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Monday, February 27, 2012

Jump Start your Metabolism

Jump Start your Metabolism

There are thousands of diets on the market, Adkins, Weight Watchers, South Beach and many more. They all have one thing in common after a long period of dieting, no matter which diet it is your metabolism becomes compromised and your weight loss will begin to slow.  Have you ever heard people say that they eat tiny amounts but still gain weight or that they can not lose weight without starving themselves by eating like a bird?

Your body determines how much it can eat and maintain it's current body weight by how fast your metabolism is. Have you ever known someone that was as skinny as a rail and could out eat you by double? It's sickening isn't it? Well I have good news for you, having a slow metabolism is not something you have to live with, you can change all that by doing one thing...eating! Yes, you heard me by eating!

It all works like this...If you eat 1200 calories a day and burn 1200 calories then your weight will stay the same. So in order to lose weight you must do one of two things, decrease the amount of calories you take in or simply increase your calorie burn(exercise more). Something really important to remember is when you decrease your calorie intake by dieting your body automatically releases starvation hormones which have a negative impact on your metabolism. It basically is telling your body this, "You are feeding me less, so now you can eat less or you will gain weight" This is why people who are chronic yo yo dieters destroy their metabolism and find it difficult to eat anything without gaining weight. You following me? Email me if I have lost you and you have any questions....

The fix!!!
Yes I know that you are excited about learning how you can fix this terrible situation that all us dieters have found ourselves in. Eating is the most effective way to teach your body to raise your calorie intake without gaining weight. When you up your calorie intake and up your exercise to match you will effectively raise your metabolism so that you will be able to safely diet again without starving yourself.

Example: Over the last 6 weeks I have kept a strict eye on my calorie intake, when I began (6 weeks ago) I had dieted my way down to 1000 calories a day, I could not eat any more than that or I was working in reverse...gaining weight! All the dieting had sunk my metabolism to an all new low. So I began to eat, 1200 calories a day, now normally I would start to gain weight but I didn't because I added extra activity that kept me maintaining the same weight. the next week I ate 1400 calories and did the same with the exercise, I did this all the way up to 2400 calories. Yes, it is a lot of working out and eating, but let me tell you it is worth it! Starting this week I will be back in the mode of dieting and I look forward to seeing that scale start moving once again.

The important thing to remember here is, if you ever need a break from dieting or are finding it hard to lose weight then don't give up, try this method to help restore your metabolism.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Your full Proof Way to Success!!


Someone asked me the other day how I was "taking a break from dieting, and managed to NOT gain any weight". One part of the answer was really easy...calories in equals calories out! As I explained before there is no rocket science to losing weight, it is eating less than you burn, just that simple. So as I have taken a break from dieting, I am still being mindful about what goes in my mouth, and if I eat a little too much than I kick my own ass when I work out!

The other part of the question really made me think, she said "Well that's all fine and dandy but how have you kept your emotions in check? What motivates you to do more when you have made a few choices that are out of your plan? It seems so much more easy to just give up at times like that."

My answer was quite simple..."My trainer won't let me give up!"

We have all started a weight loss plan at one time or another with a buddy, we go in all gung ho! Then one of you stumbles and starts to make excuses which leads to a domino effect for the both of you and before you know it, you are both sitting side by side on the couch watching the Notebook while eating cheesecake!

That is why it is important to have a trainer, a professional trainer will not only help to guide you in the right direction but they will keep you motivated and held accountable.When you are at your lowest point and are plagued with self doubt your trainer will step in and show you how much they believe in you. They will never give up on you and won't let you give up on you either. Before you know it, you too will realize that you are invincible and can accomplish whatever you put your mind to, it just takes the little shove from someone who is completely disconnected to the situation, a person who can look from the outside and see your barriers and identify how to remove them.


I can hear the excuses running through your heads now...
1. It's too expensive...this is not true! Many trainers will set you up with a program that you follow and then you see them once every few weeks, it will not cost you any more than what you spend at Dunkin Donuts for your coffee every day. Let's check our priorities!!



