How to Lose 50 -100 Pounds Without an "Extreme" Team-Step 1

I have a confession to make.  I DVR Chris Powell's show Extreme Weight Loss (EWL). Compared to other weight loss "reality" shows I guess the fact that they follow a person for an entire year and do not pit one trainee against another for money appealed to me.  But, still all of these shows, including EWL drive me crazy. I can't get passed the underlying message that to succeed against obesity you have to be removed from your real life- which just isn't an option for a regular person.  So, by default  the rest of us are reduced to spectators; I hate to break it to you but fitness is never going to be a spectator sport.  Honestly, fitness isn't as extreme as obesity itself and it doesn't make for great TV.  But losing 50 or 100 pounds is as possible (and repeatable)  as losing five pounds but in real life you don't put the project on hold while you wait to see if you have been selected.  Step 1: You Select Yourself.   Give yourself the year that Chris would require from you.  Not a year away from your life but a year that injects strong support, a sound diet, regular exercise, and measurable incremental goals into your life.  Look in the mirror and say the words Chris says "I choose you."  Then, immediately find a partner whether it is your doctor, trainer, best friend, Weight Watchers leader, employer-sponsored wellness coach, etc. arrange for support from the beginning.  Go to them and say "I choose you."

Summoning a forcefield around you

Little did I know when I signed up for next Sunday's race that I'd be spending this weekend at Fox Chase Cancer Center.   I thought this race was all about Mike and his triumph over sarcoma, over seemingly insurmountable edema, atrophy and excess weight.  Yet, here we are, still reeling, with nothing left to try and no reason to hope.

But, even still, before I join them, in the wee hours before daylight I get up and clean my house.  I make two healthy meals,  And, as I drive the opposite direction to Pine Grove, I barely hear "old me" wondering why any of it matters as my Uncle suffers in the hospital and my family grieves by his side.

What I hear without question is that I am pushing everything that is alive and strong and safe and warm I am summoning it out of me into the air and rooms and battles of these people I love.  I am summoning the miracle that happened to me as a forcefield around this Uncle, this Aunt, these cousins.   I am summoning every calorie and muscle that can lighten a burden or forge a trail as a buoy for my family, my friends, and  my clients;  to surround you today or any day when you have pain or fear so that you can change what you can and accept what you must.  And, in honor of my race team, I will NeverQuit.

And I know this is not "old me" or "new me"  I know this is "true me."

There is Always Something You Can Do Day-August 17th

Even though the Keurig is broken, I hit the spin bike by 5am. My bike is half the price of "a real Peleton" so I really can't be sure of my RPMs, resistance, or output.  I mirror the speed the app lets me see,  I trust my breath, legs, and sweat to dictate the rest.   During the 45 minute ride, there are just a few stray thoughts of current events, work, and other worries, but I deftly push them away.  And as I do two brighter ideas replace them:  1) When do I get to do this again?  2) What can I do today to make life better even if it is just for one person?    

The day's sessions go so well that my work doesn't really seem like work.  My clients are leaving obviously feeling better than when we started.  The whole way home I am excited to have time to work out again,  But, it has been a week since we stretched and my hips are starting to balk.  Oddly enough, this doesn't cue up the "my body is my enemy..." loop tape in my head.  Instead, I schedule an hour with the other genius.  

Ten hours & two workouts into the day I realize that I forgot to eat until now. John makes me two organic eggs and two strips of non nitrate bacon.  He asks me if I want toast but I honestly just don't.  

It's almost midnight and the day is done.  It's the best There is Always Something You Can Do Day Ever.  After all, this is my something.  Might seem like nothing to a lot of people.  But, it's everything to me and all because of you.

Never Stranded

"...As this dusty road now settles

And I see what lay before,

Every tear that held a broken dream

Is now shattered on the floor.

And now bursting forth in splendor

Are the blossoms of second tries..." 

 -Moving Forward by Colony House

It's hard to FindYes personally or professionally after months of feeling stuck.  Just when I thought my injuries and obstacles were fading, new ones arose.  I find myself going to even more specialists sacrificing precious time I'd rather spend working or working out.  I feel lame and worried.  But, I know that is quicksand for me.

How could I turn these NOs into YES?  The tactics I usually use: managing stress through cardio, training for a race, or tackling a new mountain or stretch of beach seem so out of reach.  So, I started with a list.  A list of everything that wasn't working.  My NO list.  In my own training and training my clients I find that we have a really hard time with setting constructive goals.  We are much better at getting specific about "the bad stuff."  That's trouble if all we do is endlessly cycle through our fears and frustrations, never taking any action (except eating which is worse than inertia.)  But, making a NO list as a way to get unstuck works.  It helps us prioritize and identify next steps. Even if you're skeptical, try it.  What is holding you back today?  Is it physical, like pain, illness, or sleep deprivation?  Is it logistics, like running out of time or not having the budget for the programs you really need whether they are fitness or nutrition services or help with kids, chores, etc.  Maybe it's more internal, like holding on to behaviors that sabotage your health and fitness.  Don't buy another book, video or diet without making this list.  Don't borrow someone else's path or priorities.  Take five minutes and ask yourself-- if you could change three things to make fitness easier what would they be?  That's how we get to YES!

