Message From Lisa Dougherty, Owner of Whole Body Fitness

Inspired by…Conversations with My Father

My father tells me that as we get older the years fly by faster. He often reminisces about his youth when he would ask his mom (my grandmother): “When will summer be here?”, “When will Christmas be here?” It seemed like the time crawled by when he was young. As adults, it seems before we know it, the holidays are here and gone and another new year begins. It’s at this time that we make resolutions. We want to lose weight, get in better shape, and be healthier. What we resolve to do is: make the changes necessary to live a better, quality of life, and live longer. It’s just a matter of dedication and for some, creating balance in their day in order to accomplish these goals. As “they” say, “All the money in the world doesn’t mean anything if we don’t have our health”.

I came across this quote: “Making personal changes takes courage, planning, persistence and will.” I have coached/trained many remarkable people, with various challenges, who took ownership of their health and the quality of their lives. Today they are stronger, healthier, and more confident, doing things that they didn’t think were possible before. They all arrived at a point in their lives where they were ready to make the commitment to be healthier. They just never gave up.

I talk with my father every Sunday – it’s our “fireside chat” – although he does not have a fireplace. We’ve been doing this for years. He has survived cancer three times. He’ll tell you he’s one of my biggest fans. Really, I am one of his biggest fans. He is a great mentor to me and one of my best friends. He inspires me do my best, be healthy, and take care of ME first. He is one of the reasons that I started Whole Body Fitness after leaving my job in corporate America . I wanted to make a difference and change people’s lives so they could live healthier, longer, more fulfilling lives.

He always says in closing each week, “Have a good day, a good week and a great life”. I once asked him, why he always tells me to “have a great life”?, his reply was, “There are no guarantees about tomorrow or next week, so just in case I want you to know I want you to have a great life”.

We should all heed this advice and take responsibility for our health and the quality of our lives. Having the support of family, friends and co-workers will enhance the chance for success. My team is also here to serve and support you in reaching your health related goals. We look forward to hearing from you this year! Don’t let another year fly by…

My business continues to grow through your referrals.
Many thanks for your continued trust and confidence.

It’s New Year’s! Time for Resolutions…and a Second Grade Math Lesson? By Dr. Laura Triplett

It’s New Year’s!  Time for Resolutions…and a Second Grade Math Lesson?

By Dr. Laura Triplett

 

Mrs. Mackowen was my second grade teacher.  Now, she’s little more than a blurry memory, but some of the things I learned in her class continue to find use and purpose some 23 years later.  For instance, simple division.  Learning how to divide four by two or twenty by five has come in handy innumerable times, but never is simple division more relevant than during New Year’s. 

 

Right now, we’re surrounded by three types of people:  First, there are those who are casually tossing around lofty resolutions that we all know are totally bogus, albeit well-intentioned (you just gotta love someone who honestly believes and wholeheartedly pledges to become fluent in Chinese, become a professional Irish high-stepper and join Michael Flatley’s dance troupe, take a summer tour of America’s national parks (becoming a professional conservationist along the way), and forgo cheese…and trust me, I do believe I’ll be able to accomplish all of this).  Second, we have those who make resolutions with such seriousness that if you even dare to question the feasibility of said resolutions, the resolver will, quite literally, burst into flames (not surprisingly, I do become irritable when someone questions my potential capability for high-stepping).  And finally, there are the realists (or you might consider them the party poopers) who refuse to even acknowledge that we’ve entered into a new year, let alone resolve to do or become something different (Greg, are you reading this?  In all fairness, there’s no need to change when you’re already perfect).

