When Life Happens

Sometimes the plans we make for our life in general, or just for a certain part of our life don’t seem to work out the way we intended. No matter how motivated we might be, certain events can shake us and we find us looking for a new plan. That can happen on a big scale, concerning important parts of our lives. Or it can just influence small things like the new workout we just started.

Actually, it happens a lot when we just get started. We are not quite in the routine yet, the workout is still more of a must-do instead of a want-to, and we still have to keep reminding ourselves why we are even doing that to ourselves, getting all sore and wore out. And then something happens. It might be as simple as a cookout with the family or a cold that takes us out of the game. Then what? We find ourselves procrastinating, not really feeling it anymore (if we ever even felt it yet) and we stop. We just give up and tell ourselves that this was just not the right time to start with a new workout or that our lives are simply too busy at this point and we might get back to it later.

And yes, that is what happened to me, too. And not for the first time I have to say. My workout buddy is still not fully recovered and my motivation was not that high to begin with. A cheat day here, a weekend with the in-laws cooking out, a lazy day there and I’m back to square one. Great! And I can’t even blame anybody but myself for it.

On top of that I had to go see an orthopedic surgeon about my knee. It’s been giving me problems for years, I had one surgery already and it is still not better. I was actually facing surgery again and I guess I was thinking along the lines of “what’s the point? I won’t be able to work out after the surgery anyways, might as well just quit now”. But those were just excuses.

I was told that I could not do certain moves anymore, including lunges and squats (as if I ever liked those to begin with) and might have to be careful with running, so I will have to change my workout plan a little bit to substitute that part of the “Brazil Butt Lift” program. For now that means that I will no longer be doing the “Bum Bum” and replace that with the “Bender Ball” workout program.

So starting Monday I will start over again, and no, I’m not procrastinating right now, but the program starts on a Monday. Until then I will stick to my eating plan, which will be challenged tomorrow already because of Game Day. I’ll have to think of some healthy snacks for that occasion and the rest of the football season.

Cheerleader Or Drill Sergeant – Which Workout Buddy Is Right For You?

While having a workout buddy can be essential to your success, it is also important to find a good match for you. Depending on your personality the partner you chose might make you or break you. Think about the way you approach a workout session and what you would need to get you going. Or maybe there is not just one type for you but a combination of different workout buddies?

Are you insecure and constantly think that you don’t know how to do it or that you can’t do it? Do you think that you don’t have the strength or endurance to complete a good workout? You would really like to do what it takes to get that fabulous body that you always dreamed about, but you just don’t believe in yourself?

If that sounds familiar, you need a “Cheerleader” as a workout buddy. Somebody who builds you up, has faith in you, motivates you and cheers you on through the entire training session. This workout buddy will never give up on you and always tell you “You can do it” until you start believing in yourself.

But maybe you don’t lack self-confidence and simply are too lazy to get up and do it? You never run out of excuses as to why today is just not a good day to work out. And on those few occasions when you do hit the gym, you end up buying Fast Food on the way home and throw everything you had just worked for out the window. Sounds like self-sabotage to me.

In that case you might need some tough love and the “Drill Sergeant” is the one to give it to you. This type of workout buddy will get in your face and simple make you do it. Excuses don’t work here, so you might as well just suck it up and get with the game, because your partner will show no mercy and push you beyond your limits.

How does it make you feel, when somebody can run faster than you, lift more weights than you, do more reps than you? Are you satisfied with always being the runner-up but never the winner? Never the best? Does it aggravate you or motivate to train harder, push yourself more? Does it bring out the beast inside of you? The competitive beast, that is.

If competition is what keeps you going, you could either join a competitive sport or find yourself a workout partner that is better than you. Not too much, or you might get discouraged. Just enough to inspire you and make you run that extra mile, do another set at the gym, or add a little more weight. What you are looking for is the “Gold-Medalist”. With that type of workout buddy, motivating yourself is easy, because you will always try to become better, until you can finally beat your partner one day, and take the gold for yourself.

