There are a TON of beliefs out there regarding fitness, and unfortunately fitness magazines and click-bait articles don’t do a good job of clarifying truth. Why? Because they rely on people reading and re-reading their articles, and there is only so much they can say. So they’ll say just enough to propagate myths, without outright lying, but do it in a way that makes you want to read it again the next month in case the information is juicier. This post is one of a series that i’ll be sharing to de-bunk the most common fitness myths I hear.
The idea of spot-fat reduction is something I see SOOOO often in magazines, and it’s also one of the most common questions I get asked by clients.
“how do I get rid of the fat here?”
Have you ever wanted to improve your life, but it seems like you get stuck along the way? Or, you make a decision to commit to change (save a certain amount of money, lose 10 pounds, get a better job or career), and then you try for a bit and get frustrated that you aren’t making good progress so you stop? Then you circle back the next time you are frustrated and make the whole commitment over again, only to experience the same frustrating cycle? If your answer to this is YES, then you know where I’m coming from. We are creatures of pleasure, and we want to see immediate results. When we don’t see the change we want fast enough, we usually give up. Status Quo. Or, are you not even sure what you want, what goals to set, or what you want your life to look like in 5-10 years? Again, we halt in working for something for lack of not knowing where to go. Status Quo.
Ok, you might not be doing it ALL wrong, but if you’re like me then you have probably noticed that whenever we start something new, we aren’t very good at it, and then we get better with practice. The right practice, that is.
Is there a way to exercise wrong?! YES! Should I care? OMG YES!
I truly think that injuries are the most common frustration of people who make exercise a part of their daily routine. First of all, I don’t know ONE person who hasn’t had an injury - so you can empathize with this post. I’ve certainly had my share of them, and when they show up, I agonize over them. The emotional aspects of injuries are the worst part. But how do we deal with this? Should we rest, and how long? Is our body in fact telling us to stop, or should we be trying to maintain a semblance of routine, especially since it takes so much effort to build it? There are many answers to these questions, and each one depends on the person, the injury and the circumstance. But I think there are some very valuable lessons and wisdom to be learned from injuries. To illustrate my point, I’m going to paint a picture (which might sound familiar)…
What do you do when you've lost your motivation? Maybe you went on vacation for a week or two, and came back feeling tired. Perhaps just down (post-vacation blues are a thing!). Or maybe you are injured, and all of a sudden it’s been a few weeks (or months), and you’re just totally unmotivated again. Ugh - it’s the worst. I know what it’s like to struggle to get a routine again. Or maybe your schedule is erratic - you have way too much going on and you don’t have a set schedule, or you’ve been working too much (ahem this is my issue).
It’s so frustrating. I am supposed to be this organized, type-A engineer, and I struggle every day with routine. I had a back injury that sidelined me from all the exercise I loved for over two year, so I know what it’s like to lose inspiration. Have you noticed as well that inspiration or motivation comes and goes in waves?! One day - I’ll be SUPER dead set on eating no sugar, drinking lots of water, and staying away from eating too much. I’ll be golden for a whole day or two, and then the third day comes around and I start telling myself “it’s fine to have a glass of wine or two”, or “what’s a bit of ice cream going to do in the long run?”, or “I deserve a break, and balance is important”. I’m not saying these aren’t true statements, but the next thing I know I’m pounding back a pint of Village Ice Cream (our local obsession), and then I’m in a deep SHAME-HOLE for the next few days and criticizing every fold of skin, and blaming myself for not having the willpower.
Belly fat, flab, muffin top. Ugh, you know, that little bit (or lot) of doughy fat around the midsection, that gets more stubborn the older we get? that Ugh! I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had frustration with understanding why it's there, and of course trying to get rid of it! Well we may not all be able to have “washboard” abs, but we can certainly lean out that tire a little bit ;). In fact, I’m working to slim mine down now to get ready for summer - YAY!!!
Let's start with some background. What is that fat? Why does it seem like an endless battle to get rid of it? …Read here for strategies!
This is one of my favorite topics - but one of the most challenging parts of coaching people. The comfort zone is where we live when we don’t feel challenged or stressed, but also where we feel lazy. Routine is the comfort zone. Status quo is the comfort zone.
Now don’t get me wrong - sometimes we need the comfort zone. There are times when we need to stop pushing ourselves, to recover, or restore. I argue though, that some people spend too much time in the comfort zone, and this can really hold you back from your goals. It holds you back from your BEST LIFE. It holds you back from being the BEST person you can be. These are my motivations, because one of my values is constant growth as a person. ..
HA! Got your attention. But seriously, I LOVE this topic, because I love nuance, complexity, and enjoy weaving my way through different solutions to optimize whatever it is I’m working on. I’m going to share with you some nutritional insights I’ve learned over my career in health and fitness, and through my own personal journey of nutrition. I’m not going to tell you exactly what to do, because the people reading this will all need different answers- so that would be inappropriate, and unprofessional, but I promise that I will give you some fundamental tips for success - should you decide to follow them.
There are many opinions about “New Year”, resolutions, etc. Whatever people say, I’m actually a big fan of celebrating the coming New Year. I know it’s just a constructed concept really, but it really feels like a reset to me, so I treat it as such! Taking time off from the day to day routine, work, and spending extra time with those we love really feels like an event in itself, and therefore, I like to use it to reflect on my past year, and figure out what I want to carve out in the coming year (and I LOVE Change, so this is my time to create it). I’ve reflected a lot about what to focus on this year. Yes I have “goals”, but I’ve been thinking more about how I want to be in 2019. How do I want to behave differently? How do I continue to challenge myself, to grow and to stretch, and ensure that I don’t lose sight and attention to the things I mentioned above that I’m grateful for? My past has been a strong pendulum of change, where I swing one way, and then when it becomes too much, I swing the opposite. How do I dampen these swings so that I take care of the people I love, and nurture my need for change and growth? Goals can take any form, and I recommend having some goals around your health and fitness
Read here for my shortlist of key behaviours to focus on!
Following up from my last blog, I want to share the second part of my random thoughts about kindness.
Last week’s post focused on kindness outwards, but equally (if not more) important, is kindness inwards. Being kind to oneself is not always easy, and takes different forms. I’m going to share my thoughts on this, but please take it all with a grain of salt. This is only what I know based on my experience in this life.
I truly believe that kindness to oneself is like a diamond - multi-faceted - and we need to take the face we need in any given moment. The one thing that remains constant is the need to see ourselves objectively, name our present situation for what it is, and be truly honest with ourselves. In the moment when we decide what kindness we need to give ourselves, it has to be from a place of love for ourselves and not from a place of distorted reality or denial. For example, I have a way of knowing what I need most but "thinking" myself into never doing it. I have a way of rationalizing myself into denial about my deepest needs.
We can be unusually cruel to ourselves. We beat ourselves up for the way we look, not getting up earlier to get more done, not being a patient parent, not exercising enough, not phoning our parents often enough, eating too much, not eating healthy enough, not being “strong” in the face of hardship. The list is neverending, depending on your situation. Being kind to ourselves takes a strong set of boundaries, and a willingness to do the thing you need to do, and not the thing you THINK.
![Working [out] with Injuries](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1553571695886-FW6XG96YCM4Z8954HW7L/Screen+Shot+2019-03-25+at+9.41.17+PM.png)
![Just Start...[It's that simple]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1552936461298-JGAA3UX62MJLC08UHX2H/DSC_0455.jpg)
![A Token New Year Post [2019]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/53879570e4b0422ca6697db1/1551241288217-KL1E8GZZFLO3HUZCV9R9/image-asset.jpeg)
