“Driving Your Own Bus”
As I am sure you are all aware, we are halfway through the period that I affectionately like to call the “pyramid of doom”. For those of us that are trying to lose weight, or even just maintain a healthy balance, the deadly triangle of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holidays capped by New Years Eve/Day creates an especially difficult period. We are bombarded by food, alcohol, and long hours of merriment, and still have to manage to get some semblance of work done before the New Year arrives.
There are few places to relax as plate after plate of cookies, pies, and homemade candy appear out of nowhere on office desks and in office break rooms. It seems relatively harmless when “Janine” from down the hall walks by with her world famous chocolate chip cookies, or “Phil” from accounting just happens to show up with his, only made once a year, butterscotch/chocolate dessert from heaven. All of these gestures by coworkers, mothers, grandmothers, friends, neighbors and random people you don’t even know, are nice. They are coming from the heart and are meant to put a smile on your face, but understand that ultimately (in terms of health and weight management). . . . . these people are not on your side! They are the enemy! The plates of deliciousness are hand grenades in the war on your waistline. Unfortunately, since it is unrealistic to ask people to not bring in these weapons of destruction of your mass 
, WE have to make the decision to drive our own bus.
Driving your own bus has never been an easy task. It means that you have to take control of your eating habits despite the things that are going on around you. As parents, caregivers, and people that don’t want to upset the norm, we often find ourselves going away from where we need to be in order to please those around us. When you drive your own bus, you make conscious decisions to travel in the direction YOU need to go in order to reach your goals. Those around us can either ride as passengers or take a cab to their own destination. It might mean an extra stop at the grocery store or preparing a meal that only you consume. It may mean giving away, or throwing away, a stray plate that has made it to your home. Your family, friends, and coworkers may not understand and continue to inadvertently place roadblocks in your way, but you just have to keep driving. Cookies, cakes, pies, candy that only comes around once a year, and even world class desserts, are all roadblocks and landmines put in your way in an attempt to prevent you from reaching your goal.
The people that bring these delicious desserts are driving their own bus. They are doing what they want to do to bring enjoyment to the world. At the end of the day, they will not force you to eat anything. You have to make the choice. You have to drive you own bus. Just remember, the holidays will end soon and the world will settle back to its normal schedule and routine. We just have to last a few more weeks!! It would be nice for all of us to be at a better place exiting the holidays than we were when entering.
DEV
My Scale Is My Best “Frienemey”
“Frienemy” def : blending of “friend” and “enemy” that can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor or rival.
Over the many years of gaining and losing weight, I realize that the unhealthiest relationship I had was with my scale. There! I said it. My scale was my best frienemy. It was the thing I loved to hate. With one click to the left it could make me feel great; totally in control and on the right path. A click to the right and I felt like the biggest loser (no pun intended); unable to control my eating habits or my training schedule. Through the years of talking to many clients, it is nice to know that I am not the only one who treats/treated the scale as a living, breathing, entity, complete with good and bad moods. While reading several articles on “Scale Addiction” by Yonee Freedhoff, I re-learned points that made it much easier to take some of the pressure off of stepping on the scale.
Scales are truly frustrating devices because they don’t simply measure caloric intake vs caloric expenditure. We put so much stock in the number and they don’t even measure just weight. They measure clothing, water retention, constipation and time of day differences. Folks who weigh regularly will know that weight fluctuates both day by day and within a day. Freedhoff makes 2 great points that I want to share with you.
First, there is 3500 calories in a pound, and while bodies are not mathematical instruments whereby if you do or do not eat 3500 calories you will see a pound change on the scale, bodies do obey the laws of thermodynamic (. If you step on a scale on Wednesday and it’s 3 pounds heavier than Tuesday, unless you consumed at least 10,500 calories more than you burned, the scale is weighing something other than true weight.
Second, you weight does not matter! To put it simply, what moves the number on the scale is not the act of standing on the scale. It is your lifestyle and your choices that change your weight. You need to determine how you’re doing by how YOU are doing. What have your dietary choices been like? How’s your fitness? Are you thinking about what you do before you it? Are you organized, and more importantly, consistent?
