Fab Fit Squad

The first week of the new year is almost over. How are you doing with your resolutions? Are you still making them? If your resolution this year is to lose those last 10 pounds or to get into or back into shape I have a few tips that may help you get there this year.

1. You need a strategy — just hoping and praying isn’t a strategy. Think of your fitness plan as planning a trip. Would you just hop in the car and hope you end up a destination. No.. you would punch it into your GPS and follow the route. Getting back into shape and losing weight is the same thing! Your action for right now is to say — I am going to ________. I’m looking for an exact number, if its not exact you can’t measure how you are doing.  For example, by February 17 I will lose 10 pounds or I will run/walk 1 mile each day for the next 30 days.  So.. what’s your action item to get you toward your end goal?
2. Yes, write it down — you have you strategy, it’s not good enough to have it in your head, you need to write it down and put it someplace where you can see it each and every day! I recommend you tape it in multiple locations — your bathroom mirror, your nightstand, your refrigerator, your car’s sun visor, your cube at work. The more you see it the more you will be reminded of your goal and your actions will start to reflect where you want to go. Your action item — write your goal for the next 30 days and put it in multiple locations.
3. Don’t go hungry — when people start to diet the first thing I hear is I’m going to skip meals. Nothing makes me more crazy than when I hear that. Okay the other thing that makes me crazier is when I see people walking/running on a treadmill and holding on for dear life. Unless you came in using a walker or a cane there is no need to hold on. Pump your arms and use your core! Off my soap box, now back to meals. You must fuel your body every 2-3 hours.  You must keep blood sugar levels even, this is what signals the brain for food. The more even your blood sugars levels the less likely you are to go on a bender. Think about this.  How many times have you skipped lunch and then headed home after work and just ate everything sight or you planned on eating the right things and your hungry mind took over.  I know that never happens to you guys. =) If you are reading this and its been a few hours –EAT SOMETHING! Your action item — what snacks can you put in your desk drawer or in the car that you can eat?
4. Get support — You can’t do this alone! There will be times when you need a shoulder to lean on, a kick in the pants or just an ear when you need to vent. Ask someone to be your accountability partner. When you have this person you are less likely to fall off the wagon. I highly recommend you find that friend, co-worker or whomever that isn’t afraid to be hard on you.  Your action item — find and ask someone to be your support person?
5. Share your goals with the world — The more people who know what you are doing you are more likely to do it. No one wants to look like a fool. In this new world of social media — post your goal(s) on your Facebook wall, tweet about them on Twitter.  You’d be surprised how much support and encouragement you’ll get from others who maybe trying to reach the same goal or this is where you may find your accountability partner. Your action item –post your 30 day goal on your Facebook wall, tweet about or tell someone in person.  You can even leave your comments on my blog! I have no problem being that kick in the rump!
6. Pick one thing to change — Many of you feel you need to change EVERYTHING right away. I’m all for that BUT… if you aren’t that kind of person. Don’t do it!  I recommend you pick 1 habit this week and work on changing that. If you are addicted to diet soda — work on reducing the number that you have in a day or go cold turkey.  Action item — What is the one thing you will change this week?

With these 6 tips in hand do you feel like you have a nice blueprint to help you forward towards reaching your fitness goals this year? If you would some formalized help. I still have a few spots open for my F.R.E.E 30 day wellness coaching program. Just shoot me an email to learn more.  I really want to know how you are doing. Leave me your fitness goal in the comments below.

This is the time of year when many of you make “resolutions” you decide that this is the year that you will….. Now I ask you a question – WHY??? Why do you want to keep the resolution?  What is your motivation?  Why do you want to achieve that goal(s)?

Your why should be so powerful that it should keep you up at night with excitement, your why should be so motivating that it will drag your tushy out of bed on a minus 3 degree snowy morning to hit the gym to get your lift on. (more…)

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

It happens to each and everyone of us, we set a goal and immediately focus on the end result. We then have 2 thoughts, YES we can do it or NO this will never happen. Focusing on the end result I admit can be a little overwhelming when you start thinking about ALL that needs to be done to achieve your goal. But here is how I want you to start thinking about your goal. It works for any fitness, weight loss or life goal. Think of your goal as a cross country road trip. Picture this, you want to drive from New York to Los Angeles. Would you even think of just getting in the car and driving without a plan and God forbid rest stops? No you’d pull out the map pull up an online map and plan your journey, you’d pick your rest stops, places of interest along the way and interject some fun and celebrations along the route.

