Motivation: Where to Find It

Motivation is something that everyone seems to struggle with at some point in their lives. I am no different and find myself looking for external motivation when I can't seem to muster my own internal motivation. Before I get too carried away talking about motivation, let's define it. Dictionary.com defines it as providing a reason to act a certain way. Pretty simple, right? There's one word in there that causes some issues, REASON. Why is reason such a big deal? In order to find your motivation toward a goal, you have to have a reason. This is your WHY. WHY are you looking to achieve this goal? Your why is so very important to the success of whatever you are trying to achieve. If you have a strong why, then your motivation candle will burn that much stronger. The most important thing about your why is that it has to be YOUR why. You can't achieve your goals living on somebody else's why. It has to be for you.

So, once you have your why, you can look to find that motivation. Motivation comes in two forms: internal and external. Internal motivation is simply doing whatever it is because you find it rewarding.  It can be a hobby like painting that you find rewarding. You may start working out and find it rewarding because you feel great after it's done. Internal motivation does not come from anybody else, it is simply yours. Your health is often a strong internal motivator. Knowing that if you workout and improve your eating, your health will improve is often enough for people to flip the switch. Other times, people need external motivation from their doctors to achieve their health goals. An example would be exactly how I started my fitness and health journey. My doctor told me, after he checked my blood pressure, I need you to track your blood pressure for two weeks and come back to visit me. If at the end of that two weeks your numbers haven't improved, then I will put you on blood pressure medicine. My external motivation was avoiding medicine while my internal motivation was to not be a out of shape, unhealthy twenty year old.

As noted above, external motivation is doing an activity for a reward or to avoid some sort of punishment. Our challenge groups provide external motivation. It is rewarding to be patted on the back by your peers for a job well done and you tend to stick to your goals when somebody is going to call you out for not showing up. External motivation also comes from compliments you receive on how well you're doing with your health and fitness. Workout buddies provide external motivation in the same ways that our challenge groups do. If you leave your workout buddy hanging, I'm pretty sure you're going to hear about it. The idea of an accountability partner, in your journey towards a healthier you is a tremendous way to maintain your motivation without slip-ups. Our journeys are best traveled with both types of motivation helping us along as opposed to us trying to go it alone. If you don't have that accountability partner, join one of our challenge groups and let's get after it together. We love helping people find their why's and sharing the journey towards their goals. We'd love to have you. Thanks for reading and go help keep someone else accountable this week even if you don't quite have your stuff figured out. Find out more about our challenge groups (a new one every month) by following us HERE. Also on Instagram, Twitter, and will be reviving our YouTube channel soon.

In Health,

Tim

For or Against: The Case of Fitspo

We're working under the assumption that you know what "fitspo" (short for "fitspiration") is - but if not, in short, fitspo is images of active, strong, and fit women that promote proper exercise and diet; it may also include images healthy foods or motivational words. Sounds pretty good, right? Sounds like awesome visual motivation, yeah? Wellllll....a quick Google search would lead you to think it's the exact opposite; that it is sent from the depths of hell to ruin us all. Go ahead and look, we'll wait...





In researching for this post, it was honestly virtually impossible to find anything of good substance that made a case FOR fitspo....which lead to some second-guessing of our own thoughts/feelings on the subject. You see,we both operate under the assumption that there is some good fitspo out there and that as originally created, it was made with good intention. Are we naive? Maybe so....but people could (and probably do) consider our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages fitspo.

Could we get into a huge, lofty, philosophical argument on the dark side of fitspo? Sure. And we completely recognize that we sometime see things labeled as fitspo on social media, Pinterest, etc. and cringe. Things most could consider demeaning to women, memes insulting one fitness activity in favor of another (you know the "Zumba? Bitch, I Crossfit" one...), etc.

But, how about making a case for fitspo?

How about acknowledging that a lot of folks are visually motivated?

Can't there be all forms of fitspo? Not every person finds the same body type a goal, attainable, etc.

P.S. - they are all showing skin because they're all gorgeous and wanted to,
but fitspo doesn't have to be in revealing clothes. And we used all women
as example since most fitspo is geared to that sex.

And can one be one's own fitspo, i.e., getting back to when one felt the best/most healthy?

All in all, we think when used for good, fitspo can be a good, healthy thing! And as with most things....when used for evil, it has the potential to be seriously detrimental.

We are REALLY curious about your thoughts - please comment below!

In Health,

Lindsay and Tim

If You're Waiting For Perfect Conditions, You'll be Waiting a While

Good morning, y'all. It's just Lindsay, today :)

I saw the above image on Pinterest this morning, and it spoke to me.

