I got 99 problems and my spouse is one...

Being that Fit with Farrar is a duo....yeah, we're married (in case you missed that memo)....we often field the question of "How do I get my spouse motivated to do this with me?" or we hear "I'm trying, but my spouse isn't supportive and sabotages my progress!"
Having a spouse, partner, or significant other who isn't on-board (or worse, is completely against) with your attempt at leading a healthier lifestyle can be extremely tough. It can make it harder on you to maintain your changes and it can add stress and resentful feelings between you both.

Now, no one is saying you have to be like this...

You certainly could if you wanted, but we just want to give you a few quick tips on how to get your spouse on the healthy habits wagon with you.

• Avoid "shoulds" - we all know when someone tells you should or need, you automatically resist.
   
• Focus on their positives. Instead of criticizing when they're exhibiting unhealthy habits, put your focus into recognizing and pointing out when they exhibit a healthy habit. (Helpful side-note: this also works for children and managing behaviors!)
  
• Show them how great it can be. Let them see you work out and have that smile/endorphin rush. Talk about how delicious your healthy meal is!
  
• Focus on the benefits outside of the scale. Point out how good you feel, how much better you sleep,etc.
  
• Be consistent. For your sake and for theirs. 

It's not likely to happen overnight. I (Tim) was several months into my lifestyle change before Lindsay got on board too. Also, don't feel like you can't do anything without them. You can make a lifestyle change without your spouse....yes, it helps a million times over if they're on-board too, but it's not impossible to do without them! Just stay focused, be consistent, and use some of the tips above....we'd be willing to bet money they'll come around.

In Health,

Tim and Lindsay
Like us on Facebook, please!
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

Best Tools for Getting Started

Only 6 years ago - we were here. Happy as all-get-out and madly in love, but seriously out of shape.

It was clear a change was needed, and Timothy began his journey with Lindsay following suit shortly after. Years of being consistent, truly making a lifestyle change, have us here. Still happy as all-get-out and madly in love, but in shape and healthy too!

There are some key tools/advice that assisted in our transformations, and that's what we'd like to share with y'all today:

• Tracking/logging your food
• Back in the day, SparkPeople was the only online option so that's what we used. It's still a great community (and still free!) but we find MyFitnessPal (also online and free!) to be a better site. Regardless of how you do it, tracking your food is HUGE, especially when you are first starting out on your journey. It is incredibly enlightening to see what serving sizes really are!
• Having a workout program that has a schedule
• Whether you will be using a gym, running or biking, joining a Crossfit box, or using workout DVDs at home - choose a program that has a schedule. When you are starting out, if left to your own devices to come up with a workout every day, it is exponentially more likely that you will "fall off the wagon". If you have a schedule and your workouts are planned for you, every day for 90+ days, this helps keep you on track and takes out the guessing-game!
  
  
• Batch-cooking food and kitchen gadgets 
•  This is probably our biggest tip: batch cook your food!! Once a week (either Saturday or Sunday), to this day, we batch cook our food staples for the week (meat, veggies, etc.). By doing this, all your meals are ready to go, all you have to do is reheat! Also during this time, you can measure out your servings - a food scale and/or Bento-box style lunchboxes are perfect for this! This one tip can take the headache out of eating healthy and keeps you on track with your nutritional goals.
• Learn as much as possible
• Follow health & fitness gurus on social media, read more about fitness and nutrition, follow Fit with Farrar's blog and Facebook page :) Surrounding yourself with this information helps you stay motivated and focused, but also helps you to become more educated on these areas....and the more you know, the better!

These four things made a WORLD of difference in our lives and have allowed us to maintain a healthy lifestyle for 5 years now, so we highly recommend them to you!

If you have a good tip, tool, or piece of advice to share, please leave it in a comment below - we'd love to hear from you!

In Health,

Timothy and Lindsay
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
YOUTUBE

Fitness & Pregnancy: From a PREGNANT point of view this time :)

You may recall - based on readers' requests, we did a Fit Pregnancy post a few months ago (you can find that post here). That one was based on the research we had done, gathering information from several knowledgeable and reputable sources, BUT - it had no personal experience to go along with it.

