Strategy for Success!

We all have our moments, when something just finally clicks in our heads and we become determined that we've had enough of something and know something has got to change. We have our "ah-ha moment", when the clouds part and the sun shines through the previously darkened sky and we can finally say to ourselves, I am sick of being this way and I CAN CHANGE!

You can change! Even if it's only a little, and you'd be surprised how those little things add up. In fact, it's probably a series of little things that got you to where you are unhappy, and it may be a series of little things that will reverse that.

So, you know something has to change, now what? It's time to turn that desire to make a change into a plan and that requires identifying a goal and the actions that will help you accomplish it.

A great way to make a plan, and enjoy the process, is to set short, medium, and long range goals. Short range goals are those you can accomplish relatively quickly, in a week or a month, or even immediately. These short range goals are kinda like the building blocks you use to reach both your medium range and long range goals. Examples of short range goals are:

Join a gym

Buy some dumbbells

Rid your house of unhealthy foods

Order a Clean Eating magazine or cookbook 

Sign up to be a Health Quester 

Replace toxic cleaners in your house with green cleaners 

Go for a walk every day this week 

Lose two pounds this week 

Drop a dress size by next month 

Do 3 cardio sessions this week 

Try Yoga this week 

Stop drinking soda now 

Do 20 squats a day for one week

When you set your short range goals, you will find that they will combine to help you reach your medium range goals, which are a little further in the future (within the next year) and are a bit bigger. Some examples of medium range goals may be:

Fitting into the size 8 dress I bought by my high school reunion in eight months 

Being able to do a half marathon next summer 

Getting off insulin in 12 months (with your doctors approval) 

Be able to do 60 squats a day within 12 months 

Participate in a fitness competition next year 

Complete a year of clean eating

Long range goals are those that are further out. They might even be your ultimate goal, or something that cannot be obtained in a year (although if that does happen, give yourself a huge high five!). Examples of long range goals are:

Run a full marathon in two years

Lose 100 pounds (enter time frame here)

Become a certified personal trainer in 18 months 

Climb a mountain in 2 years 

Win a fitness or weight lifting competition in 5 years 

                                                      Remain independent at 70 years old

Make sure your goals are specific. An example of a non-specific goal is, " I want to be healthier". This kind of goal is difficult to measure and should be avoided. You want goals that, when met, there is no doubt that you have accomplished something. You want to be able to take that goal into the end zone and spike it!

Write these goals down and display them prominently. Check or cross them off as you accomplish them. Nothing feels better than checking off an accomplished goal. That sense of accomplishment makes you strive for and focus on your other goals.

You should get into a pattern of constantly setting and checking off goals. That's not to say that you are never happy with yourself. Sometimes a goal might be maintaining what you have already accomplished. Maybe you finally took off the last ten pounds you were hoping to. Now maybe your short term goal is to maintain your new weight for a week without gaining a pound back.There are always goals that can be set once others are met.

Remember to set goals that are rewards for setting other goals. Maybe your goal for this week is to buy that charm for your bracelet you promised yourself when you accomplished one of your medium range goals.

Your goals should also be attainable because if you never get to check anything off your goal list you will quickly become discouraged. Make sure you give a lot of thought to where you are now and where you want to go so that you won't bite off more than you can chew ex: climbing a mountain in 2 months when you can barely climb the stairs in your home now. I always encourage folks to push just beyond what they think they are capable of (mostly because people underestimate themselves), but be honest with yourself and keep your goals attainable, so you can celebrate your successes.

Now share your goals with someone. It's so much harder to fluff off when you are accountable to someone else. Its also fun to share your accomplishments with those who know your goals once you reach them. Share your goals with family members, friends, and others you know and love.

Also consider joining the "Health Questers Page" so you can share your goals, successes, and struggles with others just like you. It's free and as simple as sending a request to healthquest@sigct.com. There you will find others to motivate you and cheer you on as well as shared recipes, inspirational stories, and good old fashioned peer support.

I wish you the greatest success and, as always, a happy and healthy life!

Please consult with your doctor before changing your nutritional or exercise regimen.

I Like This! Check it Out...

Stay able as you age, or at any age, with this important exercise

I talk about staying "able" a lot. Staying "able" means being able to do what I want, when I want, well into my old age. Someday, I want to be that 70 something year old woman who can still climb Mt. Washington or swing my grand kids around without ending up in the hospital.

I know that if I want to be able throughout my life, including later in my life, I need to be working on it now. I wrote in a previous post about how our bodies lose muscle mass as we age. The elderly are far more prone to back, hip,and knee problems that prevent them from taking part in normal activities and eventually take away their independence.
The way to combat that is to weight train now.

No place is more important to train if you want to stay able than your core and legs. You can prevent a lot of future injuries by keeping your legs and core strong, so you will avoid debilitating falls or injuries. Strong legs and core muscles also keep the strain off your back.

Let me introduce the "squat".... If you haven't heard of it already. Squatting is a functional exercise that can be performed at any age and garner results. Performing squats correctly can help you avoid injury as you strengthen hip, thigh, and core muscles. If you perform squats regularly you will increase your balance and joint mobility and strengthen connective tissues.

