Why is it so hard to be consistent?!

Consistency is what sets you apart from the rest. It is what takes you to the next level or next chapter in your fitness journey. For me, it is the one thing that I struggle with the most. I can prep for a show and stay consistent and discipline for 12 weeks and then it all collapses after that. I’m growing and learning each time. 

What does is take to stay consistent the whole year? 

First, you definitely have to stay motivated. Find what drives you and remember why you started doing this in the first place. Your motivation might be your spouse, your kids, or even proving to yourself that you can achieve what you have always wanted. 

Second, find accountability. Ask someone you trust to keep you accountable. For me, I prefer someone not so close to me. It’s easier to let down someone who loves you like family member because you know they will still love you after and there isn't much consequence. A good person to keep you accountable is a personal trainer, fitness coach, or even social media. If you have constant check-ins with a coach or trainer, it will keep you on your toes. Plus, progress pictures are so motivating! Now what do I mean about social media? If you make your goals public, people are constantly watching you, following your journey, and looking to see if you are doing what you say you were going to do. Sounds kind of scary doesn't it? It definitely does keep you going, though.

Find balance. I know one of the main reasons I struggle with staying disciplines long term is because I get burned out. I go balls to the wall and eventually get bored with my diet or exercise regimen. It is a good idea to still make time for things you enjoy outside of fitness. I love to spend some time with friends, travel, and painting. Also, mixing things up in your routine will keep things fresh. On an active recovery day, try yoga. Go hiking or join a new bootcamp for cardio. Experiment with different seasoning to make your food prep taste a little different. Go run along a path with beautiful scenery. Change up your playlists on apple or spotify. Have a gym partner to go with you to the gym to motivate you, change things up, and make things fun. It is always good to be with someone who challenges you to be the best version of of yourself. 

Lastly, keep a routine of healthy habits. Habit change is for sure the key ingredient in a lasting lifestyle shift. Be sure to check out my blog post about habits. When the things you do become habits, you naturally don't have to think about them as much because it just part of your daily routine… it is something you are use to. These kind of things don’t happen overnight. It is going to take some time. Keep giving each day your best effort and the rest will take care of itself.

Reality Shift

Ever wonder why some people kick butt at what they are doing and seemingly never get bored with it? Why do some just fall flat on their faces and their endeavors seem like a constant struggle? 

Well, the common denominator is the mindset. Your thoughts direct your reality. 

If your reality is that you’re too busy, you’re always tired, you’re hurting, its just too hard.. you need to change your beliefs in order to fix that reality. Write these things down and then rewrite them with the exact opposite. Ex: I always have time, It's never too hard, I got this! You need to love yourself and tell yourself you are going to dominate.

How to change your reality:

• Fake it till you make it- Yep, I just told you to be a fake.. If you think you’re not ever going to reach your goal as a hot, aesthetically pleasing, fitness model.. Act as if you will be both in and out of the gym. If you don’t think you’ll ever get your dream job, pretend you are already super qualified, work your butt off to take the necessary steps, and tell yourself it will happen and your moment is about to emerge. This works for anything. Act like what you would want your future self to be like.

• Upgrade- If someone is holding you back from your goals, I think you need to upgrade! That can mean friends or significant others. If it’s your current job holding you back, quit and allow yourself to be available for a new opportunity. Upgrade your lifestyle. You can get rid of all of the clutter, donate your old clothes, organize your closet or workspace, clean out your car, buy a new wardrobe that makes you feel sexy and confident, get a new hairstyle, etc. There are so many things you can do to start fresh.

• Support- Surround yourself with people who think and act the way you want to. Be around and make friends with people who motivate you and who are positive influences. Stay away from small minded and negative people. Ask friends and family to keep you accountable to your goals.

• Make it Public- When you make your goals and ambitions public, it keeps you very accountable. It makes you feel like people are watching and you have to stay on your toes. Post your goals online and you’ll be surprised how much support you get. Posting progress pictures also keeps you accountable! When you keep things hidden, its easy to just to mess up and act like previous progress and mess ups never happened. Its easier to give up and sweep under the rug.

BE UNSTOPPABLE

Why Fitness Is Hard

Like most goals we have, we get excited about them for maybe a couple of weeks and the excitement fades. Many people have the unrealistic expectation that their body will drastically change in a couple of weeks. They don't see big results and they tend to give up. The best things take time and patience. 

