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Step #1 Where do I start?

When I started my journey I followed a path which I came to learn and understand later.  These are the steps.  First thing I suggest doing is to see where you are on this ladder how do you get to the next rung?  


Level 1 - Awareness:  you have to be aware of something you want to take action on or change BEFORE you can do anything about it.  For me it was about being fit and healthier, not about losing weight.  I used a lot of mild over the counter medications like:  aspirin, Tums, Reactin, etc.  I had often experienced head aches, tiredness, heart burn or acid indegestion and severe allergies and asthma.  I was aware that I could do things to prevent those things instead of treat the symptoms.  I was also aware of my ever expanding wastline and the dreaded "back fat" syndrom.  Now what?  Are you here?  Are you aware of your problems or what you want to change?  If so read on and see where to go next.


 
Level 2 - Investigation: You must then start your investigation.  I looked at various options and things I could try or classes I could take.  I'm sure you can relate to some of these scenarios.   I've had gym memberships before and not used them.  I've bought exercise videos/DVDs and they collect dust.  I've bought books and not read them.  For me I realized to have success I would need something a bit more in my face, interactive and with a support network built in.  Do some digging into how you best learn and take things really internally.  


 
Level 3 - Knowledge:  so now I knew what I thought I needed, I found a course called Living FItt.  If you are in Edmonton or Calgary it is offered through Personal Best Seminars (http://www.personalbestseminars.com/living-fitt.php) if not search around there is probably something similar in your area.  What it offers is knowledge (this step), support, and pushing when you need it.  I learned about nutrition in a way I had never learned about it before, and about fitness - what exercises to do, how much weight, how often, the importance of stretching, etc.  Be very conscious of getting "stuck" in this stage and be continually learning and taking on information and never doing anything with it.  You can have all the knowledge in the world you want but if you haven't lost any weight or feel better you'r not making any progress.  So . . .  onward we go.


 
Level 4 - Potential:  indentify and quantify your goals.  This is where you really need to take account of where you are and where you want to be.  Let's break that down.  
 
FIrst - where are you now.  Assess your starting point and don't be embarassed about it - that is just where you are now, that is not who you are!!!  Please hear this if you don't get anything else.  Just because you have 30 or more pounds to lose does not make you a bad person, or lazy, or fat, or stupid or whatever bad things your inner voice comes up with.  Tell the inner voice to zip it, you are in charge now!   Do the following:  take measurements (waist, hip, arm, thigh, buttocks, neck, etc).   Measurments are more accurate for measuring results than weight - don't worry about the scale, throw it out of you want.   Do a fitness test and incorporate the following easy to measure exercise:
  • time yourself on a 12 minute run/walk and measure how far you get.  Use the block if short, or running around your yard or a school yard - something you can count laps on.  Set it for 12 minutes (walk for 1-2 before hitting go) then count how many laps you do in 12 minutes.  If you pass the 1/2 way point you can count that as 1/2 if not it is still 1.   After 12 minutes stop and take your pulse in a 10 second window to get your heart heart rate.
  • sit-ups or crunches:  have someone help you with this and count how many you can do in a minute without stopping.  As soon as you stop, you're done and stop counting.
  • push-ups:  Full ones, on your knees or on the wall if you have bad shoulders - again how many in a minute without stopping.
  • flexibility:  put a piece of masking tape on the floor and a second one to make a T shape.   Sit on the floor and put your toes in line with the cross bar, legs flat and knees straight.  Using a tape meausure start with a 0 mark 12" below the top of the T where it crosses.  Inhale deeply and as you exhale bend forward reaching with your fingers as far as you can, see where you touch on the tape measure. 

You can also get someone to help you take some measurements.  Some good ones to use are:  waist, hips (over the fleshiest part of the behind), arm (around the bicep, upper arm), thigh (widest part), chest, calf.   