Week 1 Day 4

Today is all about relaxing and recuperation. No workouts scheduled for today, which my sore butt and thighs are very thankful for. My beat up muscles get a chance to repair themselves and I will repair my damaged motivation by not thinking about working out and eating right.

That does not mean that I will ruin my diet in just one day though. I have actually been really good today. I took my supplement and about 30 minutes later I had a breakfast that consisted of some 2% cottage cheese with fresh fruit, two eggs, over easy, and one slice of whole wheat toast.

After I realized that no workouts were scheduled for today, I decided that I didn’t want to waste the healthy breakfast and the supplements I took. So rather than not doing any kind of physical activity I did a few yoga poses and stretched those muscles that I have used the most over the last few days.

My energy level is still not where it needs to be, but I made a point of going to bed earlier last night and got some more sleep and rest than at the beginning of the week. Sometimes when we start with a new workout routine we feel more beat and exhausted and want to use that as an excuse to quit exercising because in our eyes it’s not making us feel better but worse. But that only lasts for about a week. After that your body gets used to it and you will actually have more energy than before you started working out. So by the beginning of next week my energy level should be up and hopefully my motivation will, too.

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Week 1 Day 3

I am really missing my workout buddy by now! Being tired and sore is not the best motivation, especially when today’s workout consisted of “Cardio Axe” (approx. 30 min) and “Bum Bum” (approx. 35 min).

Until you get into a routine it can be hard to get motivated, and that is exactly what I am struggling with this week. So far I’m not enjoying it and I have to force myself to do the exercises and not quit.
Also, I have not been getting much sleep lately, so my energy level is pretty low, as well. We all know that getting enough sleep is good for us, but I was surprised to learn that you actually need 8 – 9 hours of sleep per night for a good workout. And I’m not talking about the energy you need, but about what happens after you worked those muscles. Your body needs that much sleep to rest and recuperate. While we sleep our body produces the greatest amount of growth hormone, which helps our beat up muscles to repair themselves.

So I’m just going to write today off as a bad workout, go to sleep early tonight and hopefully I will not only have more energy but also more motivation for tomorrows exercises.

Week 1 Day 2

Let me just start by saying OUCH! I am really sore from yesterday’s workout but that is a good thing since it shows me that I really did something yesterday. So I don’t really mind it – at least not too much. 

I have to admit that my meal plan yesterday was not the greatest. I started out well, with the “Kellogg’s Special K” cereal, but then for lunch I had some “Ramen Noodles”. Those are not THAT bad for you but it’s not really a healthy choice either. I sort of skipped snacks and dinner and just had a little bit of popcorn and some peanuts at my cousin’s football game. Needless to say I was disappointed in myself when I came home last night. All the hard work and then I eat like that. Still, it could have been worse so I should not be too hard on myself. 

Image via Wikipedia

Day 2 started with the supplement again, then one slice of German rye bread (I am German and every now and then I just have to have some German bread!), which is not really helping with the low carb diet, but it is better than the breads you usually get in American supermarkets. Together with the bread I had two over easy eggs. 

For lunch I mixed a few slices of banana, peach, black plum and some grapes with some low fat cottage cheese. Cottage Cheese is a good fat burner, so maybe it made up for last night. 

The “Brazil Butt Lift” workout plan for today consisted of the “Cardio Axe” (approx. 30 min) and after that the “High & Tight” (approx. 35 min). I enjoyed both of those a lot more than I did yesterday’s workout. Even though cardio really is not my thing, I liked the “Cardio Axe” because it is more like a dance lesson which is more fun for me and that way the time went by pretty fast. 

For the “High & Tight” a small resistance band and some ankle weights were needed. I was surprised to see what a difference that little band could make. But since I’m just starting out with this program I skipped the ankle weights because for now my own body is resistance enough. 

