How Fitness Fits into *Real* Life

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I may have missed the ball drop and am up doing some work that has lingered into the new year, however — I swear I’m still tons of fun at the ripe age of 34!  Anyhow, I was just browsing through my email and came across one that really hit home to me — and epitomizes what my blog has been about since its inception in 2013 — being healthy, fit and active on a *real life* schedule.  One day my goal is to own my own business and be able to workout all day everyday like some of the fitness professionals we all see out there.  BUT until then, I’m working full time, traveling and living in a hectic world.  If you are too, please find comfort in the excerpt I pulled from Precision Nutrition’s Dr. John Berardi’s email:

“Stats on New Year’s Resolutions — especially fitness ones — are
abysmal. Packed gyms on January 2 are ghost towns on March 2.

I thought about this the other day while driving home from a
family function (and while trying to keep Kid #1 from punching
Kid #2).

One phrase kept popping up in my mind:

“Fitness in the context of a real human life…”

Imagine:

* All 3 of your kids are sick (at the same time)…

* Your mother-in-law is in the hospital after a heart attack (and

you’re visiting daily)…

* It’s Christmas — or Thanksgiving or Passover or Diwali or Eid
or…

* Because of the holiday, you’ve got a tight deadline at work…

* When you’re stressed your lower back acts up…

…and just as you’re about to head out for the 30-minute workout
you’ve been looking forward to…your dog drops a diarrhea poop
on the living room carpet.

THAT, my friends, is fitness in the context of a real human life.

Is it any wonder most fitness resolutions fail?

If you think about it, most health and fitness plans live OUTSIDE
the context of a real life:

“Here’s a 30-day detox diet to follow… and a new hardcore
workout DVD…”

“Why not do a fitness competition in April… and a triathlon in
August…”

“It’s time to go all-in… it’s the only way to win!”

Except that it’s not.

In my experience, this kind of all-or-nothing thinking rarely
gets us all. It usually gets us *nothing*.

Because that diet plan, or workout DVD, or one-size-fits-all
training program you pulled from Triathlon magazine was never
built to accommodate sick kids or open heart surgery or your co-
worker’s 2-week vacation.

And when the insane idea that you have to do all things *perfectly*
takes hold, it’s pretty damn hard to shake that feeling loose.

Sure, we can play make-believe. We can imagine a life where
everything is peaceful, calm, and totally in our control all
the time. But that’s a sure-fire recipe for fitness failure.

Real human lives are messy and complicated. They’re
unpredictable.

When we learn to accept this they can also be dynamic and
exciting. They can push us to grow.

That’s why — with 3 children, aging parents, active social
lives, and thriving businesses — my wife and I really did make
New Year’s Resolutions this year.

As we always do, we plan on continuing to prioritize our health,
build strength and fitness, and maybe even maintain our abs.

But 2015 is our year to do it flexibly — and honestly — in the
context of *our* real human lives.

Our children will be fevered, snotty, and barfy. Our time will be
limited. And we’ll miss last call at the gym because of doggie
poo.

This year we’ll plan for all that in advance.

After we’ve cleaned up the poo and sprayed the Febreeze, we might
work out in that same living room. With no weights or machines
maybe we’ll jump around like maniacs so we can move our bodies
while keeping an eye on the kids.

Or maybe we’ll be stuck eating nasty hospital food. If so, we’ll
make the best choice we can within the spectrum of choices. And
then do push-ups and air squats in the cafeteria, or walk laps
around the cardiac ICU.

And on those rare days we’re not dealing with emergencies? Maybe
we’ll soothe our control-freak souls with the Perfect Workout. Or
all-day Clean Eating.

Even though neither is actually required.

Every single person I’ve seen achieve health and fitness in the
long run accomplishes it by simply showing up every day, not by
trying to “get it right”.

In the end, I have no clue what real life will bring us in 2015.

But we’re committed to doing the best we can, when we can, with
whatever we’ve got. Day in and day out.

I hope you are too.

