hash tag: itsnotyourfriend

Confession time. I probably spent three of the four weeks of holiday vacation eating Christmas cookies and pancakes and bacon with lots of syrup as the main staples for my meals. Binging on this stuff is somehow a nice change of pace although they are the antithesis of high energy foods for me.  But what-the-hey...I chose to unwind, let go and throw caution to the wind. Oh yeah. Look at me walking on the wild side. 
hashtag: partyanimal

Four weeks later I can't stop looking at my “problem areas”. A few extra pounds on my thighs are a whole other wardrobe. It’s tempting to feel bad enough about it to pop another handful of mint M&Ms into my mouth cuz that's what we do when we want to slim down. ht: addictinglittlesuckers

(How are those hash tags working for ya so far? ht: justfeltlikeit)

My thoughts in writing this post are 1) to get in my own head and remind myself of the basics, 2) make a resolve to shed the cookie dough and 3) to share with potential readers the mindset of a normal woman with food temptations and body image challenges even though I am in the fitness industry. 
ht: aintnosuperwomanhere

Just to brush up on the basics, let me remind "us" that when we think of “losing weight” we think of numbers dropping on the scale. I find myself standing on it once in a while which makes me roll my eyes at myself. Of course, the scale's indicating "weight" loss aka water loss, not fat loss which is all that matters if the goal is to lean out, which it is. The scale is not our friend! Besides, have you ever noticed that when you stand on the scale two things happen simultaneous: 1) you judge yourself and 2) the instant replay of any bad things you ate begins to scroll through your mind at warp speed. Seriously, we would probably unfriend ourselves for verbal abuse if we mic-ed our minds and replayed the audio version of our negative thoughts. It's best to stay off it. Better yet, get rid of it. ht: genius

So now it's back to the lifestyle that I've been on 7 years running. Detours don't hurt as long as you don't abandon your good habits for long. My clothes are the first thing to give me a clue I'm on the right track so I use that as my main gauge. And then the magic begins to happen when I'm about 4 weeks into a consistent diet of lean meats, vegetables and fruits and exercising with intensity. ht: saynotostarchycarbs

Here's my resolve for the next couple of months (with the exception of Valentines chocolates...especially the chocolate truffles and caramels #notsharing):  workouts will be done first thing in the morning to jump start my metabolism; I’ll be drinking water all day long. I will drink 1 green drink a day (kale, spinach, green cabbage, zucchini, asparagus, garlic, ginger). I will eat every two hours and only fill my tank to 80% capacity 5 to 6 times a day. And I will get min 8 hrs. of sleep each night. ht: snapsnapsnap

My 1% focus will be to say something positive about how I look or feel as I look at myself naked in the mirror. Let’s be real, there is no greater point of reality than standing in your birthday suit looking at yourself square in the eye and holding yourself accountable to a commitment of better health. ht: graphicvisual-tmi.