Now you might be thinking, “Oh, I thought Elizabeth wanted us to reach out for help. I guess she doesn’t…” Sad trombone.
Don’t get it twisted.
There’s a huge difference between this:
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I suck. I can’t pull it together. I don’t even know why I keep trying, I’m at the end of my rope.”
and this:
“Here’s what’s going on: I have been overeating and overindulging. I want to change and I’m not sure where to start. I have a couple ideas, but I’m not sure if they are good ones. I’ve included them below. I’d love your thoughts and feedback.”
Do you see the difference?
There’s a huge difference between saying you’re struggling, explaining why, suggesting some ways you could change and asking for feedback and just being a straight up victim of your own choices while you throw a pity party.
Negativity doesn’t work.
It keeps you where you are and prevents you from change.
This is especially true when it comes to fat loss or food choices. You do realize we’re talking about food, which means that you are 100% in control of what you put in your mouth, how much and when, no matter how stressed or tired or upset you are, right?
That doesn’t mean I’m saying it’s easy.
Trust me. I’ve done the hard work. I do the hard work every day. I’d love to sleep in, make pancakes and have ice cream for dinner. I don’t. I understand that it can feel like hard work.
Why do you choose to see something hard as something bad? Are you refusing to see that hard is the path to progress? That it’s the way you travel to get what you want?
Stop being so dramatic and upset when things feel hard – hard is the way to what you want. It’s the only way.
Keep in mind: it’s 10x harder (at least) when you have a crappy attitude.
You can focus on the problem or you can focus on the solution.
You can choose to be negative or you can choose to be positive.
You can choose to be a victim or a victor.
Negativity, whining and complaining do not work. So, if you want a strategy that works, leave your crappy attitude behind and start focusing on what you are able and willing to do.
If you want an uncommon life, you’re going to have to take an uncommon approach.
Stop complaining. It’s so common and I think you want uncommon results.
—-
I am so proud to say that I absolutely crushed today’s workout. It called for running which I swapped for biking due to my knee injury, but I hit it out of the park! Since there was a 3 minute rest between rounds, each round is essentially a max effort sprint.
“Boat Race” 3 Rounds:
500 Meter Row
30 cal on airdyne bike (40 cals for men) Rest 3:00 between rounds
Interestingly, I felt pretty terrible during the warm up. Weak, very little energy. But, I pushed through and crushed the workout.
Later in the day I went kayaking with my sister for her birthday. Happy birthday, Debi! I absolutely adore you!
On the food front:
Around 10am I had a cobb salad from Paleo Power Meals and before leaving to kayak (around 12:30p) I had grilled chicken strips with a honey mustard sauce (also from Paleo Power Meals).
When I got home I had an early dinner of chicken & broccoli over cauliflower rice and then after a video conference I had a late 2nd dinner of a Mahi burger from Trader Joes and a large plate of broccoli.
Hey – have you thought about coming to ASCEND? I’d really love to have you!! Check out all the info and get your ticket soon! Only 80 total spots are available!
Today’s episode might feel like tough love & you’re not going to want to miss it. Do you talk yourself into “easing off” because it feels easier? Do you allow stress & emotion to justify not taking great care of yourself?
This episode is straight truth & fire about emotion, excuses, circumstances and growth. I think you’re going to love it!
I’m going through a 66 day challenge with my Masters Club and I’ve been inspired by several of them who are seeing tremendous benefit in rest, productivity and progress by minimizing or eliminating TV. That has certainly inspired me.
On top of that, this weekend I read Ben Bergeron’s new book Chasing Excellence. It solidified my decision to cancel my cable and disconnect my television. The book never mentions TV, but it reminded me that I really want to create my best life and television isn’t part of my best life.*
*The New England Patriots, however, are unquestionably a part of my best life and I’ll watch every single game.
This isn’t a new idea, canceling my cable, but in the past, I’ve talked myself out of it. In fact, years ago, I begged my now ex-husband to get rid of all our TVs. He said no.
Why didn’t I ever do it? Especially since I’ve lived alone for a couple years now – why hadn’t I cut the cord?
I’d tell myself that I like to unwind at night watching some TV. That’s its a mental break from work. That there are a few shows I really enjoy.
But: is it adding anything to my life? Or maybe it’s better to ask: what is it adding to my life? And what is it taking away?
It adds nothing. It’s comfort zone. I could use that time for sleeping. I could use that time for reading. I could listen to more podcasts. I could spend more time with people I love. I could play games. Go for walks. Keep my home cleaner.
The only thing that was keeping me from doing it was my comfort zone.
Screw my comfort zone. I’m not interested in a comfortable life. I’m interested in my very best life.
Television is not a part of my best life.
After ASCEND in November, I’ll re-evaluate the decision. I’m not saying this is forever, but this will be at least through ASCEND.
—–
Today’s workout was pretty mild but it felt good since I’m sore from the weekend’s workouts.
3 rounds for time
33 banded good mornings
7 burpee pull-ups
10 hang power cleans
My butt was on fire from the banded good mornings. I’m still modifying due to my knee injury and I’m hoping to get the green light sometime this week to get back to squatting, etc.
On the food front:
I have a doctor’s appointment today at 2pm and I’ve decided to fast until then because I’m not sure if they’ll want to do blood work. I’d always prefer to be fasted just in case than have to schedule another appointment to return fasted.
It was a great chance to practice not being reactive to hunger. It was 3:30p by the time I got home and you bet I was hungry! However, hunger isn’t an emergency. Hunger doesn’t hurt. Hunger isn’t pain. I’m not going to starve.
At 3:30 I had a cobb salad from Paleo Power Meals with extra grilled chicken.
