M's daily tip

K will begin blogging after taking care of some other things going on in her life--I promise!

So, I am currently in a stage of my journey where I'm seeing ZERO weight loss, but a lot of new muscle. I would love to see those numbers go down on the scale, but I am feeling positive about the change I am seeing! The numbers may not be changing, but my body certainly is! Be patient, stick with it, it will come together. I'll keep you updated when the scale changes!

Women "not strong enough for combat?"

OK, full disclosure, I consider myself a feminist. I believe in all women's rights, equality, etc. So, needless to say, I was ecstatic with yesterday's news about women now being allowed in combat for our military.

You can imagine my dismay when I hear politicians like Rep. Tom Cotton from Arkansas (R) say he doesn't believe women are physically capable of combat duty. "It's nature, upper body strength and physical movements and speed and endurance..." Really?



You mean to tell me Jessie Hilgenberg doesn't have the upper body strength or endurance or speed for combat? From my experience, some men enter the military as fairly scrawny men, but come out looking like they've been lifting weights for years. Why are women not capable of the same?

Beeteedubs, Mr. Cotton, Israel has had women on their front lines for YEARS. Israel is one of the most feared militaries in the world. What of it?

Our military does not need to lower its standards to accommodate women. Let women rise to the standards currently set for men. Let women get there and show you what we're actually capable of.

Thanks to ALL those who serve--men AND women.

-M

M's daily tip

I have a wicked sweet tooth. But sugar is an addiction and I'm currently trying to break it. Four years ago, there was a point when I would try to eat a mini Reese's cup and my stomach would get upset because of the amount of sugar in it. I'm in the middle of my sugar detox, as I call it, and it's rough. It's more like quitting cold turkey than a detox. I'm having major chocolate cravings (thanks to Mother PMS), but I'm resisting like a champ. If I want to enjoy my wedding cake in June, I have to sacrifice a few things now otherwise it'll just be another piece of cake! I have to keep telling myself: it's all a matter of will and determination. In order to get to the point where sugar isn't a craving, I have to stop eating it.

My tip: If you drink soda, stop. If you drink sweetened coffee or tea drinks, stop. Coffee and tea can taste great without adding caramel syrups, whipped creams, chocolate shavings and packets of sugar. If you have a bag of candy at your desk, throw it out. If you love to bake, like me, find tasty alternative recipes (vegan recipes tend to be good options for clean eaters, I'll post some soon!). Throw away anything and everything in your pantry that can tempt you with its sweet goodness. I promise the phase of cravings doesn't last long and afterward, you won't even miss it.

Here is a good article and video on sugar and why you crave it: http://www.beyondthepeel.net/2012/09/how-to-break-sugar-addiction.html.

 

M's daily tip

It's simple: love life. I feel happier when I exercise--scientifically, that's because endorphins are released, but I believe it makes me happier because I'm making positive change. Love life today.

M's daily tip

If you exercise and eat right, your body will recover from illness quicker, you will sleep better and you will function more efficiently during the day. However, this is always important to remember, too:

 -M

A little about M

Let me rewind and get back to telling you a little about myself.

I am a college grad, working full-time in the communications field and I love it. I am engaged to my high school sweetheart of almost eight years, we're getting married in June! We decided on a destination wedding because, honestly, I hated planning a "real" wedding.

But let's go even further back. I've been a "chubby" kid my whole life but when I got to college, I lived with a woman who inspired me to start looking at my health. She ate only non-processed, organic foods and she worked out nearly every day. When I lived with her, I went from 165 to 140 lbs. During that time, I felt wonderful. My body felt clean and healthy and for the first time in my life, I was confident in the way I looked. I kept that weight off for a couple of years. But then I moved in with my fiancé and everything changed.

I slowly began to gain weight back because I wasn't working out and I was eating the way he did. I eventually gained back that 25 lbs PLUS another 20 lbs! My peak was 185 lbs (for reference, I am 5'7"). Since living with him, I've gone through multiple phases where I've tried to get back into working out and eating right, but for two years I just couldn't do it. When I was living with my former inspiration, working out and eating clean was my lifestyle, but living with my fiancé made that lifestyle much harder to get back into. Have you had this problem? Have you moved in with someone and reverted to bad habits? Let me know!

When I found a letter I had written to myself last Christmas, I knew I needed to make a change. The letter said, "M, what are you doing? Look at yourself right now and really think about how you feel. If you feel good about yourself, stop reading. But if you are unhappy right now, you need to make a change." I found that letter six months after writing it and knew it was time to start getting back into my healthy ways.

Fast forward to today and I've finally managed to get back into the rhythm of enjoying my workouts and loving healthy food. It took probably two-three months to make daily gym visits a habit and because processed food is addictive, it took a long time for me to shake the habit. It helps me to have a gym buddy (we'll call her B) and it also helps that my fiancé is getting better about enjoying healthy food and he works out daily, too.

 

The past couple months, I've dropped 10 lbs (down to 175) and gained back a lot of the muscle I used to have. So, with my wedding date six months away, I have about 30-40 lbs to go!

In a way I'm glad I gained back all that weight PLUS some. It has shown me how easy it is to fall out of good habits. Now that I'm back on a healthy path, I'll know the signs to watch for (skipping multiple workouts, eating out more often, binging on unhealthy foods, etc) and make sure I stick to my goals. I'm here to encourage all of you and to have you encourage me, too. I'll do my best to inspire you and give you the tools for success.

Let me know if you have questions by emailing 2healthychickskm@gmail.com and K or I will get back to you! Remember, I'm here to represent the beginners, newbies and moderate fitness junkies. K represents the "hard-core" fitness buffs. We hope to offer a great balance for our readers!

-M

Starting off with a cautionary tale

M here. Writing to you about why I was unable to workout yesterday and probably tonight.

I attended a new class at my gym on Monday, a class I didn't know much about. It turned out to be a great fast-paced strength class with a focus on each major muscle group. A muscle group I tend to neglect is my shoulders--they're just not an area I feel a need to dedicate a lot of attention to.

MY BIG MISTAKE

I followed all of the instructor's movements and used the same weight she did, same reps and felt good about it afterward. However, I woke up the next day and had a pain between my neck and right shoulder. If I move a certain way, it's a very sharp pain. Now I have to miss two workouts because I can't lift my right arm very high and I don't want to injure myself further.

I have a massage scheduled to work out whatever is pulled or knotted or whatever. Wish me luck.

Lesson learned: go at a pace you can handle, don't feel you have to keep up with those in better shape than you until you know your body's limits. Don't get me wrong, you need to push beyond your limits in order to progress, but don't push to the point of injury.

-M