Badass Fitness

Guest Blog: The Badass VP talks post-baby weight loss with a #BadassMama!

Note from the Badass CEO: I have never met Maria, but she is an inspiration! Chris, Badass Fitness VP, talked to her recently about how she went from nearly 200 pounds post-baby to her current 125 pounds of strength and lean muscle. Chris shares the "interview" in full below, but first I want to give a huge #fistbump to Maria for embracing such a healthy, and EFFECTIVE, approach to finding her figure - and her confidence - after giving birth. I have not had children, and probably won't ever, but I have so much admiration and respect for moms who are out there living their Badass Journeys while juggling those adorable Bad Donkeys!!! You all are rockstars in my book!

My favorite nuggets of wisdom from Maria:

• "Quitting is NOT an option and no one can make you lose weight. You have to get up, get out there, and do it."
• "These stretch marks aren’t scars to be ashamed of, they are tiger’s stripes. I am strong, and beautiful. I earned them." #PREACH, Maria!!
• "One thing I definitely learned was to change my relationship with food.  It is fuel, and it is good."

Chris, take it away.....

As a guy working in the fitness world there are quite a few things I don’t understand and CANNOT even pretend to wrap my head around.  The biggest one: post-pregnancy weight loss. So when I was looking recently at my Facebook feed, and saw a picture of my friend Maria McCorkle who had a baby last year, I had to talk to her. Here's our "interview," which has a lot of information - and inspiration - for other moms and moms-to-be out there!

When did you have your baby?

Conor was born May 11^th of 2011.  I was admitted to the hospital at 196 lbs (pictured, left, at 177 lbs).   The doctors had told me to expect to be around 165.  To put it into perspective, I was 134 lbs at 2 months into the pregnancy.  Early on in the pregnancy I was put on limited exercise due to family medical history, and in the 3^rd trimester I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, all of which led to me gaining more weight than expected.

What exercises were you doing prior?

Running. A lot. One of the hardest things when I started exercising again was getting back to running.  It felt like I was starting from scratch since I was unable to do much of anything during the pregnancy.

When did you start working out again?  What helped drop the weight? 

Well, I attempted to start on Weight Watchers in June, but due to complications with Connor’s health, was unable to start that and exercise until August.  Between May and August I MAYBE lost 5-6 lbs.  I can’t tell you how many times I looked in the mirror and thought I wasn’t going to be able to get my body back.  It was tough.  Although I don’t do Weight Watchers anymore, one thing I definitely learned was to change my relationship with food.  It is fuel, and it is good.  I went with something that I have seen work, not a fad.  And I made sure I was bringing in enough calories in order to lose weight.  Amazed to this day when I see people trying to lose weight AND workout and only consuming 1,000 a day.  I was eating 1,500-2,000 net and I’m currently 125 lbs.

Wow, what has motivated you?  I mean, you worked full time, are now a full time law school student, and your husband (Blake, whom I went to high school with) is a firefighter. Where do you find the time?

I made it. We made it. When you are a parent, you can’t wallow in your own self pity. Yes, I had postpostpartum depression. It is real, and it sucks. But when I started exercising again, I was able to get off the medication that they prescribed for me. I was able to smell the air, see the sky, run without headphones- these are sensations, experiences, beauties, that my battle with depression and PPD kept me from. I am too grateful to give it up now. Blake has seen this and has been very supportive.  If that means running with me in the evening when he gets home from the station, or just watching Conor while I go for a run, I could not have done this without the support of him and his parents.  We have actually turned workout nights into date nights. 

Do you have any advice for new or soon to be mothers?

Quitting is NOT an option and no one can make you lose weight. You have to get up, get out there, and do it.  For me, I am a high risk if we want to have another child. I am getting in the best shape I can to ensure if we do, it is a safer pregnancy.  I have also come to terms with my body. These stretch marks aren’t scars to be ashamed of, they are tiger’s stripes. I am strong, and beautiful.  I earned them.  And transfer those bad days to a harder workout.

There is always someone out there who is going through the same struggle as you; some are just different than others.  Maria told me that my #360to30 journey inspired her, but here's the deal: She’s an even bigger inspiration for me.

Five habits that could be blocking your fitness goals

You want to lose those last five pounds. You want to shave that pesky minute off your half-marathon or 5K PR. You want to have more energy every day without needing a candy bar sugar rush at 4 pm. You want it, and you're putting in the fitness hours. Yet it's not happening. Which is really frustrating - maddening, even.

So what's the culprit? What's keeping you from the finish line of your goal, whatever it may be? The following five habits could be your roadblocks:

1. Lack of cross training: If you're a runner and all you do is steady run all the time, your speed gains aren't likely to come as you want them to. Cross training with speed intervals at the track, plyometrics like burpees and squat jumps, light weight training, even running stadiums and cycling -- those are the keys to making you faster on race day. Try adding in at least one cross training workout a week and see how much better your time gets.

