Fun Fact Friday: Did you know that your muscles cannot turn to fat when you stop exercising regularly?

It’s true- they can’t.

Why, you ask?!  Because muscle and fat are two separate and distinct tissues.  There is no physical capability to change from one to the other.

No way Jose!

With muscles, you either “use it, or lose it!”  When you’re not using muscle, it will literally just waste away.  When that happens, it’s called atrophy.

Here’s a good example for you:
Think about someone who wears a cast on a broken leg/ arm.  When the cast has been removed, the leg or arm that’s been unused will be smaller than they were before.  If it was true that muscle turned to fat from not being used, you’d see  a fatter leg or arm after removing the cast- that isn’t the case, though.

With that being said, don’t let those muscles waste away!

It’s Friday and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Is Losing Weight Extremely Difficult?

Let’s set this straight.

Losing the weight (for most) is pretty easy.  Once you get going, you’re golden.
The most difficult part about this process- the weight off.

Studies show that 75%-90% of dieters who lose weight will actually regain the weight they dropped within 1-3 years of fully “completing” the diet.  Faster is not better.

Exercising regularly and maintaining healthy eating is a great way to keep the weight you worked so hard to lose, off of your body.  Once you reach the weight you desire, or the “look” you desire, doesn’t mean that you should go right back to old ways. Treat yourself once a weak to a cheat meal (because it is okay every so often to let loose) then for the remainder of the week, keep to your schedule of eating healthy & working out.

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I do understand it’s extremely frustrating to have to wait to get to your goal weight; however, the work that you put into your body and your health will show.  Give it the time to do so!  While your body is changing, so are your systems!  It does take time and some don’t have that patience, but how about you make that something to improve in your life as well?

I’ll repeat this again… because it’s so true:

YOU’LL GAIN THE WEIGHT BACK AS FAST AS YOU LOST IT.  Don’t look toward the “faster” route for weight loss- It. Takes. Time.

#motivationmonday

 It’s Monday!  Make this week g r e a t ! 

Good morning, everyone.  So, I have decided that every Monday I’ll be making a new blog post to motivate you all.  This is going to probably be until I finish my personal training certification.  I’ve been extremely busy and I’m working on getting back where I need to be.

I, myself, am using today…Monday… to restart my routine.  My previous post explains a little bit about why I’ve been slacking.  Our new puppy we had rescued almost didn’t make it out of a routine procedure and had to have a major procedure done.  Thank God she’s doing great now and is very energetic.  Her staples were removed last Thursday and she’s doing amazing!  Super happy with her progress… God gave us quite the little miracle.

Now that she’s doing a ton better, and our 5 year old, Oakley (he’s our other fur baby) are getting along perfectly I’m working my way back to getting back on track!

On top of having a new puppy who was in recovery, we were moving from NC to VA and our food supply was limited.  Because we were trying to get rid of the food in our house as much as possible, the lack of healthy food in our fridge was nuts.  I was going through a panic because I always have something.  I wasn’t eating as well as I wanted to and I could tell because my body was getting a little bit “puffy”.

After the pup came home from the hospital, I stayed with her literally all day and fell back on my studies and gym time significantly.  Making sure Oakley was being loved when she was napping because he was so mad at me for bringing her home.

Like I said, I fell off my rocker.  I wasn’t happy with my choices but I felt so overwhelmed and there was so many things I had to do.  I put my health behind me and focused on the puppy and moving and studying (when I could make that happen).

Today- that’s changing.  I encourage you to use this as a sign to go ahead and make the change with me!
This past weekend, we went out and got the necessary groceries and healthy snacks and fruits to get my body back on board with a healthy lifestyle! There’s no way I could keep letting myself go.  Things are much calmer now, and my body is dying to get back into the gym and really get a great workout regimen back into action!

You’re probably wondering….why is she telling me this?  Well, it’s simple.  I have gotten so many messages about how people can’t do what I did and lose weight and tone up and eat healthy and all of that.  Stop saying you can’t.  I’m showing you that even people who do it everyday and make it a lifestyle change can fall out sometimes.  But that doesn’t mean you should keep falling out.  Stop, breathe, make a plan, set a goal and go achieve it! Don’t let yourself forget about your body, not matter how much stress is imposed on you.

I shouldn’t have stopped eating healthy, and I shouldn’t have stopped working out- but I did.  And N O W is the time to take that and flip it.  TODAY.  IT’S MONDAY, FRESH STARTS ARE FUN!!
Take advantage of today and work towards your short term goals to reach your long term ones.

I’m taking this trip with you!

I hope you all have a great work week, and a great fresh start!

Happy Spring!

 

Good morning, everyone! Happy 1st Day of Spring!! It’s raining here in Virginia… And some of you are experiencing snow…. How weird. Hopefully, spring will step up the game and swing into full force here soon!! 

I just wanted to drop in and write something to let you all know I’m still here.  I apologize for slacking, but things have been extremely hectic lately. 

First, we were preparing to move and working on getting everything that we had with our old house closed, so that way when we got to Virginia, we would just have to unpack. 

Secondly, we got a new puppy! Her name is Tallulah.  We rescued her and she was 8 weeks old when we adopted… In the state of North Carolina, you must get your dog spayed/ neutered before you’re able to take the animal home.  (Wish this wasn’t the case, but it was). Tallulah’s vet ran into a problem when he went to find the right ovary, and he ripped her kidney and she almost didn’t make it. Thankfully, she did. The doctor felt completely horrible. It was quite the job to make sure she didn’t go too wild with staples in her stomach… That’s been taking up most of my time. Yesterday, she did get her staples removed and she’s doing so great! Growing good and being the spunky, happy little pup!  

Third, between moving and our new pup… I’ve been trying to really get in study time. I’m about a week and a half behind and that’s driving me insane. So, my main focus now that we are unpacked for the most part and her staples are out is to catch up! 

Finally, I haven’t had time to get to the gym, either. With the move, we didn’t want to keep going grocery shopping and have our produce go bad and I’ve been eating more junk than healthy foods. I’ve definitely put on some weight and this week coming up, I’m planning to get my butt back in gear. Just goes to show you that I fall out of line sometimes, too! It happens. Life happens. the past 2 weeks, my puppy was my main concern and that’s okay. Just means I have to work hard and get back where I was before! 

I’m going to try to designate a day of each week that I’ll post something… (Most likely, it’ll be either Sunday or Monday). 

Thanks for understanding! I’ll be back on track in no time!  TGIF & have a wonderful weekend!! Hope it warms up!