Accountability

Ugh! The dreaded accountability is about to start.

Since the Holidays my discipline in regards to healthy activities has severely waned. As a direct consequence my weight has fluctuated up, uP, UP!, the scale. Since November-ish, my weight has increased by 12 pounds. My measurements have also changed by an inch or two here and there. My pants size is up from a 7/8 to a 9/10 - a very snug 9/10 at that.

                 Current Stats -                   Stats Prior to Holidays

                    Weight: 177 lbs                        165 lbs

                    BMI: 25.4                                23.7

                    Lean Body Mass: 117.8         124.8

                    Body Fat %: 33                       24.4

                    Wasit: 33                                  31

                    Hips: 42                                    36.5

The hardest part about these changes is that I just slipped back into the "overweight" category. I don't plan on staying here long though! By my birthday, June 1st, I WILL be back in the "normal" category.

One of the biggest contributing factors to this gain was my sudden belief that I no longer needed to journal and track my food intake. I really felt I had it all under control and I finally just knew how to eat right. For awhile, that was the case, yet slowly and surely, (as all the experts I read regularly ensure and confirm will happen), I was overestimating portion sizes and taking more than just a nibble here and there.

Food journaling is resoundingly the one most important tool you will ever have in your fat-loss and healthy-living "tool-belt." There is almost no dissent or disagreement in regards to this fact. Honestly, if there is any actual dissent or disagreement in regards to the importance and success of food journaling I have never heard nor come across it. This article from Kristin Kirkpatrick, MD is a great piece on the benefits and how to start food journaling yourself - Food Diary: Why This Weight Loss Tactic Is So Effective

As for me, I am back at SparkPeople.com, monitoring my food intake, calculating and re-configuring recipes, as well as noting my portion sizes, and mapping out the entire days menu. It is never perfect mind you. Sometimes I go over. Sometimes I go under. Yet most of the time I stay within my ranges and enjoy my foods. Filling full and satisfied.

Here is a sample report from SparkPeople.com for just one day of food tracking.

As the above shows, I'm getting back in there. My choices are healthier yet most importantly I am once again being accountable for what I am putting in my body and boy do I notice the difference! As these daily reports have shown me I definitely need to get my protein intake up, but even being slightly off, my performance at the gym has significantly increased! I do not "bonk" out in the middle of work outs. I am not starving when I get home either. My energy level is increasing and I am feeling less tired and worn down.

Seriously, it is an amazingly noticeable difference.

It is also going to be extremely important that I balance this out as triathlon training starts this coming weekend! My gym time will increase and my body will need to be fueled properly to survive the rigors of training.

So, in order to help me stay on track and remain accountable I am going to start a "Tuesday Update" post series. This will focus on what my week was like. What my weight and measurements are like and, sometimes, include a picture of me in my (current) favorite bikini. (YIKES!!!)

As well, I hope that seeing the changes I make and the struggles I have, will allow some motivation to others who are on this path as well.  So, here is a picture of my starting point along with my current stats again.

Current Stats -                                       

          Weight: 177 lbs                                    

           BMI: 25.4                                         

           Lean Body Mass: 117.8                    

           Body Fat %: 33                                

           Wasit: 33                                        

           Hips: 42                                              

GAME ON!!!!

"Try and fail, but don't fail to try!" ~Stephen Kaggwa

~TigressSky~

Back - from a hiatus of sorts.

Priorities? What are those?

Life happens. Hell, more often than not life happens. For the past few months it seems to be happening all around me while I stand in the center trying to divide my attention appropriately.

Due to all this damned LIFE happening, my time to devote to my fitness has lessened. I still make it to the gym, yet it is only for about 5 hours a week rather than the regular (and healthier) 7-10 hours I had been devoted to. I find myself faltering between moments of feeling guilty and upset for not making fitness the same priority it was, to moments of "don't sweat it, this too shall pass and soon you will be back at it."
 

As well, my nutrition has fluctuated from being really good and well monitored to being so bad I try and ignore it! It is strange how eating healthier helped me to develop a sweet tooth. Seriously, prior to my discovery of how good unprocessed natural foods taste I never sought out sugary goodness. Now however, they are like ecstasy in my mouth!

