Baby Mama Got Back

As I’m writing, the day is September 3, 2019. In exactly one month, it will be October 3rd, which begins the 90 day countdown to January 1, 2020. My mind began thinking about starting a 90 day health/fitness challenge, quite coincidentally, I swear. This is rather long as far as challenges go. I prefer short ones because they are more attainable. 

I guess by the end of this post, I will be asking if anyone is interested. For now, I must preface my idea by telling you that, as a Trainer, I believe small steps towards health/fitness changes, lead to greater success. 

But, what is between each step? Time.

How much “time” is needed to see change or create a new habit is different for each of us. Hence, a 90 day challenge!

Some challenges are very specific. Like a “Run a 5k in 90 days”, or “Lose 10 lbs in 90 days”. This challenge won’t be THAT specific because we are each choosing what our challenge is. For some it might be nutrition related, others, fitness related. Preliminarily speaking, I think I would like each person who joins this closed group, to, 1. Join  2. Write what your challenge is to be, along with what obstacles or perhaps triggers, you foresee. I don’t have all the answers, but I have probably encountered them myself and this will give me the opportunity to give you some feedback and options on how to work around them when they arise. 

Here are a few examples:  

1.Busy schedule, family, and the fast food choices are sabotaging you.

*It is important to understand, that I am encouraging you to focus on yourself right now. So if you need to stop at Micky D’s between soccer & basketball, do it! Ergo, lay off the guilt trip.

Buy those nuggets for the Fam, but you my friend, you get the salad or wait until you get home for a healthier option. Trying to change the habits of yourself and your plus 1’s, is not sustainable right now.

2. Time of Month cravings???

    *Use this current month as a time to reflect on your triggers. For me, I definitely get the munchies the week before my period and I crave sweets a little more than usual. So, I make sure I have healthy snacks available. The kind that may contain sugar but are not empty calories; meaning, they contain good nutrients too. Like apple slices and peanut butter, or keep some dark chocolate kisses in fridge, (way back in the fridge, out of sight from others) allow yourself 1-2 when a craving arises. Listen folks, fruit is good for you!!! It’s sugars are natural and your body knows how to process it. Additionally, they contain all sorts of antioxidants and polyphenols.

3. Bread

*I get it. This one is tough for some women.Try having it at ONE meal only. I suggest breakfast. This day & age, bread is so highly processed. Your body breaks it down as processed sugar and what it can’t use right away, it stores in your fat cells. I also suggest whole wheat only.

Personally, even whole wheat bread bloats me but I discovered I tolerate Rye bread very well.

Those were all nutrition based examples, but maybe yours will be a fitness challenge.

Mine is exercise. I struggle with consistency of getting my workouts in each week. My trigger is all my household responsibilities. I know my work-around is going to the gym after I get the kids off to school, even though I have a great workout space at home. Until I learn to prioritize my health over that load of laundry or the dirty toilet, I won’t be successful.

Exercise is not a luxury! You can’t wait until you can afford it or until you have time. Your health will progressively deteriorate. 

I can definitely give you feedback & options on these challenges too.

To Recap:

We would use the rest of this month to prepare for the challenge by choosing our challenge, think about our triggers and obstacles. Then, on October 3rd, join the group; name your challenge, list your triggers/obstacles. I will provide feedback/options, and we will spend the next few months encouraging each other and checking in with your progress and maybe even your letdowns so that we can encourage each other some more. 

This is the perfect time of year to start, before the holidays.

Knowing that we may have some set-backs along the way, I ask once again…

What is between each step?  Grace

Disclaimer*

I am not a registered dietician or a nutrition specialist. I am an exercise specialist. It is outside of my scope of practice to outline a nutrition plan for you. However, what I can do is give good sound nutritional advice and encourage you along your way.

I thought about writing a blog post about this issue (question), but I found this article on WebMD that sums it up much more articulately than I ever could. It is about three pages long and a must read. Here it is:  http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/detox-diets-purging-myths

My beliefs on health & fitness has always been common sense and moderation. I believe God created us PERFECTLY. PERIOD. We just don’t appreciate it by eating the right foods and exercising. It really is that simple folks. Our body’s’ natural defense against toxins are our liver & kidneys. In fact, cleansing is their job and why they exist. Most people are overloading these organs by fueling them with sugar, grease, and processed foods.

Magnesium is shown to aid your cleansing organs in detoxifying. When I looked into food sources which contain magnesium, it was the same sources that supply everything else essential and good for your body: Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, beans. Don’t you see the pattern? Everything ALWAYS comes back to natural, whole foods.

I get the complaint about fruits and veggies being so expensive too.  You can save tons of money by eliminating the need for supplements, by once and for all not BUYING into the latest fads and celebrity crazes, (like cleanses), and by passing on your old favorite processed foods. That is a lot of savings right there. I would venture a bet as to say you would save money while stocking up on delicious fruits and veggies.

Oh yeah!! I forgot to mention wiping out the need for most medications. BAM! More savings. I mean come on, Doctors are only forced to put us on meds in the first place because more often than not we refuse to take care of ourselves by eating right and exercising.

