Where Are You Now?

Looking back over the last year I can see some obvious changes.  For example a lot my clothes are baggy now and some I have even given away.  I know I can walk further and faster then I could last April.  My mom took me for a spa pedicure this week and I noticed I fit in the vibrating chair more easily.  At one of my favorite restaurants, The Roxy, there is more space between me and the table and I am not afraid of sitting in a booth any more.

However, what I have really been noticing lately are the changes in my thinking.  One of my favorite places to eat back in the day was Los Olas, on the beach in Cardiff and I always ordered the Naches Especial.  I am embarrassed to admit I also frequently ordered extra cheese, as if there was not enough saturated fat on them for me already.

A couple of weeks ago, we had been to dinner at The Roxy and had my favorite chef salad with avocados, sunflower sprouts and tahini dressing.  Driving home along the coast I thought of the times we had visited Las Olas and I mentioned to Kevin we might never go there for dinner again.  He seemed a bit surprised and asked why.  He made the comment, when you are at the weight you want, you could go.

That reminded me of how I always thought in the past when I was on a diet.  The whole time I was losing weight, I was planning on what I could eat when I was done.  I don’t think I had ever considered that I needed to basically change the way I ate for life.  I told him, with what I knew about health and how much work it took to burn off 100 calories, I didn’t think the Nachos Especial would ever be worth it to me again.  And that was a choice, not a rule.  Because life is in session and I loved them, I said I could imagine having a chip or two sometime but I did not even want a whole order any more.

It’s moments like this when I begin to believe this time is different for me.  I am not on a diet; I am building a healthy life.  An excuse I used frequently the last 5 years for not losing weight was “I have never kept it off before, why go through all the work to lose it?”  I am not thinking like that.  It doesn’t matter if I have never kept it off before; I can keep it off this time if I choose.  Remembering it is always my choice is a key ingredient to my long term success.

What have you noticed has changed about you this time?

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

You truly do not have to accomplish everything in one day, month or year.  One day at a time.  Find something you can improve in what you eat and make the change.  Start with the easiest changes to build up your confidence and create success.  Here are some examples:

1.  Switch from full fat dairy to low fat to non fat and do it at a pace which works for you.

2.  Begin substituting brown rice every where you would normally have white rice.

3. Instead of using white or whole wheat bread, purchase only whole grain.

4.  Substitute Equal, Splenda and Sweet N Low with Stevia.

5.  Add one additional fruit or vegetable to your meals daily.

6.  Increase the amount of water you’re drinking daily by just 8 ounces.

7.  Eliminate instant oatmeal and use long cooking instead.

8.  Buy unsweetened plain yogurt and add your own fruits and stevia to sweeten.

9.  Try Braggs Liquid Aminos instead of Soy Sauce.

10. Stick with firsts and give up seconds.

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

Make Best Friends with Yourself

If you are not looking out for you, who will be?  Being our own best friend and ally on the weight loss journey is so important.  Making choices on what is best for you will create success; while making choice which will make others happy doesn’t always work out so well.

How many times have you heard one of these phrases or something like it?

~Just one won’t hurt.

~I made it just for you.

~You are no fun.

~You’re making us feel bad.

~What fun is that?

~You look good just the way you are.

~You’re thin enough.

In each case, the person making this statement is not looking after your best interests.  Often, there is a whole other agenda at work.  These are the times you need to remember to take of you like you would take care of your best friend.

Be your own best friend while building a healthy life!!

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

“Numerous studies show that people who eat a healthy breakfast consume a more nutritious diet and have a decreased risk of heart disease than those who either eat an unhealthy breakfast, or don’t eat breakfast at all.”

~Livestrong

What did you have for breakfast today?  Better yet, did you have breakfast at all?  A healthy breakfast fuels your body with needed nutrients and helps you to maintain a healthy body weight.

A healthy breakfast provides better concentration and productivity throughout the morning and can help lower cholesterol, which may reduce your risk of heart disease.

From the Mayo Clinic:  Here’s what forms the core of a healthy breakfast:

• Whole grains. Options include whole-grain rolls, bagels, hot or cold whole-grain cereals, low-fat bran muffins, crackers, or melba toast.
• Low-fat protein. Options include hard-boiled eggs, peanut butter, lean slices of meat and poultry, or fish, such as water-packed tuna or slices of salmon.
• Low-fat dairy. Options include skim milk, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheeses, such as cottage and natural cheeses.
• Fruits and vegetables. Options include fresh fruits and vegetables or 100 percent juice beverages without added sugar.

““It might be the last thing on your morning to-do list. Or it might not be on your list at all. But a healthy breakfast refuels your body and jump-starts your day. So don’t overlook this important meal.”

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

Love the Mirror

Yikes, after years of perfecting a perfect system to look in the mirror and only see from the neck up, this can be a frightening thought.  Success in this journey begins with accepting and loving who you are now and moving forward from there.  Many of us have believed the mirror has been our enemy and just did not want to go there.

