5 Questions To Ask Yourself About Your Workouts

Are you asking yourself the right questions about your workouts?  Reflecting on your diet and exercise program, even if it is working, is essential to long term success.

If you workouts are lacking and you are not seeing the results you were hoping for, this is even more important.

I know that when I start a new workout program I am full of enthusiasm and excitement about achieving my goals.  I usually make it about 4 weeks on this “new program high” before I start to drag.  Then the motivation dies off and the excuses come pouring in.  I start to miss workouts and the ones I do make it to don’t go very well at all.

This is pretty common and one of the major reasons why people fall back in to the bad habits that got them to the place they hate.

There is an easy way around this.  If you are in a state of constant reflection and analysis of your program, you can keep the motivation up and the progress coming.  You have to be diligent in making sure you are doing what works and stopping what doesn’t.

Here are 5 questions you should be asking yourself from the beginning of your program to the end of your program.  Be honest with your answers, and fix the problems as they come up.  If you do this, you are one step closer to achieving your goals.

1.)  Am I working hard? -

I have always thought I was working hard at the gym.  I thought that I was going in there and taking care of business and getting the best possible workout in that I could.  Then I went to a trainer.  That turned my world upside down.  From the very beginning I was huffing and puffing.  The breaks were short and the exercises were intense.   I had no choice but to push myself to levels I had never seen before.   What I realized was that I could do this all the time.  I didn’t need to pay $50 an hour for this to happen.   I could do these same things on my own time and take my workouts up a few notches.

So ask yourself the question:  Am I working hard?  Don’t kid yourself.  If you are not exhausted at the end, you aren’t working hard.  If you have time to think about things while you’re there, you aren’t working hard.  If you notice anything about anyone else in any detail, you are not working hard.  So change it.  Take the intensity up to where it needs to be and watch the results follow.

2.) Is there variety? -

It is a fact that your body adapts to the stresses you put on it.  If you did the same weight for the same reps every day for a year, you probably are not going to see much difference in your body.    It will adapt to the stress and not have to grow to meet the new challenges.  So you increase the weight and change the rep count to force your body to react to it.   You have to do the same with your workouts.  Change it up.  I don’t use the same workout routine for more than two weeks at a time.    Keep your body guessing and you’ll appreciate the changes it makes.

3.)  Do I have great goals? -

You may have started working out on a whim.  You may have started with a detailed plan.  But without well established, detailed, SMART goals, you are not going to get where you want to go. Without goals, you’re driving without a destination, who knows where you will end up?  Do you have great goals?  Once you do, you should be constantly reviewing and revising your goals.  They should push you, but they should be attainable too.  Make sure your goals are going to get you to where you want to be when you achieve them.  And don’t forget to enjoy the journey.  As Jim Rohn says,

“The most important part of a goal is what it makes of you to achieve it”

4.) What is absolutely not working? -

Make a list of everything you hate about your exercise program.  Write down your frustrations and complications.  Write down what is simply not working.  Then change it.  The beauty of having control of your workout program, and reflecting on it, is that you can change the bad stuff and replace it with good.  You can change bad habits, eliminate bad exercises, and change workout routines.  So figure out what is not helping you reach your goals, and change it!

5.) Why am I working out? -

This is the most important question to ask about any workout program is: Why am I doing this?  What is your motivation for getting in shape? I hope you went through this exercise before you started your plan, but if not, do it now!  If you don’t have a compelling reason to be working out, then you won’t.  It’s that simple.  So write yourself a letter and explain why you want to do this.  Why you need to do this.  Is it because you want to see your grand kids grow up?  Or because you want to look good at the beach?  Or because your doctor said you have to or you will die soon?  Whatever it is, be descriptive because this is what will keep you going when you want to quit.   Read this as much as possible, especially if you are thinking about skipping a workout or quitting all together.   This is your motivation.

Reflection is a critical part of a successful fitness program.  You need to continually asking questions and improving your workouts.   Asking yourself these questions will keep you motivated and keeping you pushing towards achieving your goals.

