The FITori Gym is almost open!

We “unfinished” our basement to make it a gym and it’s PERFECT!  It’s the perfect cooler temp. It’s the perfect size! It’s bright!  It’s the perfect flooring.

We have a squat rack. Dumbbells. Kettlebells. Music. TV. Horse stall mats. And, we need so much more. We are considering a treadmill but just not sure. I’m asking [begging] for a new, fancier camera…and a treadmill. My wish list is pricey at the moment!

We are still in need of some mirrors, for sure, before it becomes my “happy place” and a complete workout space for me.  I need to watch form when I work out. It helps to motivate me and just keeps my mind from wandering and wandering my butt out of the workout and back upstairs!

I love this quote and I believe it. I need to have all my “ducks in a row” to workout effectively and continously. I need the right space. The right & comfortable outfit. The right mindset.

I need to be happy to workout and keep up my workouts. I need a “happy place.”

Where is your happy place to workout?

Did you set workout goals for 2012?

photo source: oxygen magazine

As always, I recommend the Clean Eating books to learn about nutrition & Oxygen Magazine to inspire and motivate!

Photo Credit: Oxygen Magazine & Getty Images

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about happiness. Where does happiness come from? Are we born with it? Is it a choice? Is it harder for some than others?  Is it harder at some times than others?

I am a generally happy person. I look at the good. I have a great gift of forgetting the bad.

Lately I’ve left a lot of conversations thinking “Why can’t people just be happy!” It’s a topic that almost scared me away from having children…the unhappy-mother-syndrome I see so often.

In my former life, pre-motherhood, I got frustrated daily at work and I was most frustrated when my hubby had time off work and I was still stuck working. Now, I just have different and new frustrations.

Lately, there is a point in each day that I get frustrated. Frustrated that I can’t be as efficient as I want. Frustrated that there aren’t enough hours in the day. Frustrated that my pants don’t fit. Frustrated that I cannot be there for everyone. Frustrated my house isn’t clean. Frustrated I only have one arm or hand free, if even one. Frustrated I can’t stop her from spitting up. Frustrated my house isn’t built yet.  Frustrated we’ve been living without our home since April and it will be December before we have our home again.

So, life isn’t perfect. Tomorrow will not be any easier than today. There will still be frustrations, but maybe different ones than today.  But, will I wake up happy?  Yes. I will. I do every morning. Especially now that I get to walk into that little girl’s room and see her smile up at me as if I am the most important person on the planet. And, to her, I am. Even if I screw up every hour of the day. And, I’m sure I do! And, later in the day there will be moments of frustration when that little smile turns to a frown and I am trying to figure out why.

What do you think? Are we born happy? Is it a choice? Is it easier than some than others?

photo source

I got another certification in the mail last week!!! YAY!!!  I’m now certified as a Pre & Post-Natal Exercise Specialist!!  Woohoo!!!

I’m really close to obtaining two others! I’ll keep you updated in the coming months!

What’s your dream?

What’s your plan?

When are you going to “GO FOR IT?!”

I pulled this ad from a magazine. I believe in this quote….

sound mind. sound body.

I am struggling with something today….I need your advice. It’s with my mind and whether or not to give my energy to this…..

I have the best friends and readers and need my smart, wise and balanced friends to weigh in on what you think I should do.

I just found out that a competitor, fitness profession copied my post on cooking spray, word for word, copied and pasted as her own blog entry!!! She used her own pic, also stolen off the internet with no source, but she stole my work!!!

I AM PISSED!!!

What is the right thing to do?

• Do I email her and tell her I know and to take down all plagerized material…or else?
• Do I blog about her and tell the world about how unethical and immoral she is?
• Do I team up with the others that she has plagerized (she has copied the work of at least one famous competitor) and work with them?

I am mad. I want revenge. I think that’s human instinct.

But, should I confront? Should I leave it alone?

Is it wrong to give my energy to this? I believe in energy and not wasting it on things that are not benefitial.

I must also give a HUGE THANK YOU to my blog friend who found this out and let me know. I REALLY appreciate her letting me know and believe she DID THE RIGHT THING by letting me know. I can’t thank her enough!!!

What would you do? What do you think I should do? I’d love your advice!

