From time to time, I refer to the goals I set as Ulysses pacts. A Ulysses pact, or contract, is a self-made decision that binds one to the future. The term refers to the pact Ulysses (Odysseus) made with his men as they approached the Sirens. Sirens were the three dangerous bird women/seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.

Ulysses wanted to hear the Sirens’ song but he knew doing so would render him irrational so he put wax in his men’s ears so that they were unable to hear, and had them tie him to the mast so that he could not jump into the sea. He then ordered them not to change course under any circumstances, and to keep their swords upon him to attack him if he should break free of his bonds. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

I set many goals and achieve most of them. And while I don’t take it to the extreme that Ulysses did, I understand his thinking. I absolutely credit the achievement of my goals to my level of commitment to them, and to the fact I tie them to short-term consequence(s) with no chance for compromise. I’m sharing what works for me here in hopes it will be of value to others.

It’s pretty easy to decide to do something. How many of us decide we’re going to eat healthier starting this week? But we don’t. Or we’re going to start going exercising again, and/or we’re going to join a gym.  But we don’t. We are going to limit our alcohol consumption, or give up smoking. But we don’t. We are going to start saying “no” more often. But we don’t. We are going to spend less time watching television. But we don’t. We are going to read more. But we don’t. The list goes on. We all do it.

Deciding, while it’s a start, is not enough. I think pretty hard about something I want to achieve before deciding it is a goal. Then, I commit. (Deciding and committing, while they go together, are not the same things. The distinction is critical. Please watch this video for more.)

Further, if the goal is too big, or too vague then it’s likely the goal won’t be achieved. I would have little chance at succeeding if I were to say, “I want to be healthier” or “I want to watch less television.” The goal needs to be very specific, with no ambiguity. As Chip and Dan Heath so effectively put it in their awesome book, Switch, we should “shrink the change” (make the goal not so vague or big) to increase our likelihood of success.

For me to have any chance at succeeding at a goal, I make a big deal of it to those closest to me. I need not only their support, but also, very importantly, their accountability.

So commitment is the first requirement. Tying the commitment it to short-term consequence(s) is the second.

Neuroscientiest David Eagleman, in an EXCELLENT Radiolab.org podcast, called “Help!,” says one of the best strategies for breaking a habit or making a change or achieving a goal is to tie it to “some sort of emotional salience — some reason why they matter to us right now, otherwise they will never work.”

A personal example is my weight loss journey that started in March of 2009. After three years of growing lazy, overweight and out of shape, the feeling of disgust and regret that I met with every single night when I went to bed served as the best motivator and consequence in my mission to lose weight and get healthy again.

My goal was a long-term one – to be a vibrant mother and wife who takes care of her health and body. But the short-term consequences were what did it for me and kept me true to my commitment to good health once I set that goal. I tied the future goal to a short-term feeling of disgust and regret. I did not want to feel that way. So my battle became a battle of disgust vs. desire (to not exercise and to keep eating too much junk food). In my humble opinion and experience, disgust almost always wins over desire.

Thomas C. Schelling is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist who has written a lot about the idea of commitment. (Being a fanatic about commitment, I enjoyed his Strategies of Commitment, which I highly recommend.)

In the same, aforementioned Radiolab podcast, Schelling talks about arranging commitment “so you can’t compromise.”

An example he gives is from ancient Greece. A Greek being pursued by a huge army of Persians had to make a stand on a hillside, and one of his generals said “I don’t think this is a good location to make our stand. There is a cliff behind us. There’s no way we can retreat if we need to.” He told the General, “Exactly.”

Schelling personally enlisted this strategy in his own life. In the Radiolab.org podcast, Schelling tells of his own win over smoking. In 1980, after many failed attempts to quit smoking, he gathered his children together, and told them, “I quit.” But that wasn’t all. He told them they “should never have respect for their father again” if he returned to smoking. Guess what? He never smoked again.

I will give one more example of a goal of mine with short-term consequence, which is far less significant than giving up smoking, but illustrates the effectiveness of the strategy this post is about.

