How do you lay a foundation for a healthy life?

Over the years, I’ve made numerous l attempts to lose weight and what I’ve come to accept is that my success lies within my habits.  If I want to change the direction of my life or reach a particular goal, I need to let go of the habits that are keeping me from reaching my goals and adopt habits that will move me closer to my goals.

Looking at this idea from a health, fitness, and weight loss perspective, when I look back on those attempts to lose weight I realize that I was trying to do too much, change too many habits at once.  Part of the reason for that was that I never fully realized how many habits I would have to change in order to meet one goal.  Let me give you an example. 

I would decide to eat healthier.  Seems simple enough, right?  On the surface, it appears that eating healthier is just one habit.  But eating healthier involved the following:

·         Eating different foods                                                                                              

·         Shopping at a different grocery store than the one I was used to

·         Changing the amount of food I ate

·         Counting calories

·         Removing specific foods from my diet

See what I mean?  Adopting one “simple” habit really meant changing or adopting at least six different habits.  Whew!  That’s a lot to change, a lot of new habits to change all at once.  After a while, it’s a lot to keep up with.  I would have some success, but eventually I would fall back to my old habits. 

So that’s got me thinking a lot lately about the habits I need to establish in designing a healthy lifestyle.  I asked myself, “What can I do that will help me lose weight while at the same time support my health? What basic things can I do that serve as a foundation for the healthy life I’m creating for myself? What can I do that will not be a drain on my time or my wallet, will not disrupt my life, and be easy to implement?”  My thought process was that these habits would serve as a foundation and that I can build from there.  I was also thinking that if I went off the rails, I’d have a simple starting to point to go back to. 

So, I know you dying to know---what are they?  I like to think of them as the “five healthy habits I can live with” and I believe they will be instrumental in helping me to design a healthy life that I love and enjoy.  And they are:

·         Drink plenty of water

·         When I’m hungry, eat

·         When I full or not hungry, don’t eat

·          Move more---add more physical activity in the course of daily living

·         Get the sleep I need

I’m going to dig into each of these habits individually in separate posts and explain why and how I settled on them.  In the meantime, I want you to think about them and ask yourself:

·         Am I drinking plenty of water? 

·         Do I have a habit of over eating?

·         Do I purposely skip meals even when I’m hungry?

·         How active am I during the day?  Am I spending more time sitting than moving?

·         Am I getting enough sleep?

Again, I’ll explain in later posts why I believe these habits are a good starting point in designing a healthy lifestyle and how I think they can be very instrumental in helping you to reach your goals, and me as well.   But in the meantime, think on them and let me know your first impressions of them. 

Antoinette

Have you learned from the past?

The New Year is practically here and I’m pretty sure there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of women (men too) counting down the days until the 1^st (or the first Monday after the 1^st) to begin their new fitness and/or eating programs.  I was the same way for years and years and years.

If this is not your first rodeo, and your efforts did not lead you to the success you were anticipating, then let me ask you this:  Is the plan you are about to implement this time around the same as the one before? 

I ask because for years, my plan was always the same:  eat better and exercise 5 days a week.  Eating better usually meant cutting out or cutting back on sweets and/or try some new eating plan.  Exercising could mean going to the gym 5 days a week or using the new exercise program I bought or received for Christmas.  Seems simple enough, right?  That’s what I’d think too so I’d be really confused and disappointed in myself when two months later, my plan was out the window.  And you know what I’d do?  I would try one or two attempts to get back to my plan; give up; spend the rest of the year trying to not to gain too much weight; and start over on January 1^st of the next year.  Does that sound familiar? 

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started asking myself, “Why hasn’t this plan worked?”  The answers to that question (and there were many) helped me to see the internal and external obstacles I was encountering each time I started a new plan (which was really the same plan over and over).  This was not easy and it didn’t happen overnight but I can say finally that I’m finally able design a wellness plan that I can actually follow through on. 

So before the New Year arrives, take some time to think about why the previous plans did not work.  Was it the food, was it your schedule, was the food too expensive, did you dislike the workout program you started, etc?  Keep digging and once you have your answers, compare the plan you’re about to start to the previous plans.  Will you run into any of the same obstacles?  If you will, great!  You’ve discovered it in advance and you can make adjustments now. 

I want to know if this helped you.  Reach out to me on Twitter: @HustleFitOnline, or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancepartythrive/. 

Thanks and good luck!

Antoinette

Have you found a workout that you love?

