Stuck...Hitting a plateau

Stuck. Yes, that's how I feel as I stand on the scale at the gym and the thing-a-ma-gigy is stuck at 140. Ugh. I've been training hard for eight months, and been losing weight and inches, but this is just unacceptable. I have hit a plateau. Not me, not the Fit Mom. How can this be? I wonder to myself.

My husband, Seth came to the gym with me on Monday. I'd already told him I was feeling stuck, so he watched me train and gave me some pointers. Monday Seth was working on his shoulders. He asked me what I was working on. I do it all, I told him as I jumped from arms to legs to abs. He told me when we got home that I need to work a certain area each day instead of doing it all everyday. This was one of the reasons I hit a plateau, my body got used to the all-around quickly. Granted, Seth knows what he's talking about since he's been conditioning and training his body since his high school wrestling days, but I needed a second opinion, a female second opinion. So on Tuesday, I talk with Karen at the gym. Karen is a regular at the gym, she's a little bit older than me, and she is FIT a mom that trains with her kids. Karen tells me the same stuff as Seth, but she takes it a step further and gives me the women's viewpoint. It's 70% diet and 30% exercise, Karen explains. Which is so true. I know I've been sneaking in a little ice cream here, chips there and some wine before bed. Yes, ladies it does catch up with you.

The diet part is hard for me not because I like sweets and carbs (I do), but because I just don't know what to eat. Karen solved this problem for me too. She said, find an athlete, trainer, or figure competitor with your similar body type and buy their cook book and exercise guide. Emulate their diet and exercise, and you'll start seeing changes. This will really take the guess work out of my diet and exercise routine.

Now, I need to find my mentor so to speak. I'll keep you updated on this journey and share with you as I slowly become unstuck.

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Faux Pas

Lately, I've been riding on a weight loss high. I've been getting a lot of compliments from friends and family. They tell me how good I look and ask me my secret. "Well," I begin. "I go to the gym at least three times a week," I proudly boast. "I eat healthy and limit my sweet intake," I continue. I even found a social fitness website-- www.fitocracy.com. It's like Facebook for the fitness fanatics. You just enter in your workouts and activities and boom, strangers are giving you props (similar to likes) and cheering you on. It's all good stuff, but a little too much went to my head. So today my girlfriends, Michelle, Becca and I are lifting weights at the gym. Michelle and Becca do a free-standing 90-lb squat. I watch them doing it, and I'm thinking no problem, piece of cake. I do those all the time on the squat rack. So, I saunter over to the rack of weights and lift the 90-lb barbel over my shoulders, get into position, go down for the squat and then back up. Then it hits me. I'm about to fall over. "Help!" I call over to Michelle. She comes over and tries to get the weight off my back, but I'm stuck. I scan the weight room in a panic. Where's the big guys when I need them? I spot a guy from behind, and he sees the fear in my eyes and rushes over to help me. He easily hoists the barbell off my back and frees me. I'm saved. Then I scan the room again, I feel like every eye is on me. It's like a direct hit to my ego and embarrassment washes over me. Needless to say, I'm going to be more careful and use better judgement when it comes to my lifting abilities. I may not be able to do a 90-lb squat today, but I can start smaller and work my way up tomorrow.

So in the spirit of learning from my faux pas. Here are the top 5 weight lifting safety tips from Bodybuilding.com. Be sure to visit the link to get the reasoning for each tip.

1. Wear appropriate work out clothing
2. When in doubt, ask for help
3. Ensure That Before You Execute A Lift, All Of The Weight Plates Are Properly Secured.
4.Warm-up before you move onto heavier weights
5.Leave The Ego Aside & Practice Perfect Form.