I’m on Day 7 of a 30-day “no nuts or fruits” pact. If I screw up, my short-term consequences for the week are: 1) I cannot have the scoops of ice cream I have on Friday with my sons during our traditional weekly ice cream social, and 2) I have to train/exercise in the streets of Lander, which would mean forgoing the trails in the canyon, foothills and mountains above town, where I prefer to train. (Of course, fruits and nuts are good for a person. But I eat an excessive amount of both, so this is simply a pact to clean my slate on these items before reintroducing them at reasonable and healthy levels.)

By the way, upon hearing the Sirens’ song, Ulysses was driven temporarily insane and struggled with all of his might to break free so that he might join the Sirens, which would have meant his death.

But this is beside the point. He survived AND he didn’t give in to the Sirens. Right? Thanks for listening, and good luck with your goals.

Shelli Johnson is a life/leadership coach. Her business, YOUR EPIC LIFE, Life Should Take Your Breath Away, combines coaching with an epic adventure. Email her for more information.

RELATED POST:
Self Control is an Exhaustible Resource

So, I’m recycling a video blog I did some months ago. Thanks to my good friend, Sharon Terhune, (a fellow athlete at Elemental Training Center) for interviewing me about a distinction I made between deciding and committing that enabled me to lose significant weight and get myself into good health.

Today was one of those days. I awoke to 6″ of fresh snow on the ground. That was great! But then things went downhill, fast.

As I dashed outside in the deep snow I accidentally pressed the alarm/panic button on my car’s remote. Oops. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really (only) 3 alerts, I was able to stop the panic. I’m sure I am now black-listed by all my neighbors. Certainly, I would understand.

Then, I could not get the driver’s door, or any of the doors, open. I’m pretty strong… Were they frozen solid?

So I did what would be considered by many of my girlfriends who are wives as unthinkable. I went and woke Jerry up to ask him if he could help me get the door(s) open on the car so I could be on my way.

I do not deserve Jerry. He was down there opening my door in no time (by pressing the “unlock” button on the remote). He even went the “extra extra mile” and scraped my windows. (BTW, he looked pretty good in his boxes and pack boots). Then the driver’s side wiper broke. It stopped wiping. Oh well.

On the upside, I had a great workout and saw a huge buck (a male mule deer with a huge antlers) on the way home so my little adventure at dark thirty had a happy ending.

For more than three years, I decided — every single night — that the next day I was going to get out of the rut I was in and start exercising regularly and eating and living a much healthier life. But I never kept it up. It never lasted.

Here is a video blog where I discuss what I think finally made me keep it up.

Thanks to my family, friends and trainer for all of the wonderful support, love and guidance. It would be a lot more difficult to remain committed without all of you.

Thanks, also, to friend and fellow Elemental Gym athlete, Sharon Terhune, for conducting this interview. : >

Elemental Gym has a fantastic gym, some terrific programs and classes that will help you achieve better fitness. And, I might add, some great personal trainers: Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, Jagoe Reid, Sophie Mosemann and Lee Brown.

Photo says it all.

This is POST 16 of my “fitness journey” blogging. For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7,Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11, Post 12Post 13, Post 14 and Post 15..]

I suppose many of you think I’m dedicated to fitness because I go to the gym at 4:15 am three days a week, well before most people are even stirring in bed. There’s a good chance that I’m home and showered before most people’s alarm clocks go off. All I can say to all of you still in bed is (a resentful) Good for You.

On mornings like today’s, however, I am envious and probably more apt to claim I could be a little off kilter. Nuts, even.

You see, it was –21 degrees in Lander, WY, as I got up and drove to Elemental Gym.

If before you weren’t certain I was nuts, this should solidify it. : >

As we get ready to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the feasts and sweetness these holidays bring to our lives, some of us may need to enlist increased accountability in our fitness and weight loss programs.