2. A constant diet of "diet" foods: Frozen low-calorie meals, sugar-free this, low-calorie that. Blech. Most of these diet foods marketed as "healthy" are overprocessed Franken-food that our caveman bodies (yes, from a metabolism and anatomy/physiology standpoint we are all still cave dwellers) don't know how to process. Fiber One bars, Healthy Choice and all that other stuff are not the key to a leaner, healthier you. They are filled with ingredients we don't recognize, and way too many ingredients. Eat REAL food. Fill up on vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, lean protein and healthy fats - these are high-volume, naturally low-calorie foods that will keep you feeling full all day. Side benefit: You will feel better, and your skin will probably even look better.

3. Skipping the first meal of the day: Note I didn't call it breakfast, and I didn't note a time for eating this meal. Some people aren't interested in food as soon as they wake up, or even for an hour or so after. Fine. But by mid-morning, it is best to eat something to fire up the metabolism. Skipping altogether and waiting until you're so hungry at lunch that you want to eat the plate and the waitress who serves it, will only set you up for overeating. Multiple studies have found that people who eat in the morning end up consuming fewer calories over the course of the day than those who skipped.

4. Eating just three big meals: More than a few co-workers over the years have noted I am "always eating." Yes, actually. Every two to three hours, to be exact. Breakfast one, then another small breakfast mid-morning, then lunch, then something mid-afternoon, and then dinner. These five to six "mini-meals" throughout the day ensure a steady blood sugar and never getting to that point of "I am starving, I will eat anything in sight." Your snack meals aren't supposed to be big feasts, just something (150-200 calories is a good target) to keep your metabolism firing and prevent your blood sugar/hunger levels from getting off the charts.

5. Being an Exercise Sleepwalker: We've all seen Gym Sleepwalkers. They arrive like clockwork every morning or evening and sleep walk through the exact same routine they did when you first joined a few years back. In some cases, if they weren't at the gym you might not know they are gym rats. The body, cave dweller that it is, is impressively adaptable. Muscles and metabolism respond best to "shock and awe," not steady drumbeats. To see results, it is vital to change up your exercise at least every few months, if not more often. This doesn't mean totally altering everything - it could be as simple as changing your morning elliptical routine from a steady pace for 30 minutes to 1 minute higher-intensity intervals followed by 30 seconds of "recovery" intensity. Or changing the weights from 15 reps at the current weight to 6-8 reps at a heavier weight.

 Coming up: A 20-minute Power Core routine with lasting results...

Real Badass Inspiration: Meet Sarah Criser. One Tough Mudder

This is the story of a Badass, born 25 years ago today.

This is the story of a young woman whose inner Badass got lost for awhile, thanks to a campaign trail job and other "this is life" roadblocks and late-night drive-thru choices that left her far less fit than she wanted to be. This is the true tale of goals set and met. Of the steady perseverance and hard work that left her more than 25 pounds lighter -- and stronger than she ever thought she could be.

This is the story of Sarah Criser, client and friend, and how she unleashed her inner Badass.

Sarah's transformation didn't happen overnight. Instead, it happened the healthy way - slow and steady, with a combination of healthier eating and challenging workouts. And this is why I am sharing it. This is why she is sharing it.

The Sarah I first met seven months ago could be any one of us: mostly healthy but not in strong physical shape. Eating and enjoying too many happy hours, not exercising enough. Feeling like we'd never get our mojo back. The Sarah I know today (at right, and above) represents the ultimate Badass transformation. The Sarah I know today gave 110 percent, and got results.

Seven months after that first training session, Sarah is 26 pounds lighter and 2 dress sizes smaller. She has cuts in her legs, biceps and legs that she didn't have before. She lifts heavier, and with better form. 

She is you, and your "what is possible."

There is no magic pill. But you get out of the Badass Journey what you put into it. And when you put in grit and sweat and moxie, you get that magic, amazing feeling of looking in the mirror or running your best-ever (or first-ever) race and knowing, I did this.

Tomorrow, Sarah and a few girlfriends will run the 12-mile Tough Mudder obstacle course in Tampa. As they cross the finish line, and I know they will, Sarah gets to enjoy that magic feeling of knowing every single step came as a result of the many hours she invested.

I'll let her finish the story from here, but I need to say this: Sarah impressed me and made me smile constantly along the way. No matter how cold and dark it was at the track, she pushed through. Through the fatigue of working a full time job AND finishing her master's degree at FSU, she always gave me those last 10 burpees or pushups.

She is One Tough Mudder. Just read on...

When I came to Shannon in May, I had just finished working through two legislative sessions and a campaign, which many of you  know do little for your waistline. Even though I had enlisted the help of a trainer since moving to Tallahassee in December, I had not seen any results - unless you count the scale moving in the opposite direction.

However, while I was frustrated, I wasn't willing to give up. In fact, I was more determined than ever. At work, we were encouraging more active and healthy lifestyles, and I decided that I was going to start practicing what I was preaching. I just needed to have the right tools to do so.

So, as I am on my way to reaching some of my own fitness goals, I'd like to pass along some of the things Shannon has taught me in the hopes that it inspires another person in this Army to never give up or be afraid to set a goal which may seem out of their reach.

1) The amount of exercise isn't as important as the type. You can't lose weight flipping tires, which I did plenty of with no results... Trust me. It's not cute.