 

But, let’s get back to Mrs. Mackowen’s simple division and what role it plays in kicking-off 2009.  Most of us go overboard with our resolutions.  The majority of New Year’s resolutions are about eating less, exercising more, getting in shape or looking better.  These resolutions typically come in the form of, “I resolve to lose 100 pounds!” or “I will exercise for two hours every day!” or “I’ll never order dessert again!” or “I resolve to be back to the same size I wore in high school by summer!”  No doubt, these are winning resolutions, but they are not realistic.  By mid-January – and that’s giving the benefit of the doubt – these resolutions have done nothing other than give a swift kick to our self-esteem.  Not only did we jump ship when it came to working toward our goals, but worse than that, we beat ourselves up for resolving to do things we knew we could not possibly do.  Too bad we didn’t resolve to set ourselves up for failure.  That’s one resolution at which we all could succeed!

 

But, hang on.  Hope is far from lost.  It’s still early January and if you are holding out hope to make your resolutions a reality employ simple division.  That’s right, divide each resolution by half (or more, if necessary).  If you said you would lose 100, turn it into 50.  If you said you would exercise two hours every day, go with one hour three times a week.  If you said you would become fluent in Chinese, enroll in Berlitz and pick up enough of the language to sound as though you’ve just returned from some totally glamorous humanitarian mission.  Learn to high-step to the point that your Dad will say, next time he’s watching the Irish dance PBS special, that “you should really be up on that stage!” 

 

Resolutions are mostly fun, but they can also be meaningful and achievable.  This year, resolve to set yourself up for success, instead of failure.  Think of Mrs. Mackowen and her simple division.  And then, when you surpass the low-bar you’ve set for yourself, just think about how good you’re going to feel when you “casually” (i.e., forcefully) mention to everyone you know (and strangers, too) that you resolved to “lose a few,” but you obviously didn’t recognize your own potential and motivation because you are already well past that meager resolution you set back at the start of the year.  “I’ve learned my lesson about expecting too little from myself,” you’ll say in an oh-so-casual tone, “Next year, I’m going to make my resolutions more reflective of my strong willpower and endless capabilities.”

About Dr. Laura Triplett

Dr. Laura Triplett (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is an Assistant Professor of Communications at California State University, Fullerton. Her research focuses on the social implications of physical appearance, the effects of mass media’s depiction of women, stereotyping, and stigma. She enjoys skiing, traveling (her current dream trip is a storm-chasing tour during tornado season), and playing with her dog. She is passionate about equal rights, animal rights, and shoes. Dr. Triplett resides in Orange County.

People-Watchers Beware: Don’t Let Lookism be the Lenses in Your Binoculars — By Dr. Laura Triplett

Do you ever stop to wonder how we have allowed society to reach this point? That point being the moment in time when it became acceptable to comment or question a woman’s physical appearance, and in particular, her weight? If you have turned on the television, listened to the radio, logged onto the Internet, opened a magazine or even had a casual conversation with a friend, you are likely to have either been exposed to or participated in a discussion about another woman’s weight. And the sense of entitlement – perhaps you have noticed that society seems to feel it’s literally owed an explanation for why a woman looks the way she does – that accompanies our doing this brings up a very important question, “Why the heck are we doing this?”

What we are doing is known as Lookism and it is one of the most common, albeit harmful, forms of stereotyping. And unfortunately, women are subjected to it to a far greater degree than their male counterparts. It is a simple process that, in part, involves using a person’s physical appearance to make assumptions and judgments about who that person is. Recall the last time you met someone new; before you even interacted with her you used physical characteristics to draw conclusions about who she is. For example, you might have interpreted her blonde hair to mean that she lacks intelligence or thought her black sweater was evidence that she suffers from depression. For a woman, weight is the most defining characteristic others use to make judgments about who she is; weight cues perception about everything: From how likeable she is to whether she can be trusted.

And as bogus as we all know this is, Lookism endures. We were not born to be Lookists, rather we have been socially schooled to find certain physical characteristics more desirable than others. Worse, we have allowed the media to set unrealistic standards for female aesthetics that are so ridiculous, women should be amassing right now…gathering for a mammoth uprising against outrageous beauty expectations. We should march on…well…on the offices of Vogue and the headquarters of Cover Girl to tell them that we will no longer let them decide what women should look like!

