Fit-ographer

Going on vacation…It’s a topic that can incite fear or rebellion among people trying to “get fit”.

People see one of 2 options -
A. be “good” and have no fun
B. throw caution to the wind and have a good time, promise to make up for it later (but don’t)

The problem with A is … well… vacation is supposed to be fun!
The problem with B is it’s fun while it lasts and then you are filled with regret at how much farther away from your goal you are… sometimes spiraling into giving up all together :(

But the real problem is those are NOT the only options!!!

Case in point – hubby just surprised me with a trip to New Orleans for early Valentine’s!

he ate one, I took 3 bites and the rest went to beignet heaven :) so proud of hubby! (did I tell you it was LITERALLY freezing while we were there!)

Living this lifestyle for a while I already knew that a vacation wouldn’t be an issue for me… because I have learned these things:

Pick and choose – you do not need to indulge at breakfast, lunch, dinner AND the night life.  Choose which are the most “fun” for you and make that your indulgance – the rest of the time you need to behave.  On my trip I decided that the most “fun” for me was dancing and drinking adult beverages and a midnight stop for fried  food before heading home.  This meant that I ate my packed oatmeal and shake for breakfast, a lean turkey sandwich for lunch, protein bars for snacks and some meat and veggies for dinner.   For some people tasting the local cuisine is more interesting than the nightlife – so choose lunch or dinner to splurge on and be good the rest of the day.

This was my indulgance for the day :) nobody said it had to be classy!

Fun does not have to be about food – you can spend time with a loved one just as well over a chicken dinner as you can over a pasta/sausage/dessert dinner.  A 3 hour walking tour around the city (don’t forget to pack your snacks) is even more intimate than sitting in a loud restaurant – so do that instead!  Vacation is about spending time, not about  the food (unless you are at your one indulgant meal – and if so then you better savor every bite!) it’s about the time you are spending, the memories you are making.

the things you'd miss if food was your only "fun"

Bring your own options – our hotel had free breakfast and sometimes I can get away with that as they are starting to serve healthier options.  This particular spread did not have enough protein for my breakfast and the only oatmeal served was sugared so I was happy I made the time to fill up some baggies with my own breakfast.  And the snacks – every time we left the hotel I put some in my purse and am glad I did.  After walking around the city for 3 hours straight I was going to eat something – glad I had a plan!  Even on the car ride over there, hubby and I were eating cinnamon protein bars instead of snickers and funyuns from the gas station :)

Your body does not know it’s vacation – you don’t get a free pass from how your body will process bad foods or too much food – if you have a goal out in the distance remind yourself of how important it is to you, and not just when it is convenient or more “fun”.  I’ll tell you what was “fun”… fitting into my skinny jeans when I got home from vacation!!!

And here it is :)

It will take a bit to organize a coaching program the way I want, but I am well on my way to being a weight loss coach!!! :)

Soooo I’ve been really good about making fitness and eating goals for myself and following a well-researched action plan to reach that particular goal… there are slip-ups and misunderstandings about how to best get to a particular goal, but each day one step after another I find myself closer and closer….

Except I realize today that I had set 2 other goals for myself and am not “finding” time to work toward them :(  We all know how “finding” time goes… and we all know what it’s like to look up 5 years later and say “remember when I said… a long time ago… how I was going to do this and this and this…”

Well I am gonna follow my own advice on working toward goals (and the advice of several good books I’ve been reading lately!)

goal should be written, said outloud, real
A.  be certified as a weight management coach

B.  be a certified photographer

goal should be measureable
this one is easy – both goals require passing a test and getting a certificate! pretty measureable

deadline should be reasonable, goal should be big!
A.  weight management coaching – goal was to get this done over the next few weeks (BUT I put my goal in writing last week and lo and behold I got it done and am now certified!)