2) Your workouts should be diverse. In running that same 3-mile route every day, I was not challenging my body to work any harder or improve.

3) It's just as much about what you are putting in your mouth and how often you eat as it is the frequency with which you workout. Two-a-days won't give you the results you want if you give in to that Whataburger Double Bacon Cheeseburger that keeps calling your name.

4) It isn't  about going on a diet. While I can sometimes still hear the faint whisper of the drive-thru, I learned that I needed to make smarter choices the majority of the time, so I can truly enjoy those moments when I indulge in a cookie or a piece of cake. Yes, it is okay to indulge as long as it doesn't become the norm.

5) There are no quick fixes. Yes, we all wish we had a magic wand, and while crazy diets  may have quick results,  they will ultimately result in harmful effects to your body in the long-term.

6) It's  about making a lifestyle change - a change to make yourself the best you can be both inside and out.

Tomorrow, I will embark on one of the most challenging fitness tests of my quarter century life with 4 women who have encouraged and inspired me to achieve my own fitness goals. They, too, have made great strides of their own along the way. As we brave the 12-mile Tampa Tough Mudder and test our greatest fears - heights, freezing temperatures, enclosed spaces and electrical shock, among others (yes, we know you are asking yourself why we would voluntarily subject ourselves to this) - we know we can get through it, because we have a goal, we are strong (thanks to Shannon), and, together, we are invincible.

Whether your goal is to run your first mile, eat a little healthier, complete one more push-up or FINISH the Tough Mudder, remember... You can do anything you put your mind to. Real change usually happens in baby steps, not huge leaps and bounds. Set goals. Celebrate the small accomplishments, like shaving seconds off your split time or giving up soda, and always know that as part of the Army, you have people to support and encourage you along the way!

Good luck!

#360to30: Halfway there, and not backing down.

Milestones get celebrated here in the Badass Army, and our guest blogger Chris celebrates a doozy this week - halfway down the road on his #360to30 journey to find the strongest 30-year-old he can be, inside and out. So let's check in with Chris, who is recovering after two - yes, two! - knee surgeries but hardly slowing down....

“What’s going to be harder:  1st year at West Point, or my first swim lesson for @xopherfl?”

This is the last thing I read before going to sleep the other night.  See, my swim coach Brecht Heuchan is kinda insane.  He’s one of those nut job tri-athletes that I, for some reason, want to become. 

Swim 2000 meters before work?  No problem!  70 mile bike on a nice Sunday afternoon?  Why not 90!  (OK, he never actually said any of these, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.)  So I fall asleep having flashbacks to Plebe drowning and wondering like I have a lot in the past 180-plus days “What the HELL have I gotten myself into?”  I wake up and head to Trousdell Aquatics Center. 

*Side note: The facility was very clean, and has an amazing staff (Thanks Clarissa for taking the picture!).  Good job to the City of Tallahassee for maintaining such a nice place.*

I look in the water for my trainer and he’s doing laps, don’t know how long he’s been there but I’m hoping long enough that he will be tired.  NO. SUCH .LUCK.  Dude sees me, jumps out with a huge smile on his face.  I should’ve known I was in trouble when I saw his Speedo: “Winning” on the front, “Tiger Blood” on the back. 

I have to say it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, and probably because he was being easy on me and he’s going to try to drown me next time.  A few tips, some advice and some things to practice and I was on my way.  It’s amazing how much a good coach will help.  By the time I had done 75 meters I noticed a difference in my stroke, my heart rate, and my breathing.  I actually felt comfortable in the water, a place that is not my element at all. But he assured me that come April, I will smoke the 500 meters I am going to be swimming!

Yes, we are little over the halfway mark right now in #360to30.  In 173 days, the 360 to 30 will come to an end in a glorious fashion.  But let’s reflect on three things I have learned over the last 193 days. 

• Eat right – My diet has changed, which has helped my budget SO much.  A small investment of a mini-fridge in the office helped a lot.  Controlling my portions, packing lunches, and the wonderful myfitnesspal.com have helped so much in making sure I not only eat the right things, but that I eat enough to fuel my workouts.  One thing I learned quickly is that even if you want to lose weight, you need to eat, and if you don’t keep track, you don’t realize how little you are helping your body.

• Know your body – I know I have said it before, and Shannon has said it as well: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!  Take that time to rest if you need.  We had a conversation a few months ago about seeing people taking three classes a day, every day, for weeks straight.  You don’t get the results you want if you beat up your body.  Muscles need time to recover, and the only thing that will come from overtraining is injury.

• Mondays cannot be, will not be, and AREN’T Fridays as much as they used to be – I am not going to lie and say that I have completely turned around on how much I go out, but I will adamantly state that it has changed.  Yes, there are still days where I text a friend and say “Monday is not Friday,” but those days are fewer and further between than they were in years past.  When given the choice between happy hour and an evening lift, I take the evening lift 8 out of 10 times.  And if I do go out, I never use it as an excuse for not doing exercise the next morning: Play Hard, WORK HARDER.

