One of the questions I get a lot of the time is, “Why am I not seeing success in ………..(fill in the blank). Whether it is a fitness goal, a strength goal, or even a weight loss goal. Most of the time I can narrow it down to one thing. That one thing is accountability.
Accountability is key. It doesn’t matter how many times a week you work out, how long you work out, your intent to eat clean, or even what quick fix diet you are on that promises the moon. If you are not accountable you are not going to see results. You have to take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are committed to the goal. Are you willing to do and sacrifice the things necessary to be successful.
This past week we lost 9 beautiful lives in a horrible helicopter crash. One of those was basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. This week in my Monday Motivation I posted one of his quotes that I heard over the week-end that I fell in love with. The quote should apply to anything we do that we see as worth while. Kobe Bryant said, “I was blessed with talent but I worked as if I didn’t.” The thing I got out of his quote was no matter what we are doing, whether it comes easy or not, we have to be willing to work hard at it and commit.
So what does being accountable look like? Well, to start with sit down and prepare. Know what you are going to do before you do it. Plan your workouts. Don’t just show up and figure it out as you go. Be deliberate. Monitor how hard you are working. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor get one and then figure out your specific heart rate zones. Then use it!!!!! Plan your meals. Plan those meals and your eating around your macros (Protein, Carbs, Fats). Then track the things you are eating. Write it down and be honest. If you are going out to eat decide ahead of time what you can and cannot have. Don’t wait until you get there it will be much easier to make a poor choice.
Another way to be more accountable is to know the things that sabotage your success. If it’s alcohol make the deliberate choice to not to have the glass of wine with dinner or the after dinner drink. Don’t open the dessert menu if that is your weakness. Watch what you keep at home in your pantry. Quit buying and keeping the things you have a hard time staying away from. Those small choices we make can be the difference between success and failure.
On a quick side note, if you think or know that your eating habits are tied to emotions or stress don’t be ashamed to seek help. There are many great counselors out there. One place to start might be your local church or if you are working with a personal trainer they may have resources they can give you. Your physician is a great source as well. Be deliberate about your health.
Finally, if you have a bad meal, a bad day, or bad week, etc. Don’t give up!!!! Keep at it. If you stick with it and make accountability a lifestyle you will be more likely to see success. Failure is really a word that should not be in our vocabulary because it takes many failures to see success. None of us are perfect AND THAT IS OK!!!! Keep working at being fit and healthy. It’s worth it.
The month of March is definitely known for March Madness and
centers around college basketball. At my
house in the month of March you will usually find the entire family creating
their own brackets in hopes of having the most wins and eventually be the one
who picks the winner of the NCAA Tournament.
We all have our favorite team and none of us usually has the same Final
Four. While all the basketball is fun
during the month of March it is, also, the month known as “March Into Health”
month. There are many health days
celebrated in March. All you have to do
is google “national health days in March” and you will see a different one for
almost every day.
In the last few weeks there have been many things happen making me want to take a serious look at health issues and share that information. The fast pace of life and instant gratification life we lead, I believe, are costing us our health. Society has gone away from the home cooked meal to fast food, take-out, and processed food. Even when a meal is home cooked it usually is only semi-homemade. The cost? Our health. I have to be honest I am as guilty as anyone of leaning on their convenience.
One concern of late is visceral fat. It is different from subcutaneous fat which is the fat just under the skin that none of us likes to see on ourselves. Visceral fat, on the other hand, is found around the internal organs such as the liver, stomach, gall bladder, spleen, etc. and can’t be seen. Visceral fat releases inflammatory substance called cytokines which can damage your organs leaving you at risk for many health issues. Some of these include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, insulin sensitivity, diabetes, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, and even Alzheimer’s Disease.
There is only one
way to know for sure how much visceral fat you may have and that is to have a
CT scan. However, there are scales that
can estimate your level and you can, also, use your waist circumference to
estimate. For women a waist
circumference of 35 inches and for men 40 inches or more is a good indicator
that you may have high amounts of visceral fat and are at a higher risk for the
above health problems.
