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2007/04/15, 09:34 AM
Hello - I get emails all the time asking how long.how I did my transformation that is in my profile pictures...I answered one with this mini-rant and then I thought maybe it would be helpful to people to have it on the boards...
Please feel free to add your own transformation stories/tips as well!
My before and after pictures were about 9 months apart, I did 3 3-month diet cycles , taking the weight off gradually and eating a lot :)
If I can do it - anyone can! At the time of those pictures I had just finished a 2 year nights and weekends degree (health science), I was taking care of my daughter and working at the gym nearly full-time.
Once you make the decicison to change your life, you have to turn your back on the old obstacles and issues and forge ahead. I think of it like quitting smoking (which I did in 1996) - you are better off telling yourself "I am a non-smoker" and acting from that point forwrd the way a non-smoker would than bitching and whining about wanting cigarettes or how hard it is to quit. Same thing with fitness and weightloos - the minute you step up to the plate and state "I am a fit and healthy person. " or "I am a bodybuilder" and make all of your decisions and actions based on that statement, you are on your way to the physique and lifestyle you desire. I hope that makes sense. Everyday we are faced with choices - you have to ask yourself - which decision will get me closer to my goals and which decision will set me back, what would an athlete choose? These things take time and build momentum, every time you make a decision that brings you closer to your desires, you will feel a sense of victory and achievement. This will become habit, you will expect to succeed because you have had so many small successes.
The things you think of as problems or obstacles are just chances to prove you are up to the challenge. For example - Your day is packed, you get up and it is go, go, go from minute one - how do you fit in your workouts, how do eat healthy, how can you make more time when there isn't any? When I get time-crunched I sit down and write out everything I did that day and figure out how I can streamline it. When my schedule neccessitates that I get up and do cardio first thing in the morning, it means i spend 20 minutes making everyone's lunches the night before, instead of watching a tv show. You rearrangem you prioritize, you MAKE it work.
Yes, it is time-consuming to count calories, measure your food, cook all those meals ahead of time. BUT it is time consuming to feel unhealthy and overweight and miserable. When you are fit and have energy, you will find it seems like you have more time in a day than you used to. It also gets easier, when it has become a habit to eat the right portions, you don't have to count and wiegh and measure all the time. Think of it as the learning process, learn the nutritional info on the foods you eat most often and make your own cheat sheet (I have a list of the different types of protein foods and what amount gives me the grams I need per meal, same with carbs and fats...instead of looking it up, I look at my cheat sheet - chicken, 5 oz. simple.).
Set appointments in your schedule for your workouts - make it non-negotiable. Your health should be a top priority, it will improve your life, your familie
s lives, and in the long run it will save you money on health bills, etc.
I find if I put my workout clothes on my dresser in the morning, it is easier and takes less self-convincing to put them on and get right to my cardio. Keeping your gym bag packed and ready on your car is another good trick - no excuses that you don't have your shoes...always keep it ready and waiting. Keep a few emergency meals in your car, as well. A few pouches of protein shake mix, a few protein bars, some beef jerky...that way if you need a snack before working out, you are less likely to go home and lose your momentum, or to hit a drive-through.
On Sundays I sit down and write out my goals for the week, and write out my workouts for the week.I also plug my Ipod in to charge, music is one of the things that gets me through all of the cardio I do!
Plan, plan , plan! And cultivate the belief that what you are doing is important and will work.:dumbbell:
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Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle
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