Prove it to yo'self!

So tonight's workout was given by the one and only, Autumn Calabrese. The creator of The 21 Day Fix! A program which I have just learned to love. Thank you Autumn!

The ringer I was put through tonight was a lower body workout. 'Leg day', as everyone else knows it. The workouts were ones that everyone pretty much knows: Squats, lunges, split lunges, calf raises, sumo squats, leg raises... just to name a few. Doesn't sound too bad, right?? WRONG. It took some serious effort to stand on my tippy toes and reach something from the cupboard! Even sitting on the couch is painful!

During the workout, I wanted to quit halfway through. Take a break. Then start up again when the pain went away. I DIDN'T DO THAT TODAY. I pushed through every single move, held on until the end. How did I do this? What special juice did I drink? What super powers do I have?
(Well none that I can tell you about and I can't afford the special juice)

 

The whole time I kept saying to myself, "I wanna see how strong you are. You are strong enough to go until the end." Let me tell ya, positive mantras are MONEY. Tip: Next time you are working out and you feel the burn, tell (whichever muscle group you have chosen) to shut up. Guaranteed, every time.

When you don't have motivation to exercise, or eat right, whatever the case may be, tell yourself that you wanna see your strength. You want to see what YOU are capable of doing. And by doing so, you will.



New Mantra

We definitely have some serious business to get out of the way. I have always wanted to be the pretty skinny girl that grabs a man's attention. Looks FAB in a bikini and can fit into whatever clothing I want. I mean, come on? I'm a woman. Those are thoughts that run through ANY woman's head.
A woman can still be sexy as sin and still not be confident in herself. Same with a man! He could have washboard abs and still not think it's enough.
When I first started my health and fitness journey, it was because I hated my body. Absolutely, 100% HATED IT. "Why do you have such big thighs? You're not an athlete.." "Good job at TRYING to rock those skinny jeans." Or "You've been working for a flat stomach for a while now. Why haven't you gotten it yet? Oh yeah..you love food."
These are things I would tell myself! Especially when exercising. The Huffington Post wrote an article recently about the impact of positive thinking:

"Researchers have long known that negative emotions program your brain to do a specific action... in other words, negative emotion narrows your mind and focus your thoughts." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-clear/positive-thinking_b_3512202.html

The unfortunate thing about negative thoughts, is that the majority of the time, they're not true. A great acronym my dad taught goes as follows:
FEAR=
False.
Evidence.
Appearing.
Real.
So you can imagine how effective my workouts were. Or rather, how INEFFECTIVE they were. I had to make a change, I had to stop.
And I did! I finally came up with a mantra to repeat to myself ANYTIME I noticed myself wavering and wanting to be negative. "I'm doing this because I love you. NOT because I hate you." Sounds weird... talking to your own body, but it's amazing the difference that made! I wouldn't have gotten the results I have otherwise.

"When you are experiencing positive emotions like joy, contentment, and love, you will see more possibilities in your life."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-clear/positive-thinking_b_3512202.html
Don't choose to live a more healthy lifestyle because you hate how you are currently living or you hate who you are. It only increases those negative thoughts and decreases your chances of results and success.

Yours truly..