Ask Me Anything and My Most Frequestly Asked Questions

What’s a happenin’ hot stuff! Please tell me you read that like Long Duck Dong from Sixteen Candles??!!! Only one of my most favorite movies EVER! Glad to have you back! 

Are you sweating yet? Has the summer heat smacked you in the face yet? Well it has here! Good thing I love Summer and I don’t mind sweating because Florida is bringing it this year for sure! My sisters and I were supposed to go to Disney this weekend bbbbbuuuuuuttttt it is just too hot to be walking around Disney, arm pit to arm pit, with a bunch of randos. One of the beautiful things about living in Florida is we can go whenever we want so we are planning to go in the fall. 

Let’s just jump right into it, shall we? So, this week I was stumped on what to post. Not that I didn’t have content, I just had several ideas running through my head. I have kinda run head first into some new things lately so I couldn’t pin down exactly what I wanted to write about. This week on the blogs Instagram and on my Facebook I asked for your questions. What questions do you have for me? Do you have any questions about me, fitness, nutrition, my dog, or food? I thought it would be a good way for you to get some information your seeking and to get to know me a little better. This may back fire on me because once you find out more about me and what a wacko-doodle I am you might not share with your friends. Please share with your friends! PPPPLLLLEEEAAASSEEEEE! Invite them to come join this journey of mine and we can all laugh along the way! 

All right! Here we go! 

What are you training for? This is a question I am asked a lot. People stop me at the gym on a regular basis and ask this very question. In the beginning, I felt awkward. Why were they asking me this? Should I be training for something? Do I work out weird? Then I became aware of my surroundings. I would go to the gym and see people talking, people on cell phones, people resting between sets, people not sweating. I felt weird. I felt different. I tried working out that way but it was boring to me. I was there to work. I was there to sweat. I used to do A LOT of cardio. Partially because I used to run and because my head was in the wrong place about exercise so I felt cardio was king to lose weight. 

Once I shifted my focus to weight lifting I missed the endurance part of all of the cardio I used to do so I started exchanging my rest periods between sets for intense 20-30 second bursts of cardio. And the question followed me. What are you training for? My answer is always the same….nothing, I’m just working out. It may not be the guaranteed way to gain muscle or lose fat but it keeps me coming to the gym day after day. It keeps me motivated to see how hard I can go. 

Do you/ Did you play________________? Fill in the blank with whatever sport. Soccer, basketball etc. I used to swim in high school but when I tell people that they look disappointed. Its almost like they expect me to say YES! I was in all of those! I feel if I said yes it would be justification to them as to why once I enter that gym door I don’t stop until I have to leave. “She grew up with that ingrained in her from her sports back ground.” Nope, sorry. I just enjoy pushing myself. I enjoy the struggle of it. I feel accomplished when I’m done. That’s all. I have thought about joining a rec league in something, maybe kickball, but let me be honest here……I’m not that coordinated. In another life, I would be a football player. I think I would be good at that. With my broad shoulders and big legs, I would be a wall. Boom Bitch! 

What is your motivation? Hmmmm let me think how I can sum this up and wrap it with a pretty little bow. I have a lot of motivation in my life. First and foremost, my weight. I was heavy my entire childhood. And I was harassed and bullied even into my college years because of it. Part of my everyday drive is to prove them wrong. Then there is my eating disorder. While my exercise regimen was disordered at one time as well, I now have a true passion for it. Fitness is something I thoroughly enjoy. Since I have started my weight lifting journey my view of food has really changed. I see food more as fuel for my workouts and my muscles as opposed to a poison to my body. Fitness keeps my mind right so I stay on the recovery path. Finally, my mom. This is really hard for me to write as I have always admired my mother. She has always been my inspiration and driving force to be a strong, hardworking, independent woman. Health wise, however she hasn’t been good to her body, always putting it last and at this point in her life it is fighting back. A woman that has always been my superhero is now burdened with wearing an oxygen tank and uses a walker to get around. This is a huge motivating factor for me because when I’m 74 years old I still want to go hiking, I still want to go canoeing, I still want to be in the gym. 

Do you have any suggestions on getting your spouse to make heathier choices so they will lose weight? This is a tough one. I think this may even be tougher than having a heart to heart with yourself about taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle. Broaching the subject can be very touchy because you certainly do not want to offend your spouse or make them feel insecure or unattractive. So, let’s start there. Not that I’m an expert but I try to think of how I would want someone to approach me about this subject. I know I would take it to heart if someone came to me and told me I needed to change my lifestyle. Immediately I would feel defensive. The key word here is told. It’s almost like an order. Most people are not going to respond positively to that. As opposed to telling your spouse what they need to do, the best approach, I feel, is to sit down and have a conversation with them about your concerns. An honest and open, non-judgmental, non-accusatory conversation about why you are concerned about their current choices. An example may be; “I’m concerned about your eating habits. You eat a lot of fast food and that worries me. You have a history of high cholesterol in your family and I don’t want you to end up on medication or worse.” After you have opened that line of communication make sure you listen to what they have to say. This is their chance to open up to you and tell you why they are eating that way. Maybe its emotional, maybe is a convenience thing, or they may say nothing at all. Either way this is your chance to hear them out and then let them know that you want to help them make better choices because you value their health and you value the time you have together and you want to have as much time with them as possible. Now the next part may be difficult as well because, just as in marriage, this healthier lifestyle will need to be a journey you embark on together. Your spouse may have never had to eat a certain way or had to exercise to look and feel their best. This is where your patience and guidance will be key. You will need to lead by example. Start with small steps like getting them a water bottle and help them set a goal to refill it X amount of times per day. Have them give up fast food, that's it. No other changes as to not overwhelm them. This alone will start to change how they feel and change their taste. Take time to cook together, show your spouse how to prepare proper, nutritious meals. Pick out recipes to try together. Maybe this just becomes something you enjoy doing together! You may have to start out preparing their meals, maybe packing their lunch for them until they get the hang of it. Help them make time for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day. What is something they love to do? Run? Bike? Play Tennis? Make time to do those activities with them and get them into a routine. Now this is not a recipe for guaranteed success and ultimately it will be their decision if they want to make healthier choices but at least they will know and understand your concern. 

Hey! That was pretty fun. I hope you learned something and hopefully I answered your questions. If you have any other questions you can always leave a comment below, message the blog on Instagram or e-mail the blog at barbellsandboyshorts@gmail.com! 

Hope you have a fantabulous weekend and I’ll see you back here next week for this month’s installment of Jennifer Tries. And invite your friends!!!! Share the blog on the socials! Ok? Thanks! Love ya! BYYYYYEEEEE!