Fitness: Don't Be a Sissy!

Fitness goals.
We all have them don’t we? Some may seem unobtainable. But they really aren’t when you try. And by try, I mean get off your butt and do it! No excuses!! NONE! Take me for example. I started gaining weight in my mid 20’s when I took a desk job in an office filled with people who always left candy dishes on their desks.
A few tiny candies a day won’t hurt… that is what I used to believe!
I would go jogging every evening, trying to burn off the candies I ate that day. After a few weeks I realized that I was gaining weight!

WHAT?? Gaining??

I could run 3 miles a night and I was putting on pounds?? I didn’t understand it. I was frustrated and disappointed. After some research (and research is seriously key in fitness) I discovered that I wasn’t stimulating my muscles enough by simply jogging.
We bought a bo-flex.

Yay! The workouts became more strenuous and more effective. At the time I didn’t realize this, but I still wasn’t doing everything necessary to lose the pounds.

Then came the car wreck. That’s right. I broke my 12th thoracic vertebrae and shoved my 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae out of alignment. Any plans of fitness I had were now gone forever, it seemed. Five months of bed rest, a turtle shell brace, constant excruciating pain. There was no way I’d ever be fit and thin.

After a couple years of healing, I finally decided to try exercise again. I was very nervous, honestly. I made it through the wreck without being paralyzed but wasn’t sure if anything I did could make it happen with a broken vertebrae. Twisting, turning wrong, crunching. So I took it easy, but still did daily exercises. After about a month, I learned that I was pregnant. Ecstatic to be so, but once again, my fitness goals were pushed to the back burner. I was sick and miserably in pain with every pound I gained. Two pregnancies went by before I was able to really put my focus back to fitness.

Constant pain with my “healed” crushed vertebrae, a split pelvis from my first child birth attempt, headaches from a backwards curvature in my neck, various amounts of nerve damage all over my body, and pain from 2 c-sections were not about to deter me enough to not be in shape! I wanted to feel good about myself, feel good in general, and look good. I began exercising about a month after I had my son. I started with my husband’s great research. This is what he is best at.
He taught me that it won’t make a difference how much I want to work out and how many calories I burn, if I am still shoving junk food in my face I just won’t reach my goals.

So, absolutely set in my heart, mind, and soul, I put forth every effort I possibly could, every ounce of energy I had towards becoming a healthy mommy of 2 babies!
I drastically changed my eating habits, started drinking tons and tons of water daily, and exercised 1-2 times every day (Slim in 6). Within 4 months I had already lost 35 pounds!! OMG!! I couldn’t believe it when I looked at the scale! I nearly cried!! I think I did cry! My clothes fit better, things I hadn’t been able to wear in years fit me! It was so exciting. I became addicted to fitness! Then learned another hard fact.
Another 2 months had passed and I barely lost but maybe 5 more pounds. I didn’t understand. I was doing the same things I did when I lost the first 35, what the hell was the problem?? And that was exactly the problem. Doing the same things over and over. My body had become adjusted to my routine, so nothing was being stimulated any longer. I learned you have to change up your routine to keep your muscles active and stimulated.

So I bought some new workout DVD’s. This is when I became addicted to Turbo Jam! They are the best workouts I have ever done, fun, and quite addicting.

In total I have lost over 50 pounds. I am almost 32 and I am seriously in the best shape of my life! I can fit into clothes I wore when I was 18! I can keep up with my kids, and do anything I want and feel good doing it. I am proud of myself for not using excuses to get out of doing what made me feel good in the long run. And I really had a lot of excuses. And believe me, I tried the excuses on myself, but myself just didn’t listen! I had goals to reach and wasn’t giving up till I hit them! Stubbornness was my ally here!

So, in conclusion, take a look at your goals. Now take a look in the mirror. If you’ve been “trying” then you should be close or at least on your way to reaching your goals. I’m not one to sugar coat anything. If you’re not reaching your goals, then you are simply not trying. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself. Everything you do to your body matters, so does everything you don’t do. Find a workout buddy, a best friend (TheBlueZoo is mine) to keep reminding you of your goals, get your husband off his butt and make him do the workouts with you. Take a few weekly trips to the gym, lift some weights for serious muscle stimulation and ultimate fat loss goals. Join some of the awesome online fitness forums for more advise. Do your research; everyone’s bodies are different.
Don’t make excuses. You want to be fit, then Be. We’re all worth it.