Summer bodys are made in winter (Summary January 4-10th)

As I announced in my last post, in 3 months on April 4, I´ll be a thirty-one-year-old lady...

Three months.... this space is exactly 90 days (13 weeks). As you read in my New Year Resolutions, for reaching successfully your goals you have to break your goal into small steps.
As mine is to reach a healthy body shape, I think the first step is to focus on these ninety days.....90 days are a reasonable time frame and enough time for a visible body change.

I took also initially some before-pictures of my body, I weighed and measured myself.

As a summary, the most time of my nutrition was on target. I didn´t had any cheat meal - that´s the point I´m very proud of. :o)

On my facebook site, I posted some HOW TO DO - receipes:

• Low-Carb Cheese Cake Muffins
• delicious and Low-Fat Chicken Breast Salad

As also mentioned, I bought some new sport apparel - new post is in progress.... stay tuned!

But I have to be honest, I have to strengthen my will and to do more workout. The everyday work had a lock on me last week :-( After finishing my work at 8.30 pm after a long day I didn´t have any power for some training. But only with the combination of workout AND the right nutrition I will succeed.

What do you think about my HOW TO DO - receipes? Do you like it?

Stay healthy and eat clean!

Starting healthy and sporty in 2014

My dear follower,

hope, you started healthy and without a hangover into New Year. :-)

In the first days of this new year I did some cleansing days (which I also did in summer 2013) with a lot of green tea, water, simple vegetable stock and rice cakes. It´s like an detoxification for your body, because you drink rd. about 3-4 liters (1 gallon) a day. When I did this the last time, I noticed, that dropping pounds was more easily. In this 4 days I dropped 4 pounds (2 kg) - with a remark, that water was the most of the weight loss.

Yesterday was January 4th. Now you think, okay, that´s not a special day.... you´re absolutely right! Excerpt the fact, that in exactly 3 months on April 4, I´ll be a thirty-one-year-old lady... :-)

Three months.... this space is exactly 90 days (13 weeks). As you read in my New Year Resolutions, for reaching successfully your goals you have to break your goal into small steps.
As mine is to reach a healthy body shape, I think the first step is to focus on these ninety days.....90 days are a reasonable time frame and enough time for a visible body change. (One of the most famous workout programs has also a duration of 90 days... see P90x of beachbody.com)

I created for my own progress documentation my own fit book (in the style of this fitbook).
(Note: normally I would buy it, but the delivery time was too long from the States to Germany until New Year's Day).

Spurred on the before-after progress pics on the web (which can be found in droves these days), I took also initially some before-pictures of my body, I weighed and measured myself. As I also promised to stand out against the background of my blog and to be more visible for my readers I´ll show you some of my progress pictures.

To be honest, it´s really a difficult step for me to show you my pics, because I feel ashamed, how I lost self control over my body in the past years and I couldn´t believe how difficult the way is to come back to a shaped body. Although, 2013 was a sporty year for me (incl. participating in a half marathon and dropping 20 pounds), I still don´t feel comfortable in my body.

On November 2012 I started this blog with 205 pounds, now I´m at 185 pounds, my goal weight is between 143 and 154 pounds... (I´m 5'10'') - so you see there are at least 30 more pounds to drop. But I don´t only want to drop the weight to see the number on my scale, but more I would like to shape my body with lean muscles.

Currently I´m size 14 (starting on size 16-18) and at the end I want to have a 8-10.

For reaching my goal, I created a training plan and a nutrition plan with some essential supplements.

WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN
- 3x weight lifting,
- HIIT and
- 2x cardio/running
- thinking of adding P90x :-)

DAILY NUTRITION PLAN
- after getting up: multivitamin supplements
- breakfast:(CARBS+PROTEINS) oatmeal, whey, milk, cinneamon and some berries or rice cake, no-fat cream cheese, chicken breast and cheese
- snack: 1 apple
- lunch:(CARBS+PROTEINS) rice, lean meat or fish and a lot of vegetable
- snack: some almonds
- pre-workout: BCAA + L-Carnitine
- post-workout: BCAA + Glutamine
- dinner:(NO CARBS) salad with egg and tuna or lean meat with a lot of vegetable
- before sleeping: whey


On my facebook page I´ll try to show you some receipes, nutrition and workout pics and as a weekly summary a new post on this blog here....

Let´s get started...!!! Wheeeoooo! :-)

As a good starting motivation I ordered some gym apparel - the next post will follow soon.

Stay healthy and -importantly- tuned....

New Year´s Resolution 2014

With the new year just around the corner, now’s the time to start thinking about your 2014 resolutions.

