Exercise...What is it good for?

Do you remember that lecture your mom use to give you " If your friends were going to jump off a bridge would you?"  or the sane "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

 

 

Well Have you recently started to workout but it didn't quite work-out?  The problem now a days is people are setting them selves up with unrealistic goals. Loose 5lbs a week and  I'll be thin by summer time. Well all my friends are trying this new supplement so it's sure to work for me. What's good for the goose or your friend may not always work for you. Every "body" is different. Just like if you were to go to a personal trainer and they teach you a number of things to help you get started. You can't always turn around and give someone else the same advice. Take information you receive from others with a grain of salt. Everyone has different needs. And, I know that counting calories is a pain in the ass, but that is what "worked" for me in the past. So for me this year I am turning a new leaf if you will. I am going to put forth more effort into my blog, finish my novel and get into the best shape of my life. I want to share my story with you along the way and hope that my story will inspire you to start your own.

 

 

 

 I am 30 years old and I have a 6 year old daughter and a fiancé who is a full time student. He is a Chemistry major so you can imagine how much school work and how time consuming that must be. I am also a student but I only attend part time right now. Our daughter has a strange half day schedule for kindergarten.  My point is that we all have crazy schedules, but how important is it to you to loose weight or simply get into shape and feel great.

 

 " How important is your health?"

 

I have suffered from depression and I refuse to take meds. I found that besides my writing that I love to work on I enjoy EXERCISING it makes me feel great! It will be harder some days than others. I figure out that its all about setting a routine for yourself. Plans change and routines will get interrupted but you have to learn to work around that and not let ourselves get DISCOURAGED OR DISAPPOINTED! Those are my two lest favorite words. I get so discouraged so easily. My problem is that I set unsustainable diet plans and workout schedules for myself. What you do to loose weight and feel great shouldn't be something you can't maintain

 

 

 

You don't need to starve your self at all. That will never work and if you do loose weight it will come right back on and there is your huge disappointment once again! 

 

 So here is my thing I started working out everyday. Now it's not the same time everyday because lets face it as a mom and if you are one or a father you know that's impossible well almost! Our schedule changes and life gets in the way. But its about keeping routine. So everyday I write, workout, and do homework. Not always in that order but I make sure those things on top of my Mom duties I get done. There will always be house work there will always be something to get in your way. Start with something as easy as walking 30 mins a day. If you have your phone or and Ipod set up your Nike fit or download and App I use "Endomondo" on my Android Galaxy3. There are so many apps you can download for free that will help track how far you are walking and save it so you can compare to the next time. Also if you start seeing a difference in the way you are feeling or weight loss then you know hey I walked X amount of miles yesterday today I am going to step it up. I don't always have time without my kid. So I gave her my old mini ipod got her a headset and she has her own little play list of music. Making her a part of exercising makes her happy that it's something she gets to do with mom.  Although we would love to have free time and you can, but for the days you can't that is an option!

 

 

So I started out by walking everyday with my daughter or with my dog for 30 mins.  I think it is best to start out only allowing yourself 30 mins each day. Do that for a week. Then after that I stepped it up by going to the gym. Now you don't always have to go to the gym there are things you can do at home and I will post those tomorrow this is just to get you in the mind set. Some people love to Run I am not one of them! So I started working out on the treadmill every day for 15 mins with no cool down because you want to keep that heart rate up!! Then I would move to the StairMaster for another 15 mins. Remember to drinks water lots of it! Then stop After that 30 mins GO HOME. Then repeat the next day. Now some say give yourself a day of rest, but if your only doing 30 mins a day and not doing a high impact workout you don't need to.  I am now on week two and I am doing 45 min work outs and added weights and squats.

 

As for meals I am not doing anything insane like I said before it should be something you can maintain. 75% of what we eat then working out helps with loosing weight and feeling great. Just do gradual changes. In the morning when I have do either Slim fast or low calorie oat meal and a half a grape fruit.  Breakfast is so important to kick start your day. You should be eating within the first 45 mins after waking up. That is why I choose to do Slim fast some days because I don't always have the time to sit for breakfast while running around trying to get everyone ready. It is for weight loss, but it is also full of vitamins and nutrients!

 

Here is the part everyone wants to know have you lost weight? Or how long did it take. Honestly I lost 5lbs over these two weeks. The first thing I started to notice is my change in mood and how much more productive I felt and how much more energy I had, You shouldn't be loosing over 2 lbs a week its just not healthy and will come back. So I am going to close for now because I don't want to overwhelm you with all of this so until tomorrow!

Someone once told me "Excuses are like rear-ends we all have one some bigger than others!" Stop making excuses and get out there if for no one else do it for you!

Something for those who can't get out of the house!

Well good luck and I hope to hear your success stories as well. I will continue to share mine with your. It's hard for busy moms to find people to relate to or have things in common. Let this be ours. Everyone needs support so lets help each other along the way. Working out is a process a slow process. Slow and steady will win the race!

 

Love ,

 

Annie.