Day 43: Why Do I Even Try?

Have you ever exercised, done your best to eat well and tried to make changes in your life only to lose a little weight, stay the same, or even worse…..actually GAIN weight?

This is probably one of the most frustrating things that can happen to us and often times it can send us spiraling and heading in the opposite direction of where we need to be going.

The next time this happens (because more than likely it will happen again) or if it is happening to you right now there are several things you can do.

FIRST: Realize you are not alone. You are not the first person this has happened to. In fact, I would say nearly everyone has had this happen at one time or another. You’re not different or abnormal or weird. Take comfort in knowing you’ve got company.

SECOND: Remind yourself it is a process. Sometimes we get so used to expecting quick or almost immediate results. We don’t have the patience to wait for the work to pay off. One month, two months, 6 months are not that long in a weight loss process. Give yourself time.

THIRD: Re-evaluate what you are doing. Maybe there is something more you can do. Sometimes we aren’t as honest with ourselves as we should be. Commit yourself to being 100% honest with yourself when you evaluate. You can’t trick your body into losing weight or making gains in training.

FOURTH: Remind yourself of your goals. Why are you doing this? What is most important to you? Believe you can achieve them. Don’t change them or try to convince yourself that they aren’t really your goals anymore. You set them for a reason, so don’t cop out. :)

FIFTH: Stay consistent. Consistency is the key, so don’t allow yourself to go down any “It doesn’t matter anyway” shame spirals. Stay on course with your eating and exercise and it will pay off.

Why do you even try?

Because it’s worth it.

Day 36: Moses

You know that story about Moses in the Old Testament? The one where the children of Israel are all sick and dying and he tells them that all they have to do is look at his staff and they will be saved? Just look. But because that seems way too easy and stupid many of them don’t do it and they die.

Sometimes I feel like Moses. (Is that sacrilegious?)

Listen. The diet and supplementation industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Multi-BILLION! That’s a lot of money people. We are dumping money at these industries in buckets looking for ways to get “healthier” and guess what, we are fatter and much less healthy as a nation than we have EVER been.

There’s got to be a way, right? This person tells me I should focus on not eating carbs. But these people say I should focus on eating a lot of proteins. Over here it’s all about fat. Oh, and don’t forget all those anti-oxidents that people can’t seem to get enough of. It’s such a cool word we should probably pay attention to it, right?

If we’re spending so much money on the diet and supplementation industry, then why are we getting fatter and more unhealthy?

Well, to put it quite simply, because it’s crap. I know that’s not the most eloquent way to put it, but there it is.

You do not need a degree in nutrition or a minor in science to know what you should eat. You should eat food. The stuff that grows on trees and comes out of the ground is your best bet. After that, the less processed a food is, the better. Look for whole foods and make them the majority of what you eat.

That’s it.

Now here’s where I feel like Moses. Everyone is blinking at me. Dumbfounded. She can’t be serious. Oh, but I am. All you have to do is “look”. But this study says this and what about this? Shouldn’t we worry about this or focus on this?

No.

Eat food.* Until you are no longer hungry. When you get hungry, hopefully 2-3 hours later if you ate the right amount before, eat again until you are no longer hungry.

But Dixie, we want something HARD. We need restrictions. Tell us what we can’t eat. Please!

You can eat what you want, just don’t eat too much. Only eat until you are no longer hungry and it would be best to eat whole foods as often as you can. If you really want a restriction, how’s this….cut back on the junk food or cut it out for awhile if you are trying to lose a lot of weight. Just listen to your body while you eat.

I know this is a really hard concept to grasp in this day and age. We are bombarded hundreds of times a day about our diet and supplements. We have been convinced by these industries that they are necessary. We feel like we need to worry about this. We think we’ve got to break down every food to its micro and macro-nutrients before we consume it. Stop this. You shouldn’t be freaking out every time you eat.

Remember, food is fuel for your body. When you stop focusing so much on all the hoopla out there you can actually start thinking about what would fuel your body best.

I don’t think Moses ever counted carbs or took a supplement in his life and I think he was just fine.

*For more on this you can read Michael Pollan’s books The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website atwww.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

Day 29: Finding Time

So many times I am greeted with the words, “I just don’t have time to exercise.”