The good news is
that visceral fat disappears twice as fast as subcutaneous fat. By changing you eating and exercise habits
you can make big strides to improving your health. Reducing stress and getting the proper amount
of sleep can, also, help.
Daily exercise is
important to decrease body fat. Exercise
should be high intensity. Interval
training is a great way to increase the intensity in your exercise. Strength training is important as well. Strength training will increase resting
metabolism. A higher resting metabolism
means you will burn more calories at rest and this will help with reducing
fat.
As far as your diet goes you should be doing your best to eat as healthy as possible. Know your numbers and by this I mean know your Basal Metabolism Rate (amount of calories your body burns in a day without activity) and know what macronutrient splits ( % of protein, fat, carbohydrate) you should be eating. There are formulas out there to help with this or if you can’t figure it out you can always contact a nutrition specialist and they can help you. Your diet should include plenty of protein and fiber rich foods and your fat and carbohydrate intake should be lower. Be sure your diet is balanced and full of veggies and fruits.
Finally, sleep and stress both can effect your levels of visceral fat. You should be getting more than 5 hours of sleep and no more than 9 hours. For stress try meditation and deep breathing exercises such as yoga. Spend less time on your smart devices or in front of television.
Making a few changes in your lifestyle can immediately start
helping to reduce levels of visceral fat and get you headed towards a healthier
you. Make it a priority this month to
March to Health! Oh and don’t forget to
do your bracket as the NCAA tournament is beginning. It’s a fun way to enjoy the games.
So much of the time I hear statements like “As hard as I try I just can’t seem to drop any weight,” or “I try to eat right and I exercise but I can’t lose weight,” or something very similar to that. That’s when I want to sit down and have a REAL conversation with them. I have (even as a trainer & nutrition specialist) said those words myself. That’s when honesty with myself comes into play and it must with you as well.
The first thing you need to look at is your actual eating habits. Do you keep track of what you actually eat, how much, and what the macros are? Do you tend to eat more because you have worked out? Do you drink alcohol? If you don’t keep track of what you eat I strongly suggest you do. Take a couple of days and actually write it down…….both what you eat and what you drink. Yes it can be a pain but the information you will get will be quite useful. BE HONEST! If you eat a Fun Size Snickers write it down……you will be surprised by the calories in one of those little boogers. The next thing I highly recommend is that you find out your Basal Metabolism Rate which will tell you about how many calories you burn in a day based on your activity, age, weight, etc. This can really be an eye opener for you. Once you know your BMR it can be very easy to track your calories in a day especially with the technology out there. My favorite app for tracking my daily food intake is “My Fitness Pal”. It is very inclusive……even many restaurants have the food on their menu on this app. Take the time to track your food but realize not tracking our food consumptions is not the only problem we may have.
Is it possible when you work out you are not working as hard as you think? It is very easy to think we are working out a lot harder than we actually are. Are you getting your heart rate up to burn those extra calories and are you lifting the weight you should to get the muscle you desire? The best way to track this is to use a heart rate monitor. There are many different brands out there from Fitbit, Apple, and Polar. My personal favorite is Polar. There are different ones for different activities. My 2 favs are the Polar 600 or the Polar 800. I have both. A heart rate monitor will tell you how active you are being as well ad how hard you are working. I hardly go any where without mine. Here are links for Amazon to purchase either of these 2 monitors. It is well worth the investment.
A couple of other hints I would give is know what your macros should be……protein, carbs, and fat intake. Based on the results you want you should eat certain percentages of each of those. A trainer/nutrition specialist can help you with this or if that is not in your budget you can do the research on your own. The information is out there. Another thing is to stay away from the processed foods if you can. Know portion size….understand just because you order it doesn’t mean you have to eat it all.
