At my age....

                I hear this a lot from people I know (many of whom are in their early 40s and up). It’s usually followed by a statement of dissatisfaction with some part of their body, with a sense of resignation that some things are beyond repair. 

                I’m 43. I understand where they’re coming from. I’ve been there.

                I also understand that some people have medical issues that limit certain activities. As we age, our bodies start to lose resilience. We can’t put off aging forever.

                But I’m absolutely convinced that most people grossly underestimate their physical potential, regardless of age.

                Assume for a minute that you’re in your mid-40s, 25 pounds overweight, and you haven’t been exercising regularly for a long time. (Sounds like somebody I knew last year). You go for walks, occasionally go to the gym – you’re not sedentary, but you don’t have a system in place to keep fit. You feel like your body is starting to decline… 

And guess what?  You’re right – your peak physical potential is declining, and has been for about a decade. No matter how hard you train at this point, you aren’t going to qualify for the Olympic track and field team. That ship has sailed.

                Even though we can’t reverse the aging process, but we certainly can slow things down. And, if you’re unfit but generally healthy, you CAN make the decision to get back in shape, rebuild your muscle mass and look and feel years younger. You can feel energized when you wake up in the morning. You can tone up your arms, lose a bunch of cellulite – you might even wind up with a nice set of abs. You have no idea what’s possible unless you give it your best shot. I did it – and so can you.

All I did was find the right tools, adopt the right mindset, and get to work. There’s no magic to getting fit. There are no special pills or creams to dissolve your body fat.  It takes focus, determination and dedication to transform your body, but you CAN do it.  

                First, don’t go on a diet. That might seem counterintuitive, but depriving your body of the nutrition it needs to tone up and build muscle is the last thing you want to do. Instead, for the first few days, keep a food journal. Write down everything you eat, and don’t leave anything out. Seeing your food choices – good, bad and ugly – can help you focus on areas for improvement. In my case, seeing the volume of food I was eating made it much easier to cut back my portions to a reasonable size.

                You’ll need to find an exercise program that you can stick with, at least 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day. I don’t mean a walk around the block – you want to get sweaty and raise your heart rate. If you have bad joints, modify and avoid high impact work - but push as hard as you can and don’t give up. Programs that work the entire body, which incorporate both cardio, strength training and stretching, will give you the best results.

                Don’t do too much, too soon. You didn’t put on the excess weight in a month, so it’s not going to come off that fast either. If you haven’t been working your joints for a while, they aren’t going to be happy if you start off doing hard-core plyometrics. You’ll injure yourself, get frustrated and quit. Instead, give the muscles surrounding your joints and spine time to build up, and follow a sensible exercise program. Don’t worry, you’ll be shocked at how quickly you’ll improve. Then you can take on the harder stuff…

                Accept the fact that you can’t choose WHERE to lose weight. Blame Mom and Dad – where you carry your body fat is determined by genetics. Some people carry it around the middle, others on the hips and thighs. When I started losing weight, I went down a bra size (which was NOT my intent). Your goal must be to reduce your overall body fat percentage to a healthy level, not to be rail-thin. This isn’t about chasing after some idealized body image – it’s about reaching your own potential, so you can live a healthy, active life for decades to come.

                Constantly work to improve your nutrition. Slow, gradual change is your friend. I started with portion control, started reducing the amount of refined flours and sugars in our food, eliminated most processed foods, added a nutritional supplement (Shakeology) to replace my One-a-Day multi-vitamins (and to stop snacking on junk every afternoon). Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither are healthy habits. 

                Finally, find some like-minded people to support your efforts. I had a lot of great support when I started, from both local and “virtual” friends. Now that I’m a Beachbody coach, I try to offer the same support to MY friends, because I think that everyone deserves a strong, healthy body. 

So if you’re ready to get back in shape, let me know. I’ve been down this road, and it’s a lot more fun if you’ve got a good team to support you. Join me at www.lauratfitness.com - let's do this!

Don't work out JUST to lose weight.

                Does that sound counter-intuitive? Don’t a lot of people start an exercise program because they want to lose weight?

                Yes, that’s true – and that’s also why most people who start an exercise program quit within weeks.

