Mindset | Leap Ahead Fitness

Is Your Resistance Taking Over?

May 13, 2013 8 Comments

You want to get in better shape. You want to feel better and have more energy. You want to look great in your jeans.

You start paying more attention to what you are eating. You join a gym. Maybe you even start working out on a regular basis.

And you start to feel better and lose some weight.

And then suddenly it stops.

You become overwhelmed by work, your family responsibilities, your relationship.

It feels like your life is falling apart and little by little, you start to cheat yourself.

You decide to have another “treat” – a burger, a chocolate bar, some fries, a second glass of wine. You need it after all. You’ve been working so hard. You’ve made progress. It’s time to celebrate.

You skip a workout saying that you’re too tired. You’ll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and goes. Then the next day. Then a week.

Your energy feels like it has been sucked out of you like a Death Eater, and you can’t imagine what could possibly get you back on track again.

You are exhausted. You have started and failed to follow through with your plans to get in better shape so many times.

You think, “Maybe success is some impossible ideal. Why bother if I’m just going to fail again?”

_______

If you’ve ever experienced any or all of these thoughts, you’ve been victim to a thing that artists call Resistance. It is that indescribable thing that stops you before you start. The thoughts that tell you that your desires are foolish and crazy. The self-doubt that causes you to erase all the progress you’ve made and maybe even end up worse off.

Before you start your own pity party, thinking that you are the only one who can’t seem to succeed, know that you are not alone.

This week I have been re-reading some treasured personal development books, and one of the books that popped to the surface was “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. Some friends are reading a trilogy of Pressfield’s books on the art of being an artist, and even though I hadn’t read the book in at least a couple of years, I admit I didn’t even want to read it.

I rarely re-read a book. After all, there are only so many hours in the day. With so much to do, why waste time reading something I’ve already read?

However, once I started reading, it became clear to me that these were words I really needed to hear. In my growth as an actor and an entrepreneur, I have come so far, but I’m still not experiencing the level of success that I desire in my life.

The more I read, the more I recognized some of the patterns of frustration I had created for myself in the past year as manifestations of my Resistance. Failure to keep up with balancing my accounts. Accumulating huge piles of clutter. Not cooking my own meals. And perhaps the biggest one – I haven’t written a blog post since January!

My excuses?

I was too busy pursuing my acting career, and auditions left me too exhausted to put time into my business.
I don’t know where my business is going and I’m terrified of creating a business that is bigger than I can handle.
Why should I put all this effort into building a business that I might have to leave one day when my acting career becomes wildly successful?

(Beware: Excuses are one of the biggest forms of Resistance.)

So how do we move past our excuses, our Resistance and achieve the Success we truly desire? In brief, take action daily towards our dreams and do whatever we have to to silence our Resistance. (more on that later – today I’m starting to read Pressfield’s book “Do the Work”)

For now, I am so grateful that I picked up this book so that I could see my Resistance for what it really is – a big fat liar, that is scared of change.

So to my Resistance, I’m saying “Thank you for your opinions, but no thank you. I choose to listen to my heart and not you.”

What about you? Where is Resistance surfacing in your life and especially in regard to your desire to be more fit? What excuses are you making that are stopping you dead in your tracks? What action can you take to beat your Resistance today?

Leave your comments below. You might just help someone else conquer her own Resistance.

xo,

Natalie

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Goals, Mindset, Motivation

Get Present in your Body – Start with Measurements

January 14, 2013

This is Part Two of the series 10 Steps to Fitness Success. In Part One, we discussed uncovering our desires and big dreams for our bodies and our health.

Once you have a clear picture of what your big dreams are relative to your health and fitness, it is time to take stock of the present state of your body and your health. It is essential to do this before setting any specific goal since our goals are going to break down our dreams into smaller, more tangible steps. In order to set realistic goals, it is essential to know where we are RIGHT NOW!

This is the part where most of us get stuck.

When is the last time that you got on the scale, put a tape measure around your waist or took a good look at yourself in a mirror?

When we don’t like what we see, we tend to avoid these actions. They can bring up all kinds of emotional stuff! Not feeling good enough, thin enough, attractive enough. And unfortunately, it is all too easy to get stuck in those feelings.

