Do you want to know a secret??

Guess what?  I like to help people, and because of that I'm going to let you in on the best secret in terms of weight loss and getting fit.  It’s a big one...are you ready?  Maybe you need to sit down first...*drum roll* here goes, "Losing weight really isn’t that hard."  Stay with me for a moment before you scoff, have some flowery four letter word rebutal, or toss an obscene gesture my way.  If you break it down, there is a simple formula.  You must burn more calories than you take in.  Viola' you have weight loss!!  There are literally 100′s, if not 1000′s, of unique and simple ways that you can help alter the weight loss equation into your favor.  The more you turn the equation in your favor, the faster the weight comes off.  RIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHTTT??!!??  If only it were that simple.  

I think about that concept every day, and then I see a box of cherry pop tarts are on sale (a weakness that remains from childhood), or my son wanted Captain Crunch peanut butter cereal and I forgot how good that used to taste though it still rips up the roof of my mouth.  I know the magical weight loss equation, but that doesn't help when my family goes out of pizza and wings that are light on sauce but deliciously dunked into creamy ranch dressing.  Yes, I have indulged in a few things since my last blog, but the difference is that I don't chalk up the entire day as ruined, nor do I cheat the rest of the day.  It's nice that I have fleeting thoughts about going to the gym later that day or I make a deal with myself to do 2 workouts the following day to make up for my cheat but lets get honest...those scenarios will only happen when it snows in Phoenix, AZ...in JULY!  We all know the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over expecting different results, yet that routine is destructively familiar and comfortable.  I think everyone can relate to that concept even if it isn't food.  Maybe its procrastination, smoking, watching too much tv, or perhaps I'm just trying to make myself feel better.   

Losing weight is hard because results are often slow and steady while a Dove chocolate bar has immediate gratification (and packed a whole bunch of guilt.)  That being said, I've bathed in the luxury of making better choices...hmmmmmm well, most days.  I've been wearing my Body Media arm band.  I'm burning an average of 2400 calories a day.  Now I have to be better about writing down everything I eat, and bump up the burned calories a little.  I log my food via dotfit, but their mobile app stinks especially with my Blackberry (yeah I know I know, why don't I have an iphone.  I am not up for a new phone for another year, give me a break and let's get back to what we were talking about okay?)   Even when I'm eating well, I know that I could be tweaking portion control if I measured and did a food log because estimating always results in inconsistency.

Every day I need to re-enroll myself in reaching my goal.  It's so easy to focus on my clients goals, and not focus on my own, but I am enlisting a little help from two friends who will be my accountability partners for the next 90 days.  These are not friends who hold your hand and tell that you are doing a good job even though you missed going to the gym 3 times during the week.  They hold my feet to the fire and have seen me when I am operating at 100%, and they will accept nothing less.  Lucky to have them and will look forward to introducing them to you.  There are many avenues for help available to those that need/want it, but the decision has to be your own.  If YOU are really determined to do something about your weight, doing so becomes a whole lot easier than you ever thought it could be.  It's all about progress, not perfection.  

The Beginning (AGAIN)

Scary stuff...first blog, first time announcing my fitness goals VERY publicly, and the first time in many years I don't have the idea in my head, "What if I fail"...because this time failure is not an option.  My dad always told me to Go Big or Go Home, and that is what this new adventure is all about.

I'm a certified personal trainer/dance teacher, and I've wanted to write a fitness blog for a couple years but wondered why my words would make a difference.  I didn't have hundreds of pounds to lose like other inspirational bloggers, I don't have a career like Bob Harper, I'm not a trainer that has the desire to compete in marathons or Iron Man events - and then I realized that was exactly why I should start a blog.  I've used many trainers that never ate ice cream, enjoyed running and working out for hours, didn't watch any reality tv, (The Voice Season 3 is the best it has ever been), and they simply couldn't understand what it was like to be overweight because they have never experienced it.  I feel that I can identify with the average person on a fitness journey.  I love dancing, tennis, swimming, and lifting weights, but there are many days when I can think of 101 other things I'd rather do than go workout.  90% of the time I would rather eat a delicious piece of chocolate cake instead of a plain chicken salad, and there are plenty of days that I can justify taking a nap with my dog in my king size bed instead of going hiking and sweating! 

Over the last 5 years the only thing that has been shrinking is the amount of clothes I can actually wear in my closet.  The piles of those "skinny" jeans are growing, and I can no longer blame our washing machine for mismanaging my laundry (though it does eat 1 white sock every other load).  While I've used the excuse of being busy, my dad being sick for a long time and eventually passing away, and my metabolism changing...I'll just take full responsibility for my own choices.  I'm really good at starting fitness goals, I'm really good at bailing on them, but this blog is to prove to myself that I am also really good at sticking to them.  Instead of wearing the cone of shame, (bonus points for those of you who understand that reference) I'm choosing to celebrate a new path.  *insert cheers, applause, and confetti tossing here*

I am very determined to lower my body fat, lose about 20 pounds, and share my body transformation with my readers.  If not now, when...there’s no better time to start than NOW!