Well now that we got a few months of personal experience under our belt, we figured we'd give y'all an updated version :)

Original post: "During the first trimester, staying active is important. It will help alleviate some of the negative side-effects of pregnancy hormones you might be experiencing (nausea, fatigue, etc.). But no one says you have to keep up with your 6-day-a-week workouts seshs.....if you need to bump it down a notch, DO SO! You're growing a baby, for goodness sake! :)"


Now: Um yeah, first trimester did not go as gloriously as that sounds above! Lindsay really (unnecessarily) freaked about exercising because her heart rate gets so high (doesn't take much for her to get in the 180's+) and she was so scared she'd lose the baby. This cut down on the first trimester workouts A LOT. And the need for 10-12 hours of sleep, plus naps, didn't leave much time in the day for workouts, either.


Original post: "Once you get into the second and third trimesters, you might have slowed down (especially if you were super active girl before getting pregnant), but don't stop completely! Remaining active isn't just good for you, it's good for that little critter in your belly too! Avoid high-risk/contact exercise, working out in extreme temperatures, and also avoid exercises that have you on your back (like Pilates), because when lying on your back, your expanding uterus presses against your spinal cord, which in turn limits blood flow."

Now: Once she made it to the second trimester, and had a few doctor's visits under her belt, she felt more comfortable working out regularly. One set of pregnancy DVDs was tried, but Lindsay has veered back to TurboFire, just doing the "low impact modifications". Energy seems to be coming back, which makes working out 4-5 times a week pretty darn doable!

Maintaining fitness is important, and Lindsay hopes to continue strong throughout the rest of the 2nd trimester and into her 3rd. The fear and fatigue that plagued the first trimester are diminishing, so here's hoping!

Today's Lesson: Things don't always go as you have planned!

A little pic - does/did this happen to anyone else while pregnant? Working out (guessing it's all the blood flowing) makes the belly swell like CRAZY?!

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy

Managing the Highs and Lows

 It happens with seemingly everything...

You first fall in love and are so enamored you can't see past their face, but as time goes on, you regain your senses and are able to still be in love (hopefully), but carry about life [relatively] normally.

You first start a new job, and OMG everything is new and exciting and challenging....then time goes on, and you settle into a rhythm with your role...things slow down.

You find out your pregnant (ladies) and the excitement is so amazing, every flutter and kick....then you reach 9 months and you're mindset is: okay baby, it's time to come out....NOW! (At least, that's what we've witnessed with our friends and family).

There are highs and lows with everything, and starting a healthier lifestyle is certainly no different. When you first kick off your new workout program and/or healthy eating routine, you're (usually) excited about it, focused, and determined. Then as time goes on.....it may start to feel like a chore, the extra 45 minutes of sleep sounds better than getting up to workout, you don't feel like prepping all your food and a trip to Mickey D's is just plain easier. It is totally natural to feel this way, but we wanted to share some tips on riding out these highs and lows:

• Recognize and even expect that you won't feel like workout out or eating healthfully every day. Some days you'll be pumped for this lifestyle, and some days, you'll need to check yourself or give yourself a little pep talk. Do what you have to do to convince yourself to stick to it.
• If you're stuck in more lows than highs, revisit your goals. Nothing is set in stone. You didn't sign any legal documents. If you want to change what you had originally planned, do so! It might help you feel rejuvenated and focused again.
• Reach out for support. If you have others joining you in this journey, don't be afraid to raise your hand and ask for help! We are here for anyone at any time or point in their journey - just give us a shout! 

Question for you: Do you have any tips for managing the highs and lows of a healthy lifestyle? Please answer in a comment below (you can do it anonymously!!)

Enjoy the journey,

Lindsay and Timothy
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
YOUTUBE

The Never-Ending Quest That is Explaining Human Behavior

Hi everyone! Lindsay here….

I have no idea why – but I have some of my most profound thoughts and/or realizations while I’m driving. I know I certainly cannot be alone in this – what is it about driving that does this to us? The quiet? The focus? Hmmm....

