Back At It

I started a 30 day paleo reset today. For those of you not all aboard the caveman train, here is what it entails.

No grains.
No dairy.
No legumes.
No added sugar.
Nothing processed.

So what that leaves is meat, vegetables, moderate fruits, and moderate nuts.

I needed to get some control in my life. I now am happily an aunt to the most beautiful baby in the world. Baby Alex reminded me that it will be good health that allows me to play and keep up with him as we both get older. Then there are my future children to contend with, in like 40 years approximately. I have a Fitbit One which I love very much. It likes to send me the occasional message. I was starting to get nervous that it was going to say, "walk more fatty" or

I started making it back to my local YMCA about three weeks ago.  I've been going about two to three times a week but I know wellness isn't created by only deadlifting your ass off. So after about nine months of hearing about paleo from Meg's boyfriend, I'm doing it. 

Here is a clear and obvious benefit. 

I had some for breakfast. I think I'll have some for dessert too. In these thirty days, I hope to see some growth, and loss at the same time. I'm obviously hoping for fat loss. I weighed in yesterday and I'm about 39% body fat. Some people call my curvy, medical professionals would probably say obese. I want my mood to be stabilized, maybe even eventually get off SSRI's. I  really want to set a foundation for healthy living that will be sustainable for the rest of my life. So here goes everything. 

Should I lift?

I'm going to make this one simple. Fitness is such a small part of health and wellness but it is still very important. And this post is more or less geared to women. I doubt any men read this anyway.

Can you relate to this?

And you really don't want to do this on the floor at the gym? 

The thing is, I was terrified before I started weightlifting but knew I really wanted to try it. I  just felt like that was what my body was supposed to do. And I don't mean lifting five to ten pound dumbell weights. Thanks to my personal trainer and my pal DB, I started doing Olympic style weight lifting. I like to research things a bit before I do anything, as should you, so I had some questions already figured out before I started out.

Like...

If I lift heavy, will I bulk up? No, not as a female and especially not if you aren't eating more calories than you are burning. Women don't have even close to the same amount of testosterone as men. 

What makes lifting different than cardio/zumba/fivepounddumbells? Just to name a few

• Makes your bones healthy.
• Keeps your metabolism higher post workout than cardio does.
• Better muscle definition. (I'm not skinny by any stretch of the imagination but my biceps, calves, and quads are kickin.)
• Lifting heavy weight improves functional strength in your everyday life. BAM.

Do women need to train differently then men? No. Short and sweet.

 

What if I'm pregnant? Fine, you win. Kind of. You can lift if that is what you did pre-pregnancy and even then you need to be cautious. But if you are 17 weeks pregnant with my future niece or nephew (not pointing fingers but this is for you Em), now is not that time to drink the Crossfit Kool-Aid. 

Am I saying that this is the only avenue to fitness? No. I just want any girl to feel empowered to try something new, especially something that could maybe make their life healthier. I love the feeling when I see guys in the weight room make a couple extra trips to the water fountain as an excuse to see if I can actually throw that much weight around. I love being strong. I've had wavering self esteem for most of my life but this makes me feel so capable. This is the confidence that lasts after makeup comes off, your cute outfit goes into the laundry, and you are rocking your crappy pajamas that you meant to get rid of 3 clothing binges okay. 

Where do I begin?

A) Ask the staff members at your gym. Even if they aren't a certified personal trainer, they can point you in the right direction. 

B) www.bodybuilding.com- nuff said.

C) Youtube some of the major lifts like bench press, deadlift, back squat, front squat, power clean, push press. 

But mostly I want you to take care of your body, mind and soul. 

If you become able to do this though, you go Glenn Coco.

Take That Miley

I took the little dog on a jog this morning through the country club next to my neighborhood in attempts to pick up a man... to work on my cardio. I'm coming up at one and a half miles and this pick up truck slowly drives past me. The forty something driving the service vehicle idles past me grinning creepily and waves. If I could read his mind, I'm sure he'd be saying something like this

So here I am, running like 4 mph (not sexy), dripping in sweat (mildly attractive), and rocking the greasiest of hair styles that is only possible when you wash your hair once a week (how do you like them apples). Why is this guy undressing me with his look then? I look over after he is gone at my shadow and its dawns on me. My ass jiggles more running than Miley's does twerking at the VMA's. And really, I'll take that as a compliment for all the larger ladies trying to get in shape.

For this accomplishment, I have a couple people to thank.
The Sun, I know you aren't a person, but you helped me see my shadow.
My best friend's boyfriend, Daniel, who introduced me to the dead lift and squat. Without him, my ass would just be giggly, but now its big and giggly.
And last but certainly not least, my mama. Because obviously, I got it from my mama.

So Miley, don't be too upset, but I can twerk better than you without even trying.

You'll be okay, I promise.

Willpower Vs Donut Holes

My work had one of its normal bimonthly potlucks the other day. The enemy was there. Little powdered donut holes were staring me down. And no, I'm not exaggerating whatsoever. Next to them was their equally tasty cousin buttercream cake and then down the table was their friend Dominoes Pizza. The real kicker was the Tootsie Roll Pops displayed in tin buckets on the tables. I managed to avoid the break room for an entire 24 hours, which wasn't too difficult for the 15 hours I wasn't there. But for those nine, torture. But the truth is, one little donut hole can't do too much damage. Health-wise, it is about 50 calories, it's high on the glycemic index so it would spike my blood sugar causing a crash, has preservatives making them delectable for days or weeks after they are made. But with all that said, there is much worse you could do to your body.

