Lack of Time?

"One can always trust to time. Insert a wedge of time, and nearly everything straightens itself out." -Norman Douglas

One of the reason people give for not working out is lack of time. But if you say to these same people, "Not even 10 minutes?" they will probably respond that that's not enough time to do any good; a person needs a half hour or even more to get in a good cardiovascular workout.

The truth is, 10 minutes is a lot. 10 minutes is a start. You can get a lot accomplish in 10 minutes. And no one's schedule is so tight that he or she can't spare 10 minutes. This 10 minute rule applies to any project that you may want to tackle but seem to have lack of time for. Want to paint a beautiful painting? Learn a new language? Improve your cooking skills? 10 minutes!

Start with 10 minutes a day! Though it may seem like nothing, it is actually something! It has ways to expanding! You could do 10 minutes, 2 or 3 times a day. Wow! Now you have 30 minutes of working out or painting that painting. Once you make room for 10 minutes, 15 minutes and then 20 minutes will be a snap and with hardly any effort at all your schedule will have somehow found room to accommodate all your desires.

Beachbody has a Ten Minute trainer. They know that life is busy and it is hard to get a long workout in. 10 minutes! If you want more information on the 10 minute trainer let me know!

Today, I challenge you to take 10 minutes to do something you think you don't have time for. I always feel I don't have time to draw. But today I will take 10 minutes to start a new art piece. What will you do with your 10 minutes? Let me comments and tell me what activity you will find time for today!

katmorgan2004@yahoo.com if you are interested in learning about the 10 minute trainer! :) Have a Happy Healthy Day!

Can

"If someone says 'can't,' that shows you what to do." -John Cage.

Has someone every said to you, "There is no way you can do that." "That is a lot of hard work I can't see how it is possible."... etc. etc.

I had someone tell me, "You can't run a marathon," guess what I made that a goal of mine. When I finished that marathon guess who was the first person I called!

If someone says, "You'll never be able to lose weight," tell yourself right then and there, that that is what you must do. Set your sights high that you will prove those people wrong. Take those "Can't" statements and turn them into "Can's."

I draw my own inspiration from the "can't." NO matter who says it, I always try to do the opposite. I fight hard because I believe that I have the power to prove anyone wrong.

Now, its a much trickier situation if the person who is telling you "can't" is located inside your head. Examine the voice. Who does it belong to? Your mother or father? Sister or brother? A ex or an old high school teacher or coach?

Whoever it is, tell that person what you would any other. Tell him or her, "That yes I can." You're not going to stop me, not this time! This is too important. I want to do this thing. I want to set a clear goal for myself and achieve it. I know I can, and I WILL!

I had a teacher in grade school tell me that I would never make it to college and that I would amount to nothing. She was always putting me down. I believed her for a very long time that I was worthless, but then one day I woke up. She lived inside my head when I entered college but every time I passed a class I would scream I Can and I Did! To this day I still have her living in my head but I have her there as a reminder that I have come a long way. Now her trap is shut and I have 9 solid years of college education under my belt. It makes me laugh because all I had to do is say "CAN"

So I challenge you to start using the work "CAN." Turn every "Can't" into a "Can" statement! This could be for anything in life a career, nutrition or even a fitness challenge. Whatever it is, you can do it and if your like me YOU WILL! So go out there and prove those jerks wrong! Laugh in their faces when you do it! Go on be amazing!

Priority

"A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools." -Spanish Proverb

So how are your tools holding up? Are you putting them to use, or are you letting them gather dust in the garage?

So many people take their health for granted, they don't take care of it until they get sick or injured. Then they finally realize what a gift their health is. Nothing, not money, success, fame or happiness compares to it. NOTHING. You only have one life, one chance to keep yourself healthy.

Good health is a matter of priorities. If you value it as a priority, you'll find time for it. You might wake up at 5 AM to do a quick workout before your kids wake up. You might run to the bathroom at work to do squats and lunges. For me, my health is a priority. I want to wake up feeling that I am doing everything I can to live a long healthy happy life.

Are you busier than the president of the United States? He makes health his priority. He seems to be able to fit it into his schedule. He realizes that without your health, you've got nothing. So find the time to move.

There is no real secret about it. You know that your health should be a priority. You know you should take care of the one body that God gave you. But you don't. You find excuses. I am a busy mother, I work 10 hour shifts...etc. etc.

