Alrighty gals, I am so excited to see you take this step towards a healthier you! This change does not only impact you but your family as well! Being around a healthy person is invigorating - watch your DH encourage and support you (well he should anyway!) If he doesn’t he’ll soon notice the changes in your body and personal perception! Here is a guide to some practical ways to start on the right path towards a healthy lifestyle.
First the questions, your answers will help you realize what would be motivating for YOU, and what you need help with and so on.
1. When you think of exercising what sounds exciting and what sounds overwhelming? Knowing this is key to getting you motivated. Some ladies like dancing, some like walking, some like biking and so on. I can give you some great tips here that work for YOU, not someone else. Working out 30 minutes every other day is a great way to lose weight. Let's find a workout that makes you excited!
Guide on calories burned in exercising:
http://www.fitresource.com/Fitness/CalBurn.htm
#1 best online guide and supplier of workout videos w/customer reviews as well:
http://www.collagevideo.com/
2. Do you drink water? You should definitely have water as a main drink daily. If you don't like it plain you can put lemons, limes, mint leaves, pineapple and more in it to jazz it up. Also if you don't drink much water, write down what you are replacing it with. You would not believe how much sugar is in fruit drinks, lemonades, sweetened teas and so on. Just take a peak at the next drink you grab, you will be very surprised!
TIP: Often our bodies think we are hungry when really we are just thirsty. If you feel the need to snack, drink a 8 oz. cup of water and wait 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up and you still feel hungry, THEN eat a small healthy snack. Honestly this really does work sometimes!
3. Do you honestly know what a portion size is? I was bfing when I first started working out. I knew that I was to eat aprx. 500 calories more than the non bfing woman, BUT since I was crazy hungry all the time I indulged in probably 1000 more, not good. Btw I WAS able to loose weight and bf over time. In about 4 months I lost 8 lbs AND gained muscle, and looked so much better even after 4 months. It was a slow loss, but it WAS a loss and I kept it up, and after I stopped bfing and cut down my portions more, more weight came off.
TIP: when I bf'd, after a workout I would eat a healthy snack of 90 calories or less to keep up my milk needs - remember I still lost weight doing this, usually I ate a low-fat yogurt, Eddies no-sugar added whole fruit pop, or a banana.
Here's a great link you can print out and put on your fridge to help keep you on track.
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/media...on/pyramid.pdf
Here's a link to a book written by Dr. Sears on basic nutrition. This book is NOT about a diet, it's about breaking up the facts about nutrition that we all need to know. I say this is a must have for every family.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...923194-9988010
4. What food do you buy for you and your family to consume? Remember you are empowered here. YOU are the woman of the house, and YOU control what your family eats. Use that as an encouraging fact, not a daunting one. You are probably buying items with way more sugar in them than you think. 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon of sugar. So for instance in a Pepsi you are consuming almost 12 teaspoons of sugar - OUCH! Here's a good link on a breakdown of sugar consumption.
http://www.sugar.org/facts/questions.html
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/media...ugar_habit.pdf
My favorite cookbooks: these are normal food made w/less fat - and it tastes good, promise! You don't have to follow their plans just eat the meals in moderation and you're doing great!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...923194-9988010
5. What snacks are you and your family eating? Be honest here, find out what is your downfall (mine is cheese) and buy much less of it so it's just not there to eat.
6. Precut fruit, and veggies, prebag pretzels and dried fruit - the easier you make healthy snacks available for a quick grab the more likely you will be to eat them. But remember it's ok for a small sweet treat:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/media...n/candybar.pdf
TIP: if you can't keep the sweets in small moderation like shown here, don't buy them at all.
Most Americans eat so badly that if they take an honest look at what they are consuming and cut back on fat, sugar and calories they lose weight even w/out exercising. But that will only get you to lose so much, you need to be active to achieve the best results.
Find something to motivate you. For me it was pulling out old pics of me nice and trim and I framed them so I could see them and remember what I can look like. ( and I can say now, I look BETTER than I did in those pics!). For you is it keeping out an old pair of pants that use to fit, or is that depressing for you? Is it a picture of the beach - someplace you would love to go to w/out being embarrassed, or is that to much for you to think about? Is it a coupon you make yourself for a new outfit when you lose X amount of lbs? Each woman has something that works as motivation, so use it to urge you on.
If you answer these honestly, you’ll get some good ideas on where you can improve, to start making a dent in the extra weight you want to lose. Remember if you are the example in your home, your kids will mimic what you do as well. In a country were childhood obesity is sky rocketing that is a major gift to give your kids! In a CNN article, a longevity researcher from the University of Illinois at Chicago is quoted in saying "We think today's younger generation will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents for the first time in modern history unless we intervene," ~ Olshansky http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.....longevity.ap/
The thing is – YOU CAN STOP THIS FOR YOUR FAMILY BY STARTING WITH TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF! I’m excited for you and what you are doing for YOURSELF!
