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These next few months are incredibly exciting for me, as I am training for my very first half marathon (the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco on October 19). Not only am I training for it, but I am raising money to fund research to advance lifesaving blood cancer treatments for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a part of Team In Training (TNT)!

Most people unfortunately have had some type of experience with cancer, whether it’s themselves or a loved one. While it was not leukemia or lymphoma, I had cervical cancer in 2009. I also lost my grandfather to prostate and bone cancer in 2000. Raising money for any type of cancer research is extremely important to me! The feeling of being told “you have cancer” is not easily explained. It’s like your heart stops, your stomach sinks, and you want to cry, but you’re in too much shock to let the tears flow. To have the chance to prevent someone from feeling like this and experiencing this pain is incredibly important to me, and I have that opportunity with TNT.

YOU can have an impact on cancer too!

Join Team In Training (TNT) and run the Nike Women’s Half Marathon (NWHM) in San Francisco on October 19. You’ll be helping The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) fund research to advance lifesaving blood cancer treatments.

TNT is the flagship fundraising campaign for LLS, and the NWHM in San Francisco is always sold out. At its 25th anniversary last year, TNT has trained more than 600,000 participants and raised more than $1.4 billion. With TNT, in exchange for raising funds, you’ll train for four months with world-class trainers, have access to clinics on nutrition and injury prevention and race through San Francisco’s iconic landmarks.

Learn More About Team in Training here and help TNT harness the power of physical activity to help LLS find cures and improve the quality of life for patients with blood cancer. Help patients feel better while you achieve your personal best (which is my goal!).

Join TNT and help us get closer to a world without blood cancers.
I’m running, won’t you join my team?

If you wish to donate without running or fundraising yourself, you can do so here at my personal fundraising page!

XO,

Lyndsay

Disclosure: I received a free entry to the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco and free registration with TNT in exchange for committed fundraising and social media posts. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Thank you to Fit Approach and TNT for the wonderful opportunity!

Today’s post is from my very first guest blogger, the beautiful Anna Lavonne Richardson from Glam Legacy Fit!

Anna’s fitness journey began in September 2012 when she decided to enter a WBFF fitness competition. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship and small business management. She uses her education to “build a business that will help women learn and perfect the skill of self confidence through nutrition, fitness, and self improvement” (borrowed from her About Me section on her blog). Anna has dedicated her life and business to helping women think beyond their genetics and what is considered average, which is something I personally promote in my health business, as well!

Anna has taken all her knowledge and experience with her nutrition and fitness business, and has written a great piece about how to measure your progress without a scale. It’s a topic that is very important to me, and I hope her tips help you as much as they have helped me! Take it away Anna:

Measuring progress in your fitness journey is one of the most important components of getting healthy and fit. Progress is the one thing that we look for in our fitness journey. For some of us our progress is measured by a distance we run without stopping or going to see the doctor and having your lab work improve. We look for our clothes to fit tighter in some places and looser in others. Tracking your progress is an essential step, but what is the proper way to go about doing it?

I was recently torn up when I saw a higher number on the scale. Yes, me! I teach all of my clients to ignore the number on the scale and I have often suggested people remove the scale from their home. Here I was stressing over a number and doing the very thing I tell people not to do. I realized quickly I was measuring progress the wrong way and I had no business being on that scale. I lift heavy weights, of course the number is going to go up. Muscle weighs more than fat, and the more lean muscle increases, so does the number on the scale. I sat down and created new ways to teach everyone, including myself how to measure progress without the scale.

Here are my top 3 ways to measure your progress…without a scale…

My number 1 recommendation is to take progress photos. I know at first it is so difficult to take the first series of pictures, but I promise you will be so thankful you did weeks, months, and even years later. The idea of progress pictures really does come from the pros. Competitors take progress photos weeks before a show to show their progress. Why can’t we do this as hard working women? Set up a camera with a timer and put on a 2 piece suit or sports bra with shorts. Take 3 pictures… 1 facing front, 1 facing sideways, 1 facing back. You can crop your head out if you would like, I know sometimes this helps! J Every 4-6 weeks take your progress photos again and again and again.
Keep a progress journal or open a specific Facebook or Instagram account for your fitness journey. Write and/or share weekly updates. How many reps, how much weight, how far you ran in _____ amount of time. What gets recorded, gets improved!!
Finally, how are your clothes fitting?! How does your skin look?! How are you sleeping?! These are all questions I encourage you to ask yourself weeks in to your fitness journey. Exercise and good nutrition improves all of these things. As you exercise and eat better, your skin will improve and start to glow. Perhaps breakouts will diminish and your hair/nails will be stronger. Your clothes will fit differently. You might even need to go out and buy a few more pairs of work pants or jeans! Are you sleeping through the night? You will begin to feel better overall and your energy levels will increase.

These are the important factors to consider as progress, not the number on the scale. Every fitness journey should be to improve yourself from the inside out, not the outside in. Decide today how you are going to start to measure your progress without the scale or numbers. Use the tools above or share your own tips below! I wish everyone great success on their fitness journey. There are so many beautiful things that come with health and wellness!

Awesome tips, right?! Thank you Anna for sharing them with us!

You can follow Anna on her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Help Us Get To The Finish Line of Cures!

XO,

Lyndsay

3 Ways to Measure Progress Without The Scale; TBB’s First Guest Blogger!

XO,

Lyndsay