STOP THE MADNESS!!

First, before I pick up the mic, can I just mention a mental victory I accomplished today?

It's LAUNDRY DAY. That means get EVERYONE'S clothes picked up, separated, washed, folded and put away again. I normally enjoy this routine accompanied with Biggest Loser and not changing out of my pajamas. I usually get most of my folding done when Little Man goes down for a nap so he doesn't give his little heart into "helping me". When I put Little Man down for a nap, there WAS a basket of laundry that needed to be folded. But do you know what I told myself?

The laundry can wait.

Where are your priorities?

Laundry will get folded, and you may even get some help doing it when everyone gets home.

Keep your promise to workout while the babe is sleeping and go get dressed.

So I did. And my workout was awesome. I gave it my all during my 9MM, and had to take it a little easier during my treadmill circuit because I was feeling a little lightheaded. But, I did it, and I knocked my 10k steps out of the park before my circuit training was over.

Make a promise to yourself. Define it and keep it.



Now, stepping onto soap box and picking up the mic...

This week for me has been called a Slingshot Week- a week to kickstart my metabolism by eating high carb meals every meal, every day. It was a little scary at first to get started because I do love the low carb days in really helping me shed the water weight. But you know what? This is about LIFESTYLE for me, not the scale. If my lifestyle changes, then the scale will show healthy lifestyle that I want. I am prepping for a gain on the scale, mainly due to water retention, but I have to  be grateful for that because that means my body is doing EXACTLY what I am telling it to do.

The extra weight we carry is a beautiful thing-when it comes to our functioning bodies of course. All the extra weight we carry, in what we call "fat" is just extra energy that our bodies have stored because it doesn't know what to do with it. When you overeat with high calorie, high fat, and high sugar meals, you are essentially giving your body too many calories...and not good ones at that. So what does your body do? It takes the input and stores it...because it doesn't know what else to do with it. Now, with my carb cycling, doing high carb meals 5x a day every day this week is telling my body to rev it up. Carbs give your body energy, and so when I am feeding my body carbs, it starts burning carbs to fuel my body. With the consistency of the 5 meals, it keeps revving and my body's engine burns hotter. As my engine is burning hot and revving because of the food I eat, when I go into a carb cycle called the Turbo Cycle this coming week, and drop into 2 consecutive days of low carb eating, what will my body need to burn for energy? Fat. My metabolism doesn't stop revving because my eating is consistent and my meals are HUGE. So, though I may see a weight gain this week, my body will get RIGHT back into gear with getting my body fat percentage down and my lean muscle percentage up when I jump into my new trial carb cycling regimen.

So let me emphasize that again...My metabolism is ON FIRE and I'm losing weight like crazy (have lost weight...14.4lbs in 3 months) is BECAUSE OF THE FOOD I EAT.

Working for Weight Watchers, as a Leader, it's my JOB to help people adjust their eating, adjust their lifestyle and guide them to changes that will bring them results. All too often I see people with this mentality: If I just eat less, like, don't use all my daily smartpoints, don't even touch my weekly points, and pretend my FitPoints don't even exist, all the while increasing my exercise...I will just lose weight.

PEOPLE!! I did NOT get where I am today from eating carrot sticks, celery, and water! I got where I am today because I. ATE. FOOD. And I ENJOYED it!

If you are making a machine burn more fuel than you are giving it, what is going to happen? It's going to burn out and pretty ruin itself. You can't make a car go without any gas! My WW friends...eat your dang points. I eat all my weeklies (obviously) and I used to make sure I ate at least 1/2. If you are stuck in a plateau, face your fear and EAT THE FOOD, TINA! EAT THE FOOD!

Next item of business, STOP WEIGHING IN EVERY DAY!! Yeah, I know who you are. Mostly because you admit to it when you see me on Thursdays or Saturdays, but for those of you who HAVEN'T told me...Stop.

When I was in high school, I teetered on the verge of an eating disorder. I was weighing myself everyday and getting so confused and frustrated at the scale. I never actually succumbed, thankfully, but I decided to just forget the d*** thing and move on, still depressed and still frustrated, but wanting to change. My eating still wasn't great, but I upped my running and I decided one day to just step on the scale for what the heck. And I had lost. People, when we are looking at the scale everyday, this is how it usually plays out:
You have a really great day in your week, tracking, exercising and everything. Step on the scale next morning: loss. You repeat the day and you step on the scale again: gain What?! I worked so hard! I guess I better a) exercise more b) eat less c) go to the bathroom and try weighing again. 

So on, and so forth. One person in my life tells me she weighs on the scale every day because it helps her stay on track. Guys, REAL sustainable weight loss patterns DON'T even SHOW themselves until AFTER 2 weeks!! The weekly weigh-in is for accountability!! Our bodies fluctuate throughout the week. On my carb cycling, between high and low carb days my weight can fluctuate anywhere from 2-5 pounds in 1 DAYS TIME. If I had seen that my first week, I would have been so distraught and thrown out a lifestyle that has changed and redefined my life. I never step on the scale before weigh in day...I look at it and THINK about stepping on it because it's a pretty sweet looking tool that I bought myself for graduation. But that little FitBit Aria Scale is a friend I have rejoiced with ONLY at 5:30am on Saturday mornings. Work towards that...the mental game the scale plays with us as we weigh in everyday is SO NOT GOOD FOR US...Don't do it. TRUST the program, TRUST, TRUST< TRUST! My WW friends- Beyond the Scale is SO amazing...trust it and it will work for you!

Last but not least...sleep. People, LISTEN TO YOUR BODIES. If you have set a routine to get up at 5am and workout and eat breakfast and be showered before 7am (like I had set for myself 3 weeks ago) and you are starting to poop out and not feel so great (like I did)?? Then STOP! Gosh! Coulda had a V-8! I've learned that if your body is TIRED and your brain is like "let's go, let's go" let your body take the steering wheel and sleep a little longer. I've switched my routine to just get up around 5:50am to eat breakfast at 6am (sometimes I fudge and don't eat until 6:30am) and then I get started making lunch for my husband and getting in some "me time" whether that's reading or blogging or Connect-ing or anything of the sort. My workout comes when Little Man goes down for his first nap. With that change, not only is my body loving me a bit more, I'm NOT hating my workouts. I actually have MORE energy to perform and I feel SO much better. If 5am works for you, then more power to you. Rock the morning. But if you are finding that you are just HATING life when that alarm goes off...switch it up a bit and find something that REALLY works for you.

Friends...

1. EAT GOOD FOOD. Don't starve yourself, don't cut your points, embrace your weeklies, and if you are power-housing it through workouts...dig into the points that you earn above a baseline of 3 FitPoints. (Every day routines equal about 3 FitPoints, so say you earn 8 FitPoints in a day...use 5 FitPoints to eat...if you need to).
2. GET YOUR BODY MOVING, all within reason. Listen to your body, love it, and it will love you back with more energy and endurance.
3. GIVE YOURSELF AN OPPORTUNITY IN A DAY'S TIME TO MENTALLY RESET! Whether that's your workout or painting your nails or working on that old model car in your garage...Whatever makes me feel accomplished in a day's time, counts!

*phew* Keep swimming my friends, and keep it real...

Mic Drop.
Camille