We all know the drill: we start the year with good intentions, motivated and completely focused on what we want to achieve. Yet, how many of us actually keep our new year’s resolutions past January? A study found that 52% of resolution-makers were confident that they’d achieve their goals, yet only 12% succeeded.

The secret to keeping your new year’s resolutions

So, what’s the secret? The success is to plan ahead, identified a single resolution, set step-by-step goals, tracked their progress and made their commitment known publicly.

Plan ahead

Don’t wait until the new year to think about your resolution. Last minute decisions tend to be based on what is on your mind at that time. Instead, take some time now and reflect upon what you really want to achieve.

Identify one resolution only

Once you’ve really thought about what it is you want to accomplish in 2014, it is important you narrow it down to only one resolution. Many people often make the mistake of trying to achieve too much. The chances of success are greater when people channel their energy into changing just one aspect of their behavior.

Start small

There’s is literally nothing more daunting and demotivating than being faced with a huge task. Let’s take improving your fitness as an example, just thinking about it down makes it feel somewhat impossible. So, start by breaking it down into smaller and more tangible to-dos, like go for a jog twice a week, develop a healthy weekly menu plan, walk to work, instead of catching the bus, etc. Then set one main to-do for each week that is related to your fitness goal. All the steps are then visible from the beginning, so it’s clear the path you need to take.

Keep track of your progress

It’s very important to know where you’re heading and to make a note of your progress on the way. Tracking your goals (complete with Due Dates and Reminders) helps to maintain momentum and can help to ward off disillusionment. Plus there is nothing more satisfying than checking off your to-dos along the way.

Ask for support

Once you’ve set out all the steps you need to take to smash your new year’s resolution, try sharing your list with a trusted friend or loved one. Not only will you be ten times more likely to stick to your resolutions, they’ll also be able to help keep you honest, provide moral support and be there to celebrate with you, when you accomplish your goals.

Write down a Checklist 

• Measure yourself (not only by scale, but also with your tapeline)
• Although esp. at the beginning its difficult, but essential: make some ‘before’-selfies (just for you!! – you´ll be very proud of yourself how far you come!!)
• Set your goals
• Write down your goals
• Identify and choose only one resolution and focus
• Break down your goals into small steps
• Include some motivational rewards – you deserve it! What are the requirements to earn that reward? New athletic apparel? A new haircut ? Keep it in budget, but it should be something you can get excited about.
• Start tracking (if you need a good template, I would choose one of the following: [MOLESKINE WELLNESS JOURNAL] or [FITBOOK by FITLOSOPHY]. You canalso keep tracking on your personalized app [FITAPP] for android or IOS.
• Focus on your goal by illustration your look after reaching your goal and by imagination of your new body feeling - in case of a athletic resolution. You´ll find a lot of motivational pics on [Pinterest]
• Review your progress
• Sign up for participation in a sporting event
• Don´t forget to be too strict, if you get off course. Review what happened and jump back on track!!

MY RESOLUTION OF 2014 WILL BE TO CONTINUE MY WAY OF GETTING BACK IN SHAPE BY LOSING THE LAST POUNDS UNTIL REACHING MY (HEALTHY) BODY WEIGHT.

PASSING IN REVIEW, [2013] I STUMBLED TOO OFTEN IN TERMS OF MY CLEAN EATING-NUTRITION AND MY CONTINUOUSLY TRAINING: I'LL TRACK MY PROGRESS BY SHARING WITH YOU ALL GUYS. THAT MEANS, I'LL PROMISE TO POST MORE DETAILS ON MY BLOG.

Weight is just a number

She stretches as she wakes up. The amazing type of soreness from a killer workout makes her crave a hot shower. She hasn't missed a workout all week, and as she passes the mirror in the bathroom she proudly checks out her backside–the work is paying off. She's not dodging her reflection for the first time in decades, so as the bathroom fogs up from her shower she does a mental happy dance, carefully steps on the scale–angels are singing, the number blinks back at her. Check that. Angels are now shouting "WHAAAT??!!" Now, we all know far too well how this story can end. She's either up a pound, she's only down a half of a pound, or the scale didn’t even budge. She was expecting a number far different than that terrible machine spit out. Instantly she's panicking. She's rethinking her entire week.

But how could that be? As it turns out, this “she” is a “we!”  We all know this story. “She” did a 45 minute spin class after work yesterday that left her gasping for air and absolutely drenched in sweat.  “She” is angrily thinking "How on earth did I gain a pound?!" But wait. Remember back to 1 minute ago before she got on that scale?  She was secretly admiring herself in the mirror and noticing progress. She felt some sense of satisfaction that the hard work was paying off! What happened to that feeling? It's just magically erased now because some stupid little machine spit out a number that you, I mean ”she”, didn't want to see?!