Most common reasons for failure with dieting:

 1.) They starve themselves and deprive themselves from carbs which eventually leads to binging- carbs are not your enemy!

2.) Their diets are so restrictive that they find it too difficult to stick with it for a long period of time

3.) They aren't educated enough in nutrition and they consume hidden calories and fat in dressings, drinks, and snacks

4.) They become too tempted to eat junk because of busy schedules and/or traveling (Try 1st Phorm's Level-1 protein as a quick and delicious meal replacement)

5.) They don't want to sacrifice their social life and end up drinking and eating unhealthy at parties, outings, dinners, weddings, etc..

Most common reasons for failure with exercise regimen:

1.) They lose motivation and lack patience when results aren't seen right away

2.) They fall out of habit because of life circumstances, work, travel, holidays, etc

3.) They start out too strong that they burn out easily. The workouts may be too challenging. This could also cause injury and lack of energy.

4.)They compare themselves to fitness models or someone who’s been doing this a long time and have a lack of confidence and mentally “check out”

You need to prepare yourself for these challenges and know you are not alone! Make sure your expectations are realistic. Drastic results often lead to the results being reversed just as quick. A Lifestyle change happens over months and even years. Stay motivated and keep going!! It is so worth it.

The Power of Focus and Habit Change

Increasing power through narrow focus

  A lot of times we tend to overthink, multitask, and get distracted when it comes to our goals. Whether it is fitness, work, family, or life in general, we all want to do so much. How much of it do we actually get done? 

Reason for starting small:

1.) Narrows focus

2.) Keeps you motivated and enthused 

3.) Easier to manage

4.) Less stressful

5.) Slow and steady wins the race ( long lasting results)

6.) Ensures success

  We all have many goals we want to achieve. Choosing one single goal to achieve and then moving to the next is much more effective. You don't want to spread your focus too thin and dilute the power behind your efforts. Break that one single goal into sub goals that are easier to obtain. This keeps you organized. Immediate achievement is rewarding and addicting.

How to focus on completion and immerse yourself into that task:

1.) Choose a task you are passionate about

2.) Choose something challenging

3.) Break tasks down into simple and small tasks to stay organized and motivated

4.) Eliminate distractions and the nonessential tasks

5.) Start tasks first thing in the morning and set a routine

6.) Visualize the end result of completion and how rewarding it will be

How does this all apply to your fitness goals?

  We often overwhelm ourselves with everything we need to do to reach our body and lifestyle goals. It’s really very simple. Find motivation and a plan to steadily reach your goals by narrowing down your goals into small tasks. Understand that it will take time and slow progress will stick with you longer. Eliminate your distractions, temptations, and set a routine to break old habits and start new ones. 

  If your goal is to lose weight, start by simply waking up every morning with a healthy balanced breakfast and create a daily routine including physical activity. By doing this one thing, eating a healthy breakfast, you have broken down your goals into smaller tasks. You then completed that one simple tasks and created a new habit! BOOM. Next, choose another tasks such as a time every day or every other day to go to the gym. Just getting up and going is something to be extremely proud of. Often, it is getting started that is the hardest part. Creating habits is key to a lifestyle change.

In a relationship.. with food.

How’s Your relationship with food?

Think of food as a way to nourish your body. Don’t think of food as something you have to eat or not suppose to eat.

We tend to connect food with how it affects our body image. Instead of thinking of food as a way to keep us nourished and energized, we tend to directly connect food with how we feel about and how we look at our bodies. Food is food. Why torture yourself and make food to be the source of anxiety and let is rule your life?! Love yourself in all forms and don’t make that love be dependent on what you put in your stomach. 

Here’s how to correct your dysfunctional foodship!

1.) BECOME SELF AWARE/ MINDFUL- be mindful of when you are comfortably full. Sometimes we eat so fast and carelessly that we wait for the fullness to slap us in the face! Eat slow and listen to your body when it says you have had plenty of nourishment. 

2.) PREPARE- Prepare your food in single serving sizes. When you eat till everything is gone you usually feel guilty. When its pre-portioned you won’t have this guilt when its gone. You are tricking your mind! 

3.) DON’T GO HUNGRY- do not ever let your self go hungry! When you feel hunger creeping up on you, EAT! Have small meals throughout the day so you don’t end up binge eating in one meal. Smart snacking between meals can also combat hunger without guilt.

