RESULTS! RESULTS! RESULTS!

Wait...You did what??????

Yes, you heard me right.  We invited 7 ladies with dreams to join a Case Study and we challenged them to set health and fitness goals.   Then we gave them all fitness and nutrition road maps on how to get there, put them through the WRINGER, and gave them a little guidance along the way.

And you did this when?????

Yes, again, that is what I said….We did this right smack through the holidays!!! And after 12 grueling weeks of blood, sweat, and tears, the final stats for Group 1 are in.   

Each with their own unique story, struggles, and goals; these Group 1 ladies didn’t just smack it out of the ball park, it was smacked clear out of Yellowstone Park! 

If you have not seen their final numbers please make sure that you check them out, as well as their journals recording their journey and their progress pictures.   (http://www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation.html)  These ladies went up against the odds, looked them in the face and laughed them off with a collective loss of 55.2 lbs and 51.35 inches! 

INCREDIBLE! 

CONGRATULATIONS GROUP 1! 

WE ARE SOOOO PROUD OF YOU!

Trust and Respect

I want to take some time in this post to reflect on our clients that are entering into the last trimester of the program.  If you have not seen their progress lately, please check it out.  These ladies are and contiue to be amazing.  They are working so hard to sweat, lift, eat, sleep and dream their way to their goals.  And, they are doing it with life still moving forward around them! 

http://www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation.html

This is what it is about people!  Living a healthy lifestyle is not just about making a decision and telling yourself that you can do this, no matter what is going on, no matter what obstacles arise, no matter how much you want to doubt your journey.   It is also about proving it to yourself that you CAN do it and getting it done!

From the beginning we asked all these ladies to put away their scales for two weeks at a time, put away the tape measures for four weeks at a time.  We encouraged them to shift their trust from a stupid little machine that is notorious for lying to them and place that trust and respect in Recipe for Fitness and the process we wanted to teach them.   This was and is not an easy feat for a person to blindly do, but it being a necessary component for them to get the results that they want, that is what they did and continue to do.

Well, the past couple of weeks have been difficult mentally for the ladies.   It is no surprise though because they have been working at this 24x7 for eight weeks (and through the HOLIDAYS!!!!).  With their level of physical commitment comes 100% mental commitment.  When you are trying to stay this focused, it is easy to let doubt creep in where motivation and drive should be.  Some turned to food they were not supposed to have while others didn’t push themselves as hard in their workouts.  Because they saw themselves EVERY day, they thought their mirrors were lying to them.  As you might have read or will read in their journals, a few got out their scales and tape measures before it was time.   What they discovered was that their doubt was unfounded.  Even though that STUPID SCALE was not moving as quickly as they wanted and they thought they were not seeing a difference in the mirror, changes were and are still happening!

Now, when I first heard and read all of this from them I have to admit, I was furious and hurt.   I couldn’t figure out after all this, after all they had learned, after all they had accomplished, why they would disrespect and distrust Chelle and me this much so as to ignore our requests.  How could they!?!?!?!  Had we steered them the wrong way yet?  Even once?  No!  Then why would they do these things? 

And then it hit me….distrust and disrespect!  For us????  NO!!!! 

For themselves!  Part of the learning process for anyone going through a similar transformation during all of this and making permanent healthy lifestyle changes is developing trust and respect for oneself.  Self respect and trust is what helps you to make the conscious decision to eat clean, workout hard, workout when you need to, and push yourself past your limits.  They help you to be confident in knowing within every fiber of your being, what you are doing in your plan is exactly what you have to do to look and be the healthiest version of you possible.   The more you refine them and appreciate their power, the more confident you will be in yourself and your ability to get to your goal.   Without self respect and trust in your body and mind you will battle doubt and lose every time.  You will quit, fall back into old habits (stupid scales!), gain weight, lose progress, and the cycle will start all over again.  Don’t let this happen to you! 

To both the ladies in the Case Study and Everyone that has ever doubted their own journey….
Say it with me….. I AM WORTH IT!  I CAN, I AM AND I WILL DO IT!  I challenge you to continue to look inside your selves and realize, acknowledge, and refine the respect and trust you have in yourself.  It is in each and every one of you.  It is what motivates you to want to change.  It is what enables you to start.  It is what pushes you to keep going.  It is the foundation of your successes and your long term maintenance!  Once you do this, the changes you will begin to finally see will be limitless. 

TRUST ME ;)

Is This You???

HAPPY
NEW YEAR EVRYONE!!!!!
2012!

