Hurdle Jumping Time!

I saw this post in one of the Spark People forums and the ideal the message was written with inspired me. Let me share the message with you first and then I'll get to the inspirational point.

I Understand Why This Can Be So Hard 

"To lose the weight would mean to allow myself to hurt. To lose weight would mean not numbing myself anymore. It would mean experiencing pain to its maximum. It would also mean experiencing happiness. I tend to forget.

My weight is a barrier between me and others. I've allowed it to define me because I am afraid of defining myself- and being disappointed. To lose weight would mean to experience. To lose the weight would mean to break down the walls that have protected me for so long.

To lose weight also means living in the present. To accept failures and go for successes. It would mean leaving the realm of "When I lose weight" and enter that of "Today I will".

It is difficult to be thinner because it would entail living. And life is scary. And life can hurt. But I will find the strength to lose this safety net I have made of my body and allow myself to be for the first time in a while ..."

by SparkPeople member SOUKICAVILL

My Inspiration

After reading this I recognized that Soukicavill has created a tool for herself. She has just created a personal "listing" of hurdles that keep her from losing the fat she longs to be rid of. She has stopped to think about what it is that keeps her from succeeding. She has found those fear triggers that keep us from trying, challenging our self and succeeding. In essence she acknowledges how scary change is. She also acknowledges how wonderfully happy change can make her - life is change. Most importantly she has written, with recognition, that she is ultimately responsible for staying "fat" and only she can make the fearful changes that will offer her the happiness she longs for in the end.

This piece, to me, is simply brilliant.

Now, the personal sentiments Soukicavill states as to why she is not achieving her goals are not the same as mine at all. Food is, at times emotional support for me, but those moments are few and far between.  What this piece has offered to me though is the desire to find and document my own fears. This way I can know the hurdles I need to get over and be better prepared to JUMP!

  Let's Write!

So, what I am suggesting is that we all take a moment to write a piece just like this. Something that helps us find our hurdles and figure out how to jump them. Something we can look to during those times that begin to try our will power and cause us to crash back into old exhaustive habits. Then perhaps, months or years down the road, we can look back at them and say, "look at all that I have overcome to get to where I am today!"

Yeah, that's the ticket! So, what do you say? Will you take this challenge with me? Will you sit for a moment and spend some time find those fears and challenges that are holding you back from reaching your goals, write down these hurdles and then prepare yourself to spend this year JUMPING with me?

~TigressSky~

A New Year and the First Steps to Creating Success

Happy New Year! 

If you are like me you spent the past few weeks overindulging and simply enjoying the company and spirits (be they food, drink or friends) of those you love and cherish (and maybe those you don't!). Now, that the New Year has come round I am sure many of you are resolved to get back on task, (or get on task), to make your health a priority in 2012!

For a lot of you, like me, this means focusing on fat loss through developing and fine tuning your nutrition and fitness habits and then maintaining them to reach your motivationally and smartly set goals.

The number one key to maintaining this year's resolution is through your very own resolve, better known as "will power".  In the end, it is maintenance of your very own will power that will get you through it all and help you achieve your goals in 2012!

So, how can you help your will power succeed!

Well, with all the information one is given as they resolve to begin a fat loss journey it is no wonder it takes years of trial and error before the journey actually seems to start. You may begin with all the will power in the world motivating and holding you up, however, it is very easy to drop the will power ball in the middle of game play because this game has so many rules and options that you barely know how to start playing it to begin with!

When I think about my current success, over the past three short years (almost four now!), I simply forget how many times I started and stopped and stumbled along the way as I gained and lost and gained my will power back. Heck, when I really stop and think about it, this journey actually began for me just over eleven years ago not the short three I have had so much success in.

Eleven years of dropping and picking up that will power ball to get where I am now? Yes. Exactly.

So, how can we aid ourselves in this game of will power and ensure that we grab that ball and keep playing all year long?  

Believe it or not there are some staples I do to help ensure I maintain my success without challenging my will power.  Here are a few key things I would suggest to start with:

Empty Your Kitchen!

The kitchen is the bane of my fat loss success. See I have a problem, I LOVE food. (No, not in that way perverts!) What I mean is that I do not just eat food because I'm hungry and then stop because Im full. No, what I do instead is eat because something tastes good and I keep eating it until it is gone, because god damn it tastes good! (Like the onion rings I had at lunch and did not need, at all!) 

