Monday Motivation!

"We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be?

-Marianne Williamson

Gym Buddy Poll: How Do You Put on Your Bra?

I love a good Do-It-Yourself project! You should never let a good pair of used undies go to waste.

Rowing until we (nearly) puked. Chest pressing our body weight (because we totally weigh 65 pounds). CrossFit's workout of the day for today would have been bad enough all on its own. But our gym upped the ante today by throwing a rainy, muggy day and a very sweaty, smelly gentleman into the mix. Lest you think I'm some kind of gym prude that thinks all bodily functions should be left at home, let me say that I have a very very high tolerance for other people's B.O. And this guy was rank. His smell was so bad that he actually caused another weightlifter dude to kick us off our weight bench so that he wouldn't have to smell the sweaty guy. Impropriety abounded.

I gagged on the rowing machine - which incidentally now I totally get why you all call it an "erg" seeing as that's the sound I was making, yelling to Gym Buddy Allison, "This place smells SICK!" Except that she heard a rather more, ahem, obscene version. I blame the wind generated by the rowing machines for spreading the smell around because after that neither of us could think of anything else other than how it really did smell like what Gym Buddy Allison suggested.

After our workout was finished, we congregated on the stretching mats that still smelled very much like rhymes-with-sick to chat, look up stuff on our phones and basically do everything but stretch. Building on our prior inappropriate conversation, talk turned to bras and how one puts them on and takes them off. Up until today I had no idea that there was more than one way to do up a bra.

This ended up being surprisingly divisive. Two of the Gym Buddies insisted that the best way to do it is to turn it backwards and hook the clasp in front before turning it back around and then slipping your arms in the straps. (Reverse that process for taking it off.) Me and the remaining Gym Buddy use a simpler method: we put the bra on and then reach around the back and hook the clasp. Removing it is done by again just reaching around the back. Us being us, we had to debate the varying methods and then start questioning random people around us, including one older gentleman who was less surprised than I thought he'd be (apparently he's heard our stretching-mat convos before) but wisely declined to give an opinion.

So now I have to know! How do you put your bra on? (Click through to take the Gym Buddy Poll of the day!)

poll by twiigs.com

Anyone else do the WOD today? Anyone ever been nearly strangled trying to get a sweaty sports bra off over your head? Do you have a stretching-mat question for the Gym Buddies?

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Kicking the Scale Habit: What Does That Number Mean to You?

I don't know what is more disturbing - that Satan is on this woman's "to do" list or that the company advises you to mix deviled ham with peanut butter.

Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're satiated. It sounds so simple. So why can't I do it?!? Then again Lindsay Lohan can't stay away from the booze even with that attractive SCRAM bracelet accessorizing every designer outfit so I suppose I'm not the only one that has difficulty with following basic instructions.

This past week has found me tantruming like a 3-year-old (terrible twos? Hardly. Three is much much worse. Trust me.) every time I have to eat. When I first started trying to follow Geneen Roth's food guidelines in earnest, I thought the "eat without distractions" rule would be my Bunker Hill. That guideline is cake compared to eating when I'm hungry. It turns out that Ms. Roth was right - when you eat with nothing but your own thoughts for company you learn a lot. Like, for instance, that I eat for every reason under the sun except hunger.

What does "hungry" feel like, anyhow? I honestly think I don't even know anymore. I've spent so many years ignoring it, disguising it, punishing it, focusing on it and otherwise being compulsive about it that my hunger is about as recognizable as Pamela Anderson pre-plastic surgery. After 13 days of literal navel gazing, I am getting better at recognizing the physical cues of growling stomach, saliva, light-headedness and grouchiness. But I don't trust them yet. Pavlov's dogs might as well live in my intestines, my body is so trained around food.

It's the mental cues to eat that are really tripping me up though. I didn't think that I was an emotional eater - being angry or depressed generally makes me not want to eat - but eating certainly makes me emotional. For me eating is not about sustenance. Food makes me righteous. (Spinach!) Or evil. (Mayo!) Disciplined. (Hot sauce!) Or weak. (Cheese!) Educated. (Whole grains!) Or stupid. (Whole grains!) Or schizophrenic. (Whole grains!) That's a lot of pressure to put on a sandwich, and it's not even a pannini. So you will understand that with all that background noise going on, it might be difficult to hear the "I'm full" message.