"Brazil Butt Lift" - High & Tight

None of the moves were new to me but I didn’t get bored either. It was a good mix that targeted the thighs and the butt. The only thing I had not seen before was the way “old” exercises were used to target the muscles in different angles, which not only made it more interesting but also presented an extra challenge when I realized that I had never worked my muscles in that way. 

Unfortunately I’m still working out alone since Brandi is still sick, but we are hoping that she can join me before the weekend. And then she will have some catching up to do. 

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Week 1 Day 1

Today is the day we are going to start our transformation with the “Brazil Butt Lift” workout. And it could not have started worse:

Brandi has been sick for days and was hoping to be feeling better today so she can start to work out with me but unfortunately she was still not better this morning, which means that I was on my own. 

I woke up with a headache and in a bad mood. Not a good start for a new workout routine. I took my supplement, the “Lipo 6 Black for Her”, and got ready for the workouts for today: Booty Basic (approx. 20 min) and the Bum Bum (approx. 35 min). My starting point for this challenge is 155 lbs, 29.5 inch waist, 36 inch hips and my booty did not pass the pencil test. For now I mainly want to focus on the weight loss. My goal is to lose 15 lbs by christmas eve.

Let me explain the pencil test real fast: It’s been around since the 70′s and is supposed to show you if your booty has enough lift. You take a pencil and put it under your butt cheek, where the booty meets the back of the thigh. If the pencil falls down, you have the necessary lift. If not, like in my case, your booty needs some work.

Time to work out, or have breakfast I should say, since I was procrastinating. A small bowl of “Kellogg’s Special K Chocolate Delight” and I was good to go. And no, I never measure the amount I eat or how much milk to add, because like I said before, I don’t do well with counting calories or when being told what and how much I can eat.

Since I was already not in the mood today, the “Booty Basic” was a bad idea. It basically only teaches you the signature moves so you know how to do it right and get the most out of each exercise, but since it was not an actual workout it bored me so I was even less in the mood to continue.

Brandi, I could have really needed a motivational kick in the butt at this point!

Next came the “Bum Bum” which to me seemed like an aerobics workout with lots of moves for the butt and thighs, lots of squats and lunges. 15 minutes into it I was gasping for air and I didn’t want to do it anymore.

In my defense, this workout was extra hard on me since I have a bad knee, that only got worse after I had surgery on it. Lunges and squats were extremely hard for me and after only a few minutes the knee was starting to hurt. But according to my doctor I am allowed to do these moves and since I want that perfect butt I gritted my teeth and kept going. After completing it I can already tell though that THIS will definitely not be my favorite workout of the “Brazilian Butt Lift”.

Better luck tomorrow I guess. 

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When Did Children’s Games Turn Into Workout?

I want to be a child again. And I’m not saying that because I will turn 28 in a few months or because life was so simple and carefree back then. I want to be a child again because staying in shape was a given. I never had to try and find time to squeeze in a workout before work or after taking my son to bed. Back then I didn’t even know what workout meant, yet I was in the best shape of my life. 

The way I grew up, the way most of our generation grew up, was not sitting in front of a computer or TV screen, playing video games and living in a virtual world. I grew up outdoors, playing on playgrounds, climbing trees, riding my bike anywhere I needed to go. Staying fit was nothing that ever crossed my mind, nothing I ever had to worry about, because I stayed active so much. 

When we take our children to the park or to the pool and they play all day, all we think is “Boy, they are going to get a good night’s sleep tonight”. What we don’t think is “Wow, they are going to be so sore tomorrow”. And neither do our kids. Have you ever heard them complain about not being able to move the morning after? No matter how hard my little boy plays, you can never tell the next day, except maybe when he takes a longer nap. 