Do you have another question we should be asking about our workouts?  Leave a comment and let us know!

5 Weight Loss and Fitness Blogs

For this weeks blogs to check out I’m going with all Weight Loss and Fitness blogs. Hopefully you find something of value on these sites. I really enjoy them and find tons of useful information when I go surfing through them.

Small housekeeping note: First, I installed a new comments plugin and it didn’t go well, I lost all the comments from previous posts. But we are back to normal now and all the comments are listed so crisis averted! Secondly, PLEASE check out the new archives page! I cannot begin to tell you how difficult that was to get on there. Should have been a breeze, but I was struggling with this one. But it’s up and looks good, so take a look around and read some of the older posts, hopefully you find something you like.

1.  Fatty Weight Loss Blog - There is nothing like a blog where you can learn first hand from people who are actually trying things.  There are tons of great ideas on this site!  I think the best part about this site is that its been around for a long time so there are tons of archives to shuffle through.

2.  Former Fat Guy - When it comes to weight loss, I haven’t found a more inspirational guy.  You MUST check this site out, and make sure you read the weight loss story and view the before and after photos.  AMAZING!

3.  Steve Maxwell - If you are tired of the same old workouts, then Steve is a guy you have to check out.  He is in phenomenal shape, yet uses unusual methods to get there.   He uses a lot of kettle balls in his training, which I have always wanted to try but have not yet.  This site is a very interesting read.

4. Zen to Fitness - This site fits in nicely with what I’m trying to accomplish here.  It’s a very simple site, but loaded with great information.  Make sure you check out the post on the beginners guide to minimalist health and fitness.  You will fall in love with this site.

5.  Fat burning tips for women - Angie over at Women’s Diet and Fitness has some great posts specifically for women.  Some of the things she touches on frequently are diets, goal setting and burning fat.  In my experience though, weight loss and fitness tips are universal.  Most concepts are the same for both men and women, so don’t let the site name keep you from visiting!

That’s it for this one – I hope you enjoy the sites!  I won’t be posting for the rest of the weekend…One of my best friends from high school is getting married this weekend!  It’s going to be a great time, I can’t wait!

The Secret to Weight Loss Success

There are people all over the world who make a lot of money selling you weight loss miracles that don’t work.  There are pills that claim to do all the work for you.  All kinds of contraptions, belts, and balls that are guaranteed to make you shed the pounds.

 But there is only one thing that is always the key to weight loss regardless of what diet you try or workout you do, and that is consistency.  Without this secret ingredient you are doomed to weight loss failure.

 This is the biggest weakness I have when it comes to weight loss.  Whenever I struggle to lose weight or reach my goals it is because I lack consistency in my diet and exercise plan.  It doesn’t take much for me to fall back in to my old bad habits and my diet comes crashing down with it.

Sure I’ll do great for three days, and then on the fourth I’m a little to sore or cravings kick in and I decide to take a day off.   Soon enough I’ve taken three straight days off and I’m back to saying “I’ll start again on Monday”.

 So how do we break the cycle and improve consistency in our weight loss plans?

What’s your reason?

 Take out a piece of paper and write a letter to yourself.  Write a story about why you need to lose weight.  Why do you need to exercise?  What is the reason for working out?

Be very specific here.  Put some emotion in there.  You need a compelling reason to keep yourself on track.  Are you losing weight due to a health problem?  Do you want to live longer so you can see your kids grow up or your grandkids?  Maybe like me you are getting ready for a wedding and you want to look good for the honeymoon.

When you read this letter every day, you remind yourself of why it is so important for you to reach your goals. 

When you have a choice of skipping a workout or meeting your grandkids one day, I think you’ll get your butt on that treadmill.  Write a letter that makes it really hard to make a bad choice.  A compelling story could be just what you need to consistently reach your goals.

Reward yourself

This is my favorite part of a diet and exercise plan.  Some people call it cheat meal, I don’t care for that term.  It’s not really cheating if it’s in your diet plan to begin with.  Reward yourself for your hard work and dedication to reaching your goals.