Instead of focusing on the end, break your journey into 200 feet. Pull out your map:

• What will you need to do to get to the first 200 foot mark?
• What actions do you need to take?
• What resources will you need?
• Who’s support will need?

Sit down right now and get clear about what you really want and then figure out what you need to do, to get to the 1st 200 feet.

Leave me some comments below, I would love to hear your plans.

Enjoy the journey — need any assistance, please let me know I’m hear to help.

And doing it any way.  I read this book a few years ago and it still sticks with me. This week I felt as though I jumped off a high cliff.  I’m in the process of making some serious changes as to how I run my business and decided to take on a business coach.  I’ve known for a few years that at some point I would need to do it, but the time is now to bite the bullet.

I pulled up my big girl panties and LEAPED!

Is there fear that is holding you back. Is there something that you have been thinking about know you should do, but just haven’t taken the steps to make it happen?

Let me tell you. I’m nervous, excited and terrified all at the same time.  I’m a big fan of Lululemon clothing and on their bags they have a number of inspiring phrases.  One of the phrases that sticks with me regularly is Do one thing everyday that scares you. I’ve been living in my comfort zone for a little to long and now I’m OUT! If I want to see change, I need to be the change!

Big things are ahead for me I can just feel it.

What about? What’s  your fear that you can embrace? I would love to hear it. Hell I’d love some company on this journey!

On my Facebook page, I have been doing the 12 days of Fitness, become a Fan so you can check out the first 9 days.

Day 10 — I  recently read a great book called “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There“  the author laid out 4 commitments that I am going to apply to fitness.

1. Let go of the past – forget what you tried in thast past, learn from them and then move on. The next step is to determine what are you going to do NOW to acheive your goals.
2. Tell the truth — look at yourself in the mirror every day and ask yourself, am I doing everthing I can do acheive my goals? If you can honestly say that you are then you are on track, if you feel like there are a few more things you can do, then step it up! (more…)

I hear this all the time, Kim exactly what do you do? I know you hear that as well when you go to parties or other networking events. Typically when I hear its my friends who know I have been working hard to become a certified wellness coach. I know that So when the ask, I know it comes from a place of caring about.

So.. I am a wellness coach. In November 2008 I started my journey. I have been a ACSM certified personal trainer for a while and began to notice that most of my clients came to me for a workout or to lose weight, but I soon realized that there was more things going on that was keeping them from being successful. As a wellness coach I have learned some techniques that will help me work with clients to help them better define their goals, support them through the change process and give them the confidence they need to make lasting change.

I know you are thinking, isn’t that the same thing you do as a personal trainer? No my role is a fitness coach I TELL people what to do.  As a wellness coach the golden rule is the client has the answers, I work with them to guide them to reaching their goals.

As you can imagine its been 18 long months and I am really excited.  I know you may think that I am crazy to launch a business right now. But I believe there is a BIG wave of opportunity happening so the timing is perfect and here is why.

• Women are ready to challenge the status quo and step into a more fulfilling way of life. People are more willing than ever to invest to change their lives.
• Women are tired of the rat race, working hard to just get by when all they really want is to look great and feel fabulous.
• The time is ripe for renewal and reinvention. Women are looking for a little guidance around how to get started and stayed motivated throughout the process.  (this is where I come in)

Over the past 18 months my coach has inspired me to play BIG and get out of my comfort zone. I have to tell you I LOVE IT! The focus of my coaching practice is this.

I help busy women who want to look great and feel fabulous!

You might be thinking: most women are already overwhelmed in their quest to live a healthier lifestyle and now you want them to play bigger!

I would be grateful if you would connect me to any women you know that wants to look great and feel fabulous.

The reason why I stress connect is because I believe this is the way business is meant to be: people connecting with each other and finding ways to add value and create mutual success. So the person you refer to me might end up hiring me or we may become professional colleagues, either way, we will both benefit from the connection.

