Blog Archives
Goal Achieved: Now What?
I see a lot of people work SERIOUSLY hard to reach a goal. Then when they reach it, they stop all the good habits they made and revert back to their old ways. I see this in boot camp a lot. People take a 6-week boot camp program, lose body fat, gain muscle, workout on a regular basis and then when it’s over, they never step foot back in a gym ….until the next boot camp.
That’s not the way fitness works. That’s more like going to the doctor when you get sick. Fitness should not just be about improving your health, but maintaining it. There are goals, and then there should be a new set of goals. Here are Steve’s thoughts this week on what to do after the goal is met so you don’t sabotage your hard work.
Rebound: Return, bounce back, setback, backfire, move backward.
“I recently took 18 competitors from my gym, Max Fitness, to compete in the NPC Southeast Classic (picture of some of the competitors below). The goal was hitting the stage. Not winning a trophy, but using the stage to make us push harder and be our best.
The goal was made, and the goal was met! What we do now defines what we learned on our journey to accomplish our goal. In the “realm” of goal acquisition, focusing solely on the goal can be a tragedy. What I mean is, the goal is just that: “a goal” – a means to an end. How we develop, the wisdom we gain, and the way we develop along the way is the real reward for meeting our goal. Goals are not the …READ MORE
30 Days of Motivation: Make Time, Not Excuses
We waste a lot of time making excuses, when we could be making progress instead.
This year, quit wasting time trying to justify why you can’t workout, why you can’t eat right, why you can’t lose weight, or why it might be hard to reach your goals – because, honestly, there is someone busier, poorer, has more kids, more issues, more obstacles, and more limitations who WILL reach their goal in 2013 because they spent more time making time to do what they need to do to get the results they want, rather than making excuses to get them out of it.
DAMAGE CONTROL: 7 Weight Loss Tips to Help You Bounce Back
How do you jump back on the right track, after a totally blowing your diet on Holiday weekends like Thanksgiving? Here are the steps we take at the Pfiester’s, to get us back in the groove.
Purge the crap. No, I’m not promoting bulimia. I’m saying get rid of the junk in your house. For example, Steve bought a pint of ice cream Friday weekend. Sunday night he said “my diet starts tomorrow. Do you want to know how serious I am?” And he proceeded to take the ice cream out of the fridge and toss it in the trash. It’s hard to eat clean when you are surrounded by junkfood. So, like Steve, if there is food in your kitchen you know is something that will tempt you, get rid of it. If you feel guilty for throwing food away, get over it. Keeping it doesn’t help solve hunger – and giving it to your friends or family is like passing along a disease. Do you really want to make someone else fat? Just get rid of it. No one needs that stuff.
Stock up. Once you purge all the crap, it’s time to replenish and do some healthy grocery shopping. Many times we eat poorly because we don’t have anything healthy handy. If you want to eat healthy, you have to shop healthy.
Prepare. After a weekend of feasting, I cooked up all our healthy food for the week. Grilled zucchini and squash, grilled fish, new potatoes, slow cooked chicken, and a whole roasted turkey is what’s on this week’s menu. Now that we’re stocked up, there’s no reason to go off plan.
Shrink the tummy. The first few days of getting back on track is all about portions. I eat several small meals and snacks, without ever filling all the way up. I also do a lot of watery, low-calorie density foods like soup, fruits, vegetables and smoothies to keep me full while reducing calories. In a matter of days, my stomach flattens back out and the smaller portions are perfect portions.
Burn it off. After falling off the wagon, I not only get back to my routine but I do double duty. I do 2 cardios a day to help boost my turn around. It helps erase my mistakes and gets my head back in the game.
Count calories. Even though I know what to eat, I always go back to tracking calories (I use the Lose It app) after going off my regular routine. It helps me stay focused, as well as get results quickly. Without calorie counting, my bounce back is normally slower and I’m not as strict. Accountability is key – and nailing the diet is essential to success.
Stick with it. To prevent going off my diet too soon, I stick with a plan and set goals for how long I will stick to my routine. Consistency is key, so I don’t let myself cheat until I’ve either fulfilled the time, or hit my goal (which is normally a goal weight).
