Skinny people like you....

Skinny people like you…

I hear so many excuses from people for being the way they are.  A person who wants to lose weight after having a baby will tell me they don’t have time to exercise because they are nursing through the night. Or, they can’t change their diet because they’re nursing. Well, the truth is, that person should eat healthier, cutting down on processed foods because it is actually best for the nursing infant. As for being tired from nursing through the night, that’s just something that is hard to deal with. But, we all make choices, and for me, I prefer to exercise on little sleep because it actually makes me feel much better. A person who wants to lose weight but can’t find the time in their day always tells me their priorities will not allow them to exercise or prepare healthier meals. We all have the same 24 hours in our days, it’s just that some of us prioritize differently. I have two kids, but I still prepare our meals in advance. I do think throughout the day about what we will be eating next, but that is important to me. I plan everything we do around meals, the kids’ naps, my workouts, and the kids’ activities. If I have to workout at 4 AM because I need to get in my workout before the kids wake up, that’s what I do. If I have to make an enormous load of chicken and freeze it in single servings because I know it will be a busy month, that’s what I do.

Then there are the people who tell me I’m skinny because it’s in my genes. I cringe any time I hear this. Someone told a friend of mine the other day that she’s lucky because she’s “naturally” thin. Really? My friend is thin (and strong) because she kicks her own butt in the gym consistently, and makes healthy meal choices. I would love for anyone to spend a week in my shoes, working out with me and eating with me. You would see that I fight cravings for ice cream and nachos like any other person, but only allow myself to indulge less than once per week. At all other times, I am chasing my kids, working out at least once per day, lifting heavy weights, drinking my coffee black, eating a great deal of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, nuts and seeds, and never EVER eat fried food. To some people, this seems like it’s just not worth it.

This brings me to another point. There are people who think that in order to be fit, you have to deprive yourself of all kinds of foods. This bothers me so much, and mostly because it’s what is advertised all over the place. Some people are thin because they eat 800 calories per day and workout like crazy in the gym. This is ridiculous and terribly unhealthy. There are people who replace two or more meals per day with protein shakes. This is also awful. Then some people take supplements everyday in order to get results, but no supplement is ever needed to lose weight or get healthy. It is incredibly important to understand that being thin should not be a person’s only goal. It is more important to be healthy, which means eating a balanced diet loaded with fruits and vegetables, paired with lean meats, and including nuts and seeds. I also believe that some unrefined whole grains as well as soaked legumes are a healthy addition to diets. Instead of depriving yourself of candy or bread, pack your day full of the healthy stuff, and leave no room for the stuff that isn’t so good for you. Nourish your body. The more you nourish your body, the less your body will crave the stuff that makes you feel less than your best.

I keep coming back to what a professor said in a lecture recently. She asked, “Are you simply surviving or are you thriving?” Feed yourself so that you are thriving, and you won’t want to eat things that only allow you to survive very often. Be your best self. Stop making excuses. Make better choices. And most importantly, nothing is going to work for you until you take responsibility and kick your own butt. A personal trainer, a meal plan, a workout video… none of those are going to help you in the long run unless you are willing to work hard. Once you establish a routine you love, you will find that after plenty of hard work, the hard work becomes less hard, and more enjoyable. Even further down the road, when you’re in maintenance mode, you will be living a much more lovable lifestyle.

850.

850. 850. 850....

That's the number that has been filling my head for the past couple of days. Last year, I competed in a bikini competition. For 8 weeks, I dieted according to a plan my trainer gave me, lifted 3 times per week, and did cardio at least once per day for an hour each session, 6 days per week, until the last 2 weeks where I doubled up on cardio.

What is 850? It's the amount of calories I was eating on a daily basis. Why did I do that to myself? You'd think I would have known better, being a personal trainer and all. I guess I was blinded by ambition. I wanted to do a competition just to say I did it. I totally trusted my trainer who is very good at what he does. He trains people for bodybuilding competitions all the time, and his competitors always do very well. I don't know squat about competitions, and all that goes along with it such as posing, specificity of muscular striation goals and what not.