But, alas, we don’t assemble…we never gather…and we certainly haven’t risen up against the absurd expectations that women should look like Barbie (even if looking like Barbie means that women are forced to walk on all fours because the unrealistic proportions of the teeny-tiny plastic standard to which we are endlessly compared, would make it impossible to stand erect). Instead, we idly stand by while Jennifer Love Hewitt, a size two, is chastised for looking too heavy on her Hawaiian vacation, and while Eva Longoria Parker has to deny pregnancy rumors because, apparently, she dared to eat, and while one of the female contestants on Bravo’s “Make Me a Supermodel” was told her legs were too “jiggly” and could never be put “on a runway” (as if they were autonomous from their owner and had the option of walking on their own) because it would be too “horrifying” for the fashionistas and glitterati lining the catwalk.

So, why the heck are we doing this? And why are we letting it be done to us? Women should want to be healthy. And happy. And most importantly, real. I can’t speak for you, but I would much rather walk erect than join my dog on all fours even if this means I’ll never look like Barbie. How a woman looks should not be anyone’s business, but her own. No woman should care more about how a woman looks than herself. And when a woman cares most about how she looks – and forgoes letting Lookism be her guide – she will be healthier, happier, and more real than ever before.

Why the “Me” in “I’m doing this for me” is Key — By Dr. Laura Triplett

Him.  Her.  Them.  Us.   Most people are motivated to change who they are for someone else.  And that’s just not right.  Ever decreasingly, the phrase “I’m doing this for me” is uttered and when it is, it is often said with guilt, insincerity, and irritation.  Guilt for daring to be “selfish” enough to take the time to do something for yourself; insincerity because you know that this urge to change came from an external rather than an internal need; and irritation from being put in a situation where change is a requirement to fulfill someone or something’s expectations.

So, what’s wrong with saying what you mean and meaning what you say when it comes to proclaiming, “I’m doing this for me?”  Absolutely nothing.  In fact, when we actually do something for ourselves we become better people.  Any effort that is made under the auspices of bettering yourself because you genuinely want to be better is like a gift to humankind.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our society was one comprised of people who better themselves — becoming the people they truly want to be – because it is their desire to do so and not just a response to what others think they should do?

When you talk about personal change, any endeavor that you want to be successful has to begin with the phrase, “I’m doing this for me.”  Because if you’re doing it for any other person or worse, because you think it’s what society expects of you, then the journey becomes a fight and success, an infinite burden.  But when you really want to do something — and you do it because the very thought of it makes you desperate with anticipation and excitement — then you know you’re truly doing it for yourself.

Physical change doesn’t come easy, but the difficulty of it is made ever so sweeter when you remember “I’m doing this for me.”

Life Lessons by Professor Phelps and the Gang

Many of us have been up late losing sleep but gaining inspiration from the world’s athletes.  Yes…we have been tired the next day and needing to make extra trips to Starbucks- but we have already been treated to the best that athletics has to offer.  We have seen the “impossible” become a reality and it reminds us that hard work, dedication, and how believing in one’s self can attain almost anything.  All good lessons for us to remember in day to day life.  I think it’s probably safe to say that none of us will ever know what winning 8 gold medals is actually like…but we can know what it feels like to conquer something others might see as “impossible”.  

Granted I admit that I am an Olympics fanatic and given the opportunity I could probably watch it 24/7.  However- how can you not enjoy watching the dedication…perseverance…and pure talent of the world’s athletes.  They make it all look so easy…and even in defeat they keep a smile…shake a hand…and try not to think about what could have been.  Again all good lessons for life.

We Want You!

Boot camp started 3 weeks ago and we wanted to give a big “shout out” to all of our boot campers that have been giving up precious Saturday morning sleep to “enlist” for an hour of stretching, running, jumping, squatting, lunging, and lifting!  You guys are doing awesome!  And for those of you that would still like to “join the ranks” we are out at the Newport Dunes every Saturday morning…just email us your RSVP or drop by and join in for a fun, challenging, out of the gym workout!  Stay tuned for pictures and boot camp updates!

