What's the plan?!?!?!

Step 1: Decide what we want to change to have a healthier life.
I hope you have all taken some time to decide what change you can make to head toward a healthier life style.

Step 2:  Make a plan to achieve this goal
Now that you have thought of something to "give up" make a plan.   Remember that we talked about making decisions ahead of time and that helping us when we came to the situation.  When confronted with the situation what are you going to do?!?!?!  When the candy is sitting on the counter, what are you going to do?  When the dinner was so great you just need 1 more helping,  what are you going to do?!?  When it is your kid’s birthday and you NEED the cake, what are you going to do?!?!  When your kids eat their snack and leave most of it on the table, what are you going to do?!?!?!
You notice that I said WHEN not IF because you know it is going to happen.  So let's prepare!  Throw those ideas out to me!!

• Throw the candy in the trash.  I through away 5 suckers yesterday that were calling my name. 
• Put the temptation out of site.  I put away the box of nilla wafers about 50 times. 
• Try drinking water first.  I thought about eating the candy and turned to drinking water instead. 
• Chew gum.  Sarah had a great idea to chew gum during that hard time of the day when it is supper easy to snack.  (I just so happen to have a post coming up next week about the dreaded afternoon snacking.) 
• Just say no.  It is getting totally acceptable to just say no to a piece of birthday cake.  In fact it is getting to be the norm at the family parties I have attended lately.
• Clean it up!  When the food is sitting out it is so much easier to eat a little here and a little there.  Put it away!

So what are YOU going to do? 

Now let's get to it! :)

DO

So, now we are scheduled and ready to make weight lose a priority in our life!  I'm excited!  The only thing left to do is fallow through.  This is the part that counts the most.  You know you can plan, plan, plan, think, think, think and never get anywhere if you don't DO, DO, DO!  Like I said this is a very busy time of year but we are going to take this one week and one day at a time.  Today get a workout in and look at those calories. Each day is a new start and an opportunity to succeed.  Put the effort out and you will get where you want to be.  Now get up and go workout :)

Eating right

This post is for ME!
Eating right is the most important part of losing weight. Remember, you can eat your way through any workout. That means it doesn't matter how many calories you burn during a workout, if you eat too many calories you will not lose weight. I have had people in my aerobic classes in the past say, "WOW, what a great work out! I can go eat ice cream now." The problem with that idea is that you just worked off 200-300 calories in a hour and the ice cream has 600 calories. Do the math! You will be gaining 1 lb a week with that theory. All that hard work and precious time is thrown right out the window! DON"T DO THAT TO YOURSELF!!!!
So here is the focus;
Count your calories
Put out the extra effort NOW
Don't short yourself.
I know we have been counting calories for a few months now and you are probably really good at it. BUT, for the next week or two I want you to really count those calories again. Get back on track. Take the time to reread http://wrachel15.blogspot.com/2012/02/eating-right-first-step.html for a reminder.

Put out the extra effort now. You will not be losing weight for ever and the more effort you put out now the sooner you can get back to maintaining instead of losing. Why drag it out? Also the longer you drag it out the more likely you are to give up. So, JUST DO IT!

Don't short yourself. Now is the time to really give it your all. Pretending doesn't count. If you are going to work hard, WORK HARD. If you are going to eat right, EAT RIGHT. Telling your self that you will do better next week only works if you are not telling yourself that every week.
So lets get our eating on track and really make this month count!

Strength Training

Strength training is so important when trying to lose weight or just having a healthy life in general. With strong muscles your body can function better and safer not to mention burn more calories. So, if you haven't started the weights workout START! It is worth the effort. If you don't have barbells yet use a can of spaghetti sauce or big can of beans, anything you can fit in your hand. If you have started but are not up to 3 sets of 10 start that today. you will be surprised at what you can do with a little effort. If you are up to 3 sets of 10 I want you to focus on doing the lifts a little faster. Go from one lift right into the next. Remember our goal is correct form so i don't want you to be sloppy and quick. I want good form, strong stances and deliberate controlled movements, just keep your heart rate up. You should be breathing hard and feeling like you are getting a workout. Remember to do your weights first before you do your cardio workout so you have the strength to do the lifts correctly and with the strength you need. I'm hoping everyone will be ready to add a few lbs to the lifts in a week or 2. Keep up the good work!!!

Ready for June!

