Taking Care

After reviewing a lot of my beginning blogs about health and fitness, I came to realize that I had not touched on proper form or eating before/after work outs. These are two EXTREMELY dire things when you embark on serious fitness.

When I began TurboFire in May, I was a mess trying to find myself through better health. I was not accurately aware of what I was getting myself into. I had some recollection of how fitness has helped me in the past, and my idea of "eating healthy" was hardly eating at all. There was that whole "Want to lose weight? Eat less" stigma (which is SOOOOOO not the right way to lose weight, you guys!!), and I thought that was my problem. I was not EDUCATED in the field of health and fitness. While I still hold no degree, I CAN tell you what I've learned through my experiences and readings, which in my book, is just as important (although I would like to widen my learnings through some schooling in this field, but I digress).

Within a month of my high intensity workouts, I started to feel pain in my shins and feet. First it was my shins. I always heard about shin splints, and when I was in high school, on occasion came across what I felt was a mild case of it, so I was pretty sure that's what I felt coming on. I brought the pain to the attention of my support group and coach, whom I know many had been through the ropes of TurboFire before me, and I wanted to hear their suggestions.

The fix was very simple. Pivot MORE. Work INTO the movements. Do low impact modifications until I felt I could handle more strenuous moves/the pain subsided. Once I lost a little more weight, and incoporated ALL of the suggestions, the pain was gone.

Soon afterwards, I started getting shooting pain in both of my feet. At first, I ignored it. I felt I was getting the pain simply because I was heavy and have never been this active before. I pushed through. But then the pain continued to get worse with each daily workout, and finally, I had to stop mid-workout and take off my shoes. The minute I did that, the pain was gone. I thought I'd had pretty decent shoes, so again, I took the problem to group. One suggestion that stood out from the rest was, "Are you tying your shoes too tight? Try to curl your toes. Your blood vessels expand when you do these workouts, and you might be constricting their ability to pump blood." Bingo. I was tying my shoelaces tight, thinking the pain was caused from not tying them tight enough (yes people...I lack common sense sometimes. Don't judge). The very second I loosened up those laces, and hopped back into my workout, the pain was GONE. And never to be seen again.

Now here is something else that I don't feel I got into enough detail, that is absolutely essential on the scale of importance. Nutrition.

I played around with my nutriton in the mornings after the first month because I wanted to see how it would affect my energy levels during my workouts. I'm so glad I did. In the beginning, I thought jumping right into a workout right after waking up would work. I found myself starving 10 minutes into it. So that theory worked for all of 3 days. Then, I read to drink a glass of water, and a small glass of milk prior to working out. That was fine on lighter workout days, but none of my TurboFire workouts fell into that category. I was always having a high intensity day or a longer workout day, and not eating SOMETHING was starting to feel like a real burden on my body. The day I decided to eat a 200-calorie or less balanced breakfast, wait an hour, and then hop into my workout was the day I realized I hit the jackpot. My movements packed a serious punch (pun intended), and I was able to push harder, longer.

I'd say the hardest struggle with eating prior to a workout for me is the wait period in between. I get busy. I wake up and want to jump into it, but remind myself the importance of eating beforehand. Sometimes, I wait too long to get into my workout, and then lag in my workout. Today, for example, was a not-so-great workout day. I pushed like a crazy person, and made (I'm sure) very unattractive faces while I pushed through, but about 10 minutes into my workout, I got a sudden, piercing headache. Totally out of the blue, and totally not a normal Nicky thing to happen. I took note of my aching belly, paused, and scarfed a handful of almonds. I gulped a bit of water, evaluated my headache (it had dulled by that point), and jumped back into my workout. I decided to up my water intake during the workout, considering the heat today. I'm so glad I did. The headache did not worsen. As a matter of a fact, it lessened, and by the time I was done, it was gone.

Naturally, after my workout, it was time to eat again. And of course, my after workout go-to snack is my trusty Tropical Strawberry Shakeology, with a scoop of extra Banana Cream protein (I'm always working on improving my protein intake. It's a never-ending struggle).

It is SO important to listen to your body, you guys. Take into account your surroundings as well. Aim to drink a gallon of water a day, and if it's hot, drink MORE than that. Make SURE you eat regularly! Every 2.5-3 hours is ideal. Find out what your calorie intake should be according to your age, weight and height and educate yourself on what "balancing" your meals REALLY means. It isn't just more veggies/less carbs like many people are led to believe. There is so much more to it than that. Learn what YOUR body responds to well, learn the science behind it, and DO IT! :)

It's About the Journey, Not the Destination

I recorded myself working out today.....YIKES.