B.  I have to take some set up images that are outside the norm of what I do for sessions so I need to do this outside of a session – I am going to give myself 3 weeks to take new images and then another 2 weeks to select the entire portfolio that I will be sending in for judging (which includes examples of past work as well)

goal should be backed by a purpose bigger than the goal
A.  I want to help others start feeling better about themselves and I need to be certified so that I can start doing that as part of my daily life … and this thought hits me right in the heart  (paraphrasing cuz I can’t find the darn quote that put that thought in my head!!!) – your light is brightest when you share it with others – and I want to make sure my light never burns out!

B.  I want to show to myself and my clients, not that I’ve been judged a “good photographer”, but that I have the committment to my craft to put myself through the certification process, to continually educate myself and not stand stagnant

make small action steps that get you closer to the goal
A.   last week I put my goal in writing and then planned to load my course onto a portable computer so that I would not have access to WIFI as an excuse not to use little bits of extra time to study (done and it worked!).  My plan was to use spare time, such as the time spent waiting for kids to do their after school activities.

B.   action steps include planning out what images I will be taking and what extra equipment is required to accomplish them, gather equipment, set up between sessions and use my daughters as models so that I cannot use “no model” as an excuse to delay the project… further steps include looking through images and selecting potentials so that when I need to make my portfolio I will have a specific bundle of images to select from and not be overwhelmed and procrastinate!

And there you have it – goal setting and taking steps!!!  I’ll report to you the status of both these goals in the coming weeks…

What are you waiting to do?  Go make your goal and plan now!!!!!

I am reminded this week that my journey (and my “new” life) has been for more than appearances – for more than a better self-image, self-respect, self-confidence.  Those are important things, don’t be fooled, and they come with achievement and setting and reaching goals more than they come from the mirror or the section of the store you can shop in…

BUT a deeper and more meaningful purpose for the life I aim to continue living is health.  And a recent trip to the doctor reminded me of that!

5 years ago I was diagnosed as having “borderline high” cholesterol.  It was explained to me that often diet and exercise do not correct this condition so I was urged to take medication.  When I started my fat loss part of my journey, all the changes were too much for my liver so we suspended the cholesterol medication (processed by the liver) to give it a rest while I continued to lose weight.  It had been 6 months so I went for a follow up to guage my need for the medication.

I fully expected for my cholesterol to be genetic and was prepared to go back on my medication without an argument so I really didn’t even have fingers crossed for the result  I got – I was elated for the surprise though!!!  …  the doctor’s call that I no longer needed medication!!!  I went from about a 235 down to a 185 in total cholesterol :)   Not just happy but encouraged that my new lifestyle has fixed more than my pants size!!!!!

Go forth and be fit -  be healthy !!! and have faith that in your quest for a better body, the insides are thanking you too!!!

**now what to buy with all this money I’ll be saving each month…. hmmmmm…. a new fitness book???**

So for a year now I’ve been seeking out protein like I am a cavewoman… seriously I don’t even eat THAT much protein, but since I must have at least some at each of my meals I feel like a protein scavenger.

One great side effect of that is, when you are busy hunting out protein, sugar and fat seems to become a much smaller percentage of your diet without even trying!

Eating protein in every one of my SIX meals kinda got me interested in comparing how much different protein sources cost $$ :)  Mostly in an attempt to prove to myself that it is completely sane and affordable to keep eating those convenient ready made bars rather than making my own or hunting down a hunk of chicken or a wild boar…

And so I thought I’d share this information with you!

What this list does NOT account for is the “other” contents of the item – such as sugar, carbs, fat – although all of the items I chose are fairly low fat, low sugar since they are things I eat (sensibly) every day.  It also is not nearly an exhaustive list of protein nor does it account for prices in YOUR area…
But it was interesting to me to find out that my protein powder is a pretty cheap source of protein – which at $50 per bucket of powder, didn’t SEEM so :)  Makes me feel a little better about serving up a shake every morning and making my own bars with it!

I also got a better view of things I don’t want to buy – like Mootopia milk.  It has 50% more protein than regular milk, is fat free, and is one of the items where I thought to myself “quit being a cheap a** Debi – it SEEMS more expensive but it gives you so much more protein”  and it turns out my cheapa** self was right :) No need to buy the Mootopia!

