GET REAL WITH YOURSELF!

I personally know that it’s easy to let the media – and the world – dictate how we think we should look and feel.  It’s time to stop and get real!

We have to know that the first step on the road to total health and living our best lives is simple: We can’t achieve success if we’re not moving toward something.  So, before we do anything else, we have to set goals!  Sounds easy, right? Not so fast. It’s easy to say to yourself that you want to look like an ac­tion hero or a supermodel. It’s a little bit different to arrive at an ultimate goal that’s both ambitious and attainable.

What’s attainable, you ask? In our day-to-day lives we’re bombarded with images of supposed perfection and beauty all the time; it’s easy to let the media and the world at large dictate how you feel you should look and consequently how you feel about how you do look. That’s got to stop.  Trust me, I’m the first one to compare myself to others – it sucks! It doesn’t help with my own self love and self esteem.  It’s time to forget about those articles about how to get Jessica Biel’s tush, Kelly Ripa’s arms, and Matthew McConaughey’s rock-hard abs. Forget them! Even Cameron Diaz doesn’t look like Cameron Diaz. Most of the photos we see in magazines are shot after hours of hair and makeup sessions, then air­brushed to perfection.  It’s called photoshop.  I can easily alter a photo and make myself “perfect. Trying to live up to these impossible standards will lead you down the road to poor self-image, self-loathing, and disorders like anorexia and bulimia.

Find Your True Shape

I looked online to find the different body shapes.  Here’s what I found.  So what is a realistic expectation of an ideal you? Below are three basic body types — identify the one that best applies to your body. It’s important to understand your shape and what you can and can’t expect from it.

• The apple shape. The apple tends to store fat in his or her upper body, so if a person is carrying extra weight, it’s usually around the belly. Fat stored in the upper body can lead to cardiovascular disease, so it’s important for apples to be health conscious. Apples have evolved to store fat in this way to adapt to long periods of famine.
• The pear shape. Pears are almost always women and hold the majority of their fat in the lower body: hips, butt, saddlebags. This shape has evolved because fat stored in these areas aids in fertility. This type of fat isn’t as much of a health risk as ab­dominal fat, but it can be harder to lose!
• The proportionate shape. Lucky proportionates have fat cells dis­tributed equally throughout their entire body. When they gain weight, they gain it everywhere. When they lose weight, it comes off evenly.

After identifying your shape as one of the three basic types, you need to es­tablish a realistic weight for your specific build.  Just google BMI chart, it’ll help you see what your ideal weight should be for your height.

Setting and Realizing Your Goals

Now that you’ve got an idea of what your shape can look like and what your goal weight should be, visualize it! Imagine in great detail how you’ll look and feel, the many ways in which your life will be different and, yes, bet­ter. I recommend keeping a food and exercise journal.  Track your progress and write down goals.  Use it every day so you’re inspired to work through your issues and toward your goals, rather than avoid your problems and stay in neutral.

Meditate on your daily goals every morning to give purpose to your day. And every night before you go to sleep, think about your vision of the ulti­mate you — strong, healthy, and happy. Reaffirm your belief in yourself and your goals, and you’ll find yourself taking the active steps needed to achieve them.

I just want to thank Jillian Michaels.  I got this info from her site to help you all out!

Those days…

Ever have those days where it starts off GREAT and gradually as the day goes by, the greatness starts to fade?

Yeah… today’s one of those days.  I’m still truckin’..I’m unsure if it’s the rainy, cold day… But this sucks!! Ha! Ha!

We all have to get through these kind of days.  I just finished dinner, but I’m still hungry.  I downed a glass of water and I’m still hungry.  I’m not in a vegetable kind of mood today.  I stress how important it is to eat your vegetables… but I’ve only had one serving today.  I believe today is just an off day.  I’m still proud of myself that I got up this morning and went to the gym.  I’ve eaten healthy today – however, I do feel the portions were a bit larger than they should be.  But that usually happens when I workout first thing in the morning.  I prefer to actually workout in the evenings.  On the weekends, I tend to go to the gym first thing in the morning, or else sometimes the workout never happens.

My goal this coming week is to get to the gym every night.
I’m not pressuring myself to spend hours at the gym, but at least work on getting in 30 minutes of physical activity each night.  Physical activity is very important to get in daily.   It doesn’t have to be much, but aim for at least 30 minutes a day.  

