Part 1: Motivation & A New Year

I hope everyone has enjoyed the start of the New Year. Are you sticking to your resolutions?
If one of your resolutions was to exercise more, how have you been at sticking to this? With this cold weather I know how difficult it can be to motivate yourself to exercise. I should know!The early morning workouts I did last year have so far become non-existent.

Not exercising enough has likely been the contributing factor to why I haven't been blogging over the last two months. Or maybe not blogging has contributed to my not exercising enough! Recording my fat-burning journey and mentioning exercise and nutrition on this blog has been very helpful to my trim-down goal. It seems that keeping a record or a journal of your exercise/weight loss goal can keep you on the right path.

I have been doing a few minutes of stretching in the morning, plus there's all the walking I do each day when taking my DDs to and from school. But its time to get back on that path and do more. Just writing this has now spurred me on to exercise.
Are you keeping a record or journal of your exercise/weight loss goal?

A Little Bit Makes A Lot of Difference!

You keep telling yourself that you must exercise. You keep beating up on yourself when you haven't exercised. You keep telling yourself that you haven't got the time to exercise. Perhaps it's time to stop calling it 'exercise'.
The word sounds like such a chore...and who likes doing chores. It's something you do because you have to, not because you enjoy it. You want to get it out of the way, and subconsciously you're clock-watching, waiting for it to be over.
If you're trying to lose weight, don't exercise...do fat-burning (activities). This is what I've been doing for the last four weeks. As much as I love doing Tae Bo and Harvey's Fighting Fit Fighting Fat DVDs, I want to keep myself physically active, as much as possible, each day.
It doesn't have to be something requiring you to change into workout gear. There are lots of fat-burning activities you can do per day/per week, that will contribute to you trimming down your weight. Recently, I've done the following:

• Putting on a children's CD and dancing around the living room with my two young DDs
• Putting on my salsa/merengue CDs and doing salsa dancing/zumba-like fitness, while cooking, cleaning, tidying up.
• Brushing up, instead of vacuuming. I've found brushing a carpet requires more energy than vacuuming. I've incorporated waist twists for even more fat-burn.
• My own armlifts - no, not using weights...but my three year old daughter! This started by chance, when I lifted my daughter into the air and put her back down...and she wanted me to do it again...and again...and again...and again...It's now a regular in our household. I'm not complaining!
• Lifting up both my DDs on either side of me and being a human see-saw! This they enjoy!
• Being a lover of Strictly Come Dancing, who would love to learn the 'old fashioned' dances, I like to pick up either of my daughters, and dance the foxtrot..or the tango...and the waltz, and waltz around the room. They love it! My DDs sure aren't light (at 3 and 5), so I'm certainly developing some muscles in my arms when I lift them!
• Occasionally walking back from school after taking first my eldest, then my youngest(in the afternoon). 'Power walking' to school to pick them up. It's about a twenty-five minute walk to school, but I often get there in fifteen minutes!Yee har!
• Walking up and down the stairs at home, as much as possible per day.

I've been noticing the difference too - I'm looking a little trimmer, and have had a few comments from people too, so I guess I must be doing something right. I've also been changing how I eat...but I'll leave that for another blog post.
A little bit really does make a difference, and it hasn't felt like a chore at all.

The Early Bird Again!

After falling asleep as soon as I put my DDs to bed last night, I woke up alert enough to do an early morning workout (5.50am exactly). I ignored the fact that it was still dark outside and slipped my workout DVD into the player.
This morning, it was the turn of a TAE-BO workout. I poured a large glass of water and got to 'work'. I started with the Basic workout but then fast forward to the Advanced workout. That was more like it. I worked up a sweat and enjoyed all the punches and kick exercises. It felt good. Maybe I had some aggression to get out...
If you're looking for a different type of workout from what you're used to seeing, then as well as checking out Harvey's Fighting Fat, Fighting Fit as I previously posted about, then you should check out and try Tae Bo. Ideal for men and women, so get your partner to do a workout with you. I used to love doing Tae Bo many years ago, before my DDs arrived, but like so many other things, Tae Bo and exercising got put on the back burner. But I'm back now and raring to go. Click on the picture for more details about Tae Bo.

When did you realise...?

When did you realise you were larger than you thought?
I realised when I couldn't button my shirts/blouses all the way. I had thought it was because I had become big 'up top' after having my last child. Until, I noticed, last winter, that I couldn't button up any of my winter coats and jackets at all.

When did you realise? Please leave your comments

Vanity Weight Loss

A term I've just coined for one of the reasons why people want to lose weight. According to an article I've just come across, there's nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight for vanity reasons. Read more of this article from the Los Angeles Times here

What's Your Weight Loss Plan

Have you devised a weight loss plan? What is your weight loss goal? If you haven't, or you want to assess your current plan and goal here are a few points to consider. Something that I will be doing.

What should your long-term goal be? And what short-term goals should you set to help you get there? You have a better chance of attaining your goals if you make sure that the weight loss plans that you will use are sensible and reasonable right at the beginning.
Here are some guidelines from the experts in choosing weight loss plans and goals.

1. Be Realistic
Most people’s long-term weight loss plans are more ambitious than they have to be.
For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and your long-term plan is to weigh 120, even if you have not weighed 120 since you were 16 and now you are 45, that is not a realistic weight loss goal.
Your body mass index or BMI is a good indicator of whether or not you need to shed of pounds. The ideal BMI range, according to the national Institutes of Health, is between 19 and 24.9. If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Any number above 30 is in the obesity range.
From this point of view, you will need a sensible weight loss plan that will correspond to the required BMI based on your height, because this is the primary factor that will affect your BMI.