Can I tell you something? I absolutely love, love, love to line dance! I started back in July of 2008 and I had no idea at the time that I would love it so much. It has become my major mode of exercise. The really cool thing about line dancing is the social element. There are parties and weekend long events that take place all over the country. And it's amazing to be a part of hundreds, even thousands, of people all dancing in concert with one another.

If you've been having trouble sticking to an exercise program, try line dancing! If you are a member of dancepartythrive.com, I've got some awesome line dance workout videos you can try.  It’s the perfect solution if there are no classes in your area or you want extra practice. If line dancing isn't your thing, try it anyway--you never know, I sure didn’t know I would love it so much!  I don't expect everyone to love it like I do but my point is, try something new.  Stop trying to stick to an exercise program that you haven't been able to stick to in years.  It could be you're having trouble sticking to that workout because you don't like it.  And guess what? That's ok! Go out and explore and keep exploring until you find an activity that you truly enjoy and would do if health, weight loss, and fitness were not a consideration. Good luck!!

Antoinette

P.S. I found a video of myself at the first line dance weekend event I attended, courtesy of I AM Kenny J Productions.  I found it on YouTube, but the song was removed due to licensing issues.  The song playing is The One by Mary J. Blige but more importantly, check out the looks on everyone's faces.  they are so into it!  

How Do You Face Fear???

How many of us let fear run our lives? Every day you can see advertisements for new medications for illnesses that (according to some statistic) one out of every five people will soon have.  If you are not diabetic now, you soon will be. Every ache, pain or headache could lead to an incurable disease.  It is no wonder that we fear going to the doctor for a checkup. Our fear of the unknown lets us live with back aches, headaches that never go away, and pains in our chest that we call indigestion. If we all looked hard enough, we would see that we let fear run many aspects of our lives from health, to relationships to our jobs.   

Fear is not an easy thing, but if we tackle it one day at time we may defeat it.  Maybe you aren't feeling well and are afraid to find out why. Remember there are people who care about you and will be there for you no matter what. Are you being passed over for someone younger with a degree at your job?  Think about going back to school one class at a time.  

I worked in the Human Service field as an Executive Administrative Assistant for twenty-five years.  I figured that my experience was as good as any degree.  However in the real world, my experience meant nothing without the degree to back it up. I lived in fear of being the first to get let go when the budget was cut and fear of losing my job to someone younger with a degree. So I faced my fear and went back to school.  At 52 I got my Associates, at 56 I received my Bachelor’s and at 61 I received my Master’s in Business Administration.  This is how I faced by fear, how will you face yours???

Shirley

Guess What: It's Just Food!!!

It Just Food!!!

Do you remember the movie "Soul Food"? That movie brought back so many memories for me around food. The Sunday dinners our family used to have.  Eating until you couldn't move. Never leaving the table without have a second helping.  But it was not just Sunday, we ate like this every day. There was no such thing as fast food for dinner, my mother cooked every night.   So I grew up with a love for good food. I am guessing that many of you did as well.

Now with all the cooking shows on television, you too can be a gourmet cook. Fixing those wonderful meals like all the top chefs'. Making all those wonderful desserts (chocolate cake, cheese cake, muffins, cookies and the list goes on and on). But guess what? It gets better! Now there are restaurants, bakeries  and all kinds of places where you can get all this wonderful food without having to  make it yourself.

When I started having weight and health issues the first thing the doctor wanted to take away was all my wonderful food.  Because I could not imagine life without my chocolate cake, ice cream, cookies, fried chicken, fried fish,  mac & cheese and potato chips, my health issues just continued to get worse year after year.  Somehow I came to understand that  I didn't need chips, ice cream and chocolate to survive.  Rather than making food the most important thing in my life I kicked in down a few levels. Being here to enjoy my family and friends became my top priority.  I finalized realized: It's just food.

Shirley

Thinking Outside the Box!

Have you noticed that we tend to follow a pattern in the way we live our lives.  But where did that pattern come from?  We raise our children the way our parents raised us, we eat the same foods that we were taught to cook, and sometimes we even work in the same jobs just like our parents and grandparents.

So is it no wonder that we carry the same problems generation to generation.  Those wonderful recipes passed down  through the years tend to yield the same health problems for each generation. Some things are heredity but some are just us doing the same thing over and over again.

Why not try  thinking outside of the box and  look at changing how and why we do things. We might need to bake sometimes rather than fry.  Maybe we need to look outside of the "food pyramid" for our healthy eating choices. What might have been a healthy choice twenty or thirty years ago may be the wrong choice today.  Dare to be different and start a new trend for the next generation. Throw out that old way of thinking and embrace "thinking outside of the box".