2. Trainers are all buff, I am too embarrassed. Bull shit...I was never "buff" and as a matter of fact there are a large number of trainers that became trainers because they too at one time were carrying around a few extra pounds. Do your research, you will find the perfect one for you, and remember it's all a starting point, you will never be where you are again right now.

3. I am too embarrassed to work out in a gym. They will travel to your home and make a specific workout for you using items in your home. A workout can be accomplished anywhere, anytime without any gym equipment and your trainer will help you to improvise. 

I am sure you all are wondering WHO my trainer is...above is a picture of her.... It is ME 7 years ago, the one that motivated others to reach their goals. When I am on the treadmill I look at this photo of a woman who successfully trained others and hear the words she used to use...

"You can do this, you are worth it, keep going, I know you have it inside you, dig deep!"

So when I hit a wall on the treadmill I look at her picture and hear her words and it motivates me to push forward, because if she believes in me than I should. Every time I hear her words of encouragement it brings me a little closer to becoming that very person once again, the person who believed in herself and all she could accomplish.

Don't be afraid to ask for help, if you are in the beginning stages then you are not ready to lean on yourself or a "workout buddy". There is no shame in spending time with a person who believes in you. And soon their undeniable belief  in you will transfer to you, and you will be accomplishing things you never dreamed possible!

GO GET A TRAINER!!!!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Circling the Drain!!

Circling the Drain!!

Hello!!! No I haven't cashed in the chips...given up...and gone back to my crazy overeating ways! I did not want to post until I was ready....so here goes! ;)

Have you ever felt like you were circling the drain? Like you are being sucked in by a black hole and there was nothing you could do about it? That is how I felt a couple of weeks ago...let me start from the beginning.

If you remember I stopped weighing myself because I was becoming obsessed with the number, I was measuring my self worth according to what the scale read, so I took a break, relying on my new found "self respect and self love" to carry me though for a while...I wanted to get back to why I started this journey. Every morning I got out of bed, ran my 2 miles did my weights as usual, but I noticed that I was making a few too many reckless choices with my eating...this put me back into the cycle of guilt over my choices with food. Which made me question how far I had really come on this journey, had I really made any progress at all? Was I slipping back into that black hole that I had lived in for so long?

So now I am teetering, almost ready to cash it in...give up because I don't love myself enough to be "perfect" when it comes to making food choices! Just then I check my email, I had sent in a tape to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser a year ago, and they wanted me to come for an interview and bring somebody with me! Wow! Now I am thinking this is perfect, cause I am circling the drain, ready to just give up once again...this is exactly what I need, someone to lead me in the right direction cause I am so lost!

I ask my daughter to go with me, she is about 80 pounds overweight and needs this desperately too. At the interview I learned a lot, about myself and her. I learned that I am a stronger person that I ever knew, but I am also the person who is primarily responsible for my daughters weight problem. She said that she does not want to even try because she has seen me be extremely successful only to go right back to where I was. She doesn't even want to try because she saw me fail!!! Hello Guilt!!

At that moment my heart sank, I had hit an all time low point in my life, not only had I allowed myself to become a victim but I had brought my daughter with me! Our children have enough to overcome with outside influences, do they really need the people who are close to them giving them a front seat lesson on how to self destruct? We are suppose to be the ones that protect them, love them, show them they put themselves before anyone else. I officially failed, I thought I was a pretty 'ok' parent but at that moment I realized that my lack of self respect had transferred straight down the line to her.

I immediately left there and tried to have my first official binge eating frenzy in 5 months, but the strangest thing occurred, I could not do it, believe me I tried! My body said, "no you have had enough" and my head said, "you are NOT going to self destruct, you are worth more" For the first time in my life I did not turn to food.

Over the next few days, I realized some very important things..
1. I do love myself more than I ever have, making the commitment to exercise every day is an indicator that I have put myself first.
2. I can't go back and change the choices I have made in the past, I can however make better ones in the future.
3. We are all products of our environment, example, when something bad would happen my mom would bring me home a bag of  Double Stuff Oreo's and we would sit down and eat the whole bag together to take away the pain. I could choose to blame her and play the victim but I don't. We all have been in certain circumstances at times in our lives, but we can either learn from it and rise above it or choose to live the rest of our lives playing the role of the victim,  doomed to repeat history. Choices...we all have choices to make and ownership to accept.