So here we are, 173 days to go. Not backing down, and embracing my challenges.  #360to30

Coming this week: Eating for 2(a-days), and a routine using the 8x8 strength training method.

 

Badass Fall 2012 Challenge: Baby Steps for Lasting Results

Success in the Badass Journey requires determination and big goals. But achieving them doesn't require giant leaps from tall buildings.

Baby steps and smaller, incremental victories are what lead to the big finish - the one that lasts.

Former Desperate Housewife Bethenny Frankel, healthy living author and maker of the Skinny Margarita and, has this mantra that "you can have it all, you just can't have it all at once."

The same goes for making healthy changes. To change it all, you need not change it all at once.

A new runner wouldn't be expected to run a marathon next week. Likewise, becoming more Badass -- from weight loss and muscle gain to faster race times or simply finishing that first 5K -- doesn't require completely overhauling your eating and fitness in one giant leap. 

Which brings me to the Fall 2011 Badass Challenge for every reader and Badass Army recruit: Starting this week, and for the next four weeks, make just two little changes. Each week, you'll maintain the changes from the week before and add two more.

By week four, you will have changed eight little things about the way you eat, drink, shop, and move. And it won't feel like you have drastically deprived yourself or subjected yourself to torture at the gym. When week four comes, I will ask you to let me know how it's going. What worked, what didn't? Then we'll pile on more baby steps over four more weeks. By the end of it, you might not even need to include "lose 5 pounds" on your list of 2012 Resolutions. How 'bout them apples!?

This first week, pick just two of the "baby steps" below.

1. Ditch whole milk, go down a few percentage points. If you drink whole, go to 2 percent. if you drink 2 percent, go to 1 percent or skim.

2. Add one piece of fruit to your daily eating.

3. Park further away from the entrance.

4. Take the stairs.

5. Move from whole-milk mozzarella to skim-milk mozzarella.

6. Use brown rice, quinoa or couscous instead of white.

7. Eat only half of that morning bagel, and shave off half the cream cheese while you're at it.

8. When you're on a conference call, hit 'speaker' and use the time to walk around, stand up, even squat.

9. Take 10 minutes at lunchtime to walk.

10. Daily soda drinkers: Drink one less can per day.

11. Stop SuperSizing. The most expensive food you'll ever eat, health-wise, is "free" or a "value meal."

12. Use half the normal amount of sugar in your daily coffee.

13. Half the recipe's recommended amount of oil or butter, except when baking.

14. For baked goods, make half the called-for flour whole wheat.

15. Sprinkle wheat germ and ground flaxseed in oatmeal or cereal. You won't even know it's there.

16. Switch from regular to Greek yogurt. More protein, less sugar.

17. Use bison meat or lean turkey instead of beef for burgers, chili, meatloaf, etc.

18. Half your normal portion of rice or pasta and replace it with veggies or a salad.

19. Skip the bread basket - and shave hundreds of calories from your eat-out meal.

20. Trade white bread for wheat.

21. Add 5 minutes to your regular cardio regimen.

22. Go up in weight, even if it means a few fewer reps, in your strength training regimen.

23. In between strength sets, do 20 jumping jacks. By the end of a full workout, you'll have done hundreds of jacks and burned extra calories.

24. Add 5 reps to your "maximum" reps of pushups. Odds are, you can push out those last 5 and prove you are stronger than you've given yourself credit for.

25. Trade that candy bar "fix" for 2 small York Peppermint Patties - just 100 calories of chocolate mint goodness! And about 150 FEWER calories that those regular candy bars.

Coming this week: A fellow recruit shares her latest salad-for-dinner obsession (meat lovers rejoice!), and a strength routine to sculpt those legs and glutes.

Badass Techie: A Few Fitness and Health Apps Worth the Download

Let's take a moment of silence to remember the Badass CEO's Blackberry Curve, which suffered an untimely death early Friday morning when it got knocked off the bathroom counter and curved right into my toilet. Gurgle, gurgle, and then buh-bye.

Yet, with loss comes opportunity. Specifically, a new iPhone. I'm still getting used to the sensitive  touchscreen after all those years of Blackberry keypound pounding, but the truth is I have been pondering an iPhone for months - primarily because of one particular app (Fooducate) that is available ONLY on the Droid and iPhone.

Which leads me to today's Badass Techie blog. If you've ever downloaded an App on your BlackBerry, Droid or iPhone, only to be disappointed or even feeling duped, you know that not all Apps are created equal.

Some overpromise and under-deliver. Others fly under the radar for a long time and suddenly get discovered because they're THAT awesome and useful. With input and suggestions from a few fellow Badass Army recruits, I've put together a list of Apps that are worth adding to your arsenal for the Badass Journey to a stronger, healthier you.

I am no doubt missing a few great ones, so please pass along your faves in the comment box below or via email at [email protected]. (And if I reply in what seems like pig latin, forgive me - it's this new touchscreen! ;)

Badass-Worthy Apps

1. Fooducate: If you see me, or anyone, at the grocery store holding their phones up to various food packages, odds are they're having fun with Fooducate. With this free App, you can scan the bar codes on just about any food or drink, and Fooducate spits back a grade along with explanation about why the food got, say a C+ (artificial sweeteners, maybe, or trans fats hidden in there). It also offers healthier alternatives. So if the granola bar you THOUGHT was really healthy gets a D, Fooducate will point you to healthier, higher-rated granola bars.