Let me tell you about my father. He works 10 hours shifts and 7 days a week. But like the President my dad finds time to make his health a priority. So where does he find the time you might ask? He walks during his lunch breaks, rides his bike to work (40 miles there and back) and he wakes up early to run. He makes it a priority because he wants to be here for his children and his grandchildren. He finds the time for fitness, god and his family. He is busy, he is tired but he is healthy.

Just like my dad, I am busy. I am taking college classes, work full time, coach high school lacrosse, am a beachbody coach and I still have time for my social life. So you might ask, where do I find time to workout? I get up at 4:45 in the morning while the rest of the world is asleep. I make it a priority to move for a full hour every single morning. I love sleep but I also love my health more. Priority. I look at my schedule for the week and I mark down my workouts. I put it in my daily calendar because it my priority.

Are you going to make your health a priority or are you going to sit there and allow it to collect the unhealthy dust. Your running shoes are in the closet. Your sweats and socks are in the drawer. The gym is open, the road is calling your name. So I ask you, what is stopping you? What is really stopping you?

Make your health a priority today! Go for a 20 minute walk with the dog, play tag with your children, do jumping jacks during commercial breaks. Why? Because your health is worth it! You are worth it!

Motivation-Part Two

Part 2

How to keep that motivation going

You have to have the right mindset

Without a good mindset, you will be facing unnecessary difficulties. You need to realize that anything worth striving for will be challenging. Go into this with massive determination, focus and motivation. When you take it seriously, your motivation to workout will increase. Think like a warrior. Know that internal enemies will constantly try to stop you. Don’t listen to them! They will tell you to quit, they will tell you are tired and they will tell you it is not worth it. Be prepared to battle back and take them down like a true warrior.

I always have positive sayings around! I try my hardest not to let negative energy in my life. But I hear those voices all the time. Sometimes they win, but most of the time I tell them I am the one in charge. So take charge of the whole YOU!

Have Desire

If you are just slightly interest in working out and improving your health, it’s going to be difficult to do it long enough to make it a new habit. You have to have a Intense desire to better yourself. You have to believe you are worth it! Worth the sweat, worth the pain and worth the time in the gym. Your desire to workout and get the body you want has to be greater than any reason that may come up for you to quit.

Write down why you want it! Why do you want that new body, new workout, why do you want to lose that weight? Is it to become more fit, live a healthier life? The more reason you have the better it is to keep that desire! Make a list!

My motivation to workout and lose weight 10 years ago was that I did NOT want to be a “Fat, Unhealthy PE teacher.” I wanted to walk the talk and I wanted to practice what I preached. I wanted to be a role model for my students and I wanted feel happy again. I made list, I had goals and I gave myself no other choice but to be successful and because of that, I did!

Find that inspiration

Watch videos, find quotes or talk to people who have achieved the fitness goals that you’re pursing. When you see or hear stories of people, you will begin to have faith and confidence that you can do the same. This is something I highly recommended. This can be your support system!

I can remember the first thing that inspired me! It was watching the Hawaii Iron-Man. If you have never watched it on TV, you should! They tell stories of people who had hardships but they were determined to reach their goals. But it was that one family that inspired me the most. Dick Hoyt team.

This man has the determination, the inspiration and the drive to do something … and it is all for his son! Here is a little video! Watching them gave me all the drive I needed to move forward. To this day I go back and watch videos of this team, I always get motivated again and always want to do more!

Excuses will happen

Excuses will come up. They will show up with you least expect it. I make fitness excuses, food excuses and I also make excuses for drinking. But you have to decided if the excuse is worth it, or is your desire worth it more. When your motivation to workout is high, your mindset is different.

I use to tell myself that it was okay to drink and after 10 beers I would make another excuse. Now I have the power say “NO” because I want to be fit more and I want to race more than be drunk. I get up in the morning even though I love sleeping. I push myself all the time, because I want it!

You must be prepared to deal with these excuses when they come up. They will come up more often then not!

Prepare for setbacks

You might lose weight slowly or you might even put on weight before you lose it. You may lose a lot at first and then things might slow down or even stop. Heck, you might not lose weight at all. Know that this is NORMAL otherwise your motivation to continue will die.