Also, like almost everyone, I have a habit of eating when Im not really hungry but instead I am - bored, thirsty, tired, think I am suppose to ... etc. Which means a lot of crap can get stuffed into my mouth Im not even interested in to begin with.

So what I learned early was that I needed to empty my kitchen of anything I would be tempted to just eat for the sake of eating. For example ice cream, cheese, juice, crackers and chips. These are all items that challenge my will power and removing them from my options helps me to remain in the game no matter what.

Replace Will Power Challenging Items With 'Safe' Alternatives


In place of these will power challenging items I fill my kitchen with healthy choices. As my trainer Remy always said, "no one has ever gotten fat eating too many carrots!" So, stock yourself up with healthy snacks full of soluble fiber and good carbs. Fruits and veggies are key here as they are full of these very things and you can enjoy eating them without any guilt.

As well, you should find some protein and good fat items to snack on. Items such as nuts and nut butters, avocado, coconut, Greek yogurt and maybe even a latte with some low-fat milk. Just remember what your portions are and try to enjoy these additional snack items a little more responsibly. I find that mixing a serving of protein and good fat items with an abundance of soluble fiber and good carb fruits and veggies makes it easier to ensure you enjoy your snacks and feel fully satisfied in the end.

Always Carry An Apple With You

What I bring to eat at work!

No, not to keep the doctor away, (although becoming healthier will certainly do that as well!). Bringing an apple, or some healthy snack with you, will help you to ensure you make healthy choices when those cravings and hungry pangs suddenly hit. Especially if you end up working late or have a long commute home.

The reason why I suggest an apple is because they do not have to be refrigerated and they can last a couple days in your car (or purse) without spoiling. Any fruit or veggie will due the trick though.

A lot of people grab granola bars or other processed snacks that are marketed as healthy to fulfill this need as well. In a pinch these will do, but I highly recommend you get as far away from these types of overly processed snacks as you can. The preservative sodium levels are grossly high and can seriously affect your body and your mood. Learn to make your own, seriously! It is cheap, it is easy, it last longer, it tastes better and the best part is you are removing all the chemicals and sodium they put into processing your foods from your diet. Believe me, you will notice the difference in your health and well being in getting far away from these items!

That's A Start!

A good one at that too!  Forming these few simple habits will help encourage rather than challenge your will power and, as is the human way, the feeling of success promotes stronger will power and more success!

What other ways can you think of to create success and promote your will power?

~TigressSky~

Running Clinic - Weeks 10,11 and the Zombie 5k!!!

The final two weeks of the running clinic workout blog for week ten and eleven are up now!

What you will notice is that by these last weeks we are putting in some serious running time, 20 minutes straight most days!, and we are taking out the challenges at the end. Although I would recommend adding them back in once 20 minutes becomes a standard run time for you. Which, I promise you, IT WILL!

Week 12 - RUN LIKE HELL!!!

Week twelve, our last week together, saw us participating in the actual Run Like Hell! Zombie 5k here in Portland Oregon on October 23rd!

The greatest success story of this "12 Weeks to Run a 5k" program was the personal experience of my friend of 11 years, Aurora.

A very happy Aurora and her Will!

Aurora, used the information given during this 12 weeks and created her own fitness and nutrition arsenal to build a healthy life she can enjoy. She has gone from a size 18 to a size 14 and, as time progresses, she is continuing to move down that scale steadily. She is not doing any fad dieting or complicated workout programs that end up impossible to maintain in the end. Instead she is learning subtle ways to change and improve her habits and still enjoy her life and she is finding so much success. Not just in her clothing size changes and fat loss, but in her personal outlook and happiness with her blessed life overall!

Aurora is the one person who followed through with the end goal of this 12 weeks and did the Zombie 5k! Her first ever!

Aurora was not able to make it to many of the actual Saturday lessons on the waterfront. She also started this whole program thinking that it was impossible for her to run and that it would never be something she could do. Yet she still took on the challenge and just started walking. She found a friend to walk with and she made time to walk on her own at work. Soon she was spending early mornings walking at the gym track of her children's school after dropping them off early. She became a walking machine!