What's My Secret to Losing Weight?

When you are a stress-eater who gets overwhelmed to the point of paralysis, worrying isn't just upsetting.  Worrying is dangerous. We get fixated on obstacles and inadvertently the focus shifts to: how I have less time to workout than I used to; or how the economy influences my training budget; or the infuriating truth that age & metabolism are stacked against me. That my friends is physical &; emotional quicksand for someone like me. I sound like gym members I talk to every day: dreamers who have goals but don't translate them into steps.

My secret is getting past worried to angry. I think of the people who make up the heartbreaking statistics on obesity, I think of the girl that I was, and all the girls like her, and in my head I hear HOW DARE YOU!  How dare you-- obesity, economy, injury, how dare you rob these people (including me) of their health and happiness!  And I refuse all of it.  I refuse to believe that "everyone gains it all back."  I refuse to concede that "there aren't enough hours in my day."  But most of all, I refuse to consider this plight as trivial.  Fitness is not a summer romance novel that I indulge in after all the "important" things get done.

 To put that in perspective immediately without spending any time or money, I take a nylon drawstring backpack and fill it with a weight that equals 5% of my current body weight.  I wear it after work and weekends so I can really FEEL what it is to knowingly and willingly carry more weight than I should and of course so I can FEEL the relief and energy that comes from putting that extra weight down.  The simulation compels me to make other small changes that have a definite impact on the scale and on my priorities.:  I trade in my pajamas for clean workout clothes for the next day so I can make the most of my early morning cardio and quell my sleepy 5am excuses.  I chew gum during times when I am prone to snacking, I add a bar bell to my back when I'm on the elliptical.  I let my stomach growl. I schedule overtime around my training sessions even though I work in sales.   In short, I translate goals into steps and I avoid the quicksand.  If I have a weight loss secret it is really a bunch of little secrets that all say the same thing:  Fitness is not an extravagance. Fitness is life &; death.  Act like it.

Your Inner Demons May Say “NO"...

My trainers banished certain words in their presence.

Josh (my first trainer ever) outlawed the word “can't.” Greg taught me not to constantly apologize . So, at least in the gym, I rarely say "sorry" or let my trainees say it.

I'm working on “should” now.  

Not the explicit “should” but the voice in my head that constantly criticizes…you know the one…

“you should be… 

better or faster or braver… 

you "should” be

able to finish or accomplish much more…"

This critic inside me doesn't ever help me with yes.

Who can be inspired or inspiring if they feel small and pathetic?  

I may never be faster or better or smarter or braver. 

But I am inspired and I know I'm living proof that miracles happen.

There is no earthly reason why someone like me loses 100 pounds, falls in love with running & can't keep it quiet.  There are plenty of people with more talent & ability about most things --but not about that.  That's the point.  I'm not special or particularly gifted and I did it.  I drowned out my inner demons-- you can too.

Turn No Into Yes Despite Injuries, Restrictions and Setbacks

When injuries occur, the pain isn’t merely physical. What starts out as a mixture of infirmity and adrenaline-withdrawal, is compounded by the deep seeded fear of an epic relapse into inertia and obesity.  Part of recognizing that your body is not “the enemy” is acting like an ally when problems arise. I can’t let frustration fester but I also can’t train on as if I am 100 %.

Honestly, being debilitated is barely survivable. So, more and more injury prevention is a top fitness goal. It’s not flashy but to someone who solves a 30-year food addiction with a daily endorphin fix it is crucial.

Having spent most of the last year hurt (and angry about it) I can attest, I actually train more not less. It’s not a financial decision for me. It’s necessity.  Address rather than ignore your symptoms. Keep the same workout schedule but modify the exercises.

Figure out what your absolute threshold is and how to protect it from actual enemies--especially the voice in your head-- that recklessly sacrifices anatomy to ambition. Remember we are playing for keeps.

January Doesn't Count

Despite many resolutions, declarations, purchases and promises, January behavior never changed my level of health and fitness.  All of these aspirations were stuck on "the calendar."  They never made it onto "MY Calendar."  Registering for my first race taught me the difference; that a date circled on "MY Calendar" is like magic.  And that magic turns NO into YES.

Even if you haven't seen this in your fitness you have worked this magic.  MY Calendar is what happens when we plan a trip, a move, a wedding, and even dreaded things like funerals,  operations and rehab.  No matter how work or school or politics or weather bombard us, we Find Yes because "MY Calendar" always supersedes the calendar. We flex time, we make a way, we get help, we Find Yes-not someday but NOW.  We just typically, culturally don't apply this concept to fitness.  But, we can.

To merge "the calendar" and "MY Calendar" I chose twelve issues that interfere with my own fitness and are common struggles for my clients.  Although instinct nags at me to wait until all twelve are ready to publish, I am defying that instinct for perfection for the action of progress.    So Hello February 3, 2017 turns out you are now number one.

Exercise = Happy U Magazine Winter 2017