Allow me let you in on a little secret. That number is just a number and it does not mean anything.  It doesn't define you, it doesn't represent your worth, and here's the best part: no one else will ever know what that number is unless you tell them.  For all you know, other people could think you weigh 10 lbs less than you actually do!  And if they did, would that matter? No! It wouldn't magically make you weigh 10 lbs less. It's just a perception. How you feel should be only the thing that matters, right? Do your clothes fit? Are you healthy? Do you feel confident in your own skin? If you answer yes to those questions, but for some crazy reason that dreaded number controls how you ultimately measure your progress, then maybe, just maybe, you should back away from the scale. What if you just took a week off from the morning ritual of weighing yourself?  Or, gasp, 30 days?  Or even crazier, what if you threw the scale away?

Here's the thing, ladies. Our weight (the actual number of lbs we weigh on a given day) is influenced by more factors than you can even imagine much less begin to control. Maybe you did sweat your butt off at spin class and maintain a disciplined eating regimen over the last few days but you were also super stressed out about that upcoming presentation you have to make in front of your boss which sent your cortisol levels soaring and in turn abruptly halted any weight loss success. Maybe you are ovulating. Maybe you are retaining water because that soy sauce at your amazing sushi dinner had enough sodium for an entire week. Regardless of what it is, there are more things affecting your weight that you can't control than things you can control.  So why not just let it go and find a new way to benchmark your progress. What about measuring yourself with a good old fashioned tape measure? Because let me tell you–those numbers are real.

Or what about just eating clean and working out and learning to love the body you were given. Your body does a lot for you. It allows you to kill it in your yoga class, take those long Sunday strolls and SO much more. Maybe instead of hating your weight you can spend some time thanking your body for all that it does. Someday, you will look back and wish you had been grateful for how you looked. Someday you will think, whoa, I wish I would have enjoyed the days of wearing short shorts. Because, damn girl, you looked good! But you were too busy obsessing over how much you weighed to actually enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Bottom line is that we are so incredibly hard on ourselves. Let's find ways to ease up. Ways to be grateful to and forgiving of ourselves. Maybe the first step for you is to learn a new way to measure your health. Who knows what will follow? Let's not get crazy.

 

(zoom: click here)

(zoom: click here)

The images, taken by photographer Howard Schatz for his 2002 book, Athlete, recently resurfaced, reminding us of the diversity of women's bodies.
Schatz interviewed and photographed hundreds of athletes for the book, a project he says was inspired by his interest in human variation and the musculoskeletal system. "I was also interested in passion," he told the Huffington Post in a phone interview. "I was interested in what got them to do this. Because to become a champion, you have to put away so many things in life."
During his interviews, Schatz noted very little difference between how the male and female athletes approached their sport. "I found that [the women in the project] were simply athletes," he told HuffPost. "Their commitment, their focus in life, their goals for winning and championship were not different from the men's. [T]here wasn't a feminine focus, a feminine ambition."

Stay healthy and stay strong!

Back to business

I'm back to Germany after my 3-weeks trip to Boston and New York.

On the one hand I'm sad, because this time had flown so fast. I had really a great time in the States, met so many nice people who became good friends and -as you all know - I reached my most ambitious fitness goal ever: my participation in the BAA Half Marathon on October 13.

On the other side, it's also a good feeling to be home again in a familiar surrounding.


Did you know, that Christmas is closing in very fast....? Or to be more precisely: today in 8 weeks!!

In the Christmas season I'll be off to Chamonix, France for a cozy 4-days skiing vacation at Montblanc with my fiancé. We'll stay in a new hotel next to the mountain with a lovely spa!!

As this 8 weeks are a manageable period, I will come back and keep intense focus on my nutrition and training plan as before.

Although I didn't gained any weight during my US trip, I want to lose more weight.

In the last few months I lost 10 kg (20 lbs) so far, but that's not enough. I want to reach my finish weight until upcoming summer 2014.... 15 more kg (30 lbs) to go.

As promised I'll post more information and pictures of receipes, progress and training moves.

I wish you all a happy Monday...

Let's do it!!

Stay healthy and eat clean.

Thirteen Point One Miles - I DID IT!!

My dear follower,

as already announced, on October 13 I did my most ambitious goal ever..... I finished my first half marathon!

It was really an amazing feeling and I highly recommend to everybody to make the same experience...... but take a look on the following pics, which I won´t keeping back from you:

I´m so proud of myself!

Take care and set also some ambitious goals! They are really worth to work for!

Running - Cheaper than a therapy

Dear follower,

as promised, here are some pics of my 10K run, which I did last Sunday.

 

There´s also a finisher clip of my way directly to the finish line... I just have to puzzle how to implement it on this page....(as soon as I solve it, I´ll update this page)

Stay healthy & keep running!