Here is some wisdom from my coach/personal trainer, Steve Bechtel, of Elemental Training:

Elemental Gym has a fantastic gym, some terrific programs and classes that will help you achieve better fitness. And, I might add, some great personal trainers: Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, Jagoe Reid, and Sophie Mosemann.

Hi. My name is Shelli and I have a temporary motivation problem.

This is POST 12 of my “fitness journey” blogging. For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7,Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, and Post 11.]

Okay, so this is the I NEED MOTIVATION post. For the last seven-and-a-half months, I’ve embarked on a serious fitness and nutrition journey.

On March 23, I hired Steve Bechtel, of Elemental Gym, to be my personal trainer. I started training five days a week, two of which are high intensity strength, cardio and metabolic sessions with Steve and three of which are Intervals, epic long day hikes and more endurance-type stuff.

I drastically improved my diet. I’m only eating healthy foods, and on most days I’m limiting my calorie consumption to 10% of my body weight. I’m not eating much bread. I’m not eating pasta, potatoes, rice, chips, and for the most part, no desserts or sweet treats. I feel great and have more energy as a result.

If you’ve been following my fitness posts, you’ll recall that in the last seven months, I’ve lost 23 pounds and 12.5% of fat. I’m thrilled. I’m where I want to be with my weight and am in pretty good physical condition. I grateful for my progress.

Then Halloween happened. And yes, I got the memo. (That is, Steve’s ETC November newsletter dated Nov. 1 that featured a photo of candy corns on the front cover with the caption: Halloween is over. The leftover candy either goes in the trash or on your butt).

Didn’t matter. I figure I probably ate 12 small candy bars on Oct. 31.

Darn it. Until now, I’ve been steadfast in my discipline when it comes to my improved diet changes. And interestingly, on Oct. 31, I felt strong enough to resist the temptation of the candy, but for some reason I felt like punishing myself, which meant indulging and then paying the price for it.

By price, I mean the mental anguish I would put myself through for straying and giving in to crap food, which ultimately made me feel physically crappy and mentally crappy. I’m talking about the “wrath of Shelli” that I’m capable of placing upon myself. Trust me it’s far worse than the pound I may have gained as a result of snarfing a bag of baby candy bars. Still, I looked the candy in the face, and I ate it, 12 times. And it was delicious, thank you very much.

Having fun during a personal training session. Or, carrying an 80-pound sandbag up and down the stairs.

This fact, combined with the fact that I’ve already achieved my immediate weight and fitness goals, and the fact that the days are shorter, it’s dark earlier, winter’s coming — and let’s see, what other reasons can I come up with to justify falling off the wagon? – made me think this might be a swell time to write a post about how one can keep motivated to stick to their fitness and nutrition regimen.

Because how to keep motivated is a challenge for me right now.

Don’t get me wrong. I know too well how I felt before achieving my current fitness level and weight goal. I will not let myself return there. That, I know.

But I do worry about how I’m going to retain the will and discipline between now (Nov. 6) and when the snow clears and the long days return so I can continue my epic, 25-mile day hikes in my beloved Wind River Range (mid-June). Sure, I will skate ski and snowshoe a lot this winter, but we need snow for that. Right now there isn’t enough snow for that. And yet the hills are muddy or have just enough snow to keep me from going too far into them. I know, woe is me.

The gym, well I like it. In fact, as far as gyms go, I love Elemental Gym. But I’m working out there five consecutive days every week. I’ve been in a serious relationship with both the Elliptical Trainer and the Stepmill for almost eight months, and frankly, I’m running out of ways to keep the excitement alive in those particular relationships. We’ve moved well beyond the honeymoon phase.

Thankfully, my two sessions with Steve each week are still something I look forward to, even if he does have me doing several sets of dead-lifts that equal my weight. (Deadlifts are not my favorite exercise. I prefer to call them  dreadlifts.) As a coach, Steve mixes it up for me but always drives me to become stronger and work harder. And, he holds me accountable. These are all reasons I look forward to my two workouts with him each week — even if they do scare me a little.