                If you really want to get into shape (and notice, I didn’t say “get thin”), you need to do two things. First, you have to make exercise a habit, and not view it as a means to a (weight loss) end. Second, you have to focus on nutrition and healthy eating. It’s a not a question of “dieting” – rather, it’s a matter of gradually changing your mindset, away from “losing weight” and toward “healthy living”.  

In this post, I want to focus on the exercise side of the equation.

Humans aren’t supposed to be sedentary. Before the 20^th century, people lived far more active lives by necessity. There were no cars. There were no washing machines, power mowers, vacuum cleaners and other appliances that made our lives easier. Manual labor was a part of everyday life. Who needed a gym when you had to wash the family’s clothing on a scrub board?

People are made to live active lives, so if you’re stuck at a desk or in a car for most of each day, you need to carve out some time to get your heart rates up and break a sweat.  30 minutes of solid exercise, 5 days a week, will do wonders for your health. You’ll build muscle mass, retain it much better as you age, improve your flexibility, gain endurance and safeguard your future mobility.

If you’re currently out of shape, and you start an exercise program, that’s a really important step. But it’s essential not to see exercise as a means to an end. Taking care of our bodies is a life-long project. It doesn’t mean that once you hit that magic number on the scale, that the job is done.

One last thing – and it’s something I see in my on-line fitness group every day. The more committed people are to exercise, the less concerned they are with reaching a magical “goal weight”. They see the benefits of daily exercise in their daily lives – strong core, powerful legs, well-defined arms, increased flexibility, greater endurance – the list goes on and on. People report increased energy, improved sleep patterns, better moods, and start paying attention to how their bodies look and feel, rather than a random number.

Much of the time, dedication to exercise leads to vastly improved nutrition, because a fit body craves healthier foods. And yes, a lot of the time, this leads to weight loss.  By keeping the focus on what the body needs over the long haul, and you’re far more likely to achieve a strong, fit body that will serve you well throughout your life.

The Power of Accountability

Accountability is a powerful way to stay focused on what's important. In your career, at home, within your family - we are all answerable to someone. We all have certain responsibilities to carry out, and if we fail to live up to them we'll be called to answer for what we've done (or didn't do). While accountability doen't guarantee success, it is a powerful driver to get things done.

That's why accountability is such an important part of a fitness program. If you're working out all alone, day after day, there's a risk of boredom. You may feel isolated, because you don't have anyone who understands and supports what you're trying to do. Because of this, you are much more likely to quit your program and drift back into a sedentary lifestyle. So, no matter what you're doing to stay fit, I think it's important to find a community of like-minded people

There are lots of ways to create accountability. Some people go to the gym - they pay for a membership, enroll in classes and start going regularly. They'll arrange to meet friends at specific times, or attend the same classes each week, which keeps them accountable and moving forward. Other people may belong to a running club, a rowing team, or play basketball in the gym twice a week with friends. All of these things combine fitness with a sense of community, which is a critical factor in keeping people involved in their fitness program

Now, I've never had a gym membership that I actually used (in fact, I just quit my latest gym last week, after going there once). I've always had a hard time making myself go somewhere to exercise, because I always feel pressed for time.  That's why I used to run - because I was getting my workout done the minute I stepped outside the door. For the same reason, that's why I decided to start doing Insanity to get in shape. Just put the DVD in the player, and you're getting it done.

The problem with this approach is the apparent lack of community. When you're doing a home video program, it's often just you and your TV (though I was lucky and had the support of some great friends). The workouts are fantastic and you can achieve a very high level of fitness - but if you don't have support and accountability, you aren't as likely to continue with the program.

That's a big reason that I decided to become a Beachbody coach. When I started Insanity I joined an on-line group, and started posting each day to stay accountable.  But for me, that wasn't enough - so I signed on as a coach and started working to build my own community, to focus on nutrition and working out safely.  Now, we have a Team Beachbody message board and a Facebook group of nearly 50 strong - all working together on our personal fitness goals, overcoming challenges and keeping accountable to each other every day. I love encouraging everyone in the group to keep pushing forward, but if it wasn't for them, I can't say I'd still be sticking with my own programs, week after week. I've been working out consistently for almost nine months now, and I have any intention of quitting!