What the Heck Happened?

Yikes! What happened to me yesterday?  Well, I'm wondering the same thing.  I came home from work around 7:00pm, made a quick high protein dinner, ate, and decided to sit down on the couch to read a book and let a little digestive action take place before my scheduled run.  I don't think I got two pages in the book before I passed out. I slept so hard that I didn't awake until midnight...very confused....as you can imagine.  The 5am thing must have sucked the life out of me!  Or maybe it was just the week in general.  So, yesterday I missed my workout....ahh!! I'm shucking this one to "Life Happens". 

On my very empty stomach, I went to my chiropractor this morning and did a bio analysis.  The last one I did was in November 2010.  I was expecting to see a drastic difference in the results from who I was then to who I am now.  In all honesty, I expected to be able to flush this whole self-proclaimed skinny fat description right down the you know what.  That unfortunately wasn't the case...not by any stretch. 

The test started with my weight;  I weighed in at 121 - making that a total loss of 6lbs. As I internally celebrated the weight loss news, the test results printed off.  This is where it takes a turn...the analysis revealed a LARGE percentage of body fat among other startling news.  UGH!  More to come on this in the very near future including his proposed solution...a challenge that I will fully embrace as of November 1, 2011.

I am eager, and willing to take those drastic measures to feel my ultimate best. As great as I feel the majority of the time, and as much strength as I have gained in these last almost 5 months, I'm still on a journey to being truly healthy, fit, and having that crazy amount of  energy that make headlines.  I'm okay with this not being "easy" - only because I know that I am on the right track.  Each rock I overturn, the more I am able to connect the dots and gain a deeper understanding of me. Of my body.  After all, if I don't take care of it, where else will I live?


Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat

High Five to Me - Healthy, Happy & FIT!

It gives me great pleasure to give myself a "High Five" for finally gaining control of maintaining a challenging, and constantly changing, fitness regimen. This is, after all, a big portion of what this blog is about.  As I had noted in my posts early on, staying committed to my workouts has always been a struggle for me.  While I was four years into the clean eating lifestyle, I could not seem to get a handle on getting fit...leaving me to be as I describe skinny fat. 

During this time running was in the mix, but as I learned over the years just running doesn't mold the body to perfection (defined by me of course).  Yes, I ran several half marathons but it's not like I was speed training, or breaking new records...and I was surely not consistent.  I'd go two weeks on, one month off; one week on, one week off; one month on, three months off...so as you can imagine - gains in my quest to be fit was nearly impossible. 

In my desperation to tone my body, I joined several group fitness classes, the gym, a yoga studio, etc.  While all taught me new things about myself - especially yoga - it just wasn't a sustainable lifestyle of me.  In other words, I failed - at every single one of them.  First I missed one class here and there, then a whole week, and then I was too embarrassed to even come back.  I know that I shouldn't have felt ashamed for letting my life take over and not sticking to the commitment as I had promised myself I would...but I did. It was easier to not face the crowd and be out the money - in each instance - so I was left to start over time and time again. 

In June of 2011, in other words just four short months ago, I made what I can easily call now the best decision ever as it relates to reaching my fitness goals. Via a Google search, I discovered Cari's OneonOne Fitness Training.  I immediately clicked "How to Get Started" and after reading through the content, I was sold.  In addition to her words, Cari's overall fitness appearance had me rest assured that she didn't just talk the talk.  I knew without even speaking to her that she was capable of molding me - that is of course if I was ready to commit to the challenge. 

Picture above - Fit Girl Cari Draft, Personal Fitness Trainer,
& Owner of EcoTrek Fitness (outdoor group workouts)

Pulled from Cari's website she so eloquently says it just right...

"As a personal trainer who designs custom-made workouts for clients, I always get fired up when the peeps seem motivated to get in shape... but three months later, several of them have just “run out of time”, “run out of money” or simply lost their desire to get fit and healthy for whatever reason.  There are several stages a person goes through when they come to me for help. Stage one would be thinking about making a change; then there’s deciding to change, making preparations to change, and finally, initiating actual changes! Sometimes when clients contact me too early in their process, they are doomed to fail.  The most successful fitness clients I have are the ones who have linked regular physical activity to the things that are important to them. Everyone needs to see, at some point, that regular exercise is essential and has to be a priority; once you find yourself in the stage where you are ready to initiate actual changes, THAT is the time to contact me!"
 

It was as if her words were meant for my eyes only.  I was ready. I quickly filled out the required questionnaire, submitted it via email, and Cari reached out to me within hours. We chatted shortly about my goals and set up our first meeting at local park.  During that first workout together, I was quickly aware just how out of shape I was. As I told Cari, looks are deceiving - I may be "small" but darn it all I huffed and puffed my way through it.  She was encouraging and made it known that resilience and discipline was going to be key in my success. 

One of the first things I told Cari was,
"I need you to help me get arms like yours!"

I have since met with Cari a total of four more times.  Each time, I get a brand new strength training workout that I commit to doing twice a week at home (I do them right in my backyard), along with running four times a week.  I've gone from the girl who hated ab work to loving it, to dreading pushups to thinking I'm pretty fantastic at them.  While we only meet once a month, Cari keeps a pulse on my progress. I love bragging to her - she was the first person I told when I bought my size 2 shorts, and the first person I told when I bought my first size 0 dress.  Each and every time with every mini goal under my belt I asked her, "Is this for real?"  My waist has went from a 30.75'' (across the belly) to 27.75''.  I haven't quite reached all of my fitness goals, but I LOVE that I am finally on the right track.  I'm closer now than ever before to being truly skinny and FIT.  Skipping workouts is not an option.  I'm as committed to them as I am to clean eating and that right there is worth a whole lot of high fives!  

This is the Before Clean Eating ME...

This is the After Embracing Clean Eating & 3 Months of
Personal Training with Cari Draft ME

Calls for a High Five or two, right?

Keep it Clean & Enjoy the Ride,
Mrs. Skinny Fat