If you are anything like me, you know that feeling this way can be discouraging, unmotivating, or worse, send you spiraling you down the path to emotional eating and “why bother“-land.

So why am I asking you to take measurements, if they might cause you to feel less than stellar about yourself?

First of all, by taking measurements, you are giving yourself important milestones by which you can measure your progress.

As a trainer, all too often, my clients have been unable to see their own progress, especially in the beginning. Depending upon your metabolism, how much weight you have to lose, and how good your posture is starting out, initial signs of progress are often less obvious on the scale but can be quite obvious in the way the body is re-shaping itself.

By having more than just weight as a measure, you can begin to recognize your progress more quickly which will help you gain confidence and stay motivated.

Secondly, by engaging in a process that triggers your emotions, you get to take an upfront and personal look at your own pitfalls when it comes to your fitness and health.

Your failure to lose weight or get in the shape that you so desire in the past may simply be, in part, because you have been avoiding the full experience of the emotions that surround your body image.These emotions will undoubtedly come up again and again, so becoming aware of them will only enable us to address them and move past them more quickly in the future.

If emotions come up in the process of measuring yourself, you will be taking the time to write them down as part of my unique self-assessment process. This will make it easier to shift your mindset and get yourself back on track when they come up in the future.

Your Self-Assessment

As you go through this self-assessment process, try to put on your self-kindness cap. Give yourself major props for allowing yourself to be vulnerable, for taking the risk to see yourself as you are, and love yourself for who you are today . The more you love yourself, the more you will stay open to the change you are looking to initiate in your life.

These measurements are simply a step towards personal growth.

I recommend that you complete all of the parts of this self-assessment process, regardless of how they make you feel. Some people love all of these, some hate all of these, and others have an aversion to just one. There is probably a reason for your preferences, so be sure to jot down your feelings about the process as you go along. Leave nothing out! These emotional nuggets are gold in helping you uncover your personal pathway to success.

Step One: Get out a piece of paper and create two columns. The left column is where you will write down all the “numbers” and things that can be quantified. In the right column, write down any feelings that come up with regards to the measurement in the left column. Somewhere on the page, write today’s date.

Step Two: Put on the skimpiest outfit you are comfortable being photographed in. It could be your underwear, a bikini or pair of shorts, or exercise attire. (You will put the same outfit on each time you re-assess – approximately every 6-8 weeks.)

Have someone take 4 photos of you – front facing, back facing, and one facing to each side.

On the left of your paper write down front, back, left and right. On the right side of your paper, write down any feelings or thoughts that arose during the experience of taking the photos and viewing them. Be honest – write down any and all thoughts that came into your awareness: positive, negative, and indifferent.

Step Three: Get on the scale. Don’t have one? Purchase one or go to the gym and weigh yourself there. Do not skip this step unless you are 100% satisfied with your weight.

In the left column, write your weight. In the right column, write down any feelings or thoughts that came up.

Step Four: Take your measurements and write them down on the left hand side of your paper. No tape measure? No problem. Grab a piece of string and then lay the string down on a ruler.

For each of the measurements below, unless specified otherwise, go for the widest part of the body part in question. This will give you the most accurate results as you re-assess.

Write each measurement in the left column.

Chest/Bust – Measure across the nipple line.

Waist – The narrowest part, approximately at the height of your belly button.

Hips – Measure across your hip bones in an even plane. For some women, you will also take a second measurement, if like me your upper thighs are wider than you are at your pelvis. For this measurement, stand with your legs together and find your widest point and take that measurement too.

Thigh – The widest point. Measure both left and right legs.

Calf – The widest point. Measure both left and right.

Biceps/Upper Arm – The widest point. Measure both left and right.

Wrist – This is for Body Fat Percentage calculations. Just one side is fine!

Forearm - This is for Body Fat Percentage calculations. Just one side is fine!

Now that you’ve written out each measurement, write down any feelings or thoughts that have arisen in the column on the right.

Step Five: Calculate your BMI and Body Fat Percentage.

For your BMI, click here and enter your height and weight.