Ahhhh, that familiar phrase.

Sure we all may have a day here and there where there is practically no time from sun up to sun down, but they are individual and few and far between. At least they should be. If it truly is your “norm” to not have time then you need to re-evaluate your life and decide what should stay and what should go because exercise needs to be a daily part of life.

Exercise isn’t something you try to find time for, it’s something you MAKE time for. And you will find, in the making of time for exercise, you will have more balance and efficiency in your life than you ever did when you didn’t have time for it.

Grab a pen and paper right now. No really, grab it.

Write out your training schedule for the rest of the week. This is easy because you don’t have to figure out WHAT you’re doing since I take care of that for you. All you have to do is figure out WHEN you are going to do it.

A common mistake we all make is saying, “Well, I’m not exactly sure when I can exercise because this might happen and this might happen, and I might need to do this.”

Well sure, a lot of things might happen, but we can’t plan our life like that. Take all the might’s out of your planning. The only things that remain are the definites. The definites are the things you cannot change—appointments, work, etc.

Now schedule your training sessions among the definites. It is now an appointment with yourself that you need to keep. When we schedule workouts, we get them done. When we leave it up to chance, it will never happen.

Never miss an appointment with yourself!

We are all given the same 24 hours each day, what will you choose to do with yours?

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website at www.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

Day 22: F-E-A-R

I think fear is the worst four-letter word there is.

It is a word that controls most of us WAY too often.

It’s limiting. It’s damning. It’s destructive.

When it comes to training and exercise I believe the two most common forms of fear are : fear of the unknown and fear of failure.

Why do we allow these fears to stop us from accomplishing what we really want?

My oldest daughter is only six and she is already very plagued with fear. This summer she did swim team and every day we drove there she would tell me her stomach hurt and that she didn’t want to go. I knew it was because she was afraid of failure and the unknown…”What are they going to make us swim today? What if I can’t do it? What if my coach gets mad at me? Etc.” She would get herself so worked up only to find that once she got in the water and was actually doing the work, it was fine. And she liked it. Was it hard work? Yes. Was it scary or impossible? No. Was all the fear and worry on the way there unnecessary? Absolutely.

She has now started dance and gymnastics, which she loves, and has a similar feeling in her tummy. We talked about it and now, while she isn’t able to get rid of the feeling at this point, she is at least able to recognize what it is and not allow it to discourage her from doing what she really wants to do.

The more we give in to those fears, the more power they have over us. Every time we think, “I don’t want to do that workout or that race. I could never do that. What if it hurts? What if I can’t do it? What if so-and-so is better/faster than me?” and we decide not to do it, we have just made that fear bigger. We give the fear power and we get weaker.

The only way to conquer fears is to face them, head on. Pretty soon we realize there wasn’t anything to be afraid of and we wasted all kinds of energy being afraid.

Put all the energy you have from fear into your workouts, your goals, your life. Whatever your fear is, take it on.

The sooner the better.

I betcha you’ll win!

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website at www.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

Day 16: Get Hungry

I went to lunch with a friend once, right after high school, and I remember her saying to me, “Why do we pay to make ourselves sick?” She was referring to the fact that when we go out to eat we usually walk out of there in pain because we ate so much.

I have reflected on that statement ever since. It hit me pretty hard and I realized how ridiculous it was for us to do that. And I was guilty of it too! “But it tastes so good!” I would think to myself, and then as I was waddling out of the restaurant with a stomachache I would think, “Why did I do that? It was definitely not worth feeling this way.”

Eating because we are hungry or because our body needs nutrients are no longer the main reasons American’s eat. Many times (probably most of the time) we don’t even wait until we are hungry to eat. There is food in front of us, or it’s lunchtime, so we just eat.

Don’t.

If you are not hungry, there is no need for you to eat. Your body will let you know when it needs to be re-fueled. The “empty” light will go off and you will feel it. Allow yourself to feel hungry, but as soon as you do feel hungry, eat. You should never be on a diet where you feel like you are starving yourself.