Back when I was little, summer vacation was the best time out of the year (and still is), because I got to stay outside all day, every day. My younger brother and I would leave the house after breakfast, ride our bikes to our cousin’s house, which was about a ten minute bike ride. From there we rode all over the neighborhood to pick up our friends and decide what we were going to do that day. We played hide and seek in the woods (yes, it was a lot safer back then – oh how I miss those times!), played dodgeball, skipped rope or did the hula hoop. And we didn’t stop because we couldn’t catch our breath anymore or because our sides were burning. No, it was as simple as getting our feet tangled up or dropping the hoop. 

doing the hula hoop on the Wii Fit

 

For my birthday last year I got a Wii Fit with the balance board. I was so excited and loved the little games. I had not done the hula hoop since I was a child and I couldn’t believe how hard it was. Moving my hips around in a circle for three or six minutes at a time, switching sides after half of it, was about all the hooping I could handle. I actually unlocked the ten minute challenge but never attempted it so far because the six minutes turned my thighs into jello, since I had to keep my knees slightly bent, made my sides burn and sore for the next few days, and caused me to gasp for air. And yes, I do feel embarrassed admitting the horrible shape I am in. But in my defense, I didn’t know how bad it really was until I had a hard time keeping up with a children’s game. 

So when did the games we played when we were young turn into a workout and why? Aging simply can’t be the answer for that. I’m not even thirty yet and I have the hardest time riding a bike with my son. I can’t remember that it made my butt hurt to sit on the saddle, or that my thighs and calves stayed sore for days afterwards to the point of not being able to ride for even two days in a row. 

Shouldn’t we be stronger now? We are all grown up, our muscles are more developed, and we actually know what we are doing. So why is it not easier or at least as easy as it used to be? 

When I go for a walk or a run with my dog now, I think about my breathing, I think about the best way to roll my feet when they touch the road, so I won’t hurt my joints or twist an ankle. I pay so much attention to doing it the right way that it should be as easy as one, two, three. 

But maybe that is exactly the problem. When we were little we never thought how long we had been running for or how far we rode our bikes that day. We just did it because it was fun and we enjoyed playing with our friends outside all day, because we didn’t have to come home until dinner time or the sun set. 

So maybe the reason why most adults have a problem with working out is because we look at it as work, where we have to get something accomplished, we have to think about our form, how much longer or further we have to go, and we worry about not losing enough weight or seeing results fast enough. We constantly count calories or carbs and think about what we can and can’t eat. 

But we already do that at our jobs all day, every day. We have to get things accomplished, we have to keep going for so many hours and we constantly think and count and worry. And since we do that where we work, we probably don’t want to do it when we finally get home and have some down time. 

We took the fun out of it and we forgot about the joy it brought us when we rode our bikes with our friends through the neighborhood or down to the lake to go swimming for the day. 

And that is the key to reaching our goals when we work out and try to get back in shape. We need to see it as a game again, something that brings us joy and is fun. Especially when we do it together with our friends or our children. 

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The Holiday Food Trap And How To Avoid The Extra Pounds

You are probably thinking that I’m talking about the upcoming holiday season, when most of us indulge in delicious foods like turkey, sweet ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and so on. And we usually gain a few pounds that we are trying to ignore until New Year’s, when one of our resolutions is to get rid of the holiday weight we put on – only to start all over the next year. 

Well, yes, there is definitely a high risk there for those of us who are trying to lose some weight and eat healthy. But I’m not talking about those holidays. Because if your family is anything like mine, you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas to come around. Any holiday gives us an excuse to get together and cook out. Actually, we don’t even need a holiday,a warm and sunny weekend does the trick for us. 

So, it’s Labor Day Weekend, and we are having a cook out. And that means I need a plan before I go, so I won’t regret this family get-together come Tuesday, when I step on the scale. Let me describe what usually happens: 

There will be hamburgers and hot dogs, maybe some steaks or ribs, chips with a delicious cheesy dip, a tasty potato dish that seems to have about half a pound of butter and half a pound of cheese in it, a squash casserole, made with lots of mayonnaise and more cheese, maybe some potato salad with more mayonnaise, corn on the cob and to top it all off banana pudding or a cake. To make things even worse, it will be set up like a buffet. 

