Here is where we will start friends!

For me, the first step in suffering (and finding freedom) is knowing the truth and nothing but the truth. That being said, without knowing these Five Steps to Prepping it’s pretty hard to track your progress. You end up relying on the scale and how many pounds you’ve gone up or down. But for me, this isn’t about pounds as much as it is increasing tone, increasing strength, and liking how my clothes fit. Can I get an AMEN! 🙂

So here’s the homework assignment! Let’s make it due by next Monday! That means you’ve got seven days to face the music and take the first step.

1. Find or buy a journal.

You’ll decide how much “keeping track” you want to do, but it’s good to have it all in one place.

2. Let’s get #2 done and over with.

Pick a scale you can use on a consistent basis and write down in your journal what your current weight and the date. Make sure you step on the scale at the same time every day with the same amount of clothing. I prefer in the morning when I wake up.

3. Measure your inches.

This 3rd step is so important b/c you may not see pounds come off the scale, but if you’re tracking your inches you could be seeing loss in inches which means more toneness. That’s a great thing! With a simple tape measure, get measurements for these body parts and write them down in your journal along with the date:

a. Upper Right Arm_______ / Upper Left Arm________ (relax your bicep at your side, and have someone help you by wrapping the measure right around your bicep, don’t squeeze to tight but make sure it’s tight enough to not be slipping around)

b. Chest _________________ (wrap the measure across the middle of your breasts)

c. Stomach_______________(go right over the middle of your belly button)

d. Hips__________________(go right over the middle of your rear and wrap around to the front)

e. Right Thigh_________ / Left Thigh __________________ (relax your leg and wrap the measure right around the middle of your thigh)

*record even 1/8 of an inch if that’s what you’re seeing b/c every little 1/8 or 1/4 adds up when you start losing 🙂

4. Get the Body Comp. This may take some research to find who offers Body Comps. I go to our Nateuropath and they hook up my toe and right hand and then run a current through me (can’t feel a thing) which measure my Muscle Mass, Body Fat and Water Retention. It’s only $18, and I’m going to start doing it every 30 days as we get closer to race season. Why is a Body Comp helpful? For me,it let’s me know if I’m eating enough protein to be gaining muscle instead of body fat. Since I can’t eat eggs or dairy, I struggle with getting protein and this keeps a Body Comp can help keep me on track. It also let’s me know where my Body Fat percentages is in comparison to Muscle. This isn’t necessary, but it can be encouraging when you see your Body Fat go down in percentages. 🙂

5. If #4 doesn’t seem possible right now, DON’T SKIP #5. Purchase a Heart Rate Monitor. It’s tough, actually almost impossible to know if you’re working hard enough without knowing what your heart rate is doing. The heart rate monitor below is the one Diego and I use. Click here for the specs on it. On the right of their website page, you’ll see the Dealer Directory tab. That’s where you can find out where to purchase one. Why this one over others? Most heart rate monitors force you to buy new ones when the battery dies, but with this one you can switch out the battery and save a ton of money in the long run. And it has great features on it for every level of fitness.

Goals…hmmmm…

Start thinking of your short and long term goals. What do you want to accomplish? Why are you going to start suffering with me? 🙂 If you’ve never done a Sprint Triathlon, that’s a fantastic goal b/c you can go at your own pace. It’s all about finishing, and triathlon people are one of the nicest and most encouraging crowds to hang out with.

Or how about a pair of jeans you fit into before kids or before the wedding day? 🙂

Maybe it’s a certain amount of body fat that you’d like to exchange for lean muscle?

Maybe it’s about having endurance and energy for shooting a 12 hour wedding and then keeping up with the kids the next day?

They can be as wild and crazy as you want, but make sure you have a few. We can even share them on the blog if you’d like to cheer each other on!

One of my short term goals is to suffer four times a week for the next month. That means I need to boost up my intensity level and just give this a freaking shot. Funny little story…Saturday I went to work out and decided to SUFFER. I got on the elliptical and did what Diego and my chiropractor said. I tried to do intervals of going 210 Strides/Per Minute for 4 minutes and then 2 minute recoveries. I honestly didn’t know my legs could move this fast. It was like this major mental block. But when I focused on fifteen seconds at a time, I totally I did this for 45 minutes! Mind you, I almost puked when I was done, but I did it! Instead of burning my normal 380 calories, I burned 900 (including the weight training)!!

I came home and told Brian I was thinking of us having another more baby. Our window was getting smaller, maybe we should think about it. He looked at me and didn’t say any thing. Then he gave me this little half smile and said, “You are so looking for a way out of suffering this month. If you got pregnant you wouldn’t have to try this suffering thing for at least NINE months. ” (ouch! He knows me so well :))

Okay, here’s another question! What would be good reward incentives to reaching our short term goals? They can be personal, or something everyone can have access too, small and big, ideas, ideas, ideas!!! 🙂

As you get your Five Steps to Prepping done, post it up on the blog to encourage others to get it done too!!