It's not the first time I've done it, but it certainly has been a while since I've last done it (when I first started my challenge). Let's just say that I really don't recommend it to people who are first starting out, or to those who have very high expectations for themselves. If you have an established positive self-image, or are looking for ways to improve it (and are confident in your efforts) then yeah. You might be able to handle watching the playback. Me? I can handle it. Watching my flabby belly flop along to the music (I say that with love, AND it is fact, not harshness, speaking) actually provides me with the extra motivation I need to keep going.

When I'm in beast mode (GRRRRR!), I divulge myself into false pretenses of what I actually look like when I'm working out. I thank God for this. Lol. I would much rather like to believe that I look 50-60 pounds lighter, and equally emanate the men and women on the disc I'm following than to have a giant mirror or recorded video showing me what I ACTUALLY look like doing the workouts. If this were the case every day, I'd likely fail. The IMPORTANT aspect in all of this is not what I look like doing these ball-busting moves. It's the fact that I was DOING them. Dudes, I keep up with the hot chics and the ripped dudes, despite my size. I may have only lost 11 pounds in the time that I've been doing these workouts (I had a lazy-ish second month. So shoot me), but I FEEL phenomenal. It is not destination that is important, which TOO MANY people fail to recognize. It is the journey, you guys! Yeah, who wouldn't love to have a rockin' hot bod, but THAT is just a destination. What you learn along the way, what you develop inside of yourself to get there, learning about how strong you REALLY are, is all priceless. I actually think it's more important that reaching the goal itself. The payoff off is self-esteem, self respect, pride in oneself, and being all around happy! I have a balance I was lacking throughout my whole life, just by simply deciding that I deserved to treat myself BETTER.

It's worth the work, you guys. It's WORTH kicking yourself in the butt for. It is WORTH the sweat, the tears, the ache, the pain.

Go get your future, you guys. Grab a hold of it, and steer it where YOU want it to go. Stop holding yourself back. And yes....it's YOU that keeps you from getting where you desire to be.

1) STOP THAT!

2) Go get the you you've always wanted.

Because It's Been a While....

There came a time when I felt like I'd already said everything I needed to say to inspire others in taking the necessary steps toward health and wellness. But I was so so SO mistaken!

You see, the thing about staying motivated is constant reinforcement. Consistent reminders. Beating it into your own head, day after day, every minute of every day, until it's there without having to be reminded. Until it is HABIT! I have to have this picture....

on my desktop on my computer to remind me that my goals are far more important that the excuses I give myself to fail on any given day. My lifestyle isn't about being skinny. Being fit and being healthy have become a prevalent, dominating voice in my mind. Whatever form my body decides to take, you know what? GREAT! If THAT is what healthy is supposed to look like, I will take it!

Ideally, l'd like to look good naked TMI? Sorry....ok, not really. I don't think there's ever been a point in my life where I felt comfortable in my own skin. Never. Can you imagine that? I'll bet many of you can. I look back on my past, and while I would KILL to have that pre-baby body back, I'll tell you a little secret. I didn't earn that body either! That was simply a product of teenage luck + Puerto Rican booty genes. <- Fact. I didn't work out back then. Goodness, I skimped out of any rigorous sports or exertion in high school at every chance I got. If missing it didn't give me a failing grade, I wasn't doing it.

What has changed between then and now? Well, I'll be honest. The thought of running still scares the bejesus out of me because running and I have never been besties. The thought of hitting the pavement over and over and over and over and over again....well, you get it. I'd much rather go swimming over and over and over and over and over again. <-Not easy to do in a state where you don't know where the nearest free pool is! (PS: I miss Maui!!!!)

Here's the thing, you guys. And bare with me, because it's going to get REAL here for a minute. What has changed is my mindset. I am not afraid of raising my heart rate anymore. I'm not afraid of sweating it out every day for the benefit of my long term health. Yes, it hurts like a (...fill in the blank...) right now, but it is WORTH IT! People always say "It gets easier" and "It'll make you feel better about yourself" and "To lose weight, you have to eat right and exercise", why? BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!!!! There are no shortcuts. And if you find one, I promise you that it will not last. Quick fix surgeries, "magic" weightloss pills, body wraps, or WHATEVER else you've considered, are NOT going to reap the real results you are searching for because the REAL change happens on the INSIDE of you.

To get the body you want, you have to makeover the person on the inside that kept you from getting there to begin with. And how does that person get adjusted? By DOING the grueling and painstaking WORK that it takes to get there. You have to kick your own ass, you guys. No one is going to hold your hand and do it for you. You have to break down that jerk inside of you that keeps telling you that you "Don't feel like it today" or "Need to start this but can't right now for this reason or that reason" or "Don't have the willpower it takes to do that" or "Can't because my body/spouse/job/time won't let me". I don't give a CRAP what your reasons are. The ONLY person holding you back is YOU. You have NO ONE else to blame for what you look like or why you feel the way you do but YOU. The second you realize that and decide to take control of your own life and your own past mistakes, is the day you are ready to take the next step. Until then? No one can help you. Not even you.