Well kinda.

You see this blog is my passion. It is my place of fun. A place where I get to hang out and do my thang and I don’t have to worry about life, my kids, the dishes and etc. I just sit down and start to talk about what’s going on in the world of looking good naked. But this means when something big comes along—not just busy-ness because I am always busy—this will take the hit. That time has come and has been the last two weeks—hence the one time per week posting. So let’s talk about that for a second.

When I say I am going underground, I mean that I will be doing two things:

Sending my posts out as blog blasts and
Putting my premium content in a blog blast

Blog blasts make your life easier because instead of visiting my blog everyday in hopes that I have posted, I send it straight to your inbox so you have it before anybody else does. You do not have to sign up for this but I highly recommend that you do because I will no longer post ‘series’ in my blog, I will only send them out as a blast. Now I know what you’re thinking and I’m going to stop you right there. This is not a ploy to get you to sign up to sell you stuff. I have nothing to sell on this blog, remember, it’s my personal haven. If you sign up (or you are already signed up b/c there are a lot of you who are) you will only receive quality content each and every post. If there is something that I am supporting, you will hear about it in the blast only AFTER I have done something for you first with content and it won’t be spammy. I think that is only fair. However, I am not set up to sell anything so no worries there and if and when I do, I’ll give you heads up.

But I have been schooled to the ways of the blogosphere and have found out about bloggers who somehow troll the web and take content off of your site and push it as their own. I do not know the exact mechanism of this but it has to do with links and trackbacks and things that Google can trace and all kinds of wizardry like that that goes way over my head (honestly, gave me a headache when they tried to explain it to me). I do not want to stop giving out quality content so all programming is going to a blast only whereas my articles are open to the public. BTW, programming refers to series that I will do like ‘how to diet for vacations’ and ‘what to do to prepare for a reunion’ and etc. I also want to give back to those who have been with this blog for the short time it has been in existence. I truly appreciate your support (and wonderful emails) and cannot wait til you see all that I have in store for you for 2010.

Now as for what has been taking all my time… my site has finally launched. It is www.modelper4mance.com. It is a blog and website all in one and it is for athletes (from recreational to elite) who want to become more competitive in their sport through sound nutrition and training principles. Tell your friends and family to come check it out. We cover the athlete as a whole, not just their nutrition for their sport, so we talk about everything. There is so much we are going to cover there that it is crazy. There will be athlete spotlights, contests, health issue articles, training articles and etc. All info is presented in a funny, lighthearted way—you know, what you’re used to!—and will be presented 5 days a week on the blog. You are more than welcome to come hang out with us, just know that the focus is different than this blog so what is said there by me may not always translate the same as to what I say here. They’re not trying to look good naked.

Check it out and let me know what you think about it. I am looking for any and all feedback you may have (and thank you to so many of you who have shared your opinions thus far, as well) so feel free to email me at Jodi@modelper4mance.com and tell me what you’re thinking.

Lastly, Jodiojo is getting a bit of a facelift. Not sure of how much but she’ll be getting her ‘hair did’ soon.;) Might be minor changes or a whole theme change, not sure, but it’s time to raise the bar a bit on my baby. She’s a lovely blog, so I am going to give her some attention. Stay tuned while she’s under construction. It won’t be long, though, because she’s kinda hot as is.

So that’s it in a nutshell. Again, thank you for keeping up with my daily escapades and get ready for a content-filled 2010! Woop woop!:o)

I went to my sister’s house yesterday morning and it is a bit of a drive for me, all highway, at least an hour.  It’s Sunday morning so there are very few people on the road but there was enough that you might have to dodge a few slow pokes and avoid a couple of psychos.  Halfway to her house I pick up a psycho.  A woman in a Toyota (relatively new, well kept and nice tires—just sayin’…) decides that she is going to play footsie with me.  She could not decide whether she wanted to be in front of me or behind me.  She would speed up and pass me and then moments later I would find myself passing her—and not because I was trying.  If this was a weekday, I would have ended this nonsense by just blowing past her (and the NASA space shuttle for that matter) all in one swoosh.  I drive a lawn mower for a car so this would have been an effort but I wouldn’t have cared.  I would have thought: “Off with your head!” as I left her 10 car lengths behind.. 

But it’s Sunday morning and I seriously could not have cared less.  I was groggy, enjoying my CD in my car and just loving the drive because there were no cars on the road.  So when she decided to kick it up a notch and pass me for the third time, I let her.  She must have flown by me doing at least 90 and was probably thinking the same thing I would have been thinking had I passed her—‘Off with your head!’.  I was happy to see her go and thought to myself, “I need a good wingman anyways to flush out the staties. I’ll stay close but not too close.”  No sooner did I think that than I saw him pull out from the side of the road, fly up behind her and pull her over.  You know that could have been me.  Gotta love a good wingman.

Do you have a good wingman? 

Technically, my driver friend does not fully count as a wingman because we are supposed to both be in it together for us to each other’s wingmen…but at that moment, she was mine.  And I am wondering, when it comes to dieting, do you have a wingman? 