Diet Tip of the Week: Calorie Density
Dr. Melina explains calorie density, and how eating the right foods can help you stay full so you can reach your goals. Subscribe to Designer Whey for more diet and nutrition tips with Dr. Melina.
Subscribe to my blog to get more diet and fitness tips to help you stay on track during the holidays!
SCALE: Friend or Foe? 8 Tips to Effective Weigh-Ins
Some people avoid the scale at all cost – especially when they are heavy. It’s kinda like testing yourself in an area you know you are weak in. If you struggle with your weight, most likely, you don’t want to be reminded of how heavy you’ve gotten. However, just because you don’t know your weight doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist – so running from the truth really isn’t the answer in my opinion.
Whether you already jump on the scale or not, here are a few tips to making sure your weigh-ins are effective and helping you move toward your goal.
1. Weigh weekly for more accountability. If you are prone to getting complacent or comfortable at a weight that’s not quite your ideal weight, then weighing yourself can remind you you still have progress to make so you don’t backslide.
2. Weigh on Mondays. Weighing in after the weekend, whether you want to see what the scale says or not, can help you fight the temptation to cheat during the time most people eat the worst, as well as be forced to deal with the repercussions of poor choices we often choose to forget and ignore.
3. Weighing daily can keep you focused. Although our body weight can fluctuate with water retention and intestinal weight, sometimes a false gain can fuel us to push further or not relax on the way to our goal. This is ideal for people who start feeling better and more confident at their lower weight, and are tempted to compromise, and slack a little, before they reach their goal.
4. Weighing monthly tracks progress. Although weighing daily or weekly can help you stay focused and accountable, weighing monthly is the ultimate test. If the scale isn’t moving significantly (minimal of 4-5lbs a month but ideally 8-10lbs a month), then you must respond with an action plan. If you don’t make changes, the scale will not make changes.
5. The scale exposes the truth. How many times have you heard someone say “I know I’m losing weight because my clothes are fitting better”. Although this should happen, and it does time and time again, don’t be that person who uses that as an excuse while the scale doesn’t budge. Although you can gain muscle and lose body fat, eventually weight loss should show up on the scale – and if it doesn’t, you are doing something wrong.
6. The scale requires honesty. First, you need to be honest with yourself and how you will deal with regular weigh-ins. Some people cannot handle the pressure. For some, it discourages them – but is it discouraging because it’s forcing you to face the facts, or is it discouraging because you have unrealistic expectations – or battle with a more serious issue, like a medical disorder? Some people say weighing regularly messes with their mind. Maybe you need your mind messed with, especially if you’ve been running from your weight problem. You can’t make the decision to weigh, or not to weigh, without complete honesty of what is best for you. We are all different and one person’s opinion is not applicable to all people.
7. Weigh purposefully, and only once a day. Don’t jump on the scale every chance you get. Often times people are tempted to get on the scale (out of curiosity) just after they ate a meal or during that time of the month. Duh?! Don’t torture yourself like that. Set boundaries and stick to them. Typically a good rule of thumb is to weigh in the morning, after using the restroom, naked and dry (not after a shower with wet hair). Remember, if you don’t like what the scale says on weigh-in days, because of our body’s tendency to fluctuate naturally, what matters most is what it will say at the end of the month.
8. Have clear and defined goals. Don’t weigh yourself unless you have a very clear objective. Whether you are weighing to prevent weight gain and maintain your weight, or you are weighing to track weight loss. Know your goal and stick to it.
I asked my facebook friends how they weighed in:
Motivational Mantra to match today’s topic thanks to SinkYourBattleships:
Fast Forward to Success
The Reality of Time
It’s Sunday morning – the day we get an extra hour of sleep as we “Fall Back”. While procrastinating this morning, drinking my coffee extra slow before my morning run, I am reflecting on how we view time. Isn’t it funny how time seems SO LONG when you are talking about the future, yet it seems wickedly FAST when talking about the past?