At some point I came to realize that the scale is neither my friend, nor my enemy. The scale is just something to provide you with another piece of information with which to help you make informed decisions. Scales can be helpful to illustrate trends, but weight fluctuations, both inter day and intra day, are normal.
I think the most important thing to remember is that sometimes life is worth more calories. Sometimes it just happens that way and sometimes it is for great reasons, but at no time should you let that scale have the power to push you around. Life is dynamic and so too is your weight and your healthy living efforts. At the end of the day, it’s your life that can change the scale and not the other way around.
DEV
Adopt Yourself!
During the past three years, I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by an amazing number of parents and caregivers that seamlessly take care of multiple children, pets and households. We all manage to juggle jobs, practice schedules, meals, play dates, ball games, doctor’s appointments, bills, home repairs and a small attempt at a social life with amazing grace.
Understandably, when asked why we don’t take even an hour out of the day for ourselves to exercise, we respond “I don’t have time! My day is totally filled!” When asked if we were able to maintain our food logs and our planned meal adjustments, the answer is almost always “I just ate what the kids ate” or “I ran out of time and just had to grab the closest food available”.
Alternatively, if our kids need a ride to an important game, or need an extra hour of homework explanation, if the dog needs its shots, our boss asks us to stay late, or any other number of things that just come up; miraculously as expert jugglers, we are able to find the extra time to handle the situation. If our kids have an allergy, or are starting to put on unhealthy weight, as caregivers we bend over backwards to make sure that they get meals that are full of nutrition and free of allergens.
The point is, that in an environment where we take such great care of others, we often take poor care of ourselves. We treat our kids with such care, and ourselves with such neglect. We are so amazing at making excuses for our actions and giving reasons for our inaction. We would never let our children get away with the same behavior. My dad used to say that if it was important enough to you, it would somehow get done. Our challenge, as we get closer to the impending school year, is to adopt ourselves. Treat yourself as you would treat your kids. Plan meals, incorporate exercise, make more healthy choices and fewer excuses. Put yourself in “timeout” when necessary, get your homework done, schedule play dates, study for your next test, and go to bed on time! For some reason we often forget that if we allow ourselves to crumble, the very people we are supporting go down with us.
DEV
A Recap of 2010
ZenRock has had quite the year. We started 2010 with two new trainers. Mike Buckle and Ara Gibson. Both brought new ideas and training styles to zenRock. Ara brought a much needed calmness and her amazingly sweet personality fit right in with our existing clients and helped new clients feel at home. Mike came to us via Pushing Boundaries where he had worked for more than five years rehabilitating severe spinal cord injuries. Mike’s extensive knowledge of the body and his fun personality has made him an instant hit at ZenRock. Barb Blanchard our newest trainer was once a client and now we are lucky to have her on our team. Her training style is exactly what ZenRock is about, combining her background in jazzersize, yoga, and functional strength training has made her a joy to work with. Lastly, we added Summer Mayne, an amazing yoga instructor for our Sunday morning yoga class. Her love of yoga and teaching comes thru in every session. I can’t believe how lucky we are to have her. If you ever have a Sunday morning to spare at 9:30am, it is well worth it! Your body will thank you. Our core group(Dwayne, Heidi, Michael, and I) are still going strong and continue to love watching our clients be successful and happy.
On a personal note last February, Michael and I found out that there was going to be a new addition to the ZenRock Family. Little Leo was born on Michael’s birthday November 15th weighing in at 7lbs 12oz. I can’t wait to see what 2011 holds for us and ZenRock. Thank you all(clients and trainers) for a wonderful year and your support.
Love,
Petra, Michael, and Leo
Our newest trainer, Barb:)
ZenRock’s New Trainer and Yoga Teacher
Barb Blanchard
Welcome to Tuscany, only two rooms left!
| From: | ZenRock Fitness <info@zenrockfitness.com> |
| Subject: | Yoga & Wine In Tuscany |
| Reply: | info@zenrockfitness.com |
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Spring is almost here!
