Tis the Season for Goal Setting

In the Trenches:

#6 12/4/12

Tis the season for Goal setting.

As we begin to look back on 2012 and look forward to 2013, it is the time of year where we assess how far we have come in achieving our goals, where we fell short, and setting new goals for the New Year.

Goal setting is crucial to success.  For without a goal, without a definitive destination, we will never know when we have succeeded.

But something we don’t discuss is that having a goal isn’t enough.  There has to be action in terms of changing behaviors in order to support that goal.

 

I challenge all of us during this holiday season to not just consider what our goals are going to be, but also, evaluate:

·       Did my behaviors match my goals?

·       If not, then why not?

·       What behaviors do I need to change?

·       If I’m not willing to change my behaviors then maybe I need to change my goals.

If we choose to keep our goals then how do we go about changing our behaviors?  Is it necessary to change everything at once or will a one step at a time approach be as effective?

Now I don’t know about you, BUT I know for myself, even though I know what I need to do to get to my goal of 18% body fat, I’m struggling to just go all in.  I know if I just bite the bullet, I’ll start to see great progress right away, but at the same time, emotionally I don’t think I could handle it.  I’m going to get angry and feel deprived and eventually I’ll just break and all my hard work will go down the drain as I revert back to my old habits.

So what’s a girl to do?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 
Albert Einstein 

Since as far as I know, I’m not insane, I may be a little crazy, but not insane,  I’m going to try something different, and if you find you are stuck, I challenge you to do the same.

I’m going to work on one behavior at a time. 

I’m going to start with something simple that I know will be easy to implement but make a big difference in my overall health.

I will do this for one week then implement something else.  If after a week I’m still struggling, I’ll give it another week until I feel that I have a handle on it before implementing something else.

My Goal for this week:

Drink more water: specifically drink 3 full 27oz. water bottles or 81 total oz.

This is probably the easiest behavior to start implementing.  Instead of taking something away, like giving up an after dinner treat or glass of wine.  I’m adding something.  I’m adding something that my body needs and will help me function at a higher level. 

Do I expect that just working on my water intake will cause me to lose weight or body fat this week?  Not necessarily, BUT I know by doing so, I am priming my body for what is to come, ensuring that it can function optimally.

If you would like to join me on this experiment, why not email me what your goal for this week will be.

We can all keep each other accountable.

I started this morning.

So far I’ve drunk 1 27oz bottle.  I only have 2 more to go.

I better get drinking.

So who’s in?

Sugar Addiction

In The Trenches:

*Friday: November 16, 2012.

Please note, this was written a few weeks ago and sent to my clients,

eventually I will get caught up and the content will be in sync.

On Wednesday, I shared how I “cheated” with my husband and shared a Triple Chocolate Brownie in a Jar.

As the week wore on, I discovered that there were some interesting repercussions from that experience, which I never considered

And I’m sure you haven’t either, because, unless we are mindful and connected with our bodies, we would miss the connection.

Which leads me to today’s topic:  SUGAR ADDICTION

Sequence of events:

Tuesday:

·        Brownie in a Jar; could not stop eating it until it was gone, even though, I was full and getting to the point where I was feeling not so good.

Wednesday:

·        After lunch I found myself CRAVING sugar.  It was all I could do to resist getting a little treat at Peet’s to go with my coffee.  Now that’s the holidays are here, Peet’s has a nice big glass jar full of individually wrapped chocolate covered Oreos.  It was tempting: I thought to myself, it’s just one.  There is nothing wrong with just one and it’s not like it’s a whole package.  It’s a small controlled amount, just something to take the edge of the craving.  (sound familiar right-the justification)  BUT then my rational brain woke up. What OH NO you don’t!!  You told the ladies you were going to be transparent, you told them that you would be posting what you eat.  If you get that Oreo, you are going to have to post it on the blog, THEN are you going to start justifying it?. but it’s just one.  It’s controlled amount etc.  and then what.  And what happens tomorrow and the next day, it’s just one…..

Thursday:

·      No sugar cravings what so ever.

·        This confirms that I obviously have some level of sugar addiction, or propensity for sugar addiction.

·        Does that mean I never eat desert again? Yeah right, I’m no saint, and let’s face it Chocolate along with Bacon (we’ll get to bacon later) ARE the food of the gods.  But it means that I have to be mindful that if I do choose to indulge there may be some residual consequences in terms of withdrawal.

Sugar is addictive: same as drugs, caffeine, cigarettes etc.

I have broken my sugar habit before, and just like an addict, if I start to eat it again, even if it’s just one little thing like a cookie, it starts the cycle all over again.

I have long known from my own experience that sugar is addictive as I have been able to break out of the habit, but recently many top experts in the fields of nutrition, cardiovascular medicine and neuro- science are actively researching and discovering the extent of the negative impact sugar has on our health, from obesity, cardio vascular disease, cancer and maybe even Alzheimer’s.

Many of you may remember speaking about a 60 minutes segment back in April that spoke to this issue.

Here is the link to that segment.  I highly recommend that each of you take the time to watch it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

My Food LOG:

Wednesday:

Work out: Rest day.

Meal 1:

·        Ezekiel Bread

·        Cashew Butter

·        Polaner all fruit.

