Why do we critique ourselves?

Why is it that women are so hard on themselves and men can think that they look like a million bucks when strutting a beer gut, loss of hair & no sense of humor?  Studies show that women are far worse critics of their appearance and bodies then men are.  Why is this you ask?  Sadly, society has set unattainable standards of perfection we buy into day in and day out.  Women have a fear of being arrogant, having a distorted perception of attainable beauty.  I have worked with many women in my career that have had beautiful bodies and are gorgeous women all around, looks and personality, but yet they still nit pick themselves to death.  My opinion is that women focus more on the appearance of themselves and what they look like and what other women look like and constantly compare whether they mean to or not, it happens at some point in time.  Men not so much, they don't or at least as often stare at other men and judge themselves, "Wow, that guy has a nice butt!"  or how about "That man looks really good in his outfit, I wonder where he got it from?"  I don't think so!  This does not happen as often as women look and watch the appearances of other women.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  It is impossible to get the approval of everyone.  Instead, try to focus on the good health for YOU!  Taking good care of your body by exercising, eating regularly and clean is what is going to make you feel and look fit and healthy.  This maybe be challenging for some with having to change your schedule around however just ask your self, how important is my health?  How important and what is it worth for me to feel my best and give it my best effort to do so?  Are you worth it?  Hell, yah you are!  Do it for YOU and YOU alone!  Making yourself happy first is the first and foremost important thing.  Then you won't care much or as much of what other think of you because you will be so confidant with yourself that the though of what others think of you will rarely cross your mind.  

Living in the moment sounds very exciting.  However, imagine if we truly lived like this everyday.  Would we eat what we want, partly like no tomorrow and simply excuse any bad behavior?  Sure, seize the day certainly suggests living each day with passion and spontaneity, but how about we find a happy medium?  Do it in a way that will perpetuate long-term well being.  Take one day at a time, do something good for yourself each day and reap the benefits for a lifetime.  Use the gym as an example or your exercise classes you go to.  Why are you working out?  Is it because you feel you should, or because most everyone you know and associate with is doing it?  WRONG reason.  Sorry but by only exercising for this reason is not going to do a dang thing for you.  Think of it this way, you are improving your overall health.  You are working on improving your energy, lowering your stress and becoming a happier person.  I often hear of how intimidating people are of they gym, so they don't work out.  WRONG AGAIN.  There is no excuse to not workout.  You don't have to become a member of the gym if you are intimidated by it (by the way if people are there judging others then they have far worse problems then you do) then you can exercise at home or sign yourself up for local exercise classes.  (I hear that Body By Jess has some fun and exciting classes for all levels of fitness :) )  Generally, people at the gym are minding their own business and are all there for the same reason. They are hardly starring others down and criticizing what others have going on, when all they want to do is get their workout done and get out of there!   Don't get me wrong; I am guilty of this on occasion as well.  None of us our perfect and we all just want to strive to do and be our best.   I work on building my confidence with who I.  I do the best to be a fit and healthy influence to others and my peers.  For now, I 'm going to keep working hard, spend quality time with friends and family, and stay on track with my workouts and eating clean.  After all, isn't that what helps us reach true happiness and security?

Focus on food first

Make a new plan for yourself and set goals!  We’ve all said it: “Diet starts Monday,” or “I can be bad – it’s the weekend.” This is why most diet plans often fail. The key is to stay motivated, consistent and to make your workouts and meal plans fit into your lifestyle. It’s not always the diet that fails; it’s the motivation to stick with it that people lack. Research shows when others hold you accountable to your plan you are more apt to succeed. The more you share your goals with others the greater your chance of success.

You can work out until you’re blue in the face, but if you aren’t eating right, you will never achieve the results you are seeking.  It’s important to remember: whole foods first, fortified foods second and supplementation to accommodate any holes in your nutrition plan. What you put into your body is one of the few things you have control over.  We can’t always find time to make it to the gym or get a workout in, but we always need to eat. There is a strong movement towards clean eating (unprocessed, unrefined, whole foods).  It’s all about reading ingredients now.  It’s just like putting bad gas in a car. It’s still going to run, but overtime it’s going to break down the engine.  I see it over and over again, where you will be so motivated to exercise and workout but then don’t pay attention to what you put in your mouth.  Like I said above, you can work out until you are blue in the face but if you don’t have your nutrition in check then you will more then likely won’t achieve the goals you want to achieve.   Eating every three hours is key to getting our metabolism restarted and going strong.  Eating clean, proper portion control and a well balanced diet along with exercise will help you reach your goals in a timely manner.  It is those off days, weeks, months that set us back further and further from our goals.  I am not just talking about an off meal once or maybe twice a week, I am talking about eating unhealthy foods and too much of them all day long for a few days, weeks, or months that will set you back.

Many people believe eating healthy is expensive – but ultimately, not eating healthy is more costly. An unhealthy lifestyle leads to more doctors’ visits, more time off work and has been linked to chronic diseases. You may eat out less frequently and it may be less convenient, but in the end your waist and wallet will thank you.  Just think about it; you eat whatever you want or is most convenient for your lifestyle and you exercise but pretty soon as time goes by and you haven’t met your goals are it is taking quite a bit longer to make progress then what you had in mind so then you revert to Nutri-system, Meti-fast, Jenny Craig, diet pills, etc..  Now look at how expensive your food is costing you!  I hear about this everyday, people pouring hundreds of dollars out to these food companies to buy processed foods that are packaged and prepared to save time and thought about what you are going to eat during the day.  Don’t’ you think this is a more expensive route to go then just making an overall change of teaching yourself, your children and family of how to eat healthy and clean!  If you have kids, what do you think you are teaching them about nutrition when you buy your food, it comes in the mail or you go pick it up and you eat something totally different then what you prepare for them because you want to lose weight?  You are doing nothing for them in the long run when they run into the same problems you have and they are wanting to lose weight.  Start the cycle now!  Make a lifestyle change and shop clean and eat healthy!

Happy Monday!

Just an extra tip…..

Gaining just five pounds of muscle can help a 130 lb woman burn an additional 250 calories a day. The more muscle you have the more metabolic you are, meaning the more calories you burn at rest. More muscle = less cardio. There is a misconception that building muscle will make you bulky. Due to lower testosterone levels, it’s virtually impossible for women to gain massive size. Weight training really is the fountain of youth. An hour of cardio won’t benefit you if it is not something you enjoy. In fact, it creates stress, rather than reducing it. Instead, try 30 second sprints on a treadmill (30 seconds running/30 seconds rest x 20 minutes). Interval training like this can help boost your calorie-burning power – and you won’t get bored. Or, try plyometrics – explosive body movements using your own body weight – a favorite training technique of Olympic athletes yet can be performed by anyone at home. Bonus – no equipment necessary.