I've seen that quote (paraphrased) several times before, but today, it just hit me stronger...

Maybe it's because my social media newsfeeds are FULL of posts and messages about people saying something along the lines of "I'll just wait until after the holidays, then I'll start [insert healthy living objective here]".

Or maybe it's because the quote made me flashback to when Timothy and I kept pushing off trying to conceive because we wanted everything to be just right before we had a baby (little did we know, getting pregnant wouldn't be so easy).

Whatever it was the made this resonate with me today doesn't really matter...
What truly matters is that it is RIGHT. It is TRUE.

We can't keep pushing off what we need to do for these laundry lists of reasons excuses.
We can't keep saying things like: I will do it when things slow down, or I will do it once the busy holiday season is over, or I will do it when the baby starts sleeping better, or I will do it when we have more money.

If you've been telling yourself you'll do it once the conditions are perfect, go to the mirror right now and tell yourself "Self, that's a load of bullshit and what I really mean to say is that I'll never do it." Because that's what is truly going on....if you're waiting for perfect conditions, you'll never do it.

Start today. Start this very minute. Take the plunge. You just might surprise yourself :)

In Health,

Lindsay and Tim
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Finding (and Keeping) *That* Mindset

It happens to EVERYONE....us included.

You're going along, kicking ass and taking names at your healthy lifestyle. Eating well. Working out. Total awesomeness.

Then....you get off track. Sometimes, it's because something major happens. Sometimes, it's a slow fall. Either way, your eating becomes less and less clean. You skip one workout, then another, and another. Next thing you know, you're feeling sluggish and frustrated asking yourself "WHAT THE HELL?!?!"

What does it take to keep *that* mindset? The mindset that has you eating clean and exercising effortlessly - just second nature.

We don't think there is an easy, one-size-fits-all answer to that question....but, here are our top 3 tips that can have a huge impact:

#1 - "Just Keep Swimming!" It sounds so basic, but honestly, the more you do it, the more you'll continue to do it. Keep at it, day after day, and eventually  you don't even have to think about it.

#2 - Surround Yourself with the Right People! Whether they are "real life" people or just following/interacting with people through social media, make sure you are getting a large dose of positive, motivated, energetic people who are living this healthy lifestyle.

#3 - Learn to Forgive Yourself, Quickly! When you have a bad day, or even when you start to see the signs that you're falling off the wagon, say to yourself "Okay, I've made a poor choice that isn't going to help me reach my goals, and that's okay." Shaming yourself will only lead to more poor choices which will only get you further off your path. Pick yourself up quickly and get back on track!

In Health,

Tim and Lindsay
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Let's Clarify Some Things, Shall We?

Hello there! The Lindsay-half of Fit with Farrar today :)

The two of us are almost always moving at a bazillion miles an hour.

Guilty.

For the past couple of years, we've grown our knowledge, focus, and interest in health and fitness, and it has and continues to spread out over various mediums.

We take for granted that most people are paying attention and can keep up with our goings-ons, when in reality, that's not always the case.

Thus - this blog post to help clarify!! YAY bullet points!

 1. Fit with Farrar is OUR brand. The term was coined in 2010, initially developed to solely be Lindsay's project and focus on her Beachbody journey. Admittedly, it fell to the way-side for a while, but in March 2012, we decided to take a new direction with it and turn it into what you see today!

 2. Speaking of Beachbody - yes, I (Lindsay) am and will continue to be an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. Beachbody programs CHANGED MY LIFE and I continue to use several of them on a regularly basis (not to mention drink Shakeology every day). The company is absolutely top-notch, the products are like nothing else in the at-home workout market, and I love being a part of their mission to end the trend of obesity. Annnddd, let's be real - the extra income is a bonus ;-) If you're ever interested in the income part, don't hesitate to contact me!

 3. We are not (yet) licensed or certified in nutrition or personal training. We do have a considerable amount of knowledge about both, but we never want anyone to have the wrong impression. We've found that most people don't give a rat's ass that we aren't certified and still want to work with us, BUT - this post is for clarification. So there you go. Note: We both will be getting certified in the near future, and at that point, we will likely start charging for our services (take-home point: get us for free while you can! kidding, kinda)

 4. Our mindset has been and continues to be this: not one type of working out is going to work for everyone and not one type of eating is going to work for everyone. We are focused on individuals and finding what works for them and their individual needs. While we love Beachbody programs and Crossfit, that doesn't mean that's all we can help you with. Our knowledge is pretty vast (and always growing), so please don't think we will pigeon-hold you or that we can't help you because you don't like the stuff we like.

