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Webly
When someone sees my transformation, the first thing I get asked is “how did you get your stomach to go down?” or “what kind of exercise do you suggest to get my stomach down?” The answer is that there is no secret or no amount of exercise that will give you flat abs until you learn to control what you put in your mouth.
It is really a simple process but I am amazed at how most of us have to complicate things in the pursuit of flat abs. What we need to understand is that you cannot have a slim waistline, flat abs, and nicely toned body doing hours of cardio or double triple sessions of exercise alone. The secret to a flat abs along with a well toned body starts in your kitchen.
I see people at the gym do some insane things day in and day out yet, after a couple of months the belly is still around. Guys have big biceps, skinny legs (I had to throw that one in there) and a belly. Ladies spend hours switching from one cardio equipment to the other, spending hard earned money to work with a personal trainer, and yes the belly is still around after months. Albert Einstein calls this “Insanity” “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results.” If you’ve been working out for months and your waistline hasn’t changed, it is a clear indication that your nutrition SUCKS. Yes someone had to tell you. I’ll be the bad guy and say it. Call this tough love because before this challenge ends I want to drill in your mind that “YOU CANNOT OUTRUN A BAD DIET”.
So as long as the fat is seating over those muscles, I am sorry to say that you will not see a six pack, not even a 1 pack. You just cannot keep eating crappy, butter loaded, high sugar, processed low fat or sugar free junk, and expect to work it off at the gym and get flat abs. Work smart and not hard.
2 more days and the healthMC challenge will be over. Yes it’s been almost 21 days. I hope you took full advantage of those days and made some progress.
Today’s post is about a sensitive subject especially for women “THE SCALE”.
I remember when I started my healthy lifestyle journey, I had my mind set on a number. Back then the number was 160 pounds. Once I reached that number I started to train to compete and my nightmare with the scale begun. The magic number for me was 125 pounds on stage. It was a nightmare because no matter what progressed I made, no matter how my body changed, I wasn’t satisfied with the number on the scale. If it didn’t read 125 pounds I wasn’t a happy. It got more frustrating as I tried harder to reach the number and I couldn’t go past 130 pounds.
Something was not right with that picture. So I asked myself “Is my new lifestyle completely dependent on a scale? Am I going to work myself out to death until I reach THE NUMBER?” I grew tired of being frustrated with the scale and stopped stepping on it altogether. What was happening is that every time I stepped on it, even if it was once a week or once every 2 weeks, I stepped down disappointed and wanting to work harder next time. I was taking notes of my measurements but the number on the scale was more important. One day flipping the pages of my workout journal I noticed a BIG difference on the measurements for 2 months with a ZERO difference in weights. Call it Aha! moment, but for me it was the end of my nightmare and the beginning of a balanced, healthy and positive journey.
How well you are doing is not about the scale ONLY. The scale can be going down and you nutrition sucks with high body fat. Look at the big picture and consider those questions next time you get frustrated at the numbers on the scale
In your journey to a healthy lifestyle, always focus on the big picture and DO NOT, ABSOLUTELY, NOT make this about the scale. Otherwise, you never enjoy the ride and you allow a piece of metal to control your life.
You don’t need a gym membership or an expensive piece of equipment at home to get a good cardio workout. With just a few items that costs less than $10 – some of them free- you can have a good workout in the morning before you step out of the house. Sometimes I know the night before that my day is going to be super busy and I’ll only have about 20 minutes to do some cardio. To get my workout in for the day and get my metabolism going, I have some 20 minutes routines that I do at home using
Gymboss is one of my favorite tools because it helps me time myself without giving in to distractions. It also help me challenge myself because every time I do a routine, I write down how many reps of an exercise I perform,. I use that information to try to beat my PR (personal record) the next time I do the same routine. That’s just another way your workout journal becomes very handy, helping you keep track of your PR.
Use your jump rope to warm up for 5 minutes. Set 4 intervals of 5 minutes on your Gymboss (4 minutes plus 1 minute rest each). For each circuit, repeat every exercise back to back for 4 minutes and then rest 1 minute. Repeat each circuit twice
When your Gymboss timer ends voila! your cardio is done at home and you are ready go about your day.
Your Assignment is to try this routine and let me know your PR.
So far the focus has been on nutrition, identifying trigger foods and making sure you keep a record of your progress with a journal. This is all physical and there is another aspect to consider in a healthy lifestyle, your mental health. It doesn’t matter how much exercise you do, how clean you are eating, if what you feed your mind is negative your outer result will be negative as well. You know, garbage in garbage out. It is actually more important to feed your mind the positive thoughts and the serenity that it needs to propel your body to the same level.
This is where praying, yoga, meditation, a time out for YOU helps. We get so busy we our daily routine, work, life and everything else that most of us don’t even take 15 minutes out of the day to just breathe and meditate. Get in the habit of starting having your first thoughts and last ones before you go to sleep positive ones. The best way to do that is to practice feeding your mind powerful thoughts that comes only with practice. Your physical muscle is not the only part of your body that needs training, your spiritual muscle needs training as well.
