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How to Create a Motivating Plan to Get or Keep Fit

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This article is written by Caroline, a contributor to Dustin’s blog.

When it comes to keeping up my workout routine, whether it’s getting to one of Dustin’s Bootcamp sessions or working out to his Fit Mom’s For Life DVD’s, I’ve realized that it’s a combination of things that keeps me coming back day after day year after year.    I didn’t realize what a mix of things it was until I was reading an article by John C. Maxwell about principle-centered planning.  While working out or keeping a good nutrition plan may not be a project in and of itself, the same ideas still fit.  

Here’s the principles and how I’ve seen them work with my fitness and nutrition goals:

  1. Passion – Identify your passion.  I love to read and learn more about how I can get a better workout.  Similarly I’m passionate about food and how I can make  the best food choices to support my body and ultimately my health.  There’s  a great sense of power in knowing that  I’ve given it my all during a workout.
  2. Creativity -  Be creative.   As mentioned above, I’m passionate about food and I love to experiment with new recipes and figure out how to make them more healthy.  What ingredients can I substitute in a recipe and still get great flavor?  Things as simple as substituting white flour with whole wheat pastry flour, coconut oil for other oils, or adding flavor with spices instead of salt. 
  3. Influence – Create relationships with influencers.  Building relationships with people who are passionate about the same things as I am.  They hold me accountable to my commitment and we help hold each other up when a little bit more encouragement is needed. 
  4. Priorities – Set priorities.  I’ve kept working out a priority in my life.  For me I’ve always been an early riser so working out in the early morning before work is best for me.  Sometimes people give me a weird look when I tell them I get up at 4AM to workout, but it works for me and gives me a great start to my day.  There’s nothing better than starting the day knowing I’ve done something really important to me.
  5. Flexibility – Be flexible.  When my schedule gets overly packed with obligations, especially during the holidays, that’s when I pull out all stops and combine creativity with flexibility.   It’s when I look at all options for getting a workout in and eating healthy when at all possible.  It’s taking advantage of breaks during work for a walk; it’s putting in a workout DVD vs. going to the gym; it’s making sure I have healthy snacks with me.
  6. Timing – Take time to plan.  In relationship to timing, it’s making sure I’m clear on what’s important to me so I can make the best choices.  I take time to write down what’s important to me and think ahead to where the challenges may come in.  I’m thinking now about the holidays coming up and how I can make my through them while keeping my weight where I want it to be.  I’ve traditionally put on a few pounds over the holiday, but that’s one tradition I don’t care to keep up.  :)
  7. Teamwork – Find or create your own team.  Even though I often work out alone in the morning, I will often be thinking about all the other people working out during that time.  It’s not uncommon for me to push myself a bit harder knowing that those of you at one of Dustin’s bootcamps are getting pushed to work out just a little bit harder…  It keeps me pushing me myself when I may be inclined to not go the extra mile. 

What keeps you motivated day to day?  I would love to know. 

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Learn How to Eat

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Hi everyone! This post is from Carrie, one of Dustin’s contributors.

If you read my first blog you know I had felt deprived during my other weight loss attempts. Because of this it became easy for me to justify not beginning another program. I just didn’t want to feel that way for months. Well, I’m here to say you do not have to feel deprived while you are losing weight. I AM losing weight and I’m NOT hungry. I eat butter, 2% greek yogurt, 2% milk, chocolate, pizza, and restaurant food (all in moderation mind you, but that is another blog post!). As I’m learning more about nutrition, I am beginning to understand why those other programs were so hard for me to stick with. So what happened on those previous programs that didn’t work for me and why?

Continue Reading →

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What I Have Been Eating To Lose 15 lbs in 6 Weeks

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I am one week away from competing at the world fitness modeling championships in Vegas.  This is my 4th time competing and I must say that my body is changing less quickly this time than others.  I think the two biggest factors for this have been 14 days of traveling (ate well but didn’t exercise much), and the fact that I sit in front of a computer about 10 hours per day, instead of two years ago when I was training people in the gym 40 plus hours a week.

I have mentioned before that I don’t think getting my bodyfat to 4% is the healthiest thing to do, and then people start asking why do I do it.

They ask me if it is for the money.  NO!!  I have to pay about $1000 to compete, more than my 7 day fitness cruise costs.  Is it for exposure?  NO!  I have no desire to be a model.

Basically it is the same reason why people do Ironman or marathons.  It is the desire to push the body past what most people believe to be limits.  It is the discipline that is formed with a strict eating regime and exercise program.  It is the camaraderie of meeting over 400 other competitors from all over the world and sharing stories and cheering each other on.  It is the feeling of being on stage knowing that for the past 7 weeks I have worked so hard and sacrificed a lot to get to that point.  It is the feeling of the muscles being so hard and the skin (fat) so thin that it feels like a bullet could be shot into your abs and it would just bounce off.  It is the feeling of accomplishing a goal.

