Judgement in the gym

I have been wanting to write about this for about 3 months now and was just trying to decide how to write it. I have been observing on Facebook, Instagram and in personal conversations all the negativity towards others... at the gym.  I know that I have not blogged for a really long time and I also know that I fell off the fitness band wagon for awhile but I will tell you I never stopped being proud of all those people who where trying to get fit and healthy. 

It is a huge step in peoples lives and and it is hard to start let alone keep going, trust me I know! I started my journey because I had this huge amount of motivation to get my life back and I had so many supportive people who really kept me going. There were times I wanted to give up because it was easier but all those people with encouraging words and advice got me to where I wanted to be.  I see far to often people who have had success or actually people who didn't have to work as hard to be fit, tearing all those others down who may be new or may be self conscious or who have never learned what they should be doing at the gym.

The gym is a place where you should be able to go to work on yourself and your goals without worrying about what other people are thinking of you. You should be able to go and experiment and find out what works best for you. People go to the gym for a million different reasons. You could be going to the gym to slim down, to tone and tighten or build muscle. You could be going to rehabilitate an injury or train for a long distance run, or even to escape your kids for an hour to yourself. I know not only did I got to the gym to get in shape and drop weight but it was one of the best therapeutic stress releasing things I have ever done. I got addicted to the feeling of not thinking about anything but the muscle I was working on and it was such a rush!!

Starting my fitness journey if I knew people where making fun of how I looked on the treadmill or the fact that the first three months that I attended the gym I didn't touch a single weight I would have been devastated. It would have been very hard for me to come back to the gym and feel good about being there and doing things knowing others were worrying about what I was doing.  Instead of having negative feed back  or judging others while I was at the gym I made friends. I made friends with other girls and got ideas from them on things I could try. I made friends with the people that worked there and they gave me ideas on things I could improve and I made friends with guys who helped made me realize lifting weights was ok. I wouldn't turn into the hulk like we all think might happen.

I am glad that I never experienced a mean person while on my journey and it makes me sad to see them now. I just don't understand why it is happening so much. We should all be encouraging each other and being positive for those wanting to be healthy and happy just like us.  Especially between us girls who already are criticized for our bodies at every different angle. We should be standing together and helping each other to reach our goals! We need to stop judging others who don't fit our workout partner criteria and think out side the box.  Imagine if everyone at the gym just worried about themselves and their workout, no one would ever have to feel that horrible uneasy feeling you get when you know someone is watching you do something that you aren't completely comfortable even watching yourself doing!

All I ask of those of you reading this is before you say something mean about that big girl only riding the bike, or the really scroungy kid lifting 5lb dung bells or the super fit girl that seems to be a gym rat just think about why you are at the gym and realize that you reason is not the same as theirs. Be positive and encourage everyone to reach their goals whatever they may be. Our jokes and negativity on other peoples behalf have got to stop.  Its an ugly trait and it doesn't make you any more fit, healthy or happy so why do it?

True confidence leaves no room for jealousy. When you know you are great, you have no need to hate. Realize your worth and be happy with yourself.

Go to the gym, kick ass and then leave. That's all there is too it. 

Slow and Steady.

 

 

I have been taking pictures along the way and I am so glad I am so that I can compare and see how far I have come, but even the little small improvements are nice to see.

 

I started concentrating on my abs alot more like I said in a previous post and I just wanted to post a few pictures of my progress!

 

 

 

 

Its slow and maybe not that noticable but its happening and I can feel the difference.

 

It took more than a day to put it on, it will take more than a day to take it off!!

Stay motivated and get to it : ]



Self body image.

Do not spend time hating your body. It gets you no where. I spent a year completely unhappy and hating my body and it only made me stress and gain more weight. Was I really as bad as I saw myself... no I wasnt, but I was extremely hard on myself and I can tell you right now it only hurt me.

 

Self body image is really hard to handle especially when your not where you want to be, but you have to stay positive its the only way you can truely move forward.

 

I can't tell you how much more energy it takes to hate your body than it does to find things you love! I also can tell you that even when you reach your goal your still going to find things you dont like.. For example I used to have awesome boobs... like seriously. Working at Victoria's Secret for 3 years I am allowed to say that because I have seen all kinds and I know I should have been more appreciative of what I had. I didnt give that a thought at all when I started losing weight, but my nice perky boobs were hugely affected by my weight lose and now sadly I look like I have had 4 kids and it has put a dent in my confidence. I chose though to focus on other things that I love about my body and try to remember that boobs are always fixable ;]   What I am trying to get across is you are never going to be all the way satistfied which is a good thing it gives you an opportunity to improve constantly, but there is no need to be negative. "Your body hears everything your mind says so stay positive and get to work!!"

 

 



Whats next?

 

 

I am always asking myself, whats next. After I met my goal I thought well what can I work on next. So I made it a goal to maintain my weight and have been pretty steady so far plus or minus a pound or two! Now my goal is to get abs. Not crazy man abs, just nice defined abs... I want to look good naked!! Me and my friend Nicki have decided thats what we are going to do. We were talking the other night at the gym and she said I like telling people I am going to the gym because then I cant back out or people will start to think I am lame!! So I am telling the world or the "blogging" world... I will have abs in a few months.

 

 

 

This girl has an all around amazing body, but her abs are seriously the bomb!!

 

 

 

Its going to be hard and alot of it is going to be how I eat because they say the abs are created in the kitchen but I am so up for the challenge!! I love testing myself its amazing how far you can go once you set your mind to it!

 

 

 

 

 



Where's your motivation?

I never would have accomplished this goal without it... Motivation. It wasn't something I had alot of, or even had everyday. At first it didn't come easy to me. My motivation was something I had to wake up and find every single day!  Wether it be a saying or a picture of a fitness model or an old picture of myself... maybe even the way my pants felt on me that day. 