The View From The Top

Well this week with summer like tempatures blazing outside…wildflowers blooming all over…and an extra hour of daylight to work with…I thought I would talk about getting outside and doing one of my favorite activities!  For me hiking is about getting outside…being in nature…exploring and experiencing new challenges.  It is a gift because you earn your views…you go where only those that braved the hike along with you get to go. 

So when I say “hiking” or “outdoors” are many of you getting scared and envisioning a buggy, hot, dusty, sweaty mess of an afternoon out?  I can understand…I used to be someone who would have rather been in an air-conditioned movie theatre watching aliens blow up the earth than doing pretty much anything outside.  I had no idea what REI was (which if you still aren’t sure- it’s a store that is the holy land for outdoor enthusiasts).  I really never thought of myself as an “outdoors type person”…that is until I traded my flip flops for hiking boots…my popcorn and Milk Duds for trail mix…and hit the hiking trails!  Funny enough some of this motivation for hiking came from going to REI.  Several years ago- I wandered around the store one afternoon wondering what in the heck people did with all of the equipment that I saw for sale there (some of which was totally unidentifiable to me).  And it got me thinking…”what am I missing here”?  As I watched all of the people buzzing around the store and picking up maps…backpacks…hiking shoes…and talking about the places they were going and have been- they sounded so excited…like they couldn’t wait to get out of the store and onto their destination!  The excitement and pure passion was fascinating to me. 

However- in my world hiking at 350 pounds didn’t seem like a great idea.  I thought about what would happen if I got  tired and couldn’t make it back.  And that scared me.  Scared me so much that I didn’t have the confidence to even try it.  However- confidence is a funny thing…all you need is for it to kick in one day…and confidence breeds…well breeds more confidence.  So that is what happened…one day I decided to just try hiking in Peter’s Canyon.  I had no idea what to really expect but I just got tired of sitting on the sidelines.  I had been doing a lot of training in the gym…and I knew I was getting stronger and I had quite a bit of endurance…but it was somehow different outside…less forgiving.  I knew if I pooped out on the treadmill I could always hop off and go sit down.  But outside…on a hike…if I pooped out- well I needed to some how get back home…even if I needed to crawl.  In other words this was a true challange for me…something that scared the heck out of me.  I now realize that so much of that fear was in my mind…and (forgive the pun) it wasn’t a walk in the park…but hiking Peter’s Canyon that day was not scary or daunting and I certainly did not have to crawl back!  Even when I eventually came to the granddaddy of all hills who’s nickname is “Big Red” (well because it’s big and it has red clay like dirt that covers it)…I looked up it and at first thought maybe I had gotten too much sun for even considering climbing up there.  And then I thought one of the greatest things during this weight loss journey…”what is the worst thing that can happen”?  What is the worst thing that can happen from you trying?  The worst thing was that I would climb back down and not make it to the top.  The earth would not come off it’s axis or explode…I would simply come down and try again on a different day.  Now- what is the best thing that can happen?  I could make it and get to see the view from the top!  Yep…and I probably don’t need to tell you – but as I reached the top of Big Red that day I was filled with so much accomplishment!  And I “got it”…I finally understood what all of those people were doing in REI and why they were so excited and passionate!  It wasn’t about the destinations that they were going to…it was about accomplishing…overcoming…conquering…and having their own personal journeys! 

     

Rocky Balboa Made It Look Easy!