So to summarize (because I love a good summary): Fit with Farrar is a passion we share that we are growing into a business. We think of ourselves as coaches/mentors and will soon have the certifications to back it up. We can help you with virtually anything and everything related to health, fitness, and nutrition: from recommending a workout program, to having you locals come to our house and workout with us, to helping you find a nutrition/meal plan that will help you make the life change. We're here. We want to help.

Love you guys! Thank you for all the support!

In Health,

Lindsay (and Timothy is spirit!)
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Lindsay's Beachbody Journey (So Far!)

Hello hello! I hope that our American friends had a wonderful fourth of July holiday.

This time of year, particularly July, makes me feel happy and my heart is full! I always reflect on the time, now two years ago, when my life changed!

It was May 2010 and I was overwhelmed with life - I was working full-time in a really challenging job, I was in graduate school full-time, and I was interning as a therapist part-time. I had an hour commute in and an hour commute out, so Monday through Friday, I was working or on the road 15+ hours each day - and boy was my body showing it! I was tired, irritable, constantly anxious. In my 2nd year, my graduate program *thankfully* focused a lot on self-care...basically that as future therapists, we needed to make extra certain we made time for taking care of ourselves, so that we could better help other people. I took that to heart and realized I needed to find something to do FOR ME!

I researched and researched - I knew I wanted to do a fitness program, and it had to be something I could do at home, because with 15+ hour workdays, I wasn't going to throw going to the gym into that crazy mix. I ended up buying ChaLEAN Extreme. Chalene Johnson seemed fun, nice and cute...someone who would motivate me! 

How could this NOT motivate you?!

I received the program and ended up working out at 3:45 am (yes, you read that correctly) every morning. There was an adjustment period, for sure, but when my body started thanking me with more energy and less irritability, EVEN THOUGH I was still working 15+ hour days, I was HOOKED!

I didn't know when I bought ChaLEAN Extreme that I could have a coach (for free!) to help motivate me. My first coach was a dud and never reached out to me, but this wonderful woman named Bridget did and I switched to her immediately! She mentioned Shakeology to me, sent me some samples - and BAM! I was in Results City, USA!! With working out and drinking the shakes, I had lost 10 pounds, 13 inches, and 4 jean sizes!! Better than that - I was feeling good about myself!! I was more efficient at work, my school work and internship didn't bog me down as much....life was wonderful!

I was sharing my experience with all my friends and family - and taking a lot of selfies :)

And apparently wearing a lot of red!

It didn't take long for me to start getting questions about what I was doing - and I gladly told them! Bridget, my Beachbody coach, kindly relayed to me that if I became a coach, not only could I get discounts on the products, but I could make some extra income by doing what I was already doing - sharing my results with other people and helping them jumpstart their journey.

At first - I was skeptical....really skeptical. I wasn't sure this was right for me - I wasn't a salesperson, I didn't want to have to "sell" anybody on anything, that just sounded icky! Plus - I was already working full time, in grad school full-time, and interning...could I handle another thing added to my plate?!? So again, I did my research, listened to some people's stories, and realized you aren't selling - this isn't like Avon, Thirty-One, etc. You are sharing how you changed your life, and if people want to change theirs too, they can join you. That's all! And you put however much time and effort into it as you see fit. 

So in July 2010, I became a Beachbody coach! Initially, I just wanted to make enough to cover my monthly Shakeology order, and anything else was just a bonus. I did that until I finished my Master's and life slowed down a bit, then I realized I could really devote more time to this and try to help more and more people! I focused less on the money and more on the people, and ironically, my little side-income GREW from that change in focus! I continued to do Beachbody programs....after ChaLEAN Extreme, I did TurboFire, then Insanity, P90X, Les Mills Pump, etc. etc.!

Yep, looking back on all this always makes me smile! Being a Beachbody coach has introduced me to so many GOOD people....they are all positive, motivated, passionate people and I love to surround myself with all the good vibes they put off! 

Super Saturday Event!

P90 "X" me :)

Oh yeah! WORKOUT TIME!

 

One of my coaches, Danielle!

The additional income has been and continues to be a blessing, but what I love the most about it, and why I will continue to be a Beachbody coach is because 1. They are the best: I am a product of the product and I think they make some of the best programs ever, 2. I love seeing other people succeed. I love to motivate people, help keep them accountable, and I love to celebrate their successes with them, and 3. IT HOLDS ME ACCOUNTABLE!!! If you want motivation to stay on top of your health/fitness game - become a coach! Nothing will help hold you accountable like putting yourself out there as a health/fitness coach!! :-)

Thanks for taking the time to read this as I reflect on my journey. I have come so far and I am committed to helping people make the changes they want to make!

