Exercise!

La Rae has always been so motivational to me! So I'm glad she has written about one of the subjects that I struggle with the most! I'm seriously already so motivated, and have already heightened some of my goals and pushed myself a little harder today! Thanks so much LaRae!

Hey gals!! This week we’re going to get our hearts pumping & calories burning! EXERCISE! Exercise is something I am not an expert on, but it is something I am passionate about! I hope my thoughts and passion can help light a spark for you to gain a love for exercise too!  

If you are stuck in a rut & don’t know where to start, here are a few ideas to help get you jump started! If you already have an exercise routine…way to go!!...and hopefully these ideas will keep you going! 

What are your reasons to exercise? Beginner or advanced it is a good idea to sit down and write out some of your reasons to exercise. There are the obvious ones…more energy, lose weight, build muscle, ect. Then there are the reasons that take a little more thought…here are a few ideas from my list of reasons why I exercise…

1. Makes me happy. On days that I don’t exercise I am a grump! One of my favorite “name that movie” quotes….”exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people just don’t shoot their husbands!”….anybody know this one??!
2. Relieves stress & clears my mind. I try to run a few times a week just to help clear my mind. Sometimes I don’t take my IPod, just so I have that time to really ponder deep & re-evaluate life. I also get some great thoughts & ideas while I exercise!
3. Exercise gives me confidence & makes me feel proud of myself. Exercise is not easy (in more ways than one!) When I reach a fitness goal it is a great feeling of accomplishment! After I finish a good exercise & I’m dripping sweat (love that feeling!) I am like…”BOOM! I just killed it this morning!” Be proud of yourself!!
4. Exercise helps me stay productive. On days that I exercise in the mornings I find that I have more energy & motivation to get more done throughout the day. Days that I don’t get an early morning exercise in are so sluggish! 
5. Example. I love that my girls come & exercise with me! They love to do jumping jacks, and watching them try to do a push up is the cutest thing! It’s not always easy having them right under my feet while I exercise, but teaching them that it is important & fun is so worth it!

My list can go on & on, and this post would go on & on, but when I’m having a hard time putting on my running shoes (yes those days do happen!) I can read my list & remember why I exercise! Which brings me to…

No excuses! We all have 100 excuses not to exercise…I don’t have the time, it’s too hot, I’m too tired, I’m sore, it’s hard, etc. BUT we all have 101 excuses to exercise!! (refer to your exercise lists!) Time! This was my biggest excuse! We all have crazy schedules, and maybe yours doesn’t allow an hour to exercise. However, if you start with 3 different 10 minute activities (morning, midday, evening), then you’ve put in 30 minutes of exercise that day! A few ideas to sneak exercise into your day…take the stairs not the elevator, walk part of the way to work, do housework at a brisk pace, work in your yard, park in the north 40 at the grocery store or post office. Don’t try to find the time, MAKE the time! We can’t control the weather, but let’s not use that as an excuse to not be active! Pinterest has some great at home exercise ideas that can help with those too hot or snowy days! Exercise can help improve sleeping patterns, but it is probably the last thing you want to do after a 12 hour night shift or being up every 2 hours with a baby….sooo tired! Pep-talk yourself into doing a 10 minute activity…mine is a 10 minute ab workout! If that is all you can do for the day, way to go! Don’t be afraid to be sore! That means your body is working hard for the change you want!! (just drink some pickle juice & eat a few bananas for the next few days!) It’s too hard…. It’s supposed to be hard! If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you! Be stronger than your excuses!

Start Somewhere. Now that you’ve got your list made, and the excuse are out of your head you are ready to get started! If you are just starting out on your exercise journey find an activity that you enjoy and can do comfortably. It’s important that we don’t beat ourselves up and compare our fitness levels to others (guilty)….those “others” had to start somewhere too! Small amounts of exercise are better than none at all. Don’t get frustrated after the 1^st week of starting out & not seeing the results you want. Change takes time. The results WILL come, but they will take WORK! When you feel like quitting, think about why you started!

Challenge Yourself. If you already have an exercise routine, step it up! For those in the early stages of exercise routines keep pushing yourself! If you’re walking 2 miles in 45 minutes, try pushing yourself to walk 2 miles in 30 minutes. If your weights are too light & those triceps pushbacks are a breeze go get heavier weights! When doing ab workouts fight for 1 more repetition! Count how many push-ups, crunches, squats, ect you can do in a minute, then the next time try getting 3 more in the minute! Exercise doesn’t get easier, YOU GET BETTER!!