So, how many squats should you do to keep yourself able? My physical therapist told me that those 40 years old and younger should do 2 squats per year of age daily (so a 40 year old should do a minimum of 80 squats a day). Those over the age of 40 should do a minimum of 1 squat per year of age daily. It may sound like a lot but it can be broken down into chunks. I started off by doing mine over the course of the day...10 squats while waiting for the blender to finish making my shake...10 squats while heating up my tea, etc. Now that I am good at them, I get them all out of the way at once.

It's important to do squats correctly so I attached a video of a physical therapist performing the exercise for you. Good luck and Happy Squatting!

Squat video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ZE3O6svwc&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Sources:

www.ptsportswellness.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/squats-good-or-bad

www.livestrong.com/article/224286-hip-knee-problems-in-the-elderly

Introducing the "Health Questers Page", your next challenge!

Recently, I posted about the effectiveness of working on your healthy living goals as a group rather than "going it alone". In my posting about Dr. Hyman and Pastor Warren's collaboration, I told you about the success they saw in creating small groups of people looking to lose weight and live healthfully. Accountability and support are so important in reaching our goals. It works for me, whether it's been training with a partner for an upcoming event or blogging for you. Knowing that someone else is interested in my progress motivates me. The proof is in the pudding when you figure I've lost ten pounds since starting this blog a month ago...lol.

This same concept exists all over, beachbody.com, jillianmichaels.com, to name a few. These are perfectly good sites with good information, and good programs, but you have to pay for the daily support pages that basically do what I am proposing. But it's really only about connecting people to each other, so why pay for that when social media is at our fingertips? I decided to dedicate space on my blog for just that. It's called the "Health Questers Page" and it's free!

The "Heath Questers Page" is actually a separate blog linked to my main page. Each person who would like to be a "Quester" will be given the ability to "author" posts for the blog that relate to information on clean eating or other nutritional information. They may also post links to articles, tips, motivational snippets and encouraging words, exercise routines or videos, or general healthy living information to share with the other Questers (no copy-write material please).

Now, this isn't a weight loss plan, so it's largely up to you to set your goals and work toward achieving them. What you will find here is a collaborative effort to share healthy living information and a place to be accountable to your fellow "Questers" as you work toward your goal. Here you will find information, motivation, and inspiration. Perhaps you'll be the source of all three for someone else!

To get started simply let me know via email (healthquest@sigct.com) that you're interested in becoming a Quester. On the launch date of the new blog you will notice a page assigned to you (limited to the first 20 Questers).That page should be a place where you would write a little bit about yourself and what your health goals are. Refer to my "Then and Now" post for a sample of how this might look.

Please email me (healthquest@sigct.com) with your interest in participating as soon as possible, as personal pages will be limited to the first 20 Questers. The anticipated launch date for the Health Questers Page is May 18, 2012.

I am really looking forward to working with the Questers. I know I will learn as much, or more, from them as they will from me. I can't wait to hear from you! Sign up now and start your own Health Quest!!!

As always, I recommend you check with your doctor before beginning new exercise or nutritional regimens.

Then and Now... My New Goals

Becky Leger Health Quest

Before: So, this was me....after my health quest began. It was 2009, a year after I committed myself to working out regularly. It might surprise you to know that at this point I was working out 4 to 5 times a week and still stuck at about 160 lbs (at 5'3"). I was about to win my first weight lifting competition at the police department with 31 reps of 75 pounds, but I could not lose weight. I obviously had developed some muscle mass but you couldn't see it under the fat I was still lugging around after having my second child. A year later I was still hovering around 160 lbs and still working out. I won my second consecutive weight lifting competition with 35 reps of 75. I felt good...I could feel my growing muscles and I had the resting heart rate of a marathon runner, but the person I saw in the mirror didn't look as good as I thought she should for all the work.



After:  This is me within the past year and now. What changed that allowed me to lose the weight that no amount of exercise seemed to melt away? I went from that unmovable 160 lbs to the 135 lbs I am now. I am a size 6 for the first time in my life! I started working out a little less and began eating clean. It's not about working hard, it's about working smart. I love the look of my toned arms and Having the
strength to swing my kids around.

 So, what goal do I want to attain for myself now? I could be pretty happy if I stayed where I am but I have this idea in my head that someday I could wear a bikini again. My tummy is my trouble spot. I have the best abs of my life now but can't show them off because of my "mommy belly". I would like to see if losing ten more pounds and letting go of a few remaining vices can help me get there (gluten and wine).

So that's it...my goal weight is 125 lbs and wearing a bikini by July 1st. I will accomplish this by cutting gluten (wheat products) and wine from my already clean diet and reducing my cheats days to my two day girl's get away next month and a little when I'm on vacation in June. I will add a little
more cardio as well.

Start thinking about what your goals will be and how to will reach them. The challenge is coming next!

Thanks for letting me share my experiences with you. I wish you the happiest and
healthiest life!

Please consult with your doctor before making any changes to your nutritional or
fitness regimen.