Talk to y'all soon!

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

Motivation

Hey guys, it's Tim.....

It is very interesting that I am writing about motivation, considering I have been talking about writing this for two weeks. So, enough with the stalling already.

Motivation. What is it exactly? In my opinion,  it is that driving force that gets us moving and pushes us to be our best day in and day out. Your source of motivation may be internal or it may be external, or a combination of both. No matter where it comes from, everyone has something that can serve as their motivation. 

I'd like to share a story about where I get my motivation from. About four and a half years ago, I went to the doctor, in Lynchburg, for a check-up. I hadn't been feeling the best and seemed to always be tired. I was working swing shifts as a dispatcher and I had credited my not feeling well with my job, but wanted to get a physical just in case. By this time, I had applied for the fire department and wanted to make sure my health ducks were in a row. So, at age 20, I strolled into the doctor's office for my physical. The nurse checks my vitals, and my blood pressure was through the roof. The doctor came in a little while later and had the nurse check it again....guess what, still high!! The doctor hands me a small notepad and tells me to check my blood pressure for two weeks at home. If my blood pressure stayed high, he wanted me to come back and put me on blood pressure medicine. Yeah...thanks, but no thanks doc. 

This trip to the doctor scared the living crap out of me. Here I was, at 20 years old, wanting to be a professional firefighter for the rest of my life, and I couldn't even keep my blood pressure in check. It was a serious reality check. I started working out at the local gym after work and started seeing some improvement. Then, I got the call for the interview for Henrico Fire. So, I started pushing myself a little harder in the gym to get ready for the recruit school. I wanted to be as ready as I could when I showed up. My blood pressure was a little better at the job physical for the county but still high. So, I lost some weight during the recruit school and was feeling a little bit better. Well, unfortunately I showed up at the fire station and put on my freshman fifteen. For those of you that don't know, fire stations's get a TON of goodies from our citizens. I was starting to feel and look like I use to.... so, I started to work out with a fellow firefighter and got really competitive trying to keep up with him. I got into working out with more intensity and started enjoying it and feeling better. One morning I got off work after a night of no sleep and went for a run. Six miles later, I was back home and feeling great. I had found something that really clicked for me. I coupled this with an incredibly clean diet and the blood pressure and weight went down.

So....I tell you that background story to explain that my health is my biggest motivator. I don't

ever want to go back to where I was. Another motivator is my vanity. I enjoy when I see people that haven't seen me in awhile, telling me how good I look. Not being boastful, just being honest. It would make anyone feel good to hear that, especially if you never heard it before your transformation. Yet another motivator is my career. I feel like when I signed up to be a professional firefighter that my fitness standards needed to change. On any given day, I could be tasked with entering a burning building to save someone's life. I want to be in the best possible condition to make that happen, so that I don't become the one who needs to be saved. My wife is also a source of motivation for me. I want to be able to spend as much time with her as I can. Without a healthy lifestyle, that time spent with her could be greatly shortened.

So, now that you know my motivators, find something that motivates you. Your motivators don't have to be the same as mine, but make sure you have that motivation. Print out representations of what motivates you and put them in places where you will see them everyday. If you still find yourself struggling, please reach out to myself and/or Lindsay, we are here for you! Since my transformation, I have this burning passion to help others achieve their healthy lifestyle goals. I am never going to tell you it is easy and anybody that does is flat out lying to you....but if you work at it, you will see a huge difference. Just look at our pictures on our Facebook page!

This summer I will be attending an American Council of Exercise Peer Fitness Trainer class that will give me the basis for my personal training certification. Fitness and clean eating are two of my biggest passions and I hope to help as many people as possible achieve their fitness goals.

In Health,

Tim

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

Great Deal on Fitness Products!

Hey guys and gals! Part of Lindsay sharing her passion for health and fitness with others is done by being a Team Beachbody Coach. Beachbody products have been a STAPLE in her transformation and she's relied on them daily to give her killer workouts without having to go to a gym!!

Beachbody has created this great thing called a "Challenge Pack" where you can get the fitness program of your choice, along with a month's supply of Shakeology, a 30-day free club membership, and other goodies for considerably less than what you would pay for all of them individually!!

If you have been thinking about trying P90X, TurboFire, Insanity, etc. or are curious about the nutritional and weight-loss/management benefits of Shakeology....this is definitely your chance to do so and save some cash!

To get yours, just go to:

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/lindsayfarrar

and click on Shop, then Challenge Packs and have at it!

If you have more questions, about the challenge packs, specific programs, getting a Shakeology sample, anything.....just let us know!

In Health,

Lindsay & Timothy