7 things to do before starting a weight-loss program

I want to clarify from the start that by weight-loss program I don't mean something you do for a few weeks or even a few months. I mean a change of lifestyle that allows you to lose excess weight in a healthy way, keep it off and in process create a healthier, stronger you. Change is a process, and there are many obstacles that you as a new dieter need to anticipate. I hope my list will help you to avoid the major ones!
1) Do not start a diet you cannot stay on for the rest of your life.

Anything that sounds like a grape-fruit diet, cabbage soup diet, or any other miracle diet that promises speedy weight loss , is not something you can live on longer than a few days without serious damage to your health-it should not even be considered. You are after long term results, not a one-week water-weight loss "miracle".

2) Assure support from your family, friends or roommates

A lot in our routines revolves around the kitchen, so change in this area can upset the balance in your normal routines. Make sure that people around you are aware of and support the changes you are trying to make. They ought to be willing and able to accommodate the necessary changes in quality, quantity and timing of the meals that you will have to make!

3) Assure your environment supports your change of lifestyle - clean up your fridge and cupboard and stock good food to eat!

Staying on track with good food and portions in today's world is hard. Everybody and their third cousin is trying to feed you junk food, and lots of it! Your home should be a safe escape from all temptations. When I come down to my kitchen for a snack, I know I won't find a pint of ice-cream in the freezer, or cookie-jar filled to the brim with sugary stuff. You need to make as sure as possible that your kitchen is "safe" as well!

4) When eating out in a restaurant, prepare in advance.

Once you think you have figured out how to eat at home, you can start experimenting with eating out while staying within your diet. To make sure you do that, call the restaurant ahead of time to find out if they offer food that won't thwart your weight-loss progress, or go on-line to check the menu. Some restaurants even offer calorie information on their menus; I predict they are the ones that will stay in the business for years to come! Whenever you can, influence the choice of restaurant so you don't have to eat house salad all the time!

5) Make sure that the diet you are embarking on is affordable.

You see advertisements for savory and healthy food delivered daily to your door.
Sounds perfect, doesn't it? No mess, no shopping, and seemingly affordable. But over time, all people I know who opted for this kind of arrangement, found it too expensive or too impractical. Moreover, during the time they were using the service they did not learn how to control the portions, how to prepare the food, or even what goes into the food they were eating. Left on their own, they had to struggle again to maintain the weight loss and to learn what to buy, how much and how to cook it. You have to be in charge of your nutrition, you have to be actively involved to achieve results!

6) Get science behind you - talk to a doctor, nutritionist and read a book!

It is always great to consult a medical professional before embarking on a new regimen. Whether you are starting a new exercise program or changing the way you eat, knowing things about your health-such as thyroid function, blood sugar, or food allergies, may have direct impact on your metabolism and taking appropriate medications or actions can greatly improve it!

7) Find a support group to help you stay motivated and learn new ways of eating and exercising

Changing habit is not an easy undertaking. While trying to lose weight, we all go through ups and downs, hit the hidden reefs and stray off the path. Having a support group of positive open-minded fellow-dieter can helps you stay committed, find solutions to roadblocks and keep motivated! Be encouraged by people you trust who had success and encourage others when you succeed! It is immensely rewarding!

Top 5 Reasons Why I Love to Exercise at Home

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The big breakthrough in my personal fitness came through when I stopped trying to go to the gym classes, and started using workouts on DVDs at home. I love it and here are the top five reasons why:
1) Time savings:
I did not have to drive or take public transportation to the gym’s location.
This saves me take and money, not to mention it reduces my carbon footprint!
2) Simplified logistics:
I don’t need to remember to pack a gym back with closes and shoes a night before, and have my workout affected or even missed when you realize you forgot you socks, sports bra or hanging lock (I went through a tons of those in years!), or any other little details that prevents you from exercising.
3) Eliminates wait in shower lines!
The gym classes can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. On top of it, you need to account for shower time, plus a wait time for the shower after a popular class. I remember agonizing over that wait many a time! Also many times the gym ran out of towels or towels were too small to wrap myself around, and they smell from a cheap detergent or mold. I am not fidgety but after a while the whole experience of going to the gym was for me associated with the smell of that detergent and …mold! I take my own shower and towel any day over that!
4) Flexible schedule
When I depended on the gym classes’ schedule, making it to the class was sometimes harder than doing the hardest class! As soon as I established a routine, life would interfere and I’d miss my favorite class. With DVDs if I don’t do my workout in the morning, I will complete it after work. This way I don’t miss workouts and I am able to make progress.
5) Consistency
When you work out at home, not only can you make your own flexible schedule, but you don’t depend on your instructor being there for you. There is no lateness, no-shows due to illness or vacation, or because your favorite instructor leaves the gym just as you were starting to get into it! The instructor on the DVD is always there for you, regardless of season, weather or anything else.