All I want to get across in this post is no body can give you motivation, you have to come up with it yourself. How many times have you tried to start a diet and quit??  How many times have you told yourself you would go work out and then made an excuse?? How many times have you set a limit too food and went back for seconds and thirds??  Take all those times that you gave up, that you quit and use them as motivation. Look at others and use that as motivation!

Be careful with that last one though.. Its easy to look at others and want to have what they have, but its also very unrealistic. No one can imitate someone elses body exactly, we are built differently!  Don't covet, compliment and aspire to be better. Look at that person and tell them how great you think they look and then turn around and run twice as hard so someone can look at you that way!!

You have to wake up every morning and remind yourself why you are setting the goal you are setting. Don't let your brain talk you out of it, if it was important to you yesterday and the day before than it is still important to you today. 

Stop asking others what keeps them going, dig deep down inside yourself and find that passion. Put your heart into it! Its just like having a relationship ( a healthy one anyways) , you do what you have got to do to make it work. You get out what you put in. You dont stop loving someone when it gets bumpy, not if its true love.. you work through it and keep going. Losing weight is the same thing, you do what you have to do to get what you want to get, you dont give up and you dont half ass expecting to get full results. 

I still struggle. Even after losing 52 lbs I still wake up in the morning and crave smores pop tarts... or I go to work two jobs almost everyday and when I finally get off I just want to go home get in the shower and skip the gym, but I look down at the size of my legs or the stretch marks left on my stomache and remind myself why I do the things that I sometimes dont feel like doing.

Even if you lose sight for a day or two, fake it till you make it. Don't hold on to the bad days. So maybe you gorged and didnt go to the gym today, dont wake up tomorrow and think that you might as well do it again. Its a new day and another chance to work your butt off literally!!

This goal you made, its not an overnight goal. It will not happen fast, and you wont see results right away. You have to want this and you have to keep wanting it for the rest of your life.  Its weight loss, its slow and steady. But I promise you if it is important and you keep at it, give it awhile you will see results. Others will see changes, and you will be so glad that you didn't give up on yourself. Never do it for anybody else or your motivation will fade. Do it because its what YOU want.

I hope that you know that you can do it. It is possible. Just work hard and keep at it!!!!

p.s I will be a better blogger when I get my computer fixed!! I plan on posting recipes, work out ideas and different web sites that have helped and keep helping me : ]





A year later.

Its been 1 year since I decided to make a life style change. I cannot repeat enough what a tough but rewarding year it has been. It makes me want to cry and laugh and yell at the top of my lungs that I have come so far!! I have so many more plans to accomplish but  definitely reached a big one and I am giving myself a pat on the back!!

I just want to thank everyone who has supported and gave encouraging words its really helped me come this far!

Day in the life.

Ok so a billion people have messaged me on Facebook asking for ideas on what to eat or what my exact meal plan for days.. instead of typing it over again I am going to put ideas up on here so its easier to just tell them to visit my blog : ]

To start off, this is the food plan I followed the first 6 months of my weight loss, with no exceptions, no eating out, no sugars and definitely no soda or juices.

A day would be waking up and eating a fruit and a glass of water, an apple or banana somethin quick and easy and then I get ready for work, about a half hour so my body works on digesting that, then before I leave for work I make a smoothie or protien shake, use different fruits and almond milk or spinach and peanut butter with protien, those you just have to experiment with and see what you like and then a glass of water after your shake..

when I have more time, some times I cook egg whites and salt and pepper with a fruit

then about 2 hours later I will have a snack, either celery and peanut butter, carrots or broccoli, organic fruit snacks, maybe some greek yogurt and some organic granola!

then lunch I usually have brown rice or quinoa (like rice but a little more of a nut flavor) and roasted veggies, I just stir fry bell peppers and mushrooms and squash and onions in a little bit of olive oil and use spices to flavor them sometimes I will throw in black beans! Other times I have whole wheat chips with homemade salsa and 1/2 an avacado.

then later when you feel hungry but not ready for dinner eat another snack, veggie chips, fruit, or any light snack that doesnt contain any sugar or processed or packaged. Meaning it is a fresh produce.

then dinner is usually lighter, maybe a salad or lettuce wraps, or black beans and more veggies!!

No pop or sugary drinks at all, no candy.

Drink lots of water!

There is a brand of fruit and veggie dip sold at walmart called marketside, its kept in the fresh produce section that is made of all natural ingredients that i love to buy because it tastes great and still is good for you!


If you are having a weak day and you just need chocolate or some kind of treat, I use nutella and have like five pretzels dipped in nutella becuase its rich enough that it gives me my chocolate fix and is not as fattening as the real thing! Be careful with this though, I learned from the book I talked about in the previous post, that if you do need a snack only scoop a little out close the containers put them back in your cupboards sit down and eat slowly, enjoy and then leave the kitchen and brush your teeth. One of my biggest problems is snacking and snacking so that gave me control of portion that I wasnt used too.

its 80% what you eat and how much you eat, just try to be really aware of your portions and eat slower, you will be suprised how fast you get full when you take your time!!

if you feel hungry drink a glass of water and wait 20 minutes, if you still feel hungry then have a snack!! if you dont then your body was just thirsty!!

oh and as for meat I eat it once or twice a month! chicken or tilapa or shrimp im not a huge red meat person, but that is totally up to you guys just dont consume huge amounts of it because it takes your body along time to digest it!

My big thing that helped was dont hangout at your house when your bored... you eat when your bored, go out and do something!! especially now that the weather is so nice : ] I have alot of good healthy recipes on my pinterest page its been an awesome place to get tips and stay motivated!!

Just for giggles!!!