When Can Do = Will Do

Greetings!

I'm in the middle of a work trip - this one included bringing my family which is a blessing!  They play in the pool during the day while I work and we're all together at night. 

I'm also staying at a Homewood Suites so I have a kitchen to cook in.  Last night, I cooked salmon, shrimp and broccoli.  The shrimp and broccoli came out great.  Salmon I'm still not that good at cooking on my own, without having Publix already marinate it for me (and didn't have olive oil to cook with - oops!).  You live and learn!  Tonight I think I will eat the dinner buffet downstairs; I am beginning to trust myself more with my choices and still have some leftover broccoli I can add to the mix if I'm still hungry.

Yesterday in the meeting I was in all day, I was stuck eating whatever was on the buffet at the lunch meeting...I was apprehensive about what it would be...until I got there and saw:

*Grilled Chicken breast
*Sauteed Green Beans
*Dark Green salad

YAY!  There were also potatoes and bread, but those are easy for me to avoid altogether. 

Guess what else?  I also avoided COOKIES THE SIZE OF MY HEAD.  Again.  Man, I'm getting good at this.

I've been really drilling a thought into my head recently.  I've heard other trainers say it, read articles about it, etc., but I think it is the ROOT of the reason I haven't lost (but have gained) in the past year. 

80% of your body composition results (weight loss, etc.) are a result of WHAT YOU EAT.
20% of the changes are made in the GYM with exercise/activity.

Whoa.

Staggering.

Makes a TON of sense here.  I haven't been as good with my food, as you well know, this past year.  I've slipped here, made excuses there, allowed myself "treats" etc. etc.  Now don't think I'm going to say that I will never eat cheesecake or cookies again.  Hello.  BUT do I need them every time they are available?

NO.

Also, my wise virtual friend Clare, keeps this amazing blog Peak 313 (check it out!) and she posted something awesome to her facebook page last week that confirmed the 80/20 dealio. 

'People ask me often if they *can* eat ___(fill in blank). Sure. You can eat anything. But will it get you toward your goal? That's the question. JillFit Physiques sums it up nicely....


"Let's stop asking permission to eat things. We *can* eat anything we want. Just that some foods push toward fat loss, others toward storage."'

Every choice I make about food, I want to ask myself.  Will this result in fat loss or fat storage? 

Holla!

You may be reading this saying, "but Clara, you've done so well!  You can outrun most of your friends {except those who run - lol} and your heart is in great condition!"  This is TRUE!  BUT...even though I am an athlete, and have made incredible gains in the distances I run, and have amazing calves, guess what?  I have also gotten slower...extra weight will do that to ya! My 5k time has added about 3 minutes to it (when I would really love to delete 3 minutes from it - now I have to reduce it by 6 minutes to reach my goal!).  {And amazing calves do not make up for fat thighs and tummies.  Just saying.}

I know I have done well.  I know I have accomplished a great thing, having lost 100 pounds.  I've kept 85 of it off.  That is amazing.

BUT.  I can do better and I can finish this journey and get this weight off for GOOD!  Hit the 100 pounds lost number again.  And hit the other goals I haven't been able to attain yet.  Like 180 pounds, my wedding weight.  170, my high school weight.

I started training for a half marathon last week after being ueber inspired by Oscar Pistorious in the Olympics.  What an amazing guy!  If you missed that post, read it here. 

Having a training plan, I have realized, is absolutely vital for me.  Because what I write down that I need to do, I'm doing!


That is when CAN DO = WILL DO. 

I can do this training =  I will do this training.

I can make good choices that result in fat loss =  I will make good choices that result in fat loss.

I can lose the rest of this weight =  I will lose the rest of this weight.

What stands between CAN DO and WILL DO?
Decisions.  The right decisions.  The best decisions.

I'm going back to my favorite blog about decidions.  You can join me by reading this post.

What CAN you do that you WILL do?  I'd love to hear about it.

Clara

Running with BOTH Legs Forward

I wish I had been able to really watch all of the Olympics, especially the runners.  But when you work during the day and don't have cable, you rarely catch any of it live.

Yesterday I was at the gym running on the treadmill.  The big screen TV had a race about to begin, the 400m race to qualify for the Olympic race.

Oscar Pistorious immediately caught my eye - not in a weird way, though he is kinda cute - but because he has no legs past his knees.  He lost his legs when he was just 11 months old, having been born with no fibulae in his lower legs, and he runs with "Cheetahs," prosthesis blades made from carbon fiber.

This kid blows me away.  He is just 26 years old, and only began running after a rugby injury at the age of 16.

And in 10 years he's become crazy fast.  Some people are born to do things like this!

I heard one reporter saying he told them his mother would call him and his brother and tell his brother "get your shoes on" and tell Oscar "get your legs on."  I love it when people make the abnormal completely normal in their lives.  I think that in itself breeds confidence and future success.

Sheila, Oscar's mother, died when he was 15.  I read this quote she told him that he holds fast to:
"A loser isn’t the person that gets involved and comes last, but it’s the person that doesn’t get involved in the first place. It’s a mentality we’ve always had. When you start something, you do it properly. The passion you start something with, you finish it off with.”

Anyone else feel like they just got slapped upside the head?

I can't tell you what it felt like for me yesterday, watching him run with no legs, and me running on the treadmill not sure I could make 2 miles.

I have not been where I need to be.  Traveling and succumbing to poor food influences and other people's poor choices has taken a toll on me.  I feel for the first time in a few years like I have lost my inner athlete.

And when I watched this guy race with his entire heart and soul, and QUALIFY FOR THE OLYMPICS I thought, what the HECK is wrong with me?

I have everything I could need to be successful.
Intelligence to make good healthy choices.

A supportive family.

A great foundation of weight loss and athletic success.
7/5k races and 2/10k races under my belt.

2 pairs of running shoes.

A TON of running and workout outfits and bondi bands.
A Gym membership.
Tons of supportive friends.

And BOTH LEGS.

What I lack, right now, is the drive that Oscar has and has had for his entire 26 years.



I'm working on channeling that.  I almost cried while I ran with him yesterday.  And I'm in tears just thinking of how it must feel to be him today.

I want that feeling.  I want to cross the finish line of this journey, and know that all of my effort, training and sheer will is what got me there. 

It's already 85 degrees here...but I am lacing up my shoes and heading out for a run.  I haven't run outside in weeks (been running on the treadmill at the gym mostly in the a/c).  It's gonna HURT and be HOT but a little over sweating never killed me...just made me stronger.

And in my mind and heart, sorry USA, I'm cheering for South Africa in the 400m race tomorrow...

Be inspired!

Clara