And every now and then she would push herself and run a bit. Listening to the advice she had gotten from me, as well as other good friends confirming it and then seeing her sprinter son run just like everyone had said. Soon she found she could run, and, unbeknownst to me, she just started adding some small sprints into her routine.

This is the woman who started out this 12 weeks thinking it was impossible! She was doing the impossible!!!

Aurora and Brook hoping for brains!
Oh that sounds bad doesn't it!!!

She had also psyched herself out a bit on being able to actual do a 5k. Walking or not, your first one is ALWAYS a huge challenge.

I spent time reassuring her that doing the 5k was going to be an amazing experience. That there is no judgement and no one to "do better than" or compete with. That in the end, when she crossed that finishing line she was just going to feel so amazed, so relieved and that the power of "I can do anything!" was going to be so overwhelming the world was going to have to watch out for what she did next!!!

Then the Zombie 5k came and, with trepidation in her heart, we put on some zombie make-up and got lined up to go!

In the end we walked the majority of the 5k but, to my surprise, we ran hard twice! After Aurora felt warmed up she looked at me and said, "here is my surprise for you," and then we ran together for a few blocks! We walked again and then as we got a few blocks from crossing that finish line we picked up the pace and ran across that finish line - laughing, crying and celebrating! It was awesome
and I was so proud! Aurora met the challenge and the goal head-on even though she did not think she could and she was intimidated by the idea of it almost up to the moment she did it!

HELL YEAH SUCCESS!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, she was not the only woman who tried the program and found success. All of the women (and men) involved had many different successes they have shared and challenges they have met and overcome along the way. Yet Aurora was the only one who managed to take the original challenge given, scared as can be, and JUST DO IT!

Aurora and I running for brains!

For me it was an awesome accomplishment to cross the finish line with her and realize how much impact I can have on someone elses goals. It was very inspiring for me and my goal of someday being certified and doing this all the time! As well, it was inspiring working with all the women (and a couple men) - hearing their stories and giving as much advice and support as I have. We are all continuing to work together and for the winter this blog will focus on nutrition to get through all our holidays stuffed but still healthy! As well, we will look at how to keep fitness in our life when it is cold and dreary and sitting with some coffee or hot cocoa just seems to trump all other decisions we make.

Yet for this blog I just cant express enough how awesome it is having just one person successfully complete the challenge - in so many more ways than I expected. Helping just one person through to complete a 5k was the original goal I set to measure my success in this endeavor. It is the one deciding factor that I told myself would be the answer to my question, "should I try and become a personal trainer!"

That answer has come across loud and clear: YES!!!

For this 5k Aurora and I were joined by Brook and Fluer. It was a fun morning spent accomplishing so much and from just this one experience I have a feeling many more challenges will be presented to all the women in the group in the years to come. I also imagine many more of us will be crossing finish lines together!

~TigressSky~

Running Clinic Weeks 8 & 9 - How You Can Do Everything Right and Still Gain Weight

The workout logs for weeks 8 & 9 are here! During both weeks our activity was the same so I made one log for both. The newest piece you will notice in the workout log is the tabata challenge being changed to a drafting challenge. The more people you run with the harder this challenge is, or maybe it is the less people you run with the harder it is! Either way drafting is a fun way to learn how to pace yourself and build up quick endurance to give yourself short passing bursts! Both are great ways to maintain a steady and competitive edge when running a race.

I Swear I Am Doing Everything Right But I Am Not Losing Any Weight! WHY?!?

First off review my blog on motivational goal setting and lets make sure we are focusing our attention on actual goals and not using the "Scale of Doom" to determine our success. That being said, the scale is a tool and I fully understand the frustration one feels when using a tool that seems to be saying, "hey, you are making absolutely no progress even with all the hard work you are putting in."

Truth is, you can do everything right and still not lose weight. So, what are some reasons for this phenomenon?

7 Reason Why You May Not Be Losing Weight

1. You are eating right but you are still eating too much. Underestimation of calories and portions is one of the biggest detriments people face as they try and lose fat. What you are eating may be healthy but the portions may be incorrect. Or, what you are eating may seem healthy but it really is not. If your diet consists of packaged and processed foods I can almost guarantee that you are underestimating the calories and portion sizes and doing yourself more harm than good.

