January Challenge-This is why I Squat!

Before I get into the squatting! If exercising on a regular basis is completely foreign to you here are some things I think you should know!

1. If you are a woman, you are obsessed with the number on the scale. It's something in our genetics that makes us go crazy over it. "The scale lies" is a common term used in the fitness world. Which isn't completely accurate in my opinion. The scale doesn't lie, but no two scales are the same and the scale doesn't know the whole truth. Weight fluctuates throughout the day and week. The scale doesn't tell us if the number is due to water retention, bloating, swollen muscle or any of the things that can make the scale move. If your starting a new eating routine your body can freak out and do all sorts of stuff! So if you are going to be a scale junkie weigh in during the same time frame and same circumstances.

2.If you insist on using scales, you also must use a tape measure! I would recommend strictly using just a tape measure but in true junkie fashion I know half of you have already been on the scale today! Inches unlike the scale know what's up! Losing inches is what is going to get you into the smaller clothes anyway. Measure everywhere (knowing that you lost 5 inches in your thighs will excite the heck out of you) Here is a link that guides on measuring :http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1281

3.Eating too little is as harmful as eating too much! I can't count the times I have heard "Well I am only eating 700 calories a day and can't lose any weight." Well friends that is because your body is PISSED off at you for starving it so everything you put into your body it is holding on to it for dear life, storing it up for winter....right in your....gut!! You have to push past 1,200 calories before you will start to burn. If your over 200 lbs. you probably need more like 1,400 as a minimum! I do recommend My Fitness Pal to track your food intake. However, their take on fitness and burning calories is a JOKE!

4. Take pictures, even if no one but you sees them. One day you will be happy to have them to look back on. I didn't dare show my pictures to the world until I was comfortable with what I looked like. It's hard to see progress in a mirror day in and day out. Take a beginning photo, one week, and then maybe once a month after that. It works best if you have someone else take it. Dress in what you feel appropriate in.

I hope that addresses some of the questions I got off my last post. Now onto the fitness challenge of the month.. SQUATS!!

In strength training, the squat is a compound, full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips andbuttocks, quads (vastus lateralus medialis and intermedius), hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligamentsand insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body. Squats are considered a vital exercise for increasing the strength and size of the legs and buttocks, as well as developing core strength. Isometrically, the lower back, the upper back, theabdominals, the trunk muscles, the costal muscles, and the shoulders and arms are all essential to the exercise and thus are trained when squatting with the proper form.^[1]

In case you had no clue what a squat was. There is the official answer!  There are so many variations of the squat it would be hard to do all of them so I chose the top 3 I could find for this month's challenge!

I will also be going up in weight every week. Also 36 is a lot to do at once so I broke it apart a bit.  Goal for me is to squat more than my body weight all across the board! Never be afraid to modify for what works for you. Don't let someone else's ability intimidate you into hurting yourself. You will end up at home on the couch instead of at the gym! If your really a newbie: Start with body weight squats! Use the Internet to find proper form for a workout if you don't know it. You don't have to look like a fool at the gym thanks to modern technology. I really like bodybuilding.com they will show you a workout and workouts that do similar things in case you don't have access to exactly what the video has! I am posting a link to their site in case you want to look around and try it out!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmaintrain.htm

That being said.. It is time to take my vitamins, drink my pre-workout, and take my butt to the gym!

Happy Squatting Everyone- Next Month is the Plank Challenge!!

Who said the "F" word?

Let's talk about the worst word in the English language. The "F" word, and by that I mean FAT! The word every woman despises and the word that bites like a bullet to the heart when thrown at you!
If you haven't ever read my blog before let me help you out so you aren't reading back 45 post for this to make sense. I used to be a Fluffy girl, I am 5'6" on a good day and my heaviest non prego ranged in upwards of 200 lbs. My scales went up and down frequently through the past 11 years until August of 2011 when I decided I had enough of hating myself. Ta-Da that pretty much brings us to today. I by NO means consider my self fit or even toned. I am a skinny work in progress! Pics on the left are that day in August and pics on the right are me 21 weeks post 95% Hysterectomy due to Endometriosis

 Now I didn't start this post to toot my own horn. If you know me you would know there is very little tooting in my world. I like most every woman on planet earth have terrible self esteem/self image! I started writing this because it is the diet industries "HUNTING" season. Every where you go there is an ad, commercial, or some person trying to shove their idea of the quick fix down your throat. So, I wanted to share some of my miraculous in sites into this.
A. There are a million different products out there that will help you get to where you want to be. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is a quick fix pill. Their are shakes, oatmeals, cereals,drinks, frozen this and that, coffee's, teas, the list goes on and on and probably 8 out of 10 of them will work....IF YOU WORK WITH IT! In other words, be consistent. Find something that taste good,doesn't make you feel lousy and doesn't break the bank. If it is nasty and gives you the jitters you won't make it past February 1st neither will your checking account!
B. Don't let someone talk you into something because it worked for them. Every body is different for everybody! Speak to someone who knows what they are talking about if you have questions about calorie and protein intake. GOOGLE AND MY FITNESS PAL ARE NOT A VALID SOURCE OF INFORMATION!
C. Know your own level of dedication. For instance: When I started if you told me I had to go to a gym 5 to 6 days a week I never would have followed through. Some people can cold turkey the couch life and some can not. I was a total NOT. Now that being said I can totally do that now, but I have learned enough to know what I can and can not do. What works for me and what doesn't. If I want to indulge in the Holiday yummies I am going to sweat it out and the gym! I didn't have that much self control when I started. Body by Vi worked great for me, it gave me options but in a spectrum I could handle. Now if you can jump off the couch and cold turkey off junk and booze and bread well GOOD FOR YOU, You are way better than me!