Shirley

I Want to Be Fit and Fabulous!

Although extra body fat has been shown to contribute to the development of some illnesses and diseases, being thin is not a guarantee that you will never develop those same illnesses and diseases.  So I have tried over the years to focus on health rather weight.  Easier said than done; after over 12 years, I’m about 2/3 of the way there. 

Looking at health from a holistic view rather than a strictly biological view has helped me.  Yes, biological health is important.  Blood pressure, cholesterol levels, physical fitness, blood sugar levels, weight, etc.—those are all very important.  However what is also important is how we feel about ourselves; how we manage stress; and how we take care of ourselves. 

I’ve decided I want to be more than healthy, I want to be Fit and Fabulous!  I want to have more energy and I want to be free of sickness, but I also want to be mentally and spiritually healthy.  And, I want the same quality of life I have now or better.  It's a lot to ask for but the better I am, the better the world is.  That sounds arrogant but imagine if everyone felt that way.  The world would be an awesome place. 

I can’t change the world, but I can change myself.  So I put together a list of things I needed to focus on to be Fit and Fabulous.  This list is by no means complete, but it’s where I needed to start.  I’m still working to make a few of the items a daily habit but I know I’m not a failure; I’m going to keep trying until I do J .  Click here to download it.  Read it and let me know what you think! 

 Antoinette

What's My Motivation?

 

 

One of our Twitter followers posted a list called, “10 reasons for weight loss”.  I was so disgusted by that list!  I’m not going to share it because I don’t want to spread I what I consider to be negative ideas about people who are overweight.  But I will say that the list further promotes the stereotypes that our society seems to have about people with extra weight.  They lack confidence, don’t love themselves, and are embarrassed by their personal appearance.  WTH?  Do you have to have extra weight to have any of these issues? Aren’t these issues that anyone can have? 

After I calmed down, I started thinking about my motivations for losing weight.  The real motivations that moved me from trying to lose weight to actually losing weight.  They are:

·         Age

·         Health

·         Quality of Life

How many people do you know who started complaining about various ailments once they turned 40 or 50?  I know quite a few.   I told myself I didn’t want to be one of those people who start falling apart at 40. 

I’ve read too many articles, books, magazines that talk about the link between overweight, obesity and disease--cancers (some), diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and probably a few others. 

As I grow older, I want to enjoy the same quality of life I have now, if not better.  I don’t want to spend my mornings taking ten different medications; I don’t want to travel with an oxygen tank; I don’t want to spend three days a week in dialysis, and I want to maintain as much mobility as possible. 

So those are my reasons, my motivations not just to lose weight but to be healthy.  What are yours?

Antoinette



There's Fat Everywhere!

 

If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, then you know that I’ve been trying to lose for years and I’m finally seeing some success.  If you have not read any of my earlier posts, well now you know.  Sometimes it's a little frustrating that the weight is coming off slowly, but I can appreciate that losing weight slowly will most likely increase my chances of maintaining the weight loss, among other things.

Here’s the thing that is the most annoying—the weight doesn’t come off where I want it to as fast as I want it to!  And I’m sure I’m not the only person who has this problem.  But you know what? I made peace with it by realizing that there was extra fat all over my body and not just in my butt, thighs, and stomach.  For instance:

• I didn’t realize how chubby my face was getting until I started looking at my before pictures. 
• I didn’t think my wrists large but now all of my bracelets are too big. 
• I’ve been wearing a size 9 women’s shoe since I was in junior high  but apparently there was some extra fat in my toes that needed burning because now all of my shoes are too big. 

My point is this, if you’re trying to lose weight and nothing seems to be happening, take a closer look.  Your body could be burning fat in places you never think about.  Pay attention and you might find small changes happening.  And guess what? Small changes lead to BIG ones, so keep going!

Antoinette

Let's Kick It Up a Notch!

There’s a part in almost every workout when the music gets a little faster, a little more intense.  This means you’re moving a little faster, with a little more effort.  You’ve just gone from low intensity to mid- intensity (this happens at the club but you’re probably having too much fun to notice J).  At Hustle Fit, we categorize mid-intensity dances as, “Kick It Up a Notch”.  It just means that you’re warmed up and you’re ready to do more.  We recently conducted a survey and 93.75% of the people who participated said they prefer mid-intensity workouts.  That’s great news because the bulk of our workouts fall into the “Kick it Up a Notch” category.  Here is an example of a mid-intensity dance—we’ll be using this in our upcoming live class.

