These past 10 weeks have been hard, rewarding, challenging, educational, and totally worth it. I am really glad that I pushed myself to get more intense workouts in while documenting my nutrition. I have learned so much and above all, I have created healthy habits for myself. I started at about 132 pounds and I am now down to about 125 pounds. I started with 17% body fat and I am now down to 15% body fat. I feel stronger and faster in my workouts and like I am really pushing myself to the limit. I can see small results in my body too which is great. I can honestly say that I have worked extremely hard and I am proud of myself.
I know that there is no stopping now though. I am going to continue to eat the way I have been while getting in great workouts. I am going to keep my good habits going and try hard to stay with my healthy nutrition. I know there will be slip ups from time to time but the goal is to keep working hard and push through it. Get back up again and keep moving forward and to not let mistakes build on top of each other.
I feel in a really good mental state right now. I feel well educated on my food options and I know how to make the right choices. I have learned new workouts that I can use to challenge myself and I know how to push myself to the limit. I also know that I need to keep exercising almost every day and incorporating strength exercises. Overall, I feel well prepared to continue my commitment to be fit without documenting everything thing I eat along with my workouts.
It’s time for me to lose the diary for a while and see if I can do without it. I am going to keep this blog to post interesting articles, workout ideas, recipes, and other things relating to fitness and nutrition.
Here are the top things that I have learned so far:
1. Drink lots of water. All the time. This makes me feel good, gives me energy, and there are so many more benefits to being hydrated.
2. It’s about MUSCLE. Do Strength Workouts and Incorporate Weights. Muscle burns fat and helps you lean out not bulk up. You need cardio too but muscle is very important and it's crucial to get strength workouts in.
3. Know what Nutrition Labels mean. It was amazing to me how unhealthy certain foods were that I previously didn’t know about. I have been much better at especially looking at carbs, sodium, and sugar and not just calories. Now that I know how much of each category I should have per day, it helps put things in perspective.
4. Be INTENSE. I found that if I reminded myself to push as hard as I could, my workouts were so much more beneficial. I think you will see results when you push yourself out of your comfort zone and your gasping for breath or sweating like a maniac.
5. Change it up! When I would get into a boring slump, I would take a different kind of exercise class or make up a new and different workout for myself. When I was bored with my food, I tried out different healthy recipes.
6. Use Common Sense. We know what are healthy choices and what are not most of the time. If you don’t think something is good for you, it’s probably not. Stick to fresh produce, lean meats, and whole grains.
7. Find Inspiration. For me, my inspiration was in quotes, reading or watching people who overcame obstacles, listening to certain music, or looking ahead to my goals and what I wanted to achieve. You have to find whatever will keep you motivated to stay focused and keep working hard.
8. Indulge wisely. When you have that craving you just can’t shake, give in a little but be careful. Don’t overdo it and see if there is a way you can make it healthier. For example, I found a way to cure my sweet tooth by using light cool whip, low fat vanilla wafers, and fruit. If you do a little creative thinking and research, I’m sure you can find a way to make an unhealthy option just a little bit better.
9. Have a Support System. I found that it was helpful and comforting to talk to my friends who were also trying to slim down. We were able to share ideas and keep each other motivated. Also, by using facebook and this blog, it helped keep me in check because a lot of people would ask me about it.
10. Reward Yourself. Not with food but with other incentives. In one of my blogs, I outlined how I was going to reward myself in 3 week intervals with manicures, massages, shopping, etc. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get yourself up every day, get workouts, eat right, make good choices, and stick with it. So you deserve to reward yourself plus hopefully it will give you incentives to keep doing what you’re doing.
Hey!! I know this is random but I was just at fellow bloggers on here tonight and came across yours and noticed that we're both admissions counselors! Small world! Great blog by the way.
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