Check out this recent workout with Steve, some of which he captured on video. Does this look like fun, or what? Just think, this could be you:

So right now, I know I need my personal trainer more than ever. After all, he is my “coach.” If lack of motivation is an issue for any of you reading this, I would suggest you consider hiring a personal trainer. If you’re one of the 6,937 lucky people living in Lander, WY, Elemental Gym has several great coaches. I know them all, and I have several friends who are reaping benefits from their tutelage. (See bottom of this post for their contact information)

In addition to having a personal trainer to coach you and keep you working at a high level, having a specific goal to shoot for is another trick to overcoming lack of motivation. In the past I’ve trained for trail marathons and 50k trail running events to fulfill this need. Pick a 5k or 10k snowshoe or skiing event, or travel somewhere tropic for Spring Break and start the vacation with a running event.

One March we traveled to Hawaii to do the 37.2-mile Run to the Sun for this reason. It was a great way to start our spring break vacation and it kept us working out hard during the winter months. I’m looking for a similar event for 2010, but very importantly, I have six Wind River Day Hikes that range in distance from 24-32 miles each lined out on my calendar for next summer. These hikes are posted on our refrigerator as a reminder that helps motivate me.

And, I do still have my goal of doing 20 pull-ups. It definitely can’t hurt to have a very specific and measurable goal to work toward. I’m not yet able to do 20 pull-ups so that keeps me going back to the gym for more.

By the way, this motivation slip just started a week or two ago. During that time I tweaked my back a little, and our dog of 14.5 years, Taiga, passed away. Also, we experienced turn-your-clocks-back-an-hour, which truly marks the onset of Fall in my world. So maybe I have a case of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or “Winter Depression.” In which case, I may just invest in a “Feel Bright Light Visor” and be good to go. Regardless, I’m hoping this lack of motivation I’m experiencing will be short-lived.

The point of this post is that at one time or another all of us lack motivation to become or remain fit and healthy, for one reason or another.

I’d love to hear how some of you confront lack of motivation in your training and health. Share with me if you’d like…

In the meantime, just talking about all this has been helpful. I’m feeling better already. Thanks for your continued reading and support. Yours in fitness, Shelli. xoxo

Up next, I will write about one trick I use to confront – and successfully fight off – junk food temptations. Because, other than the aforementioned Oct. 31 candy bar consumption episode, I’ve managed to do pretty well at fighting off all junk food for the last eight months. I will share one of my tricks for achieving that. :>

Elemental Gym has a fantastic gym, some terrific programs and classes that will help you achieve better fitness. And, I might add, some great personal trainers: Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, Jagoe Reid, and Sophie Mosemann.

Getting fit is hard to do. Especially if you’re me, because that means three times a week your alarm clock blares at 4:30 am.

One of the most common excuses for putting off our fitness and exercising is lack of time.

On a recent day hike in the nearby Wind River Range of Wyoming.

I know for me, this has commonly been an excuse. During the last few years I was a business owner, wife and mother of three young sons. Even though we sold our business last September, I remain on board as a consultant. And, as our sons grow, life is getting busier.

I want and need to be fit, but I also want to maximize my time with my family. Don’t get me wrong. I have an extremely supportive (and very fit) husband, and my boys like to see their mommy healthy and happy. Still, I do feel guilty if my exercising takes away ant of my time with them.

To overcome this self-imposed conflict, I’ve been waking up at 4:30 am to work out at the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This isn’t easy. I love sleeping. I operate best on a full 7 or 8 hours of it. But, at least for me, that 45 minutes of hard exercise yields more benefits than an extra 45 minutes of sleeping. And, when I get home, at about 5:30 am, my boys are still sleeping. I don’t feel like I’ve shorted them, or me, of any family time. So the dark thirty workouts work for me.

There are 3-4 other women I have gotten to know, all also mothers and full-time professionals, who also often work out at dark thirty. Recently we had a little fun and shot some photos of what we really do when we’re at the gym in the wee hours of the morning.

They are below.