Learn what portion sizes are. For example a serving of fruits and veggies is typically only a half cup to a cup. This means a full apple or banana accounts for two servings. A full avocado accounts for four servings! And, did you know that eight grapes is one serving? Do your homework and learn what your serving sizes are, especially when you are looking at packaged an processed foods.

In doing this a lot of you may actually find that your problem is not eating to much but it is in fact eating too little. Maintaining a food journal and maintaining your knowledge of your calorie and nutrient intake daily is one of the best ways to ensure you do in fact lose fat. I highly recommend using SparkPeople.com to help you with this goal. However, your food journal is only as good as your ability to be truthful with it. You must report accurately and that requires you to know serving/portion sizes and admit when you have ate too much or too little for the day. This is the only way you can learn how to correct your nutrition habits and affect change in your body.

2. You are overestimating your calorie burn. Those machines at the gym are notorious for overestimating your calorie burn. Not too mention our own ability to think we are pushing a level 9-10 when in fact it is only a 6-7 and thereby calculating our calorie burn to be higher than it actual is. A great way to ensure you are estimating your calorie burn is to invest in a heart rate monitor.

As your own personal fitness level increases so will the rate at which you burn calories. In other words, the better you do the more you will need to do in order to burn the same calories. This goes for everyone at all levels of fitness. Changing up your routine and providing new challenges will continual stimulate your body to work harder and burn more.

3. You do not have enough muscle. The skeletal muscle in your body accounts for 6% of your calorie burn daily at rest. Which, in a small way means that the more muscle you have the more calories you are burning at rest. However, this burn during rest is NOT why muscle is so important. Where muscle plays its most crucial role is after a workout. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns right after a work out. The recovery period is the key here, it takes time and energy for the muscles to return to a resting levels. The muscles have to rebuild their energy stores and they typically do this by burning fat! This means the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn for longer periods AFTER your workout.

Women tend to think that they should not focus on weight lifting or muscle building, they do not want to bulk up. However, women are not built to bulk up. Our muscle definition will be in the form of long and lean not big and strong. We simply do not produce enough testosterone as males do making it impossible for women to gain huge amounts of muscle mass simply by touching weights. So take those images of bodybuilding women out of your head, the majority of those women (unfortunately) are taking anabolic steroids to reach such a state.

Last but not least if you do not add muscle and only focus on nutrition and cardio for fat loss you will soon find your body using your muscle for energy as well as the fat. This means you will deplete your muscle fibers and tissues leading to a greater potential to cause injury during your cardio sessions. Do not be scared of weight either. Light weights are not where you should focus, fatigue your muscles! Muscle responds to resistance and if there is no resistance well, you are just wasting your time.

4. Stress. Mental, emotional, physical, environmental, dietary, toxins and other forms of stress will converge to place all sorts of demands on your body. If gone unchecked these stressors can lead to all kinds of dysfunctions and chronic diseases - one of the biggest things they can cause is weight gain.

The body itself does not differentiate between your stressors, it just knows it as stress. Stress triggers your fight or flight response which makes your body produce cortisol. Cortisol destroys muscle, causes insulin imbalance and tells your body to store fat. Back in the cave days when stress was a matter of survival this was no big deal. Now however we can find stress from just a stack of papers on our desk or a looming phone call. So, take a moment to figure out what you can do to de-stress your life because stress could be one of the biggest players blocking you from fat loss, especially when you feel you are doing everything else right.

5. Lack of sleep. Guess what chronic levels of lack of sleep produce? Yep, cortisol. As stated above cortisol destroys muscle, causes insulin imbalance and tells your body to store fat. So get your beauty sleep, seriously, lack of could be exactly what is causing everything to run amiss in your fat loss program.

6. Insulin imbalance. Lack of exercise and/or eating high glycemic foods (non-whole grain carbs like rice, bread, potatoes, pasta and pretty much all packaged and processed foods) drives glucose up rapidly and with this goes an increase in insulin. Most of us are in this category currently and don't even know it. This insulin increase is a disrupts your bodies ability to remove sugars from the blood stream and places it in your cells instead. Insulin sends signals to the brain to increase fat storage.

