During the months of May through June, I headed a project with Pro Health Chiropractic and ran our “Move it! Use it! Lose it! to Win It!” contest.  It was modeled after a “Biggest Loser” competition, but tracked not only body composition change, but steps taken and time worked out.  It made me hyper aware of the people that were struggling with a work out program, struggling with weight, as well as those who lead really healthy lifestyles and did well in the contest without changing their normal routine.

As a staff member, I struggled to log my information.  To be honest, I didn’t do more than log what I had already been doing.  I didn’t make a stride to change anything.  I labeled myself as “too busy.”

For a long time, I allowed myself to let go with the hopes of getting pregnant someday and being able to blame it on “baby fat.” Well… that’s not going to happen!  Better figure this out!

With a baby on the way, I started thinking about running around and playing with my toddler and young child.  I started to think about my health and how it would affect the way I could interact with my child.  When I put it into terms of parenting, suddenly something clicked.  I had to change something.  I did not want to be the mommy huffing and puffing around the playground… I want to be running right alongside my kids!

I started by analyzing how I had worked out in the past.  What did I focus on?  What was my inner dialog?  I have been working on visualization and positive self-talk in other areas of my life, mainly in my career.  Now I needed it to cross over into my health and fitness.  WOW!  Did it ever!

First, I had to start a workout routine and stick with it for 6 weeks.  That was my first mini-goal.  I took a workout that I had been given by Dr. Rob almost a year ago and started it again with a few modifications.  I cut it to three days a week from five, and I added in some weight machines that I really wanted to incorporate.  I promised myself that if I could stick to three times per week for six weeks, I would go back to Dr. Rob and ask him for the next step workout.  I wouldn’t go before then.  I had to prove to myself that I would stick with it, and I didn’t want to waste his time.

In the first six week workout period, I focused on my self-talk.  Making sure to stay positive on the treadmill, focusing on how good I felt after the work out.  “Easy-Peasy” became my mantra for my running and cardio that I was trying to MAKE myself like.  I have never liked running.  I was on the tennis team and dance team in high school, because I didn’t have to run.  I categorized myself as a non-runner to everyone else AND to myself.  I changed my self talk to, “I like running!  I like the way it makes my body feel!”  It took at least the first six weeks for that to be “normal” self talk.  Even now, I have my off days, but that was a major change.

During the second six week period, with a renewed sense of commitment, I started focusing on was what I wanted my outcome to be.  In the past, I have always focused on a number.  I wanted to be a size 5 or I wanted to be 120 lbs.  That’s not a bad goal to have… I realized the detrimental part to my goal was the follow-up. “I want to be a size 5… like I was in High School.”

Let’s be honest.  Focusing on the past has never gotten anyone very far in moving forward with their lives.  Why was I so obsessed with my former dancer’s body and a number?  I couldn’t live in the past in any other part of my life. Why should I make my past body a focus of who I wanted my body to be in the future??  So I changed it.  I started imagining what I wanted my strong, self confident, mommy-self to be.  What did I want my baby/toddler/child to look up to?  With that strong, healthy, future image in my head, I continued my workouts.

I’ve been working out for over 12 weeks now.  I have lost 15lbs since I started working on my weight over a year ago.  Not a huge weight loss, but I’ve been weightlifting, and muscle weighs more than fat.

Here’s the exciting part! I’ve gone from a size 10/12 to a size 5/6.  I have amazing energy, I no longer have problems with insomnia, and I get excited to go to the gym!

While it is still a work in progress, and I have more goals for changing my body composition, I truly believe that it was my thoughts that I had to change, not the things I was doing.  I had to be ready mentally for the physical changes.  I’m excited to continue this healthy lifestyle and continue to work on being the best mommy I can be!!

Tags: exercise, weight loss

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 at 9:17 am and is filed under Health & Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.