One last thought…

When we hear and read a lot of bad news, it is easy to get discouraged, apathetic or cynical. But we all know, that this does not make the situation better.  The only way to feel better is to get back into the game of life and PLAY.  As a coach, this is my primary objective
You can refer people to be in several ways: leave comments below — | email –| website –| phone–(617) 744-9056

So, I’ve been on the sidelines for a while. I ‘ve been training for a half marathon, studying for my wellness coach certification and just working my butt to build my business. Okay those were just excuses, if I really wanted to stay on track I could have. Okay pity party over. Here are 6 ways I am going to get back on track for my next fitness competition. I will be competing in the NPC Jay Cutler Classic in Boston on May 2nd.  Time to get my game face on.

1. Schedule, schedule and schedule it. Every Sunday I sit down and mark out in my calendar when I will workout. I get specific like (Wed 7am cardio 40 min) I put it in my calendar and it is an appt that I cannot break. I move stuff around, but my workout does get done.
2. Pre-cook my meals. I go to the grocery store on Saturday afternoon and load up on veggies, lean proteins, chicken broth and lean diary products. Then on Sunday at 6pm I start cooking. Yes exactly at 6pm. (If you can’t tell I like schedules) I cook enough protein and veggies to get me through the week.
3. Get good music. My ipod doesn’t ever leave my gym bag! At least once a month I buy new music and mix up my playlist to keep it fresh. If you have any suggestions, please leave me comments and let me know.
4. Maximize my workout time. If I need to do a cardio and a strength workout, I do a metabolic circuit (a combination of strength and cardio) or just do a crazy interval cardio blast (every 2 minutes you change machine and increase the resistance)
5. Seize the moment. There are days when my schedule don’t allow a full workout, so I’ll need to break it up. So, somedays I will do cardio in the morning and then lift later in the day. That way there are no excuses and its in my schedule.
6. Involve your family. Training for a fitness show can be really intense and takes a large amount of your time! I make sure that I include my husband. We go to the gym together and plan (yeah I know, I can’t help it I have to schedule) to have lunch each Saturday at our favorite place The Parish Cafe.

I have been avoiding finishing up my wellness coach certification. I took the 13 week class last November and have exactly 1 year to:

• take a written exam
• complete a oral exam
• chronicle 3 clients

Well here we are at almost August and I am no closer to the certification than I was last November. I continually ask myself, why haven’t taken any steps to complete this exam? Am I afraid of succeeding, is it because their really isn’t hard goal.  I know that I am not a good test taker so am I psyching myself out by thinking that I stink at test so why rush to take the test. So I am setting a hard goal for myself.

I will take my written exam on or before 11/1.

I will take my oral exam on or before 12/1.

I will have completed 3 practice clients on or before 2/1.

We all have two choices…We can make a living or we can design a life. ~Jim Rohn

5 ways to avoid weight loss procrastination

Motivation Monday

You’ll never regret it.

There is nothing like a dream to create the future. — Victor Hugo,  Les Miserables

Here are 5 ways to give you the kick in the butt to jump start your weight loss procrastination. The unofficial start to summer,  Memorial Day is just 4 short days away!

1. Understand your motivation: If you are planning to lose weight for someone other than yourself, it will never work. Get real around why you want to lose the weight! Do you have a summer event coming up and want to fit into that little black dress or have you signed up for a summer road race and need some motivation to get training. Step back and look yourself in the eye and ask WHY DO I WANT TO DO THIS!
2. Use your motivation to your advantage. Do you beat yourself up, each day that you don’t take steps to our goal. Use your goals as the push you need to keep going. I find that by hanging posters or motivational quotes really help give me the push in the right direction that I need.
3. Change your internal language! Instead of saying I HAVE TO or THERE IS NO WAY. Change your dialog. I want to lose 25 pounds so that I will be _____________ (insert what happens when you achieve your goals or how will you feel when you achieve goals.
4. Set goals fueled by your passion. You can’t go anyway without a road map, okay now a days GPS.  Here is where you take those goals and break them up. Your goal for this week is to lose 1 pound and develop a plan on how you are going to do that. Want to run a 10K, go to this site Need help more, shoot me an email.
5. Still not fired up to get moving on your goals, try this. Write a letter to your future self. Imagine that you have achieved your goals. What would you say to yourself, how would you feel, how would you look, what would you do. Now write a letter to yourself as if you didn’t meet your goals. Both letters will help you drive you forward.

Still need a kick in the pants, shoot me an email. Have any additional comments, just post them below.