Steps to success

If you are like me, I like direction. I like to have some sort of idea how I get from point A to B. I made huge lifestyle changes that lead from me being unhealthy and overweight to being a fit powerlifter….but how did I do it? Well, I am going to try to break it down in 10 steps.

1. I made a drastic lifestyle change. I didn’t diet, I changed how I ate….permanently. First I did the low glycemic lifestyle, now I do the paleo lifestyle. I made a decision to change my standard American diet…..permanently. I used to be addicted to Cheez It’s. I ate terribly……I would eat a whole pizza on my own and not even blink. It was a big change, and yes I had cravings galore! But honestly the cravings only lasted 3 weeks, and I felt great! I felt so great that I decided I would never go back to eating unhealthy.

2. I committed to exercise. First I did my elliptical every day, and it helped me loose weight, but after a while my fitness stalled. And it was so BORING! I only got through it by watching episodes of Grey’s Anatomy while I did it. Then I tried running, pushing my baby in a jogging stroller, running up and down the hills where I live in the mountains. I even trained for a race. I hated it!!! Every minute was agony. Then I did P90X…it was good, but crazy and hard to get motivated to do.  Finally I started weight lifting….BOOM! I FELL IN LOVE! It’s been 2 and a half years and I love every minute of every day that I am in the gym.

3. I gave up alcohol. I sure loved my wine. I had a glass every night with dinner. Besides, wine is good for you right? Yeah, I don’t think so…but I wanted to believe that. I started to feel that my love for wine was stalling my progress in the gym, so I cut way back and only had some on weekends. But I noticed that my Saturday workout was suffering. So I decided to cut it out completely. Then, 6 months into it I had one beer. That one beer made me so buzzed. The next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck…from one beer! My workout that day suffered. SO that was it, I was done.

4. I stopped celebrating with food. We as humans tend to celebrate everything with food! It’s my birthday….let’s eat! It’s valentines day….let’s eat! It’s an anniversary of this or that….let’s eat! It’s Christmas, it’s Thanksgiving, it’s taco Tuesday, it’s hump day….let’s eat! NOOOOOO! We find every excuse to over indulge! I decided to stop doing that! I don’t want my kids learning that it’s ok to over indulge on food…like EVER!

5. I started believing in myself. I started realizing that I can do what I put my mind to. I watched a powerlifting meet…after saying I would NEVER EVER do powerlifting, and started to picture myself on the platform. I watched those beautiful strong women so confident in themselves and I wanted to be a part of that.

6. I decided that age is a state of mind. I have friends my age that are saying “I am too old to do that”. Why? I work out with people in their 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s. One of my favorite fellow powerlifters is 74. I know a guy at my gym who is 78 and looks like he is 60. I’m seeing people 60 and above setting national records at meets. That is where I want to be. You are never too old. I started lifting at 41.

7. I never give myself an excuse not to train. Holiday? Birthday? Traveling? Doesn’t matter! I always train 6 days a week no matter what. My gym only closes on Christmas day, but they are open every other holiday, so I am there! When I am traveling, I get day passes to gyms where I will be. It’s fun to visit new gyms. If I have an injury, do I take off? No! I train around the injury. I herniated L5 S1 in my back last year (from sitting in a car for 6 hours) and never stopped lifting. I rehabilitated with lifting, I just lowered the weight. The herniation was so severe that I shouldn’t have been walking…but I competed 4 months later. I trained around shoulder injuries, back pain from my many back problems, knee pain….and the lifting always makes things better. I consulted with my doctor, and you should too if you have an injury. No excuses!!

8. I set goals. We all need something to work towards. I find when I set a goal, I am driven to beat my deadline. Training to beat my records at meets motivates and excites me. It keeps me wanting more. Seeing all the people working hard in my gym motivates me to challenge myself.

9. I stopped worshiping the scale. Being a cardio junkie had me at a skinny fat of 140 pounds. Skinny fat…skinny, but kinda floppy, no tone. I weighed myself every day and freaked if the scale budged. When I started lifting, the scale started going up and up! I went from 140 to 157 the first year!! But…clothes started to fit better. My butt and legs were bigger, my waist was smaller. My muffin top was going away. My bras were tighter around my back…I was growing muscle by golly! Since then I have leaned out to about 150-153. I only watch the scale close to a meet because I want to stay at the bottom of my weight class. I love my muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat, remember that.

10. I finally gained the confidence to consider myself a powerlifter. It takes a lot of guts to call oneself a powerlifter…and to brush off the “don’t  get too big and turn into Arnold” comments you get from insecure people. That was a big step for me. It took doing a couple meets to feel like I actually earned that title. Powerlifting mom of 4. I love teaching my kids to be strong and confident and to strive to excel!

I am sure I missed some things, but I hope this summarizes how I got from point A to B. I will discuss things in more detail in future posts.