One of my sisters was talking about her weight loss goals after realizing she was now in the projected month where she would be at her goal weight if she had stuck with her program. November seemed like forever when it was this summer but, now that it’s here, the reality that she could have been at her goal weight right now if she kept with it, hit her like a ton of bricks.
Whether it’s our education, career, family or weight – we must remember how fast time really does go by. 4 years of college seems like eternity, but decades of being in a job you don’t like is truly forever. One year counting calories and working out may seem like eternity too if you have a lot to lose, but living the rest of your life 100lbs overweight is definitely no way to live if you are miserable.
The Key to Staying Motivated
It’s time we put things into perspective. Compare the time it will take to reach your goal to equal time that has already passed you by. It’s a blip on the screen – a flash before your eyes. Just because you feel like it will take forever, doesn’t mean you should push it off any longer. Tackle it, chase it like you would the love of your life. Focus on it like it’s a loose diamond you just dropped and you can’t take your eye off it until you grab a hold of it tightly.
Don’t let life slip through your fingers. Think of how your life would be RIGHT NOW if you tackled what you KNOW you should have tackled last year. Weight, addiction, emotional issues, health, career, family, love, budget, marriage, friendships…they all have the potential to be better soon if you start working on it today.
Fast forward.
Before you can REALLY get a good grip on today’s step toward your goal, put yourself where you will BE once you reach your goal. Picture yourself – how you will look and feel. What you will do? What opportunities may arise?
If your goal is your weight, what will you wear? How will you dress? Will you change your hairstyle? Will you take some professional photos? Will you get out more? Will your lifestyle change? Will you feel more confident, powerful and in control? Will you walk with your head high? Will you be proud of the new you? I’ll answer that – Of course you will!
Instead of just focusing on the “job”, focus on the finished product. Don’t just focus on a pants size or weight. Focus on the reality of how that pants size will feel and how your new weight will affect your entire life. Every time you get off track, fast forward to the future of when you WILL reach that goal – because if you stay on track, you WILL reach that goal. No ifs, ands or buts!
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Fitness: How to Stay the Course, Weather Storms & Reach Your Destination
Are you in control of your ship or are you lost at sea?
We have the opportunity to steer our bodies and lives into the right, or wrong, direction – and if we choose NOT to steer our lives, then the world will steer it for us.
Who’s in control of your vessel?
Our lives are not much different than a ship in the ocean. Waves and winds can toss us around IF WE LET IT orrrrr we can take control of the direction we are heading. This doesn’t mean storms may slow us down or redirect our path for a period, but it DOES mean we don’t have to just float around letting life dictate our progress or final destination. YOU can be in control of your vessel or the world can.
Sure, the world can throw you Burgers, but do you really have to eat them? You can let friends pull you away from your goals or you can pull THEM to YOUR goals. People are easily influenced – both for good and bad. The bottom line is YOU have a choice to influence or be influenced.
Can you stay the course?
I think many people on a healthy journey of losing weight and getting fit let life’s storms and outside influences toss around a bit. It would be tough paddling a boat in the middle of the ocean toward land you can’t see – and that’s how many of us feel when working on fitness goals.
You can be making SERIOUS progress and getting MUCH closer to your goal, but feel defeated and lost. This is why we need to keep tools in our life to help you navigate and stay the course. Tracking weight loss, journaling how you feel along the journey and having a pair of “skinny jeans” to measure progress can Read the rest of this entry
Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Paper!
“Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Paper!” This is one of Steve’s favorite things to say during BCx Boot Camp. Meaning – don’t look at what everyone else is doing, just worry about yourself.
Boy, I wish we could get this through our THICK skulls!! How easy is if for us to look at someone else and think “they are so much better”, “they are faster”, “they are skinnier”, “they are stronger”, “they don’t have kids”, “they don’t have 3 jobs”, “they don’t have a bum knee”, “they’ve never been overweight”, “they don’t understand”, “they are young”, “they have a high metabolism”….and the list goes on!
SO WHAT! “They” aren’t YOUR problem – YOU are. If you focus on everyone else, you are setting yourself up for failure. If you focus on what YOU can do, then you can make some serious progress. Read the rest of this entry