The start of dinner

So what have I been eating?  I hesitate to share this because this isn’t quite how I would eat normally, but it is much better than most people eat.  I estimate I am eating about 1800 calories which is almost half of what I normally eat in a day.  Yes I have certainly lost some muscle in the process.  Normally I would eat a little more carbs in the form of whole grains and fruits.

For a woman I recommend about 1500 calories for someone to lose weight, but it really depends on body types and activity level.

Breakfast:  4 whole organic eggs, 1 cups of chopped green and red peppers, 1 tomato

Snack: 1 Tbs of organic natural peanut butter with an apple

Lunch:  1 can of Progresso light chicken dumpling soup (220 cals)

Snack: 1 Chocolate Prograde Craver Bar, handful of raw cashews

Snack:  Two big handfuls of organic spinach, shredded carrots and purple cabbage, hot peppers, and olive oil and vinegar dressing Continue Reading →

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My Favorite Make Ahead Meal

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Hey, this is Melissa Kirby, one of Dustin’s contributors.

A number of you asked what my favorite freezer meal is so here you go:

Chicken Satay

Preassemble:

In a 1 gallon freezer bag, place:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves, sliced into strips

In a mixing bowl, add:

3 teaspoons (6 cloves) pressed garlic

4 tablespoons grated gingerroot

4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup Hoisin sauce

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

4 tablespoons sesame oil (optional)

4 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

Mix well.  Pour half of the mixture into the bag containing the chicken breasts.  Gently and carefully squeeze the bag to

force out any air then seal the bag.  In a 1 quart freezer bag add the remaining half of the sauce mixture.  Gently and

carefully squeeze the bag to force out any air then seal the bag.  Place the two plastic bags into a 1 gallon freezer bag gently squeezing out the air and seal it.  On the outside bag, label or write the recipe title/number and today’s date using a Sharpie marker on the bag and place in the freezer.

Leanne’s Tip: Make a note on your freezer bag to start soaking your skewers to prepare for the meal (if using wooden ones) when you start defrosting your meal.

At Time of Cooking:

Preassembled Ingredients

6 Bamboo skewers (Tip: presoaking wooden skewers keeps them from blackening when you grill!)

Cooking Instructions:

Remove preassembled Chicken Satay from the freezer and defrost. (This is a great time to start soaking skewers if needed.)  Preheat outdoor grill, indoor grill or oven broiler. Remove chicken strips from marinade; thread chicken strips onto bamboo skewers. Cook over grill, using marinade to baste chicken.

Heat reserved marinade from second freezer bag and use as sauce for chicken; serve.

Serving Suggestions: Grilled asparagus and a big salad.

Nutrition per serving: 452 Calories; 21g Fat; 34g Protein; 33g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 115mg Cholesterol; 2122mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 Fat; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrates. Points: 10

Copyright (C) 2010 www.savingdinner.com Leanne Ely, CNC All rights reserved.

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Eating for fuel, not pleasure or comfort

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Hello fellow fitness seekers! I am Lori, one of Dustin’s bloggers. I would like to share some of my struggles and strategies on my journey to healthier eating…….For myself, many good childhood memories are wrapped up in food. I suspect that is the case for many of us who struggle with extra pounds. We may have memories of going for ice cream after family events and associate it with a warm, fuzzy feeling of love and togetherness…..or a memory of baking cookies with Mom and feeling close to her, happy and comforted. When we feel bored, lonely or just too busy to really take good care of ourselves, we sometimes turn to food for the comfort and pleasure that we are missing. 

In our crazy, busy lives of full time jobs, children to nurture, spouses to try to spend alone time with, relationships and friendships to tend to, meals to cook, homes to take care of and sooo many responsibilities, we have to figure out a way to nurture, comfort and take good care of ourselves too. And we must do it without falling back to the seemingly quick fix of giving into pleasure foods. These ”comfort foods” bring us good feelings quickly and easily, but they hurt us so much in the long run. AND they pass on horrible eating habits to our precious children!! We have to learn to resist that pull of immediate gratification.

We must MAKE more “me” time doing healthy, positive things that we enjoy in our lives….a massage, reading a great book, an exhilarating workout, taking time to enjoy cooking and eating a healthy meal….there are so many non food related ways that we can nurture ourselves. Let’s work on that together……

The other night I was done with dinner and thought about eating a few marshmallows for a little treat/dessert. I stopped myself and had a little inner dialogue with myself “do you really NEED marshmallows? They are not good for your body”…and guess what, I did NOT have any marshmallows that night!! This was big for me…..most of the time I give in pretty easily to food related temptation.  Let’s concentrate on our successes and try to duplicate them the next time instant  gratification tempts us…..

In what ways have you broken away from eating for pleasure and comfort? In what ways do you nurture yourself without food? (hopefully some FREE ways to nurture yourself, because, let’s face it, in this economy, most of us cannot afford to go in for a massage once a week or even once a month!) Let’s get creative with our ideas and pass them on!

Have a HEALTHY WEEKEND and I will try to do the same!!!!  :)

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