Eliminate processed foods that are crammed full of added "bad" carbs and try ensure the carbs you get are natural, whole grain, whole fiber items (long grain wild brown rice, whole grain pasta and breads and NO MORE packaged/processed foods). Also, try and remember that fruits and veggies are full of carbs. 50-60% of your plate should come from carbs - and of this percentage of carbs 70-80% should be veggies and fruits where as 10-20% should be natural whole grains.

7. You are too medicated. Pills for hormone imbalance, diabetes, depression, chronic illness, birth control, etc., etc., etc. Your medicine cabinet can be holding you back. Find out what you are taking and what types of things it may be doing to your body. You can work around the pills but if you are unaware of what they are doing you may be even more unaware of the battle they are presenting you.

Whatever the cause for your lack of fat loss DON'T GIVE UP!!!


The benefits of making good nutritional choices and becoming physically fit far outweigh the scale not showing you a number you want to see. Remember, healthy and happy are not a number, they are a real feeling that comes from within and can be shared with all.

Set motivational goals that are SMART and you will find the success you seek! Promise!

~TigressSky~

Week Seven - Running Clinic - Fair Weather Friends

Hey all here is the Workout Log for Week Seven! Our run this week was a lot of fun and we got to talk a lot about nutrition at the end. Next week if anyone wants to bring their nutrition logs to discuss we can.

Run! Weather Or Not!

Our run this Saturday morning was drizzly and cool. We stretched a lot quicker than we normally would and we began the run quickly. It is amazing how much more motivated we are to get a workout going and over with when we are outside in cool, wet weather.

We live in the Pacific NW and that means a lot more grey skies and dampness to workout within if we are going to be outside. I thought I would take the time in this blog to give you a few brief tips for working out in our PacNW weather, because even in the damp greyness of our days, our outdoor activities are still so much fun to do!

Portland, Oregon is such a great city to live in a for riding bikes, running and walking. We have platinum rated bike paths on our streets. We have volcanoes to hike up in the center of the city. We have huge forested parks in every neighborhood and we have so many differently rich and diverse neighborhoods to explore. Portland really is a wonderland of discovery for the active adventure in all of us! Especially in the rain!

Some precautions to take for any damp grey day activity here in Portland (or wherever you may be) are:

1. Dress Appropriately and with Layers - It's Portland where it may be sunny in SE and pouring in NE, and although my experience here has not been as drastic as say the Caymen Islands where it was sunny and 100 degrees at my front door and pouring at the back, the extremes between neighborhoods can be pretty obvious. There are certain places in N and S east that are just giant wind-tunnels no matter what the weather is like the wind could blow you over. So, make sure you have, at the least, a light sweater and leg coverings for the moments when the weather wants to be a drama queen. And, if you dress in layers you can always strip away what you don't need. And stripping is one of Portland's most profitable and ever present businesses!

2. Maintain an Even Pace in the Rain - Whether riding your bike, or just pressing through your tennis shoes on your own two feet, trying to out race or out pace yourself in the rain is silly and sometimes just dangerous. When I rode in the downpour that was to be my triathlon, my bike's ability to stop was extremely different from what it had been when I was practicing for months with it on the nice dry ground. And this past Saturday morning, while running the waterfront, it was very noticeable, while pushing sprints across the Hawthorne Bridge, just how slippery our feet had become. So, it is always commendable and recommendable to keep a pace that may be challenging but isn't racing when being active in the rain. Yes I know you want to get done sooner because it is raining, but, when you have injured yourself and our now stuck laying in the rain hurt, well, you are going to wish you would have just slowed down.

3. Get Use to Mud - You can put fenders on your bike and wear a coat for the run and somehow mud still splashes up on you, sometimes in your face! During my triathlon my bike covered me in mud, as well as the bikes of those I passed and those who passed me. Also, the vehicles that passed by managed to coat me. During my run the mud was splashing up my legs with each stride. People would pass me or I them and their own shoes would throw mud on me as well. When I got home to shower their was mud in places that had remained completely covered! I just smiled and told myself that the cost of a mud treatment at a spa and the exfoliating I was getting for free just from being out in the rain were worth it! Seriously, those services are not cheap!

