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Statistics confirm that 40-45 percent of the population makes New Year resolutions and sets goals. Seventy-five percent of those persons make it past week one, 46 percent past six months. How about you? Have your New Year resolutions held or dissolved by the time you are reading this? Since the top goal is to lose weight, Cedar Valley Athlete thought it timely to ask Lauri Lumm, co-owner with her husband, Chris Usher, of Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping fitness center in Cedar Falls to answer the following:
Please share your thoughts, tips, expertise, on what works and what doesn’t on the following “T” words concerning issues around weight management.
Time
It is critical that you take the time to plan your meals and your workouts. If you plan your meals for the week, you will be less likely to fall off your plan. Your health is certainly worth your time.
Taste
Eating right does taste good! Clean eating (natural whole foods, not over-processed ones) can still pack big taste without a lot of calories. Knowing how to season your food with healthy sources such as garlic, lemon and lime juices and extra virgin olive oil, for example, can make all the difference.
Triggers
Know what triggers your (stress, boredom, friends and family) over-eating or skipping of workouts so you can be mentally prepared to overcome them.
Temptation(s)
When I know I am likely to face temptations, I make sure to eat a healthy meal before the event so I am satisfied and won’t overdo it.
Try
and keep trying! Too often I see people take the “all or nothing” attitude. The first time they fall off the nutrition plan or miss a workout, they give up because they expect perfection from themselves. No one is perfect. The best thing to do is to get right back on the program and keep moving forward.
Teach
and learn from others. Find a supportive community of like-minded individuals to help you along the way. Each of our clients is assigned a coach. Coaches consistently send emails discussing nutrition, recipes, words of encouragement, etc. Knowledge is power and the more you know about fitness and nutrition the more successful you will be.
Tracking
Tracking your meals is important. Knowing what you consume will help you identify where to tweak to get results. I track every workout I do. I like to see how much I improve from month to month. Each month, I look back at the outcomes of my training. It makes me feel good to see what I have accomplished.
Tired
Rest days are important and should be built into your workout routine. Also, be sure to drink enough water -- at least eight eight-ounce glasses per day. Feeling tired or sluggish may be due to dehydration.
Temple
Many of my clients complain about not liking fruits and vegetables or whole wheat products, etc. because they believe the taste is not as good as macaroni and cheese. Eating healthy can be a hard corner to turn for many people. Your body is a temple and your vessel to take you through life. There is nothing more important than taking care of it. Every time I prepare my food, I know that I am consuming a bowl of health that will help my body be strong, lean and fight disease.
Thin
There are thin people who are not healthy! Every fitness regiment should hit all three areas of health and fitness -- cardiovascular endurance, strength training, and nutrition. There are thin people who are thin only because they do not eat enough calories. Be sure to eat right, build endurance and build strength.
Thoughts
Think POSITIVE and CELEBRATE each little success. Fitness and weight loss is a journey. It does not happen overnight and it does not happen without EFFORT. Too often people get down on themselves because they don’t see the results they want right away and they give up. It took me 25 months to lose 30 pounds! That is a long time and many people see results much faster. After struggling with the nutrition, I decided eating poorly was not worth failing to reach my goals. So, I kept moving forward. Do I wish it had happened faster? Sure I do, but guess what? IT HAPPENED!!
Team
It is no secret that kickboxing classes are tough. Folks are typically a sweaty mess when they are done. Before they leave the mat, we always tell them to high-five their partner (the person they worked the heavy bag with). We do this for two reasons: first, to celebrate what they just did, and second, to create a team atmosphere. The 10-week program is far from easy, but we are all in it together.
How about you, readers? Send an email to jean@cedarvalleyathlete.com and “weigh in” with your thoughts, ideas, tips, or trials about one or more of these Weigh“T” topics in your own life. We will compile the results and post them on our website at www.cedarvalleyathlete.com.
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