Make it fun! To help keep you motivated, workout with a friend! A workout partner can offer you support & encouragement. Also, you’ll be less likely to skip out on a workout when you know someone is counting on you! Add some fun music, watch your favorite TV show while running on the treadmill, include your family! Add variety! Walk one day, ride your bike the next. I personally like to do upper body one day, lower the next, cardio & repeat. Just like the fun water bottle idea to help you drink more water, get some fun, vibrant workout clothes that will help you feel excited about working out! Keep a workout journal! Mine is just a cheap dollar store calendar that I take the month pages out & hang in my closet. I’ve got it highlighted in fun, bright colors & I have my workouts planned out (kinda like a menu!) when I’ve completed them for the day I mark it off! Make it eye-catchy so you won’t miss it! There are lots of workout trackers online that can help you keep track of your fitness journey. I love looking back & seeing how far I’ve progressed & what I can do to keep pushing forward!  Whatever you do, make exercise work for your schedule, make exercise fun so you won’t get burnt out, make exercise yours! 

Set goals & stick to them! A good goal for many people is to work towards exercising 5 times a week for 30 to 60 minutes (remember you can break those minutes up throughout the day). Exercise has so many health benefits that any amount is better than none. When setting your fitness goals try not to set them so high that you just set yourself up for failure. Set goals that you can achieve, yet that are challenging. Reward yourself! (try to stay away from reward foods!) Rewards like a new outfit, massage, workout clothes or workout music, etc. 

Stay Motivated! Lastly, stay motivated! (easier said than done some days!) Developing an exercise habit is a process. It is not a quick fix, it is a permanent lifestyle change! Don’t’ get discouraged with yourself when failure happens. Pick yourself up & try again. You only have to find enough motivation for today’s workout. When tomorrow comes, you’ll find motivation for that one too. Turn to your family & friends for support & encouragement. Make yourself a motivation wall or book. Look there when things are getting hard. Go online & you will find all sorts of motivational quotes! (I’ve used some in this post!) Today is your day!

I’m sorry for this lengthy post, but I hope my ideas will help you get on track & stay on track so you can enjoy your new, healthy lifestyle! If you need more ideas there are lots of fitness helps online. I’ve just shared some of my personal tips that have helped me gain a love for exercise and develop a healthy habit! 

To earn an extra point this week challenge yourself to 1 more exercise this week & post on the FB page what you did. (If you do 3 days/week, exercise 4 days) Good luck this week! 

One more thought… The moment you really feel your own strength is the moment you commit to exercise for the long run. To get there, however, you have to keep doing it!

Do What is Hard

"Discipline is that characteristic which will give you the strength to avoid giving up what you want most in life for something you think you want now."

-Richard G. Scott

We have a family member who's trying to make some pretty significant life changes right now. He's been getting really discouraged because it's been requiring a lot more work and time and stretching than I think he was prepared for. 

I can't count the number of times I've told him throughout this whole thing, "you have to do what's hard NOW to getto where it's easy". 

I've been thinking a lot this week, about how true that is in so many aspects of life. Whether it's saving money, going to college, working through a rough relationship, moving for a new job, or even staying at one you don't like to support your family; all these things require doing putting off instant gratification and doing what's hard NOW to be more comfortable and get what is REALLY wanted later. 

As I was thinking about what I wanted the overall theme of this challenge to be, I realized how perfectly that message also fits into creating a healthy lifestyle. It's hard to eat healthy. It's hard to track every single thing you eat. It's hard to push yourself for a good workout. It's hard to find time to workout. It's hard to stop after one piece of pizza or one bowl of ice cream. 

However, if we can all commit to doing what's hard now, in the long run, it won't be hard. We'll be able to indulge in treats a little more and it will be easier to turn them down. Workouts will become habits and become enjoyable. Healthy living will be a lifestyle and not just something that's hard. 

I don't quite feel like I'm getting out the motivation I'm feeling from this realization, so here are some quotes that reflect how I'm feeling. You can earn another extra point this week if you comment and let me know which you like best and feel should be our motto, or even post a different one that's not on here (Katie and Ashley K, you've already earned that point, but I'd still love to hear your thoughts!)

Confession

So, I have a confession to make, that may not be all that surprising to most of you!

I was talking with a good friend today (one of you actually!) and the realization hit me that I have not been a very good participant in this competition! Like I said, I'm sure most of you have figured that out by this point, but I think I've been in denial about it, using pregnancy as my excuse. I know every one of us has excuses in life to not get started or stay on track with healthy living and I was hoping that this competition would be a way for us to overcome those trials together. I apologize for making my excuse more legitimate than any of yours. Pregnancy is an excuse to gain weight, that is true. But not to have a "splurge day" every other day or eat four dinners! Especially while trying to convince others to do the opposite!