Finally, if you have done all of these things and still no results (if you are being totally honest) I would suggest a trip to your primary care physician for some blood work. Hormones can sometimes be the culprit for gaining weight or not seeing progress. A simple blood work-up can quickly answer that question.
I hope this information has been helpful for you. Trying to lose weight can be a very trying and discouraging experience. Understand its ok to not be perfect and that who you are is more important than what you look like. Take getting healthier one day at a time and even sometimes one moment at a time. Be honest with yourself. My final suggestion would be to find someone or a group you can be accountable to. Don’t be afraid to tell them what your goals are and don’t hold it against them when they actually hold you accountable. You are on the right track just by being aware of what your body is going through. You are amazing!!!! Keep fighting the good fight to be healthier and happier for those you love and care about.
So in the last coupe of weeks we have touched a little on the mind and the soul which is where you have to start on any health and fitness journey. Today, I want to start addressing issues pertaining to the body and the choices we make that affect it. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 the Bible says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with you bodies.” God paid the ultimate price for me……..He gave his Son. When I think in regards to my own children I am quite humbled. I know I could not give up one of my children as He did.
So with that in mind, where do we begin? For me it’s not the exercise part (which we will get to next week). It is the diet. I heard something just the other day and please forgive me because I can’t remember who said it or if I read it some place but…….you can’t exercise enough to burn off ALL the calories you put into your mouth. So I think the place to start is nutrition.
First let me say…….I HATE THE WORD DIET!!!!!!! I especially don’t like to hear people say that they are “on” a diet. Diets don’t work plain and simple. Oh sure, you may lose a few pounds, maybe even a lot, but as soon as you resume your normal lifestyle the weight comes back on with a vengeance. This is why your weight goes up and down like a yo-yo. There are so many unrealistic diets that you and your body cannot maintain for very long. Examples being no fat, no carbs, paleo, cleanses, and I could go on and on. They are unrealistic and most unhealthy for sustained periods of time. Let me, also, make a point here…….while cleanses can be good for your body they are NOT a way to lose weight. They are a way to get some of the bad stuff out of your body but not a way to lose weight. So, if someone promotes a cleanse as a way to lose weight please be wary. I’m all for a good cleanse to prepare your body for a healthy lifestyle or after a vacation/holiday where you’ve eaten a lot of crap but not as a means to lose weight.
Your nutrition/diet should be your lifestyle. A way of life. Something you do 99% of the time. Your body can’t do no carb and no fat. It has to have those things to function. You just have to choose healthy fats and good carbohydrates. I could go into all kinds of formulas and lists of things you need to do and buy but I don’t want to overwhelm you. I would suggest when you are ready that you get with someone who can teach you these things. If you have questions please feel free to message me on my website. There are plenty of professionals that can help you with an eating plan and start showing you the way to healthier lifestyle.
What I would tell you the best way to begin is to start small. Make small changes in you lifestyle one at a time. If you have had an unhealthy life style making to many changes at one time will overwhelm you. I’ve seen it over and over again. You will just give up and go back to your old ways. Some of the things you could do is start by eliminating processed foods or most sugar. If you drink soda, both diet and regular, maybe you eliminate that. If you drink lots of soda you may want to cut down to one a day and go from there. If you have a glass of wine or cocktail every night try limiting it to the week-end. As you make and get use to one change then make another change. When you feel ready then add bigger changes. I want to give you a word of encouragement here. Please remember your weight did not come on over night. You put it on over time. It will not come off, and stay off, over night. Give yourself some time and most of all grace to do this the right way. God’s grace doesn’t mean we never mess up it just means he still loves us and forgives us when we do things that are wrong. Be sure you are giving yourself grace on your journey to a healthy lifestyle as well.