4. Wicked Witches Stay Home - The water does something to some people that I could only wish was melt them away like the Wicked Witch. Instead, the water seems to bring out the Wicked Witch in even the most cheery of people. So, if you are heading out in the rain do so without bringing the Wicked Witch. Seriously, you know you are headed out in the rain, you know it is going to be cold, wet, muddy and you are not going to be able to get done any quicker than if the skies were clear so deciding to bring the Wicked Witch with you, or not, really is your choice. Put a smile on your face for 15 seconds before you head out the door and convince yourself you are going to have fun! The rain is fun! Little kids splashing in puddles and Labradors racing through ponds is proof of this!

The damp dark months we have really are fun to be out and about in! So get out in them and enjoy the activities the city has to offer!

~TigressSky~

Running Clinic - Week Six - SMART Goal Setting

Here is the Workout Log for Week Six - just 6 more weeks until we do our 5k! Can't wait to be out there with you all smiling, running and crossing that finish line.

GOAL SETTING

Our runs have been so much fun! We get together and talk about our goals and motivations and you all have really be making me think   about what it means to set meaningful goals. My last blog post focused on this topic and today I would like to add just a bit more to the idea.

One of the first things I learned when I sat down with a personal trainer and nutrition coach was about setting SMART goals. This wasn't a new concept to me as I work as a Business Analyst and we try and help companies set SMART goals all the time. Yet, for some reason, I had not even thought about applying the idea of SMART goal setting to my fat loss journey.

WHAT ARE SMART GOALS

Smart goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Based. In other words SMART goals are goals that are very clear and easily understood.

Specific - Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help to focus efforts in a clear way so that we can define what we are going to do. The specifics define the how, what, when and where of our efforts and sometimes they even state why the goal is important. I would take it one step further and say that they should ALWAYS state why the goal is important.

          Example: To wear my size 8 jeans again by March 15th - within 6 months.

Measurable - The measurablity of a goal applies not only to the end result but also to all the milestones along the way. Measurable progress allows you to see the the change occur.

       Example: To get back into my size 8 jeans within 6 months I will accomplish the following goals:
                         - Journal & track my nutrition intake daily
                         - Exercise for at least an hour 5 days out of the week


Attainable -  This sounds rather straight forward but you should be sure that the goals you set are achievable. Yet it happens often that goals get set which are way out of reach and if you set your goals to far out of reach you most likely won't even attempt to do them.

Attainable goals are achievable and important to you. These are the types of goals that you will take the time to develop the attitude, abilities, skills and capacity to make come true. These goals are possible and give you a feeling of being worth the effort.

Relevant/Realistic - Goals should be relevant to what you want to achieve in the short and long term. They should allow you vision and purpose in accomplishing the goal. Realistic does not mean easy either; it means do-able. Do-able goals are ones where the learning curve is a curve, not a vertical slope! As well a do-able goal is one where the skills needed to achieve the goal are available. The goal should be realistic to who you are, where you are at in your life and what your overall needs are in the moment.

Example: If you love to eat sweets setting a goal to never eat sweets again may not be realistic or relevant to you. However, setting a goal to eat 1 serving of fruit as a substitute to a sweet could.

Time-Bound/Timely -  Quite often this piece overlaps with the goal being Specific, but it aims to ensure that you are setting a time-frame to achieve your goals. Someone once said, "a goal is a dream with a time-frame to it!" Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. Without setting a time-frame the commitment you are making becomes to vague. It tends to not happen because you feel you can start anytime. Remember, whatever time you set should also be measurable, attainable and realistic.

If you find difficulty in setting a SMART goal then it is more than likely that your future plans are not clear enough and need to be worked on more. If you are having a challenge setting your goals please do not just jump in and get on with it. Without a goal you are going to just feel like you are adrift, working hard yet accomplishing nothing.

WHY IS GOAL SETTING SO IMPORTANT?

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your future and motivating you to make this future a reality. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve you know where to concentrate your efforts. Once you have a goal you'll also be able to quickly and easily spot any distractions that could lead you astray. Goal setting gives you long term goals with short term motivations. It allows you to focus your time and resources so you can accomplish your goal. It gives you something you can measure and take pride in with each step you reach in achieving the end result. Most importantly it allows you to see forward progress in an endevour you may have previously simply felt like a pointless grind.

Personally I think the most important thing that goal setting will do for you is to boost and build your overall self-confidence. With all of the progress you will be making, and with each milestone you accomplish, you will become more and more aware of your own ability and competence in achieving things you have always wanted to do!