In the end when I took ownership for what I had done, and realized that my daughter must do the same and make her own choice to move forward and not play the role of the victim I felt better about the situation. I also knew at that moment that I was not ready to cash in the chips and in fact I was not circling the drain, actually it was just the opposite, I had found that I did in fact have a little glimmer of light inside me, a faint flash that cared enough to still workout every day and would not allow my head to talk me into a good old fashioned binge. Instead I faced the problems head on and persevered. It's a good feeling to look down that black hole instead of darkness see a gleam of light and I know with time and love the light will get bigger and bigger ;)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

What a Feeling!!

What a Feeling!!

Have you ever heard that song What a Feeling from Flashdance? I love that song! I was listening to it today as I broke yet another personal record on my treadmill. Hearing it not only brings me back to some very wonderful 80's memories but also sends me a message that anything is possible when you believe. Here are just a few lyrics:
First when there's nothing
but a slow glowing dream
that your fear seems to hide
deep inside your mind

All alone I have cried silent tears full of pride
In a world made of steel
and of stone

What a feeling
Bein's believien
I can have it all, now I'm dancing for my life!!

Take your passion make it happen!

That is exactly how I feel! I can have it all, I may not be dancing for my life, but for the first time I feel like I am loving my life. (I will admit I did have a "flashdance moment" in my basement when I went past my record!! I was dancing like a fool to old Irene Cara!!)

Today was weigh in day, I am usually so focused on the scales and what the outcome will be that I won't even have a sip of water before jumping on them. Now that I have changed my focus to self love and self respect I have to say that I am feeling much more joy in my life. I have taken the stress out of losing weight, my new every other week weigh in helps me to stay focused, but it forces me make decisions based on caring about myself instead of the fear of the number on the scale.

You can feel a certain amount of joy when you step on the scale and see a 2 or 3 pound loss but there is no better feeling like breaking a personal fitness goal. Just a little over 3 months ago walking one mile was very painful, now I am jogging two. I was walking a 21 minute mile, now I am now jogging a 14 min mile! When sitting on the floor I had to waddle on my knees across the floor to the couch to pull myself up, not any more I just stand. It was impossible to squat and stand back up, now I can go straight to the floor and up. When I took a shower I would try to shave my legs and my ass was so large it would pop the shower door open, not now...it stays shut and I don't even touch it!!

What a feeling I say, there is no bigger reward than the way it makes you feel to succeed in every day life. So today when I usually would be on the scale focusing on how "good" or "bad" I had been, instead I was down stairs on the treadmill beating my record, proving to myself I had what it took to succeed! Who needs the damn scales? Not me!!

For those of you out there who are doubting yourself, let me tell you I have been there. It may seem hard but you are the only one who can change it, and it can be done! xoxoxo to you all!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Why I did not Weigh In

Why I did not Weigh In 

When I started this 365 day journey I had one goal in sight, to learn to love myself enough to make the best choices for my body. A well known author Geneene Roth, believes that you should NEVER diet, it only makes you feel worse about yourself. She also teaches that if we love ourselves enough then we will make choices that are conducive to a healthy lifestyle leading us to our natural body weight. To sum it all up, it is finding that space inside that holds your unconditional love for yourself.

That is my goal, to find that place where I don't need the rigid perimeters of a structured diet or the ever looming date with the scales on every Thursday to keep me in line. I want to love and respect myself enough so that my healthy choices are not something I have to talk myself into but they become a natural way of life. Which brings me to why I did not get on the scales this Thursday, no it was not because I gained! It was because I am feeling strong enough to start weening myself off these crutches. I feel as though I am stepping into a new space where I am treating myself better because for the first time I believe that I deserve better.