I've learned so much in the time since I did that competition. Not only was I only eating 850 calories, which is awful even without the consideration of the amount of physical activity I was involved in, but about 600 of those calories were from protein alone... animal protein at that. What happens when you eat that much animal protein and not enough carbohydrates from green vegetables to alkalize your system? Your body suffers from uric acid, and you can ultimately end up with kidney failure after awhile. Right after the competition, I went to the doctor because my kidneys were killing me, not really thinking about my major idiot move in following the diet, and my kidneys were in fact, in the beginning stages of failure.

I am going on 5 months postpartum, and I keep pushing myself to lose the weight like I did last time so that by the time I hit 8 months postpartum, I am at the same level I was at 8 months postpartum last year. Then I remember my 850 calorie diet that put me where I was last year, and I remember how exhausted, scatter-brained, and overall spread-thin I was last year. I may not, or will most likely not hit the 114 lbs I was at 8 months postpartum last year, but I will be stronger and much more physically fit. I am already moving way more weight than I was while training for that competition, and that excites me. I have two kids, am still breastfeeding, and eating a minimum of 1500 calories per day- on most days I hit around 2200 calories, and I feel great and am at my pre pregnancy weight.

The other day, I was discussing bodybuilding with a friend of mine. We were going over reasons why one would want to go through with competing. I think competing is a great thing, as long as you have a great coach who cares about your health, who can diet you properly, allowing for a great deal of vegetables and enough calories to sustain your physical activity. There is no reason to starve yourself for any goal. You may reach your goal more slowly, but you will be able to maintain and enjoy the end result much more.

I went over and over in my head whether or not to publish this. I didn't and don't want to offend anyone who I competed with, who dieted similarly, and still have the same coach. However, I think it is more important for people who don't compete to realize what some people do to reach that "goal body" in such a short amount of time, and that they shouldn't beat themselves up for not matching that so quickly. It's also important for people who would like to compete, to know that there are many competitors out there who eat a great diet (some eat way more than they would like to) and get incredible results. There are more than a couple ways to get results, go with what works for you. But 850 calories? That shouldn't work for anyone.

Feed your muscles, brain, and heart.

Getting it back after baby #2

Getting it back without starving… you mean it can be done??

“You looked great after your first pregnancy, but you’re not going to lose your weight as quickly after your second.”

“You never get your pre-baby body back , not really.”

“So your body just sling-shot back into its original shape??”

These are just a few of the comments made to me before, between, and after having my two little ones. After my first pregnancy (a c-section), I lost all of my weight by 3 months post-partum without any special diet. At 6 months post partum, I decided to do a bodybuilding competition in the bikini division, which I did at 8 months postpartum. I went from 125 lbs down to 114 lbs with very restrictive dieting and a load of slow-steady cardio and heavy lifting. Everyone told me the baby weight after the first kid is always easy, and then the weight after the second slowly, if ever, comes off.

I had a vbac, so I figured being up and about would make the weight come off more easily than after my c-section. It did come off easily at first, but slowed down, and finally came off faster than with my first. However, I had a much more active pregnancy where I crossfitted 3 times per week until I was 41 weeks plus a day along. I also did cardio on top of crossfit and was always out and about with my oldest.  I will agree that this time around, my body did change. My measurements are the same as before, for the most part, however all the squatting during pregnancy seriously did a number on my glutes, and my abs are more defined at this weight. I am at my pre-pregnancy weight, but am lower in body fat. I can’t for the life of me squeeze my butt into my old jeans, and I’m actually okay with that. I can lift heavier than I did pre-pregnancy since I didn’t back off much throughout. Wait, you mean you can have gains during pregnancy? And you can have gains with crossfit??? Why yes, yes you definitely can. And thank goodness for that, because I hated my serious case of mom butt aka pancake butt after my first pregnancy.