I received an e-mail today that I wanted to share with all of you.  Of course, the names have been changed to protect the innocent ;)  I know that many of you may have asked yourselves these same questions.  I have asked them myself in the past.  So, for my first post of 2012, I wanted to share my response.  This is for everyone that has in the past or maybe is currently in the present doubting the path of their journey towards a healthier, better person.  Have you ever asked yourself whether it is all worth it, and how to keep going when the road gets bumpy?  If so then, please, read-on... 

E-mail the we received today.....

Dear Tabitha and Chelle,

I don’t want to be a bother however you have both probably been here and conquered this so I just wonder how you made it through the rough spots.  The diet and workouts are going fine, it’s the mindset.

I honestly have never made it as far as I have and now I can see why, I get so particular and hard on myself for not seeing better results and start to question:  "Am I working hard enough and am I being careful with my diet?"  This time I know I am because I have the journals to prove it to myself."

I know all the right things to tell myself “It took years to put it on.  Give it a few weeks to take it off”, but, I hate this beating yourself up feeling.  Then the comparisons start, with other success stories, really? Why do we do this to ourselves?  Just suck it up, get over it and move on? Will it go away on its own?

I really had to laugh yesterday when I went to a decorating website and the quote about the towel was front and centre.

“You going to throw in the towel, or use it to wipe the sweat off your face?”
– a decorating website!

LOL, made me laugh.  Definitely using the towel however how have you made it over those times?

Any advice is appreciated.

My Response:

Welcome to the mind game that is getting healthy.  First, let me tell you that what you are feeling is completely normal.  Everyone that has a health goal that would take a long time to get to goes through the same thing that you are going through right now.  How you respond to these feelings, however, is what is going to separate you from the rest. 

The way that I see it is that you can look at it in two ways.   First, you can say “well…..it seems that what I am doing is no good, I may as well give up, this is not going to work, what’s the point”.  This is what you seem to have done in the past.   I have one question for you though…..Has this gotten you to your goal yet?......NO!  So why walk that same road?  Why not say this to yourself…..

“I am seeing a little bit of progress.  Even through the holidays, when I have tended to gain more weight in the past, I was able to maintain.  Wait??  Does that mean that I am learning to change my lifestyle to something that is more maintainable?  YES!  Hey, this is progress!  Ok, now what do I need to do to get the rest of my goals?”

Let me answer this last question for you….YOU KEEP GOING!

Weight loss and the science behind weight loss is a specific equation for each and every person.  Don’t get me wrong, the basic principles are the same, but the combination of them is going to vary between people because every “body” is different.   Your body is fighting change, therefore you have to stand strong and dictate to your body what is going to happen.  You are the boss not your body, not the other way around.  It may be time to kick it up a gear and push yourself  even more outside your comfort zone…..heavier weights, more intensity with the cardio, following your food plan to a “T”.  Have the courage to challenge yourself beyond your limits.  Do not underestimate your physical strength and stamina.   The one word that you HAVE to focus on now is CONSISTENCY.  Consistency in conjunction with the TOTAL PACKAGE (food, fitness, and positive thinking) is the ONLY way to get you past this rough spot.  It is not always fun and it is a challenge (otherwise everyone would be doing it), but it is what HAS TO HAPPEN.  Remember, going in the other direction has not gotten you to where you wanted to go in the past, so why take the same road?

You are correct, getting to where you are now did not happen overnight.  Getting to where you want to be will also not happen overnight.  No one said it was easy……neither physically OR mentally.  How do we get past the rough patches?

Well, I will tell you…..FOCUS ON SUCCESS.  This is why Chelle and I make a big deal about focusing on and acknowledging the successes, not matter how small they may be.  Focus on learning new exercises, eating new clean foods that are tasty, your clothes fitting better, cardio getting easier, not gaining weight over the holidays, working out consistently for as long as you have so far, and most importantly.....all the INCHES LOST!  These are ALL successes!  These are all successes that a stupid scale is not going to show you or acknowledge on its teensie, tiny, screen. 

Let them motivate you to WANT more, BE more, ACHIEVE more.  Then you take it one day at a time, one hour at a time if necessary.  If you find that you are consciously making the same decision over and over to eat right, workout, and stay consistent YOU ARE DOING IT RIGHT!  You will be making that decision over and over for a long time......most likely forever!  The more often you make it, the easier it will get.  Pretty soon BAM!!!!!  You are going to visually notice amazing changes.  It takes a long time for the “visual” changes to be seen, but that does not mean that things are not changing.  There is A LOT going on inside that you cannot see.   Don’t give up on those changes before you have the chance to see them on the outside.  Your new mantra for 2012 is this……..

