My family loves to exercise together. My sister, Marci, is a Jazzercise instructor so when she's in town, we do Jazzercise in Mom's kitchen or garage. :) Here we are after we all met and did Zumba together. It's so much more fun when you exercise with family or friends. :)
*Try not to obsess on losing weight.....the more you think about it, the more you're going to eat. We learned about this in one of my psychology classes and really, it's true (at least it has been for me). I used to not think about losing weight ever (matter of fact, I thought about gaining weight) and that was when I didn't eat near as much. I just wasn't focused on food.
*Exercise regularly but don't go overboard....you'll get burned out. I exercise probably 4 times a week...sometimes 5 (on a good week). I have friends who exercise 2 and 3 times a day, though...that to me is OVERKILL!!!
*One thing that helped me was livestrong.com (also an iPhone app)....writing down everything I ate. It was kind of a fun challenge. I would purposely try to eat less in the day where I would have more calories to eat at night, when I'm more tempted. I KNOW, I KNOW...you're not supposed to eat at night but I do because that's when I like to eat...I don't like to eat in the morning at all so I save my calories. Even though I've been lectured about it many times by many people, it works for me and I haven't gained weight.
*Eat small amounts throughout the day. For me, I never ever eat my whole meal. I just can't. I would explode. I probably eat something small every 3 hours, though, so when it comes time for a "real" meal, I never eat the whole thing.
*Find an exercise that you love. I found zumba a year and a half ago and LOVE it!! It's just super fun and burns a ton of calories. I do have to add that it also quadrupled my appetite and I lost absolutely NO weight but I did gain muscle and am now in good shape, so I can't complain (even though I do sometimes). I also walk a lot.
*Don't deprive yourself. If you want a piece of dessert...go for it!!! Just don't overdo and don't do it for every meal. :)
*Exercise with a friend...you are much more likely to stick with it. When I walk, I ALWAYS walk with a friend. For one, I'm a scaredy cat and am scared to walk alone and for two, the walk goes by SO MUCH FASTER because everything goes by faster when you're with a friend. :)
*Remember that God loves you just the way you are! He made you! Your body is a temple and you are supposed to treat it well but at the same time, don't expect your body to be perfect. I have to face the fact that I'll never have a long torso and be tall...that's just the way God made me. I have to accept it and be THANKFUL for what He gave me even though I'm not perfect...one day we'll be perfect in heaven and that's something to look forward to.
Well, that's all I seem to have off the top of my head. I always say that I wish the more chocolate you ate and the less you exercised, the thinner you'd get! HA! :)
Happy Friday everybody!!! The weekend is here!! WOO-HOO!!!
Comments
Thanks for the tips!