The Jillian Michaels Podcasts

At work, I've been half-listening to the Jillian Michaels podcasts on iTunes.  They are free and I figured I might as well half-listen to this instead of music for a bit.  I might not be giving it my full attention, but I've been learning a lot, which is awesome.  Jillian and her cast/guests actually have covered a number of things I've wondered already, both on nutrition and exercise.  It's helping me figure out my direction, stay motivated, and come to terms with some things I wasn't sure about.

After Mom wrote her concern about a couple of the people in our lives, the webcast (I swear, it was the very next one) talked about motivating others... How what one person feels is motivating (like this blog for Mom and I) might be annoying or ridiculous to another.  It talked about how to talk to the other people in your life and work with them to find out what THEY feel will motivate them, whether it's healthier recipes you can help them find online or simply meeting with them to go for a walk.  The thing is (and I don't think the podcast went into this), what if the person you are trying to help doesn't even know what will motivate them???  What then?  I guess it just means they are not ready to make the change?  I don't know.

Jillian also talks about (and is darned convincing) about and they why of each:

• Avoiding GMO foods
• Eating clean and better quality
• Helping teach your kids to live healthier
• Veganism isn't exactly healthy
• Watching your calories
• Do not cut out all fats
• Do not over-work your body
• Do not starve your body
• General health related to food and exercise
• Unreal expectations on people, especially moms
• Why sleep is so important

There's more, of course, but each of her podcasts have been very interesting and informative.  I also like how passionate she is about all of this while actually explaining why she's passionate about them (lots of information).  I also love how encouraging she is and how down to earth.  She's also empathetic to her callers; I love the way she talks to the parents that call in.

One thing that helped me feel better about my exercises and rests... She said in one of her podcasts that in a perfect world, she would workout two days and then rest the third, then repeat.  Perhaps she doesn't mean to do that for all workout routines, but I've noticed that I'm more likely to jump into my exercises better when I do that.  She says that your muscles need some rest to rebuild after your workout tore them down; without the rest, you just keep breaking them down.  Hence, why weight lifting routines actually tell you to give muscle groups a day to rest before working them again.

My muscles are more defined since I took that week of rest.  My belly was feeling bigger earlier this week, but now it seems to be feeling smaller again.  I feel better about myself and my workouts don't feel like such a burden or a hassle.  I tell myself that I can easily get through two days if I know I can rest the third day.  By the time I'm through the third day, I'm ready for my workout and then I just tell myself "two days" again.  I can do that!  And heck, the rest day doesn't mean I have to not workout.  I can do something else instead, if I want!

I can do this.  I know I can.  And I will.