4.) DON’T GIVE UP ON THE FOODS YOU LOVE- Simply modify them to be healthier. There are plenty of recipes to make deserts that are better for you. You can also indulge in moderation. Have a small desert once a week. That way you have something to look forward to! You can also refer to my desert recipes high in protein at beautyworkfitness.com 

5.) HAVE GRATITUDE- Think of how the food in front of you is a privilege and a blessing. You are so lucky to have nutritious options available to you! Take advantage of it and be thankful. What you are about to eat should nourish your body, help your hormones, help your organs function properly, aid in cell functioning, and give you the energy you need to live!

6.)STOP GUILT- guilt manifests into stress releasing cortisol. Cortisol affects blood glucose levels, metabolism, immune response, blood pressure, and the central nervous system. If you eat something that you think you aren't suppose to eat hen get over it. That one thing won't ruin your life. Move on. Be happy.

7.) STOP COMPARING- everyone has different complex body mechanisms. Nutrition needs for you are totally different from your peers. Just because you know someone who is “fit” and never touches a cookie, doesn't mean you’re not going to be fit if you eat a cookie. Everyone’s metabolism is different and everyone responds to foods differently. That is why cookie cutter meal plans never work. Don’t take other people’s relationship with food personally. Focus on yourself! 

8.) AVOID BORED EATING- if you are not even hungry, don’t let yourself reach for food just because it's there. Get up and do something in its place. Take a bath, start cleaning, complete a task you want to finish, call a friend, or do something active.

Emotional eating is very common. Don’t think you are an emotional eater? Ask yourself this: When you have worked really hard that day/that week, when you accomplished a daunting task, or when you completed a workout at the gym, do you reward yourself with something you normally don’t eat? Like ice-cream, cake, an entire pizza, or fast food? That’s emotional eating. Food isn't something to be deserved or deprived of. It's just food intended for one reason only. Nourishment. When you eat for nourishment you are giving it what it needs. Now that's not emotional. That's Physiological. That’s respecting yourself.

YOU HAVE ONE BODY. RESPECT IT. NOURISH IT. LOVE IT. TREASURE IT.

LOVE YOUR BODY AND IT WILL LOVE YOU BACK!

Nutrient Timing

It’s not all about what you eat but also when you eat! 

Why is it important?

• improves body composition
• nutrient partitioning (where nutrients go after intake) 
• improves performance
• enhances recovery 
• beneficial for manipulating and controlling insulin levels

Activity levels and carbohydrate intake (also depends on body type)

high carb intake-intense resistant training,frequent physical activity, sprinting, or long duration workouts or running

lower carb intake- non-active or sedentary days, low level of physical fitness, low physical activity, or rest days

——Carbs are a major source for ATP production through glycolysis. Carbs are broken down into glucose which stores in the muscles as glycogen. Therefore, the more activity we do, the more we need carbs as an energy source and to regulate metabolism and catabolism. Carbs are not your enemy! 

*BREAKFAST you should always start your morning with energy from a balanced meal with both protein and carbs. Remember, energy comes in the form of ATP necessary to catabolize what we digest.

Breakfast combos:

eggs & oats

turkey sausage & whole grain toast

Turkey & cream of wheat or cream of rice

eggs & whole grain waffle

egg whites & whole grain or sweet potato pancake

chicken sausage & whole grain bagel thins

(Add fruit to any of these. Berries and bananas are great!)

—-in a hurry? grab protein shake

*LUNCH-you should have at least 20g protein from unprocessed meat, rice, tortillas, potatoes, rice cakes, or any other carbs should be around the same amount as your protein intake! You should also get a cup of greens such as a salad or other vegetable.

*DINNER-you shouldn’t eat right before bed. Dinner should be no later than an hour before bed time. You don't want many carbohydrates before bed. Eat protein from meat and as many vegetables as you want! Have a tablespoon of natural peanut butter to satisfy your sweet tooth!

*POST WEIGHT TRAINING-have fast acting protein and fast acting carbs! I recommend a low temperature processed pure whey isolate. Post workout, your body needs nutrients very quickly and stay anabolic ( this means burning fat and gaining lean muscle tissue). Try this: Phormula-1 

*SNACKS between meals-should be light and low carb. Have some healthy fats such as nuts! More examples of healthy snacks are protein shake, a rice cake with nut butter, veggies, protein bar, popcorn, hard boiled eggs, pumpkin seeds, low fat yogurt, edamame, hummus and veggies, or kale chips.