(Side note: When I was about 12, I came across a diet book for teenagers that was written in '70's. In it, the author advises teens to do as she does and listen for "a little bell" that will ring when you've had enough to eat. I've been waiting my whole life for that stupid bell to ring. It never has.)

What I have discovered is that I eat when I'm anxious. And when I'm tired. And especially when I'm feeling overwhelmed and avoidant. Hunger? Who needs hunger when I have a baby that cried - nay, screamed - the entire 1.5 hour car trip home and a bag of fruit snacks? I suppose I should be grateful as she kept me from falling asleep at the wheel. Of course it's her fault I was driving on 5 hours of sleep in the first place. I digress.

Fear. This is what it really boils down to for me: I'm afraid to feel hungry. I'm afraid that if I don't eat, I'll starve. I'm afraid that if I do eat, I'll eat everything in sight and never stop. And I'm afraid to trust Geneen Roth. She tells me that my body will let me know when and what and how to eat. This would be the same body that I have treated as an enemy, a thing to be conquered, mastered, and controlled my entire life. We're not exactly on great terms, my body and I. And now I'm supposed to trust it? What if my body decides it wants to be 500 pounds? She says I need to be okay with the possibility of gaining weight. I'm not.

This ambivalence has led me to not fully commit to the program. Yes I'm doing my best to follow the guidelines (although some days are better than others with that - especially the sitting down to eat part) but I'm not committed to trusting myself. Which is why I'm still weighing myself every day. Lots of you (lots and lots and lots of you) told me when I first started this Experiment that I need to ditch the scale. I haven't. Yet. I still have so much of myself tied up in that number. I hate to admit this but that number has the ability to absolutely wreck my day or make me feel awesome.

My only solace in this is that I'm not alone. Gym Buddy Jeni recently sent me this insightful e-mail:
"I also don't know what true hunger or satiety feels like. As a "dieter", we are trained to never let yourself get hungry because that's when you'll binge, right? And usually that is true, but it's been so long since I've allowed myself to be hungry. I think I've grown fearful of hunger. Like if I'm hungry that means I don't have enough and I don't want to be without food or something. When I was a kid we didn't have much money and we CERTAINLY didn't have money for non essential food items. So we would pig out on gross things like a block of cheese (like the BIG block of cheese), or syrup, or peanut butter from the jar, or chocolate sauce. Being hungry was the worst feeling as a kid and so now I think I have this subconcious fear that hunger=not having enough in your life, not just in my fridge. Does that make sense? I get very uncomfortable when I am hungry...and nervous. Like I have to eat right this SECOND! And, really, will I die if I don't eat my protein bar NOW...no. So I am struggling with that. And also with satiety like you said. Huh? You mean I can eat until I'm satisified and not until I'm stuffed!? But I secretly like the stuffed feeling. It means I've had all I can have AND its like a secret punishment too. For food weirdos like me, the after-binge feelings (guilt, shame, disgust) are actually things I crave sometimes because I WANT to feel that way about myself still. Is that just too effed up or what!? It's like I still sometimes feel like I am not "worthy" so even though I don't "binge" like I used to we all have those moments where you eat too much of whatever your eating and that feeling of fullness is so gross and yet so sought after. It's making me really reflect on what my body NEEDS! What does it need? I'm trying to filter what my BODY needs versus what my BRAIN needs when I am eating."

I should add: I think all of this is progress. It has to get worse before it can get better, right?

Anyone else afraid of their hunger? Do I really have to sledgehammer my scale for this Experiment to work? Really?? Do you weigh yourself every day too or have you managed to make the leap to no numbers (as explained by the delightful Mizfit)? If you do weigh yourself, are you able to think of the numbers as just "information" rather than a judgment? Would you eat deviled ham with peanut butter??

Drink Click!

