Making Real Change

YIKES! I cannot believe how fast time can go by. I admit it, no excuses, I have seriously been slacking on my blog. I apologize to my faithful readers and am READY to share many exciting things with you.

Today marks exactly 10 days until my birthday, and 18 days until I reveal my before/after photos.

After announcing a few posts ago that I would put my pictures online, I immediately regretted it. (Psst...I announced it though knowing that I couldn't back out!) I started thinking about all my facebook "friends" who I may not truly know that have access to my blog or people that may be cruel or judgemental of my transformation. While I know that this little blog is far from getting huge publicity, it IS public.

You see putting yourself out there can be unnerving, scary...risky even.

As part of the fitness program Chris and I attend, you begin in a 10-week session. During this time you have a coach that is there to encourage and help you in developing this new lifestyle. This session I taken on that roll, and have a team of beautiful ladies and am so proud of their progress in just this first week.

They've reminded me of something though - Real change can ONLY occur when you abandon your comfort zone. Playing it safe is not an option if you want to have real change in your life. Sure, you can go slightly beyond your comfort zone, but then you're going to have slight changes.  When you unabashedly run after your goals and run far from your comfort zone, you will see huge changes. And, the farther you run from that comfort zone, the harder it is to go back.

Over the next 18 days, I am RUNNING after my goals and abandoning my comfort zone. I have my plan set. I have my accountability partner in place. I am NOT looking back.

Chris and I have become students of nutrition, and I am eager to share the next 18 days with you, including our menus and some tips based on our findings. We are especially being mindful of the amount of sugar in things - watch for those hidden ones! If you have any favorite recipes or food prep tips, please email me at level10day@gmail.com

I may even feature your recipe in my next post!

I am doing this and SO CAN YOU! Make it a Level 10 Day!

Wise Words Wednesday: STRENGTH

"Strength doesn't come from what you CAN do. It comes from OVERCOMING the things you once thought you couldn't."

- Rikki Rogers

Who Do You Want To Be?

Wowee! Working out at 6:30 p.m. and then again at 5:00 a.m. the next day will push it for sure. 

We accidentally overslept yesterday, but it did mean getting to attend a class with an instructor who I normally don't see, Molly. We did a lower body class and she brought it! At one point we were all quasi-laughing after doing a hard double set of quads, and apparently we were all making an "I'm in horrible pain" face (said Molly). I would call that, "I think my flesh is ripping." BUT it was AWESOME! I am a weirdo and actually like being pushed to the edge like that. 

It's funny because I used to be deterred from working out because I didn't want to be a sweaty, hot mess...and now I fully embrace it! I love getting finished and I'm sweaty and my hair is everywhere and I may even look slightly crazed (thus why I love the quote above), but shoot, I worked hard and kicked butt and I am feeling good!!

Tomorrow morning is the orientation for our newest 10-week recruits! This session my husband and I will be 2 of the 3 coaches for our class. I love encouraging (and pushing) others to be their best so I am eager to meet my team and help them in their journey. 

For my personal transformation, only ONE MONTH until I post my before/after/current after pictures! I've made some modifications to my nutrition and am hopeful at my upcoming results. I have that feeling you get when you know some good things are about to happen.

My challenge today is to get up and do at least 20 minutes of heart raising, blood pumping, get you sweaty cardio. YOU choose what you do, but get that heart rate up!!

I am doing this and SO CAN YOU! Make it a Level 10 Day!

Product Highlight: Zevia

While water is always your best beverage choice, there are times when you just want something else. We recently stumbled upon Zevia, an all-natural soda. 

You can check out their website HERE to read all about it. They have a dozen flavors. We have tried the root beer and the cola. With all the recent studies on the negative effects of soda (including diet!), it's definitely worth a switch, especially if you're just not ready to cut the soda. 

I'll admit that the flavor does take a little getting used to, but a few sips in and you won't miss the other stuff. I like that they do not use artificial sweeteners or colors. Plus, there are no calories, MSG, GMOs, gluten, and are all kosher. If you like caffeine, 3 of the 12 flavors do have caffeine (naturally derived from coffee). 

So, that's that. Enjoy!

I am doing this and SO CAN YOU! Make it a Level 10 Day!

FAILURE

We have no guarantee of a life free from obstacles. In fact, if you aren't facing any, I would question - ARE YOU LIVING?! Are you going after that "Level 10" - giving all you have - each day? Are you moving forward toward your goals?

OR are you coasting? Are you drifting through life? Taking the easy route?

I've recently learned that some people do not like the word failure. I think MOST people do not embrace it enough. 

Yep - I said it. You see, you can spin it all day long and fluff it up, but ultimately there will be winners and losers. There will be goals met and goals missed. There will be times that we fall short. While I want to succeed and win at all I do, I don't think the end result is as nearly as important as what you do leading up to it AND what you do after. 

One of my favorite books is John Maxwell's, Failing Forward. In it, he addresses the perception of failure and its influence on our lives. 

The way I see it is that some people are so afraid of failure that it causes:

a. Paralyzation (inactivity, never trying, quitting, self-doubt, self-sabotage)

b. Stagnation (procrastination, false-activity, creative avoidance, performance plateau, complacency)

One keeps you from even trying and the other keeps you where you are currently. Either way fear of failure breeds inactivity OR false-activity (unnecessary busyness) - not productivity.

To me - this is the real tragedy. A fear filled life that avoids failure at all costs. A real champion will fail. In fact, a real champion will fail many times. Yet, a real champion will grow, strengthen and progress with every failure allowing them to reach even higher than thought possible. 

One thing I learned when I first did some weight lifting was that you are actually creating small tears in your muscles as you work them and push them. You are breaking them down. When you allow them to recover and heal, they build up stronger than before.  Life is similar, right? We face obstacles, we stumble, we may fail, but when we allow the proper recovery (and reflection), we will be stronger than before.