My early morning workout friends, Sarah Sweeney, Misty Atnip and Leslie Calkins.

This is a complex set called "Getting Rid of the Rolls."

Elemental Gym has a fantastic gym, some terrific programs and classes that will help you achieve better fitness. And, I might add, some great personal trainers: Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, Jagoe Reid, and Sophie Mosemann.

Commitment. The dreaded word. It means to pledge, to make an obligation.

Two of my favorite commitment-related quotes are:

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.” (Peter Drucker)

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”

When I think of the word, commitment, I think of it as something that requires a strong will and hard work, but that is worthwhile.

If there are donuts in front of me and yet I find a way to eat a boiled egg and piece of fruit, that’s commitment. If I’m on vacation and I set the alarm for 5 am and get a workout in before the day of lounging starts, that’s commitment. If I eat a salad when everyone else in the car is feasting on French fries and chicken nuggets, that’s commitment. When Jerry and I chose to marry almost 17 years ago, and later chose to have children, those were commitments. When we started a business 15 years ago, that was a commitment.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Nothing worthwhile is easy.” Well, ain’t that the truth!

The results of all the above personal examples of commitments are positive and worthwhile, but none of them were, or are, easy.

Today I’m writing this as we drive to Iowa and Nebraska for some family visits. There will be lots of good food and excitement and probably a little stress from time to time that comes with all big family gatherings.

I can tell you, with 100% certainty, that it will be hard for me to stay committed to my training and nutrition regimen.

But I will.

This is because I’ve made a commitment to lose some weight and fat, increase my fitness, and find more energy. After falling into a rut for four years, every day since I committed to getting out of the rut is a major achievement for me. I want to keep it going. I don’t want to take any steps backward. I’m afraid of failing and letting myself down.

“The only failure comes from within,” said Steve Bechtel , my personal trainer at Elemental Gym, during a recent training session. Boy, I agree with that. The biggest fear I had when I embarked on hiring Steve as a personal trainer three months ago to start climbing out of the deep rut, was that I would not stick to it, and fail.

Steve sums up commitment as much by stating what it isn’t as by what it is. “If you commit to something in your comfort zone, it’s not a commitment,” he says. If it’s easy, he doesn’t consider it a commitment.

After talking through it, we agreed that what makes something a commitment is when it involves making a major decision that represents a significant change. As a result, the stakes are higher. So the decision to make a commitment is one of the hardest aspects of making a commitment.

When I think of the term, commitment, I also think of time cost. And probably that’s another reason I don’t get warm and fuzzy when I think of the term, commitment.

As a long-time business owner, and now a consultant for the business we recently sold, wife, and mother of three young sons, my life is very busy. For me, time is worth more than money, and often I think I don’t have enough of it.

Lack of time is the best excuse for not committing to better health and fitness. Certainly it’s the most convenient. We use it to justify to ourselves, and to others, why we won’t commit to exercise. And we can be pretty convincing and compelling. I convinced myself over and over for four years that I had more important things to tend to than a serious fitness program.

Problem is, we’re not talking about some nonsensical thing. We’re not talking about making time to watch more television, or play more video games, or go on more vacations, or go out to the bar more, or to out to eat more, or to shop more. We’re talking about our health – our quality of life and our vitality.

And furthermore, the lack of time excuse is losing ground as a legitimate excuse for us not committing to regular exercise – and to improving our health.

If you’ve been following my fitness journey blog posts or reading the increasing amount of fitness-related articles in the national press, or talking to the trainers at Elemental Gym, you’re learning that if you exercise at high intensity, far less time is required to realize benefits. Steve says as little as 4 minutes a day of high intensity exercise a day can bring great fitness results. Certainly I’ve seen results of such a program first hand in the 14 pounds of weight loss and 7% of fat loss I’ve experienced in 3 months time. I’m not investing significant blocks of time but instead training really hard for a small amount of time several times a week.