If you have been trying to eat until you are no longer hungry, a good way to know if you are doing it correctly is if you are hungry again in 2-3 hours from the last time you ate. Then you can eat again until you are no longer hungry.

When you eat this way, every meal leaves you feeling light and energetic. You won’t feel like you need a nap after eating. You will be refreshed, re-energized and ready to get on with your day. You will have to pay close attention to how you are feeling. This is a new habit you are trying to establish, there is a learning curve in figuring out how to listen to your body.

Remember to eat slowly and evaluate while you are eating. Then use that one moment to make the right choice.

Overeating is never worth it.

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website at www.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

Day 9: Quitting

Has it happened to you yet? The day you try to convince yourself that you didn't really want it that much anyway. The day you say "It's just not worth it." The day you say that goals are overrated and other things are more important. The day you try to mentally be okay with where you are at even though you know you aren't? The day you want to... quit?

Just remember that the day you want to quit will ALWAYS be followed by the day you wish you hadn't.

You never want to experience that day.

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website at www.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

Day 8: How to Eat

Wanna know a secret?

I mean a real secret that can help you facilitate real change. Yes? Then keep reading.

For some reason we all think we need to finish what is on our plate or eat until we are “full”. Inevitably we end up feeling bloated and disgusting, which is the complete opposite feeling you should have after eating a meal.

Food is fuel for our bodies that is supposed to replenish and energize us. But in America we make two really big mistakes with our eating that takes mealtime from a pleasant experience to a death sentence. The first mistake is what we eat and the second mistake, which is what I want to address now, is how much we eat.

Portion sizes in the American diet are out of control. You've heard this before, it's not news to you. But what do we do about it? Nobody wants to “waste” food, or we feel like we are getting a better deal if we get a lot more food for our buck. Or we just keep eating because something tastes so good. Somewhere along the line we have become gluttons that no longer listen to our bodies while we eat. And trust me, our bodies are definitely trying to tell us something.

One of the biggest secrets to weight loss and a healthy life is eating until you are no longer hungry. Not until you are full. Not until your food is gone. You only eat until you are NO LONGER HUNGRY.

This is a hard concept for people to grasp. “How do I know when I am no longer hungry?” Well, how do you know when you’re hungry? We listen to our bodies then because they speak a little louder. Your body is still speaking to let you know it is no longer hungry, it just doesn’t talk as loud because we have learned how to tune it out for so long.

For the next 5 days, every time you eat stop and evaluate how you feel after the first four bites. Do you still actually feel hungry? Do you feel satisfied? Do you feel full? Depending on how you feel, decide if you will proceed with your meal or stop.

It is an interesting experiment to actually listen to your body while eating. If you do proceed to eat, chew slowly and evaluate after every bite how you feel. As soon as you no longer feel hungry, stop eating.

This is the one moment that will make or break you—one moment. If you can be strong enough in this ONE MOMENT to throw away/put away the rest of your food, you will win the battle. And if you can win the battles, you will win the war. Don’t think about how it tastes or if there is “just a little bit left”…the only thing you pay attention to is if you are still hungry.

It only takes one moment to decide…

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website at www.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

DAY 2: Frame of Mind

For many of us, weight has been a struggle for a good portion of our lives. No matter what we try it seems to creep back up on us. How can we possibly be successful at reaching and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle?

Before you do anything, the first change you make needs to be in your head. Paradigms need to shift.

A common way of thinking, especially among those who struggle with weight is: If I could just get to this weight, I’ll be happy. Or, I’ll just jump-start my weight loss with this extreme diet. Or, I’ll workout hard for X amount of time and by then I should be at my goal.

If any of these thoughts have bounced around in your head listen, and listen closely. Exercise needs to be a daily part of your life no matter what size you are.

The idea that “skinny people” don’t need to exercise is very false. The idea that you can stop exercising or eating healthy once you achieve a certain weight is also a dangerous thought that will undoubtedly lead you right back to where you started.

Like brushing your teeth, exercise needs to become a daily part of your routine. You don’t think, “Hmmmm, should I brush my teeth today?” (and if you do, yikes!) Likewise you should not wonder if you should exercise today. It is something you do for at least 30 minutes, five to six days a week.