I like to set my reward as a nice big pizza.  I know that if I am sure to get a pizza at the end of the week for one deliciously blissful meal I will eat salad for every meal if I have to.  And the beauty of it is I’ll still be losing weight.  I will still be attaining my goals.  

Many people are afraid of derailing their progress by having a big mac or a meatball sub once a week, but it is actually a good thing.   It will build consistency.  It will keep you going when you want to give up.  It may even trick your body into thinking you aren’t on a diet.  When it thinks you’re on a diet, your body can sometimes think its starving and start storing calories as fat to save itself.  And eventually you’ll be so determined to stay consistent that you will want to  change your rewards to more healthy options. 

If your plan says to workout 6 days a week, it will be a lot easier to stay consistent if you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  If you have something short term to reach for you are much more likely to keep driving towards it.

Focus your attention on consistency and not the next big quick fix on the market and you will have a much higher chance for success.  Keep this a top priority, have a compelling reason to succeed and reward yourself for following through and you will reach your goals.

And that’s guaranteed!

7 Weight Loss Myths That Are Keeping You From Success

Most of us have tried many different diets and still can’t seem to have success losing weight.  From south beach to cabbage soup there is a lot of misinformation out there, and while you can lose weight on all these diets it might not stick or even be healthy.  Here are 9 weight loss myths that might be holding you back from the success you crave.

The most success I’ve had on one of these diets was with the South Beach diet.  This is the one where you have absolutely zero carbs for a few weeks and then you start slowly dropping them back in.  This was great for a little while.  I lost 25lbs on this diet.  Until I got sick.

I got the flu and I was struggling to keep eating according to the plan.  There are just things you MUST have when you’re sick.  For me, it’s pizza.

I had to have it.  And so I did.  That was the beginning of the end.  My stronghold on carbs was broken and I started to eat them.  It didn’t take long before I was back at the weight I started at.  It came back a lot faster then it went off I know that for sure.   Pretty soon I blew past the weight I started at there was no way I was going to South Beach any time soon.

That’s depressing.

So I started to do a little research and here is what came up.

Myth #1: Carbs are the devil

Fact: Carbs aren’t the problem, calories are!  Do you really think you can eat bacon and eggs and steak all day and be healthier and lose weight?  It doesn’t work that way.  Just as your body needs protein it also needs carbs and fat too!  When you eat the right carbs you get some added benefits.  Besides being less processed, the right carbs are full of fiber.  This keeps you fuller for longer with the same amount of calories.  Just don’t pile on the sauce and butter…that’s not getting you where you want to go.

Myth #2: Low-fat or non-fat means lower calories and healthier

Fact: You have to be careful here.  Most of these overly processed products are loaded with sugar to compensate for the lower fat.  When it comes to any of these, you have to read the labels thoroughly.  Many times they don’t lower the fat at all and just change the serving size on you to make it appear lower in fat.  Be careful – the things they add here is scary.

Myth #3: Eating after 8pm causes you to gain weight

Fact:  It does not matter when you eat, it is the total number of calories in versus the total number of calories out.  It doesn’t matter what time of day you eat, if you consume more calories than you burn with physical activities your body will store that as fat.

Myth #4:  Drinking water is the key to losing weight.

Fact: Not at all. Drinking water is extremely important to a healthy life style and a healthy body but the key to weight loss?  I don’t think so.  Again its calories in versus calories out.  The upside to drinking water is that when you are hydrated you are able to keep your metabolism up, you are more focused on the task at hand, and if you drink it before a meal it can fill you up so you don’t eat quite as much.  Getting your 8 glasses a day is important but its not going to be the reason you lose weight.

Myth #5: Have a light breakfast to keep your calories down

Fact: Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day.  It doesn’t have to be huge but this is a good place to have a bunch of carbs, it will be the fuel for the rest of your day.  Try having green smoothies.  I love this for breakfast the mix of fruits and veggies fills me up and keeps me from binging later on in the day.  The energy boost is incredible as well.