Don't get me wrong, it is not candy and simple sweets that drive me. There can still be snickers bars and suckers in the house that will just get ignored. However, it is the homemade sweets that I am enjoying a little to much of. Having someone to cook for has brought back the experimenting baker in me. Cookies, pies, cakes and treats just get whipped up and devoured often. I need to find some healthier "treat" recipes to work with for my sweet intake - or more events to attend to rid myself of such temptations just lying around calling out to me.

For example this Dark Chocolate Ganache covered Guinness Stout cake!!!

The good news for all this subtle lax in my overall health focus -

TRIATHLON SEASON STARTS IN 2 WEEKS!!!!

2011 Girlfriends & Dudes Triathlon

Yep, that's right, as soon as I return from my May 4-5th vacation triathlon training begins and I will HAVE to be accountable for making the right choices daily. Any misstep I take could mean minutes lost in my triathlon finish and, since I am competing with myself to drop 10 minutes from last years time, every minute counts! 

For the next three months my Saturday mornings will be spent swimming, biking and running with the triathlon training club! We will spend 2 hours learning, practicing and supporting each other in our endeavor to kill our bodies at the end of July and complete the Girlfriends and Dudes Sprint Triathlon in Vancouver, Washington.

Of course, the triathlon training also requires me to focus on my own personal training to develop each element of the tri so I can be better, fitter, faster and stronger! That means my gym time will increase - dedicatedly so. My current idea for my gym schedule is:

Monday - 2 Hours - Run to Gym, Cycle Class, Treadmill Intervals, Run Home 

Tuesday - 3 Hours - Step n' Strength Class, Spin Class, Yoga

Wednesday - 1.5 Hours - Run to Gym, Weights, Run Home

Thursday - 2 Hours - Run to Gym, Definition Class, Treadmill Intervals, Run Home

Friday - 2.5 Hours - Run to Gym, Weights, Treadmill Intervals, Run Home
Saturday - 2 Hours - Triathlon Training Club

With all this said, I want to note I will be attempting to update my blog more regularly starting in May. As well, I am combining the FitTiggy blog into this one. This seems like the most logical idea, as my personal health journey should really be a part of who I am as a trainer. I still hold high hope to begin studying and get certified this Fall. We shall see on that one.

Crossing the Finish Line @ 2011 Girlfriends & Dudes Triathlon 

The brief hiatus I have had has brought me up from the ultimate low I reached last year at 165 pounds to sitting at the very peak of my healthy weight range 174. Therefore, I have also decided to take some progressive pictures and use the triathlon training to mark my first steps back towards my ultimate goal of 155 pounds!

I look forward to sharing my journey with you all. As well, I look forward to updating this blog more regularly with advice that goes beyond just me personally and, I hope, can help you on your journey to become a healthier and happier you! A you that you never knew existed!!!! 

"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves!"

~TigressSky~

Feelings, nothing more than ... ffeeeelllinnnggsss!

I have been hitting the gym hard the past few days as the past few weeks, (more like months), my discipline has been lacking. Life snuck up on me and gave me a shove into a pile of "do-do" - as in do this, do that, and do this as well. This pile of "do-do" left me with very little time to do much else, let alone enough time to get my fitness routine met. So, these past few days at the gym have really hit me hard as my body is completely out of whack to any real routine.

Yet, I think this pile of "do-do" was an important for me to step in, as today I recognized something very important; my feelings.

As I walked down the hallway at work, every muscle in my body screaming their torturous "whys!" at me, I stepped into the bathroom, glanced in the mirror and said to myself, "oh yeah, this working out is really making a difference!" That simple glance relayed to my muscles -"this is why we do this!" I felt happy and light and proud of myself.

Now, in all reality, I have truly only upped my attendance and pace at the gym for the past three days. Therefore, my body most likely does not look any different in the mirror than it did just last week - when I was too busy to make it into the gym more than two days that entire week. Yet last week, when I looked in the mirror at this exact same body, all I could see where my flaws and flab. I felt down, discouraged and upset with myself.

