Driving Force Fitness

I’m back! I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving…I sure did!

So, I’ve come to a few conclusions about the way I’m going to handle these blogs. In order for me to be consistent but still have some moments outside of “work mode”, I will be posting Monday-Friday only. If I happen to leave town for a holiday or some other extenuating circumstance, I will give you a heads up. I will still be journaling on the weekends, just not posting. This will help me to keep control of that “balance” concept I was telling you about.

Anyway, I know you must be anxious to hear about my holiday foibles and mishaps…and there were many! Let me just be honest and say this, I picked a very difficult time to get me eating under control and get myself in shape. But, I did so intentionally!

One of the biggest excuses I have heard from my clients who fall off the wagon or choose to wait on getting in shape is, “it’s the holiday season, it’s impossible to eat clean or workout!” While I am the first to admit that not only did I fall off the wagon, but I think I took a tumble or two under the wagon as well! However, just because I indulged myself for a few days while on vacation and visiting with family, doesn’t mean that for two months, the trend will or should continue.

My Holiday Pitfalls: I don’t advise indulging yourself like I did and I certainly don’t advise doing that for a few days. But it happens, and I did it, and that’s why this is a reality blog, and not a fabricated, fairytale, fitness book. I indulged just about every craving I have ever had in about a three day span from sweet potatoes, to pie and cocktails. The only exercise I got during this time was the walking I did around the mall! I went to bed most nights with a stomach ache and feeling bloated and irritated with myself. However, each of the days I was away, I did the same thing all over again! What gives? Why would I continue to do this to myself after feeling so awful about it the day before?

I spent a lot of time contemplating this very idea today. It’s quite apparent how festivities and so-called celebration can wreak havoc on your will power. Not to mention relatives and friends offering you food every couple of minutes as though you had been without for months on end. But the biggest reason I believe is that I had mentally given myself permission to “slip” or “treat” before I ever got on the plane. The mindless eating was very thoughtfully planned out before my feet had even hit the pavement in Chicago. It went something like this, “I only go home once a year and they don’t have Portillo’s anywhere else in the country, so I’ll go there for and Italian beef sandwich. I mean after all, Chicago is all about the food and that’s my home town. Then the next day we will go to Lou Malnati’s for deep dish Chicago pizza because nobody does it like Chicago. And of course, you must have a Blue Moon to wash that down.” And so the story goes…

There are lots of problems with this sort of thinking, obviously. It is a heart attack waiting to happen and it’s murder on every one of my organs, not to mention my backside. But, one good thing did come out of it, and that is, it made me brutally aware of how reckless I can be and have been with my health. To have consecutive days of this sort of behavior, proved to make me nearly ill and feeling awful. Lastly, I quelled the urge for just about anything under the sun that I could dream of wanting.

Therefore, today, all I wanted to do now that I am back home was to get to the gym, cleanse my body and nourish myself with water, vitamins and vegetables.

Lessons Learned: As long as you can learn from your mistakes, sometimes it’s ok to make them. It’s important to truly grasp the lesson and make a commitment with yourself to make the change. I have also learned that when you are in a relationship, you have the power to not only help yourself, but also your partner. Your influence on one another is a very powerful force. If you are hurting yourself, you can better believe that this is also hurting your partner. Be better and stronger for the both of you!

Back in the driver seat of the wagon and ready to take the reins!

Today’s Workout:

6:00 A.M. Workout:

Shoulders and Abs

Inside Grip Shoulder Press machine 3x15

Super-setted with

Outside Grip Shoulder Press Machine 3x15

Side Lateral Raises Machine 3x15

Pec Deck Reversed for rear delts 3x15

Upright Rows with a cambered bar 3x15

Lower ab lifts with a Swiss ball 3x20

Ab crunches on Swiss ball 3x20

Oblique raises on dip machine 3x20

Ab Isolator 3x20

Cardio: Elliptical Machine: Incline 11, resistance 9, duration 35 minutes.

3:00 P.M.: 1 hour Zumba cardio class.

Today’s Eating:

8:30 a.m.: Power Monster Smoothie: 1 scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein (LaBrada Pro-V60, 1 scoop of Green Vibrance vegetable mix, 1 tsp. of glutamine, 4 oz. of water and 4oz. of frozen blueberries and strawberries. Vitamins and 12 oz. of water to drink.

9:00 a.m.: 1 Grande Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee: black. 12 oz. of water to drink.

12:00 P.M.: 1 large salad: 5 hard- boiled egg whites, romaine lettuce, chopped celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, 8 almonds unsalted, cucumber and broccoli florets. Lemon juice mixed with cumin and a dash of ginger for dressing.

3:00 P.M.: 1 low sodium v-8 vegetable juice and 1 cup of raw broccoli florets. 2 hard-boiled egg whites. 12 ounces of water (after 1 hour Zumba Cardio Class).

7:00 p.m.: Homemade Indian Vindaloo dish (if you have questions about this dish or need the recipe, let me know) with basmati and grilled chicken breast. 12 ounces of water to drink.