Importance of a FITNESS Journal

I've talked over and over about fitness as being a process rather than a destination. And it continues to be true for me as my body changes. I think back to the first time I started working out, I would run at night or early morning so no one would see the "FAT GIRL" running. But then I became more comfortable with allowing people to see me working out.

 

Then the first time I went to a Zumba class, I felt sick walking into the class because I didn't know if people were going to all look like the dancers from a MTV music video. I learned the steps as I continued to attend and fall in love with the music and the instructor. Then weights, oh how I hate lifting! I did it when I was in high school, but that was different. High school was all power lifting and doing clean after clean. I remember once hurting my lower back and I never wanted to lift again! Later, I went about lifting with help of several trainers. They taught me correct form, sets, rest time, plyos, and more... They were all things I didn't know much about when I first started to lift. With all the cardio I was doing, I found that to keep my fat from turning into baggy/saggy skin, I needed to lift. There are people that say to me there is no way you were once 226lbs, you have no baggy skin. I have some places, but I continue to work those areas as well as my total body.

 

So it seems as if I have it all together right?? I'm a trainer and I know what to do! WRONG! It's a process... Even for myself when it comes to workouts and eating. My process started out as "I would be happy if I could just lose 25lbs" but I reached and surpassed that goal. And since then, I've continued to set new goals for myself starting with loving myself. My happiness isn't based on what I do or don't do, but that I'm a child of God and my success come from only Him. I have to constantly remind myself of this daily. And along with daily disciplines, I make sure to log my eating and exercise. Just like a daily prayer journal helps me to stay on track, logging food and exercise holds one accountable. Through logging, I'm able to identify my weak points and ask for ideas on how to get better results. One thing I learned this last week, I need to lift upper body more and often. It's easy to lift legs because I can SEE the results, but upper body doesn't develop as quickly. I need to take time and break down my upper body and be effective when I do it instead of trying to just "get it done". The other thing my food journal revealed to me is that I love fats like nuts and avocados. Yes, they're healthy, but for my "goal" I need to lay off. I love protein bars because I get a sweet craving and think I need one. I don't need them and so I've decided leading up until my birthday in October, I'm going to refrain from these three food items that I would consider myself "addicted" to. I don't like feeling like I can't go a day without something. And that's how I feel about these foods. I can go without them and so this next month, I will.

 

I mention all this to prove that even someone who seems like she has it together, doesn't! I have my friend and trainer Preston Allen that I turn my food and exercise logs into to hold me "accountable" and ask if you have someone? What have you been afraid to let gom of? Or are you still afraid to get started? Either way, fitness is a process. You'll never perfect it, but you can make some better choices than where you are now. There is always something that you can tweak, change, do differently and I encourage you to get started. What will you choose to do to become a fitter you?

 

BeBlessed

A

 

CHANGE, WHY IS IT DIFFICULT?

CHANGE

Why is it so difficult?

As I work more with clients consistently, I find that I hear a lot of people tell me their goals, wants, and desires. As we create a plan for them to reach it they become excited to start on the journey of getting their life back by walking better, breathing better, lessening their medication dosage, losing weight, eating right, and all that goes along with being healthy. However, when the newness wears off and it becomes work, I find they forget WHY they started.

I never got to this point till I hit a plateau.  I had put work in and when I was down 40lbs, I couldn't lose any more weight.  I had been doing the same thing over and over and not getting results.  I knew I needed help.  The bottom line, weight loss can't be done on ones own.  You need to have a program, a plan, goals, accountability, and a way of getting there.  The change in workout routines will create muscle confusion and help you to achieve your goals.  This is where I fell fault to when I was trying to do everything on my own.  I honestly thought that I could keep doing the same amount of weight and eating the same as when I first started to lose weight.  It wasn't till my trainer described to me that the less I have to lose, the less drastic my weight loss will become.  However, the workouts had to be taken up a notch and the belt on my eating habits had to be tightened as well.  TRUTHFULLY, I HATED IT.  I didn't mind the change in the workout, it was nice.  However, when my diet had to change (MY COMFORT ZONE) and I had to start watching sugar, sodium, carb, and protein intake it frustrated me.  It wasn't my usual routine or my usual eating patterns.  I believe I even told the trainer, I couldn't do it.  He reassured me I could, and then told me to SUCK IT UP.  UGHHH!