Just to give you some incentive, these were my results in 12 weeks:  I went from doing 10.5 laps mostly walking or light jog and my heart rate was 30 beats in 10 seconds.  I did 11 full laps after 12 weeks and heart was 21!   Push-ups went from 11 to 31!  Sit ups went from 35 to 54!  Flexibility went from 12 to 18!  I also lost 14 lbs, 1.75" off my waist, 2.25" off my hips, 1.25" off my chest (mostly of my back).  So you can see some amazing results very quickly IF you are willing to do what you might consider hard now, and continute it as a lifestyle change.  You will see inches come off and fitness levels increase.  I have more energy now and can do more every day things easy like carrying groceries or shovelling the walk.

Secondly - goals.  Make them WRITTEN (I have put some of my goal setting forms on the documents page.  Just ask me for a password to get them)!  It is a known fact that people with written goals are something like 10 times more likely to accomplish them.   Make them realistic.  Don't put down you're going to run a marathon this year, or lose 50 pounds.  Make them shorter term and more achievable.   Putting down things that are so hard or far reaching just sets you up for failure and you're more likely to quit entirely, go into beating yourself up, and grab a bag of cookies.


Level 5 -  Motivation:  this one is probably the biggest thing you need to realize and work on.  WHY do you want to achieve this?  How will you stay motivated?  What are you willing to do to get there?

Your WHY will determine if you will succeed or fail.  If your WHY is you want to lose weight to be more attractive to the opposite sex - that likely isn't going to do it.  If you want to lose weight cause your doctor said so - that isn't going to do it.  It has to come from inside or be so huge that you have to do it.  For example my WHY was I was staring down the face of 40 and I wanted to get healthy so I could continue to enjoy life and doing the things I want to do and to have no limiitations physically.  Your WHY could be - so you can get off the couch and go play ball with the kids without having a heart attack.  Your WHY might be so you will be around longer  and be better able to take care of your family.

But I will tell you the #1 thing that I learned and I was not doing is this - PUT YOURSELF FIRST!   Write in big block letters on a poster board and put it somewhere you can see it.  No that does not mean your are selfish, it means you MUST take care of you before you can take care of anyone else.  Who do they tell you to put the oxygen mask on first in the event of an emergency on an airplane?  Yes - yourself!   So put on your oxygen mask here and take charge of taking care of you.   That means if you haven't eaten a proper health lunch yet but the errands and laundry are calling - YOU come first.  That means you feed yourself with or before your kids in the morning.   The "stuff" will still be there but you will be better able to cope with it and get it done faster after taking care of yourself and your body first.

Also tell others about your goals - if you tell other people sometimes it makes you more accountable to do it.  If it's just for "me", we often put ourselves last but if you tell your friend you are going to lose 20 lbs and don't, you'll lose face with her so are more motivated to do so.   Or do it to spite a past lover, friend etc to "show them" - seriously, you don't ever have to see them again but just you knowing you did it in spite of their comment or belief you couldn't - is enough to make you do it

Here are some other BIG things to think about that will help you stay on track.  What are some benefits that you enjoy once you  achieve your goal?   How will you feel if you reach your goals?  For example for me some benefits were:  I'll be more fit and able to try things like sports;  no stomach aches and headaches;  better shopping experiences (we all know what THAT means right - cause we've all had bad experiences and you KNOW what I'm talking about); able to touch my toes;  how about being more flexible and having better sex (you bet!);  better able to do household chores easily and without pain and discomfort.  How I knew I'd feel and DO feel now is - self confident, a sense of accomplishment, proud, strong, powerful, loving toward myself, worthy.  How will you feel if you don't get there?   Let's not find out - but use those things as a motivator to get to your goals. 


Level 6 - Action - now it's time to do something about it!  We've got knowledge, goals, motivation - now get going!  These are some things that I found powerful to my success. 