So, if you don't already set goals well start doing so and start now! As you make this technique a part of your life it will become easier and your accomplishments and celebration of achievements will come faster. You can apply this to any part of your life, not just fat loss, so, try it now with something small and find out all YOU really can do!

~TigressSky~

Running Clinic - Week Five - Motivational Goal Setting

Our runs are becoming more ambitious! As well I have upped our challenges to give us a strong finish. Here is the Workout Log for week five.

THE SCALE OF DOOM!!!

I've talked a lot this week with individuals about goals, which prompted me to want to blog about it. I find, just as I use to do, people set their goals based on immeasurable and damn near unachievable ideals. One of the worst goals we all tend to set in the beginning is, "I want to weigh x-number of pounds."

First off if you are using your scale as a measurement of success you are already setting yourself up for failure. I promise you this.

A scale is ONLY a fat loss and weight maintenance TOOL. A scale should never be used as a measurable GOAL. In short, monitoring your weight is just one of many tools you can use to achieve your goals but it should not be a goal.

Why? Well, weight fluctuates on a regular basis for everyone. We celebrate a pound lost today and beat ourselves up for a pound gained tomorrow. The majority of the time this flux in weight has nothing to do with losing or gaining fat. Instead the scale increase is showing us our water retention, food intake and processing, or even just simple swollen joints caused by tension or stress in our muscles.

When you spend all your time focused on "losing weight" you miss out on all the good things you ARE accomplishing. Your weight and your scale should be looked at as tools to help you succeed, not goals you want to achieve.

WHAT IS A GOAL THEN?

I tend to ask myself this question when setting a goal: "Is this something tangible that I can be complimented on easily?" If it is not, then it really is not a goal.

When you achieve a goal it should be like a light going off! It should be something people can see easily and celebrate with you. Things like finishing your first 5k, fitting into a brand new sexy dress or cooking everyone a new tasty healthy meal.

Yes, people may see something new about you and say, "hey have you lost weight?" but it is not your actual weight shown by the scale that they are complimenting. (Heck, half the time they ask this question you may have actually gained weight!) Instead, what people are noticing is how good you look in something you are wearing or how light and happy you seem that day. These are tangible things people can see you have accomplished.


I WILL NEVER LOOK LIKE HER.

That is right you will never look like her. Nor should you want to. Looking like someone you are not should never be your goal. You are guaranteed to fail this goal no matter what. It is literally impossible for you to look like someone else.

We are horrible to ourselves. Always comparing ourselves to another, always seeing tons of flaws and beating ourselves up with a focus on "dieting" and "losing weight" to obtain an impossible ideal we have set in our head.

I do it. I look at women shorter than me, at how cute, petite and gorgeously feminine they are. I look at women who are taller than me, like my little sister for example, and I wonder why I can't be thin like her and have her beautiful flat stomach. It is here, in thoughts like these were we preset ourselves up for failure as we focus on wanting to be something that is literally impossible.

This journey should NOT focus on becoming the best somebody else we can be. It should instead focus on becoming the best YOU can be! And guess what, you don't even know who that person is that you could become because you spend so much time focused on trying to make that person you could be into someone else.

This is not about being who you want to be and who you see in the shapes of others. This is instead about discovering the you that you can be! You and I have no idea who that person is, in fact, you won't even recognize her when she gets here because you NEVER thought she would! You NEVER thought she existed! That woman/man you keep telling yourself you can't be is stopping you from discovering the woman/man you CAN BE! So stop letting them!

Seriously, when I started this journey I NEVER thought I would be smaller than a size 12. I NEVER thought I would run a mile. I NEVER thought I would wear a small sized anything! Yet the woman I became showed me that SHE is a size 8, that SHE can complete a Triathlon and that SHE can wear a size small if she damn well wants to. After meeting this new woman I am becoming I am even more excited to learn all about her and what else she can do! Seriously, the woman I am now is so excited to meet the woman I will become that I just can't help but keep letting her shine through! Yes, every now and then the woman I am wants to be Angelina Jolie, but, the woman I am becoming knows that I am becoming something more than the impossible and that anything really is possible.

I promise you, anything is possible if you just stop limiting your possibilities and instead start letting yourself shine! What's your motivation?

~TigressSky~