You train your spiritual muscle by reading powerful and uplifting books, praying and meditating on the Bible, and taking the time to just stand still in silence.
Your assignment today is to make sure you set aside at least 30 minutes every day in total silence. For moms I know it can be a little challenging. In this case use the bathroom if you have to or a walk in closet. Use this time to refresh and recharge everyday. Before going to bed read 10 pages on something motivating, make your last thoughts for the day positive ones. When you wake up tomorrow instead of laying in bed going down the list of things you have to do for the day in your mind, start by thinking carefully about 5 things you are grateful for then you go about your day.
It’s already day 15 into the healthMC challenge. I hope looking back you have a sense of accomplishment, you feel that you are on the right track and you are gearing up to do even better the remaining days. This weekend, take some time to review the information from starting Day 0 and if you were not on board, this is your time to catch up and get on board.
My favorite thing about living a healthy lifestyle is keeping a food and workout journal. Not only I keep track of my meals and workouts, but I also write notes about my food and my feelings for the day. If I was on track with my nutrition, I highlight that day as a perfect day.
8 oz green tea
1/2 cup oatmeal dry cooked with 8 oz of water and cinnamon
1 scoop of protein
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
6 oz Friendship 1% cottage cheese
1 banana
4 oz Chicken Breast
1 cup spinach
1/2 baked sweet potato
1 apple
6 oz Greek yogurt
4 oz Tilapia
1/2 cup cooked whole wheat pasta
1 cup mixed vegetables
1 scoop protein
8 oz peppermint tea
Do you have a favorite sports team? A favorite Athlete? One of my favorite athletes is Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was my inspiration to join the basket ball team in high school. Every year during playoff season, when the Chicago Bulls were playing, I couldn’t wait to see how Michael Jordan was going to save the day. He had this incredible talent to score perfectly when you thought all hope was gone, that the team was losing. I admire Michael Jordan because it takes incredible focus and discipline to be so consistent.
Year after year there is an athlete that emerges with incredible performance to prove to us that we only set limits for ourselves. Sometimes we take these athletes and put them in a separate category, thinking they must have had every opportunity lined up to make it so far. But when we watch movies or read biographies on how they became so good at what they do, we realize that they are people like us who faced challenges, difficulties and some even had less opportunities than us today. Those movies and books leave us inspired and always propel us to give or best. At times when I don’t feel like I am making any progress or just feel like not giving my best I read about an amazing athlete or watch a documentary to listen to motivating quotes from those icons. I always come out humbled because most of the times I realize that I have more resources and can accomplish more. I also regain strength to continue in the pursuit of my goals.
In today’s post I gathered amazing quotes from great athletes that will motivate you, and encourage you to continue to push yourself in your journey.
This is the last part of Beating Sugar Addiction series and I really hope the information provided helped you identified trigger food and create an action plan to kick the habit for good. Part 1 of the series covered addiction to energy drinks, coffee, or anything to keep us going. Part 2 was more about reacting to stressful situation by reaching for sweets. Today Part 3 will cover sugar cravings caused by PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and menopause.
What does sugar addiction look like at that time of the month? (part 3)
for menopause
Those are just a few and I am sure there are more symptoms.
Solution (Part 3)
Women experience these wacky hormones situations that cause sugar cravings, binging of high carb foods; a complete mess if you were doing well on your nutrition plan. There are some steps to take to curb the sugar cravings but in extreme cases it is best to consult your physician. The solutions involve
This completes the “Beating Sugar Addiction” series. Sugar addiction is real and kicking the habit can be very challenging. Look over all the series and identify ways that you consume too much sugar. The suggestions I made are simple changes to make in your nutrition. For Part 3 you should consult your physician to find the best way to deal with hormonal changes that goes beyond food choices.
Until next time, spread the love…
In part 1 of the series, Beating Sugar Addiction, we discussed how sugar loaded food and energy drinks were used to sustain energy for a busy person, and how it turns into an addiction with an unbalanced nutrition. Part 2 of the series has to do with using sugar as a coping mechanism to deal with stress.
What does it look like when you use sugar to deal with stress (Part 2)?
When you are dealing with any kind of stress you need a sugar fix. You indulge in one sweet treat after another to wake up one day and realize that you can no longer fit into your skinny jeans. You beat yourself over it but you can’t seem to stop craving for more sugar. When you give in to your sugar craving you feel a high and you have more energy to carry on. You later crash, feel guilty and instead of eating something healthy you eat more sugary stuff. You have time to prepare meals, but you prepare something you know that is bad for you. 30lbs and more overweight a couple of months later, depression sets in and you just become complacent and stop trying to lose weight altogether.
Solution (Part 2)
Since you reach for sugar in any flight or fright situation, your can set yourself on your way to cut the sugar cravings substantially and possibly end it by
Sugar cravings – unless it is a diagnosed condition – is always related with a poor diet. The bad think with consuming large measure of sugar is that the part that is not used as energy in you body turns into fat. This type of fat seats mostly in your mid-section and gives you the NOT so lovely love-handles and extra layer of tissue hanging around your bra. It will never be both ways meaning if you eat a balanced diet, you can’t possibly be craving sugar all the time.
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