And diet? You really are what you eat (and more importantly, your breastfed baby is what you eat). The only reason people do fad/crash diets that severely restrict what you eat or the amount of calories is to lose it in a certain time-table or for a competition of sorts. There is no other reason I can think of to do one of those diets. If you eat whole, unrefined, healthy foods that nourish your body, you will mirror that on the outside. There is no way one can eat at least 80% nourishing foods along with maintaining an active lifestyle and be obese and unhealthy. I have Celiac Disease and breastfeed, so I didn’t restrict my calories at all, and I didn’t do any serious meal planning because I wanted to eat whenever I was hungry since increased hunger might mean my baby is going through a growth spurt and needs some extra calories. I eat a good bit of steel cut oats, fruit, vegetables, green juice blends (blended, not juiced to maintain fiber), non-denatured whey protein shakes, meat, and lots of healthy fats such as coconut oil, organic butter and avocados… and lots of coffee. If you haven’t tried your coffee with coconut cream and maple syrup, do it. You can thank me later. When I want a plate of nachos or chocolate, my two favorite unhealthy foods, I have it, but I certainly don’t indulge more than once in a blue moon. You have to decide what kind of person you are. Do you have to have all junk foods outside of the house so that you don’t eat it? Or are you like me and if you didn’t have anything to treat yourself with inside the house you’ll go out and eat something way worse? I prefer to eat a chunk of dark chocolate a few times per week instead of going to Coldstone and getting a “gotta have it” sized tub once per week.

And no, my body didn’t just sling-shot back into its original form. I started doing bodyweight exercises just a couple days after birth, focusing on strengthening my core to prepare me to get back into the heavy lifting. I started back to crossfit at 2 weeks postpartum, and running at 4 weeks. By 6 weeks, I was doing everything RX at crossfit, maxing out my weights, and training for road races. I eat healthy at least 80% of the time, because I like to feel good, and eating well makes me feel well. So my healthy body is a result of the great effort I put into it.

And because I know this needs to be addressed, I do not by any means think bouncing back immediately after birth is something to strive for. Women lose weight in different timeframes. Some don’t lose it at all, and if that’s okay with them, that should be okay for everyone else. I simply don’t think that women should use their children as excuses, or tell other women they can’t lose their weight after x amount of children, or that real women have stretch marks and baby weight. I don’t have stretch marks, or extra skin, or baby weight, but I birthed two children, and most importantly I have the chromosomes that make me a woman. No scale or measurement will make me otherwise. It is incredibly hard to make time for efficient exercise when you have kids, especially more than one, and when you’re up several times a night nursing. I don’t blame anyone for waiting until they get more sleep to go all out in the gym. 

I write this not as a bragging piece, but to show the people who told me what can't be done that they were wrong. I write this because I've gotten so many comments from people about how I'm the kind of person women hate.... simply because I lost my baby weight. By the way, I have seen women who look MUCH better right after their baby, and I don't dislike them at all. I write this because every time a woman asks me if how old my baby is and why I look the way I do, I feel like telling them I am a personal trainer makes them more forgiving of me. I don't need to apologize for anything. I don't judge anyone for the way they look, and I shouldn't be judged either. But really, I am a personal trainer and am working on my M.S. in Holistic Nutrition..... would anyone really want to hire a fat personal trainer or nutritionist? 

Anything can be done. Do what you like, like what you do. Do what makes you feel good! Babies make me feel good, that's why I have two! :)

6 weeks postpartum

3 months postpartum

killer training... ending it with a bang

My legs are still in pain from my hardcore leg workout on Tuesday, but I figure it's been a few days so I should be able to handle another leg workout today. The stronger my legs are, the more they can handle at the half marathon sneaking up so quickly in two weeks.

I have never been so un-trained for a race before. Well, I was incredibly un-trained for my first half marathon three years ago, which is why I did so badly. The good thing is, I am in three times the kind of shape I was in back then, so I can at least handle this race. My hubby on the other hand... well I feel pretty bad for him. On submarines it is nearly impossible to train for any kind of race, or any kind of athletic event for that matter. He is the kind of person who hates to be less than 100% for anything, but the terrific runner that he is will still finish in around the same time I will finish even though he has run maybe three times total in the past year.