So many times we view change as a bad thing, when in reality, it’s a good thing. Change means your stepping outside of your comfort zone. Change means you’re doing something that you don’t usually do. I get asked over and over “HOW DID YOU LOSE YOUR WEIGHT?” My response, I MADE A CHANGE! Clearly, what you’ve been doing isn’t working if you’ve been doing the same thing and not progressing.  I see people doing the same workout from a year ago and then they complain and want to quit because there are no results. You need to change things up!  IT'LL require EFFORT AND WORK.

So I ask you, WHY did you start? What are your goals? Are you even setting a goal for yourself? Give yourself more credit and put the work in. If you’re not willing to put the work in, then you don’t want your goals bad enough.  As always, my words come from my own personal experiences.  The picture below shows my enthusiasm toward making it in Oxygen Magazine for the 2nd time.  My ultimate goal in life is to bring Glory and Honor to God and I do so through encouraging others.  May you know you are loved.  Know that if you can dream it, willing to put the work in, you WILL achieve it.  Through the FIRE, comes CHARACTER.

be Blessed
A

Excuses vs. Success

I keep coming across individuals that have the mindset that I USED to have.  It’s the attitude of EXCUSES.  I used to be so good at making excuses of my circumstances as well as blaming everyone else.  I know I won’t ever escape meeting these individuals, but I will however, challenge you.

I came across this picture and had to repost!

It says:

Reason I tell people I gained weight:

I got divorced

I’m in love

My medication makes me hungry

I’m stressed

I’m anxious

I’m celebrating

I’ bored

My thyroid is broken

I hate my job

Food is delicious

I bought a house

It’s summer

It’s a holiday

Someone brought donuts to the office

My blood sugar is low

I don’t have time to cook

I can’t afford it

I’m fighting with my significant other

Reason I REALLY gained weight:

I OVEREAT CONSTANTLY and I put more effort into making excuses than I do into making myself healthy.



Sorry if I ruffled any feathers, but if you follow this blog, my instagram or twitter account, you’ll quickly realize I’m not going to feed your sad story.  I used to be the person to make myself a victim and say “poor me”.  Sorry, but I’m not going to say “Poor YOU!”  There are so many people who have had the discipline and determination to over come so many of these above excuses.  I myself have overcome a thyroid disorder as well as an eating disorder (eating too much)!  And not to say I never struggle, but I practice discipline!  I used to eat, eat, eat, eat and wonder why I was 90lbs over weight.  Not anymore.  There are things I had to face within myself that looking back now I realize that I grew to be a better person from it.  When you stop making excuses and reasons why you can’t, you’ll find success. 



Let me ask you a question, are you making excuses because you’re afraid to succeed and you know you’re going to be held to a higher standard?  Whatever it may be, I pray that God can give you the strength to push forward.  Know you are loved, know your worth, and know that you deserve it.  I love you all and appreciate you.  Challenge yourself to Be Great, Be Epic, and Live your purpose LOUD.

BeBlessed



A







2 1/2 years ago!



Progression as of today! 7/22/2012





My MINDSET at 226lbs!

Personal Training has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve done to this day.  I learn so much about myself as well as my clients every single time we meet.

Just the other day I was taking one of my clients through a session when she told me about a conversation she had in the locker room.  One of the ladies who she was talking with was new to the gym and gathering her things to shower.  When she went to open her towel she said, “Who is this towel supposed to cover?!”  They both laughed and made light of the matter when another lady chimed in and said, “The gym gives complimentary towels that are small to remind us that we need to keep working out so we can fit into the towels!”  Another lady said, “Doesn’t the gym realize that fat people need bigger towels?”

