He left on Friday and I have received a couple short e-mails from him. I am happy that he is OK. He is only scheduled to be there for 9 months (to me it 9 months sounds like 9 years) and I am going to try to keep myself busy so the time will fly.

I have been wondering what to other military girlfriends and wives do when their spouses are deployed for extended periods of time?? When your best friend and lover is gone….what do you do?

Here are five ways to stay motivated and have fun!

1. List your Goals. This means to write them down, big and bold, and post them in a place where they can be seen daily or twice daily if need be.
2. Take a “Before” picture, then cut out a picture from a magazine, one that will represent what you want your “After” picture to look like and post them it next to your goals.
3. Hold a “Biggest Loser” contest at work or with your friends. Set a time limit (like a month or two), you can hold weekly challenges (like taking a Ropes Course or having a trainer hold a Boot Camp just for your group), and have everyone put in 10-20 dollars (this will be the prize money, and who ever loses the most weight at the end of the given time will receive it!)
4. Hold a contest with yourself! Set a goal, like “I want to lose 20-25 pounds in 3 months” and put away 40-50 dollars every time you get paid in those three months. If you reach your goal take the money you’ve saved and go shopping! (You’ll probably need smaller cloths anyway!)
5. Start a support group. Get together once a week and discuss nutrition, current diet trends, and exercise with people who are also trying to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles.

I hope this helps. I have personally done number 4 and having a shopping spree as a reward is so much fun and defiantly rewarding when I can buy cloths that would never have fit before!

How do you stay motivated? Leave a comment and let me know.

One topic I am very excited about is vegan bodybuilding (no, it’s not an oxymoron). I will finish up my food relationship series (it’s been postponed way to long) and there is a lot more to come.

My company has officially been incorporated, and will write more on that as things become finalized. One or both of my blog names may be changed since the company name is not Ft. Lauderdale Fit. I am very excited to be “official”! My buisness partner (also a trainer), my assistant and I have been invited to participate in a Family Fitness Rally next month. I am super excited about that. We will be doing demo.’s and serving healthy snack food. Stay tuned for more info. on that as well.

Today I will also post the winner of my Resolution Contest.   So keep checking back for fact filled fitness blogs…and tips and tricks on staying fit and fabulous!

I fell off the fitness band wagon for awhile and as a Certified Personal Trainer it’s important for me to look, act, and feel healthy in order to inspire my clients. So this year my resolution is to “Get back in shape and have fun doing it!”. This is my plan:

1. Incorporate cardio and strength training in my routines

2. Change my routine every 2 weeks, so I won’t get bored

3. Trying something new (kemetic yoga, indoor rock climbing, surfing, ect.)

4.  Keep fattening foods and snacks on the  supermarket self’s and not in my kitchen

5. Portion Control!!

6. Snack smart. (My fav. 100 calorie pack popcorn)

7. Continue my education by becoming certified in sports nutrition and children’s fitness

8. Stay away from fad diets and change my lifestyle

9. Have fun!! Because the moment I stop having fun is the moment that I will want to give up

10. Push through….I will keep in mind my goals at all times, so I won’t give in to temptation or think of giving up half way thru workouts

It won’t be an easy road but I know that from experience. (After losing over 100 pounds.) I remember what’s it’s like to be over 250 pounds and what’s it’s like to be 150….I prefer being in the 100’s! So just remembering that feeling will motivate me. You have to find your motivation and keep it in mind and heart at all times!

I realize that I did not advertise the contest on today.com, because this blog was started after the fact. With that in mind I have decided to extend the contest until Friday Jan. 9th, 2009 for all of my today.com readers!!

The winner will receive 4 FREE 1/2 hour training sessions to jump start your New Year’s weight loss or fitness resolution.

The Rules:

Just e-mail me (or post it as a comment) a letter explaining why you should be chosen and how these sessions will help you jump start your fitness resolution.

Along with the letter you must send:

*a current picture

*valid e-mail address

*valid street address and phone number

*current age, height and weight

The contest begins Monday Dec. 1st 2008 and ends on Jan. 3rd, 2009.

All contestants’ must live in South Florida.

I will post the winner on Sunday Jan. 11th, 2009! So post your entry and check on Sunday to see the results!!

Tomorrow I will be posting a blog on how to stick to fitness resolutions! Wednesday’s blog will be “Relationship with Food pt.II”.

Happy New Year.

Depression and anxiety have the power to stop people in their tracks and destroy goals. I have personal experience with this problem and even to this day (and probably for the rest of my life) I struggle with this disorder. At over 250 pounds, I realized that therapy showed me that my obesity was a by product of my depression and my obesity was contributing to my depression and social anxiety. Often I would stay home for days and weeks at a time, afraid of what others would think of me. My family and friends thought that I was being ridiculous! But they have never experienced the stares, whispers, and laughter from strangers. Or being teased and tortured by classmates and people who pretend to be your friend just to humiliate you later because they were fat and uncomfortable in their own body and mind.