Consistency = Success

(C = S)

Every time you start comparing or doubting yourself repeat that mantra…….and then do one more rep, take one more clean bite, or walk one more step on the treadmill.  ;)

....And anytime you need a reminder of any of this or how far you have come, let me know.  I am happy to virtually slap you upside the head and bring you back to your reality.  The reality is that you are doing it, you are making changes, and you are succeeding!

Keep up the good work!

Tabitha

By Popular Demand.....My Transformation Revealed



My Before - June 2006

I have finally jumped and done it.  Many of you have inquired in the past and have been interested in seeing the results.   Before there was a Recipe for Fitness™ website.... there was a figure competition for Tabitha (Hey that's me!).  It was a grueling battle within me to cross a stage and join the 1% of the athletic population that was exploring the world of body building and figure.  For me, this happened back in September of 2006. 

My motivation was two-fold.  First, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and see if I had what it took to push and fine tune my body beyond its limits. I had a dream, I had a plan, I had a fabulous trainer (Thank you Jim Caiafa), and I executed.  It was nothing less than a 24 x 7 process that consumed me for 14 weeks from June until September of 2006.  The results I got, as you will see, were more than I could have hoped.

My second purpose was to experience and learn. I became a sponge of knowledge.   I wanted to learn exactly every detail of what it took to prep for competition.  I wanted to know what it was like to set a GOAL (a S.M.A.R.T. one mind you), prep my meals, fine tune my diet, live on fat blasting reductions in carbs, perform two-a-day workouts and cardio followed by posing with no energy in the tank, in addition to organizing hair, nails, suits, and shoes to create a total package to present.  I wanted to experience every feeling from head to toe. 

Why you ask????.....Well, because I knew that wanted to help others achieve the same goals.  I have always had the motto that I would never make a client do anything that I would or could not do myself.  I felt like if I understood what it took to get myself there, I would definitely be prepared to help get others there also.   I would know and understand exactly what they were going through, exactly how they felt, exactly what they were going to feel next, and exactly what the next step was to get them to their “stage”. 

Often times I have tried to express the feeling of standing on the stage after show prep and have never been able to completely accomplish the task or barely do it justice.  I mean, how do you express in a few words 14 weeks (for some it’s many more) of day in and day out work, standing on a stage scantily clad, flexing EVERY muscle you have at the same time (yes, I was shaking on stage) while making it look easy combined with nerves, excitement, pride, and joy knowing that you have just crossed the finish line of the biggest goal you have ever set for yourself?  The answer is… you don’t.  You have to feel it for yourself to believe it and understand.   It is an experience like no other and one that is burned into my memory for life. 

I have debated back and forth if I should post my pictorial journey on the site because it was a few years ago and relatively speaking, not current.  However, it is a big part of who I have become and how I got here, so I really wanted to share it with you.  It is difficult to express how much the power of setting and acheiving a huge goal (whether it be competing in a show, losing a large chunk of weight, or achieving a healthy lifestyle) can impact your life.  The feelings are those that have to be experienced to truly be understood.  I can assure you though that all of the blood, sweat, and tears (and there were many) are BEYOND worth it.    As 2012 approaches (Quickly I might add), I encourage you to create your own “show date” and dedicate yourself to achieving your life changing goal.  I can assure you that you won’t regret it and you certainly won’t forget it.  With that in mind, I have posted for you all, my 2006 Show Transformation journey. 

You can find it by clicking the 2006 Figure Show Transformation tab at the top of this page or by clicking here:  http://recipeforfitness-tabitha.blogspot.com/p/my-show-transformation.html

Have a Safe, Happy, and Healthy New Year!





Give me a G!!!

Give me a R, O, U, P

Give me a 2!!!!

What’s that Spell??????

 Group 2!!!!

They have said good-bye

to another 8.3 lbs!!!!!!

There is nothing stopping these ladies as they charge through the holidays with their eyes focused on their goals.   Check out the transformation page as well as their individual pages for all the latest updates.  In addition, ALL of the participants have openly shared this week what goal weight means to them.  Take a look here and see what they said:  www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation.html

Everyone is officially 1/3 of the way done!!!!!!  Woooohoooo!  We are loving the cheers from the crowd and so are the ladies.  They couldn’t be more appreciated, especially as the holidays are upon us.  If you would like to wish them well, please drop a line to info@recipeforfitness.com.  You can check out all the submissions at:  http://recipeforfitness.com/transformation/support.html

STAY TUNED FOR.....

New Progress Photo updates and 1^st Month Stats!