Anyway, after my 45 minutes long leg and shoulder workout today, I will go hit the hills at Mt. Trashmore. Jake and I are running the best half marathon ever in my opinion, the 2nd annual Outer Banks Flying Pirate Half Marathon. The race is so scenic, some of it slightly on trail, winding through the Wright Brother's Museum, then just as you think you've only got a short 20 minutes to go, you end up running on HUGE man-made hills that make you want to simply roll down that final incredibly large hill into the finish line. Last year, I was in great shape, at the end of my training for the White Lake Half Ironman. I ran an average of a 7:50 pace throughout the entire half, until I hit the last 3 miles and I slowed up to probably about a 9 minute mile or so due to those crazy hills that made me motion-sick. In order to deter the whole sickness, I am running a 30 minutes loop around Mt. Trashmore then ending the run with 20 minutes of simply running up and over the hills several times. Finishing your running workouts with the toughest part at the end is the best way to train for any endurance event, especially if that event has you ending your race with the most difficult barriers.

Let's just say I might end up crying during my run today, considering how little I have run this year. What keeps me going is the knowledge that my always-willing husband will be running alongside me during the race, in much worse condition than myself, all the while not showing his lack of condition whatsoever, well, besides his red face and mouth hanging open. It's all for fun!

it's never too late, to run big

I have the Virginia is for Lovers 14k coming up, this upcoming Saturday. The only thing is, I haven't had a single long run in... I don't know... months? So this morning I decided to do one first and final long run before the race. I stepped outside armed with my Nike + gear and my husband on the bike next to me. We were sort of planning on just doing the 3 mile loop we usually do when we don't feel like going all the way out to Seashore or to Mt. Trashmore. However, at the 2/3 point, there is an entrance into the next neighborhood over, which would tack on another 3 miles at least...we weren't sure. I was feeling pretty good, so we headed for the entrance and just kept on going. I love the Nike+ pace calculator watch a little more so than my Garmin, simply because I'm not checking my pace every minute. I thoroughly enjoy counting down the miles instead, because I surprise myself on each run at how long I can actually last.

I ran fresh to the finish. My numbers? 5.69 miles in 44:19. That's an average of 7:47 per mile pace! Sure, that's not very fast and certainly not very far, but hey, at least I know I can at least hold a sub 8 mile pace for the 14k next weekend. Bring. It. On. 

2/1/11 workout

Training day! Today is all about speed work. It will be 5600 meters of running as fast as I can maintain for 1600, 1200, 800, 400 with 400 meters of active recovery between each distance.

A few hours before this training, I'll do a chest and back routine. Supersets!

Have a great workout day... it's the first of the month so treat it like New Year's Day if you've fallen through with your resolution and need to get motivated again. Just do it!

oh to REALLY run again...

Since I hurt my foot back in August, I haven't exactly been running faithfully, or giving all I've got. Sure I've done some easy runs, but today is a new day. I'm getting back to it, without any excuses and Jake's back, so I've got to be able to run harder than him.

Today will be a tempo run, which is the workout of the day I will really be focusing on. It will consist of 45 minutes of tempo running: 15 minutes easy, 30 minutes at (10 miler)race pace, and 15 minutes easy. Oh, and this run will definitely be completed outside, because it's not supposed to freeze or rain today, yay!

A few hours before the tempo run, I'll work on my legs and back since I haven't worked my legs since a couple weeks ago before I sprained my hamstring. After the tempo run is our team's first dodgeball game and I'm super excited that I finally get to play! In Elementary school, I was always that super non-athletic girl that none of the boys wanted on their team :D Go Fitness Together!

Running is the best medicine, and I am going to load up on it, starting today! (And it doesn't hurt my motivation level knowing I've got the 14k in a couple weekends followed by the Flying Pirate half a few weekends after that...)

run back and spin!

The workout today:
Run 30 minutes, as fast as can be endured for the entire 30 minutes at a semi-maintained pace.
Back and biceps, ultra-heavy on the back.
Spin, 1 hour.

Today is Tuesday, so I normally just do a super short speed run, then didn't feel like thinking about my own workout after planning out my clients' workouts, so I just went back to GVT to simply get a workout in. Spinning for one hour is without too much pushing since the run was earlier in the day. Good luck! Remember, when lifting for your back, such as for pulldowns, do at least 50% of your bodyweight (for women) and for men, you should be lifting at least 60% of yours for your back!

heavy weights, my best friends!

Today's workout was great. I did an hour of spinning first thing in the morning, then an hour and a half of weights later in the day. I worked my chest, triceps, and shoulders today, using GVT for the last time on my upper body.