I had one of these moments the other day, on my way home from work. I was reflecting on a couple different things and they collided. I was thinking about how Timothy and I have been “living the lifestyle” for a few years now, so the negative comments about what/how we eat, our exercise habits, etc. don’t really phase us anymore. But then I got to thinking about a friend who is starting his own journey, and how I was already seeing people react negatively to that person’s changes, and how fragile this person was and could fall back into old ways because of the lack of support.

BAM!

What the?!?! People react SO positively when someone breaks a habit, like smoking or drinking, or when someone makes a good and much-needed change in their life (leaving a bad relationships, finding a good partner, finding religion, whatever). People say “I’m so proud of you” “Good for you” “That’s amazing.”

But….

When you make the changes to eat clean, to exercise regularly…..you are most often greeted with negativity. “Oh, don’t invite her to dinner, she’ll only complain about not having any healthy food” “Ugh, I hate working out, why on Earth do you do that?” “You spend WAY too much time caring about what you eat and how often you work out, don’t you ever just relax” 

Seriously……W…T…F. Why would people praise someone for quitting smoking, but berate them for quitting McDonalds? Where is the logic in that? 

I posed my question to Timothy last night, “Why do people do that?” He promptly responded in one word “Jealousy.”

Ok, yeah – I get that. People might not be jealous that you quit smoking, but they could be jealous that giving up Mickey D’s and working out on the regular gave you a healthy body and confidence. But that can’t be the only reason….

Being that I’m a scientist by nature – I began to think of other reasons, besides jealousy.

• People are uncomfortable with your changes because they are worried you aren’t the same person, at your core, you were before.
• People are preoccupied with the idea that you might be judging them for engaging in behaviors you have chosen to leave behind (not working out, eating crappy food, etc.). 
•  Your change intimidates them.

I/We would love to hear about what the rest of you think, your personal experiences, etc. We certainly aren’t the be-all-end-all with regard to ANYTHING, so if you think we are totally backwards on this, let us know!

Also, if you are in the midst of making a life change with your eating and exercising and finding yourself on the receiving end on a lot of this negativity and criticism, reach out to us. Message us on our Facebook page here or email us at fitwithfarrar@gmail.com.We have been there, hell – we STILL hear all this non-sense, and we can help you find ways to deal with it (or my personal favorite – just remove those people from your life! :-)Clean house, baby!!)

Well – that was a bit of a heavy post….to lighten things up, some Pinterest faves.

 In Health, 

Lindsay

Step-by-Step Guide to Starting a Healthy Lifestyle

I think the two of us can sometimes get caught up in how normal and routine our healthy and fit lifestyle is. We’ve been doing this consistently for years now, so it truly is just a part of who we are! However, as we try to reach out and help others, we’re realizing just how daunting the task of revamping your lifestyle is for some people!

So – in hopes of making things seem less daunting (and to appeal to those of you who prefer lists, LINDSAY) here are the very basic steps you need to do to get started on a healthy lifestyle…..not a “diet”, not a “health kick”…..a LIFESTYLE, so that eventually, you don’t even think about it….clean eating and working out just becomes a part of you and your life. 

1. A good starting place would be to get a full physical from your doctor….weight, blood pressure, body mass index, body fat percentage, complete bloodwork…..get the works!  If you haven’t had this done in a while….you might look at your numbers with this face….

Fear not! You can make a change!

2.  Once you know where you stand with your current physical condition (and have informed your doc that change is a’comin), time to tackle your diet. We DO NOT mean diet like you probably think….we mean diet as in the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group. Starting out, aim to change at least one unhealthy habit every 1-2 weeks. First week, you replace 1 soda a day with water until you aren’t drinking soda anymore. Or you could replace a fried chicken sandwich with a grilled one. Or change the focus away from “taking” and put it toward “adding” (for example, add 1 serving of vegetable to your lunch and dinner, and even breakfast for you over-achievers!!) Remember, SLOW AND STEADY wins this race. PERIOD. 

******Special note – if you’re fighting a drug use/dependency (smoking, alcohol, etc.), the same concept can apply.  Cut back to ½ pack a day or 1 alcoholic beverage every other day….keep using less and less until you eventually aren’t using at all! YOU CAN DO IT!

