So it's been a few weeks- I got through Thanksgiving with out too much damage made. Since then I've come across some subjects I'd really like to talk a little bit about.
First, is a December Promise I came across on "Strong is the New Skinny" Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/StrongIsTheNewSkinny (if you haven't looked at it, you SHOULD). Here's how it goes:
My December Promise...
I will keep eating right.
I will remember this is my dream.
I will work through the pain.
I will keep smiling.
I will wake up every morning determined to go to bed with satisfaction.
I will remind myself I'm not alone.
I will drink more water.
I will push harder.
I will NOT give up.
EVER.
I LOVE this and I've already put inside my planner, so that everyday I see it, even past December 31. I want to remember why I'm doing what I'm doing when I see all those holiday sweets my mom starts baking. That it will be hard to keep walking past all the chocolates, but it WILL be worth it. So, if you feel up to it..join me! Some tricks I have found and/or come up with myself to stop from holiday binging are: remember why I'm doing this, repeat in my head "this is not an option", and count down from 140 (what I used to weigh before I started x-country in high school) to 120 (what I weight currently)-- that one seems to work the best.
Next, subject I came across was actually on The Doctors (which I am first to say that I am not the biggest fan of the show because sometimes I feel like they freak/scare people out too much into thinking they have health issues), but the other day Jillian Michaels said when did people start using the words "working out" for exercise. When did we make exercise work? This is SOO true, even for me. I got to the point that I felt like I had to go to the gym and/or run everyday or I felt guilty. Then after hearing this I decided to have "fun" again in my exercise routine- I started adding more HIIT routines, switched them up even more than usual, and went to spin classes or did sprint workouts. Now I am once again enjoying going to the gym, leaving with a smile, and a deeper burn in my muscles (I got 6 pull-ups without any weight or another person's assistance)! I'm not only having more fun, but I'm also working harder and longer!
I also read another thing Jillian Michaels said about clean eating, "If it doesn't come from the ground or didn't have a mother, don't eat it." Finally, clean eating clicked for me. I have been having a hard time figuring out "clean" eating. I've been trying to do it because I know it's much better for me, but for some reason it hasn't been clicking and then I read that quote and immediately had some "Oooh I get it!" moment or something like that. I'm not sure why it clicked, but it did and now I'm starting to think before I eat: "Could I grow this? or Would this have had a mother?" If my answer is no..I try and pass it by. So, if you've had any confusion or trouble with "clean" eating maybe this will be your "Ah Ha" moment as well!
Along with probably millions of other people I watched parts of the Victoria Secret Fashion Show that was on a few days after Thanksgiving--BAD IDEA! Not only did I start to feel bad about my body, but then I started wondering what I was doing wrong and they were doing right (LOTS of food and no exercise make you think crazy things). So I decided to do some research on what the models do to get ready for the runway...and let me tell you I will take my curves, weigh more than them, and be much shorter than the models. One of the girls starts personal training EVERY DAY starting in AUGUST!!! Now, I train with my trainer 2x per week and that is enough for me. Working that hard everyday of the week could actually be harming her body. She's not giving her muscles time to heal and build themselves back up. Then another stops eating carbs a couple weeks before the show, then 9 or 8 days before the show all she eats is protein shakes and eggs (YUCK!!), and then 12 hours before the show she stops ingesting EVERYTHING! No food, no water, nothing! To make matters worse those pretty wings they flaunt weigh around 50lbs each! I know how weak and irritable I get from not eating every few hours- I could NOT imagine how I would act if I had to go through that insane diet, but I guess that's why she's on the runway and I'm watching it on TV.
Then I found a blog by writers from Omaha aka the Momaha writers.
They mostly write about everything and anything from their perspective as mothers and wives, so usually I don't read it, but one of the women wrote a very interesting article about the Victoria Secret Show. She had written that she was not going to be watching the show because she did not want her children getting the wrong idea about beauty. That most women are not made like that. She also did not want to put herself in a position of feeling bad about herself or her body. I really liked this article because the women that have the most pull on changing views of beauty (mothers) want their children to know that models aren't the only "beautiful" women.
Which brings me to my last subject, another article written by another Momaha.
It was about a mother who went to go watch a Jr. High Girl's Basketball scrimmage and couldn't help but notice the young girls would change jerseys and flash the entire crowd their sports bras. Some people were taken back by this and at first, so was the writer until she thought more about it. These girls weren't trying to be "sexy" or trying to show off their bodies, but rather they were just playing the sport they loved and lived for. Then, she made a GREAT point about what girls and women running around in sports bras really symbolizes: everything that is going on RIGHT in her life- her health, she's exercising, she's healthy enough to be playing sports and exercising, she doesn't do it for decoration or sex-appeal- she does it for self-respect. Thank you, for writing this article!! Maybe some other people will realize why I only wear my sports bra while I go running in the summer heat- it's not for looks or attention, it's because it's 100 degrees outside!!
Well that's my rant for now! Til next time and one step closer to a hardbody,
Mo