I always love sharing new products I find with you all! While sweating it out on the stepmill yesterday I was reading Oxygen and stumbled across an ad for a coffee protein drink. Considering that I'm a coffee ADDICT I was stoked, but apprehensive because most products that boast 'yumminess' are loaded with fat and sugar, making them no better then the full fat and sugar version of espresso drinks you can get at Starbucks.

So when I got home I hopped online and visited the website: http://www.drinkclick.com/ to check it out for myself, and see if it was worthwhile.

I was PLEASANTLY surprised. With two yummy sounding flavors, Mocha Latte and Vanilla Latte, 120 calories per packet, 12g of carb, 15g of protein, 1g of fat, and only 6g of sugar, it's pretty clean for a "fun" protein drink! What's more, the website offers NUMEROUS fun ways to drink click, hot AND cold. Cold recipes even include alcoholic suggestions such as Click Mudslide and Click-atini. Hot recipes have the delicious sounding Pumpkin Mocha Spice and Clickamel.

I'm not sure how "tasty" it is, but I ordered the Vanilla Latte flavor and am planning on incorporating it into my diet! While the 6g of sugar prevents it from being something you can drink on a contest diet, it certainly doesn't keep you from infusing it into your nutritional plan if you're not prepping for a show!!

Pet Peeve: People Who Complain About Being Too Pretty

You know who I really want to sympathize with? Debralee Lorenzana, the banker who was allegedly fired from Citibank for being too sexy. When the story first broke a couple of weeks ago, my initial reaction was dismay at one more woman being Windexed off the glass ceiling. But then Debralee started talking and hasn't shut up since. Every interview I read with this woman - and she is everywhere, no one can say she isn't taking full advantage of her new notoriety - makes me a little angrier and a lot more irritated.

In a Village Voice interview (via Jezebel) she says, "If being less good-looking means being happy and finding love and not being sexually harassed and having a job where no one bothers you and no one questions you because of your looks, then, definitely, I'd want that. I think of that every day."

See, Debralee is one of those people who likes to chronically whine about how hard her life is because she's just too darn pretty. Everyone knows somebody like this. In college I had a roommate who was blond and tiny and blue eyed with eyelashes so long she was constantly tugging on them to prove they weren't falsies. And her favorite topic of conversation was how hard it was to be her. To this day her Facebook statuses say things like "I ate 6 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups today and I'm still a size 0! Why can't I gain weight??! I'm having Ben & Jerry's for lunch - wish me luck!!!!!" If she could mind-read what I'm really wishing her I'm sure we'd no longer be Facebook friends.

There are other permutations of the I'm Too Sexy For My Shirt persona: the guy who claims he's been fired from every job because he's too smart and his bosses feel intimidated by him or the reality star who claims that everyone hates her because she's just too honest and "real" for reality TV. But none of them get under my skin quite like the I'm Too Pretty person.

While I do understand how beauty could be detrimental in some situations - I swear I'm not totally missing the empathy gene - it just screams false humility to me. By telling everyone not to look at them, they're inviting everyone to do just that. Like when Jessica Biel told Allure magazine that she doesn't get offered many good movie roles because she's too beautiful. I wanted to write her and ask if perhaps it's because she's not a good actress? I saw 7th Heaven, people. Not to mention how insulting this attitude is to people who have to live with the very real and much worse effects of being not pretty in a society that values nothing more than sex appeal. My roommate once said to me, "I wish I could just trade places with you for a night - you know, so I could blend in and watch the guys without being mobbed by them. You're so lucky!" What she really meant of course was that I should feel lucky to be her official purse holder/seat saver/designated driver.

But I have to admit that where Debralee really lost her case with me was when footage from a 2003 plastic-surgery reality show surfaced showing her getting multiple surgeries including implants, a tummy tuck and lipo to acquire her desired shape, one she describes as "t*ts on a stick." First she decries Citibank's actions, "Are you saying that just because I look this way genetically, that this should be a curse for me?" and then we find out that actually she's not this way genetically.

Unfortunately, none of this should matter one iota in her case against Citibank. If she was truly fired for wearing "turtlenecks and pencil skirts" despite having above par performance then she deserves to win her discrimination suit. But that doesn't mean I have to like her. Can Citibank fire her for being obnoxious?