Warning: This App is really addictive. You will want to scan everything. I have even witnessed it turn into a dinner party game, with friends running around scanning the items in the host's pantry. Pretty comical, actually. Also, sign up for the Fooducate daily blog. I learn something new literally every time I read a new entry.

2. Couch to 5k: Who needs a running coach when, for less than a Venti Starbucks latte, you can go from couch potato to 5K race completer? Couch to 5K, for $2.99, provides running plans that are about half an hour long each, and collectively work to build even the least active among us up to short distance runners. Awesome! I recommend this for new runners, or former runners who haven't been out there for awhile. This App breaks down your training into a very attainable plan.

3. MyFitnessPal: Another freebie! This is a great, easy to use app where you can track your weight goals, daily calorie intake, exercise, calories burned, and even water consumed.  This one also has a 'trainer' that helps you work up to 150 pushups and 200 situps in a row. Badass!

4. MapMyRUN: Log your running progress with this App, which traces your pace, distance and route via GPS. There is motivation in seeing your pace and distance improve, and the iPod link-up is cool, too. It has a nutrition log, and you can even let friends track your running live. Talk about accountability!

5. Fitness Buddy: At the risk of putting myself and fellow trainers out of business, I give big props to this virtual trainer. It is basically a dense exercise book, complete with pictures and descriptions of hundreds of exercises for each muscle group, condensed into your handheld. You can search by muscle group or even use one of the ready-made workout routines, which are available for beginners, intermediate and advanced gym rats. The pictures make this very user-friendly. I love this for anyone who is on the road alot and wants to keep their fitness routine going.

6. Tabata Timer: Tabata drills take 4 minutes each, but it can be challenging to track the 20 seconds on-10 seconds off on your own. Well, if this is the excuse you're clinging to for NOT trying Tabata, this App just blew your excuse out the window. The Tabata Timer comes with sound effects, blowing the whistle when it's time to start your 20 seconds of work and then signaling when it's time for the 10-second rest. It keeps going for all 8 rounds of work, making high-intensity interval training totally foolproof.

Coming Friday: 2 little changes, big results...

Badass Guest Blog: How Mama Got Her Groove Back

The Badass Army rocks. Each of you is strong, whether you have felt it yet or not. Your honesty and determination consistently blows me away and reminds me of the power of this Badass Journey - especially when taken as an Army, not a solitary soldier.

Last week one of my training clients shared her post-college Road to Retrofabulous struggles. Today, a friend who has also been a client and group fitness student shares her post-baby challenges and the steps she is (literally) taking to get her groove back.

So here she is, Ryan Wiggins. One Badass Motha'!

Three years ago this month, I received the greatest gift a person can receive.  I became “mommy” to a healthy, happy, snuggly little boy named Elliott.  The very first time I held him, I realized that my life no longer belonged to me.  From the very first breath he took, he was my top priority—my entire world. Three years later, this hasn’t changed.

But becoming a mommy wasn’t without its downsides.  The women in my family do pregnancy in a big way—HUGE, in fact.  Several times during my pregnancy, I was asked if I was carrying multiples.  The night before Elliott was born; my 5’9 frame was tipping the scales at 225 lbs.  I had gained 60 lbs in those nine-plus months.

Returning from the hospital with my perfect little baby was overwhelming.  Caring for a new is tough, especially while sleep deprived and hormonally emotional.  It was also the first time I had seen my naked body in a mirror since Elliott was born.  My body -- always curvy, yet firm -- was suddenly unrecognizably swollen, stretched and sagging.  Long, thick, dark red stretch marks covered my hips, stomach, butt and legs. I looked like I had just been in a nasty fight with a tiger.  I felt helpless.  Surely this body in the mirror could not be mine.  Would I ever look like me again?

No one tells expectant or new mommies how easy it is to get sucked into being a nurturer.  As a new parent, working mom and wife, I felt as though I had to take care of everyone and felt incredibly guilty if I took time for myself.  Being a constant caregiver forced my femininity, sexuality and sense of self to take a back seat, if not fly out the window completely.

For me, after 10 months of pregnancy (9 months is a vicious lie) and then 10 months of nursing, my body did not feel as though it belonged to me anymore; it was Elliott’s.  I had been sucked on, puked on, pooped on, peed on, cried on and snotted on.  I had pulled countless all-nighters followed by full days in the office.  I had changed millions of diapers.  By Elliott’s first birthday, I was tired and I looked it.  I had also let myself go. 

I had lost the majority of the baby weight, but the last 10 lbs were there. I had sagginess and extra padding around my midsection, hips and thighs. And those dreaded stretch marks.  I had all but given up the idea that I could ever be sexy, feminine or desirable again.  I gave up my body and my life for this small perfect little boy, but had completely lost myself in the process.

