good marathon-running friend that says she actually GAINS a few percentages of body fat when she trains for marathons.  Why?  Her body gets so efficient through all of the endurance training that her body is burning less calories overall.  As soon as she's done running for the day, she's done burning calories from her workout.  Also, runners may lose muscle if they don't take in enough protein and when you lose muscle, you burn less calories and your body will store those extra calories as fat.  When you strength train, you keep burning calories the next day!!  This is because your body is in muscle repair and recovery from what you put it through.  I heard from someone at the gym today that they run because "then they can eat whatever they want."  Huh? This is not a good plan or a good mindset.  Will they really burn off those calories or is their body so efficient from all that running that they'll store it as fat?

I have a lot of friends that run and love it a lot.  Just beware that running is actually a very advanced activity....it's 5-10 times your body weight on each foot/knee every time you slam it onto the ground.  Imagine hopping on one foot 1000 times, then the other foot 1000 times....that's basically what you do to your body when you run a mile.  A lot of these runner friends of mine are often injured, and they are well conditioned people!  I once read a great statement that puts it into perspective:  You have to get in shape to run, not run to get in shape.  If you don't like to run, just know that you don't have to- it's not the "go-to" activity.  If you do like to run, good for you, do what you enjoy.

I'm not a runner, I'm a lifter, and I'm proud of it.

Slow and steady wins the race...

Every time I turn on one of the local radio stations, I hear commercials for MIRACLE diet programs.  "Lose weight while you sleep!"  Or, "You don't have to do anything but take this __________ to get the body you've always wanted!"  It drives me crazy.  Please tell me that people aren't really going to fall for this.

I believe in taking some supplements- fish oil, whey protein, vitamins, a greens supplement, a few amino acids.  At no point in my fitness journey have I ever believed that there was some miracle pill/drink/shake/powder that could melt all my fat away, give me lots of muscle tone, and make me look like some sculpted goddess.  It's NOT going to happen.  Hard work makes that happen. These things that you hear about are misleading.  Half the time, you hear something a year later like, "If you took such-and-such pill, you may be at risk for heart defects."  In my opinion, quick fixes = failure.

The only things that "miracle" diet drugs do are teach you to get really good at taking a pill, give you false hope, and make you forever skeptical. They don't teach you how to prepare and eat real, whole food, how to move your body or strengthen your body, or how to change your lifestyle for the better.  "Miracle" programs make you start over because as soon as you stop doing whatever it is they are asking you to do, you often gain back the weight PLUS more!  That's because you didn't learn anything valuable from it.  People are in such a hurry these days that they want results NOW.  I get it-- I wanted my last few pounds to come off yesterday.  

Slow and steady wins the race.  You will learn real lessons during your lifelong fitness journey.  You have time to practice and master what you've learned and then you can help those around you.  You won't be as likely to start over again and again because the changes you are making are slow and gradual, not rapid and ridiculous.  It's hard to wait.  It's taken me about 3 years to lose 7 inches off my hips and 4 around my waist.  THREE YEARS!  But, do you know what??  I'm not going to blow it or waste my time on some "miracle" commercial crappy plan to get the rest off.  It may take another year because I'm not perfect.....I struggle too sometimes.  But I'm steadily making my way to my ultimate goals and my best body and every bit of it was through hard work- not false miracles.

Fitblogger Feature

Today, you can find me over at Fitblogger as the guest writer of the week.  I wrote about Stumbling Backward--  do you keep looking behind you instead of ahead?    Check it out at : http://fitblogger.ca/

Coming in last...

As parents, we tend to put ourselves and our needs last over the needs of our children, families, whoever.  It's called "making sacrifices."  I think it comes with the territory when you are raising kids.  I know for myself, especially when my kids were babies and toddlers, I really did nothing for myself.  I was exhausted all the time.  I was lucky to get a shower every day.  They got exercise every day, but I didn't make the effort for myself besides chasing them around.  I'd cook foods that I knew my kids would eat or that were quick, easy, and convenient so that I didn't have to fight with them or I was too tired to make the extra effort to follow a healthier meal plan.  I taught them everything I could, played with them, planned fun experiences, made sure they had time with friends.  Truthfully, I felt that I had nothing left to give to myself.  I always made sure they had what they needed and thought, "I'll worry about myself later. My time will come."