Because, with 2015 just around the corner, it’s an interesting
time to make (or renew) your commitment to health and fitness.

Why not do that while considering the context of *your own* unique,
interesting, and challenging life?

Happy New Year,

-JB and the rest of the PN family”

And there it is.  He said it better than I could ever have.  Let’s live in a flexible 2015, where we don’t try to be perfect, we don’t obsess and we are honest with ourselves and what is going on in our crazy lives.

Wishing you health, safety, fullness in life for 2015,

~Melissa*

Foreign Fitness?

Greetings from Frankfurt, Germany!!!!!!!  So I’ve been absent for the past week, but as you can see, I kinda jet set across the sea and had to get my bearings.  I also wasn’t really working out due to chiropractic orders.  Great news, however: I’M CLEAR TO WORK OUT AGAIN.  Bad News: I’M IN EUROPE IN A HOTEL.

Looks like I’ve got a challenge before me.  Can I hammer out some fantastic and intense bodyweight/dumbbell workouts in the hotel gym (see picture above)?  Or do I say, “Hey, I did ALOT of walking today, I’m all set on working out.  I’m also facing the “cool factor” because I’m here on a graduate school trip, looking like a loser because, “No guys, I think I’m going to go workout tonight.  You all have fun at the German bar, drinking the German beer and enjoying the moment.”  Plus I’m the oldest of my small peer group.  I might as well give getting older a bad name while I’m at it.

Nonetheless, I have to keep myself sane.  So loser-ville it is for me so far — I choose to workout.  But trust me, I’m not sitting around in my hotel all evening either.  I’ve had an amazing time with my classmates and soaked in a lot of the local culture.

I’ll check back in with you all to let you know what workouts I’m doing in that gem of a fitness center.  I’m also not eating so shabby either — if they just didn’t serve potatoes with EVERY meal here, I’d be good.

Okay, friends…it’s midnight here, so Gute Nacht!

Fitness Phobia Part 2: I Missed a Workout!

What?!  You didn’t make it to the gym today?!  Well, you probably shouldn’t eat carbs for the next two days and when you do go to the gym next, tag on 30 extra minutes to the treadmill and do 50 extra burpees.  

Okay, just so you know, I am NOT SERIOUS about the opening paragraph.  But I do know that is how some of us think when we miss a workout.  If you are like me, you start downward spiraling into dramatic thoughts about the strength gain you’re losing, the calories that are now going to set up camp on your inner thighs and overall, you naturally are going to be in a bad mood because your endorphines didn’t release, right?  That dress you are wearing to Miami this weekend?  Forget it, blubberella.  You missed the workout, so now it’s too late to make up for it.    

Ridiculous, isn’t it?  ONE WORKOUT was missed, relax.  Hell, miss the whole week if you want.  IT WILL BE OKAY.  

This blog is a true reflection of my life right now (yes, I am going to Miami on Friday).  A tweaked back injury and a trip to the chiropractor sidelined me for at minimum, 2 weeks.  When I left the doctor’s office, I immediately said, “I’m not missing the gym, tonight is my squat night.  I’m close to a PR.  Not happening, bro.”  However, I ended up listening to him.  I am 8 days into a “rest”, a deload, a break — however you want to slice it, I’m sedentary.  And it’s causing me some anxiety.  

Albeit, I will say…my back feels great.  I’ve taken the past 8 days to challenge my ability to stay on track with eating healthy. It’s also a legit “excuse” to not cram the gym into my busy schedule for once.  

Regardless, I am looking forward to making even better gains in the gym with a healthier back.  I truly believe and know that 2 weeks of rest will equal better performance and results.  Does it pain me to admit that?  Yes.  No pun intended.

Fit Phobia Part I: The Scale

So you weigh yourself everyday, right?  I know you do.  Did you gain or lose a pound since yesterday?  Before you start pondering why you gained or lost a pound over 24 hours, how about let’s just stop the daily weigh in.  For real.  Stop it. 