Now, I am not saying that it is going to be easy because let me tell you, it is pretty easy to say no to a piece of chocolate cake when you know that you are stepping on the scales the very next day and broadcasting the picture on the world wide web! Let me tell you nothing says "don't eat the friggin cake!!" then knowing people are watching you. But the fact of the matter is, this journey is really about the relationship I have with myself and not all my readers.(don't get me wrong I LOVE you all!!) But If I don't repair my self worth and find self love then when my 365 day journey is over with you all, I will just fall back once again because I have been using you as my accountability meters. It is time to stand on my own two feet and show myself that I am worth making these decisions without having to be forced to do it.

So you are probably wondering what my plan is...I am planning on weighing in every other week for a while until I am strong enough to weigh in once a month, until one day I will throw out my scales forever! By the end of these 365 days it is my plan to live my life without walls, no diets, no scales just self love and that is what will bring me to my body's true healthy weight.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Mind and Body Connection

The Mind and Body Connection

In my work as a Massage Therapist one of the most important things I do is teach my clients about the undeniable connection between the mind and body. Our bodies model exactly what our mind sees and feels. For example if your mind is saying "oh I am so sore and I hurt all over" then guess what, your body exhibits that behavior. Another example...Have you ever met a hypochondriac? You know that they "have" every ailment that you have, right? Whether it is a hangnail or a heart attack, they have it and it is wayyy worse that yours! The real problem lies is the fact that they keep manifesting these diseases in their mind, eventually the body catches up and believes what the mind is putting out there and becomes sick!

Remember when I wrote in my blog a few months ago about how I talk to myself when I walk? I tell myself how amazing I am, and how my feet and legs are so strong and yes I can keep going..even when I just want to give in.  These conversations transfer directly from my mind to my body and I have recently found myself in a whole different realm during my exercise routines. Not only have I beat all my personal records, but as I am working out I find myself in a space where I know and believe that I can accomplish anything. During that moment something inside opens up, it is as if I have tapped into a form of greatness that I have seen in the eyes of others but always longed for in myself. That exact time and space, I want to capture in my every day life experiences, not only on the treadmill. I will find it I am sure, but for now I will keep running with my feet while keeping my mind wide open to the possibility that greatness is out there for me to grab;)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Step 4 The first Phase of Success/ Failure

Step 4 The first Phase of Success/Failure

I have a good friend that has been telling me for a few weeks now that I needed to post an up to date photo because you could really see the difference from the weight loss. I just kept avoiding her requests, I was subconsciously avoiding doing this and not knowing why. Also I found myself in a similar situation the other day twice in the same day...I had seen people that I had not seen in a while and they immediatly commented on how good I looked. Feeling very uncomfortable I immediatly shifted the conversation back to a topic about them. After the second time doing that in one day I thought to myself "hello Nikki, you need to learn how to take a compliment".

So I immediately went to facebook and posted a new pic of me. as I was posing for the camera I was so proud and feeling wonderful, but after I posted the picture and the comments started to roll in, I just wanted to take it down. It was bothering me to have all this positive attention thrown my way. I spent the next two days literally trying to sabotage my own success, everything I had worked for so hard I was trying to undo just because I didn't like the attention it was causing. At that moment I took a step back and said this is way deeper that just simply learning how to take a compliment, I must explore. This is what I came up with...

I have now realized that it all goes back to the basics we have already talked about, Loving yourself enough, and your ability to realize you deserve it.

I know we all have our own background story, some have been abused, some have suffered physical limitations, some have suffered psychological damage, it could also be bad choices that you made in the past. I am here to tell you that whatever it is that makes you think that you are not worth it, is only holding you back. It is in the past and so long as you continue to live in the past and play the victim then your life will model that role, doomed to repeat those feelings and situations over and over.

Simply let go of being the victim, I realize that some of the things that have happened are beyond your control but the way you choose to react to them is not. I give you permission to step up and claim the life you deserve, leave whatever it is in your past behind and move into a new space, the same space you hold unconditional love and understanding for others, give it to yourself just as effortlessly as you would someone else. Why you ask? Because you Deserve it!

My love to you all and have a very Merry Christmas!!