And egg whites – I was trying really hard to incorporate these into my diet, and I perhaps will for decadent recipes, but it turns out I’ll be better off throwin down some protein powder as far as the wallet goes :)

**let me also note that I’ve a recent love affair with eating whole foods so this is always a consideration – this is strictly a cost analysis :)**

You may ask why this matters? Well … when you are trying to get about 150 grams of protein daily as a minimum it can get kind of expensive!   For example if I am trying to stuff myself full of milk it will only cost me $2.50 daily – if I fill my protein requirements with readymade protein bars it will cost me $7.50 DAILY!  THAT adds up!  And while I am really enjoying the much lighter version of myself, I still don’t want to be run into the poorhouse doing it :)

This week I read and learned something life-changing for me!!!  I can HAVE MY COCOA AND EAT IT TOO!

I am reading one of my new favorite books (always always learning) – The Metabolic Effect.  In it (and on their blog) they explain that cocoa is GOOD for you!  I am drafting a love note to the author ;)
Seriously though – we are not talking about chocolate bars and m&ms, we are talking about 100% pure cocoa – which is close enough for me!

Paraphrasing here:

Cocoa can help us feel satiated and reduce our cravings (aka – the diet wrecker) . In fact, cocoa also has tons of magnesium and is a good source of fiber, too.   Use cocoa to beat stress too (another fat-storing meanie).
100 percent cocoa powder, unsweetened and loaded with phytonutrients, can aid you in fat-loss efforts. The major benefit of cocoa (the main ingredient in chocolate) is its ability to directly affect the pleasure centers in the brain. It contains compounds that help you feel satisfied, motivated, and energized.

You get the candy “high” without the candy “guilt” AND you no longer have to succumb to sugary, fatty treats to make yourself feel better – so your diet stays intact!

It works too – I experimented as soon as I read this, with a nice steaming cup right before dinner… poor judgement in hindsight because I was too full to eat my dinner!

More detailed explanation and some tidbits on including chocolate in your treats:
http://blog.metaboliceffect.com/2009/01/21/bust-your-cravings-with-cocoa-and-other-tips-from-the-craving-queen/

Cocoa Drink - it sounds much more FIT to say that than “hot chocolate” :)

(courtesy of The Metabolic Effect)
Add 1-2 heaping TB raw organic cocoa powder to 8-12 oz of freshly boiled water, and natural sweetener if desired, stir and sip!
You are lookin at 10-20 calories!
You may also add any of a variety of milks but know that you are adding calories.
If you are needing this to be more substantial of a meal – try adding your protein powder – yum!

You can also put 1-2 heaping TB raw organic cocoa powder into your smoothie. This is delicious and equally satiating!

So today marks ONE YEAR of my fit lifestyle :)

Let’s call a duck a duck – it started out as a “diet”… plain and simple.  I planned 2 months ahead to kick start my rocket-speed weight loss on January 3, 2011.  And sure enough when that day rolled around I was buckled in for the ride.  Expectations – to lose 35-40lbs in 3 months, pat myself on the back and call it a day.  I thought “if it wasn’t so bad” I might go for a 4th month and get “really hot”.

I did a few things right – I announced my goals down in a very public way and started a support group so I wouldn’t be all by myself in this temporary misery… those 2 things saved my “life”!   I quickly learned that even though the weight was dropping (did you see me jumping up and down from there???!) this journey was gonna be a tiny bit (LOT) longer than I expected and far from “temporary”,  and had I not done the 2 things above I would have lost about 15lbs, pat myself on the back and probably would be resolving to lose that same 15lb Jan 3, 2012.

3 months :)

As it turns out, I made some of the best friends of my life, realized I had the best of friends in people I’ve known forever  (like my sister!) and they propelled me to keep my chin up and trudge on for what is officially ONE YEAR… 12 MONTHS… 365 DAYS… (and counting!!!!) toward goals that I didn’t know I would have.   I get a lot of compliments for having done this “all by myself” and when they say that they mean without signing up for a program on TV or at the local weight loss clinic – it’s been anything BUT “all by myself” though – I have tons of people to thank for information and support, and I hope that I have taken the time to thank them privately so they know!