Once I realized that only I have the power to change, did I decide to change my lifestyle. I began to eat aright and exercise diligently. After a year of determination and hard work I lost 105 pounds! I was very proud of myself and my confidence was at an all time high. During my weight loss journey I “discovered” that by going to the gym regularly my moodiness and anxiety was greatly reduced. My therapist confirmed my findings and recommended that I kept working-out at least 2-3x a week.

Unfortunately, once I reached my goal weight I stopped exercising all together. My motivation was gone and my depression slowly returned. Before I knew it, I was in a hospital barely breathing and not wanting to live. I tried to kill myself because even at 150 pounds, I wasn’t happy. My assumptions that losing weight would completely cure my depression was wrong!

It wasn’t until I confronted myself and changed my relationship with my body that I was able to be comfortable in my skin. (I still struggle with body image, but it gets easier everyday.)

I still battle with depression (and probably will for the rest of my life) and anxiety, and have put on a few pounds because of it, but I know better now. I know that regular exercise and proper nutrition will not only get me back down to a size 6 but also help my depression.

The studies are there. It has been proven that exercise releases serotonin in the brain creating a feeling of happiness and contentment.

So on a Sunday like this when I feel sadness trying to bring me down, you can find me in the gym! 

Food should be used as a fuel source to get us through our day and our workouts. Meals should include the proper portions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates in order for us to maintain a balanced diet. Foods can be tasty and nutritious, carbs. are not evil (just make sure that you’re not eating too much of it, and that you are only eating whole wheat), and chocolate in moderation is alright. Eating can be balanced with daily activities and exercise. Remember, you have to burn 3,500 calories in order to lose 1 pound. 

So, how do you know if you have an unhealthy relationship with food? Answer the following questions honestly. 

-Do you secretly binge?-Do you skip meals on purpose?-Do you have rigid rules about food?-Do you ever feel guilty about eating?-Do you avoid social outings because of temptations?-Do you eat when you are feeling upset, sad, angry or depressed?-Can you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full?-Do you have to eat in a certain pattern—always three meals a day or always at a certain time of the day?-Can you leave some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow?-Do you trust that if you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied, you will not get fat? 

It’s important that you answer these questions openly and honestly with yourself. In part II of this post I will discuss these questions and how your answers could mean that you have issues with food. I will also discuss how having a bad relationship with food can lead to eating disorders.

 Change your lifestyle.

How do you change your lifestyle?  Well, it’s not going to be easy, it is a life time commitment to yourself. A commitment to change your lifestyle for the better, so you will look, feel, and be healthy for the rest of your life time.

You are going to have to change your relationships with food, your body image, and exercise. Most people don’t realize that we all think about, see, and feel differently about food consumption. Some of us realize that food is fuel and if we fuel our bodies properly, then we will be able to function (performing daily tasks, exercise, and even sleep) easily. It’s important to know how to read food labels, and understand that if you don’t know what’s in your food then you shouldn’t eat it. Knowing how to prepare food in a way that is tasty, filling, and healthy is also important, along with knowing how much protein, fat, (and yes) carbs. you should consume during each meal. I will be blogging more on this in the future because nutrition is not a simple subject. I will also be continuing with changing relationships with food because some people do tend to go too far with their “dieting”.

Your body image. Everyone hates something about their body, and some of us even hate our bodies period (trust me; I know….I have been there). And if you don’t come to terms with yourself and your body then nothing is going to work for you. You have to accept yourself for the beautiful person you were bore to be. Once you fully love and accept yourself, others will follow suit, and you will be able to drop pounds, be confident and stay at a healthy weight for the rest of your life. (This will also be discussed further in future posts, so stay tuned!)

Exercise. It’s hard. It hurts. And you are going to either want to or you actually will give up at least once. It’s necessary though. Exercise won’t only strengthen your body but also your mind. You will build endurance, muscle strength, and learn that you can do anything you really want to do!!! (Obviously, this is a fitness blog so there will definitely be a lot more on this!)

One good way to get things going is to create a mantra to help get you going when you feel like you don’t want to or you simply can’t. It can be anything you want….mine is:

I am strong

I am fit

I am focused

I will succeed!!

Good luck on your weight loss journey, and keep checking back for more tips, tricks, information and advice.

It came as no surprise that Michelle the last standing Black Team member (Jillian’s team) won the Gran Prize. Michelle went on the show with her estranged mother not only to lose weight and gain self confidence. During the scourse of the show we saw the bond between this mother and daughter duo form and strengthen as they shed pounds.

What really got me during the finally was when they announced that Biggest Loser has partnered with Feeding America to create the Pound for Pound Challenge. For every pound lost, Biggest Loser will donate 10¢ to Feeding America™ - enough to provide one pound of groceries to a local food bank. Report your final results between 4/1/09 and 5/5/09. There is a 500,000 maximum donation. $100,000 guaranteed minimum donation.