And that really doesn’t make it any easier to avoid unnecessary calories. By the time we make it to the end of the line we usually have an entirely too full plate that samples a little bit of everything we saw set up, with an extra helping of our favorites. The second problem with the buffet style is that the food stays out way too long, which makes it so much easier to get seconds – even if we don’t need them. But hey, it was good the first time, and there is still some left. So why not, right? WRONG! 

If any of this sounds familiar to you, you and I are in the same boat and we need a plan: 

1. Make sure to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast before leaving your house.
2. Don’t show up hungry because chances are you will eat more than you should. If you have to wait a while before the food is ready, make sure to eat a little healthy snack like fruit.
3. Drink lots of water. You should always do that but it is even more important when you are facing a buffet full of delicious but very fattening and unhealthy foods. Having a glass or two of water before you eat will help you eat smaller portions because your stomach is not as empty.
4. Take a small plate to insure that you won’t grab too much food.
5. You don’t have to have EVERYTHING that is served. Chances are you had all of this food plenty of times before.  So just pick your two favorites and savor every bite.
   

   Image via Wikipedia

    

6. If you are still hungry or you just really want a second helping, wait 15 to 20 minutes and drink another glass of water.
7. Bring a healthy alternative! Instead of potato salad made with mayonnaise why not offer a mixed green salad with light dressing or a simple vinaigrette? You could also grill some fresh vegetables, like squash, egg-plant or zucchini, cut into slices, drizzled with a little bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper for seasoning.

Join the fun 

If there are a lots of children like in my family, they are probably busy playing, while the adults sit around and wait for the food to be ready. This time you should join the kids. Bring your bathing suit and jump into the pool with them, if there is one. Or play a game of tag, kick a ball around, play some badminton or catch. It really doesn’t matter what you do as long as you get up off that couch and move around. Your diet will thank you and so will the kids. 

Enjoy your holidays! 

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How Potholes And Kids Jump Start Your Weight Loss

While driving down the road the other day I hit a pothole. Big deal, right? RIGHT! It made my belly jiggle! I could not believe it. I was horrified. For a while now I’ve been noticing how my love handles stick out when I put on my favorite pair of jeans, or how my butt is not as high as it used to be. Heck, I couldn’t even pass the pencil test (more on that later). So I decided that something had to happen, and fast!

When I was in my late teens and early twenties I was in great shape. Slim and athletic, flat belly with a hint of a six pack, and a nice butt. I used to work out on a regular basis and it never really mattered what I ate.

A couple of sport injuries and one baby boy later the six pack is gone, replaced by love handles (who came up with that name? there is nothing lovely about them!), my butt dropped and I now have a little pouch where my flat lower abs used to be. I kept telling myself that one day I would get in shape again and lose the extra pounds. But I’ve been procrastinating, telling myself I was too busy, I couldn’t find the right kind of workout, I didn’t want to work out by myself,  I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) change my eating habits and my favorite: I’ll start next Monday. Any of this sound familiar?

Don’t get me wrong. I do work out. Every time I see some new, great workout on TV, that promises a great body with just ten or thirty minutes a day, no crunches necessary, so simple and fun that it basically happens over night, I would get all motivated, try it out for a week or two, not get the results I wanted and quit again. And every time I had told myself, this time is different. This time I will stick with it. Uhm yeah. Didn’t happen.

But this time is different. No really. It is.

My belly jiggling while I’m driving down the road was a real wake-up-call. Something has to happen. NOW. No more excuses for me. My husband is currently in Afghanistan and he will come home for two weeks on December 24^th. The jiggle-belly has to be gone by then!

So I found me a workout buddy. Together we are going to keep each other going and motivated. Together we can do this. Right, Brandi?