Looking back, this was a big mistake.  A happy, healthy mom is better for everyone involved.  I realized that when my youngest was two.  I hated the way I felt and looked and decided that it was time put myself a little higher on the priority list rather than coming in last.  At first, I felt very guilty shoving my kids into a childcare area while I exercised.  But then, that time turned into a stress-busting sanctuary for me.  Putting myself on the "important list" made me feel better and got me to where I am today.  Taking care of myself was important to ensure that I'd be my best for my family and be a good role model to them too.

I still struggle a bit with cooking healthy nutritious meals that my kids will rave about instead of argue with me about.  I have to remind them that I am not a restaurant who serves a menu of choices.  I'm not putting their tastes first with mac-n-cheese, frozen pizza, and chicken strips like I used to.  I hope to change their palates one new recipe at a time and maybe someday, they'll appreciate it.  

Is this all selfish?   No.  Will you feel a bit guilty at first if you aren't used to doing things for yourself?  Maybe.  I believe that being your best self is a much healthier way to live than coming in last.

More than one way to measure success.....

What's the first way that most people measure success when trying to reach a weight loss or health goal?  Go ahead, say it:  THE SCALE.  People think that if that needle (or number) goes down, they have it made...all is well.  The numbers on the scale are just one SMALL way to measure success; it's just one way to keep you in check.  It doesn't tell the whole story, though.  The truth is that the scale can be misleading.  For example, when you strength train regularly and eat enough of what you need for muscle growth, you are going to gain muscle and lose fat.  There won't be much of a reflection on the scale, but your body will be getting smaller even if the scale numbers don't.  Or, you may be losing fat AND muscle (which you don't want to do!) if you aren't eating enough protein or other nutrients that your body needs.  In these cases, body circumference measurements and body fat levels are better indicators that your body is changing for the better. Any fitness professional can do these for you.

So, let's toss the scale aside for a moment.  I've mentioned a really great body changing success indicator in past posts that everyone has access to:  your clothes.  If the scale isn't showing you smaller numbers, but your clothes are loose or fitting you differently (in a good way), then that is a big indicator that you are doing something right!  On the flip side, if your clothes are getting tighter and tighter, something needs to change.  Don't buy new ones-- make healthy changes so they can fit you again!

I asked a client this week if she's noticed any changes in herself since we started working together.  She answered that she feels much stronger and has more energy.  Yes!  Energy, strength, and any other positive feeling like that is yet another indicator of success in your fitness journey.  I find that people have a positive glow about them when they feel good about themselves and feel good about what they are doing!  They radiate confidence that they maybe didn't have before. That is a reason to celebrate!

One last measure of success besides that darn scale on the bathroom floor?  Look in the mirror.  What changes are you seeing as a result of your hard work?  Muscle tone?  Flatter abs?  Clearer skin because you are eating less processed food?  How about just a big smile because of the happiness you have right now?  

You Only Live Once

Last week, I stood in my parent's kitchen serving food to a large group of family that had gathered to attend my father's funeral.  After making sure that everyone got served, I took a few minutes to eat before we had to leave for the visitation.  The menu was not what I would normally eat, but was food that had kindly been brought by friends in the community to support my mom and our family.  As I ate my piece of lasagna and garlic bread, I commented out loud, "This is not what I'm used to eating."  A relative overheard me, walked up, and said, "Kara, you know you only live once."

After reassuring her that I was not a deprived person, but actually eat delicious food all the time and lots of it, I thought about what she said to me. "YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE."  I realized that this statement can be interpreted in two very different ways.  

MY WAY: Yes, I only live once, therefore, I want to have the strongest, healthiest body I can possibly have and am determined to fill it with healthy "fuel" that makes me feel good and help me reach my goals.  Lasagna and bread are not on that list.

HER WAY: I only live once, so I'm going to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, however much I want and I don't care what it does to my body.  Without too much detail, she is a very large person.  This view of "only living once" is not helping her OR making her happy.  This view will most assuredly shorten her life.

Which way are YOU going to view it?  Make the most out of your life and take care of yourself or not really care and do whatever, whenever even if you know it's not good for you?  

Yes, you only live once.  How will you live?