Too many times from too many people, I hear women not wanting to use heavy weight. I hate this... it actually makes me cringe. My mother used to tell me not to bench press, because that is why my chest was so broad, or so she thought. No, I was just fat. I love bench pressing as much as I safely can without being spotted. It's like an at-home breast augmentation if you ask me. That and dumbbell flys. In fact, I use more weight for my shoulder exercises than most women use for their leg exercises. That's terrible. My arms aren't big by any means. A couple co-workers actually make fun of me and say I have skinny little arms, but hey, they're incredibly toned.

So how about that? I increased my bench press and everything else (except for my super heavy squats) and actually lost weight, dropped body fat, and got smaller all around.  Unless you have a ton of testosterone, which the majority of women don't, you won't build big muscles without the help of supplements. Instead, challenging yourself with bigger weights will make you stronger, increase your bone density, and create a thermogenic effect so that you actually burn more calories sitting than you would while doing cardio with much less muscle mass. Think about it. I like the fact that I burn more calories with less effort and less time by using more and more weight. You will never find a client of mine using less than 5 lb dumb bells in each hand for their arms, or less than 12 lb dumb bells in each hand for legs, and that's on the light side, unless they have injuries which keep them from lifting without specific pain.

On the other hand, some men actually need to lay off the chest exercises so they can actually stand up straight... but that's another story :)

workin' it hard on the arms

Let me just say, I work with some really talented trainers at Fitness Together, and one of them challenged me with a GVT workout yesterday, so I used the technique on my chest and back and could barely drive or lift my arms in front of me last night. It's such a great workout, I decided I'm going to use it again today for my shoulders, triceps, and biceps. German Volume Training is normally used for people who are trying to gain size and strength, so I am mixing it up a little for myself, simply trying to tone and stay strong. Yesterday my leg was still bothering me so I didn't do any cardio in between, however the intensity of the weights itself was enough to keep my heart pumping. Today I will be working my shoulders and arms with 2 exercises each part, and :30 of "rest" between each set, which will be medicine ball twists or knees to elbows, changing it up for each exercise. Later on I'm going to test my leg out in a spin class since I still can't run, then take my mom with me to a hot yoga class. I'm pretty stoked about the workout(s) today!

no time? no problem.

I know that some people wonder how in the world I have the time to work out for so many hours a day. Well, it helps a ton that I work in the fitness industry, and even more so that I work in a studio where I have access to an entire room of equipment to myself without having to fight over anything. I work out between clients, after work, before work, I squeeze it in somewhere, because I know that I will feel so much better at the end of the day because of it.

You have no idea how often I hear clients and friends alike, complain about not having the time to exercise. How in the world do you not have time? Don't watch that tv show and exercise instead, or better yet, exercise while watching your must-see show. I have shows I like to watch too, and I just watch them the next day when they're available online or whenever I actually do have the time to sit down and do nothing. Also, wake up earlier! If you have to be at work around 8 AM, hello, you're not alone! Some of my co-workers and I are at work by 4:45 sometimes, and we all definitely find the time to exercise. If you go to work at 7, work out at 5! Or if you work at 5 AM and don't get off until 5 PM or have a long commute back and forth, then work out during your lunch break by going for a walk, climbing stairs, do some chair dips at your desk or squats or pushups! Or, I'm asked how I have the time to cook all my meals all the time. The trick to eating healthy, every 3 hours, is to prepare your meals in advance. On Sunday night, I prepare my meals for the week by grilling all of my meats or having my fridge stocked with all of my veggies that I pre-cut or my fruit that I pre-cut and my marinades and salad dressings already made.

Take today for instance. I have no time today. And by no time, I don't have 4 hours to work out. I have a 3 hour break which will be almost the only time I have today to eat a full meal and to exercise and run errands that I have been putting off. What in the world am I going to do? Easy, I've been pushing myself everyday all week so I won't feel bad about squeezing in a meer 45 minutes to run hills today. Everyone's got 30-45 minutes somewhere in their day, and as much as I hate working out in the middle of my day, I'm going to do it, because it's still time. Oh and the other thing, it frustrates me so much when I hear that you dont' have time. I heard a really great sermon, not sure who gave it, but it was said that by complaining that you don't have time, it's like saying that God made a mistake and isn't allowing you time in your day to do what you need to do. So think of it that way, and know that you have time, because you are given everything you need to have a good life, so you've got to do it for yourself and take advantage of every hour of the day. If you've got to wake up an hour earlier to exercise, go to sleep an hour earlier the night before and I promise you can get used to it after a while! No excuses. I'm tempted to miss a workout at times too, but I don't. The benefits far outweight the cost.