Unfortunately, for all of us who are overly impatient (that’s me), results from working out and eating healthy just don’t happen quick enough.  We weigh ourselves daily, looking for immediate confirmation that what we are doing is working.  Well, I don’t do that anymore.  Ever.  That picture of the scale above…yes, that is mine.  Look real close and you’ll see dust/dirt.  I found it when I was moving things out of my basement before the hurricane. 

Anyhow, why not do a daily weigh in?  Let me give you a few things that can give you a false sense of gain or loss:

• fluid retention or excretion (always pee before you weigh in for better results, right)
• “water weight” loss is not the same as fat loss
• muscle weighs more than fat
• salt intake (assists in fluid retention)
• timing of meals and weigh in — did you weigh in the morning or afternoon?  Is there food in your stomach, adding that whole half a pound? (8 oz steak anyone? — which = 1/2 lb)

Okay, so that’s my non-professional opinion on why a daily weigh in makes no sense and just messes with your mind.

HOWEVER, now that I found my scale, I’ll hop on it once a month or when I know I’ve had an excellent run with my eating and workouts.  It’s for positive reinforcement.  You won’t find me on that thing when I had a cake-eating meltdown, trust me.  Nonetheless, weighing in does help you bench mark, just not on a daily basis.

Capiche?

Intermittent Fasting: My Rookie Year

Coffee or tea is my fasting must-have tool!

When I first met Matt last summer (he’s my “other half”), I was doing a Crossfit type of workout plan and trying to not eat after 9:00 pm. Nothing majorly wrong with that plan, but this is when he stepped in and started sending me information and fitness articles that matched my goals. In one of those articles, Intermittent Fasting (IF) was mentioned. And I said, “YAH RIGHT, THERE IS NO WAY.” I love to eat wayyyyy too much to be able to fast. This is just crazytown. End of story.
Well, kind of end of story. I saw a little something about how IF “shreds fat”. Like any typical woman, I unnecessarily stand in the mirror and pinch my fat areas and wish that there was some fat suctioning device or fat-melt pill you could take. However, we know that is not the case and I don’t trust nor can afford lypo-suction (plus that’s cheating). BUT a “fat shredding” diet plan. Well okay? MAYBE I’ll try this fasting thing.

To fast forward you through my rookie year, I started playing with intermittent fasting in August. Many people fast for 24 hours, 1 day per week. I never took that route. Instead I do “eating windows”. I fast for 16 hours and have an 8 hour period of time where I eat everyday. For me, skipping breakfast and my usual morning snack made the most sense. More or less, I eat from 12:30 – 8:30 pm everyday. However, this took me quite some time to figure out how to do it right. I struggled for the first few months to fast the entire 16 hours. Then I overate when I broke my fast, as if I had been stranded in the dessert for days. I read several articles and books, but often got bored of the science behind the hormonal balances, etc. And moreover, I wondered when all my fat was going to shred away!?!?!?!

Nonetheless, I established a solid eating lifestyle that I am now very comfortable with. Both Matt and I can attribute fasting to my stable weight during a very busy and stressful year. Note that I was displaced for 2.5 months from Hurricane Sandy and then had stitches that sidelined my workouts for a few weeks — and then I decided it was an amazing idea to go back to graduate school full time among that chaos. So maybe the fat didn’t completely shred, but my body could be in a much less desirable state, all things considered.

All in all, I probably only figured out my intermittent fasting routine and caloric intake over the past month and a half. And I would say I’m starting to see my body change in just a short time.

Trust me, IF is definitely not for everyone and it isn’t easy if you have a family to cook for and eat with; I am a single person who roams freely. And studies have shown IF is more effective in males. I will say though, if you want to dabble in IF, definitely do your research. It’s not for everyone and a doctor should probably approve of your plan to try it.

Fasting is an interesting adventure, so I’ll be posting on how I manage the 16 hours of zero calorie intake, as well as how I workout fasted. If you are curious about it now, feel free to comment with any questions!

DISCLAIMER: I’m not a fitness guru or professional, I’m just an ordinary girl trying to be super fit.