]]> http://fitoriblog.com/decisions-decisions/feed/ 23 http://fitoriblog.com/women-power-make-the-whole-world-smile/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=women-power-make-the-whole-world-smile http://fitoriblog.com/women-power-make-the-whole-world-smile/#comments Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:30:34 +0000 tori http://fitoriblog.com/?p=3835 photo source A long time ago I read a book about marriage that talked about women & our power. It wasn’t about our power to manipulate which, whether we want to believe it or not, we are GREAT at! Instead, this book talked about how we have the power to encourage and lead our families through our attitudes (and moods).  We have the power to influence the moods of others around us. We can make others having a bad day happy with a smile. We can greet our husbands and boyfriends happily. We can be the bigger person. I have to remind myself this and as I think about being a mother and expanding my family I remember how much MORE important this will be [...]]]>

photo source

A long time ago I read a book about marriage that talked about women & our power. It wasn’t about our power to manipulate which, whether we want to believe it or not, we are GREAT at! Instead, this book talked about how we have the power to encourage and lead our families through our attitudes (and moods).  We have the power to influence the moods of others around us. We can make others having a bad day happy with a smile. We can greet our husbands and boyfriends happily. We can be the bigger person. I have to remind myself this and as I think about being a mother and expanding my family I remember how much MORE important this will be as I shape another human being…no pressure!!

Do you feel that power?  both for good and bad?  Has your great (or bad) mood rubbed off on your family?

Do you like these inspirational quotes and images? Or do they bore you?

(If 3 of you click on that top baby blogs button to the right and vote, I can see what my new page looks like on that site. I need 3 votes to see it and tweek it!) Thank you in advance!!!

This was inspired by a reader email this week. [You know who you are!] She was asking if she should lift more than a certain amount due to her size and my answer was a resounding…YES YES YES!  Start lifting more TODAY! Hurry up! Get to lifting!  Get strong! Add muscle! Lose fat! RESHAPE your body! Feel strong! Feel awesome!  Be fit! Be tough! Be lean!

So, since this has been a tough week and I’m wiped out and still need to bake for the wake/memorial service and clean up, do laundry, etc tonight…

I thought I’d leave you with this inspirational pic and quote. I love it. I believe it. I am it!

I started lifting after my wedding. I was gaining weight and couldn’t get it under control. I hired a trainer. She taught me how to lift. I FELL IN LOVE! I loved the way it felt to lift. I loved the way I felt lean. My body was reshaped. For the first time in my life, the tire around my waist was gone! Bye bye baggy shirts!

I was changed forever.  I still feel strong. I can lift things. I don’t need to rely on my hubby for everything. I can move the furniture when he’s deployed and rearrange the house [this is pre-preggo, for the most part!]  I have strengthened my core so I don’t have back pain [except when I hurt myself...which does happen.]

[photo source] And, I want to know…..

TEST

When did you start lifting weights vs just doing cardio?

What happened to your body?  Share your story and inspire others!!!!

This quote speaks to me this weekend as I try to do more than I should around the house.  I have to stop and remember I can’t do everything I want to do [preggo body is not the same as pre-preggo body] and lift like I could a few months ago. I have to work hard to LISTEN to my body.

I don’t have to listen to others who say not to lift more than a 5 lb weight during pregnancy. That may be best for THEM but for ME I just need to throttle back from what I used to lift.  I have to remember that when somethings starts to ache, I need to listen.

photo source: Muscle & Fitness hers | April/May 2009

Do you struggle to listen to your body or is it easy? How did you learn this skill?

When have you stopped or started something because you knew it was best for your body?

I have a ton of ads and things that I’ve saved and scanned that I need to post here for inspiration and motivation for myself and to share with you all. I think the weekends would be a good time for this so I’ll probably start adding this kind of thing on the weekends!

photo source

This image applies to me right now as I am working on “beginning” my business and taking a plunge into following my dream of helping others.  It’s scary. It’s exciting. It feel vulnerable.

What dream have you “begun” and how did it go?

What dream are you thinking of beginning? What are you waiting for?

Sweet Caroline [styleberryPHOTO]

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, BUT I needed a great pic for it. I had this vision of my favorite baby ever taking her first steps so I had to wait for that to happen.  NOW, I can do this post! Thank you to the wonderful, guest photographer on my blog today….styleberryBLOG.