There are no shortcuts, no quick-fixes, no free rides to a healthy life. It is up to you to create a healthy life. The good news is you have all the keys to do that inside of you and RaceDay Training to help you find them. You are stronger than you think.

Yes you are.

You should know that as you start this 90-Day Challenge, as with anything you start that is worth it, there will be a lot of emotional phases you go through. I find that if people know what they are fighting against they will be a lot more likely to succeed, so let me sound the warning now. There are five stages you will likely go through, physically and emotionally, so be aware of them and recognize them for what they are—stages that will pass.

1. 1. The Honeymoon—during this stage you will be excited. You’ve started something, you’re actually doing it and you feel good about that. You're probably here now. For some people this may last for a few days or weeks, for others it may only last one day, but before long, no matter who you are, you will come to the next stage…

2. 2. Disenchantment—during this stage you will tell yourself maybe it isn’t quite worth all the hard work you are putting in. You don’t really want to reach your goals that much. You may tell yourself things like, “I don’t really care that much.” Or, “This doesn’t matter as much to me anymore, I know I can do it.” Lies and deception! Never believe the voice in your head that tries to promote failure. Since you did some exercise during the Honeymoon phase or have been in shape before we try to convince ourselves that it proved we can do it and that we’re okay with knowing we can. Don’t be fooled by this. The only way to prove you can do it is to do it. Your goals do still matter, that’s why you set them. If they were easy to achieve they wouldn’t be worth achieving. This is a hard stage to fight through, but fight through you must. You can make it last as long or as short as you’d like…it’s all up to how you choose to think. Which may take you to the next stage….

3. 3. Hostility or Anger—during this stage you may be angry that you have to keep exercising. Maybe you’re angry that you’ve let yourself go so that you have to work so hard to get back in shape. Maybe you are angry that exercise exists at all. Perhaps the most common frustration during this period is that you haven’t gotten the results you want. You haven’t lost as much weight, gotten as strong, feel as good, etc. as you think you should by this point. So again that voice might say, “This isn’t worth it. It’s not even working.” Maybe you're even afraid that all this work will amount to nothing. You may continue to push through the workouts begrudgingly, which is fine, but the sooner you let go of the anger (and the fear) the better. It is working and as you continue on you will make it to the next stage which is….

4. 4. Understanding—during this stage you will come to realize that exercise actually makes you feel really good. You’ll start to realize why it should be part of your every day life and that thinking you can do it and actually doing it are two very different things. You will realize there are many other ways to measure progress and success besides weight loss. Before long you will be onto the final stage…

5. 5. Acceptance—during this stage you will realize that exercise is just a part of life. You will be grateful for it and you will stop questioning whether or not you are going to do it. This is a great place to be.

Just because you know about all the stages now doesn't mean that you can skip them or logic your way around them. They will come. You will feel them emotionally, and that is okay. Just fight when you need to fight and know that it is one of the stages you are fighting against.

The different stages can cycle back into your life if you aren’t careful. When you have a hard day training or you feel like you’ve taken a backwards step you can suddenly feel disenchanted again or angry. Just remember that exercise and training is a process. There is an ebb and flow to it that is very natural. All you need to do is just keep going. Be consistent. Your main job is to fight against that voice in your head that tells you to stop. As long as you’ve got that down, you’ll amaze yourself and everyone around you.

Do this 90-Day Challenge all the way.

It does matter and you know it.

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website at www.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.

Halloween Bash Triathlon--Race Recap

So you wanna know?

I got 1st in my age group (out of 19). 5th overall (not sure how many people total).

Don't be too impressed, it was a pretty small triathlon and I think there were a lot of first timers. But it was fun to get first nonetheless.

They did a staggered start for the swim, sending people every 10 seconds, starting with the people who have the fastest swim splits.

They determine who has the fastest swim split by what you entered when you signed up.

I was a little horrified to find that I was NUMBER ONE. Eek. I knew I must have entered something wrong.

It's really embarrassing to have number one when you are doing a staggered pool start because everyone has to make a comment when they see it. "Oh, you're number one huh? You must be fast." "Wow. Number one. Nice." and on and on.