Ok tomorrow is the last weigh in day of May. Are you ready to jump into June and really work hard at losing weight and getting fit and healthy?!?!?!?  Make sure you have all of the things you need to start the first day.   
As far as your plan goes first I want you to have a weight lose goal for the month.  Make sure it is obtainable! Losing 1 to 2 lbs a week is where you want to be. 
Next I want you to have a workout goal.  EX: "I want to work out 45 min a day, 5 days a week."
Last, I want you to have a calorie counting goal.  EX: "I need to keep my calories at or just below 1400 calories a day for at least 6 days a week."  Remember the other day is not a free for all.  It just lets you have about 200 calorie leeway to make up for those days you might go over because of special situations.  PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE DAYS!!!  Remember that weight lose is a big picture.  You need to cut 3500 calories to lose 1 lb so every day you over eat you are cutting into all that hard work that you have already done.  I want you to have success!  Be strong and really stay on track.  It is just 1 monthJ. 
Next make sure you have a calendar that you can write on, one color ink for workout and another color for calorie goal.  You can also write on the little round stickers and put them on the calendar.  If you workout more than 1 time a day write that down too.  On the calorie sticker write what your calories where that day and if you go over you can write that in a different color.  EX:  Worked out 45 min Monday. Write 45 min walk on Monday square in blue.  If you skip or miss a day don’t write anything down.   If you had 1389 calories Monday write 1389 in green.  If you go over to 1500 on the next day write 1500 in red.  This is just a system to really let you see what you are doing and might be an eye opener to some of you.  Often we think we are doing better than we are. J
  So get it all together and we will start for June!

Acknowledg your successes!!!

For most people the day you go on a "diet" you start wanting everything you have restricted from yourself, dreading the workouts and scolding yourself for every bad decision made that day. If we go over on calories one day, we think we have failed. If we don't workout one day, we think we have failed. If we don't lose weight one week, we think we have failed. We start cutting ourselves down before we even get started. I want you to think for a second. Who wants us to feel like we have failed, aren't good enough, can't do it or should give up? These are not thoughts coming from our Heavenly Father. He wants you to be healthy, successful and happy and can help you get there.

So lets start acknowledging our successes!

Today I had a break through. As I went out to move my car, I found a snack from one of my kids baseball games last night. It was a chocolate, rice crispy and carmel thing that you can buy in boxes of 10. I like those.:) It was just sitting there in the package, on the seat, with no one around. No one would know if I ate it. So what did I do? Walked in the house while unwrapping it....... still no one around. I pulled it into 2 pieces and .......called the 2 boys in and gave it to them. SCORE!!! One step in the right direction! I later went to the store. As I was unloading the groceries at home I see the fruit role up that Chase was just eating sitting there. My first thoughts were to eat it as fast as I could, after washing it off of course. :) I picked it up and walked in the house...... and throw it in the garbage. SCORE!!!!! Now that may seem silly to you but I really like fruit role ups. :) Now the question is did I have a perfect day counting calories and only eating the healthiest foods in the world. No, but I made at least 2 great choices that I wouldn't have made a few months ago. I really felt GREAT for not putting those things in my mouth! This is the feeling we are going for!!! What did you do RIGHT today? What choice did you think about and go with the healthier option? When did you not feel like working out and did it anyway? Count your successes up! See where you did a great job and say to yourself "GOOD JOB!!!" If you need to make a chart and give your self a sticker or check mark for good choices. I'm not kidding! You are all doing great so Acknowledge your successes and keep up the good work!!!

Hold Strong

The week is almost over.  How have you done?  Many of us tend to have a great first half of the week with dedication and motivation and then let it slide when we get to the second half.  Maybe you didn't eat your best yesterday or you are going to have a busy day today and tomorrow.  Don't give up on the end of the week!  Even if you slipped up on the calories or missed a workout, do better TODAY!  Get your calories on track TODAY!  Many times we have one slip up and give up all together.  We are human.  Everyone is.  No one is perfect on workouts and eating with in our calories.  So don't give in.  Hold strong clear through to the end of the week.  Forget the mistakes and move forward to a healthier you. You can do it!
Tomorrow is weigh in day.

Assess yourself

I know many of you have talked to me along the way about being frustrated the scale wasn't moving after so much hard work.  This article has some great thoughts on how to measure your improvement. 
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1358