I just LOVE when a friend texts me to tell me she’s getting ice cream.. damn you woman!! Now all I’m thinking about are those delicious ginger molasses cookies again. Haha

What I’m trying to get across by this blog entry is that everyone has these kind of days.  Sure, since my Nan passed away these kinda days keep happening unfortunately.  Emotions are something hard to control – however, what we can control is how we cope with these emotions.

I’m far from perfect – hense why the last three months my weight loss has been at a stand still.. BUT.. I chose not to give up!  I still went to the gym, drank my water, took my vitamins and tried to not emotionally eat.  Life is one big challenge, but we’re all going to die one day.  We need to ensure we live the best life.

Now with just saying that, a thought crossed my mind.
“If we are going to die one day … why WORRY so much if we gain a pound or two?”

I don’t have the answer for that.  I believe everyone has their own answer to that question.  I find myself asking that question to myself many days.  I ask myself “Why are you so hard on yourself when really, your opinion of yourself is the only one that matters..”

We live in a society today where appearance is a main factor on how you’re treated.
So all I can say is this, just be the best YOU you can be each day.  This way if you die tomorrow, you know you gave it your best shot.

From Jillian Michaels

So you’re wondering, what is the right attitude and how can it help you lose weight? Having the right attitude is so important because thought is behavior — the power of mind is total and the way you think of yourself becomes your reality.

So you’re wondering, what’s the right attitude and how can it help you lose weight? Having the right mental state is so important because thought is behavior — your mind is your strongest tool, and the way you think of yourself manifests as your reality. We all know how easily negative thoughts about ourselves can lead to poor self-image, lack of confidence, hopelessness, and depression. You’ve heard about self-fulfilling prophecy, right? Well, if you tell yourself that you’ll always be fat or that you’ll never find happiness, chances are you will always be fat and you won’t ever be happy. But imagine what could be possible if you harnessed your mental power with positive thoughts.

A key element of changing your attitude is changing your self-talk — your internal monologue, the chattering conversation you have with yourself constantly all day long, whether you’re aware of it or not. It’s the voice in your head that says, “I can’t exercise because I’m fat and lazy” or, “I’m worthless because I have no self-control and will always be this way.” It’s this kind of useless negativity that’s holding you back, keeping you from being the best you can be. Now is the time to turn it around once and for all.

Imagine what would happen if you changed the dialogue so that it sounded more like this: “I can lose weight and be healthy” or “I’m going to eat well today, and I’ll feel good about myself as a result.” Your self-talk can make the difference between self-assurance and self-doubt, happiness and despair, success and failure. If you start making your self-talk more positive and affirming, and less defeatist and self-deprecating, your whole life will change for the better.

Now let’s take a close look at the things you say to yourself on a daily basis, identify where you’re being pointlessly, uselessly negative, and pinpoint where you can make improvements to achieve your goals.

To find out exactly what you’ve been telling yourself, answer the following questions. Write your answers down so you can look back for a reality and motivation check down the road. You may need a reminder of why your goals matter and why you deserve to achieve them.

1. Do you have a negative self-image?

Do you constantly say things like, “I’m fat and ugly,” or do you pick yourself apart and beat yourself up when you look in the mirror?

2. Do you lack self-confidence?

Do you doubt your ability to achieve your goals, weight related or otherwise? Do you dwell on your perceived limits or fears? Do you doubt your ability to accomplish the things you want to accomplish?

3. Do you feel powerless?

Do you feel like you have no control over your life, or do you make excuses like, “I’m genetically predisposed to being overweight”?

4. Do you label yourself in negative or self-deprecating ways?

Do you think and talk about your failure to lose weight as a foregone conclusion? Do you refer to yourself mockingly or otherwise as the happy/funny fat person?

Now, look back at your responses. How would you describe the tone of your answers? Are they affirming and constructive, or are they downbeat and destructive? It can be hard to let go of these negative patterns of thought and behavior; often they are the result of years of self-loathing and internalizing the negative opinions and judgments of others. Release the past, focus on the present, and open yourself up to the possibilities that await you in the future.

❤ She’s my inspiration and mentor.