Mobilization

So, fell off of the rings last night while doing backflips from the Russian hang. Landed on my shoulder, did 2 more flips and my back seized up. :( Iced last night and overnight it tightened up along with my shoulder and my neck area. So, yeah, spending the night mobilizing real good. With all of this, I knew diet had to stay REALLY tight today, not only to get back on track, but also because I'm not getting my cardio in. I even told a couple of people to keep up with me today to make sure I stay on track.

Today, I received personal encouraging messages that I really needed to hear from friends. I really am grateful for the amazing people in my life. Ali posted one of the most amazing things today! I linked it at the bottom for all my peeps that aren't friends with her to read. Never know who needs inspiration. It really is SO encouraging (typical...how does she do that all the time?)

Breakfast @ 6:45

1 whole poached egg
1/3 avocado
2 slices bacon

Snack @ 10:15

35 g shake
15 almonds

Lunch @ 1:15

4 oz ground turkey breast
1/2 c quinoa
2 c salad mix
1/3 avocado
1/8 c black beans

Snack @ 4:15

35 g protein shake
15 almonds

Dinner @ 7:30

4 oz shredded chicken
1/3 avocado
1/8 c black beans
lettuce shells

"Did you make health or fitness related New Year’s Resolutions this year? To ensure that you reach your goals and succeed, it will not only be good to have a plan of action in place, it will also help to think about how to deal with possible setbacks or the inevitable deviations from your plan before they happen. Most of us are tougher on ourselves than anyone else would be on us. Without the right mindset, you might even feel like you failed when you slip on your diet or skip a workout. And when you feel like a failure, the threshold to just quit on your healthy goals gets set much lower than usual. There's no doubt that suffering a setback doesn't feel good but a brownie or a cheat meal is not a failure. A failure is a setback that has left scars. When it doesn't scar you, setbacks are learning experiences. When it comes to reaching your fitness goals, with the right psychological tools, you can not only turn a setback into an opportunity to learn some new coping skills but you can use it as motivation to take your game to the next level and push yourself a little further during the next workout.

So what do you do if you found yourself indulging on a slice (or the whole thing) of chocolate cake? Instead of throwing in the towel, get rational about it and identify what happened, what your triggers were and what to do to help make the path to a new lifestyle easier for yourself moving forward.

> Re-evaluate yourself and your diet. If it was a long-term lapse due to stress, perhaps you just set unreachable dieting goals and felt like you were climbing the wall of China with no end to the climb. If it was simply the matter of eating that piece of cake, this should not be made into an issue. You would need to eat 3500 calories to gain a pound. It's unlikely that one piece of cake (or even the whole thing) had that many calories.

> Are you trying to make too many changes at one time? Making gradual lifestyle changes is more realistic than changing everything at once. Your odds of adapting new healthier habits permanently are much better if you go at it by taking smaller steps over a long period of time.

> Has life been too stressful lately? If stress or other negative emotions have caused you to give in to comfort foods more frequently, you will need to address the issues while getting back on track with your diet. Practicing stress-reduction techniques can be beneficial to weight loss efforts. For me personally, pushing myself physically and sweating is by far the most effective way to reduce my stress levels. No matter how stressed I am, I always leave the gym or the trail that I ran feeling more relaxed and just happy and good. There's a lot to be said about the positive impact of the mood enhancing hormones that we produce during physical activity.

> Is the new plan too restrictive? It is okay to give in to tempting foods on occasion. In fact, if you completely deprive yourself of the fattening foods you enjoy, you may set yourself up for a binge later on.

> Whether it was a one-time event or a more long-term diet lapse, you need to forgive yourself. Setbacks happen. You can't go back and change it, but you can try to figure out the best ways to prevent a diet lapse in the future. If it was just one diet lapse, maybe you would feel better by adding a little more activity for the next day or two. Remember to keep a positive attitude about it. You are not punishing yourself but rather working off those extra calories." - Ali Pyfer