When this happens, don’t get discouraged. This is why many people quit. SO please don’t let this happen to you. Keep going. Keep being that strong warrior that you are. You will start feeling better and you might even see the results. But don’t ever give up! EVER!

Meal Prep!

This is HUGE! One reason why people tend to overeat is because they are not prepared. I LOVE eating! Love junk food, love pizza and fries. If I don’t prepare guess where I am going. I am going to where they serve crap and I bet that is where you will go too. But since I make a commitment to myself once a week to prepare my workouts and my food (usually on Sunday), I don’t have the urge to run to that crap. My eating schedule is set and I normally follow it!

I cook everything Sunday. I bag up the food into portions. So when I am ready to eat I just grab the bag and throw it into the microwave and Boom there is my meal! Simple right! This is the key to success!

Make this a habit! Keep doing these things till they feel normal to you! Get that fire burning inside you, have a plan and tell everyone you know that you are staring a new road to a healthier you! Be ready for obstacles, be ready for excuses but just remember you have the power to move forward! You are a warrior and you will NOT stop until you reach “YOUR HAPPINESS.” Be amazing, be a warrior, Be YOU!

Motivation to work out-Part One

Why so many people "Take a BREAK"

Part one!

So many people start a workout routine only to “TAKE a BREAK” and start over again several weeks later or even months later. Many workout out for a month, they don’t see results and they stop. They will come back to the gym after they realize they have gotten way too out of shape. They determination and motivation is high to stick with the program. Only to slip in the same path as the last time, they quit. Does this sound familiar?

This use to be me years ago, I would start up excited and would stop my plan because I was bored, not seeing results or I was burnt out. So what was I doing wrong and what are most of you doing wrong?

The problem with working out for most people is that after some time, the motivation to workout dries out. Here are some common reasons why they stop.

Wrong strategy

There is so many resources out there in fitness and wellness, so educating yourself shouldn’t be a problem. The basic formula to drop pounds is to eat less calories than you burn or burn more calories than you eat! It is that simple but years ago that formula didn’t matter. I would still eat many calories and would try to kill myself in the gym to get the results I wanted. Guess what? Nothing happened! There is no magic formula. You have to do the work and cut out the fat bottom line.

Lack of Results

To many people workout hoping that they will have results right away. When the results don’t live up to their expectation, many get discourage and quit. People you will not get results overnight, it just will not happen. Actually it will take a month or two before you see that waist get smaller or the scale to see results. Try to hang on to that motivation for at least 8 weeks and I promise you if you are doing the work and sticking to a nutrition plan you will see results!

Slowed progress

Some people are lucky and they lose weight quickly. I tend to get mad at this people. Men tend to lose weight faster than women. These lucky people want to continue to have major results, but guess what the progress will slow down. Thinking that results will stay consistent will just end up disappointing you. Just remember if you lose weight fast, you might find out that you will might start losing less and less. Our body goes into a shock mode and it does what it can to try to protect us. So keep moving forward and don’t stop!

The Plateau

I hate plateaus, seriously. I have found myself sitting on a plateau for years. Nothing changes. But this is when I have to change what I am doing. When you start working out, results will be very encouraging. You will continue to get motivation as you continue to get results. However, sooner or later, you will hit that wall also know as a plateau. Athletes experience this all the time. You just get to a point where things slow down, results might actually stop. This is highly frustrating! I know it I been there! But you have to change your workouts, change what you are eating, shock your system in a different way. The plateau is not my friend but they always are a challenge I like to work with. You can’t let a plateau win; you have to push past it!

Satisfaction

This is when you get to the point where you’ve loss enough weight and have seen amazing results to feel satisfied. You’re not where you want to be but it’s not bad enough for you to want to do much about it anymore. At this point, your motivation to workout has completely dropped. You may stop working out all together until your body gets to the point the motivation to workout has increased again.

Another thing that can happen is your happy with weight loss and feel you don’t need to work out anymore. You go back to old habits. Guess what? You just put on all the weight you work so hard to get off. This has happened to me a lot. I call this the roller coaster part of dieting. Don’t be like me try to stick with the new habits!

Part two tomorrow! :)

Swimsuit season is coming.....

Almost 90 Days till swimsuit season

How would you feel if you put on your swimsuit today? Would you look in the mirror and quickly look away. Would you say thank god summer is 3 ½ months away? Or would you be glad you started your new years off with a new exercise program and watched what you were eating. For most, the answer would be thank god summer is 3.5 months away.