Self acceptance is the price of self improvement in the area of healthy living.  We all have to start at Point A to get to Point Z and visit each stop along the way.  It’s so important to recognize and congratulate ourselves on small victories.  I am down 51.5 pounds so far and with 136 left to still release, many people do not even notice I have lost weight.  While I wish that were different, that is how is right now.

The other day I noticed in the mirror the top 2” of my arm from my shoulder down looked visibly thinner.  For a minute I thought something was wrong until I turned around and looked at the other side and it matched.  All of a sudden I was pretty excited about the workouts I have been doing.  Now I find myself looking at arms almost every day.

Losing weight is not easy and it is not fast.  So take time to look in the mirror and congratulate yourself for the steps you are taking every day.  All of us get somewhere else just one step at a time.

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

“If we did all of the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

~Thomas Edison

When is the last time you astounded yourself? Can you remember? One of the reasons we frequently give up on our weight loss efforts is we can’t do everything perfectly all at once. Well, duh. Here is a news flash. No one is perfect, seriously. That being said, all of us are capable of doing more than we are currently. What is one step you could take today which you are not doing?

The last couple of weeks I realized I was not getting in enough water and set an intention to improve. For the last four days I have drank between 80-100 ounces daily. So far today (10:43 am PT) I am at 71 ounces and that astounds me! Once we decide and set an intention, we can literally astound ourselves with what we are capable of. I am challenging you to astound yourself today and share what you did with me.

You are astounding you know!!!

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

Becoming a Role Model

As a Founding Coach with Team Beachbody, it is my responsibility to walk the talk.  For my first two years, I did not have it together and because I felt out of integrity was not there in the way I should been for my coaches and customers.

In April of 2009 when I committed to putting my health first, all of that changed.  I can’t make up for when I wasn’t there.  What I can do is be there 100% for the people who have put their trust in me now.

One of the biggest joys in my life now is coaching calls with my clients who are changing their lives.  One of my clients has lost 8.5 pounds his first month and gone from a 44” to 40” waist.  Another has lost 15 pounds in her first six months.  Watching people make a health a priority in their lives is nothing short of amazing.

My role is to be the example for what I am saying and I take that responsibility very seriously every day.  One of the things I talk about constantly is none of us are perfect.  That is an unrealistic expectation.  As such, when I make a bad choice I own up to it and figure out how to make a better choice next time.

No matter who you are or what you are doing someone is always watching you.  You are someone’s role model.  Are you taking the actions you would want other people in your life to mirror?

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, people consistently underestimate the number of calories they consume and overestimate the number of minutes they exercise on a daily basis.

It is so important when you are building a healthy life to know exactly what you are doing. So often I hear from clients what a pain it is to weigh and measure food or how much trouble it is to keep a food diary.  My question is how much pain in there in your life by being overweight?

Weighing and tracking your food daily will take no more than 15 minutes and often much less.  There are all sorts of journals and diaries to use both online and off line.  Do you experience more than 15 minutes of angst each day about your weight and not being as healthy as you would like?  Why not trade the pain of being overweight for the bother of tracking your food?  It is a great trade off to make, I promise.

Just as a thought:

1.  How many ounces of water have you consumed today?

2.  How many calories have you consumed so far?

3.  How many minutes of exercise have you logged?

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

Confronting the Menu

Many times in the past when I have been on a diet, I either avoided restaurants all together or ordered only something to drink and watched everyone else eat.  When we are building a healthy life, neither of those are good options.  We will most likely continue to eat in restaurants occasionally for the rest of our life.  And we don’t want to sit there and sip water.

Learning to make healthy choices while in restaurants is a skill we can learn as well as a habit we can develop.  One of the topics which come up often with many of my weight loss coaching clients is the fear of eating out.  Here are some examples of suggestions which have worked in “real life” for my clients:

1.  View the menu online before going and determine what your best choice is and order when you arrive without looking at the menu.

2.  Order food grilled and dry.

3.  Ask for special orders.  Most kitchens have the ingredients to make something healthy and giving them a few options allows the chefs to be creative and usually agree.

4.  Order several healthy sides instead of one healthy entrée.  One of my personal favorites I find in lots of places is sautéed spinach.

It is all a matter of making a choice and you are in charge of that.

“Almost 25% of Americans’ meals come from eating out.  So it’s important to make your next restaurant visit a healthy one.   Don’t be shy about making special requests.  Look for steamed, boiled, baked, grilled, poached and roasted foods.  When in doubt, go the salad route.”

~Jillian Michaels, Biggest Loser Tip

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran

Self Sabotage

One way we have of defeating ourselves is “not believing” we are in control.  The scary part of taking responsibility for our actions is we have no one else to blame for where we are.  The great part of taking responsibility is we are in charge.  We are the ones making the choices of when, what and how much we will eat.  We are deciding what type of exercise works best for us and what time of the day fits our schedule.  We can’t take control of our lives until and without accepting full responsibility.

Decide, Commit, Succeed

Team Beachbody Founding Coach,

Judi Finneran