Just do it.

Training day

I am a fan of routines. I like to have a checklist and make sure I stay on track so that I can see when I slack off and yell at myself. I also believe that people should only run 3 days a week (you might see that I break this rule often, but it's because I run HARD for more than 5 miles 3 days a week while on the other days I will only run for 30 minutes or less, if I run). I sincerely believe in cross-training by doing anything that doesn't simulate running on pavement- elliptical, boxing, spinning, cycling, swimming...

Anyway, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays are my running days while Saturdays are my road cycling days and all the days in between I cross-train for a couple of hours doing anything else. Even more specifically, Tuesdays are my speed days, Thursdays are my longer tempo run days, and Sundays are my easy long runs. As for now, the longest distance I have on my running calendar for a race is a half marathon in April, so you won't be seeing any 20 milers, unless I get a wild hair and do something crazy.

Today I've got a quick run- 10 minutes warmup, 2 miles fast, 2 miles faster and 10 minute cooldown. It's going to be coooold. I was hoping to make it to the track, but if it's icy, I'm not taking the chance and I'll do it on a treadmill. That's right, the treadmill. So many runners frown upon doing anything on the treadmill, but honestly? It's very useful!!! When it's cold outside, it will take me an hour to layer on all my clothes, and to finally get the nerve to go outside, then I'll run 3 times slower and not push myself simply because I'm scared to death of falling and getting a concussion on the ice. Therefore, it is much smarter for me to simply run on the treadmill and get a good run in. They're also very good for pushing your pace and forcing yourself not to slow down. Always make sure your incline is at a 1.5 or higher, in order to simulate running a little more... and it will also save your knees and lower back. After my run I'll do a spin class for 1 hour. That's right, cross-training on a training day, but several hours later. I'm really working on my cardiovascular endurance to get it back to where it was, and I can't do that simply by running further because I haven't been running much in the last few months and I'm not about to get a stress fracture. It's perfectly fine to do two-a-day. Ask any personal trainer, some of them, like me, might even do a three-a-day. Just make sure to do your main training regiment first, then the cross-training after so you can get your hard run in and not be saving any energy for your next workout. Have fun!

the 4 hour workout???!!

Many people ask me how in the world I work out 4 hours a day, or what in the world it is I do in the gym for so long. Trick is, I don't spend the whole time at the gym, sometimes I don't spend any of it in the gym. I'm going to share my workouts, hoping that it will inspire some of you to either copy me, or see that it's not as impossible as it seems and get moving! By NO MEANS do I believe you should work out for 4 hours a day. I believe that everyone should move as much as possible throughout the day. I believe that the average woman who consumes under 2000 calories a day should be actively doing cardio for 45 minutes per day 4-5 days a week, with 3 days of weightlifting for around 30 minutes, on top of that. The average man who consumes 2000-2500 calories per day should be doing at least 30 minutes of cardio per day with 3 days of weightlifting for around an hour. Better cardio=better heart health among everything else. Weightlifting= more muscles mass which means more bone mass, and come on, it's never too early to worry about that. And women do NOT need to be lifting any less than 5 lb weights for ANYTHING... unless you're rehabbing some injury under supervision.

For today:
Spin 1 hr
Crossfit endurance run from main CFE site, 6x400 m sprints, 2 min recovery
Weights: chest, triceps, shoulders and abs, 45 minutes
Kickboxing 1 hr

I space my workouts out, because I'm not a beast and can't be my best for hours in a row. Like I said, the average person can do any ONE of these workouts and stay healthy. I train people for a living and I like to have a good bit of experience across the board in order to help people of all disciplines. I also do it because I love the way that exercise makes me feel, but I definitely know when my body needs to rest and I listen when it does. Give it a few weeks and add another 30 minutes onto your workouts, see how wonderful your results are, physically and mentally.