Start a revolution in your household. It is not a new concept. In fact, it is THE ORIGINAL concept given us by God. We have just chosen to forget about it and leave it behind in hot pursuit of convenience, a short lived high, and an easy buck $. Think of all the people making money on selling us some new product that we are so eager to try when we had perfection from the beginning.

It’s time to stop the madness, get back to basics, and reap the rewards.

B-L-T = Bites, Licks, & Tastes.

These BLT’s happen many times throughout the day for a lot of us. Myself being a parent, I am faced with the temptation all the time, especially the busier our day is. You don’t have to be a parent to encounter these nasty little intruders. The break-room at the office, freebies at the food court, I’m sure you could think of many other scenarios the BLT temptation exists.  I’ve seen some BLT challenges out there encouraging people to commit to 30 days or whatever of just saying “no” to them. The fact is,  every leftover chicken nugget from your child’s happy meal, or doughnut a co-worker brings in to share, the calories can really add up throughout the day. My goal on the subject today is  to raise your awareness on your habits. Do you consume BLT’s everyday? It could be whats keeping you from reaching that goal.

Just food for thought.

Just the other day, I was talking to a friend who has ran marathons about my experiences with running. Lately, I have been trying to take up the new habit not only to add variety to my workouts, but also because you can do it literally anywhere. You don’t need a gym membership, you can do it on vacation, the opportunity is right outside your front door. My only problem is I tend to have discomfort in my knees, or shin splints.  I have never had any technical training with running but I know enough to know my form was probably an issue and possibly even my shoes.  So I was asking her about it and she tried to explain proper form to me without being able to demonstrate  it at the time. Then earlier today I was browsing one of the websites I have listed on babymamagotback.com under “my favorite sites” and found this video tutorial on this very topic.  It definitely looks like something that will take a lot of practice to master but this is so important for any one thinking about taking up running/jogging.  Here is the video:  “The principles of natural running”

All this time I have been blaming my poor knees for not wanting to run due to discomfort (I’ve put them through a lot by not practicing good form).  Not any more. I plan on mastering this technique. Join me in working out smarter and safer by learning the proper form, whether it’s running or weight lifting. Quality over quantity is an old adage for a reason. Very wise.

Don’t be this guy:

Everyone waits till the first of the new year to make new year resolutions.  I’m encouraging and challenging you to make them NOW.  We usually wait until after the holidays when we all feel guilty from gaining 1-5 pounds from all the indulging we did to start an exercise program or just start making better choices. To try to make those changes on top of  the fresh guilt we feel from the added pounds can sometimes set us up for failure. It’s challenging enough to set new goals and implement lifestyle changes without  the negative thoughts to begin with.

I’m encouraging you to start now!!  Allow yourself to enjoy the holidays as usual, understand you may gain a few pounds, and don’t beat yourself up if you do. Take comfort in knowing you have already begun your journey. The holidays are just a hurdle that we all face. I have found that since I have already started my journey and seen some positive changes, it makes it easier to make better, healthier choices.  If you start exercising now and kick your metabolism into gear, maybe your metabolism will eat up those extra calories you consume and you won’t see an influx on the scale at all. It’s not as impossible as you may think.

Happy Thanksgiving!!  God Bless.

Meet the ladies of Bay Vista Park.  I met them this morning after my workout of the day, two mile jog with Emma tagging along in our new jogging stroller.  I passed these ladies a few times during our run.  After I finished my second lap I took Emma to the playground to play for a little while.  While walking back to the car I passed these same ladies.  They were sitting around a picnic table, obviously finished with their morning workout as well.  As I passed, me being myself as usual, said to them in greeting, ” Are we all finished now?”.  They threw out their smiles and exhausted “yeses”.  I love these moments.  Connecting with other women through commonalities of any kind. Ours’ this morning was the pursuit of good health.  I decided to go back over and risk sounding like a complete idiot and ask if I could take their picture. Isn’t this the normal thing to do?  After receiving their initial odd expression in response, I told them I authored a blog named babymamagotback. Im pretty sure they recognized immediately the reference to the 1980’s hit by Sir Mix-A-Lot, Baby Got Back because they all struck a pose and stuck out their bums. I loved it, most people don’t catch on to it. After the introduction, the ladies were happy to oblige and even wanted to give me more information about themselves.  I’d like to share what has been working for this group and hope I do these ladies justice.  Stephanie Carrington lost 30lbs. in two months by walking and “juicing”. Due to my lack of knowledge on juicing I chose to not link to anything on this post about it. Maybe Stephanie C. will find this blog and share her routine with us in more detail. It is definitely working for her. She is apparently the encourager of the group and has her friend C. Daniels doing this routine with her and she has lost 11 lbs. in one week. Next is S. Kimbrough, she walks and plays some tennis and has lost 17 lbs. in one and a half weeks.  Stephanie’s daughter Shynique also joins them. She didn’t share any results but she supports them with her presence and enjoys their company as well.

These women are finding what works for them and I applaud them for it.  There is something that can work for everybody. I always encourage exercise and physical activity because the rewards can go far beyond  weight loss and  good health. Just as in my story this morning, it builds friendships and community.

