Measuring Progress

So you've decided to get fit/lose weight/be healthy/gain muscle.  How do you measure your progress?  Most of us use that dreaded tool: the scale.  While weighing yourself is a great measurement of progress, you shouldn't rely entirely on the scale, and I'll explain why. 

First of all, if you DO decide to use weight as your sole indicator of your progress, make sure you are weighing yourself at the SAME TIME on the days you weigh yourself.  Our weight fluctuates  2 - 5 lbs. throughout the day, so you can't really measure your progress unless you are weighing yourself consistently at the same time of day. 

If you are trying to build muscle at the same time as you're losing weight, the scale may not budge at all.  In fact, you may GAIN weight.  Don't freak out!  If you are eating clean and following your workout plan, you will NOT get fat.  Most people will tell you 'muscle weighs more than fat'.  Well that isn't necessarily true.  5 lbs. is 5 lbs.  But muscle burns calories while at rest while fat, well fat doesn't do anything for you (anything good anyways).  Here is an image of 5 lbs. of fat vs. 5 lbs. of muscle:

So it's easy to see that you can be getting leaner and still weigh the same.  I plateaued for MONTHS when I first started losing weight.  It took me TWO YEARS to lose 40 lbs.  It does NOT happen overnight.  You have to be consistent and keep going.  You are changing your lifestyle, not making a change to quickly lose 10 lbs. and then gain it back after a party. 

A better way to measure your progress is by weighing yourself, taking progress pictures, and using body measurements.  You will notice inches dropping from your waist and changes in your physique when the number on the scale doesn't change.  Other times you will see the scale drop with smaller changes to measurements and pictures.  The important thing is to know that there is more to measuring your progress than a number off a scale. 

And don't forget to use your physical endurance as a measurement.  When you first started working out, how long could you run before you were winded?  One month in, you're probably running far longer than when you started!  Are you lifting heavier or able to complete more reps than before?  Remember that every little improvement makes you better than you were yesterday.  Don't let that weight number discourage you! :)

Thick Skin

It's sad, but being healthy and fit seems to be the 'abnormal' thing, not the norm. If you are in shape and are meticulously watching what you put in your body and working out, people always ask, 'Why are you trying to lose weight, you're so thin already?'...or 'you should eat something, you're so skinny!'.

Now I am well aware of what I look like.  I am neither bulimic nor anorexic.  I am not 'too thin'.  I have lean muscle and am in good shape.  I follow a diet made by a trainer and nutritionist to ensure I am getting all the nutrients and vitamins I need to feed my body and do my workouts.

If you want to compete in fitness competitions, or even just be in great shape, you are going to have to get thick skin.  I've been on competition preparation diets and gone to many parties where I did not eat the party food.  I would take my clean meal that was part of my plan and eat that instead.  Everyone scrunched up their noses and gave me a hard time.  It got to the point where it annoyed my husband and he proclaimed, 'she DOES eat...she eats SIX meals a day, she just doesn't eat this stuff'.

I just let it roll off my back.  Because I know that I am not starving myself.  I know that if I have a brownie as a treat and everyone freaks out that I am finally eating what they consider 'normal' food, it'll be ok.  In the end, I am doing what I can to make myself the best me I can be, and with that comes the occasional indulgence.  And I have good days as well as bad days.  But if I worried about what others thought I would never be happy, because I would be eating the food at parties and everything people think is 'normal' and I wouldn't be the lean, mean, muscle machine that I am. :)

So don't let it get to you when your change of lifestyle is questioned by others.  Their comments usually come from either jealousy that they could NEVER have the discipline to do what you do or jealousy that they don't look like you do.

On that note, people took pictures of me eating a brownie tonight, because they thought it was AMAZING that  I was eating NORMAL food.  That food isn't normal, it's actually just pure sugar, but I wanted to indulge tonight.  I'll be back in the gym in the morning for some killer cardio and will be back to eating 100% clean starting with Meal # 1 after my cardio. :)  People can make comments and take all the pictures they want, but they are just sensationalizing something that simply makes me more like them - eating crap.  But don't get used to it, because I am in it for the long haul, and slip ups and indulgences are just that.  Being fit and healthy is MY LIFE, not a stage.

Credibility

It's actually pretty strange to me, but now when people meet me and we start inevitably discussing my competition prep or workouts, they will actually tell me, 'Well but you've always been thin.'  My first instinct is to say I'm not thin, I'm super jacked (LOL), but then I show them my 'before' pictures, and it seems that they start to listen more attentively to anything I have to say about losing weight and being fit.

So, to start my blogging journey out correctly, I will establish credibility by showing my before pictures.  Now I will say that I was never morbidly obese or even obese, but I was definitely chubby/chunky/fat.  At 5'2", I should probably weight somewhere between 115 - 125 lbs.  I was usually anywhere between 135-145 lbs. 

Throughout college, I was able to maintain about 140, size 8, and not gain any weight.  I would do cardio or aerobics classes and use weight machines at least 4 days a week.  I ocassionally ran.  I was probably 'fit but fat'. However, I was still uncomfortable in my own skin and I never really felt that I looked or felt the way I wanted.

In August of 2009, I went shopping for work clothes and had to try on a size 14 pair of pants.  I weighed myself and realized that it wasn't that Express was making their pants fit wrong, but that I was 164 lbs.  My BMI was over 31 - I was not only overweight, I was unhealthy. 

So I made the commitment.  I was at a Fort Bragg Aerobathon (4 hours of non stop aerobics class fun! haha) and signed up for a free personal training session.  And the rest, well, the rest I will go through in my blog posts.  :)

So without further ado, here are before and after pictures with dates. :)

June 2007

March 2009

October 2011

October 2011

Remember, if I can do it, so can you!  I always hid behind 'it's my body type - I can't change it'...well I sure proved myself wrong! :)

First Blog Post!

Throughout my journey to become a more fit, healthy ME, I have found that those around me have come to me with questions and seeking advice as to how to turn THEIR lives around and improve themselves and I thought: what better way to reach out than with a blog?  I love nothing more than to hear that I have inspired someone to get healthy and fit, and I hope to help anyone I can with my own story. :)

So look to my blog for information on nutrition, supplements, workouts, and just getting through the hard, but rewarding, journey that is being fit and healthy.

Feel free to leave comments and questions and I will answer to the best of my ability!

Until the next post,
Be EXTRAORDINARY! :)

- Mylene