 

Somebody Call the Fire Department or......

....Get a fire extinguisher because the Group 2 transformation participants are coming to the end of their first two weeks and they are ON FIRE!

CONGRATULATIONS GROUP 2....

You are 8.5 lbs LIGHTER and two weeks STRONGER! 

You have definitely made us so proud!  If we keep this momentum up, everyone is going to see some amazing results and transformations.   Make sure you check out their individual pages for updates and journal entries on how they are doing.  http://www. recipeforfitness.com/transformation.html

We are constantly in the process of making changes to the site so check back often for all the new and exciting evolutions of how the gang is doing and to see what is NEW!  Also, don't forget..... if you would like to offer your two cents or even better...five dollars of support ;) for these ladies please check out the support page and drop us a line….

http://www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation/support.html

It is kind of like giving them a “cyber hug” or a “virtual high five”!  Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. Your words of encouragement go a loooooong way in helping them on their journey.  To the ALL of the tranformation participants we say  

GREAT JOB and Keep GOING! 
You are well on your way!

Welcome to the Party!!

Sometimes life happens and there is no way that you can stop it.  Unfortunately, that is what happened for one of our transformation participants and they had to resign their position in the case study.  Due to the timing, however, Chelle and I decided we wanted to make sure that we filled the position with our number 9 pick.  So without further ado, it is our pleasure to Welcome…

Carlene Hetland to a group of fabulous women on the road to change their lives!!!!!  Please take some time to check out her bio as well as the other transformation participants at the following link:

http://www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation.html

In addition, in response to the outpouring of support for these incredible women, we have set up a page to post any supportive words of encouragement that you may have for them.  If you have anything that you would like us to pass on to them please e-mail us at info@recipeforfitness.com.    Any submissions and words of encouragement for any or all of our participants will be posted on this page.   Please check it out when you get an opportunity.

http://www.recipeforfitness.com/transformation/support.html
Gotta run!!!  Lot's to do!  

Cardinal Rule of Shopping.....

One thing I re-learned and solidified in my mind this weekend…..There are certain things that should not be shopped for alone!  Now, normally, I would not mind shopping alone, however, through years of mall hopping I compiled a list of items that should NOT be shopped for without some serious back-up on your side.   When I say back-up, I mean a shopping partner that is tasked with the duty of keeping you sane and realistic as you stand in front of the funhouse mirrors in the department store dressing rooms. What are they thinking with those things?!?!?!?!?! (NOTE TO SELF:  Next week begin plotting the “Down with Dressing Room Mirrors” protest)

So what are the items you should not seek out alone???   I am glad you asked…….They are as follows:   bathing suits, jeans, and formal wear.  I ventured into in the formal wear category last weekend looking for a dress to wear for my brother’s wedding that I am going to this weekend.  Good news though....I must have burned 2,000 calories at least trying on hundreds of dresses and I did find one that is going to work :D  However, without a trusty sidekick, I assure you completing the task took way too many hours then it should have. 

Oh, and just a side story…at one point I got so defeated I decided that I was going to leave one mall and go to another.  As I trudged to my car, I was deep in thought of the best place to go and how I was going to get there.  Well, when I got to my car I pulled my little backpack/purse of my shoulder and immediately became mortified.  OMG!!! I couldn’t believe it!  I actually walked through the ENTIRE MALL only to find that I had been doing so with the strapless bra I brought with me half hanging out of my purse!!!!  Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?! I believe that is what they call icing on the cake. With tears in my eyes, all I could say to myself at that point was… ”You will laugh about this later; you will laugh about this later; you will laugh about this later.”  Ok, so maybe after the initial shock and feeling mortified, I high-tailed it out of the parking lot.  And…..5 minutes LATER, after I was sure I was clear of the building…..I LAUGHED (What??? Technically it was later right?).

On a final note, I just want to say how awesome it is to see the overwhelming response to the 12 week program that we are getting ready to kick off.  This is only the start of something great for everyone, I assure you.  If you are still planning on applying, you have until Saturday, October 15^th at 11:59pm to get your information to us.  It is a very easy process with the online form.  Just go to http://recipeforfitness.com/application.html , fill out the application and click submit.  If you are just tuning in and have no idea what I am rambling about, take a look at Chelle’s blog titled:

It’s Time to Take Over the World….

http://blog.recipeforfitness.com/2011/10/its-time-to-take-over-world_3983.html

Tuesday Motivation:  Get ‘er done and leave nothing on the table today!  It will leave you with less to clean up later.

Everyone have a Terrific Tuesday!