After I graduated from college, I left my consistent training days behind me. Not necessarily because I wanted to, but because I thought that was what grownups do, unless you were and Olympic Athlete or in the pros. I got married and my four children kept me moving.

I was determined to keep them moving and learning as they grew, but that was it, until we found karate. I put my daughter in a class to give her some socialization, because I homeschooled my children. It was a challenge to sit on the side and draw stick people to help her when we go home, so I decided I would start taking karate class with my daughter just so I could help her when she was home at the start of the new year.

As time went by, I began to love martial arts, and stretched out my wings. I competed and won three state championships, I became a sensei, so did my children. Every day we went to class, practiced, trained, and taught children and women how to protect themselves, together. Little did I know that making that decision would create a major dynamic in our household that would define a large part of our life as a family.

My entire family learned and taught karate together. I cannot tell you what it meant to spend that time learning and teaching alongside my children. A decision I made to just be there for my daughter started me on a journey that changed and enriched my life. Never did I imagine the result would be that I would participate in kumite’s, become a 3rd degree blackbelt and help so many people, while having so many years of joy doing it!!

When we set goals, we are often so focused on the result that we do not realize the journey is a major part and is just as important as the goal itself. As you can see my goal was simple, but it kept changing as I moved forward to reaching a new goal. The everyday progress was as small as just attending class, practicing 10mins every day, learning a new Japanese term daily.

The key to not focusing on the result is creating a roadmap or a compass that will serve as directions to get to our destination. When we went on a trip, we planned the route, we used to look at maps, now technology has given us GPS to help get us there. It is through the journey that we gradually make changes to get our result. On the way to a destination, we make stops at self-confidence, knowledge of our strengths/weaknesses, determination, resilience, and enjoyment.

I like to use these categories as a guide for goal making. You can use anything for your New Year’s Resolution. These are in no order, but all things in our life need balance. An example is a table, when our legs are well balanced, we can stack more responsibility onto the table without it falling. Let us imagine each category is a leg on a table and if one or more legs is lacking you will not have a stable table!

• Self-Care
• Spiritual
• Health
• Wealth
• Love
• Knowledge
• Travel
• Community

To summarize, our goals should be SMART, but broken down into small pitstops to show us how we can get to the destination. Who you become while on the way to your destination is just as important as the end. Using a roadmap or compass will give you so many little accomplishments that motivate you to continue your path. Choosing where you start is not as important as STARTING!!! Come join me on our journey to health and wellness. Embrace, Excel and Defy!!! While you Give Life Your ALL!! (Appreciate, Love and Live Life!!). You can also find me on FB @stephaniewhittenfitness

We are sitting increasingly every day and slowly we are gaining weight, that makes us susceptible to hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and a wide range of cancers. As a fitness professional I know the standard conversation and the weight loss equation very well, eat more + more than you move = weight gain, and eat less + exercise = weight loss. It is amazingly simple, right? Wrong!!!

Many of us think that willpower is the answer and we write off ever trying to lose weight, because we do not have that part to add to the equation. It is true that willpower, being a part of human behavior is so complex, like so much of the makeup of humans. There are many factors that drive weight gain and loss, from the brain, hormones, sleep, genes, environment, and stress to name a few. Our willpower alone, for most cannot withstand all those major players.

A large amount of weight loss focuses on behaviors and strategies to lose weight. What if we build knowledge of the things that are predictors of weight gain to get an understanding to prevent weight gain and learn to manage it? I conducted a little experiment on myself. I am a Generation X woman that normally works out for at least 30min, 6 days a week doing strength training and HIIT for cardio for over 5 years.

I wanted to see what would happen if I made one lifestyle change in my day, so I chose to eat a Bojangles biscuit every day for a month. I kept all my other eating habits in place, except for taking out the additional calories of the biscuit, exercise, and all. At the end of the month, I had put 3 inches on my waist.

I was shocked!!! WOW!! Just one biscuit. I could not wait to start eating like I usually did, because I did have a lot of heaviness after eating that biscuit in the morning. I had to switch my workout time around. I could not do cardio first thing in the morning on a biscuit stomach, so I would do my lifting and do HIIT in the afternoon. I got it done with protein shakes and meals in!! I was so excited to get the midsection down, so I could fit in my pants. The end of the month came, and it was time to measure!! I could not believe my eyes!!! The 3 inches had not budged.

So next month I added more water…no change!!! The following month I increased my cardio….no change!!!! Added more cardio…no change!!!! Added a reduction in calories…no change!!!! Added more fiber…no change!!!! I added more good fats…no change!!! So here we are at 7 months out with the same 3 inches that only took a month to put on, with only one added thing to my diet, with every other good habit unchanged!!! This is crazy, but it was my reality check and confirmation. Just imagine if I had added two or three.

That one insignificant change in my eating causes a change in the structure of my workout, the way my clothes fit, which caused a change in how I felt about myself and the stress of trying to figure out how to get it off.

I started something new to my lifestyle, intermittent fasting and it finally came off. I have been training my body for a while and have learned to pay close attention to how I feel and my health, especially being over 50. I realized sooner than later, but much later in life that what I put in my mouth casually makes a difference. Making ourselves aware of how our bodies respond to our internal and external world, limiting the foods that we know will cause our body to react in a way that does not benefit us in life, is an advantage we have.

In conclusion there are so many predictors and factors of weight gain and loss, so we want to do what we can to prevent it and be proactive. Recognizing that the smallest things can impact our bodies to snowball into undesirable health and our change is not as easy as just saying I will use willpower but being flexible may have some benefits. Sharing this part of my many journeys is just a small part of a series that we are doing to kick off our New Year’s Resolution information articles.

You can always join me on FB @stephaniewhittenfitness. Embrace, Excel, Defy and Give Life Your ALL! Appreciate, Love and Live life!!!