Little Changes...
So we all start the new year with the highest of hopes, right? We're going to eat better, work out more and never ever ever cheat. This time is going to be different and there's nothing that's going to throw us off course. Sound familiar? Well, so will this... the next morning you wake up late, starving, and unprepared to start the way you planned. You grab some leftovers or a maybe just a coffee, beginning the cycle of downward spiral that lasts until the ball drops the next year.
Well, this year can be different!!! The winning approaches...
1. Make reasonable goals
2. Start small
3. Log progress
4. Acknowledge the successes and the setbacks
5. Allow yourself to let continue on the path, even if you stray a little
6. Accept that this is going to be a lifetime, not a vacation
OK, so are you set? Now I will go into a few ways for you start your "healthier" lifestyle right now! I'm not going to profess that I have all of the answers, that I am my ideal body size, shape, or composition, or that it's easy everyday. I will say that I am a person who has struggled my entire life with imagine problems. I have always been an athlete (albeit, not always a well trained one... lol) and have very high standards that I am trying to make more reasonable for everyday life. It's a challenge for me everyday and it doesn't seem to get easier, no matter what all of the books say about routines. Make you feel any better? We're probably in the same boat, so feel free to vent!
Some baby steps...
1. Try drinking one cup of water an hour. Chug it if you have to. Proper hydration can help prevent that mid-afternoon crash. Also, if you are hydrated you won't mistake the thirst sensation for hunger, which helps prevent overeating.
2. Move more. Whatever you are doing, double it. If you aren't working out at all, start using the stairs, parking further away, or even sit and stand more from the couch - MOVE!
3. Journal. This is where people lose interest. But you can log anything that will help show a change. Write about your mood during your "journey", log your food intake, track your training program (weights, sets, reps, or even intensity and time), record your measurements. Whatever works for YOU. This gives you your starting point. Something to look back and remind you where you have come from. Do it!
4. Eat more... fruits and veggies. If you feel like a sweet, grab some fruit. Need a crunch, grab a veggy. If you still need something to kill the extra urge after you've tried this, keep some miniatures around and allow yourself one. Don't eat the whole bag. BUT, if you do... live with it and move on. Please don't throw in the towel. It's not worth it!!
I know I said that I would be posting the Couch Potato Workout and I haven't forgotten. I will throw out the basics for right now and I'll post specific exercises a little later. The general plan would be to understand that at the end of the day you want to enjoy your favorites, and there's nothing wrong with that, but we need to get in some exercise. So during each commercial, get up and do something. ANYTHING. Dance with your kids, do some crunches, squats, leg lifts, push-ups. Go with the anything is better than nothing motto and say it in your head. When your show starts again, you get a break.
Hope this helps a little. Let me know how you do! I'm going to try to reach my goal of getting into a two piece this summer. Wish me luck... or not. I guess it's all up to me. My hubby bought me a Nike t-shirt for Christmas that says "Training is the opposite of hoping". I love it! That's my new mantra, right after "I've worked too damn hard to throw it all away for a piece of _____". You know what I mean! So... let's "JUST DO IT"!
Well, this year can be different!!! The winning approaches...
1. Make reasonable goals
2. Start small
3. Log progress
4. Acknowledge the successes and the setbacks
5. Allow yourself to let continue on the path, even if you stray a little
6. Accept that this is going to be a lifetime, not a vacation
OK, so are you set? Now I will go into a few ways for you start your "healthier" lifestyle right now! I'm not going to profess that I have all of the answers, that I am my ideal body size, shape, or composition, or that it's easy everyday. I will say that I am a person who has struggled my entire life with imagine problems. I have always been an athlete (albeit, not always a well trained one... lol) and have very high standards that I am trying to make more reasonable for everyday life. It's a challenge for me everyday and it doesn't seem to get easier, no matter what all of the books say about routines. Make you feel any better? We're probably in the same boat, so feel free to vent!
Some baby steps...
1. Try drinking one cup of water an hour. Chug it if you have to. Proper hydration can help prevent that mid-afternoon crash. Also, if you are hydrated you won't mistake the thirst sensation for hunger, which helps prevent overeating.
2. Move more. Whatever you are doing, double it. If you aren't working out at all, start using the stairs, parking further away, or even sit and stand more from the couch - MOVE!
3. Journal. This is where people lose interest. But you can log anything that will help show a change. Write about your mood during your "journey", log your food intake, track your training program (weights, sets, reps, or even intensity and time), record your measurements. Whatever works for YOU. This gives you your starting point. Something to look back and remind you where you have come from. Do it!
4. Eat more... fruits and veggies. If you feel like a sweet, grab some fruit. Need a crunch, grab a veggy. If you still need something to kill the extra urge after you've tried this, keep some miniatures around and allow yourself one. Don't eat the whole bag. BUT, if you do... live with it and move on. Please don't throw in the towel. It's not worth it!!
I know I said that I would be posting the Couch Potato Workout and I haven't forgotten. I will throw out the basics for right now and I'll post specific exercises a little later. The general plan would be to understand that at the end of the day you want to enjoy your favorites, and there's nothing wrong with that, but we need to get in some exercise. So during each commercial, get up and do something. ANYTHING. Dance with your kids, do some crunches, squats, leg lifts, push-ups. Go with the anything is better than nothing motto and say it in your head. When your show starts again, you get a break.
Hope this helps a little. Let me know how you do! I'm going to try to reach my goal of getting into a two piece this summer. Wish me luck... or not. I guess it's all up to me. My hubby bought me a Nike t-shirt for Christmas that says "Training is the opposite of hoping". I love it! That's my new mantra, right after "I've worked too damn hard to throw it all away for a piece of _____". You know what I mean! So... let's "JUST DO IT"!
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