Think for a minute about all the things we do in a day. Can we shave 10 minutes off your TV-viewing time? Maybe get up 10 minutes earlier? Or stay up 10 minutes more? Reduce computer or internet or email time by 10 minutes? Take a 30-minute lunch break instead of an hour lunch? Forego our entire lunch hour for exercise and eat a sandwich at the desk? When we look at it these ways, it’s not hard to find 10 minutes to spare for the betterment of our mind and health.

Personally, I get up extra early to get my exercise in. Jerry and I have three young sons. With each child we’ve had, we have grown accustomed to getting up a little earlier, if only to eke out a little extra time for ourselves. In the very early morning, while the kids are still sleeping, we find our time to exercise. Whatever works. But if you’re willing to get a butt-kicking and do high intensity, we’re just talking 10-24 minutes per session. Suddenly, the “I don’t have time” excuse no longer flies.

For more on time, here’s a video clip of Steve, on time, and the fact great fitness doesn’t require a lot of it:

I don’t want to focus on only my own experiences, successes or failures here. So from time to time, I’m going to provide a profile of someone else I know who’s committed to better fitness and share their experiences. This time I’m putting a spotlight on LORI BARNEY, a friend of mine in Lander, WY, who has made a great commitment to her training and fitness.

Elemental Gym has a fantastic gym, some terrific programs and classes that will help you achieve better fitness, and some great personal trainers, including Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, Jagoe Reid, and Sophie Moseman.

OMG, check out the "glow" on my face created by the 41 candles! Someone call 911!

[This is Post 4 about my mid-life training program. For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2 and Post 3.]

Today, I’m going to have my cake and eat it too. It’s my birthday. I deserve it.

This seems reasonable, don’t you think? The thing is I’m a little hard on myself. I’m not a recovering alcoholic but I imagine that every single day of sobriety is a huge achievement for a recovering alcoholic. I mean no disrespect for alcoholics, just the opposite, but on my training program, which involves a significant nutrition component, I view my good eating habits similar to sobriety. (Again, I know the stakes aren’t on the same level.) I’m hard on myself when I screw up. I’m so hard on myself that most of the time, eating the cake is not worth it.

So my trainer, Steve Bechtel, from Elemental Training Center, is helping me “budget it” into my training. The cost to me for indulging in a huge piece of cake today, as well as a glass or two of Merlot? An extra 6 miles this week.

Snarfing birthday cake, a rare and special indulgence for me. : >

Now, onto what this post is really about. Here I’ll share some of the changes I’ve made to my diet that have no doubt helped me lose 14 pounds and 7% body fat in 3 months. Yes, I’ve worked my butt off with the workouts, but I’ve also made some basic changes to what I eat.

The most significant change I’ve made to my diet is that most days I limit my total caloric intake to 10% of my body weight. I’ve cut out all bad carbs, and even some of the excess good carbs I used to enjoy, and added more protein to my diet. The latter makes me feel fuller so has the added benefit of keeping me from overeating or giving in to cravings for not-so-good snacks.

Specific changes I’ve made include the following:

Breakfast: Instead of my usual 2 pieces of peanut butter and jelly toast, I now have either 2 boiled eggs OR 1 boiled egg and ½ cup of Grape Nuts cereal w/1 pack of Equal and Skim Milk for breakfast.
Lunch: I typically have a big salad, sometimes two bowls’ worth, of mixed greens, with craisins, sunflower nuts and grated parmesan cheese + Ranch dressing or Italian dressing. (Regular, not non-fat variety). Sometimes I’ll add some lunch meat or a piece of cheese to this. Or, I’ll have a Hebrew National hotdog. With no bun. I know this doesn’t have a lot of nutritional value but I love Hebrew hotdogs and it’s bbq season and it’s a protein source.
Dinner: Lean meat on the grill (sometimes 1-1/2 servings). Usually lean pork, hamburgers, chicken breast or steak, with 1-2 vegetables, usually asparagus, broccoli, corn or a combo of two of these. I cut out the bread or potato or rice altogether. I think the latter has helped a lot.
Snacks: 14 almonds (seasoned or raw), usually in the morning or/and in the afternoon, 1-2 pieces of jerky, usually in the morning and/or again in the afternoon, plus an apple or pear at some point in the day. Another favorite is fresh pineapple chunks mixed with some cottage cheese.
Dessert: Watermelon, cherries or, my favorite healthy dessert: a pear eaten with some aged cheddar.
Bedtime Snack, if I have a craving for one: microwave popcorn (PopSecret, Homestyle,1 serving size=4 cups of popped corn, which is plenty.) I also like the “Pure Protein” bars, which are 180 calories each, and have equal parts protein and carbohydrates. It’s an indulgence that makes me think I’m eating a candy bar and therefore works as a “treat,” although I realize it’s not as valuable as something more naturally rich in protein and carbohydrates.
Drinks: I gave up soda pop, cold turkey, back in 1992 so that makes it easy. I drink coffee, tea and lots of water. I treat myself to a small glass of Merlot once in a while, as well.
Other things to note: I also gave up French fries, ice cream and chips. I didn’t eat a lot of these things before, but giving them up collectively is without a doubt helping the cause. : >

Paying for my cake. I hiked from Bruce's Camp to Blue Ridge Lookout. 12 miles, 2,800 feet. What a spectacular hike. (The cake was worth it!)

The tip from Steve that I’ll share today is that we can help achieve our fitness goals by being decisive. When we make a decision, we commit to something. We’ve resolved to take a particular course, and in doing so, all other choices are no longer on the table.

I travel a fair amount, and when I’m traveling, I find it is harder to eat healthy than it is to get my workouts in.

The food/snack purchase decision I make at our first stop at the convenience store will set the tone for the rest of the day. Energy bar or almonds? Yep. Snickers or Doritos? Nope. Once I make the decision it’s easy. It’s making that decision that’s hard for me. It can be torturous. I want the Snickers so bad sometimes…or the chips…

Same goes for when I’m working from home and I find myself hungry and wandering into the kitchen. I’ve recently moved our loaf of bread, cookies and other snacks I can’t deprive our young sons of, to drawers, and replaced their countertop positions with almonds, raisins, jerky and fruit. This action alone has made it easier for me to make the right nutrition decisions that bring me closer to my goal.

I’m far from an expert. I have a long way to go, but the above are changes I’ve made that have significantly helped me lose weight and fat, and feel better, while not feeling deprived during the last three months.

And since it’s my 41st birthday, it’s a good time to reflect on how far I’ve come since 1 year ago. When I turned 40, I was regretful when I reflected on my fitness and health level. My fitness level was at its worst, and lowest 12 months ago. (During the surprise 40th birthday party my friends and family threw for me, I silently resolved that during my 40th year I was going to make a change and get back into better health and fitness.) It wasn’t until 9 months after that (3 months ago) that I finally took action and hired Steve as my personal trainer and joined Elemental Training Center. I’m so glad I did. I can’t recommend enough hiring a personal trainer. If you’ve been in a rut for awhile, there’s no better way to make a bold change for the better than to hire a trainer who will drive you hard and keep you accountable. (Email Steve for information, or email me if you’d like to hear more about my experience.)

I also realize that this fitness journey I’ve embarked upon is changing. During the last three months, the workouts have been hard, as I was an unfit person…but the results and benefits were significant and probably came easier. From here on out, it will likely be the reverse. I’m in much better shape now, so I suspect melting the fat off might be a little harder. Either way, I’m staying the course. I’ll keep working hard at it.

… Starting tomorrow. Right now I have a birthday to celebrate.

(And by the way, the 12-mile hike I did to cover the “6 extra miles” Steve prescribed to offset my birthday indulgences was more of a reward than a cost. The views along the Switchbacks/Loop Road are phenomenal. The lakes are full and blue, the country is green, the peaks still have snow on them, and there are lots of wildflowers. Add to that I only saw 4 cars in 12 miles. The latter was probably a product of my starting early in the morning.)