2. Set Apropriate Objectives
Using a weight loss plan just for vanity’s sake is psychologically less helpful than losing weight to improve health.
You have made a big step forward if you decide to undergo a weight loss plan that includes exercise and eating right so that you will feel better and have more energy to do something positive in your life.

3. Focus on Doing, not Losing
Rather than saying that you are going to lose a pound this week, say how much you are going to exercise this week. This would definitely make up a sensible weight loss plan.
Keep in mind that your weight within a span of a week is not completely in your control, but your behaviour is.

4. Build Bit by Bit
Short-term weight loss plans should not be “pie-in-the-sky.” This means that when you have never exercised at all, your best weight loss plan for this week should be based on finding three different one-mile routes that you can walk next week, for example.

5. Keep up the Self-Encouragement
An all-or-nothing attitude only sets you up to fail. Learn to evaluate your efforts fairly and objectively. If you fall short of some goals, just look ahead to next week. You do not need to have a perfect record.
After all, self-encouragement should definitely be a part of your weight loss plans. Otherwise, you will just fail in the end.

Challenge

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6. Use Measurable Measures
Saying that you are going to be more positive this week or that you are going to really get serious this week is not a goal that you can measure and should not be a part of your weight loss plan.
This is another reason why you should incorporate exercise on your weight loss plan and focus on it. You should be able to count up the minutes of exercise in order to be successful in your plan.

5 Women's Amazing Transformations

I came across this inspiring article on the Oprah website about 5 women who have lost a substantial amount of weight and look great for it. The article also highlights clothes to wear in your 'new' slimdown size. To read their stories and find out how they achieved and maintain the weight loss click here

What, No Rice or Potatoes!!

I came across a diet plan the other day, which didn't include any rice, potatoes or any other carbohydrates with lunch and dinner. While my lunch did contain rice, my dinner consisted of fish with salad - no potatoes or rice as I would have eaten.
While I know it's not something I could or would want to stick to everyday, I will test it out 3/4 times a week.
I want to research more into a low-carb diet and Dr Atkins. That's my homework for this week.
Has anyone tried a low-carb diet? Did you lose any/much weight? Would love to hear from you.

Do I need a Diet AND Fitness Routine?

Dieting and Fitness

When it comes to living a long and healthy life, there are two necessary ingredients: diet and fitness. While some believe that they are one thing all together, nothing could be further from the truth. It is quite possible to have a perfectly healthy diet with terrible fitness habits. It is equally possible to be very physically fit with less than savory eating habits.

There's a clever little line in the Jimmy Buffet song "Fruitcakes" when his 'lady' is lamenting:
"I treat my body like a temple
 You treat yours like a tent"

I can't help but think of this line whenever I think about all the people around the world who are going on these garbage in, garbage out diet plans hoping to achieve the weight loss success of those who are endorsing these products.

To be completely honest, it is possible to shed pounds through diet alone. It is difficult but possible. It is also possible to be physically fit and have a few extra pounds hanging around. To a large degree we are what we eat. If we consume a high fat low substance diet our bodies are going to lack the fuel required to burn the fat. At the same time if we aren't providing our bodies with the tools it needs to build muscle it doesn't matter how many weights we lift.

When it comes to diet and fitness, the best results are achieved when they work together rather than separately. Use your fitness routine to burn excess calories and use your diet in order to properly provide your body the nutrients and fuel it needs to build muscle. I've heard many times in my life that a pound of muscle weighs less than a pound of fat. While this is not true at all, a pound is a pound regardless; a pound of muscle occupies less space on the body than a pound of fat. Pound for pound, I would much rather mine be composed of muscle than fat. Dieting alone does not build muscle and that is something you will do well to remember in your efforts.

You should also realize that as you are building muscle you may be shedding inches while not showing a great deal of progress on the scale. It is very important that you keep this in mind throughout the weight loss process. Do not measure your progress by the scales alone or you will achieve misleading results. The problem is that far too many people do just this and get frustrated and give up when they are actually making progress. Do not allow yourself to be a victim of the scales. Look in the mirror, try on your tight pants, and measure your waistline. Measure your success by how you feel after climbing a flight of stairs not by how many pounds fell of the scale this week.

By incorporating fitness into your diet routine you are also enabling your body to burn off any extra calories you may have consumed during the day. This means that if you want to have a small 'cheat' during your day, you can make up for it by burning a few more calories than normal in the evening. This isn't something that should happen often but an occasional occurrence isn't going to make or break your diet.

You should also look at dieting and fitness as a ball and glove type of relationship. While you can play ball without the glove, it seems to work so much better if you have both. Diet and fitness when combined can create fantastic weight loss results for those who take them both seriously. The thing to remember is that neither works as well alone and neither will work unless you are willing to do the work. You must make this a priority in your life in order to achieve the best.

Welcome

After giving birth to my second (and last) child, my weight has not been as it was a) before having children b) nor is it near the weight I want it to be. I last gave birth three years and four months ago.
It's been a long time since I've fitted into a size 10 (my goodness, I don't even know what decade I last fitted into a size 10). I day I might just be able to!
But realistically, my goal is to drop two dress sizes, and look toned in the process.
How am I going to achieve this?
Answer: an adjustment to my current eating habits and an increased active lifestyle. I say increased active lifestyle, because I do quite a bit of walking, particularly during term time when I speed walk to school to pick up my daughter, and walk back. But I want to do more. I just need to give myself that push to get going.
By writing this blog, I believe it will give me the encouragement to maintain my fat-burning goal. I hope by reading this blog, you will also feel motivated and encouraged to take steps to achieve your fat-burning / weight loss goals.
Please leave comments when you can, and feel free to also inform the other readers of your fat-burning journey.
I'm ready for a new me, are you ready for a new you?
If so, let's start on our journey together.
Tracey xxx