I thought of this post when we were at a huge Galleria shopping and we went to a Teavana tea store.  They sell healthy, but loose tea, not in tea bags. While at the store, I made this realization. I love tea. Love. It. So, I thought this store was for me when I saw it. Nope, it’s not. I’m not there yet. I’m not ready to have loose tea and special tea pots and make my own little tea bags. I’m still in a stage where I like to drop a tea bag in my hot water and be done.  I may get there. But, I’m not there yet.  And, that’s ok!

So, my point with this post is…..take baby steps toward healthy eating, healthy living, healthy exercise, etc. Don’t get discouraged.  Don’t try to run before you can walk.  One step at a time. One foot in front of the other. Crawl before walking. Walk before crawling.  ;)

Start with whatever you can do. Start by getting a commitment for 5 minutes of exercise a day if that’s all you can do. I promise you’ll feel better and want to push for more. Or, start with 15-30 which is a great starting goal. You can stay at 30-45 or push it up to an hour or more…when you’re ready and if you’re trying to shed some pounds.

Don’t jump in all at once! Ease into it! It’s better for you! If you try to switch out your entire diet all at once…your body will revolt!  Start slow. Don’t add in TONS of fiber, add it in gradually.  Take a step to stop eating out as much, so make a goal to eat out only on the weekends, then progress into only once or twice on the weekends.  Make a goal to eat no more fast food.

Reassess and take another step in. Once your first baby step worked….take another one.  Once you’ve done well with adding in fiber and green veggies at every meal, you can start to cut out starchy carbs or something.

Some ideas on places to start….

• Swap out all refined white flours for whole grains – i.e. pastas, breads, chips, sub yams for white potatoes, etc.
• Add in x minutes of exercise every day or every other day.
• Add in a green veggie (spinach, brocolli, salad, etc) into every meal and eat that before your meat and definitely before your carb.
• Add in 3 oz of meat at every meal.
• Try to drink 1/2 gallon or a gallon of water a day (again, baby steps don’t increase this substantially on day one!)

I am still taking baby steps. It’s a process!  It doesn’t happen overnight and I’m not quite there yet with my natural living and healthy eating. What steps have I taken? Like I said above, I’m not there with tea yet. And, that’s ok. [Even though the lady at the store told me all the nasty stuff in tea bags and then said so kindly "Ew." I will ignore that.]  My healthy eating/exercising journey started with reading the book Body For Life and it’s a great starting point!  Here are some changes I’ve made recently….

• GREEN. I have recently switched to using less paper towels.  I have microfiber cleaning rags that I use all the time around the house. I know, profound, right? For me, yes.  [A post on this later?] I never learned how to clean. My cleaning ladies are teaching me to clean. No, I’m not kidding.  So, I’m learning.  I’m trying to find cloth napkins for cheap that are cute…suggestions? That’s my next step, but I’m too darn cheap frugal to spend a lot!
• GREEN. I’ve also switched to natural cleaning products.  Check out my vodka cleaning post.  I also made my own veggie wash. I posted that [and other fun tips] on my FITori FB Page.
• DIET. I drink a gallon of water a day. I have a gallon jug in my fridge and refill it every night. Chill for morning. Drink it up! Throughout the day I know how much I’ve had to drink. When I go out, I fill my BPA free bottles and then drink them.  All measured.  Then, I can stop thinking about it and just know how much I’m drinking.  Less thought = good.  I have other, more important things to think about besides how much I’ve eaten or drank that day.
• DIET. All whole grains. No white stuff.  Easy switch now. We are used to this one now.
• DIET. Recently we’ve been adding in more beans for dinners instead of some of the meat or in addition to the meats. I tried lentils which you can find here and here.  And, I have a great new recipe I need to post for lentils! Yum.
• DIET. Organic. I’ve been trying to eat the Dirty Dozen in organic at least. So, I’m not that great about everything organic…it’s expensive. And, here it’s nearly impossible to find, but those I buy organic [and drive over 30 min one way to the one grocery that has them]. No organic, hormone free meat here yet and I’m not “there” yet to buy my meat from Wisconsin [like my OBGYN does].
• DIET. Organic milk.  It’s all we drink now for milk.
• DIET. No juice, just real fruit. [May change after kids, may not.]
• DIET. Real foods! We limit our foods w/ a million ingredients. Five or less is good.  REAL FOODS.  We do full fat dairy due to hormones. Real butter, not margarine.  Real foods. No diet food. No skinny cows. The real stuff, but in moderation and rarely. We eat FIVE ice cream now. Small containers. Small servings.  Natural ingredients.  Yummy!
• EXERCISE. I’m taking baby steps to get back into exercising after my ankle injury.  I’m not pretending that I can do all that I used to because (1) if I do, I’ll be hurting tomorrow.  Hello, DOMS.  (2) it’s just silly to think that I am exactly where I left off.  So, I’m taking baby steps. I’m not beating myself up, literally or figuratively.  The body is amazing! I will get back there before I know it. Muscle memory is a real thing. The body loves exercise.  What fun!