With spring approaching sooner than later (thank goodness:) it is a time of rebirth. During New Year’s we all try to start thinking about things we would like to change but it seems hard to execute in the dreary days of January and February. Yet in March, we see life changing all around us in the trees and flowers. Let this spring be a new beginning for you. Start a walking program at work to help inspire those around you. Try something new like yoga or dancing. Spring is a great time to shed those heavy clothes and old habits. Be Daring, be brave, and live fully. Good luck.
Keeping Gratitude in the Attitude
Welcome back from your Thanksgiving weekend! We hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful weekend with loved ones and were able to truly celebrate all you are thankful for. As we enter into the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we encourage everyone to keep gratitude in the attitude.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. 
-Melody Beattie
Popular myths explained: Does muscle turn to fat?
As the holiday season approaches and workouts start taking the backseat to parties and shopping we often hear one of the top concerns and top myths of the fitness industry: If I stop working out I’m scared that my muscle will turn to fat.
Note: Those recently granted 3 wishes by a Genie or holding skills equivalent to David Blaine may move on to the next blog. If none of the above applies, continue reading…
Muscle and fat ( impress your friends by calling it adipose tissue) are two completely different types of tissues. You can’t change fat into muscle, and fear not…if you stop working out your muscle will not turn into fat. So then why does it often feel that way?
When you stop performing strength training exercises, a little thing called atrophy happens. Atrophy is the opposite of hypertrophy, and basically means that your muscle mass is decreasing and that the area is losing strength. Combine that with poor diet and an expanding waistline and it gives the appearance and the sensation of muscle turning into fat.
The solution? Even in the midst of your busy holiday schedule, maintain regular workouts. If you find that 60 minutes is too much to fit in, instead of eliminating your workout entirely why not shorten the workout and increase the intensity by completing interval training. Another great idea is to cross-train by switching your mode of cardio training or testing out a completely new method of fitness. Our suggestion to combat the stress of the season is our ZenRock Yoga class. ZenRock yoga combines the mind-soothing|relaxation benefits of Vinyasa yoga with the benefits of low-impact strength training. Suitable for all fitness levels and just one hour in length, this is the perfect class to fit into your holiday schedule!
ZenRock Yoga
Friday @6:30 pm
Saturday @ 3:00 pm
Sunday @ 8:15 am
For more information contact Michael or Petra | 425.591.9528
Balancing the necessary elements of wellness
Let’s put it this way: You wouldn’t get into your vehicle in the morning with only three tires in good working order and expect to arrive safely and successfully at your destination. Guess what? It’s the same with achieving your goals related to health and fitness, especially weight loss. Think of each aspect of your well-being as the tires to your car: Nutrition, Cardiovascular Exercise, Strength Training, and Mind/Body Exercise | Rest/Recovery. You need ALL of them to be functional and working together in order to achieve your goals. Is it impossible to reach your goals while missing an element? Sure, but the road will be much longer and far more difficult!
Balancing all of these elements can seem overwhelming, and for many people it can almost seem hopeless. It seems that everyday a different study comes out conflicting with the story of yesterday, telling us not to exercise, or exercise more, or not to drink too much water, etc, etc. Allowing all of these thoughts and the marketing ploys of diet companies to enter our minds on a daily basis is enough to drive the average person mad! The solution? Finding a reliable health professional that you align with, feel comfortable with, and trust.
At ZenRock Fitness we set out to create life-long changes within each one of our clients, and we do this through a comprehensive program that is developed solely for that individual. From the time you enter ZenRock, not only are you assigned a personal mentor, but you gain the support of our entire staff and client community. Our multi-faceted approach to wellness covers all of the necessary elements for your success, and with a down-to-earth approach and realistic program development, we become the vehicle of change for each one of our clients.
Feeling out of balance? Contact us today for a complimentary consultation with one of our personal mentors: 425-591-9528 or email zenrockfitness@gmail.com.
For additional information on ZenRock Fitness including client testimonials:
http://zenrockfitness.com