Sure, I could have exercised, but where was the time?  I was working full time as a spokesperson for a state agency and when I came home, I was a full time mommy and wife.  Taking time out to exercise meant being away from my husband and son even more. I felt incredible guilt about that.  The scales started going up again and my “fat girl” clothes were getting tight.   I’d go a few weeks eating healthy and exercising, but then I’d always find an excuse why working on myself wasn’t important. And I would find myself in my kitchen with sweet potato baby food in my hair wearing pajama pants with elastic waistbands and wondering how my former sorority girl self ended up here.  Where was that flirty girly girl I used to be?  What the hell happened to me and my body?

In July of this year came my “aha” moment. I saw a picture of myself from my baby sister’s wedding in May.  I was appalled.  Who was that “fat girl?”  What happened to her smile?  Her confidence?  Her muscle tone?  Was this REALLY what I looked like? 

That was it – the day I decided enough was enough.  It was time to take control.  My husband and I changed our diet to one high in fiber and whole grains, with little to no processed sugars, lots of lean proteins and tons of fresh fruits and veggies.   I bought a good pair of running shoes with the appropriate amount of support for my low arches.  I invested in more Nike Tempo running shorts than any one girl should own.  I bought an iPod shuffle, downloaded my favorite songs and set out to reclaim my body and the girl I used to be. 

I live in a north Florida neighborhood called Betton Hills, where it is – as named - impossible to find a flat running surface.  It was July in Tallahassee and the heat and humidity were unbearable.  I’d never been a runner before.  I’d never had the endurance to run more than about a quarter of a mile, but it had always been a goal of mine to be able to go out for a run and run miles and miles effortlessly.  I had to start somewhere.  My first run was on July 5.  I ran about a block and then walked for 2 miles.  My average pace was 3.9 mph.  It was slow, hot and difficult, but I didn’t give up.  In the beginning, I ran/walked three days a week.  Then I started running five days a week.  My endurance got better, my recovery time got shorter, my legs got stronger and my pace got faster.  Before I knew it, I had shed 10 lbs. Even better: I had run over a mile consecutively in extreme weather conditions, outdoors and up hills averaging a much better pace of 4.4 mph.  It took one month to see that kind of progress.

What I’ve learned on this journey is that there will always be an excuse not to take care of yourself.  Working moms have an especially hard go of it because of the tremendous amount of guilt that comes with balancing the different roles we play and the fear that we are not giving enough to our families.  The trick for me was finding an excuse TO take care of myself.  When I am taking care of me, I am healthier; both emotionally and physically. I’m better able to take care of my family when I’ve taken care of myself.  When I made myself a priority, it was easy to find the time to go for a run.

Running is quickly becoming an addiction for me.  I miss my runs on my days off and feel really out of sorts when life prevents me from getting a run in.  Running challenges me, recharges me and renews my spirit.  Equally, if not more importantly, running is empowering me to get my groove back. 

The goals I have set for myself will not be measured on a scale or by a tape measure.  They won’t be measured in pace or distance.  My goal right now is to just keep running—to stay on the path of finding myself again and taking better care of me.  If I do that, the pace, distance, weight and inches will take care of themselves.   I post every single run on Facebook and Twitter so I can stay motivated and so that my friends can hold me accountable. 

When I am out running, I’m getting to know myself again.  Every time my foot hits the pavement, I am getting stronger.  Every bead of sweat that trickles down my back is detoxifying my body of years of neglecting myself.  With every mile, I feel sexier, stronger, more confident and happier. 

When I look in the mirror today, sure, there is still some sagginess. And while those stretch marks have faded and gotten smaller, they are still there.  But today, there is a difference in my mentality.  I have reclaimed what is rightfully mine and I don’t hate my body anymore—I’m proud of it. 

My body was strong enough to bring an amazing child into this world and it is strong enough to lead me on this path that is giving me a sense of self again.  My tight pre-baby body is forever changed, and I’m OK with that.  I don’t need to look like a college co-ed anymore.  I am a wife and a mommy, after all, but that’s not all I am.

I’m also Ryan, a determined, confident, strong, feminine, flirty 31 year old woman. And now, for the first time in my life, I am a runner. 

Coming up: Time-pressed in the kitchen? Three meals, five ingredients, 15 minutes!

One Badass Recruit's Mission: The Road to 'Retrofabulous'

Her Twitter handle is @MostBoringGirl, but she is anything but.

She is wry, incredibly intelligent, doesn't take B.S., and she has this gorgeous face with enviable cheekbones that make her a dead ringer for Meryl Streep's daughter.

She also, like so many of us, has struggled with weight issues like health-induced weight gain and the general metabolism slow-down that comes after age 30. Now, as one of my hardest-working personal training clients, she is on a mission to overcome.

No matter how hard I push her, she keeps at it. She is a Badass, through and through.

She is on, as she calls it, her "Road back to Retrofabulous." Today, she shares with amazing honesty her recently crafted mission statement. I told her to stick it on her fridge, keep it in her purse, whatever it takes to stay focused.