That 40lbs is history, along with another 20 (I am taking liberty to round up from 18 dammit!)… but the best accomplishment of all is the courage to have new goals – even silly ones – to not be afraid to work for them and to realize that I CAN AND SHOULD work toward them.

And now the proverbial ‘fat pants’ pic :)

Anniversary!

Some of the things I accomplished in 2011 that I never thought would be on any list of mine!

• lost 60 lbs
• worked my way up from 2 pushups to 33 – “man” pushups (don’t hate me ladies, there is something empowering about calling them man pushups so stick it!)
• I can do 30+ full situps – injuries and surgery in my 20s left me unable to do ONE and I thought I just never would
• I’ve also learned (mostly) not to say NEVER or CAN’T
• I learned to run – OMG - indescribable what that feels like…not the running, just that *I* can do it!
• I lived thru the 30 Day Shred (3 times) and Ripped in 30 (that one still requires some work!)
• I fit into my high school band uniform – ha!  suck on that teeny boppers – I am almost 38 yrs old!
• I sustained sports injuries – pulled calf muscle, strained shoulder, bursitis of the hip, and one very odd blister from situps (don’t ask) – yes these are accomplishments, makes me feel like an athlete
• speaking of “athlete” – my exercise regimine places me in the “athletic” category – score one for the nerd!
• I signed up for a muddy obstacle 5K with the hubby – and yes the signing up part was the big accomplishment to me – I don’t care how we do, but it brings me near tears that *I* had the guts to enter
• and OMG how can I forget – I entered a body building contest that ends today! – what a way to end the year – you’d have to know where I’ve been for the last 10 years to understand this particular accomplishment – ME a bodybuilder – hahaha!  I lift heavy things and I can see some of my “abs”  from this type of work – THAT is amazing!!!  (pics below!)

I took pictures all along the way to motivate myself and boy am I glad I did!  Some regular ones and then my posed monthly pictures…

And I am even gonna show you my before/after photos from my 7 week bodybuilding contest!  I didn’t do as much building as I hoped but I am pretty proud to be standing in a bikini anyway!!!  {and speaking of new goals, today I am entering muscle building challenge ;)  }

So overall the last year was pretty great for me :)   more mentally than physically if you can believe that!   I have learned soooooo much – and fully plan to share what I’ve learned via this blog, but today we are purely celebrating (Bud 55 over here – what do you have?!)

But there is one thing I want to share with you now:

I have never understood why people kill themselves to run marathons when they have no hope (or ambition) of winning the race!  But I think this year has enlightened me… they ARE winning the race…  to their best selves…  will I ever have magazine-worthy abs (legs, biceps, a**), will I even be the hottest mom at the PTO?  maybe not but I am not using that as an excuse to stop working for the best that *I* can have.

Whatever your dream is – dream BIG and then work your A** off!!

**and subscribe to the blog at the top of the page so we can keep talking!!**

Today is my Fit-iversary!  One year since embarking on my fit journey… I am working on a big post to celebrate with before, during and after pics but I am taking my after pics tomorrow so I’ll be posting then!

Stay tuned – and to celebrate with me – do one healthy thing for yourself today!!!

First – Happy Holidays!!
Sorry I missed ya during this one… but good news is I made it through Christmas with goals intact!  Hope you did the same :)

New Year’s Resolutions…

it seems like the perfect time of year to think about making changes and bettering yourself, but common knowledge is that New Year Resolutions don’t work… and a lot of the time they don’t.

In 2011 mine did! Actually, though, I don’t remember making a “resolution” – I just happened to pick Jan 3rd as the start date of my committment… so that could be part of why it worked :)

Excuses pave the way to failure – don’t you dare use “resolutions don’t work” as your excuse!
Your committment to a new goal can start January 1st, (or July 1st or March 27th for that matter) – the day doesn’t matter as much as the meaning of your committment.  A plan helps too, but that just gives you a set of activities to follow.  The committment is what it takes to follow your plan, to work your plan, to succeed at your plan.   Committment makes you fall deeper and deeper in love with your goal – you want to learn more about it, you want to nurture it, you want to see it flourish into something more than you even thought it could be…

“Committment” is starting to sound like a marriage or something – and with good reason!  I think it’s a little bit similar… you committ to your marriage (OR goal) through the rough days, through the days when it seems like you are pedaling backwards, through the days when you were less than an ideal participant – or your committed “other” was less than ideal that day – because you are committed to it (him, her, the goal, the plan, whatever!) and you are both there for the long haul.