Myth #6: Cut out the fat to lose weight

Fact: You need a good amount of good fat in your diet to stay healthy and lose weight.  As soon as you can determine the good fat from the bad fat you are on your way.  Saturated fat is bad, unsaturated fat is good.  Your fried chicken is bad and your baked salmon is good.  Good fats will actually keep you feeling fuller longer.  Try adding some flax seeds to your breakfast smoothie or having some natural peanut butter and an apple for a snack.

Myth #7 :  You have to do hours of cardio to get any results.

Fact: Many times, less is more.  It has been scientifically proven that high intensity interval training will actually burn more calories than your traditional hours on the treadmill.  When you are done with your 20 minutes of HIIT training, your body keeps burning for hours afterwords.  That’s the real benefit.   Just alternate highly intense bursts with less intense exercise.  For instance, try jogging for thirty seconds and then sprinting for 30 seconds.  Then rinse and repeat.  You may not be able to sprint right now, but if you try to go as hard as you can and then bring it back down to normal you will see the benefits.  You can do this on a bike or simply walking.

There is a lot of bad information out there right now.  And someone is always coming up with some crazy diet plan for people to follow that sucks us in and takes our money.

But if we keep it simple, and we do the research it doesn’t have to be difficult to lose weight.  You just need some motivation, consistency, and common sense and you can reach your goals.

Check out this post for more information:  5 Great Weight loss Motivation Tips

How to set S.M.A.R.T Weight Loss Goals

Setting goals is critical to weight loss success.   But most people either don’t set goals or they don’t know how to set weight loss goals correctly to get the results they need.  You have to know what you need to lose, you need a plan to get there, and you need steps to execute that plan. 

It’s not overly difficult once you know how to do it.  And you can use this process for other goals as well.

 How much do you need to lose?

 There are many different ways to find this out.  The fastest way is to pick a number based on your past weight.  If you weigh 250lbs now and you really want to be at the same weight you were in college, which was 200lbs, you know your goal will be 50lbs.  You only have to make sure it’s one specific number.

 It’s not always that easy though. 

 You could go based on BMI (body mass index).  Find a BMI calculator or use the one below and put in your stats.  It will tell you where you fall on the healthy scale and you can determine a number from there.  Then just lower the weight until you are in a healthy range and you have your weight loss target.

14 Day Green Smoothie Challenge

In my quest to go from carnivore to vegetarian, I started the 14 day green smoothie challenge, which I have mentioned previously on this site. My hope is to go from 14 day trial run to an every day habit with the green smoothies. Today marks the start of week 2, and I wanted to give an update as to how it is going so far.

I started this whole thing after researching the best ways to go from hardcore meat eater to vegetarian. The conclusion that I came to was that it’s not going to be as easy as I had hoped. I have never been all that keen on vegetables to begin with. Since I was little I’ve been a very picky eater and my family stuck to the meat and potatoes routine for every meal pretty much.

The only way I am going to pull this off is if I go the baby steps route. I am going to change one little thing at a time until I am completely meat free (then it’s on to trying to become a vegan).

So the first step in my journey to vegetarian was the 14 day green smoothie challenge!

The idea here is to have at least 1 green smoothie a day for 14 days and see how you feel. You don’t have to change anything else about your diet and you don’t even have to replace a meal with it.

I decided to go ahead and replace my most beloved morning bowl of cereal with a delicious fruit and vegetable smoothie. I’ll be honest with you here, I was terrified! I thought it was going to taste like a salad blended in water.

SHOCK ALERT: IT WAS GOOD!

They are actually quite tasty! I have been rotating two smoothies every day for a week and have loved every second of it. They have kept me surprisingly full until my mid morning snack and I have seen a distinct increase in energy. I hate to say I was a skeptic at the beginning but I’m definitely a believer now.

The recipes I have been rotating look like this.