So read on, and know that whatever your fitness struggles, you are never the only one who wants to throw that scale out the window or curse yourself for falling to your knees for those last five pushups. The Badass Journey is not easy. So we take it together, right here. If you have a mission statement you want to share, please do! ([email protected]) Now read on...

 Retrofabulous Mission Statement 

Not so long ago in a galaxy not too terribly far away, I never had to worry about my weight. Ever. At 5’7” and 120 lbs, I flew by the seat of my size 8 Abercrombie bootleg pants. I lived on regular coke, pizza, pasta, chocolate, and Starbucks. I didn’t work out at all because there was no need.  I had all the energy in the world and a million things to do. I had places to go and people to see.  Why bother with the gym?  I’d been the exact same size and shape since the 10th grade.

Then I turned 22. Suddenly, calories had consequences. 

I put on 20 lbs in my first two years of law school. When I discovered how easy it was to order diet pills on the Internet, I promptly disposed of my excess baggage. When these purchases became illegal, I was relieved to be thin.  I swore I’d never let myself get that way again. And I didn’t, for a couple of years.  Yoga, pilates, Diet Coke and cardio were all I needed.

It all went out the window when I took a job as a fundraiser on a statewide political campaign. I was traveling all over FL with crazy hours and horrible food and didn’t think a thing of it until the day when my jeans didn’t fit anymore. My time was not my own, so I put off taking care of myself until after Election Day. My candidate won, I moved to Tallahassee, I joined a gym, and those 20lbs were gone before I knew it.

Then I got sick.  I had a sinus infection that would not quit for months. I went on steroids. There was a risk of weight gain, they said, but that it would “melt off” soon afterward. I was constantly ravenous and exhausted.  When I got on the scale 21 days later, I’d gained 21 lbs.  Those pounds were so comfortable where they were, they decided to stay.  I had sinus surgery a few months later, but still wasn’t feeling better.  I’d get diet pills every time I had a bridesmaid dress to wear or some event where I needed to look good, but it got to the point where I was fluctuating by 20 lbs every few months. 

It was a vicious cycle.

I got desperate. I despised the way I looked. I went on the most insane diet of my lifetime- the HCG diet.  I ate 500 calories of protein and injected myself with a pregnancy hormone every day.  I lost 9 pounds the first week.  I was thrilled.

I went on a blind date that changed my life.  As my new relationship developed, I knew I couldn’t maintain the HCG diet. I was afraid he’d break up with me if he knew what I was doing, so I stopped dieting. I went on dates. I drank the wine. I ate the dessert. I loved every minute of it.
I gained back the weight. Again.

I had a second round of sinus surgery and a bunch of new meds. I had a nasty allergic reaction to a heartburn drug. Then there were more steroids, which brought on even more weight gain. The scale informed me that I had gained 40 lbs. I couldn’t believe how fat I was. I wanted to throw up and die.  And then throw up some more.

My boyfriend, a physician, was a total champ. He said he loved me regardless of my weight and that he would do whatever it took to help me reach my goals. The condition: no diet pills, no HCG, and absolutely no HGH. He gave me a copy of “Protein Power” and we started riding bikes together. I got a personal trainer, who has truly been a blessing, even with my orthopedic injuries in one arm.

I stopped looking at depressing photos of myself. I changed my Facebook and Twitter profile photos to a cartoon portrait.  I’m not changing them until I look good again.

I started getting up early and going to the gym. I found a dance studio with Zumba and pilates classes right after work. I am fighting, pound by pound.

The goal is to reclaim my lost looks by March 17, 2012. I’ll celebrate my maternal bloodline and my personal achievement. It’ll be Retrofabulous. So will I.

Coming tomorrow: The Full Tabata (as opposed to the Full Monty)...

Tabata Tuesday Warm-Up: Because Less is MORE

You're busy. You're overextended. Work calls. Family calls louder. You want to exercise more, but you keep telling yourself, "I don't have time!" So goes the cycle of inactivity, stress eating, and maybe not just strength loss but weight gain.

But what if you could torch calories, build muscle and boost your cardiovascular fitness by working out for a mere 16 minutes? What if you could work out really hard for less time than it takes to hardboil a few eggs - yet look like you are a so-called "gym rat?"

It can be done. The solution even has a name: Tabata. The form of extreme High Intensity Interval Training is named after Izumi Tabata, a former sports fitness researcher in Japan, who proved with his athletes that less really can be more.

I was reminded how much more it can be this past weekend - at the SCW Fitness Conference in Atlanta. Fitness pro Mindy Mylrea led a High Intensity Interval Training class built around Tabata. It kicked my Badass to the curb. In 16 minutes, I burned 350 calories and worked my muscles to jelly-quiver failure. My quads burned, my heart pounded in my throat, my arms wanted to give out. The next morning, my core reminded me how hard we had worked. In a word: Awesome.

See, Tabata is the perfect solution to our time-pressed lives. It is a small time investment yielding huge results. Mylrea is 50 but has the body of a petite and perky 25-year-old pro football cheerleader. She says a few years ago, she was 11 pounds heavier in spite of her 22-classes-per-week teaching schedule.