 

As with any workout, if you’re trying it for the first time or if you don’t exercise regularly, do not overdo it.  Keep it low intensity (take out jumps, keep movements small, drop the arms, etc.) and as your endurance improves, you’ll be able to bring those elements back in.  Or in another words, “Kick It Up a Notch!”

 

Antoinette

I Am NOT a Failure!

I have been trying to lose weight since I was 17 years old.  In case you’re wondering, I’m 43 yrs old, will be 44 later this year. I had some success, if you can call it that.  I didn’t call it success and this is why- - when I lost weight, it was never the full amount I was trying to lose.  And without exception, I always gained back the weight I lost and then some.  So no, I was not successful. In fact, I felt like a failure.  I thought I was a failure and that belief seeped into other areas of my life.  In a nutshell, this is what I thought:

“How can I be successful at anything if I can’t even lose weight?”

And then I tried to turn it into a positive thought:

“If I can lose this weight, then I can do anything”

HA!  I think that was even worse—what a setup!!!  Can you imagine the damage that either of those thoughts had on my confidence?   Not so much that you or even I would notice but just enough to keep me from going after big dreams and setting big goals. 

So what was my “aha” moment?  Well, every once in a while there was this quiet voice in the back of my mind telling me that “real failure is giving up”—and I finally started listening to it.  I told myself since I never gave up, I am not a failure. 

So, I kept trying, and trying, and trying until I found something that worked.  And I did! Better yet, I found a lifestyle worked.  I’ve been losing weight since December 2012 and I’m about 2/3 of the way to my goal.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?  More about my lifestyle changes in later posts but I’ll give you a hint—no pills, no special foods, no surgery. 

 

What thoughts are holding you back from moving forward in any area of your life?

 
Antoinette

 

Movie Moments That Inpire Me

Inspiration can come from anywhere.  Over the years, there have been a few movie moments that inspired me to start or keep working out. 

Se7en

When the victim who represented gluttony was being autopsied, it occurred to me that one day I’m going to end up naked on someone’s autopsy and/or embalming table.  It seemed right that I should look my best.  I found a picture of that scene, it’s too graphic to include here but do a google image search for “se7en movie gluttony” and you’ll find it. 

Disclosure

Demi Moore looked amazing in this movie.  Her character was sexy and powerful—I was a plump 180lbs.  I thought to myself, “I can do better”. 

G. I. Jane

Demi Moore again!   I was over 200lbs when this movie was released.  She was so physically fit; I didn’t want her body, but I did want MY best body. 

Let me just say, I don’t aspire to have anyone else’s body, just my own but at its best.  I’m not there yet but I’m on my way.  Shirt size XXL in 2010, XL in 2011, L in 2013. 

What movie moments have inspired you to fitness? 

Fit & Fabulous at 62

Have you noticed that as you got older-entering your 40’s and 50’s- that whenever you had a pain or ache or gained weight you heard, “you’re just getting older”?  Well what exactly does that mean??  Does it mean that we shouldn't be mindful of getting better? That we should just accept sickness and pain as a sign of getting old? At 58 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  It was almost as if I should accept it and just live with it.  When I turned 60 I made a decision to take control of my life and health.  I found a plan that worked for me to lose weight and never looked back.  Now, at 62, I am completely off my medication for diabetes. Although my doctor claims that once you are diagnosed a diabetic always a diabetic, my numbers continue to be normal. So I am fit and fabulous at 62! Don’t wait; take control of your health now.

Shirley

                         

Age 58 

Age 62

Fit & Fabulous

One of our goals at Hustle Fit is the help you thrive.  We want to do more than help you lose weight or avoid illness. We want you to THRIVE.  We call it "Fit & Fabulous".  The dictionary.com defines thrive as,

1. to prosper, be fortunate, or successful 
2. to grow or develop vigorously; flourish

Thriving is a concept I was introduced to during the coursework for my Health and Wellness degree and it really resonated with me. I like the idea of approaching my life and health with the goal of thriving instead of avoiding disease and losing weight.  Now that my goal is to thrive, I'm less frustrated and I enjoy life more.  There are benefits that go beyond health.  For example--I woke up yesterday, looked around my bedroom and thought, "this is not the room of someone who is thriving".  So I jumped out of bed and spent the first two hours of day cleaning my room, lol.  

So what do you want?  Do you want to be healthy or do you want to be Fit and Fabulous?