For your Body Fat Percentage, click here.

Enter both numbers in the left column. Then write down any feelings or thoughts that have arisen in the right column.

Step Six: Connect with what you love and don’t love about your body.

Stand in front of the mirror and really observe yourself. Remember to be kind … even if you discover something you don’t love, do NOT beat yourself up. Love is the easiest pathway to change.

For everything you dislike about your body, I urge you to find one thing that you like or LOVE. It is time to even-out the playing field! If it feels like there is nothing you like or love about your body, just tell yourself for everything you observe that you would like to change, “I love myself anyway.” Even try saying to yourself, “Even though, [fill in the blank with something you don't like], I love and support you.“

Write down your observations. In the left column, write down the things you came up with that you didn’t like. In the right column, write down the things you did like or loved about your body and yourself. If you thought of nothing, simply write “I love you” next to each thing you didn’t like.

Now that you have completed this assessment, practice shifting your mindset back to a positive state. This will keep you inspired and motivated to change. Start thinking about the dream body and health you designed in Part 1. Imagine how you will feel when you see your new measurements next to today’s measurements.

Jot down those feelings … maybe even post them somewhere you will see them on a regular basis.

These are the feelings that I want you to keep tapping into as you continue to move forward on your personal journey to the level of health and fitness that you desire.

Now that you have completed these assessments, how do you feel? What did you learn about yourself? Did anything about this process surprise you? Share your comments below.

In Part Three next week, we’ll talk about how to turn your big dream and your measurements into specific goals.

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Goals, Mindset, Motivation

Leap Ahead Fitness recommends: Manifestation Masters with Jen Mazer

January 7, 2013

I hope you are having a fabulous year so far! As you know, I’m committed to helping you reach your fitness and health goals in 2013!

As part of my efforts to support you, I will periodically share with you services from allied professionals who can augment our work together.

It is my great pleasure to share with you The Queen of Manifestation, Jen Mazer’s amazing 30-Day Program Manifestation Masters.

I KNOW that this program can HELP YOU if feel any of the following to be true:

You want to lose weight and get in better shape but you feel like you are too busy.
You just can’t seem to find time to exercise or stay consistent with your exercise plan.
You blame your work, family commitments, money, or a myriad of other things for not being able to pursue your dreams of being healthier.
You are miserable at your job.
You have difficulty balancing your work and your life.
You know what you really want to do but are afraid to really go for it.
You feel stuck or overwhelmed.

When I started this program in November,I was feeling stuck in many ways, but mainly that I felt like I was not FULLY SHOWING UP in my auditions. I knew that something had to change, but wasn’t sure what to do next. After all, I was working SO HARD!

I had heard about Manifestation before and had leveraged it with some success. I even had many of the tools at my disposal already, but I wasn’t using them. I needed a community to keep me accountable.

At the time, I hesitated to join Manifestation Masters because I felt I was TOO BUSY! I also worried that I wouldn’t FINISH the program since I had started and not completed so many other programs.

After speaking to Jen, I decided to take the plunge and am so glad I did.

Among the results I achieved, I feel that I am the most IN ACTION that I have ever been! I have made great strides in my business, my career and my personal life. This program was worth every penny I spent and so much more (even though I still have more to do to complete it in its entirety).

Here’s a little bit more about the program:

We’re all manifesting whether we realize it or not. What’s currently showing up in your life is a manifestation of what you’re putting out into the universe. Do you like everything you see?

What if you could actually create the life of your dreams? If instead of struggling in area that’s got you stuck, you felt confident and in the flow. If amazing circumstances and synchronicities happened on a regular basis? What if it were easy?

What would your life look like if money and resources weren’t an obstacle?

Click here to discover how to create the life of your dreams .

Manifestation Masters is an online course for women who are ready to take their lives to the next level. She only accepts 25 people at a time.

Hurry, class starts this Friday, January 11th. Want to know more?

It’s time to start creating the life of your dreams instead of just blindly accepting what shows up. Jen will show you how. Trust me. She’s amazing, and this course is a game changer.

Here’s to manifesting your the life and the body you dream of!

Health and Happiness,