A few final suggestions I would give you. Be aware of portion control. It is possible to eat too much healthy food and gain weight. When you go out to eat, if you do not have he will power to not clean your plate, ask the waiter to bring a “to-go” box when he brings your meal and immediately put half your food in the “to-go” box. Restaurants are notorious for giving you more food than you need. Things to keep in mind on portion control is your meat/protein source should be about the size of your fist, 1/2 of your carbs/fruits, and 1 cup of veggies. It is fun to see actually how much each one of these are. I had a client one time tell me she really stuffed her mac-n-cheese in the 1/2 cup container I gave her. We had a great laugh over it.
Finally, drink water!!!!! Many times we think we are hungry when we are really thirsty. Our body cannot function properly with out being hydrated. Much of our body is made up of water and all our organs must have it to function. Being hydrated protects you from injury as well. There is a reason coaches tell their players to stay hydrated…..it helps protect against concussions, muscle injuries and prevents cramping. A good rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces. If you sweat a lot during exercise or outside activity you need even more.
As I close to day I want to say two words…….NO DEPRIVATION!!!!!! Reward yourself with a cheat occasionally. Enjoy the holidays or that long over-due vacation. If you have a healthy lifestyle you can do these things. Since it is your lifestyle, when you get home from the trip or the holiday is over you can go right back to your normal way of life because you’ve made it a healthy one. If you can enjoy your lifestyle, you will stay on it. Enjoy the process. It can be a wonderful experience.
My intentions for todays blog changed somewhat over the course of the last week. This past Sunday was my dad’s brother’s birthday (Uncle Lee) and my sister and I decided to go see him to wish him a Happy Birthday. After spending several hours talking to him and listening to stories about family, friends, and the town he grew up in that taught the kids (and I don’t mean the education they got in school…..as I recall, Uncle Lee called it “Common Sense” education) I knew I had to change direction just a little. He mentioned how the family was always happy, even during some of the most dark times you could imagine.
How is it that someone can say they were always happy during the darkest of times? To give background, my daddy’s family lived in a small, rural, Texas community. When my dad was 8 years old his father was injured in a farming accident and died several days later. He left a wife (pregnant with my Uncle Lee), my dad, two older sisters, and a younger brother, Jim (who later died in a car accident at 15 years old). My grandmother only had about a 7th grade education. How do you provide for a family like that during the depression? Well, she did. She and the community taught my dad and his brothers and sisters about love, compassion and hard work. They grew up with a strong sense of “All for one and one for all,” as my Uncle Lee put it. There was never a thought of self. It was all about each other and the people around them. It was a true love for family, friends, and even strangers. They never spoke ill of anyone and if I am truly honest I can look back at my time with my own dad and I can’t remember one time he had anything bad to say about anyone……..even when I knew it was someone who had done something to offend him.
Ephesians 4:29 talks about only speaking what builds people up. Proverbs 15:4 says, “the soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Boy does it ever! Proverbs 18:21 says the tongue has the power of life and death and I believe we can see that in the world we live in today. Many of our problems today are a direct result of what we speak or what has been spoken to us. The Bible says in Matthew 12:34 “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” I believe many of our hearts are pretty dark. From our own hearts is where the joy or hurt that lies within us comes from and what causes us to speak ill of ourselves and of others. This was the main reason I addressed loving yourself in last weeks blog.
As children we are typically happy and extremely loving. The world hasn’t quite gotten it’s grip on us yet. I believe that is why Jesus says in Matthew 18:3 unless we become like little children we will not enter His kingdom. But what happen? Where does the depression, the anger, self-loathing, putting others down, and all the negativity come from? I would bet if each one of us looked hard enough we could pin point the moment things began to change and I would bet it started with something someone said or did that impacted you negatively and made you question yourself. Before I go on can I just say that is the evil around us and you are a precious and wonderful gift from God with a divine purpose!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For me it was my 8th grade year. Prior to that, I was one of the happiest people on the earth. I had a strong Christian belief and I never questioned anyone’s motive. Towards the end of the year my school was having elections for Student Council President. I had been Vice President the year before and pretty much should have been a shoe-in for President. Evidently, my running had offended someone. Without going into detail I was literally boo’d when I came onto the stage to give my speech (in front of the whole student body) and when I left after I was done. Although I smiled the best I could and gave my speech proudly I was devastated on the inside. As I started paying more attention to things being said about me, many of which were not good, I started to believe them more and more. From there detrimental behavior followed and the vicious cycle began……I was not good enough……This thought process lead to talking bad about others to make myself feel better about me or participating in things I never thought I would. This, I believe, if where things like drug use, alcoholism, eating disorders and bullying begins. Just take a look at the increase in these things especially the suicide rates among young people. It is scarey to say the least.
