FAQ
How tall are you? I’m 5’6
How did you lose all the weight? Diet and exercise, of course 
How long did it take you to lose the weight? It’s an ongoing process. I initially started losing the weight at the end of october 2009, and went from 195 to 170 in 8 weeks. There have been months where I had been training for races and I tried to just maintain. I have honestly spent probably about a year total just trying to maintain. So yes, it’s been a while, but I got it off, kept it off, and have no loose skin from losing too quickly.
span style=”font-size: medium;”>How can I get a flat stomach, thighs, etc? You can’t spot reduce. I want to get that tattoed on my forehead. When you lose fat, you lose it all over. Doing certain exercises with help the muscle there, but if the fat is still on top, there won’t be much of a difference. Fat doesn’t just morph into muscle. Watch your diet, and do cardio. “Abs are made in the kitchen”.
I’m out of shape, can I do insanity? I started insanity when I was 185 pounds. It was hard, and I needed many more breaks, but I could do it, and it was a great workout. That’s the beautiful thing about insanity–you do your own pace, the better you get, the harder you push.
How many calories do you eat a day?Around 1700-1800, but I don’t really count, just eat clean and healthy
How many miles do you run a week? It’s different every week. On average, when not training for a distance race like a half or full marathon, probably about 15-25.
How can I/ did you build up endurance for running? I was extremely out of shape for running when I started. The first week, I could barely even get past .25 of a mile. I was running in a neighborhood, and each day would try to go a little farther. I would find new landmarks to run to, like a stop sign or a mailbox, trying to get a little farther each time. Once I got up to 1.5 miles I started following Hal Higdon’s 5k training plan, and also followed his half marathon and full marathon training plans.
What was your motivation? How did you stay motivated? Initially, seeing myself in the mirror at a spinning class really motivated me. I looked BIG. I think it was the first time that I REALLY saw myself. It even shocked me a little. I knew at that moment that I had to lose weight, I was motivated to not look like that anymore. Once I started losing weight, feeling better, looking better, and getting compliments, I was motivated to keep going. I was feeling better, but wasn’t where I wanted. I wasn’t going to stop. Now, it isn’t motivation, it’s my life. I love to workout. I feel so much better when I eat healthy, that there is no reason not to. I honestly don’t even have a desire to eat much junk food. Of course I crave things sometimes, but there are so many healthy ways to make unhealthy food, that I usually just go down that route.
How do you stay motivated? Well mostly it isn’t motivation, it’s habit. I love to workout, and it makes me happy, and makes me feel good. I’m in a bad mood if I don’t do it. But I have a figure competition to train for, and then a marathon. If you want it, you’ll make it happen.
What was your biggest obstacle and how did you overcome it? Getting over a binge eating disorder/ bulimia while trying to lose weight made it hard and was my biggest obstacle. There were days after work that I just wanted to go home and binge. I didn’t want to go to the gym or go run, I was starving and wanted to eat..a lot. When I say I had a binge eating disorder and bulimia I don’t say that lightly. I was doing some 8,000 calorie binges prior to losing weight, and I could eat A LOT. It was like an addiction, and very hard to fight that urge, but I found out ways. I realized that I had the urges to binge when I got too hungry, so I didn’t let that happen. If I started to get a little hungry, I would eat something. I always tried/try to have snacks with me so that I don’t get to a point that I feel like i’m “starving” and end up eating uncontrollably.
What songs are on your running playlist? A bunch of random ones. Some weird stuff. These are some that I can think of that I LOVED/some I still run to : Dog Days are Over – Florence + the machine, Home – Edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros, Strange Clouds – B.O.B, So So – B.O.B, a lot of songs by the dirty heads,pit bull, and david Guetta, Scars- Basement Jaxx, I can walk on water – basshunter, My body – young the giant..I will have to go through my iPod to remember some
Do you drink alcohol? I did for a while, but have not since christmas eve. Alcohol slows your metabolism by up to 73%, I would get home and eat anything, and I would feel crappy the next day. I just got over it. I am almost 23 years old, but am friends with mostly people in their late 20s, so they don’t go out much anyway. If there is some big occasion and people want to party, then yeah, I probably will, but not every other weekend like I was. Besides all of that, this is what I think about binge drinking: why am I going to eat healthy, and exercise, and try to get fit and healthy, and then go kill my liver?
What do you do when you are in a hurry and don’t have time to cook? at the beginning of the week, usually Sundays, I try to make a LOT of food. I have NO problem with leftovers and it’s nice not having to cook every day. If I am out of leftovers and don’t have time to cook, I might just have eggs ( 1 full egg and some egg whites) or tuna, or some ezekiel bread and nut butter. Other times I’ll just have some shakeology.I just try to get something with some protein to fill me up. I am usually not in this situation though, because I really try to plan my day out so that I don’t end up stopping at McDonald’s or something.
Do you run outside or on the treadmill? Outside. I HATE the dreadmill.
How often do you weight train and do cardio? I do cardio 6-7 days a week, strength train 5-6 days a week
How many times a day do you eat? Different everyday, I eat when I’m hungry. Normally, it’s around 6-7 times a day
What do you eat when you need something sweet? Dark chocolate, mint chocolate builder’s bars, yogurt mixed with shakeology or protein powder. amazing.
Where did you learn everything about nutrition? I knew a lot from health classes in high school and college, or articles/studies I have read online. I continue to just teach myself. If I have a question, I would search until I had the answer. Now If I have questions I usually go on twitter and hit up either @fitfluential or @robbinsanity. Fitfluential is basically a group of online health/fitness bloggers, so they always have some good info, and Robb is very knowledgable about nutrition and fitness and can always answer my questions.