I thought for the first posting I would start out with something that is an absolute key to weight loss and also one of the hardest things to maintain while losing weight.  Motivation.  Come January 1st…we have all had New Years resolution’s that read something like this….I’m going to go to the gym everyday, eat rice cakes for meals while starving myself, and not touch a cupcake (even if there is a gun to my head).  However- by week three we are ready to bite someone’s head off….sneaking food and popping Reese’s peanut butter cups like we are some kind of addict…and we haven’t seen the inside of the gym in days.  Good intentions…do not always equal good results.  When it comes to weight loss we have no shortage of supplies, diets, pills, surgeries, television programs…and even infomercials that promise tight abs with minimal effort.  We look to movies like “Rocky” and think that we can change our lives and bodies over the time lapse of one song (albeit a great motivational song like “Getting Stronger”).  However- when actually stepping into the gym at 6am before going to work…the “getting stronger” mentality quickly dissipates and takes our motivation with it.  So this brings me to our first topic…and that is maintaining motivation. 

Let’s face it- some days  it’s not easy to exercise.  It’s sometimes not even easy to drive to the gym – much less work out in it.  However- someone once said that “half of life is just showing up”…and when it comes to exercise and the gym I think that couldn’t be more accurate.  You have to find ways to motivate yourself into movement everyday.  What is your motivation?  Better health…more energy…being able to play with your kids…looking awesome in that little black dress…fitting into the seat on the Montezuma’s Revenge roller-coaster…shopping couture…traveling through Europe and being able to sightsee for hours at a time…running a marathon…biking on the weekends with your brother…feeling 25 again…bringing sexy back…or being bikini ready come June!  You have to find “that thing”…the thing that will motivate you come 6am when it’s still dark and rainy out…to get moving and pushing toward your goals.  Once you find that thing that is motivating you…hold on to it!  It will be your guiding light…and when your feet are hurting and you think you can’t possibly go another step…call on it…visualize it…and then get out of bed and get to the gym!  Your dreams and goals will thank you in the end!  And I will tell you that without that motivation…you can get as off track as Britney Spears at a Mensa meeting!     

Read About Monica’s Weight Loss Journey:

“Challenges are what make life interesting;
overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”
-Joshua J. Marine

“Confessions of an Ex- Couch Potato and My Second Chance at Life”

I want to start out by saying that in all honesty if someone would have told me two years ago that I would be writing articles about weight loss…healthy living…exercise…and proper nutrition – I seriously would have thought that I had landed in an alternate universe. My life was the polar opposite of all of those things. I knew nothing about weights or reps and to me a “circuit” was something that had to do with electrical wiring in the house. The gym used to just be somewhere that I drove past on my way to California Pizza Kitchen…and my old food shopping trips consisted of me whizzing past the produce on my way to the Doritos’s. I had spent years running past full length mirrors and avoiding the scale like it was the plague. It’s hard to explain how something so immense and so obvious could “sneak up” on me…but it did. Stepping on that scale and seeing 355 pounds pop up was probably one of the most horrifying moments of my life. It was worse than seeing Milli Vanilli in concert…it was worse than watching the movie Waterworld…it was worse than having liver and onions every day of the week. However, it was at that moment that I knew I needed to change my life. Not just another trip to Jenny Craig but a true total and complete lifestyle change. I guess there are only so many mirrors that you can avoid before it all catches up with you.

So I started…I took the first step that launched a whole new journey in life for me! I started Lisa’s Lifestyle and Weight Management program and after spending several afternoons talking to her and actually seeing what she had in her kitchen…I could see that I was going to need to rethink a lot of the things I had been doing. I got a garbage bag (actually several of the big leaf bags) and I just started throwing away and getting rid of stuff that didn’t need to be in my pantry. I was then introduced to Trader Joes…Mother’s Market…label reading…cooking…spices in food…low fat solutions to some of my favorite items…and my world began to change! I started getting out and walking everyday…each day I tried to go a little further. I started doing strength training… stadium stairs…the elliptical…biking…treadmill…and then everything but the kitchen sink! I started getting out on the weekends and instead of just going to a movie…I went out for a hike. I became active…felt awesome…and yes…lost weight! However- I didn’t just lose weight…I found a whole new part of myself that I never knew existed!