Now if you knew my client, you would have been rolling with laughter.  Her sarcasm had me rolling with laughter and I had to contain myself as a professional!  But I think the real reason this story was so funny to me is because I could relate!  The old Alison at 226 lbs hated going to hotels, gyms, and pools and having to take my own towel.  I hated that I couldn’t even wrap an average size towel around myself.  Now you might think, that’s ridiculous, BUT it’s true!  These are the kind of struggles over weight people go through.  Clothing not fitting, towels not being big enough, not fitting into a chair or desk, not fitting into a booth…  I don’t say this because we need to start making things bigger for over weight people, but I say it because I can relate.  I used to be that person to make fun of myself and joke about it, when deep inside I hated myself.

My job as a trainer, yes, to help people get in shape.  But even more so, LOVE the people who have stopped loving themselves.  It breaks my heart to hear people at the gym say horrible things about themselves when working out that they wouldn’t even THINK to say to someone else.  It breaks my heart to see individuals who won’t look at their form in the mirror because they can’t stand to look at themselves.  They stopped caring for themselves for whatever reason and can’t believe how far they went in the wrong direction.

I’m here to make a statement.  STOP GIVING UP ON YOURSELF!  Take control of your life and stop making excuses of why and be driven to get healthy.  There is no easy out besides cleaning up your diet and working out.  You need to find someone to hold you accountable.  You need to start loving yourself enough to practice discipline.  You’re not going to die doing it.  You’re going to die if you don’t make the choice to DO something.  Humble yourself enough to ask for help, get help, and FOLLOW THROUGH!

BeBlessed

A

WHAT MOTIVATES YOU???

What’s your inspiration?  What gets you moving?  What drives and motivates you?

Last January when I was apart of the Nike Women “Make Yourself” campaign that's exactly what they were asking!  What are you doing and what inspires you?  I chose to make myself DYNAMIC by refusing to make excuses and I was featured as one of their women spotlights.  And as this lifestyle of fitness has continued to unfold for me, I’m finding more and more inspirations. 

My old inspiration used to be: not be fat so I can get married.  SHALLOW, yep!  But that is the whole reason I decided I wanted to get ride of my fat.  I didn’t want to spend my life lonely and married and have 100 cats!  

However, as the weight began to come off, I realized my inspiration was to “NEVER GO BACK TO BEING THE OLD ALISON”.  I was pathetic.  My family still jokes about how I used eat, eat, eat, and then watch T.V. and eat some more.  Occasionally, I would find time to complain about how I was doing so much- when I really was doing nothing.  The PAST ALISON drove me to better myself.  I knew where I HAD BEEN, and refused to go back.

But what keeps me going?  Other individuals!  Every single time I walk into the gym I see someone working with a trainer who was told “They COULD’T” or “Will NOT be able to”.  I’m inspired by women and men who come morning and evening to classes to put in EXTRA work to achieve their goal.  I have even met one individual that shouldn’t be walking!  THESE are the people who keep me going.  Yes, I lost 90lbs with a thyroid disorder working against me.  But there are far greater people doing amazing things with their bodies for their own health because they refused to accept failure and defeat.

This week’s success is realizing that we are our own worst enemies.  We tell ourselves we can’t before we even try.  The bottom line is your excuses are only holding YOU back.  The pity party has to stop.  Begin by loving yourself enough to practice discipline in your life.  Why hold off a more enjoyable life?  Don’t wait for a NEW YEAR resolution.  Start now by getting a trainer to hold you accountable and PUSH you!  Start now by putting down the soda and grabbing water.  Start now by putting down the chips and salsa or ice cream.  Start now by EDUCATING yourself on how to eat clean.    Don’t cheat yourself!  Your body is a walking journal (analogy from #TeamWilson), so if you aren’t feeding it and exercising it… it’s NO secret… YOU SEE IT, and so does EVERYONE ELSE!  Let’s get it together and make the choice to do something for our bodies.  COMMIT!