To each of these comments I would have to say, "Ummm, no. It's a mistake. I think I entered something wrong."

So we get up to start the swim and number two is a guy who is about 6' 5"--gigantic! He apparently swam in college and did Olympic time trials. The first words out of my mouth to him were: "I'm not going first. You are."

He didn't argue.

I ended up going 3rd, right after a woman who looked anorexic but muscular, and that was fine. I got passed by two guys, but that was it.

They made us wait on deck for about 40 minutes just waiting to start the swim because they had some issues with the kid triathlon, but nobody told us that. So we all stood there anxiously awaiting the start....for 40 minutes!!! That's a long time to think, "Okay, we're just about to start." and to have butterflies in your tummy. Not to mention it was FREEZING!!!

When we finally started I was hungry and thirsty and distracted. But off we went.

I was a sprint swimmer in high school. My specialty was 50 yd and 100 yd freestyle. So when I start a race in a pool I immediately revert back to "sprint mode". Not a good thing when you're swimming a 350 meter swim. By about 150 meters I thought, "Oops, started too strong." It was about that time that the two guys passed me. I dragged a bit, but still finished okay on the swim. 5:44 was my time including the run to the transition area.

Then I was off on my bike. Still the second girl out after anorexic lady. I usually bike in a higher gear so it takes more effort to get the pedals around, but I cover more ground with each revolution. I decided to try a lower gear this time so I was spinning faster, thus exerting less energy, but not getting as much ground covered with each revolution. I liked it. The bike was 2 x 6 mile loops and by the second loop I was feeling stronger and stronger. I passed several men and only a few passed me. No women passed me at all. That has never happened to me before. That was my most happy part of the race.

I came in strong from the bike and was told I was the first girl in (but I knew this wasn't true because you-know-who was in front of me). So I was the second girl in really. This got me excited and I took off on my run but my legs were really aching at this point. I didn't sleep at all the night before because we had to wake up at 4 am to get out to the race and I was so afraid my alarm wasn't going to go off. So I woke up at least once every hour and my head and legs ached before even starting the race. It was fine once I started racing, but hitting the run I felt it again. I could tell I was dragging on the run, but not horribly bad. I can push hard on a treadmill because I will allow it to push me, but I do have a lot harder time pushing myself in runs outside. I've started to work on this some, but my outside training time is very limited so I still have a lot of work to do. I finished strong, kicking at the end because I could see my husband and kids at the finish line and I wanted to sprint it out for them.

It was a fun day and cool to be able to say I got first! I was reminded again of why I started RaceDay Training. Being part of an event like this is exciting and inspiring for anyone that does it. No matter what place you come in, you feel a major sense of accomplishment just crossing the finish line. People are so friendly and encouraging to each other and you can't help but have fun. So what are you waiting for? Pick a race and register! :)

Testimonials

I find myself looking forward to checking the website each night to see what is coming up.  I get a little butterfly of excitement thinking about what I'm going to accomplish.  --Diane, AZ

This was a great workout. I liked pushing myself with the running. I think running is partly psychological and I have come to figure out I can do far more than I think I can. It helps to have someone else tell me what to do and then push myself to do it.  --Natalie, NY

I told Jason I was doing this and he wanted to try some of the workouts. He asked today, "Where is MY workout?"  It's great.  And today I was telling him my arm hurt from getting some blood work done from the needle and his reply was, "My whole body hurts from Dixie!"  Be proud...you are a great trainer!  --Kate, AZ

The workouts have been great, although I am STILL sore, sneezing kills and even the balls of my feet hurt.  Dixie this is killing me, but I think it is just what I needed.   --Lea

SIX, SIX, SIX  Yes, I said it.  That workout was the DEVIL!! Burned 720 calories and I'm dead.  But, I did it.  I'd say all by myself, but the truth is Dixie, The Biggest Loser, and my good friend Diane were a great BIG mental help too!  Thanks!!  --Dana, AZ

Today I did 4 sets of the lower body and found by the 4th set I was catching my breath quicker.  --Sarah, AZ

I am so excited about training and look forward to the joy of completing a triathlon. There are very few things that have brought more personal satisfaction then crossing the finish line.   --Eric Z., TX