How do we break the cycle? I’m glad you asked. I will start by saying its not easy and honestly I don’t have it completely figured out. The nasty beast raised its head in my life just this past weekend. Ugh! I hate it when that happens. The starting place is to begin with what I talked about in my last blog. I’m no psychologist and certainly not a professional counselor and if you are dealing with serious issues I recommend getting help from a professional. I am just a human being with my own experiences and I know what has helped me. The place I had to start was with myself. I had to quit believing the lies the evil one kept whispering in my ear. Once I felt better about myself, loving others became so much easier. Start making efforts towards others. Whether its family, friends, or strangers just lifting them up makes a world of difference. Smile all the time, even when you don’t feel it. Say hello to strangers. Don’t turn your eyes away. Engage in a positive way with people. Give sincere compliments. Take up for someone who is being unfairly treated. Don’t gossip. Find positive things to say about EVERYONE……….even those who you disagree with or who have hurt you. Most of all forgive!
My daddy passed away in 2004 at the age of 77. It wasn’t until after his funeral that I truly realized the man he was. This very humble hard working man had a packed church of people saying farewell. Some of them were students of his from his very first teaching job and others childhood friends. There were business associates and current friends. As I talked to more people that day and since then, the one thing they all have said is they never heard him say anything bad about anyone. Soon after my dad’s death my mother gave my two sisters and I a poem he use to carry in his wallet. I never even knew he carried this but I want to end by sharing it with you. This is what I want to strive for. This is what I want to be. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you as well.
I Know Something Good
Wouldn’t this old world be better
If folk we meet would say –
“I know something good about you!”
Then treat you the same way?
Wouldn’t it be fine and dandy,
If each handclasp fond and true;
Carried with it this assurance –
“I know something good about you!”
Wouldn’t life be lots more happy
If the good that’s in us all,
Were the only thing about us
That folk bothered to recall?
Wouldn’t life be lots more happy
If we praised the good we see?
For there is lots of goodness
In the worst of you and me!
Wouldn’t it be nice to practice,
That fine way of thinking, too?
You know something good about me!
I know something good about you!
As 2017 came to a close I realized I needed to do something different in 2018. I realized if we are ever going to meet the goals we set for ourselves we first have to change many of the ways we think. After experiencing some of the highest highs and lowest lows I noticed I had changed. I’d let the lows make me bitter and at times I experienced depression to the point of not even wanting to get out of bed. What happened to that always positive and upbeat person I’d always been? What happened was that I lost sight of Whose I was. I saw every fault of mine (and blew it up 100 times). I heard other’s criticisms of me and took them as truth not realizing that I was actually believing the enemies lies. It kept me from loving myself and loving other people. It kept me from realizing my God-given talents and my God-given purpose for being here. It kept me from reaching any goals I set for myself. I just merely seemed to exist.
The “Greatest Command” as given in the Bible is found in Matthew 22 verses 36-40. There Jesus said to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind……….And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” As I thought on that verse I realized I had no problem with the first part of that verse but it was the second part that I had failed at miserably. But why? Thinking back on my year I realized that I had trouble loving others and being my happy self because I had bought into the lies the enemy kept whispering to me. I’d hear, “Tracey your a horrible wife and even worse mother. You suck as a friend. Your selfish and self-centered. You’re fat. You’re getting old.” I could go on and on. For every good thing that seemed to happen there were ten bad (I’m exaggerating but that’s how I felt).