Sometimes change can be scary and other times it should be seen as necessary and wonderful. We all have challenges in life…things we want and need to overcome and it’s at that moment that we get to see all that we are capable of. We are reminded of things that we let fall by the wayside and we are introduced to things that we never even knew existed. I was reminded that eating those In & Out burgers did have a cost…even though I wasn’t aware of how big of a cost at the time. It cost me a day of volleyball on the beach; it cost me awe inspiring hikes up Yosemite Valley; it cost me whipping break neck speed down a mountain on a pair of skies…and eventually I realized that the cost was just too great. I never knew how many active things I wanted to do and would enjoy doing! I never realized that there were awesome hiking trails within 5 minutes of my house…or that kayaking on a warm summer’s day could be such a wonderful experience! I never thought I would be running in a 5K at 7am on a Sunday morning…or climbing to the top of a big hill and loving every minute of it! I never thought that the couch potato that sat home watching the Travel Channel…writing down all the wonderful destinations in a little notebook (in essence my life’s “To Do List”)…would be crossing off so many things these days! I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel the world…and now I’m not afraid of fitting into a seat…or walking around sightseeing for hours at a time. Furthermore- I realized walking around those Roman ruins… Paris streets and museums…and hilly Italian towns – it wasn’t just the amazement of seeing all of these things. It was seeing all that I had been able to accomplish. It was seeing that I had completely changed my life and with it I was rewarded with living my dreams!

Not to say that there weren’t “road blocks” on the way…because there were plenty of those. I had a string of unfortunate events that challenged me physically, emotionally, and mentally…and I wondered many times if my journey was going to end with me retreating to my old habits. In fact…one of my major hurdles was when I broke my foot about a year into my weight loss. I wish I could say that I was out mountain biking down a huge hill, instead of me just being klutzy and missing the last stair – falling on the side of my foot. Yet…there I was not only battling trying to lose weight but also battling with a cast on my foot and lots of pain. I was stuck on the couch…on the sidelines…with a perfect excuse to revert to my old ways. And that scared me…I was hardly able to even move around the house…and I had no idea if I could sustain all of the momentum I had been able to gain with my weight loss. However- someone once said that “you don’t realize how strong a person really is until you see them at their weakest moment”. I got to actually see that I was a lot stronger than I thought I was! I got to see that the couch potato that could watch hours of TV with no problem…does not exist anymore. The “new me” took over…and while the broken foot slowed me down…it didn’t take me out! I actually went to the gym…wheelchair, crutches and all… and did lots of upper body and one leg workouts! I still lost 7 pounds during those two months! And most of all…I realized that I could make it…and I would make it! I had finally “got it”…I had changed my life…my priorities…and the way that I dealt with everything that came my way! I realized that we are always going to have challenges in life…hopefully not broken foot challenges…but challenges none the less, and it’s all in the way that we deal with those challenges. We can overcome a lot more than we think we can!

Paying It Forward

There are few times in life that we can say we had “a calling” to do something. But sometimes if we are lucky in-between car payments and mortgages – something speaks to us in a way that is hard to explain. We find the thing that allows us to feel passion… excitement…meaningful purpose…and we believe that we can help make the world a better place than we found it. I discovered all of those things during my weight loss journey and I truly believe that it’s important for me to “pay it forward” and give to others all that was given to me. I was given a second chance at life…a chance to rediscover and reinvent myself…and in the end – I wouldn’t change my journey for anything because I couldn’t be here if I hadn’t been there. I know it’s hard to believe that I would be standing here…with a weight loss of over 140 pounds…a person that just a short time ago needed so much help, to a person who is now able to give so much help and guidance. However, unbelievable things sometimes happen in life; things that defy what we believe is possible. So just remember that even the highest mountain has a top and to get there you have to just start…put one foot in front of the other…and soon you are scaling great heights and realizing all the things in life that are possible!

Monica Hirtreiter, Whole Body Fitness Personal Trainer

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