When I weighed myself this morning, I was 3 pounds from my total pregnancy goal weight...and I still have 10 weeks left! The baby alone is going to gain more weight than that before my due date so it's pretty safe to say that that goal is not going to be achieved!

The past few weeks have been pretty rough around here! I feel like since I hit the third trimester, I haven't had ANY motivation or drive. Coupled with contractions, aches and pains, little sleep, sick kids, unexpected work days and just LIFE in general, I feel like I haven't been able to get on top of anything and am playing a lot of catch up! (On a side note, it's interesting to see how our physical health is affected when our emotional health suffers!) I know that because of the excuses I listed above, I've been SO much more likely to sleep in, not be active, go out to eat and just not be accountable in general.

I'm not trying to make this post about my excuses or a place to vent, I want to say I'm sorry, and that I know the things I've been complaining about and giving myself excuses about are things that we ALL struggle with and I'm sorry I've been so hypocritical.

Anyway, upon seeing how much weight I've gained, I really deliberated last night whether or not I'd keep trying to maintain a healthy weight, or just let myself go and have an "enjoyable", low-stress, no worries rest of my pregnancy.

I've decided I'm going to keep trying! I'm making a new goal weight for myself (15 more pounds, that's a little more than a pound a week, which is healthy 3rd trimester weight gain, and would still put me 20 lbs. under what I weighed when Remi was born) and am recommitting to keeping track of what I eat and trying to be more active! I'm going to try to make the menus more "last minute friendly" and stick to them as closely as possible. I'm going to WRITE DOWN my FOCUS and goals every week and refer back to that when I get off track. I hope everyone out there who has reached some type of rut or frustration will join me! We still have almost half the time left and we can still make it worthwhile!

My KEY To Weight Loss Success

One time, before I ever tried to lose any weight, I remember reading an article in a magazine about a popular female celebrity at the time and what she did to maintain her figure (I've been trying to find the article now, but have had no luck).  I was blown away when I read that all she did was keep a food journal, cardio for 20 mins. a day, and then strength training 2-3 times a week. I kept looking through the magazine to see where I was missing her 2 or 3 hour long excruciating workouts, but there was nothing else! Everything I'd ever heard or seen about weight loss and maintaining it made me think there was no way possible that anyone could maintain such a body without some SERIOUS gym time! I ended up tossing the magazine aside with a "yeah right!" and never really thought about it again until MY time came to try to lose and maintain my weight.

If any of you have read my weight loss story on here, you'll find that I'm convinced that a well-balanced, low calorie diet is the KEY to losing weight. 

Both times I set out to lose weight after having my babies, it seemed like having healthy control over my calorie INTAKE was the only thing that got me there! I've tried just using exercise (in small and larger amounts) in the past, but I would always hit a plateau after 5-7 lbs.

A few months ago, my sister-in-law told me about a friend of hers who recently lost a lot of weight and looks great! She said she asked her friend what exactly she's been doing because she's very trim and toned. She figured her friend was going to the gym at least daily. She said she was extremely surprised to hear her friend say that she had simply adopted a healthier diet with smaller portions and that she'd quit running. She said she loved to run but she "ate like a horse" whenever she ran. Instead, she said she'd do small bouts of exercise reps around the house WITH her kids every day, and that was about it as far as exercise was concerned. After hearing that story, reminiscing on my own, and thinking of so many other people I know who've had weight loss success by focusing on diet and NOT exercised, I've solidified my belief that controlling your diet is KEY.

Just to be clear, I'm using the word "diet" as a noun, not a verb! I'm NOT saying, "you have to go on a diet", or "you have to diet". I'm saying you need to adopt a healthy diet. Eat clean, healthy and in reasonable portions 80% of the time!

I've been pretty frustrated lately, because I feel like so much emphasis is put on exercise when the subject of weight loss arises. I've had conversations with many people on different occasions, who say that they're frustrated because despite large amounts of exercise (even if they're watching their diet), they just can't seem to lose weight or get to the weight they want. They insist that if they don't exercise in extreme amounts, they won't lose any weight or will even gain weight. I see so many fitness blogs and pages that make you (or me anyway) feel like you have to put in hours worth of gym time to get the results they've gotten. There are infomercials up to wazoo promising an amazing body if you just buy their WORKOUT program. But what's never included in the videos and what you don't find out until you buy the product, is that they almost all come with a diet program as well. And you HAVE to follow the diet if you want the results they promise.

Like I've said, this mentality has really been frustrating me lately. Not that I'm frustrated by people who like to exercise! I REALLY wish I had the desire, drive and motivation to be an avid exerciser. It's a goal that I'm consonantly working on. It plays its own role as a key in so many other aspects of health (and we'll get to in later weeks). I'm talking about people who make the FOCUS of WEIGHT LOSS exercise, and then leave what we consume as sort of an afterthought.

