You all know about my love/hate relationship with cardio by
now. Well, I found a way to show off the
results in a Shape Magazine cover on newsstands this now!
I am generally a pretty shy person so I was pretty scared when they asked me to
pose for the magazine.
Some people don’t know that in May 2007 I fell down a flight
of stairs and fractured my back in 4 places.
I separated from my then-husband shortly after. It was a tough year to say the least. I was not allowed to do any physical exercise
for 5 months. I went from being a very
active person to a person who needed help opening a door. I couldn’t drive my own car for 2 months
after the accident. I couldn’t twist my
body to look behind me.
Emotionally, I needed to hibernate a little – eat comfort
food, be with friends, family, and complete my physical therapy. I decided it was okay if I went up a size or
two. I had other things to worry about. But after about a year of healing – both physically
and emotionally – I was ready to tackle the task of getting back into shape. It’s no fun to get dressed and go out when you
no longer fit into any of your clothes!
Here I am at the Blades of Glory Premiere a few months BEFORE the accident:
Here I am at the Walk Hard Premiere a few months AFTER the accident:
Even though I knew there was nothing I could do but be patient and let my body heal it was still hard to see myself slowly going up a few sizes. I just didn't feel like myself. (In this photo, I think you can tell I was trying to squeeze into a dress that didn't quite fit. I think that is a pretty common thing for people who have gone up a size or two.)
I quickly lost a little of the weight simply by making
better food choices – salad instead of fries, egg white omelet instead of a
donut. Getting back to a feeling of physical
fitness was harder. My trainer – Tanya –
is AMAZING. She worked with my doctor
and physical therapist to develop a routine that was safe for my back. She eased me back into fitness. We were about halfway to my goal when I
started to get busy again with work. I
was travelling a lot and this made it hard to meet on a regular basis. But I didn’t want to use this as an
excuse. Tons of people get in shape
without trainers all the time. If they
can do it, I can do it! I asked Tanya to
help me with a Do-it-Yourself routine I could follow while on the road. (Some of the moves she developed for me are
in the magazine.)
I had to find some pretty creative ways to exercise. I exercised in random gyms, hotel rooms,
hotel gyms, at home. This is when a jump rope comes in very handy! You can take it anywhere and it's the best cardio around! At one point I was
at my parent’s cottage in Lake of the Ozarks far from a gym or any equipment. I hiked
and did water aerobics. I’m lucky
because my Mom is actually a certified water aerobics instructor! She lead mini-workouts each day while we went
swimming off the dock. If I was going to eat my Dad's BBQ every night I had to do something to balance it out!
After 12 weeks of dedicated workouts – 30 minutes of cardio
and 30 minutes of weight training, five to six days a week – I lost 10 pounds. Ironically, Shape Magazine called 2 months
later. It felt like fate. It was a great motivator to keep up my new
fitness routine. I’m now able to
maintain things by working out about 3 days a week.
I can’t say I’ll always be this dedicated. If I gain weight again some day that’s
fine. Different things become a priority
at different times in life. I just spent a week in New York for a friend's wedding. I drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of pasta. There is a time for everything!
I’m just happy
that I took the time to concentrate on fitness this past year. I feel like I learned a lot about what works
for my body. And, I gained a whole new
wardrobe – well, more like I got my old wardrobe back again. It’s really fun to pull from the pile of “dream
jeans” that used to be too tight and find they fit again.
Thanks for all of your encouragement on the blogs! I've used some of your tips. It helps to stay motivated for sure. Oh! I have a new favorite cardio routine that I’ll
post soon!
If
any of you are thinking of starting a new fitness routine I just want to say
"You can do it!" I had the help of a trainer giving me tips but
most of the time I was on the web looking for new exercises, reading Shape for
their latest Cardio blast routine and cooking my own food. This was not
the result of a chef and fancy home gym. You can do a lot with a set of 5
pound weights and a jump rope.
It's
not easy to commit to being fit. At
least it didn’t come easily to me. It means making sacrifices in other
areas. After working a 10 or 12 hour day all I wanted to do was curl up
on the couch, eat food and watch TV. I thought, "I deserve it!
I worked really hard today!" But, I read a lot of Shape
Magazine's real-women success stories and they kept me motivated. I told
myself that if a working mother of three could drag herself to the gym so could
I. My mantra became - no excuses! Having workout buddies helps
too. Mindy Kaling and I trade cardio routines. Lee works out with
me at the gym. Angela Kinsey and I go hiking together (even though she is naturally skinny and doesn't need to work out!)
And, seriously, Shape Magazine is awesome. I'm not just saying that because I'm on the cover. I honestly buy it every month. The stories and workouts are great. Their website is a great resource too. As is YouTube! You can watch a lot of the correct ways to do exercises. Tons of trainers post videos.
This
is constantly a work-in-progress. I'm always tinkering with new exercises
or new foods (turns out I really love brussels sprouts!) so don't get
discouraged. It's a very personal thing. And, don't freak out if
you don't lose weight right away. The best advice I got was to stay off
the scale for the first 3 weeks of a new fitness routine. You'll feel it
in the way your clothes fit first. And, start slow. I started with
15 minutes of cardio and 15 minutes of weights. I worked my way up to
what I'm doing now. Just getting the blood moving in my body and
stretching felt so good when I first started on this journey! So...you
can do it!
Finally, here is a
little behind-the-scenes video from the Shape shoot in case you'd like to see how that works. We shot at an insanely beautiful home in Malibu California. I've never seen anything like it. I stood in an infinity pool on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I had to stand on a little platform in the pool. I just kept thinking "I hope I'm not the first person to fall in the water during her photo shoot."
Shape Behind the Scenes Video