  • menu planning weekly: start with a food journal and record everything you eat, when you eat it and how much.  That will get you seeing where you are now - then do menu planning to make sure you have good food in the house and plan ahead.  Planning is key.
  • take a pantry/freezer inventory:  I threw out or gave all of my boxed, packages and processed foods.  That included:  all white pasta, all commercial cereals, frozen prepared meals, canned goods like soup that are loaded with salt, cookies, chips, all junk foods.  By not having them there and replacing them with better food choices - you will be less tempted to eat the bad stuff.  I also got rid of things like white sugar, white flour, salt, most vinegars and condiments.  
  • shift of thinking:  think like this is a life change it is NOT diet.   Shift to putting yourself first - and I know it's hard I've been there.  The story I told myself is this "I'm too busy I don't have time to eat right and exercise" - the real truth was this - I didn't put enough value on myself, my body and my health to put them ahead of all the other stuff.  When I started putting myself first, doing my exercise in the morning before work, menu planning every Sunday and cooking a good stew, soup or casserole that will last several days, having better food in my house - I started seeing those results you read about above.  And I do not feel starved, hungry or deprived of anything.  I do not miss any of the stuff I used to eat.
  • start moving - this is simple.  I went right into 6 work outs a week (3 cardio and 3 strength training) because I commit to myself and wanted to participate fully and see results quickly, which I did.  If that indimitades you - listen to the story that comes up?  what are you telling yourself?  "I can't do that?"  Check in with your really deep inner voice and why is it defeating you before you even get started.  None the less - take baby steps.  Those 6 work outs could be simply:   day 1 walk for 30 minutes at a brisk pace - day 2 strength exercises lift soup cans, your baby/dog whatever you got or buy some small hand weights (see exercise list in documents)  - then repeat for 4 more days.  Remember to stretch every day even day 7.   Gradually increase intensity and length of exercising as you feel comfortable.  I push myself a little bit each time to do one more.  Then next time that one more is easier until I can add another 2 more.  If you read this and say to yourself "I don't want to get bulky, muscles will make me bigger" - go back to level 3 and read some more on this.  Muscle burns more fat and the more muscle you have the higher metabolism you have.  Muscle is only bulky if you reach really high levels of body building - we are certainly not there yet so you don't have to worry about that.  Muscle does weight more than fat too - so you can gain muscle maess, lose inches of fat, and not lose any weight but go down 2 pant sizes - I've done that too. I personally would rather be a fat burning machine than a fat machine which is where I was.  I went from over 32% BMI (body mass index - ratio of fat to muscle) to about 22% right now.   Healthy range for women is 18-26%.  

 

Level 7 - Patience:  please keep in mind, you didn't put those 50 extra pounds on overnight, so let's not expect it to come off by tomorrow either.   A healthy weight loss is 1-1.5 pounds a week.  If you are losing more than that, you may be losing muscle (which we want cause it burns more fat) or bone!   That is how many women end up with osteporsis - dieting and the eat, starve, binge cycle is damaging to our systems.   Don't beat yourself up if you eat one cookie or go for Chinese food.  It is OKAY!   You need to take one free day a week.  Eat whatever you want and no exercise that day.  Follow the 80/20 rule which is 80% of the time be diligent about food, the other 20% eat what you want and don't guilt yourself right into quitting.  

One thing I found works too is tracking exercise done in a fitness log.  You can use my version in the documents section contact ing me  at: sunrider@herview.ca or use the CONTACT ME button to get the password.  By seeing what you've done so far - it may encourage you to keep going.  I know it did for me.  I just loved coming home from a walk and writing it down.  It's sort of like a big To Do list - everyone loves to check things off, it feels great!  

 

Level 8 Results:  after about 6 weeks, do a check in to see what progress you are making.  Do the fitness test again and take new measurements.  You'll know if you've lost any inches by how your clothes are fitting though.  Are they a little looser?  Do you feel more energetic?  Read over our exercise logs and see how many you've done - it feels good to do that!  Remember to give yourself a reward for reaching a goal - not icecream and cake!  A reward like going for a massage, get a pedicure, take a day off, night out without kids, a bubble bath, etc.  A reward need not cost a lot of money either.  It could be a walk in the country with your dog to pick wild flowers.  Enjoy nature, enjoy the world and all it offers - enjoy life!

What next?              

Contact me  at: sunrider@herview.ca or use the CONTACT ME button, to get a FREE REPORT:  10 simple things that could be ruining your health and keeping you fat  - or to get access to the secure documents section to download goal setting sheets, menu planning, list of exercises, etc.

 

Now go to the next page "How do I stay on track" 

 

 

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