Intentional Health: MY (long) Story

Most people assume that fitness comes naturally to me, and that I have always been fit. Not the case. An interest in fitness and a desire to be in a state of streamlined health has always been with me, but not the intentional actions that led to that goal.  


As a kid I always thought I was fat, which of course I was not. I would run with my dad, go on crazy diets, and do TV workouts in my living room to lose weight. It never really worked because I didn't have the nutritional habits to use as a foundation for my efforts, and I just didn't have any real weight to lose!  In college I got on the serious fitness kick spending every available moment lifting weights, running, and swimming, but my nutrition still wasn't there and again, I floundered.  It was frustrating and angering. Eventually, shortly after I got married, I gave up. I figured after that many years of working so hard to transform my body into my vision for myself, it just wasn't going to happen.  I actually conceded defeat. It was a divorce of sorts, because I truly loved fitness and exercise and how I felt when I was in that zone. But I felt betrayed by the lifestyle I had given so much of my energy to. I had loved it and it didn't love me back.  Fitness just wasn't that into me.


I don't remember how much time went by, but it wasn't long before I found myself about 40 lbs heavier. Then 10 more. Eventually I was a size 14, heading into a 16, and standing in a store trying to buy clothes and feeling completely defeated. This wasn't the life I wanted. I was tired, bitter, uncomfortable, and most of all I was living apart from my true self.  I had let anger and failure consume me to the point that I didn't even recognize myself; I knew things had to change. No, I had to change.  So I did.


Somehow I found a website called Cyberdiet.com, and I was engulfed in a community of women just like me. Once I decided to start intentionally changing my life it became easier to stay motivated but what really started to come out was my love for motivating. In fact, I got so much joy from helping and seeing others achieve their weight loss goals that not only did it fuel my own weight loss, it was the beginning of my path as a wellness coach.  People began to email and ask me to help them; other women reached out and asked me to be their coach and their source for accountability.  I also met one of my best friends, who has been a sincere blessing in my life.  As a result of my reaching out and intentionally changing my life, I was even featured in First for Women Magazine for my eventual weight loss of about 55 pounds. I thought I had done it - I lost the weight, reconnected with myself, and found a new life passion.  But there was so much more.


Oh, there was more!  I had barely scratched the surface of the power of intentional health. I didn't do anything magical to lose 55 pounds, just intentionally ate less and moved around more (that's not to say it was easy: it took three years because of yo-yoing, gaining some back, and learning some lessons the hard way).  The magic started when I realized that was just step one. I thought, if I could lose weight, keep it off, and motivate others to do the same, what else could I do?


I was a woman on a mission. I got a trainer who introduced me to clean eating and started fine-tuning. I was in great shape and really living in flow. Then, I got pregnant and gained 75 lbs. In January 2006 I took a deep breath and did it all again. I lost the weight again, I had the epiphany again, I learned the lessons again.  That's when I turned into Healthy Heather.  


I'm now a triathlete, half-marathoner, Ultimate Fitness Challenge finisher, Certified Personal Trainer, and just weeks away from earning my Certified Wellness Coach designation.  But I'm not living my dream. I'm living my reality: the reality I finally reached out and snatched back into my life because it was MINE dammit and I was sick of letting it sit on a shelf because I got my nose out of joint over life not being fair.  I didn't win the genetic lottery and wasn't born into a naturally lean and athletic body. I made one of my own, and it didn't happen by accident.


I did it on purpose. I did it intentionally.  You can too.


Now get out there and get healthy!

Intentional Health: Exercise with a Purpose!

It's been said that successful people don't wait for things to happen to them, they happen to things.  I like to think of this as good old fashioned doing things on purpose.  Specifically, doing things on purpose to benefit YOU!  In case you haven't caught on, I'm talking about getting healthy. :P  This week is about intentional health.

Intention is something I talk about a lot around the holidays because it is one of the four tools in my healthy toolchest.  Unless you're doing something intentionally every day to achieve your wellness goal, you're only going to experience a mediocre level of achievement. Since we're all busy and need to get the biggest bang for our healthy minute, I don't see any purpose in not giving each one of them the full effort.

Today we'll focus on intentional exercise: choosing a workout that is going to be the best fit for what you want to do in life. Exercising for function is just smart, and it makes exercise a lot more rewarding because you're not only working towards getting healthier overall, but you're preparing your body for something else you want to do.  For example, if you have a hiking trip coming up and don't want to be winded, you should intentionally do exercise that mimics that activity. Walk outside or on a treadmill on varying inclines and terrains, do step-ups to strengthen your legs and mimic climbing a hill or over a ledge, and gradually increase your distance and intensity over time. As a result, your lungs, legs, and cardiovascular system will be ready for your trip and you'll be healthier overall.  Exercise with a purpose. Intentional health.

For me, one of the hardest parts of living in my pregnant body is letting go of my beautiful, sculpted arms. I knew my midsection would go, of course, and my legs and bum as well.  It just goes with the territory of storing fat for the little one. But my arms too?  Really?  I've worked so hard on them, it would be nice if I could keep the guns looking lean and mean a little bit longer! I've turned to intentional exercise: I'm swimming three times a week, doing compound upper body exercises in the gym, and purposely looking for ways I can challenge my arms without lifting too much weight.

A good way to find out if your workout is intentional is to channel the curiosity of a four-year-old child and start asking why. Even little kids know that even the most mundane chores are more fun (and bearable) when there is a purpose. If you're not sure what exercise would be the most intentional for your life goals, inquire with a certified personal trainer (like mio).

Health is more fun when you do it on purpose. Now get out there and be healthy!

The Power of Positive

I realized yesterday that I spent the first 18 years of my life playing by everyone else's rules and accomplished pretty mediocre things. The next 16 years I played by my own rules and did some really awesome things. I think I am going to stick with my rules.


Last week two awesome things happened thanks to my rules:


1. I was featured on FitJunction.com as their Profile of the Month, which tickled me to no end because not only was I flattered, I actually use the site to read up on fitness trends, nutrition, workout ideas, and other fitnessy stuff.  So I was super stoked to be interviewed and I hope you'll check it out.


2. I also finally, after years of procrastinating and making excuses and chickening out, I took and passed my ACE Certified Personal Trainer exam. Hundreds of people get certified as personal trainers every week, so it might not seem like that big of a deal to some. But its something I've been working on - albeit verrrry slowwwwly - for a long time.  I am official!  I can't tell you how happy I am to have that behind me!


As I thought yesterday about everyone else's rules versus mine, and I reflected on last week's relative awesomeness, it became pretty clear pretty quick what the difference was between the two:

positive thinking

My number one rule in fitness, health, goal setting, whatever is to visualize positive outcomes.   Visualize yourself acting consistently, recording your data, being accountable, and acting with intention and you will increase the chances of success exponentially. I've used visualization for everything from test taking to just completing a long run and I truly believe that if I can see it, I can do it. 


And if I can't see it, if my vision is cloudy, I tweak the circumstances until I can and go from there.  That's the great thing about fitness goals - you own them and you can change them!


Last week was a good week, and I could not have experienced it without a lot of consistency, data, accountability, and intention...and without the positive people and visualization in my life each day. Thanks for being part of that!


Tomorrow - lessons learned from one of my favorite positive thinkers, the late great Jack LaLanne.


Good day!