Moral of the story is, don't set out to lose weight. Set out to get healthy, you will lose those pounds in the process and end up in a much happier place for it. Don't believe something is a miracle because the only thing that is going to save you is you! You don't have to stick to one companies product line! Mixing and Matching is great for me. I use 3 different kinds of Protein powder. I have used assorted metab. boosters, pre-workouts, and vitamins. (P.S. take your vitamins) If you love Herbalife tea, but prefer something else from Plexus or advocare or BBVI or shakeology or.. see this could go on forever then by all means take it! Last but certainly not least. DO NOT wait until January 1st. Be aware of what you are eating and the physical activity you have right now. Of course we are going to over-do it for Christmas dinner. Just don't pack on an extra 40 lbs between now and then! If you are serious about getting into those smaller pants than be serious right now not just next week.

Happy Holiday's Fitfam
Remember the reason for the season and to spend time with your loved ones.
Becoming a healthy-happy you will give you much more time here with them!

2012 Reflecting

Someone's opinion I greatly value said the best way to start the new year right is to recap the one before. The good and the bad to know where you are coming from and how to proceed without dragging back through the mistakes! Cause let's face it alot of us are repeat offenders!

So here is my top 10 good and bad moments of 2012 in no particular order! 

The Bad:

1.Loss #1- I lost the one person who has always been by my side. Don't know how to get them back and frankly I am sick of trying.

2.Loss#2- My Brinkley..truly "mans best friend" I am so sorry I wasn't hear for you when you needed me most.

3.Loss#3-Old relationship- I just grew sick and tired of being the only person putting effort into friendships. If you can't pick up the phone and see what's going on in my life other than what you can read on my facebook page.. Then we arn't friends.. We are acquaintances.. and that's ok too!

4.We have had several situations where we thought we were being pushed to the brink this year.. Thank God through love-trust-loyalty- and maybe a little screaming we made it through!

5.Failure- sometimes no matter how you follow a system or plan ya just smack face first on the floor.. 

6.Loss#4-Words and Actions hurt..Even when you pick up the pieces and glue them back together the original work of art is just gone...But in some situations Mosaics are a beautiful thing!

7.Nothing I "planned" this year turned out as I hoped.. I should really try to become a roll with the punches girl it would really save some anxiety..

8.My kids grew another year older.. I really wish they would slow it down a little!

I could keep going but really everything else falls into one of the topics above..

The Good:

1.I earned a BMW- a level of accomplishment I pushed myself so hard for while the lil demon in my head is always saying I can't.

2.I made new friends- Yes that sounds a little silly but when your my age it's not real easy to move and get out and meet new people. I love my Okie's!! 

3.I pushed myself to reach health goals I never imagined myself striving towards.

4.I learned that Karma does eventually get those who it intends to, and it's not near as gratifying as I thought it would be. Maybe this means I'm one step closer to being a grown up!

5.I stupidly checked a box to help out with the PTA, now it's my full time job lol but I get to be involved in my kids education on a whole new level so every second of the Chaos is worth it!

6.I saw Joan Jett and the Gin Blossoms in concert this year.. Be jealous people!

7. I learned helping others feel good about themselves is an addiction!!

8.I overcame one of my biggest vices: Be a people pleaser! There is a big ol difference between being respectful of others which my momma taught me to always be, and being a dang door mat. If ya don't like me that's ok! It took long enough to like myself so I am no longer concerned with what you might think! 

9. My family is finally getting some little girls! All the dang boys and finally 2 possibly more little girls to all be here by the summer time. I am a little giddy if ya can't tell! 

10.This may be the #1- I was pretty sure God had slammed the door on a dream of mine. I was pretty sure the cracks in my heart from things/people/relationships that he took away from me was a punishment of some kind. That maybe this was my Karma, and that is just the way it is. Then I realized those cracks just meant he was giving my heart a little more room to grow. And just cause what I had in mind for dream wasn't possible didn't mean he just didn't have a great plan in motion! I can't wait to see where HIS journey leads us!

and 1 to remember on.. Apologies come at the oddest times in life, rarely when you think you need them, maybe when the other person needs them! Maybe you do just have to walk a mile in someone's shoes to know how they feel. Every situation has 3 sides..your..theirs...and the truth! Feelings tend to mess up that last part! 

Oh and the girls..not gonna lie I am pretty happy to have them...

Here's to a fabulous New Year! You can't rewrite the chapters of your life, but you do have 364 days to change the current one!

Beach Sexy Summer 2013-Goals

"A Goal isn't a goal until you put it out there"-Blake Mallen

So I am putting out my goal and my plan! 

Because a goal without a plan is a resolution and we all know no one keeps their resolutions! 

Goal: Beach Sexy Summer 2013

Fitness:

• Workout No Less than 4 Days a week,even if it's a walk You will do it!
• Complete a competition run before May, even if your walking it, your going to start and finish it!

Nutrition:

• If your not going to workout..Your not going to get carbs! 
• If your not going to workout, You can only have 1400 Calories for the day
• NO MORE than 2 sweet tea's a week, no more than 5 half/halfs.
• Non-sugar creamer only in coffee.
• You can't have Starbucks if it doesn't have Skinny in front of it.

2013 it's on....Check back for our starting challenge pic's and weigh ins!