3. Once your body starts ridding itself of the bad and taking in more good, you’ll have this spunk and energy like never before – so put it to good use! Get your workout on! If you didn’t work out at all prior to this lifestyle change, feel free to ease into it, working out 3-4 times per week. If/When you’re feeling good, shoot for 6 days a week. We have a holistic view of exercise/fitness – don’t get stuck doing one thing or one type of work. You need to do a mixture of cardio, strength training, stretching, etc.

******Special notes – your cardio should be heart-pounding, sweat pouring, and lasting at least 30-45 minutes. Nerp, sorry – that leisurely stroll after dinner is not gonna count. And unless you have a particular need (disability, injury, etc.), you should not be doing bicep curls with a 5-pound weight LADIES. Your purse weighs more than that, jeezus. 

Nutrition and exercise are clearly two big chunks of this puzzle called a healthy lifestyle – but they aren’t the only crayons in the box! Here are some other important areas:

·         Sleep – as an adult, 7-8 hours is a MUST. If you chronically/regularly get less than this, your healthy eating and exercising may not be completely in vain, but you are doing a great disservice to your body. So turn off Jay Leno and GO TO BED!

·         Support – doing this alone can really be difficult. Having a strong and grounded support system can mean the difference between success and failure. If you can’t enlist the right people, or people are too slack-ass to hold you accountable and keep you going, we’d be happy to provide those services. Muahhahahaha :-)

It will get difficult. You will be pressed for time. Life will get complicated. Those are the unavoidable facts. Now – what is completely avoidable is you using them as excuses. So what’s it gonna be, huh? Are you gonna commit and succeed or are you gonna bitch and moan about how it’s toooo harrrddd and you’re tooooo busssyyy. We know where we stand and we want you on our side! Our side has tight, toned, strong bodies, yummy food, energy, motivation, great sex lives, happiness, all the good stuff! JOIN US!


As always, we are here to answer any questions or help you in whatever way possible! Facebook us or send us an email: fitwithfarrar@gmail.com

In Health,

Lindsay and Timothy

Top 5 Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

Since we have maintained a healthy lifestyle and a nearly 100 pound loss between the two of us for about 3 years now, we think people actually forget that we used to be overweight! Yes, we were both pretty svelte when we first started dating in 2006, but the first couple years of our relationship brought on a whole lotta happy weight! Timothy's doctor was threatening to put him on high blood pressure medication and Lindsay just felt large and puffy. 


We say this today because 1. as aforementioned, we think sometimes people forget where we've come from and think we can't possibly understand how hard it is to lose weight, etc. AND 2. (today's blog topic) to address that losing weight, making a healthy lifestyle...all of that is a journey and all too often, people give up way too fast. 

 Here are five tid-bits to address this problem of giving up too fast/too easily and having no commitment:


1. A true change to a healthy lifestyle does not happen overnight. Huge, drastic changes can often set you up for failure. Start off slow!


2. Fall in love with fitness. Find a style of working out or a particular program that you really enjoy; it'll keep you wanting to come back for more!


3. Don't be afraid to reach out for support. Team Beachbody is great about providing an incredibly motivating and supportive community of people on the same journey as you...and the great part is, membership is free (Click here). Getting your partner, friends, and/or family involved is also a great way to go!


4. Plateaus will happen. Period. Don't let them make you want to give up! Change your workouts, play with your diet...sometimes your body just needs a period of shock to help it be rejuvenated to fight fat!


5. Knowledge is power! Educate yourself on nutrition and physical fitness. The more you know, the more empowered you will be! 

When you first start out - the change might be uncomfortable....but we PROMISE, if you stick with it and keep our top five tips in mind, before long it will be second nature. Eventually, you will feel weird or "off your game" when you miss a workout. You won't have such strong cravings for unhealthy foods. Be committed and you just may surprise yourself! 

Here's a visual summary of our journeys thus far:

We'd love to hear about your journey! Also, if you need some extra support or even just some help to get started, please get in touch with us! Leave a comment or email us: fitwithfarrar@gmail.com


In Health,

Timothy & Lindsay