Has it ever taken seeing someone else to do something to see how much you have been SLACK-ING in a particular area?  If not, as my Mother says – keep living and if so, thanks for not making me feel alone.  

So my slack meter went to an all time high as I noticed something a few months ago, my bud Hilary, started working out and making it a serious habit. 

Hilary allowed me to interview her about her new “addiction” to working out as I realized that I, myself, have developed a pattern. I will work out and GO HARD for several months and then nada.  I am curled up with my laptop and eating and drinking whatever I want at home and at events (which I attended 3-4 a week – not gonna lie quarantine life has brought out the blessings like this one).  

It is a serious pattern that lands me on a rollercoaster of weight and makes me relieved that I use Rent the Runway for my everyday dress so I can go up and down in sizes as needed.  Since I have this stylish and easy crutch, it is up to me to address what I need to do mindset wise to stay motivated and see this as what it is – a lifestyle intervention for moi, table of one.  

Remember we talked about what love is? It is a word that becomes a verb through action.  When I say, I love myself, that means that I must do actions that compliment that word, right?  Right.  

So when you are looking for solutions to challenges, we all tend to go to Google first but let’s lean on our buds a bit more shall we??

If you need to jump on the reinvigoration train like me, hop on and let’s see what our girl Hilary is doing and why she is glowing up in her pic on the ‘gram. 

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How did you start and how are you now consistent with a work out?

H – “I’ve never been small, but I was at my highest weight…. And I have insecurities but I really think I’m the sh!t”

Raise your hands if you’ve had this same sentiment?  You are confident in what you do, how you carry yourself, and know who you are and always open to discovering new things about yourself….but…there is that tiny intrinsic nudge that says, “but you will be even more fabulous if you drop these 30 pounds”.  

That voice is okay.  It is our way of telling ourselves that we need to boss up on the health front so that we have the longevity to hang with our friends, travel, prepare for having kids, chasing those kids or just living your best life. 

Like most of us, the journey up on the scale started with the Freshman 15 (for some of us that was more) and for Hilary that number was higher too.  She wanted to work out and get in better shape but looking around at the people working out in college at The University of Alabama (“Rollll Tide” inserted on her behalf), she realized no one reflected her.  It “wasn’t me,” she said, and she did the bare minimum.

Post college, Hilary moved to Philadelphia and started working with the 76ers professional basketball team.  

She would come up with excuses to work out and we all know once colder weather sets in, so do the excuses.  Which begs us to answer, how do we counter that?  

We must live by some rules friends.  Let’s discover those as we hear about Hilary’s journey. 

Fast forward when she left Philly and moved to Atlanta.  Not to long after the move, she encountered a break up.  Just thinking about the word, breakup, conjures all the emotions that come with that.  It is so damn hard to not be reminded of memories you shared, things you enjoyed together and the list of songs, places and people that you share fond, but now, somewhat painful memories of. 

Rule 1 – Mindfulness.  Sure it is a buzzword, but it is the truth and one I try deeply to engage with every single day.  When you are mindful about what you eat, who you are around, what you are taking in, how you spend your time, and use mindfulness as a general practice for life, not just weight, it is life altering.

It was the eve of 2018 and she said to herself, “new year, new me” and downloaded an app to start walking. 

Rule 2 – Action creates motion, that paired with consistency, creates change. 

FOMO is huge for Hilary.  Her friend started posting workout accountability and she received a call from Orange Theory which sparked her action even more.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

I remember her going to her first class.  She was not feeling it but started going once a week due to what she financially alloted for classes.

From those classes, she started to adjust her eating.  Lawd knows we love some Chick-Fil-A, but she started ordering less times a week.  A little of this, a little more of that and ta da!  She hopped on the scale and saw movement.  She lost a few pounds which spurred her to start going to classes held at her apartment complex. 

Rule 3 – Convenience & Access are key. 

She said, “I wish I could tell when it clicked for me. I buy so much stuff off of IG and I saw a kickboxing class. I knew they were going to ask for money but I signed up anyway.”

Hilary

And they did.

They gave an option for $599.  Yes – five hundred and ninety nine dollars.  

Option 2 – Start today!  $159/month – accountability coach, unlimited and meal plans. 

She realized that this is what she was missing – ACCOUNTABILITY and meal plans.

Rule 4 – Accountability is key.  If you need a push, this is it.  Accountability keeps you on track and in motion.

I purchased a Peloton and the accountability from my group of friends kept me on track to push harder until ol’ corona came. Now the Hubs is the sole action the bike gets. I’m working on that. If you have a bike, join me @saucyrossi to help with accountability. If you are thinking about purchasing one, use NQNG2H for your $100 off.

Okay, back to Hilary.  She has become very fond of the pounds sliding off or as she put it, “addicted to the weight loss”. 

I have seen her go 5 days straight dutifully leaving the office with enough time to prepare and with the mindset to conquer the day’s workout, saying no to our Chick-Fil-A runs or Chinese food DoorDash orders.

Hilary was slaying consistency until….a visit to the happiest place on earth, Disneyworld.  She went to Disneyworld and came back and said the two days derailed her. 

Coming back after you’ve been “off” always makes those first workouts that much more difficult.  She came back and whined the entire time during her first class back. 

As she whined, the coach told her to shut the hell up and stop affecting her mindset and others. Which brings me to Rule 5.

Rule 5 –  Get Back Up.  You have to be ready to get up and take it a day at a time and even more measured than that.  Decision fatigue is beyond real.  We make so many decisions a day and we have to give ourselves grace.  Personally, I have to think in 2 hour and 4 day milestones.  You have to create systems that work for you.  Right now, I am reading, “The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life.”  Will I wake up at 5 am?  Uhhh, I don’t see that happening but you never know.  Be flexible and get back up from whatever nudged you in a seated position. 

Follow @Hilary_Marie on IG to see more of her journey in her stories

So what are we going to remember, Ladies & Gents:

Rule 1 – Mindfulness. 

Rule 2 – Action creates motion, that paired with consistency, creates change. 

Rule 3 – Convenience & Access are key. 

Rule 4 – Accountability is necessary. 

Rule 5 –  Get Back Up. Each and every time.  

What rule do you want to work on more and why?  What rule would you add?