I know the weather has been crazy lately and it feels like spring. So many of you might be thinking about swimsuits, lazy days by the pool or saying “OH NO I can’t believe it is coming up so close.” I am sure most of you haven’t even thought about swimsuits or even trying them on. But you SHOULD. Put it on today! Some people hide in their winter clothes and don’t notice that they put on what I can “winter weight.” Some people go months without really seeing what shape their body is truly into.

You can’t wait until May to start an exercise program. It would be way to late. Muscles take time to develop, plus it takes time to lose weight. You have plenty of time now if you want to get into shape and get the shape you want for swimsuit season. If you are not happy with the way you look now in a swimsuit, I guaranty that you will be unhappy in June if you don’t do something. Do something about it! Move, eat healthy, DO SOMETHING! Use that moment when you get that suit on and look in the mirror to decide if you are going to make some goals or just put the suit away till summer. It will help you I promise! Make 2012 your best body year ever!

You have 3.5 months to change your body, your lifestyle! Want a challenge? Why not try a Beachbody challenge and join my team? Any of the videos will get you ready for that swimsuit you hate so much! Here is a link to my beachbody home page! www.beachbodycoach.com/EATDRINKSWEAT

If you have questions don’t be afraid to email me katmorgan2004@yahoo.com

So go ahead and put on your suit! I DARE YOU!

Remove the Fog

It’s not who you are that holds you back. It’s who you think you’re not.

What is holding you back in your life? Why you feel stuck, lost or confused? Have you ever really sat down and thought about it? Did you take action or did you just stay there waiting for life to somehow change for you?

Yesterday, I had the best talk with a great friend. She is a job coach and her job is to really push someone like myself, to think about the “what’s holding you back” line. She gave me the tough love that I needed to wake up. You might be thinking. “Kathy you are so tough nothing holds you back.” But I am here today to tell you a lot of things hold me back.

This is what I learned in just one short hour.

Life only comes once and I need to stop waiting on the sidelines for things to change. I am the one in charge of my game of life and I am the one that has the power to do something amazing. However, I am also the one that keeps me from moving forward and doing things that I dream about. Bottom line that needs to change!

I think you really have to have a clear picture in your mind of what you exactly want to do and what you don’t want to do in your life. You need to remove the fog that has been hanging over your head for so long. That is what my friend did for me! She was able to push me in the right direction. “I am worth it!” It is still hard for me to say those words but I am confident that one day I will be able to scream it from the rooftops.

I don’t have the clear picture about my plans and the thick fog is holding me back on being able to achieve some really good stuff. Without that clear picture I am just sitting on my sideline, waiting for something to change. I am and was doing nothing. But now the picture is becoming so clear and I now know I have a clear direction where I want my life to go.

I know my inner demons will pop up every now and then. There will be some negative people, lack of support and maybe even people telling me that I am not a good fit. But those inner demons will not win and neither will those negative people. Those people are roadblocks to my finish line. They only make me feel that I am not worth what I call “my own happiness”.

I now know what those barriers are, myself being one of them. I am taking quick action to remove them and tell them they are NOT welcome in my life anymore.

I need to stop “WAITING” for something to happen in order to move forward. I am just holding back because I am fearful of what is ahead. I have basically been waiting for a long time for my life to happen. It makes me mad! I have wasted so much time doing nothing. I must act now and I must believe! I deserve the best and “I am worth it”.

I am beginning this month with fresh eyes and will start making better career choices for myself. I will become the quarterback in my life and will choose the appropriate plays and patterns. I will pick who plays on my team and who deserves to be thrown out. I will not just choose the plays that fit best for everyone else, I will choose the right plays for my life. I will start choosing big plays and choosing what my heart really desires.

Big things are about to happen in my life! I don’t know what but I know that I am now on the right path. Thanks to my dear friend for opening up my eyes and making me say, “I am worth it.” Because “I am worth it” just like all of you! I challenge all of you to find the things that are blinding your finish line. I challenge you to remove those negative people from your life. Believe in you!! Because we are worth it and together I can bet that we could do some pretty amazing stuff.


Challenge yourself! Believe in YOU!

Sorry this was not fitness related. Just felt I needed to get this out there! Have a Happy Healthy Day!