In my view working out at home eliminates a lot logistical obstacles and annoyances insuring that you work out regularly, consistently and get the results you want.

Why I exercise - because I LOVE it!

To people who know me, but do not subscribe to my level of commitment to fitness, I probably seem crazy to exercise as much as I do.
They are probably silently professing all kinds of ills that will come out of it. I know my parents periodically do, because they tell me so, being the old school they are. I always try to win people over to my "side", never sparing any time when it comes to explaining why I eat or exercise the way I do. But my dedication to exercising is simple to explain: I love it!
I love it on so many levels, that if I list all the reason, it will be the classic TMI (too much info), so I will limit myself to only a few:

1) I love to exercise because it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

No matter what life throws at me that day, I feel that I've done something good, that I've put the effort and was successful at it. I don't need to do anything special to feel this way. Just do the best I can, and I feel well-prepared for whatever challenges may comes my way that day because I started it right.

2) I love to exercise because I feel energized.

I am not on fire every day. On days when I don't feel especially energetic, I nevertheless feel great after completing the routine. Surprisingly the energy picks up after that!

3) I love to exercise because it gives me confidence.

Amazingly, as the level of physical fitness increases, the level of confidence does as well. It gets funny sometimes - I can be watching an adventure movie where a hero/heroine are running away from bad guys, or holding on to the rope for their life, I catch myself thinking - I guess I could do it to, now that I am strong!

4) I love to exercise because I like the way my food taste after workout.

I don't know the science behind it, but after a workout everything taste better. I am hungry, but in a different way. It is not a boredom-induced or stress-induced hunger. It is as if my muscle tell me: we expanded a lot of energy, you better feed us something good!

5) I love to exercise because I sleep better when I do!

This is very obvious but is still worth listing. I have trouble falling and staying asleep. But if I put the mileage and the reps in, no matter how stressful my day was the physical exhaustion wins over all the distractions of the day and I fall into a blissful slumber. There is nothing better!

I could definitely go on listing other reasons why I like exercising, but I feel I already made my case to prove that there is merit in it. Theoretically we all know that exercise is good for us, but I am here to state that it also feels good. Try it, you are going to love it!

Bring it!

You got to be in it to win it!

Happy mothers’ day, dear people!
This morning my husband and I treated ourselves to a brunch in a restaurant. We were sitting in a warm sunny spot in the outdoor space, basking in the glory of the day and taking stock of the good things in our lives. The most important thing for both of us was that we’re both healthy and we’re committed to staying that way. We are making an effort to eat healthy food and maintain a good exercise routine. I exercise 4 to 6 times a week, mixing cardio, strength and flexibility training. I am constantly refining my diet and exercise, tweaking little things, shaking things up to keep myself excited about it. I am always trying to learn new things from the health experts and coaches who I admire and follow. Joe is not quite there yet, but he runs at least 2 -3 times a week and does stretching routine daily and really enjoys all of it. I am hoping that one day soon we will be able to exercise together - it will be so much fun to challenge each other. Overall, we are in the good place health-wise and I hope it will only improve from here onwards.
It wasn’t always that way. When Joe and I married more than 10 years ago, we put two different routines together and the sum was not equal to its part, not in a good way, anyway, so I started gaining weight, was not feeling good and was not happy about it. But I was not about to give up. For years I’ve tried different things; when one thing failed, I tried another. Finally I’ve found Beachbody and understood what my body needs to stay fit and healthy. The sense of newly acquired control was incredible, and there was no turning back. I cannot imagine where I would be now, had I not tried to improve my lifestyle. I am truly proud of the progress I’ve made and am looking forward to taking my fitness to the next level.
What is the point of my story? Real simple: if I can do it, you can do it too. But you have to try. You and only you can do it! As the old adage goes: you got to be in it to win it!
Bring it!

30 days to go!

30 days until my goal.
How am I doing?
Things are going fine, but lately I’ve noticed that a subtle curious frustration is permeating my life. I know I can lose weight; I have a realistic goal and am doing the same things that brought the desired results in the past.
So why the frustration?
It is a familiar feeling. When I was just starting to run some 10 years ago, I did not run in summer because I felt I could not handle heat and humidity. Then in fall I would regret that decision! I felt bad for falling out of it and having to work so hard just to get back to the place where I left off in spring. After a while I decided to run year round because the pain of catching up was too great! I am going through the same thing with my weight loss, and am learning a similar lesson—don’t fall off the wagon for no reason!
Bring it!