 

 

I am a younger sibling. Sure, it's nice to have someone who has gone before you, yet those older siblings can sometimes try to parent you. If you haven't experienced this, you've probably had someone older than you not fully understand why a trial you are facing is so stressful or difficult. See, when you are in jr. high and facing jr. high problems, those are the biggest trials you've faced. Yet, you make it through, you learn and you grow. You're stronger and more capable. Then, you face high school obstacles, college obstacles, job obstacles, parenting obstacles and so on. Each time you're a little stronger and you grow even more. 

When we fixate on perceived failures, or allow them to hold more weight than necessary, we run the risk of missing the mark. Because as much as we would like to segment our lives or hold on to singular moments, it's really the sum of the moments that build the person.

My challenge today - go fail at something! Make a mistake, be awkward, feel silly! Erase that period at the end of your failure, and try again! The only requirements - give it your all, your Level 10, and DO NOT quit. I imagine that you will discover something GREAT about yourself that you never knew before.

I am doing this and SO CAN YOU! Make it a LEVEL 10 Day!

Have Courage. Keep Going.

It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before...to test your limits...to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

- Anais Nin

Wise Words Wednesday....er, Thursday

It's time for Wise Words Wednesday Thursday! I know we are a day late, I do desire to improve upon my timeliness when it comes to this blog...BUT, I desire more to get in shape! Chris and I have been adding in some additional training on top of what we do at our gym because I still have another 20 lbs. to lose and muscles to build! Since SO MANY people were impacted and encouraged by seeing Chris' before/after photos, I am announcing that on April 28th in honor of my 28th birthday (my birthday is the week prior), I will be posting MY before/after photos from my 10 weeks and my current "after." BUT for now, I will continue to share my perspective with you and bring you some WISE WORDS from Chris about his experience and the things he learned.

So, my Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping 10 weeks finished last Saturday. I worked as hard as I could, was diligent in all aspects of the program and now my journey is complete. . .or is it? If there’s one thing that I want to take from this whole experience, it’s that being healthy is so much more than just hitting a destination point; it’s an ongoing commitment to making decisions that benefit the mind, body and soul.

Since being recognized as the Most Transformed Male from the last 10 weeks, I’ve had a number of people ask me how I did it. In short, I changed the way I approached my life and my health. I know that sounds a little vague and abstract, so let me explain a little better.

In order to describe the changes I’ve made, I need to back up a little. Growing up, I was always an athlete and played several sports. I really never struggled with my weight, and I honestly didn’t understand how or why others did. I guess you can just chalk it up to youthful ignorance. As I entered into college and the years that have followed, I approached my life similarly to my youth. I ate and drank what I wanted and I figured if I occasionally got a little exercise, I’d be just fine. After all, if you take in a lot of calories, you can just go for a run and burn them off – right? It’s taken me a while to even realize that I was doing anything wrong, but it started to all come to light shortly before I joined Farrell’s.

I’ve long believed that behind every great man is an even better woman. If I have any “great” attributes, I can attribute them in large part to my wife, Jessica. If you’ve been following her blog, you know that she’s been going through this transformation for longer than I have, and if you've ever been around her, you can’t help but be inspired. I’ve always felt like I’ve been encouraging and supportive of her, but I started to realize that I was at times sabotaging her efforts, and hurting myself at the same time.  We’d stay up late hanging out, going to a movie, doing work around the house or any number of other activities. Then she’d get up really early to work out, and I’d sleep in. She’d prepare herself a healthy breakfast, and I’d eat fast food. I would tell her to keep up the good work, and then we’d eat two different dinners. What’s wrong with this picture?!

Now, on to the transformation. For me, it all became clear pretty quickly that I had been deceiving myself. Everyone saw me as “thin,” but being healthy is so much more than being thin. The first thing I did was change the way I ate. Cutting out all the unnecessary sweets and fat made a huge difference. In fact, I could feel a difference within two days. It was like my heart felt lighter. I also realized that I wasn’t doing near enough physically to be in the shape that I wanted to be. I made the decision work as hard as I possibly could at the workouts. I’m not going to lie, it was my secret desire to break one of the punching bags from hitting so hard – still hoping!

But during all these changes, the most significant change was my relationship with Jessica. Like I said, I’ve always encouraged her, but actions really do speak louder than words. We encouraged each other throughout the 10 weeks because we were going through the same process. Working out together helped us relate in a way that we never had before. We even ate the same meals at the dinner table. Imagine that. I can honestly say that our relationship has never been better.

Here are a few specific ways that you can make similarchanges to what I did.


1.     Examine the way you eat
I realized that I was eating a lot of sugar and fat, but was often still hungry. I now eat 6 smaller, balanced meals a day.


2.     Try something new
Before the past 10 weeks I thought I didn’t like eggs, veggies or seafood. I now eat eggs everyday. I snack on raw carrots and broccoli, and I love roasting asparagus and orange/red bell peppers. I also like sushi now. Not only is that seafood, but it’s often raw fish – what!?!



3.     Set specific goals
Unless you set a goal, how do you know if you’re moving in the right direction? Once you reach your goals, make new ones and keep improving. My goals were to do 60 situps/min, 70 pushups/min and a 6 minute mile. At 10 weeks, I did 68 situps, 74 pushups and 5:51 in the mile.


4.     Find someone who you can get healthy with.
A spouse or significant other is a great option!


5.     Give all you can
If you work as hard as you can, you can never be disappointed in yourself. Test your limits and push harder. You’d be surprised how much you can do if you’re willing to be uncomfortable.

So, how did I do it? Like I said, I changed the way I approached life, and this journey is far from over!