This here's a hurdle.

It’s the little things in life that count, and trust me, nothing is more true than when you’re trying to lose some weight and achieve physical fitness. I love the shows The Biggest Loser, Heavy and I Used to be Fat. They’re incredibly motivational. I mean, if that 16-year-old has to lose 100 pounds, or that 45-year-old has to lose 250 lbs, I can certainly lose whatever I need to. You pretty much have to be a heartless bastard if those shows don’t occasionally–if not often–make you cry. The hurdles these people have to champion seem insurmountable.  I work out at Shape Plus Personal Training with Jess Hogue–he’s the owner and a P.T. as well–and I can tell you at six weeks of working out, it’s become more apparent that it’s the little things in life that can make or break your goals–they are what are making or breaking these reality TV people’s stories. One small step in the wrong direction, and all of your restraint or effort for the day go out the window. I haven’t had any major screw-ups, but I have had some days that, in hindsight, I took the easy way out.

I’ve been incredibly motivated during this whole process. I’m 100 percent committed to reaching my goals. But, plateauing is hard–and it’s a direct result of not paying close enough attention. I stayed at a total of 10 pounds of weight loss for about nine days, which was rough because I was used to seeing the scale change (up and down) on a fairly regular basis (I weigh in three times per week). Last week, I broke that inertia, and I lost 4 lbs–the first three came at once. In response, I blushed, said, “Yessssssss!” a number of times and almost wanted to leave the gym (My work here is done, right?). Of course, I didn’t. I had a lovely, strenuous, sweat-filled work out instead. It not only re-lit the fire, but it also made it possible for me to reflect on why I became stagnant in the first place.

As I verbally processed to Jess last week (a.k.a. a lot of talking at him without a lot of making sense for awhile and, then, finally reaching a coherent conclusion), I think I had a 2010-relapse, emotionally. I was much more concerned with my friends during that time, how they were feeling and what I could do to help them. I paid a little less attention to my food and I wasn’t pushing myself as hard in cardio. My focus had shifted away from myself. Instead of becoming a robot of complacency, I snapped out of it. I set new goals and Jess gave me new pointers for food/timing.

When I dip, you dip, we dip!

I don’t want to go back to 2010–it was a difficult year. It was my rock bottom in terms of not taking care of myself. Everything was more important to me than…me. I once had a therapist ask me how I show myself I love myself–I answered that I get dressed in the morning and take pride in looking decent, I spend time with family and friends, I read, I write, I reward myself with a mani/pedi, new sunglasses, a day on the mountain, dining out, drinks. He asked, “Isn’t taking care of your physical health a strong way to show yourself that you love yourself?” Uh, I thought, not if myself doesn’t want to run. Then, aren’t I just torturing myself? But, we all know that’s just the game we play in our minds to justify this type of neglect. We know we will feel better if we have strength, if we are the proper weight, if we take time to check in with our bodies. We all know this. So, what’s holding you back?

Straight from Jess Hogue: “It starts off with, ‘Today, I’m not going to push it too hard at the gym.’ or ‘ I’m just going to get it over with.’   The next day, you decide that you aren’t going to overdo it.  Next day, you tell yourself the same thing; then, the next day, you need a day off. Then, you tell yourself it’s okay to have a few margaritas and a few nachos. The next day, you are too busy. The next day, you are too busy or someone needs your help and you rationalize that someone needs your help more than you need your help. The next day, you tell yourself, ‘Tomorrow will be different!’ Then, you step on the scale and see, wham! Bad news! All because of a small thing! Then why bother!? Small things should be big red flags when you realize them. Stop those small things before they becomes big things, like failure! Consistent Focus and Consistent Action = You Win!”

To learn more about where I’m working out, click here.