"I was more unfit, but I was doing more fitness," she says. Fast forward to today, and she's leaner, stronger - but doing no more than 30 minutes for cardio workouts. Her not-so-secret: Tabata training.

The Tabata method consists of 4-minute circuits - each of them 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for eight rounds. The 20 seconds of work is balls to the wall, maximum intensity. The 10-second rest doesn't feel like it's long enough, and by the fourth round you might be uttering curse words you didn't even think you knew. But only 4 minutes later, it feels like your're halfway through a typical hourlong workout.

So try this little Tabata drill and see how it feels. Friday, as part of this upcoming series of blogs dedicated to "Time-Pressed Badasses," I'll post a full workout consisting of four circuits - for a total of 16 minutes.

Before you get started, note a few golden rules of Tabata:
1. No more than 20: If you can do it for more than 20 seconds, it's not true Tabata. You need to add an intensifier, be it more plyometrics or speed or resistance with dumbbells, medicine ball, etc.
2. Keep it simple: The best Tabata drills are not complicated. Just do 20 seconds of burpees, times eight, and see what it does to your muscles and heart rate. Simple but tough works best.
3. Rest up: Tabata demands recovery time. Don't try to do this on consecutive days.
4. Don't get into a lull: Change up the exercises and drills as soon as it starts to feel "comfortable" after a few weeks or several. Make your muscles scream, WTH is this ?!!

Tabata Tryout

The move: Jump Lunges

1. Check your "before" heart rate.
2. For 20 seconds, with the right leg out front in a lunge position, jump up and land back into the lunge, staying on the right side. Rest for 10 seconds, no more and no less.
3. For 20 seconds, do jump lunges on the left leg. Rest for 10 seconds.
4. Repeat four times, for a total of 8 rounds.
5. Check your heart rate now.

Now, e-mail me at [email protected]  to let me know how you fared!

Bonus Homework, Part 1: What does the inside of your fridge look like? Send me a pic, for better or worse, and it will be posted as part of a collage on the blog - anonymous if you want!

Bonus Homework, Part 2: go to www.yourfitguru/shannon and join My Fit Crew. Blog feedback, fitness advice, class info, etc.

Coming up: The Full Tabata, and 3 healthy meals you can make in less than 15 minutes.

Monday Math: The Not-so-'Secret' to hitting your target weight

I hate math. My high school geometry teacher made a better football coach than "triangle coach." In college, I fulfilled my math credit requirement with a class called Math Fundamentals, better known around campus as "Fun for Mentals."

But it turns out that math is key when it comes to hitting your target on the scale, be it losing weight or putting on some muscle. Simple addition and subtraction, really, with a few multipliers thrown in. Calories in vs. calories out. Resting metabolism multiplied by activity levels.

 Yet we tend to make weight management so complicated: Am I eating too late? Is it OK to eat carbs after dark? How many grams of protein do I need? Is grapefruit or cabbage the secret to hitting my number on the scale? Should I run at a steady pace or do sprints to lose weight fastest?

Aaaah! How overwhelming is all THAT? It's true that not all food calories are created equal - and I am a huge advocate of eating 'clean' 90 percent of the time - meaning real foods like whole grains, lean protein, lots of fruits and veggies and moderate amounts of healthy fats.

But at the end of the day, at the most basic level, it boils down to math. So keep in mind just a few numbers when figuring out how to get the figure or physique you want:

• 3,500 - calories in a pound
• 9, 4 and 4 - calories per gram of fat, carb and protein
• 500 - daily calorie deficit that would have you losing the recommended pound to 1.5 pounds per week for lasting weight loss. (Same goes for adding weight - 500 more calories a day equals a pound gained over approximately one week)
• The Harris #: This refers to the Harris Benedict Equation, a formula that takes your basal metabolic rate (resting metabolism, i.e. the calories your body needs just to breathe and have normal organ function) and multiplies it by your activity level to determine approximately how many calories you need to maintain current weight.

The Harris Benedict Equation actually involves several numbers and calculations, but lucky for us the Internet has online calculators that simply require you to enter weight, height and age.

So here's what you do:

1. Start by calculating basal metabolic rate here. This is your minimum calorie needs. Any lower than this and your body is likely to think you're starving it and will go into 'survival mode' by bring your metabolism to a snail's pace. Lesson: don't starve yourself. Don't go below this number.
2. Next, take that BMR and multiply it by your activity level to determine the calories you need to sustain your exercise level at the current weight. This activity factor is anywhere from 1.2 for a sedentary person to 1.9 for a high-level athlete. The guide is here. This is your daily caloric need for weight maintenance.
3. Now, based on whether you need to lose or gain to be at a healthy, lean weight, you will add or subtract calories from that daily caloric maintenance number. If you are working to lose, subtract up to 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week. NOTE: The best thing to do is subtract 250 calories, a manageable change that won't feel like deprivation, and burn off the other 250 calories with exercise. If you're working to gain, find ways to add healthy, whole food calories with protein, whole grains, and healthy fats.

So there you have it. Basic math for your Badass. Happy Monday!

Coming up: Badass CEO's Favorites, the Summer 2011 Edition.