Seriously, this is not a role to take lightly and just put any ol’ person in the position.  You need to have a friend who has your back so that when you call her up with one hand on the baked chicken breast and the other hand on the Twinkie, she knows what to do.  Dieting is hard.  Dieting with a very distinct purpose of affecting a change in your appearance more than what the general public will do is even harder.  You need someone in the trenches with you who knows how to roll with your mood swings and provide you with good advice when you find yourself leaving your husband for a molten chocolate dessert that he ate without any remorse.  Oh no, you need to really *think* about this role. 

Who is it?  Who is that person that can keep you on track even when you don’t want to be?

You don’t know?  Find them.  Fast.

These people do exist and most of the time they are not your closest friend.  They almost shouldn’t be because it’s going to get rough.  When you just cannot eat another piece of chicken or you want to poke your eyes out if you see another vegetable, they need to step in like Rocky’s trainer and slap you around like a husband in a bad Lifetime movie (such as Julia Robert’s brother who must have starred in at least 10 Lifetime movies—oy!).   Really good friends have a hard time doing that for you.  They typically sympathize with you and end up enabling you:  “You know what, girl…You haven’t had anything in a long time.  Let’s just go to dinner and get something…”  Don’t fall for this.  Get a wingman who will handle you differently:  “Girl, go in your closet and put on those jeans you want to wear.  Oh wait, they don’t fit right?  I didn’t think so.  I’ll see you at the gym in a half hour.  Be ready to do some work.”  Now THAT’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!

It’s January so you are most likely on a mission that’s burning hotter than Aruba with no shade.  But that’s going to fade real soon.  Like…ummm…tomorrow.  So when that happens, you need to be prepared.  Get that wingman in place now. 

She needs to be stronger than you.

She does not have to be {insert here} (skinnier, taller, prettier, etc.).  It’s not about that.  It’s about will.  She’s gotta have it.

She needs to be available.  Don’t pick your second cousin Leslie who just happens to be in jail at the moment.  Yeah she’s tough ‘n’ all but she can only call you Sunday nights after 7pm.  Not good.

She needs to have similar goals because you are riding her mojo. 

Lastly, she needs to know how to get it done.  You don’t want to be wandering in the desert for 40 years with this girl.  You want to get somewhere fast.

Right now it is all about staying on track.  Starting with the end in mind.  Doing your thing.  Getting it done.

Yes, you can do this without a good support network.  You can even do it without a good wingman.  But it won’t be anywhere near as enjoyable so do yourself a favor and go find one.  She’s ready and waiting to boss you around.;)

Or…watch your rear view mirror because whether you like it or not, you may be someone else’s wingman.

Happy Dieting!  Woop woop!:o)

I love alcohol.  Seriously. 

Nothing beats a great glass of wine with an even better steak dinner.  It can be relaxing, yummy and almost daring depending on how often you indulge.

But consuming it on a regular basis is not going to get you the body that you want.  It may get you some extra pounds—not because it makes you gain weight, but because it drops your guard and you make bad choices—or possibly some temporary relaxation, but drinking in and of itself makes for a crappy cheat meal.

Occasionally I will read of a trainer saying it is ok to have a drink with their meal as a treat and to count it as a cheat meal.  I hear you trying to keep the client focused and not putting them in a “box of denial” and normally I am the most easy going of folks when it comes to rules.  But alcohol is one that I have a no tolerance policy for when you have a goal that you are trying to reach. 

I get it, too, that it is easy for me to say that because I am no longer shooting for that “look” anymore.  But when I was going for it, I did not drink.  Ever.  Not at Christmas parties, birthday parties, never.  Just was off limits. 

Why?

Because it wastes so much precious time. 

It’s as simple as that. 

Alcohol does not cause you to gain weight.  It just keeps you from losing.  After you get over the dehydration caused by your drink or two, you then have to go about shuttling all the toxins through your liver.  That takes precious time away from your liver to do the thing it likes to do: breakdown fat.  So how do we make this work as a “cheat meal”? 

Once a month if you want to keep progressing—and it would be the only cheat that I would have that meal, that day, that week.

I am typically asked if it matters if it is “lite beer” or “gin vs. vodka” because of the calories.  This has nothing to do with calories.  This has everything to do with the fact that your body does not recognize alcohol as anything but a toxin.  It is not a carbohydrate.  It carries 7 cals per gram when carbs carry 4.  It takes about 24 hours to make it through your system and it is a stimulant typically causing you to have an increased appetite—i.e. munchies. 

Some of the biggest arguments I have had as a nutritionist have been about alcohol.  I get it, it helps you relax.  I know you want to have a glass every night but I am telling you, it will catch up to you more than anything else in your diet.  I can tell when I drink.  I don’t like it so I have since stopped (although I turn 40 this year and I can tell you it is going down!  Sorry…time to focus.)  being as casual about it as I have been the last year and a half so I am back to my original policy of general avoidance.  But for the brief time in my life that I let it back in to my food choices, I could tell the difference and it was not worth it.

Cheats are personal.  Some people can do the nibble thing.  Others need a meal and that’s it.  Some need to know that have the freedom to have something whenever.  Regardless, choose your weapon of choice sans alcohol when you are trying to lose weight or affect a change in your body.  Nothing is worse than wasting time and that’s exactly what alcohol does for you.  Wastes time.

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