Upfront disclaimer: I am not a physical trainer, doctor, nutritionist, psychiatrist or certified in anything (except awesomeness, I am certified awesome). This is just my advice and my experience!
I am pretty lucky genetically, from my dad I've got tall and slender and from my mom I've got beauty and curves. But let's be frank, genes only go so far. I recently found out I'm gonna be walking a local runway in some potentially skimpy ensembles after a month chock-full of Popeyes, Dominos and other delicious guilty pleasures. Insert moment of PANIC. I realized I had 26 days to do something about my current figure. Now before you all start scolding me for being reeediculous, just think how you would feel about your butt jiggling in front of a room full of people focused solely on you! I'm not going for weight loss, just need to firm up my hips and butt. That being said, I thought to myself, "self, you should share this on your blog. this might help motivate someone!" So here we go! My thoughts on weight loss and working out and most importantly, how to stop letting yourself let yourself down.
No more excuses, stop lying to yourself. This is what always gets me off track. Your brain will make up all kinds of stuff (creative little effer) to stop you from getting to your goal. Why? I have no idea. I just know it's true. Every brain will come up with it's own unique set of excuses (aka lies) and since I'm not psychic, I'm just gonna share mine...
Excuse #1
You don't have the necessary objects to start.
The truth? You don't need to buy or pay for anything to get in shape.
If your brain tells you otherwise, it's looking for an excuse (stupid brain...) In fact, I have found getting in shape actually saves me money. Cutting out fast food, prepared coffees, soft drinks, alcohol and restaurants can save you a butt-ton of money (that's right, a butt-ton.)
Things my brain told me I needed to buy before I could start...
"Hey Katie, brain here, you need to go buy some workout clothes before you do anything."
oooh yeah, Classics
With one exception, this is so totally false! The ONLY thing you need to buy before you can start, and that's only if you don't already have them, is a pair of comfortable sneakers. DO NOT waste your money on cute workout clothing. You are going to look tired and sweaty while working out, no matter what you wear. Most people don't care what you are wearing, most people won't even notice you while you are working out. This isn't about impressing anyone, this is about making yourself feel better! Save your money and just wear what you have... ... ...Is that your brain? It's telling you I'm wrong isn't it. How typical. Why don't you tell your brain what I wear while I'm doing my daily workout. It's winter still, so I have to layer up. First I put on a pair of leggings and a tank top, not fancy workout ones, just a pair I like to wear under dresses and an undershirt. Then I pull on a pair of jeans. Yup, Gap Always Skinny Blue Jeans to be specific. Next comes a tee shirt, any ol' tee will do. Then I put on one of my Old Navy boyfriend cardigans, but any sweater or sweatshirt would work. Next up is some socks and my sneakers. Finally my coat, scarf and hat. No brain, I'm not joking, that's really what I workout in.
"Brain again, time to research a gym membership"
Don't do it!! Not only can gyms be a ton of money, the likelihood of you actually going is no good, (no offense readers, I just know my brain comes up with a billion reasons why I can't make it to the gym and I'm sure yours will too). Gyms are a bad idea most especially if you are self conscious about the way you look. While the equipment in the gym may be great, the bottom line is you really don't need it to get in shape.
"Oh hey, it's me, brain. I was just thinking you need to join a weight loss program and buy a bunch of fat free stuff, and a diet cookbook too while you are at it."
ew...
Nope, Nope, Nope. You know what you do need to do? Stop drinking soda. ("that's too hard, I'll just switch to diet") I said, Stop. Drinking. Soda. Start drinking water. ("ew, water is so boring") It's the elixer of life, your body needs it and loves it. ("cool, let's go buy some natural bottled spring water from the swiss alps") Drink tap water. Really. Do you know where that bottled water comes from? The bottling center's tap. You know what they do to their tap water? They strip it of everything including all the good minerals. You know what they do next? They add good minerals. Skip the bottled propaganda nonsense, tap water is safe to drink. If you don't like the taste of it, a simple water filtration system like Britta or Pur will do the trick. As far as food goes (I'll get into it in more detail later) I mainly go by two rules, everything in moderation and eat fresh (NOT Subway silly brain) when possible. You really don't have to join a program (although for some people they do work great), you should definitely stay away from "fat free" foods which are often loaded with sugar and sodium since they stripped it of all their fat, and don't stress about learning a bunch of new recipes. Seriously, stick to the 2 rules, moderation and fresh.
What excuses does your brain come up with? Let me know so we can tackle them together!
My brains excuse today was (Hey, if you're a dude, you might want to not read this next part, it's about monthly lady stuff..)
"Okay Katie, your cycle started today. You have just lost a huge amount of iron in a short amount of time. Tonight you need to call Outback Steakhouse and order a steak to get that iron back in your system. They also have super delicious cheese fries. Get some of those too. Cheese has calcium, good for your bones. You need your nutrients!"
So you know what I did? I called Mr.Husband and told him since my cycle started I need to get a steak (side note: Mr.Husband is vegetarian). He questioned my motives of course, and I said I really needed it. Fortunately, after an hour or so I realized, I don't NEED it. I'd just be letting myself down. So tonight, no Outback, and that's okay.