So for that whole day at work I did great. Then the next morning, I could no longer steer clear of those glorious powdered sugar balls of heaven. And damn, it was good. I beat myself up mentally for the remainder of the day to later do great at the gym, almost as if a sort of punishment for being so naughty. But really, what is it that drives all of us? It's never about the donut hole. 

I was deadlifting today which is by far my favorite thing to do.

Face of happiness.

I'm great at the deadlift if I do say so myself. I lift almost at an intermediate level of training just within months of beginning. I was getting in the zone to pull up the bar when a face pops into my head that gives me that extra push to pick up the bar and stand. Later after the workout, my gym was offering free health screenings AND I KILLED IT. My cholesterol, great. Blood sugar, borderline low. Triglycerides, superb. And what prevents me from still feeling unhealthy?

The face I saw that pushed me in the lift. The face of the guy who was the first guy to turn me down since middle school. He never gave me a reason but I was convinced it was because of weight. I forget all other aspects of my health which are overall great except my weight. In my mind, that's why no one has come out of the wood work in attempts to date me. So why do we do this to ourselves? 

I know beauty comes from within.

I know God created me in his perfect form. 

And I know whoever I'm going to grow old with won't see my imperfections as flaws, but simply, just as part of me

What I really want in the gym is peace of mind. In the future, I'm want to be driven by health and well-being, not his face.

Strike that.

In the future, I am going to be driven by health and well-being.

Plateau is a 4 letter word.

Hi my name is Gillian Trouble Andrews. I am a lifetime dieter.


When I started to get into shape on January 12th this year, I didn't really know what to expect. When I first started going to the gym, I was always a couple steps away from a panic attack. It was the first time I hadn't relied on a safety net though. I started on a Saturday though. It may not seem like a big deal but I was always the girl who was changing her life on Monday. So when I woke up that morning, I thought to myself that if I started today, I would have an extra two days of training that would make Monday all the more bearable.


Well its Monday.

I find myself at a bit of a plateau since January. I didn't lose a ton of weight since the beginning of the year, about 10-15 pounds. My weight seems to fluctuate fairly regularly so I don't really know where I'm at. I know my weight does not define me. I can run two miles under 25 minutes. I am almost at the intermediate level for the female deadlift standards in my weight class. I easily work out four hours a week. So why do I let the numbers 1, 9, & 8 define how I feel about myself?

Here is the thing, I let all the progress I make in the gym become undermined when I eat. I hope you know I'm writing this while polishing off a beautiful Alaskan Amber Ale. Food has been my crutch for so long, it is the hardest thing to change. I eat in secret which makes it all the worse. I look at the fridge like I used to look at weight racks and treadmills. Where I could see just an opportunity just to make food to sustain my body or even make it better, I freeze. While peering in to the fridge this morning, there were tons of eggs, milk, strawberries, milk, and whole grain cereal. What did I go for? The sausage Chicago style pan pizza. I went to the gym and killed it and to celebrate, I went and got frozen yogurt. I went to Sam's and stocked up on a fruit and veg galore, but what am I drinking? Craft beer.

I want to be intentional about how I fuel my body. This isn't about a number. Unfortunately, that jerk of a number on the scale is a fairly good indication for me at where my health is. I could easily lose 15% body fat. Easily. I want to not rely on making jokes at my own expense for being the fat kid. I want to feel confident enough to date. I my want my little sister to not be worried about me. I want the little girl I mentor through BBBS to know the strength of a female. I want to not be afraid of what I could do if I actually tried.

So here it is. I promise myself to be good to myself through nutrition, exercise, and love. I promise to take care of myself and not go back on my word. I promise myself to remember that even know I'm not superhuman, I always have the opportunity to be super.

Thinspo

So I am all about health and fitness, especially recently. I have been addicted to the fitness boards on Pinterest lately but it has been making my heart hurt. Girls have been posting pictures of half naked girls as inspiration for weight loss. And these pictures are of girls who are so thin that you can only see their muscle. Our obsession as a culture with thinness pains me. When we look at these pictures, we are no longer trying to become a better version of ourself, we are trying to become somebody else. Somebody else who we can never be, somebody else who God didn't want us to be. By no means do I want people to be unhealthy. I will totally advocate for working out for the recommended ACHA guidelines, eating fresh, and drinking less sugary and alcoholic beverages. But when we obsess over having this perfect body, it is just as unhealthy as someone is obese. When we think about health, we often neglect to think about mental health. Having clear arteries is not the ideal standard of health though when you have an eating disorder and 0 positive self esteem. There is a clear difference when it comes to health and thinness. Taking care of your body includes loving your body.

Read this article.

Seriously, check it out. Its about workout clothing and if you know me at all, you know I have a profound love for stretchy clothing. Every time I've ever started a diet,  I always start by buying workout clothes that I love. Surprisingly I didn't this time and this has been the most successful fitness adventure of my life.

http://fitbie.msn.com/2012/01/27/dress-way-you-want-run-aka-plan-b?blog_cat=547