WHAT BABY STEPS HAVE YOU TAKEN RECENTLY??!!  I can’t wait to hear and be inspired by you!!!

Wow, have I changed.  Isn’t it amazing to look back sometimes and see how far you’ve come and how much better you are today than you used to be?  I look back over my life and remember all of the years wasted wishing I looked a different way. I obsessed over looking like someone else and most of those years I was trying to look unhealthy!!! I used to want to look like Kate Moss.  Skinny. No muscle. Frail. Soft. High cheekbones. Flat belly. Skinny thighs.

Now, I look at that photo like I would look at a photo of someone unhealthy in the opposite direction. I don’t want anything to do with that body type. I don’t want to be weak, frail and skinny. I want to be strong.

LET THE PENDULUM SWING!!!

Cut to the years before my contest prep.  The years before contest prep I would open the pages of Oxygen Magazine and Muscle and Fitness HERS [read: Monica Brant] and would want to look like those girls!  I decided that I wanted to look strong and maybe even a little intimidating. It was my way of standing out and being tough.  I decided that it was a really tough goal to achieve and that I would achieve that goal one day. One day I would be that muscular and that lean and I’d look like that.

What was I thinking?! Well, I was dilutional to think that anyone really looks like that without:

• devoting their entire life and all of their being to eating, sleeping, breathing “clean” foods and the gym…i.e. eating every 3 hours, never eating out, never socializing over food, 2+ hours of cardio a day, plus lifting, minimal diet and feeling hungry all the time….[ok, I'll stop.]
• working in the industry and giving up everything in order to “look” good [read: shallow?]
• taking “performance enhancing drugs”

Now, don’t get me wrong!  There are MANY, MANY competitors who are completely natural and look amazing! They have busted their butts to look that good….naturally! It can be done, BUT it takes years.  It takes discipline and it takes sacrifices! And for many women they love that lifestyle. I am not one of them. I need more balance and more focus on health and less focus on body image to be happy.

It took me actually doing what it takes to try and look like that to realize WHAT I am happy with as an ideal physique for myself AND what i am NOT willing to sacrifice to look good!

My new ideal body type is in between the two extremes that I once envied. I now want to be muscular and strong but still a little soft. I want to feel good, look good and still be able to function well. I want to feel as strong as I look. I want to be as tough as I look.  A great balance of this physique, for me, is Jessica Biel. And, I think we all need something to work toward to keep us physically active.  I look at her and compare her to the time that I was happiest with my body and realize I’d like to gain more muscle.  That’s a great and healthy goal!

What is your next challenge?

• Fitness competition?
• Marathon or race?
• Labor?
• Losing the baby weight?

Sometimes a physical goal is ok…if it’s kept in perspective!  I will never be obsessed with my body again…I hope. I hated waking up every morning and the first thing I wanted to do was check my abs….or checking my abs every time I went into the bathroom during the day!  YUCK!  I never want to live like that again!

But, even at my leanest, I’d still like to add some muscle to my upper body.  [My lower body is plenty muscular for now!]  I’d love to add some shoulders, back, bis…but I don’t want to be as lean as a Figure Competitor….EVER!  I may change my mind, but I doubt it.  Things do change. I never thought I’d change my opinion from wanting to look like Kate Moss or Monica Brant…but I did!  Life happens. We change. We grow. And, THANK GOD FOR THAT!

This is me at 145 pounds [pic at the right].  I am 154 now…just FYI.   I like this level of body fat for me [at 145]. And, hopefully, after children I will look something like this again, but there will be a new me I am sure and I am excited for that!

There will be new goals and things change!!!

[click on photos for their sources]

What does your ideal body type look like?

Have you evolved what you want to look like?

How have your physical goals changed?

What’s your next physical goal?