My Fitness Philosophy

The Dinner

Well last night's dinner was unexpected. I got home from work and started getting ready to throw something amazing (probably amazing) together to eat when Nathan realized, "We can eat dinner for free!!"

Free dinner? Yes please!

Apparently there was some leftover BBQ from an event at his school. It was free for the taking! Sign me up!

I am going to share a well kept secret with you. All free food, is healthy.

Seriously.

It doesn't matter what it is. If you didn't have to pay for it, it is good for you! So eat up!

Well, I am slightly wrong, but only slightly. How about, "When you are married and one or more of you is a full time student, then all free food is healthy"? Can I at least have that much? Ok. Thank You!

So anyway this was dinner. Sorry for the terrible photo! I only had my phone with me. Yikes!

Blurry food is healthy too!! Haha!

I tried to keep it healthy-ish I passed on the potato salad and opted out of a bun for the pork.... So it could have been worse!=)

 The Workout

Yesterday was my rest day. Since incorporating two rest days per week, I have greatly improved the quality of my workouts. I feel myself getting stronger even faster and I have so much more energy when it comes time to workout! If you are only taking one rest day a week, or heaven forbid, none..... I greatly encourage you to add one more. It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but I am confident you will be glad you did!!

The Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was an on-the-go one! Got no time! Got no time! What to do???

Grapes!!

Ate 'em while I fixed my lunch, ate 'em in the car on the way to work. Don't tell me there is no time to eat healthy!!

The Philosophy

I had a wonderful mini-conversation with a friend of mine (Hi Hannah!!) yesterday about the differences in a man's approach to fitness, and a woman's.

While we are on the subject, can I just say.....

Source

True story.


My husband's fitness philosophy is a simple one. Now, let me assure you, my husband is a weight lifter so he does watch what he eats. He eats lots of natural proteins and tons of veggies. But he can also put ice cream away like it's going out of style!! At the end of the day, his reasoning is, "As long as my chest is bigger than my stomach, I'm fit." Haha!! I'm just saying, if that is the definition of 'fit', well honey, lets just say, *ahem* I'm fit. Moving on.....

But women loose weight so much differently than men. I have seen Nathan drop 30lbs in ten days. Not. Even. Kidding. And he wasn't trying nearly as hard as I was!! *Whine*

But a woman's body is designed to hold onto fat. It's literally a part of the curse. Ya know, the whole bearing kids through pain thing. Your body is prepared to sustain another life for nine months. It wants to put some back for a rainy day, ya know what I'm saying?

But my fitness philosophy works whether you are man, woman, or trained bear.

For eating I say: If your food can go bad, it's good for you. If it can't, it's bad for you. The End.

Seriously, a twinkie can out live the average human, but try keeping bananas from turning brown......

If your great-great-great-great-great grandmother would not recognize it as food, PUT IT DOWN!!

As for workouts, my philosophy is: Do whatever works for you!!!

I get tired of the 'my workout is better than your workout.' Some people swear that you can't get fit without a Jillian Michaels DVD, others think you are out of shape if you can't run 10 miles. Others measure fitness by how much you can bench press. And it seems to me like no one can just accept that someone else likes to do a different type of workout than what they practice. Uhhg....

I think the number one reason people fail to get fit and stay fit, is due to burnout. And here is why I think people burnout:

• They hit the ground running, a bit too hard. Ease into things. If you have neglected your fitness for a while, your body is not going to be able to do what it should be able to do. You will get there but only if you stick with it. Push yourself, but keep it sustainable. 
• They compare to other people. Just don't do it. In any area of your life! If you are competitive, be competitive, but don't compare and don't put yourself down.
• They aren't having fun. My workouts are fun for me. If they weren't, I wouldn't do them. I can only guess other people are the same. 
• They aren't seeing results. Just know, on average, it takes 4 weeks for you to see results, 8 weeks for those closest to you to see results, and 12 weeks for everyone else to see it. Keep. Going.
• They don't rest. Seriously, what is the point of tearing down your muscles if you aren't going to let them repair themselves? Rest. You need it.  

Yes I have my little 'rules' for working out. I have guidelines I follow because they work for me. But anything is better than sitting on the couch eating potato chips! So get up and get moving!!  

 Let's talk about it.

What is your fitness philosophy? What do you think causes burnout? What would you tell someone who has made the decision to start getting fit?