Ladies, I hope you find your story here on babymamagotback because I would love for you to not only correct any thing I may have gotten wrong, but also just share a little more about how your becoming healthier. Don’t be afraid to brag because you deserve it.

The last thing I want to share, is Stephanie also mentioned that they work from 11pm to 7am and still meet up at the park to workout together. I was most inspired by this today.

See You At The Park Ladies!!

(Above picture from left to right: Stephanie Carrington, C. Daniels, S. Kimbrough, Shynique)

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do- Helen Keller

Three days ago I had the misfortune of kicking the leg of a futon.  There have been countless times in my life in which I have stubbed my toes. Although, never without pain, none of those incidents resulted in a broken bone, until now. Unnecessary details aside, I am experiencing much pain, pressure, swelling, and difficulty of movement. This riding the curtails of a week long of my entire household fighting a cold and severe congestion.  Some days I can’t believe the number of obstacles we can face when we are trying to reach a goal. This is definitely a moment when it feels too easy to throw in the towel and succumb to complacency with no longer making an effort to exercise. I like to blog about my struggles and ways I find to overcome them for the encouragement of my followers. This is but a moment. All things are temporary, my body will heal, this too shall pass, and I will press forward.

This leads me to something else. I have just been hired by my local YMCA as a lifestyle coach for their Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). In the interview they asked me how I would respond to a participant if they judged me  based upon my thin stature   as not being able to relate to their sensibilities about working out, and also their struggles, (most in this program will be over weight). It was an easy question to answer because I have experienced this discrimination many times.  This mentality is the number one reason I created this blog. Yes, I am a smaller framed individual; that is due to some degree genetics, the rest is perseverance.

Perseverance:

1. steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

Life circumstances do not discriminate. If you have read through my past entries, you will see all of the difficulties I have encountered, and continue to endure. I can empathize because of them and share mine to encourage others. T.V. makes it look so easy sometimes. We can not compare ourselves to people we see on T.V. They all have personal trainers, personal chefs, nannies, assistants. In the real world, it is hard, it is not easy, but, with perseverance it is very rewarding. So don’t live in the moment. Moments are fleeting, in this moment I feel defeated. If I live here I will stay defeated. Just keep your mind on where you want to be.

I want to give you a quick update since it has been six months from my last blog post. I’ve started working out at our local YMCA again and have been doing really good the last two weeks. My goal is to try to do cardio as many days as possible. It is easier for me to NOT mark my calendar with how many days, and/or which days I want to work out. With two toddlers, I am only partially in control. So I just aim for as much as possible. I have also been supplementing my workouts at home with either my step and old step aerobic routines, or my new Brazil Butt Lift dvds. My initial review on the Brazil Butt Lift series is that I will probably use it strictly for sculpting. I tried the cardio work out the other day and although it did get my heart rate up, it just wasn’t my cup of tea, and failed to challenge me cardiovascularly. My past obstacles with my toddlers still exist. I have only made it through one complete group fitness class before someone in the nursery calls my name over the intercom, or walks by the class windows holding up a sign simply saying “EMMA”. I must give the nursery attendants credits, they do try to give me as much time as possible and I appreciate that. My husband and I frequented another gym last year and as soon as one slight protest from my child came, they were out the door looking for me.

This thing called motherhood is still presenting me hurdles and I continue to find my way over, around, or through them.

So I’ve been taking an Anatomy class at a local junior college and we are currently studying the Endocrine system. This lesson will primarily focus on hormones and their functions. A fellow student asked our professor a question about hormones added to our food supply, and the affects they have on our body. The conclusion to this question, from our highly educated professor’s perspective, is that because our food supply is regulated by the FDA, the amounts of added hormones are so miniscule, it really does not affect our hormone balance.  Then, I inadvertently ran across this blog post by one of America’s favorite personal trainers, Jillian Michaels, from the T.V. show, “The Biggest Loser”. Here it is http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fitness-and-diet-tips/Finding-the-Estrogen-Progesterone-Balance .

It talks about the negative affects of hormones added to our food and definitely raises the debate over it. Although, I believe there are only good benefits to eating organic, since learning more about our bodies endocrine system, it is my opinion that it is not that important to increase your grocery budget just to buy organic. I do however, totally buy  into the reasoning that added sugar and processed foods in our diets are devastatingly bad for you, and that more than anything else, the increased intake of these pollutants over the last few decades are the main culprits for this country’s spike in many cancers and ailments, not to mention weight gain.

If you are on a tight budget like so many of us are right now, it can be depressing to think you must join a gym and buy strictly organic. It doesn’t take too much imagination to come up with ways to exercise at home, walk, sprinting up and down stairs, and so on. If I can afford it, I like to buy organic simply because I think it tastes better. But remember, it doesn’t cost anything to cut down your sugar intake and stop buying processed foods. With cancer, diabetes, blood pressure, and so many other deadly health conditions on the rise, it is time to stop buying into the lies of convenience, take back our health, and pass something good on to our children.