What do you think about Lorenzana being fired for being "too sexy"? Do you know someone who is always complaining they're too sexy/smart/rich/thin? Is my annoyance really just sour grapes?

Supplement Review- OxyElite Pro

I saw this review in FitnessRX this month and thought it was well worth reposting. I use OxyElite Pro myself and I recommend it frequently as a thermogenic to my clients!

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USPLABS OxyELITE Pro:

review by Shoshana Pritzker, FitnessRX Magazine

Fat burners are a dime a dozen these days. With so many to chose from how is a girl to know which product is right for her? From "lose inches off your waist" to "sweat inducing fat loss" you're sure to find yourself lost and confused. Well, first things first- figure out what EXACTLY you're looking for in a fat burner and go from there. If you're looking for a fat burner that will make you sweat and give you a boost of energy that makes you feel like you're burning fat without even so much as lifting a finger, then OxyElite Pro is the product for you.

Why? Because OxyElite Pro contains a unique blend of ingredients you won't find in any other product on the market together. The ingredient profile found in OxyElite Pro was designed to eradicate the glue that keeps the fat stuck to your abs and glutes as well as inhibit fat from sticking to those areas altogether. By tapping into you body's energy systems and boosting metabolism you'll no longer worry about helplessly storing fat over a cupcake or missed cardio session.

OxyElite Pro targets our stubborn body fat areas by attacking what keeps fat on our thighs, butt, and abs in the first place- the alpha-2 adrenergic receptor, which is responsible for inhibiting lipolysis (ie prevents your body from burning fat and allows you to continue storing it). These receptors are inevitably working against you at times and your best bet is to block them altogether when fat loss is your main goal. How is that possible when these specific receptors are fat storing machines when activated? Simple- keep them de-activated and blocked.

OxyElite Pro deactivates and blocks alpha-2 adrenergic receptors by the addition of Rauwolfia Canescens to their highly effective blend. This compound is related you Yohimbine, a compound commonly found in other fat loss products on the market that is known to antagonize (or act against) alpha-2 receptors. What makes Rauwolfia Canescens better then Yohimbine? Well it's just about as effective at inhibiting alpha-2 receptors as Yohimbine but is muh less selective in that it is less likely to reduce lipolysis by inhibiting alpha-1 adrenoreceptors respectively. In the end you're reducing the likelihood that you'll inhibit fat loss, or worse, store more.

To address thyroid activity, OxyElite Pro contains two extracts; Bauhinia L and Bacopa Monnieri, both of which alone produce profound effects on your natural thyroid horomone levels- but when paired together, produce an unparalleled boost to your T4/T3 levels, sky rocketing them in to an energy-inducing, fat-burning abyss.

Our bodies store fat in places you'd never imagine. The fat you can see, or subcutaneous fat is the curtain you beloved abs are hiding behind. While visceral fat, or the fat that hugs your organs is responsible for maintaining optimal health. The less visceral fat you have the less susceptible you are to heart disease and other chronic illnesses, while the subcutaneous fat, on the other hand is what's preventing you from achieving the lean sexy body you want so badly. OxyElite Pro doesn't just attack visceral fat, it also attacks the subcutaneous fat thats hanging over the jeans. Not many other products on the market can claim (HONESTLY) to do both.

The compound responsible for incinerating subcutaneous fat is Circium Oligophyllum (Whole Plant Extract). To make this compound stronger OxyElite Pro coupled it with caffeine.

Lastly, OxyElite Pro attacks the dreaded brown fat ( BAT, Brown Adipose Tissue) by the addition of Geranium (stems). BAT is very metabolically active and uses fat as fuel however you must target it to use it. Geranium is a compound that can increase norepinephrine levels and/or direct activity at alpha and beta adrenoreceptors. In essence this compound has the ability to give you the focus and energy neede for better workouts while also directly stimulating BAT, thus using more fat as fuel.

OxyElite Pro has got all the bases covered, with alpha-2 receptor deactivators, thyroid enhancers, brown fat incinerators, and energy boosters to boot. You can't go wrong. The best part- you don't need 10 pills a day for it to be effective! Just one pill in the a.m and sweat will be poring- guaranteed!