This could be why January 3rd feels like my “anniversary” – and I am pretty excited and emotional about it!  Don’t fret – you’ll get a full overview of the first year of the committment between me and Fitness… but first let’s talk about 2012!

As for me – I am committing to a fitness goal to learn more, do more, be courageous and try things that make me want to cringe (like saying outloud that I want to be buff!  I’d like to put a number on that but it seems the closer I get the more the goal evolves itself – so I’ll let it evolve on its own) …   I am also committed to a finding a way to help others commit and reach their goals and ways to celebrate that  :)

What do you want to committ to this year?

losing weight is difficult but it sure helps when you get little “boosts” along the way – little shots of motivation – and it can even become addictive to a degree:

• that butterfly feeling and quasi cheerleader jump when you step on the scale and the number is less
• that great feeling of pride, with a slight burning of embarrassment, when someone says OMG girl you have lost a LOT of weight!
• the relief and joy and the small party you throw in the dressing room when you fit into the next size down in jeans – and the subsequent party you throw in your closet while you sift through all the stuff that “definitely will never fit me again” …

What happens when the party’s over?

I am scared out of my (very expensive but very well deserved) pants to be honest!  I’ve come to rely on that boost when someone who hasn’t seen me in a while drops their jaw in disbelief – I’ve come to be just a little sad the scale isn’t moving even though it is already in an “athletic” range… but at some point in your journey the goal to a certain number is reached, the goal to running a certain mile marker has been reached, you’ve thrown the party and bashfully accepted praise from friends  (secretly wishing they’d keep repeating it)  and now you are left alone in the deafening silence that lingers after any great party that you weren’t ready to end…

So what now?  what motivates you and makes you jump for joy?  what makes you get up early for that workout?  what makes you put down that donut?  what makes you challenge yourself, not just go through the motions?

I don’t really know the answer… I’ll attempt some guesses…

upkeep - that’s one goal that can NEVER be far from mind – and I think it’s something you have to consciously remind yourself of because it’s easy to get used to your “new” body and forget all about how hard it was to earn!  I remind myself religiously of where I was just one year ago and consciously think about how long it took me to change that.

new goals – trying something you’ve never tried before – for me this was running, but I can find loads of other things I’ve never done – p90x, leg pressing 200lbs, curling 20 lbs dumbells, doing one full on chin up…

getting REALLY good at something you have done -  turn 20 pushups into 100, running REALLY far (like 5 miles!), making shapes out of new muscles

learn, always learn – I am subscribed to several fitness blogs and constantly am reading and seeking information on areas of fitness that interest me.  I also surround myself with other people seeking to get or stay fit.  All this new information and inspiration is not just educational, it’s motivating – it keeps the fitness mindset going strong and gives me new things to work on and toward.

helping someone else – being a friend or mentor to someone who is just starting their journey, being a role model for someone else is about as motivating as it gets huh?  I am working my way to becoming a weight loss coach for this very reason (that… and I want EVERYONE to feel as good about themselves as I do right now!)

When I was drafting this post I was right in the middle of this “last call” crisis and I signed up for a 7 week weight lifting challenge! ( did you see this post?)  that will really get your motor going! And in March the hubs and I are signed up to do a muddy obstacle race… you have to seek these things out, be ready for the “last call” BEFORE it comes around and grips the motivation from you – I have  list of different goals I could use should I need a new one at some point!