In the last quarter of the year I was drawn to studies and books on love. This was probably due to the fact I didn’t feel loved and was having a hard time loving others. I, also, saw a world that didn’t seem to have a whole lot of love either. As I studied and read, a central theme kept popping up. It was learning to love yourself. When I say that I don’t mean a self-centered love that says things like “I’m better than others”. I’m talking about a love for who God made me to be and my God-given talents and purpose. In Psalm 139:13-16 the psalmist talks about being fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Ephesians 2:10 says we are His workmanship created for good works. I could go on and on with scriptures telling me why I should love who God made me to be, yet I still believed the lies.
I have to be honest I am probably no expert in loving myself but I have learned a few things that have begun a renewed spirit in me. I still struggle almost daily but I am beginning to “like” me a little more each day and I believe the enemies lies less and less. I would first ask you to change your perspective on yourself. Take time for you, whatever that looks like. For me its time to study God’s Word and meditate on it, exercise, to eat right, to get the rest I need. Oh and don’t forget the occasional retail therapy and mani/pedi! (I do love shoes and clothes!) I find that if I spend time on me I’m better suited to spend better quality time with the people who are most important to me and to love others. I recently read the book “Speak Love” by Annie F. Downs (anniefdowns.com) and in that book she talks about speaking positive words to yourself. One thing that really resonated with me was would we dare say some of the things we say to ourselves to our best friends face? The answer for me was a resounding “NO”! I would never tell my best friend (or anyone for that matter) the things I say about myself. Things like “that jumpsuit make you look 5 feet wide” or “you suck at being a mother and any of your kids bad choices are all your fault” or one of my favorites to say to myself “you don’t have any real friends that really care about you” That last one is one of the biggest lies because I truly have a network of friends who would be there for me in a heart beat. STOP SAYING THOSE AWFUL THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF!!!!!!! I do have to recommend the above book to everyone. It is written with teenage girls in mind but I promise it will have a word for whoever reads it……even boys.
After changing the way you talk to yourself (instead of “I’ll never be anything special” say “I am made with a divine purpose”) start doing things that will boost your confidence in who you are. Find things your enjoy doing. Do something you’ve never done. One thing I started doing a couple of years ago with my boys was feeding the homeless. I don’t know that I would have ever done it if it weren’t for the fact we were in Young Men’s Service League and that was one of the service options. But, we did and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of both my boys and my life. Maybe you like to cook……then host a dinner party and share your gift. Take a meal to an unsuspecting friend. Other things could include exercise, taking a walk, painting, and so many other things. Get active and get involved and begin with things that you enjoy and that build your confidence.
Beginning the journey of loving ourselves puts us on the path to fulfilling the “Greatest Command” Loving God and loving others. I hope you will stay with me on this journey during the month of January. Next week’s theme transitions into loving others. What does that look like? Well, its different for all of us as we show and receive love in different ways. But, it all leads us to the same place…….a new you and a new me and above all hopefully if we all do just a little we will make a difference in a world that truly needs it.
I could not call myself Faith Fitness by Tracey if I didn’t spend time during the Easter season to talk about my faith. It is Easter that represents everything about my faith. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” He loved me so much that he allowed his son to be sacrificed on the cross…..for me….and everyone!!!! I am the mother of 4 boys……I know I couldn’t do that. What an amazing love. I can only hope to live my life in a way that tries…..and I do mean tries because I am by no means perfect…..to be like Christ was. I want the people who know me to know Christ because of how I treat and love them. Do I make mistakes…..you bet I do every single day. It’s because of God’s son I know I am forgiven in those moments I fall short.
As you enter into this Easter season…..remember the sacrifice…..remember the forgiveness…..but most of all remember the love. May God bless each of my readers in the coming week.
We will never change if we don’t make the choice to take a chance!!!! Our life is many times a result of the choices we make. Start making positive choices. It begins with taking a chance on working towards having a healthy life style.