Around 6pm I had chicken & broccoli over cauliflower rice and some greek yogurt with unsweetened cacao powder.
It was the 2nd full day without TV and I am so happy with how much more productive and focused I am. I’m proud of myself for making this decision.
Bye comfort zone, you add nothing to my life. You only take from it. I’m done with you!
What do you do when you don’t feel like doing the work?
I am all for indulging when it makes sense, but I also know that continuously justifying indulgences & overeating can keep you from your goals and be a huge source of frustration.
In today’s episode I’m sharing a few of my own personal strategies for overcoming that desire to throw in the towel or turn away from my goals.
If you feel like you need a better way to respond to temptation, stress, or simply the way you talk yourself into over-indulging, today’s episode is for you!
I bought a scale yesterday. I used to weigh myself daily but I haven’t had a scale in a couple of years.
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, click here.
Back when my “forever fat loss” journey began, I weighed myself every day.
I kept a spreadsheet with my weight and once a week I’d take a picture of myself to see how my body was changing beyond the scale.
It worked for me. Beginning at close to 350 lbs, my fat loss was absolutely going to be reflected on the scale in terms of pounds. It was a great accountability tool for me.
However, once I dropped below 200 lbs, it stopped being such a valuable tool. Or maybe more accurately, I didn’t have the right mindset for it to be a valuable tool at that time.
I was leaner than I had ever been and I was working out more intensely than ever. The weight loss wasn’t as predictable and even though my body was changing, I was frustrated with the scale.
So, I ditched it.
(I think that’s the way most strategies work. They’re helpful for a while, they’re not so helpful for a while and maybe they’ll become helpful down the road. The key is to pay attention to what is working for you, what is not & what you can do about it.)
Since then, I’ve monitored my body progress through measurements and observation. I touch and look at my body on the daily and I know where to look for signs that I’m not moving in the right direction (my lower abdominals, my back).
My decision to buy a scale and start weighing myself again was based on two things:
how much I’ve learned from monitoring my hunger
practice in perspective and mindset
It’s not because I see the scale as a valuable indicator of fat loss: I don’t.
Let me explain the hunger thing. Paying attention to my hunger signals has been one of the most enlightening experiences of my entire fat loss & health journey.
For most of my life, the first sign of hunger was a trigger to eat and eat now. “Oh! I’m hungry! Time for a snack.”
I didn’t realize that hunger is a spectrum and that not all sensations of hunger mean I need to eat.
I’ve learned that my hunger ebbs and flows. I’ve learned that sometimes hunger is saying “don’t eat” as much as sometimes it’s saying “eat!“.
Let me give an example:
Dinner was at 6. It satisfied me. But, when laying on the couch watching TV at 9:15, I realize I’m kinda hungry. Eat or not eat?
The process of evaluating my hunger has taught me to ask:
How hungry am I?
Given what I last ate, when I last ate & how much I last ate, does it make sense for my body to need more fuel?
Is giving my body more fuel right now the best choice? Or is not giving my body more fuel the best choice?
See, if I give my body fuel by eating, it doesn’t need to turn to stored fat for fuel. In response to hunger I basically say to my body, “Oh, no need to get fuel from stored body fat. I’ve got ya! Here’s a couple handfuls of almonds.”
Given that I had dinner at 6 and I’ve been sitting on my butt since then and I’m about to sleep, not eating in response to that hunger is probably the best choice.
Plus, I learned that my hunger almost always subsides. Even 5 minutes after feeling really hungry, I can find myself not hungry at all.
That awareness, which came directly from paying attention, taught me so much about my body and dramatically improved my choices.
I think the scale has the power to teach me similarly powerful lessons. For example, I’d love to know, objectively, what eating dairy does to my body as measured by pounds and ounces.
I’d love to know what kind of weight loss, in pounds, a fast produces for me.
I’d love to know how much water I retain during my period.
I’m on a quest to know more about my body.
Can I do this without a scale? Sure can. Can you? Absolutely. Am I suggesting you start weighing yourself? No.
I’m suggesting you do what works for you to learn more about your body. Journaling is a powerful way to do this.
The other reason I bought a scale is mindset & practice. I’m human. I can get irritated by an unexplained jump in weight and I can get excited about seeing the number go down.
I want to train myself out of these emotional attachments to the number on the scale. That will happen with practice.
I also want to have some more recent frames of reference for “normal” daily fluctuations to help give context to so many of my clients who continue to be frustrated with what are completely normal fluctuations.
And lastly: it has been, in the past, a powerful motivator for me. Another form of accountability. And I’m excited to use it again without the drama it might have created in the past.
So, that’s why I bought a scale.
—-
I’m so excited for a workout that I can do as written!
This is my kind of workout! My shoulders were absolutely toast after those strict presses but it felt great!
On the food front:
I feel back to my normal self after being ravenous all day yesterday.
I only had 1 cup of coffee before my workout (that’s a sign that I’m working too hard) 😉 and was very ready to eat after the workout.
I had chicken & broccoli over cauliflower rice from Paleo Power Meals and more coffee. I tried enjoy some new-to-me coconut cold brew from Trader Joes but if you follow my Instagram stories, you saw what a huge fail that was.
I took advantage of a few hours of sun (it’s been raining like crazy here) and enjoyed a cobb salad outside with extra chicken.
Dinner was super simple because I’m sure I’ll be going out to eat this weekend (and I’ll share those details over on Anchor). I whipped up cauliflower soup and a beautiful piece of salmon and I even had a small sweet potato! So freakin’ good.
Make it a great weekend, guys! I’ll see you over on Anchor!
