I call it reconfiguring your goals and the strategy to achieve them.
The Kayla workouts are an amazing workout, but like the first time I started them, I missed heavy lifting. the circuits are quick for when you’re crunched on time and sometimes I am. Who isn’t? Aside from checking off Week 5 Day 2, I didn’t feel as accountable to the workouts. I felt that I needed to finally take the leap and trust someone else.
A few things about me, that I’m sure you’ve already guessed:
- I’m not a fan of authority. I also think you need to earn my respect, titles don’t mean it’s automatically given.
- I’m a very determined lady.
- I understand that I can only take myself so far before needing to ask for help. This whole journey I’ve called on others to guide me when I had no idea what to do.
So I thought long and hard about this and decided to try out an online trainer. I used to think it was kind of a joke. How can someone far away truly help you reach your goals? How can you feel compelled to stay on target and follow through on their suggestions? Well, when you find someone that has kicked their own ass, and has striven for their version of greatness you’re going to hold yourself to their standards and work as hard as you can.
I just finished my second week with Alaina and it’s a different experience than I thought it would be. Alaina is 18, so I’ve got 8 years on her, which means that there’s a few things I do that she doesn’t – like work a desk job that also has me traveling often. When I emailed her about her program, I asked if this was something she had experience with and she said no, but she was up for the challenge too.” She recently competed in her first bikini competition and placed in the Top 5, so she understands the dedication of the sport, not just the hardship of losing weight.
What really sold me on her, is her openness about her own eating disorder.
I think many people assume that eating disorders mean starvation or purging. They don’t realize that there’s a number of combinations from over eating/over exercising, undereating/over exercising, binging, purging by laxatives. Eating disorders aren’t as rare as we think they are either. According to the National Eating Disorder Association 3.5% of women have binge eating disorder, 2% of men and 1.6% of adolescents. This is something that I had an issue with for years and still have problems with every now and then. I’ve been able to identify my triggers and keep them far away. Some of my triggers are pizza, Oreos and cupcakes. However, I do keep Oreos in the house. As far as cupcakes go, I only make them when I have a place to bring them. If I want one, I buy one from a bakery nearby where 1 cupcake is already a little pricey, but worth it. Pizza, well I just don’t buy it.
My biggest concern about having a trainer or coach, aside from cost, was being so restricted that I would have binge episodes. I’ve heard of bikini competitors having coaches that restricted them so greatly that they not only gained a drastic amount of weight post-competition, but they then didn’t know how to have a healthy relationship with food. It’s about balance. I want my asparagus and Oreos too. I believe in a slow cut because time is on your side. I also like flexibility. I travel for work, which means I eat meals at restaurants that aren’t always the most flexible. It can be hard to find roasted veggies at a chain restaurant. I usually do ok. I call ahead and ask questions about their menu, usually specific items like how many ounces is the haddock in this dish?
Alaina has been pretty amazing the past 2 weeks.
I had a business trip where I would be eating about 7 meals out at restaurants and she helped me go through the menus so that I wasn’t overwhelmed. She also helped modify the original workouts she designed for me to fit the hotel fitness center. She also let me skip cardio on a day that I walked about 8 miles. I mean how could you not love her for that?!
As far as the workouts are concerned, they’re very focused and some of the exercises are completely new to me. That’s good because focusing on quads one day allows me to really work on form as well as lifting a little more weight since I’m doing a little less. The new exercises are challenging, but seriously who likes to do ball hamstring curls?
She has me check in at the end of the week with a questionnaire that covers everything from how my workouts were to how I feel when eating during the day. Between the first two weeks we adjusted my food, but not my workouts yet. I’m excited to see what happens as her and I continue to work together.
I had never felt so good about eating out or traveling than I did this week with her support. I didn’t feel guilty for the meals I ate because her and I picked them together and I figured out how to adjust the rest of my meals and snacks during the day.
I have some pretty great friends and I do have some great supporters of my journey, but having Alaina there is the push, support and guidance that I need to make this next year great. My goal is to cut a little before the holidays, maintain as much as possible, then go into a full blown prep in January. There are a few regional shows here in New England that I really want to compete in, I’m hoping that working with her I can make that a reality. I know when I competed last year, I was a big girl by the sports’ standard and I really think that I can be stage ready by the spring if I stay focused.
It’s October and here I am making New Year’s goals. Someone tell me to slow up.
Cristina