(back story… I started my “new” lifestyle January 3rd of this year)

So I am making my wish list to help some people with the holiday shopping, and I notice how my interests have, well, changed since last year …

Excerpt from last years list:
Victoria Secret lotion – cocoa butter or jojoba butter flavor
Shea butter lotion
Rudy’s bbq sauce
tupperware and pyrex
disposable pastry/frosting bags
flat cake plate – no lid or stand, just flat
popcorn flavoring

And this year’s:
adjustable weight dumbells
sweat suits for lounging around
workout clothes (size small) still makes me giggle!!!
book: You Are Your Own Gym
wireless earphones (wires bug me when I run) “run”…this makes me giggle too!!

http://www.metaboliceffect.com/Products/18-me-workout-dvd.aspx

What’s on your wishlist for the holiday season?

**PS – I do have to admit that I don’t need anything this holiday – my wonderful circle of support helped me give myself more wishes than I could ask for in one year – finding a healthier version of ME, LASIK surgery as my big reward for all that hard work, new friends …and it could go without saying… a wonderful family, a new canine addition to our home (who currently has her head stuck inside a pillow case!), how much less in need could a girl get???

Spinach you will LOVE!
Bear with me… I often cook without measuring spices, etc that don’t have an impact on calorie count!  So think of this more as a guideline than a recipe :)

1 serving  frozen spinach  (thaw and squeeze all the water out in a towel or something)
1 serving sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup non fat cottage cheese
sprinkling of chili powder, cumin and pepper (you kind of have to get a feel for these, I’d start with a tsp)
salt to taste

Use a non stick pan and you don’t even have to spray it.  Start with the mushrooms until they start to get tender, then add spinach until it wilts down.  Add cottage cheese and stir.  Then sprinkle on chili powder, cumin and pepper.  Stir for a bit to let the cottage cheese melt.  Taste THEN add salt if necessary.  I have found brown mushrooms add great color but I use white or whatever looks good at the store!
It’s creamy, it’s nutty tasting, it’s green veggies without the salad dressing!!

About 100 calories…

**OK I need sorely to work on my food photography – the beautiful dishes are not translating well to my film! hahaha**

Thanksgiving is upon us – THE dieter’s dreaded holiday ;)

How does this chick plan to make it through?

I think it is perfectly acceptable to plan for one meal to be free from calorie thought and to enjoy your food holiday without going absolutely crazy about it!  Maybe that will be me next year :)  Just remember if you do that, the day before and the weekend after should be on your plan – you don’t get the whole 4 or 5 days “off” or you’ll be paying for it later!!!

For me…this will be my first Thanksgiving since I started my fitness focus AND on top of that I am signed up in a Holiday Get Fit challenge so I personally do not plan to take the day “off” or indulge even tho it’s a holiday. (This is also a personal challenge of my ability to navigate food- centered events while still having a great time.)  Turkey and good-for-me veggies will be great AND I am planning ahead so that I can afford to have 1 bite of 2 or 3 of my other favorite dishes.

I don’t have a fancy plan in place to trick myself thru Thanksgiving day, but I am holding on to this one thought:

Thanksgiving is about family and friends, not food :)

This will be my mantra for the day.  I will focus on visiting with family and not worrying so much about whether I tasted every dessert on the table – food is not my focus for the day!

And BTW – what’s one more great thing about Thanksgiving?  Turkey and sweet potatoes on sale!  This whole feast for under $12!!! hahahaha  already in my freezer…  15 lbs of sweet potatoes, 23 lb worth of turkeys :)

Just updated the original “How I lost 55 lbs” post including a sample of my daily menu items!

http://www.lifesimages.com/fit-ographer/goodbyetofat/

“Too often people get to a point where either consciously or unconsciously they decide  “this way of eating is good enough and I am comfortable here”. Sorry, but your level of comfort has nothing to do with it.  If you want change you have to make change and that change may be much more drastic then you have ever considered. It’s not fair, but it is the way it is.”
from  http://blog.metaboliceffect.com/2011/11/15/pack

JUST what I need as I embark on a 49 day challenge  to get RIPPED!  (see post on the Winter Bikini!)

also true “DIET IS THE MOST CRUCIAL ELEMENT OF BODY CHANGE AND FAT LOSS”