Right!, Jelena we can do this!  For you it was a simple pothole, for me it was my little girl looking up at me and saying, “I think you are too big for that, Mommy!”  She may have meant it as simple as I was a grown-up, but of course, as a woman, I took it as I was getting way too big weight wise for my child to let me play on her toys.  I know, I know I am a 27 year old woman and I should not be playing on her toys anyway but in that instant I realized I was getting too big for a lot of things.  I always used the excuse, “I had a girl, she widened my hips”  but the truth is that my hips have fat on them.  I was just like you!  I used to never have to worry about what I ate, and if I felt like I gained a few pounds it didn’t even take me a week to be back in shape.  The truth is that we all grow older, our metabolism slows down, our days are spent behind a desk, not out running around, and most of all food becomes a sweet, sweet, sweet part of our lives.

I know it is hard for you to realize and actually do something about your weight.  It becomes almost like AA, you first have to realize that you have a weight problem.  Second, you have to make a plan to actually live by and stick to.  Third, you have to execute the plan.  The easiest way to do this is quit thinking of this as a diet and actually make a change in your eating and fitness habits and therefore make a change in your life.  Even the most healthiest people need to take vitamins, eat right, and workout regulary. One of my biggest problems is that I never drink enough water.  Water is very important to keep you on track for weight loss.  And the second thing to help you is to remember: Fast Food is NEVER good for you. Grilled chicken from Wendy’s….yeah not good for you. I always keep in mind that Fast Food is Fast Fat!  There are a lot of things out there that say they are “diet” or “low fat” but did you know they are worse for you and more fattening than just regular food? Well, they are! Here is an example: Mayonnaise is not healthy for you to begin with but Light mayonnaise is worse than regular mayonnaise.  The ingredients in it seem to be light but actually are a type of fat that your body can not break down, therefore it stores more fat than ingredients that your body can break down.  These are just some helpful hints and we will be sharing more and more as we go along.

And like Jelena mentioned earlier, workout partners are very important as you grow older.  Someone to ask what you ate and to make sure you work out. The days you don’t want to, your partner will and vise versa.  I know there are some of you that feel like you have the power to do it on your own but do not kid yourself.  If you could, you would already be skinny now.

Ok, let’s cut to the chase.

Step 1: We admit we have a weight problem.

Step 2: The Plan

We are going to use the “Brazilian Butt Lift” workout program, to get our behinds in shape and lose some overall pounds and inches. It has workouts for every day and comes with a meal plan. This is where I have a problem though because I simply don’t like a lot of vegetables, especially the green ones, or other healthy foods. Plus, whenever I try to count calories I end up getting really hungry because I keep thinking that I’m just not getting enough food. So I am just going to not eat any more Fast Food, no eating after 7 pm, drink lots of water (thanks for the reminder, Brandi), and cut back on the carbs. And I am taking “Lipo 6 Black for Her”, a supplement that is supposed to be an “extreme female fat destroyer”, that will also give me energy for a good workout.

And finally I will include running in my workout plan because I think I do need more cardio, which I really hate, especially jogging and running,  but I think that is the only way to get rid of those love handles and the belly fat.

I am doing the “Brazilian Butt Lift” with Jelena as well.  But I have Iron problems so I have decided to do the “Herbal Life” diet plan for my daily use. I am replacing two meals a day with protein shakes and having one colorful meal a day. Also, I will be taking my vitamins 3 times a day. I have always had problems with not being as healthy as I should be, so I chose a vitamin based diet for myself.  Remember, you know your body better than anyone else and only you can decide what your body needs.  You can go with Jelena’s diet plan, mine, or one you feel works better for yourself. We will both be cutting down our carbs and not eating after 7.  DO NOT FORGET THE WATER! I know we have brought this up several times but it really is important! I will be jogging as well even though it is not an enjoyable activity for me either.

So here we go!  We have completed Steps 1 and 2.  Now let’s all get to Step 3 and execute it!

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