Goals, witha PLAN!

How many times have you said, "I wish I looked like _______?" What about wanting someone legs, abs, confidence, ambition, determination, muscles, whatever! We've all been there where we've desired something that someone else had.  Now the difference between us just desiring something and the person who has achieved your desired goal is the work they put in. Let me explain.  Couple year back when I had first met my personal trainer, I looked at her and judged her.  My gal Eva Shurts is this gorgeous woman with a completely ripped total body.  I hated her look just out of jealousy really.  I told myself and accepted that it's not normal to look like that and that big girls need love too! ;) But in reality, I was making excuses for myself to eat poorly and not workout.  Before Eva started working out, she was right where I was.  The difference, she chose to get up and change her poor habits to clean positive habits.  She learned many lessons when transforming her body and now she guides others toward achieving their fitness goals. Here was my revelation from the other day while I was training one of my clients on the TRX.  I had just finished demonstrating the plank and was about to tell her which muscles she was working and why when she said, "Oh! Your working your whole upper body too!  I can see ALL of your muscles in your back and arms!" I smiled and said yes!  "Dang, I need arms like you!" She said.  I confirmed that she would get there and we continued on.  But as I thought about it later, I realized she did exactly what I did when I first started training.  She saw a direct result of consistent exercise and diet and got a glimpse of her potential.  My gal finished her workout like a champ and even more excited to train! In closing, understand that a goal without a plan of action is just a wish.  I encourage all of you to sit down and write out your goals, BUT ALSO, write out how you plan to achieve those goals.  For me, it was working with a trainer.  A trainer guided me with workouts to get the desired goals, but also held me accountable to CLEAN eating habits.  My eyes have really been open to the idea that consistently walking into the gym without a plan and expecting GREAT results is setting yourself up for failure.  You need someone to guide you just like a GPS.  Someone to tell you to keep going, as well as WRONG TURN. Know you can achieve your goals, but it'll take some work and dedication. You'll have to dig deep and understand their is NO finish line... Only a line of progression. Don't cheat yourself, the joy and reward of achieving the goals is amazing! BeBlessed A

EXCUSES!

I'm definitely not new to the gym.  I understand the gym and sweating is one of the lasts places people want to be.  It takes effort!  Let's be real, if we could just be blessed with a nice body and never have to workout, we'd jump on it.  BUT that might be exactly why you aren't achieving the goals you want.  As I get more acclimated to my career of personal training, I have yet to go a day where I hadn't heard an EXCUSE.   Let's start with money.  "I can't afford it" I'm thinking: "but you drop how many hundreds of dollars drinking and eating and HARMING your body?" Now isn't a good time in my life: My response: "When will be a good time?  When your forced to care when something happens to your body?" I don't have enough time in the day: my response: "but you watch how many hours of T.V.? MAKE TIME!" The list really can go on and on... BUT THE REAL QUESTION IS: Where are your priorities? So many of the times we treat our bodies and fitness like we do God.  Something tragic happens, we call on God.  But when it works itself out... He kind of falls to the side.  Special event or holiday, we holler his way and show him praise... But after the gifts are given we don't show him much love. Same with our bodies: we get injured or something stops working and we have to visit the hospital.  We are told we need to exercise and eat right. So we do for a little while, but then it fades away.  Wedding, graduation, party, holiday get together, we work hard for a little while but we go back to our old habits.  See the resemblance? The key is consistency! To a proper relationship with God and your body is practicing and staying dedicated. It takes a LIFESTYLE change rather than setting a date till you don't have to workout, go to church, read your bible, or eat right.  Whatever is holding you back to get fit physically, mentally, and spiritually, I ask you to evaluate.  Where can you start and who can you take along with you? Encourage others along the way. Know you don't have to do it alone... And lastly, Know you are blessed.