That's when it hit me. How working out can change your attitude. How just taking steps to better yourself will make you feel better about yourself. Not only will you feel better, but, you will be able to actually physically see the "better" you in the mirror. Even if that better you is the same you from just three short days ago.

Change your life, change your attitude! 

I get it now. Making the effort to do helps me see that I am worth that effort and in short makes me feel better about me, no matter where I am at in the game. My attitude when I am not working out, eating right, and taking care of myself is that I am not the best me that I can be. However, my attitude when I am doing all of these things is that I am becoming the best me that I can be!

So, which feeling do I want to have ... ?

Yeah, exactly!!!

~TigressSky~

I Understand Why This Can Be So Hard

The experiences are so innumerable and varied, that the journey appears to be interminable and the Destination is ever out of sight. But the wonder of it is, when at last you reach your Destination you find that you have never traveled at all! It was a journey from here to Here. ~Meher Baba

Why Is This So Hard For Me?

I had to really think about why this is so hard for me. What is it that allows me to back slide, give up, give in and fail? The truth is I'm scared. Scared, not that I'll fail, but instead that I'll succeed! How catch-22 circular is that though?

Right now, I sit in comfort knowing I have done and accomplished so much. I have inspired and continue to inspire a few friends who I hold dear. Yet I have not reached my goals yet and I do not know if I can. I know how I want to look. I know what I want to be able to do physically. I know how far I want to push myself. How I want to reach a point where I can look at any challenging opportunity and take it on full force! Giving my all and, in the very least, finishing and following through with everything I attempt! I want to be the adventurer that lives inside my heart. And through all this achievement I want more than anything to inspire and  lead others to reach for goals they push aside as impossible. I want to remove the word NEVER from my vocabulary. I want my love and strength to be an infectious disease that I am consumed with and that others who are near to me cannot help but feel consumed by as well.

And it all seems like such a beautifully challenging dream. Yet I'm scared of it all the same.

I watch people covering their social media sites, like FaceBook, Tumblr and LiveJournal, with posts against the very thing I want most to be. I see the obesescentric society in which I live and I begin to wonder if accomplishing my goals will remove me from the very people I so want to inspire and infect. People I want to inspire, not because they are fat and I think they should change. No, that is not the point at all. Instead I see people I want to inspire to remove NEVER from their vocabulary as well. People who question their beauty daily and set limits on themselves without even trying. People who post images of heavy-set women and say, "see this woman is beautiful so why can't I be?" I want them to know the answer to that beauty question does not lay outside of their own hearts. I want them to SEE their beauty for all it is and not allow the fear-machine that is society to influence their own hearts.

So I'm scared. Scared that a society that has kept us in fear of our beauty will help push me away from those I love as I start to find my way and meet the goals I have set for me. And the even more daunting piece is, what if none of this happens?

What if I meet all my challenges and I inspire so many and they find their hearts and their beauty? What if I then lose it all and slip back to where I am now? If this happens then I can't ever slip backwards though. I can't ever stop putting forth the effort and meeting all the challenges I take on! Once I let go of NEVER I can't embrace it's return, no matter how much I want to let it fall upon my lips again.








The Journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. 
~Lao Tzu








Once I reach the level I want I am going to have to continue on at that level everyday, pushing myself and challenging myself constantly. I won't be able to give up. I won't be able to fail. Because I know, where I want to go, is to the top of that mountain called self-worth. And I know, that when you get there, it is not Heaven - it is Hell. I cannot just bathe myself in milk and honey and lay back in relaxation and let everything take care of itself. No, not at all. Were I am working to go is treacherous and dangerous! At any time a strong wind can come by and blow me right off that mountaintop and send me crashing back to NEVERland. I know, deep in my heart, that reaching that peak leaves me walking a tightrope between peaks; forever.

Yet I also know, from the small amount I have accomplished so far, I have never been happier and that the view from those peaks is going to be spectacular! So spectacular I can't wait to see what I find different on the top of each one of them. What new piece of me is awakened. What new eruption of life, love and happiness I will find!!!

This journey is going to be worth it and I know this is going to be hard; but I also know anything worth having is!

~TigressSky~

Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which 
one undertakes and continues the journey. ~Alex Noble

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~