Meal 2:

·        Pear

·        Protein shake

Meal 3:

·        Chicken

·        Mixed veggies

Meal 4:

·        Elite Gourmet protein bar

Meal 5

·        Salad: baby spinach, chicken sausage, portabella mushrooms, pear, raspberry vinaigrette

Meal 6:

·        Protein shake.

Thursday:

Work out: normally this is a training day for me, but I switched it to Saturday so I can work out with a friend.

Meal 1

·        Ezekiel Bread

·        Cashew Butter

·        Polaner all fruit

Meal 2

·        Heart Thrive cookie: the one we sell at the studio

·        Protein Shake

Meal 3:

·        Turkey burger, lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon (2 slices: because everything is better with bacon-and a couple of slices every once in a while won’t kill you) on a whole wheat bun.

Meal 4:

·        Handful of pistachios

Meal 5:

·        Spinach salad: fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and steak tips, balsamic vinaigrette.

 Until next time, remember you can't out train a poor diet.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog,

My name is Michelle Becker and I am a personal trainer working in the greater Boston area.  In an effort to better understand and motivate my clients, I began a "blog".

Due to the overwhelming positive feedback I have received, I decided to take the blog public.

Below is the first installment.  I hope you will find it helpful in your quest for transformation.

Good afternoon everyone,

I’ve been thinking.
I do that every once in a while and sometimes I actually come up with good ideas and solutions to problems.
Who knew thinking could be so productive?

Anyway, like I said I’ve been thinking, why do some clients do so well?
They just seem to get it, and be able to focus and do what needs to be done to lose weight, while others, although they have the best intentions struggle.  It’s not that one group has more information or different information, it just seems that some people are better able to just flip the switch and keep it on, while others seem to for lack of better word short circuit.  There is a faulty switch that can’t decide if it’s going to stay on or not.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about leadership.  What defines a good leader, why are some leaders
better able to inspire and motivate than others.  What and who inspires and motivates me.

Although a big part of my role is to ensure the smooth running of the studio, the part that I enjoy the most and that gets me up in the morning and puts a smile on my face is working with you, my clients.

I take my position as the leader of your transformation very seriously, and I’m constantly thinking of how, I can best assist you.

So, I’ve been racking my brain to find a way to be a more effective leader, to better motivate and inspire and what I realized is the best leaders are those that have not only walked in the shoes of the people they lead but also share their experiences.

Therefore, I have decided to go public and be transparent in regards to my nutrition and training.

I will be from this day forward, “blogging” my own experiences, sharing with you my statistics, my goals, my daily nutrition as well as daily musings, struggles, realizations and anything else I can think of that may be relevant.
My goal is by getting down in the trenches (I’ve been reading a novel that takes place during WW1)-and let’s face it , in many respects, getting healthy, losing weight, changing a lifetime of bad habits is a form of doing battle.

Unfortunately for some of us, not winning the war could be a life and death situation.) I can better understand your struggles and come up with solutions as well as hopefully providing inspiration and motivation for you.

So without further ado, here are my stats.
Age: 48
Height: 5’ 0”
Weight: 115
Body Fat: 24.5%

Goal:
My weight is fine, I have no issues with that.  However, I am looking to drop my body fat down to 18% which for someone my age is pretty lean.  Ideally I would like to get to 18% without losing too much body weight as I am looking to maintain as much muscle as possible and if possible add some mass.

Training:
I work out 4 times a week. Two upper body workouts and two lower body workouts.  I typically try for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Nutrition:
I have found for myself, that I do best when I eat higher protein and fat and get my carbs from fruits and vegetables, limiting my ingestion of starchy carbs  to breakfast and ideally to the 2 hour post workout window. OR when I really feel
I need them.

I find eating this way provides me with more energy, helps stabilize my mood and allows me to drop body fat without losing too much muscle.

Food log: Tuesday:
Meal 1: (this is my standard breakfast)
1 slice Ezekiel bread (sprouted grain bread)
2TBLS all natural Almond butter
1 TBLS Polaner all fruit
Protein shake

Work out: Upper body

Meal 2:
Home made Chilli: grass fed beef, tomatoes, black beans, green peppers and cheese
Meal 3:
Elite Gourmet protein bar by Dymatize: these are made by the same company that makes our protein. They had sent a sample. 175 kcals 16 grams of protein
Meal 3:
Plain yogurt with blueberries and ½ scoop protein powder
Meal 4:
Home made chilli: see above
Meal 5: cheat
I did cheat. My husband belongs to a networking group down on the South Shore and one of the members is the owner of Wicked Good To Go.  They make brownies and cupcakes in a jar.
She gave him a sample of their new Triple Chocolate Brownie in a jar.  We shared. It was very yummy.

OBSERVATION of the Day:
When I eat “clean” I am better able to self-regulate and I don’t over eat.  In fact, I noticed I eat until I get bored of what I’m eating which is at the point I feel comfortable.  Not overly full.
That being said, when I eat something like the Brownie in a Jar, that is loaded with sugar and fat.  Although the first few bites are awesome, I am not able to stop when it no longer tastes as awesome.
It’s like a drug and recent studies have proven that sugar has the same effect on our brain as narcotics.  I don’t stop until it is gone.  Even if I am able to stop when I’m full, after a few minutes, I’m back at it until it’s gone.