I read this article recently and it put my mind at ease to see that there are the fair share of people out there who don't think exercise dominates the ways of weight loss. It seemed like everywhere I tried to look for back up on the issue only led to articles about MORE exercise! So this was refreshing for me to read! (You can get an extra point this week if you read it!)

I think the main point I'm trying to get at here is that yes, exercise is VERY important and vital for SO many aspects of health. BUT if you're wanting to LOSE weight, you won't be able to do it (or will at least only be able to get so far) without controlling what you eat! A healthy diet and controlled calorie intake is crucial when trying to lose weight.

After thinking about this for several weeks, I've realized that 7 points a week for exercise may be aiding to the mindset that you need to exercise every single day in order to see results. I don't want to be aiding the mindset I'm so frustrated with. So, from here on out, you can only earn 4 points a week for exercise. If you want to continue to exercise every day, that's completely fine, but you can only track points for 4 days of it.

I hope this doesn't throw everyone for a loop or discourage anyone. I'm still SO proud of how everyone is doing and SO motivated by you all!

On a Side Note:
Because of my strong pull toward focusing on diet, I often get a little off track when trying to figure out how much I SHOULD be exercising. As with many aspects of health, I turned to Mayo Clinic's website for the answer and feel satisfied with their advice:

• Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes a week (that's 30 mins. 5X/wk) of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week (that's 25 mins. 3X/wk) of vigorous aerobic activity. You also can do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week.
  (Keep in mind those words MODERATE and VIGOROUS. Moderate activity would be walking, housework, yardwork, swimming, etc. Vigorous activity would be jogging/running, competitive sports, interval training, etc.)
• Strength training. Do strength training exercises at least twice a week. No specific amount of time for each strength training session is included in the guidelines.

I'm definitely no expert, but in my humble opinion, if you're doing too much more than that, you may be doing too much and you could be inhibiting your weight loss because of it. 

Motivation and Focus

"One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final". -President Thomas S. Monson

I've heard from several of you, and I myself have felt some frustration in how I've been doing. I want this week to feel like a fresh start! I don't want anyone to feel like they're "behind" or that the challenge has gone too far without them. Since we're now about halfway through the challenge, I want this week to be a week of re-commitment and motivation.

I know I've gotten distracted with trying to be perfect, then failing and getting frustrated and throwing my hands up in the air. When I really looked back on WHY I'm doing the challenge, and started it, a big majority of my motivation came back. I have a goal to only gain 30 lbs. in this pregnancy. That's my goal for the challenge. I DO NOT want to end up having to lose 60 lbs. after I have this baby and feeling miserable and SO behind postpartum. I want to be able to leave the hospital feeling confident that I only have a short way to go and can get back into the swing of a healthy lifestyle almost immediately. I didn't do that with my last two pregnancies and I know it's because of the way I let myself go while I was pregnant. I know I can do it, and I want to prove that I can this time around, and once I remembered to focus on that instead of my little setbacks, I found motivation to start fresh.

So, I'm changing things up a little this week, starting with points. If you've been "behind" on your points, this week, you have a chance to catch up! So here's the changes:

If you earn at least 7 more points this week than you did the first week, your points for this week will be doubled. So, for example, say you earned 15 points the first week. If you earn 20 this week, you'll get 40 points for the week!

Brainstorm back to the reason you decided to join the challenge. Think about what you told me this week that your motivations, successes, failures and frustrations are. Focus on correcting or improving on that this week. This would be a GREAT week to incorporate hanging motivational quotes or your goals in a place where you can see them frequently.

Make this week be your fresh start too! I want everyone to go all in this week! You can do it! Start fresh! Remember why you're doing this, find your motivation and aim higher this week!  Keep your motivation high! Don't let yourself get discouraged because you had a bad day or caved on a craving! Stay upbeat and push yourself to get to where you know you want to be. Push through excuses! This is going to be kind of a rough week for me because I'm working more this week than I have in the past 2 months and night shifts have been KILLING me with my diet lately! But, life will ALWAYS bring setbacks and legitimate reasons to make excuses, so I'm not going to let myself do it! I HAVE to start doing better or I'm going to end up 20 lbs. overweight again!

If you're feeling frustrated or discouraged because of something else, let me know! I want everyone to feel confident and like you're getting somewhere, NOT like you're plateauing or treading water.

I wanted to continue this week with success stories. Those are always SO motivating to me! If you have one, even if it's that you're finally sticking to goals for the first time or something else you've accomplished that you never thought you'd do, either post it on FB or message me about it and I'll make a post about it. You never know what type of insight you have that might be the light turning on in someone else's head to get them on a roll!