New City, New Routine

Hello fitness friends! They say change is the key to keeping exercise fun, and I’ve had plenty of it lately. I moved to Old Town Alexandria from Michigan three weeks ago, and I lost a little bit of my fitness moxie in the transition. Between planning, moving, unpacking, exploring my new neighborhood, multiple trips to the DMV and having to go back home for a wedding, my workouts definitely fell to the bottom of the list. Plus, there are so many new restaurants in D.C. and Old Town to try and I fell off the clean eating wagon big time (Ping Pong, Nando’s Peri-Peri and a La Lucia are my favorites so far).

After about a month of relatively little activity, absolutely no strength training and a diet loaded with sugar, sodium and I don’t want to think what else, my mood and energy level were beginning to suffer. A long power walk/run on the treadmill got me headed in the right direction, and then I went to spin class in Capitol Hill and it got me pumped up! No surprise there – I am addicted to spin! This new studio doesn’t compare to the Real Ryder studio I went to back in Michigan, but it was still good to get back in the saddle and my butt in gear. I’m also re-dedicated to clean eating, now with one free day each week.

We’ve started going to a gym that’s only four walkable blocks away. I’ve already been there three times: once for a spin class (I liked it even less than the one in Capitol Hill, but it’s part of our membership and I’m hoping it was just this class/instructor I didn’t like); a second time for a free session with a personal trainer but because I’m not really interested in working long-term with a trainer (no one can ever, ever replace my trainer Laura from Michigan…if it’s not Laura, I’m not interested) so we focused on foam rolling instead, and she developed a circuit I can do on my own; and today I did some elliptical and treadmill work, weights and foam rolling.

Tomorrow we are hiking, and Monday we start CrossFit again. We’re watching the CrossFit games as I write this, and it is making me more excited than ever to lift heavy stuff! I am so ready to get back into a fitness routine after some time off. It may have been a much-needed break, physically and mentally, because it made me realize how much better I feel when I’m IN THE PINK.

Emily’s Inspiring Transformation

I am really excited about this post – I get to introduce you all to my friend Emily and tell you all about her inspirational transformation!

Emily and I met when we both attended a national training conference as volunteers for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. I was the media rep for the Detroit affiliate and she was the media rep for the Columbus affiliate.  I lost my mom and she lost her dad to pancreatic cancer. Then we discovered that we had both previously worked for the same global PR agency. And most recently, she and I have both adopted new healthy lifestyles. An emotional eater and sugar addict, Emily says she has battled with her weight all her life, and now, having lost 65 pounds – I love this – she says, “I’m finally living the way my dad would want me to live – happy!!”

Like so many people, Emily tried many times to lose weight. In September, something “clicked” and she decided life was too short to be unhappy and self-conscious all of the time. She set out to lose 90 pounds. She says her activity level was “almost non-existent” before September, so she found something she liked – Jazzercise.

“I never, ever thought I would find an exercise I would like. It makes sense because I always danced when I was younger, and Jazzercise is choreographed fitness. Even though I fell off the wagon many times, because I was going to Jazzercise, I mostly maintained my weight loss during those times, though my eating habits were less than stellar,” Emily said. “Everyone has different preferences for working out. The key is to find something you enjoy. That makes it so much easier to stick with it.”

“The key is to find something you enjoy.”

But the biggest change for Emily was her diet. She learned the importance of portion control and making smart meal choices. She focuses on portion control, and makes conscious efforts to stop the cycle of emotional eating. MyFitnessPal helps her stay within the suggested calorie, fat and carb ranges.

It hasn’t been easy, though. “I can’t tell you how many happy hours I’ve been to where I’ve just looked longingly at what my friends are drinking and eating. It is not to say that I don’t have the occasional donut or margarita – because I do! Otherwise I’d go crazy. I always make sure I work out on the days I have a cheat meal,” she said.

Amazing 🙂

With 65 pounds less under her belt and 25 more to go, I asked her why she thinks her changes “stuck” this time around. She told me, “I’ve hit some bumps in the road, but instead of focusing on them and letting them hold me back, I moved on and kept going.”

She added, “My life has completely changed since last September – my attitude, my outlook on life, my relationships with those closest to me, etc. I have started fully living, and that’s priceless.”

“I have started fully living, and that’s priceless.”

Here are some tips from Emily:

• When I really want a cookie or a donut or cake (it really is all about the sweets), I try to keep my mind focused on my end goal. What do I really want? Do I really that? Sometimes the answer is yes, I really need that. I eat it, am usually mad that I did but then focus on keeping going.

• I love Bob Harper’s quote – “Believe in yourself. Trust the process. Change forever.” You have to trust the process. If you’re doing it right, it is going to take time. Trust that it is worth it. There have been weeks when I have done everything right and hardly lost anything! Those are the most frustrating weeks! But eventually I start losing again. I just have to trust the process.”
  

  “Trust the process.”

• You have to do this for yourself – because YOU want it. No one can make you do it – you have to want it – bad enough to get through some dark times.