Banana Smoothie

2 cups water

3 bananas

3 or 4 Romaine lettuce leaves

Berry Smoothie

2 cups water

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries

1 apple

3 handfuls of baby spinach

I will continue to update you on how this is going for me. So far the only difference I have noticed is the increase in energy and some basic detox type affects. I will be trying a new recipe at the end of this week that I’ll share as well.  It’s amazing when you know that eating the way you do makes you feel terrible and changing a few things will make you feel great, yet you don’t do it.  Its so simple!  Why haven’t we changed this pattern before?  I love this quote from Jim Rohn:

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.  What if it’s true?!?”

I hope some people out there will give this a shot and let me know how it works for them! Let me know what you think in the comments section here!tzjq5w6e8u

5 Great Weight Loss Motivation Tips

What do you do to muster up some weight loss motivation?  Especially when a new episode of House is on TV or you really would just rather eat a pizza and take a nap?

That is one of the biggest problems I have had on my way to a body I’m actually happy with.  I know I want to workout but I just can’t seem to find the motivation to do so.   I tend to make sure I start on Monday and I’m usually pretty energized to get started, but then I get to Wednesday.  I’m still sore from Monday and all these other things seem like much better ideas.

Ever happened to you?

Well I’ve compiled a few of my favorite ways to motivate myself to exercise so that I can actually have a shot at achieving those weight loss goals I always set.

1.)    Take a before picture:  Strip down to your undies and snap a few pictures.  And then every day that you are thinking about skipping your workout for something a little more desirable, take a look at those pictures.  This can be HUGELY motivating!  I see myself standing there, unhappy and out of shape and I get a feeling.  It’s kind of a cross between a disgusted feeling and an adrenaline rush.  I feel as though I have to do something about this RIGHT NOW.   (It will also be motivating after you have worked out consistently for 4 weeks and then take the new pictures so you can see all the progress you made)

2.)    Create a calendar: I know this doesn’t seem very motivating at first glance, but give it a shot it works!  Print off a calendar from the internet or use a dry erase board.  Then put all your workouts for the month on there.  Next, as that day comes and goes, fill in the box with green if you did your workout and red if you missed it.  Put this where you and everyone can see it often.  Don’t let it turn red!

3.)    Start a competition with friends: I love this one!  I used to do this every year with my friends from work.  Everyone would agree to a wager, $20.00 a person or winner gets a free lunch.  You then have a weigh in with everyone present and set a deadline.  You will be extremely motivated to workout if your friend in the cubicle down the hall is looking slimmer each day.  Even if you don’t win, that push you get from competing with your friends might be enough to get you off the couch and out on the trail!

4.)    Sign up for a 5k: I have this dream of running a marathon with my fiancé in Rome, Italy.  She is a great runner and I’m overweight and asthmatic.  But you have to do these things step by step.  So although I can only run for 3 minutes without stopping currently,  I am going to be signing up for a 5k that is not to far down the road.  This is going to force me to go out there and run a little bit farther every single day until I can get a 5k down.  Once I reach that goal I am just one step closer to Rome!  Give it a shot!

5.)    Read an inspiring book: This one works really well for me.  I will be doing some book reviews on this site in the future on books that have really inspired me and I think everyone needs to read.  I read one of these books and I can’t wait to get out the door to workout!  The stories of transformation or great athletes and their accomplishments are undeniably inspirational.  I’ll give you a few good ones here:

1.) Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine: Great book and great story!  If you want to read about a guy who had guts, this is the book.  This is the reason I want to run that marathon.

2.) The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.  This book is a must!  A team of researchers goes to the ends of the earth to find communities of people who have the highest rate of 100+ year old people.  He gets down to details to show you what they do differently that makes them avoid almost completely the top 3 killers in America.

3.) It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. Read an inspiring story about the obstacles Lance Armstrong had to overcome to become the greatest cyclist the world has ever seen.  Truly inspirational!

I hope someone finds these helpful and can get themselves motivated to change their life for the better!  If you have more tips we can all use, please share them in the comments section.