We are all on a quest to improve our physique. Its a never ending battle! If you aren't moving forwards you rarely stay still. Instead, if you let go, or slack off for a bit with your healthy eating and exercise habits, all of a sudden you have gained back a chunk of weight. Here are some of my tips that I've learned along the way to help keep the weight off or lose even more that you don't have to stress about too much.
With every meal, you need to have water. You should keep it by your bed, by you on the couch when you watch T.V., in the car, by your computer, everywhere. Some people even name their water bottle they get so attached to it. Don't waste calories drinking juice, especially not soda, or even milk. Just drink water! I love this water bottle below that you can stick a lemon or lime or any fruit on one side and infuse it right into your water bottle for a yummy, healthy flavor that is much better for you than those artificial flavor packets. Drinking water helps you curb your appetite, aids digestion, and has an added benefit of keeping your skin nice and clear.
#2 Have a lot of healthy and easy to eat snacks on hand.
My favorites are Kirkland Signature Almonds from Costco, the shelled Wonderbar Pistachios, a spoonful of peanut butter, Tillamoo's Cheddar Cheese flavor, a variety of fresh fruits, hummus with Stacy's Pita Chips or carrots to dip in it, rice cakes (peanut butter spread on them is yummy), Pirate Booty from Costco, cucumber slices, little sweet red peppers, and cottage cheese with peaches or pears.Those 100 Calorie Popcorn bags with some coconut oil melted over it is really yummy too and the coconut oil is a good fat that helps your body metabolize better and helps you have whiter teeth!
#3 Workout at the same time every day!
I always work out right after I put my baby down for her nap. So I am automatically putting on my sports bra and getting ready to sweat right after leaving her room! It has become a habit. I get my other daughter involved in an activity like one here or she will exercise with me!
With me being mostly homebound I stream most of my workouts through my Roku on my T.V. I have done the Gymbox, Daily Burn, and now I'm doing Beach Body on Demand which is my favorite by far. They offer you a 30 day free trial so you could try it risk free and decide what you like best. I really liked all of them and they all have different strengths. The Gymbox has the most workouts, but its not as professional. The Daily Burn is very professional and even gives you an idea of how many calories you burned and tracks the workouts you've done and has lots of programs to do. The only reason I quit it and moved onto Beach Body on Demand is because I got a little burnt out after doing pretty much all the workouts Beach Body on Demand is the one I use now and will forever! It has all the famous programs on there, P90X, Insanity, Turbo Fire, T25, 21 Day Fix, Cize, Piyo, etc. They are always adding new ones. I also ordered the 21 Day Fix Extreme and that is right there on my online so I don't have to get the DVD's out or anything. Just go to my Roku, go tot he Beach Body on Demand and select my workout!
#4 Workout with a friend so you look forward to the socializing time and you are held accountable!
My neighborhood meets at our local church every morning at 9 am to do alternate workouts of Zumba and Circuit Training. The kids all play at one end of the gym with the nursery toys while the moms workout! I look forward to the company and my girls love playing with the other kids.
I also go to Ballet Blast which is a barre type workout with my friend Amber occasionally. Its almost like a girls night! We have so much fun, but burn sooo many calories.
#5 Buy weighted gloves to literally get "more punch" into your workout!
I got these weighted gloves about a year ago and I love them! I think I might want to order the 2 lb. ones since I've gotten a lot stronger and could maybe use some more resistance. Wear these gloves when you are doing kickboxing, zumba, any cardio workout, walking, picking up toys, whatever. It gives your arms a great workout! Even though they are only 1 lb. each, it makes a huge difference. When I forget to wear them to Zumba or doing Kickboxing it seems so easy and I feel like my arms are really missing their workout.
#6 Drink Shakeology!!!!
If you haven't tried Shakeology, you need to! I am kicking myself that I waited over a year to try it after I first heard about it. I was a skeptic. Now I'm hooked! You can order a sample pack to try all the flavors here. Or to learn more about it you can go here. I love it because it boosts my mood, gives me energy, takes away my headache and stress, and provides me a meal every day that I don't have to think about besides what sounds yummy to blend in with it. It is extremely nutrient dense, low in calories, and high in protein and fiber. I've only had a few shakeologies so far and I already noticed that the bumps on the back of my upper arms that I've had for years, WENT AWAY! I've heard those were there because of some vitamin deficiency. Shakeology must have solved that! I know its a little pricey. That's why I became a coach so I could have a discount! But its worthy every penny! If you want to learn more, I'd love to chat with you contactme@thehungrymom.com
#7 Do lots of strength training. Its just as important as your cardio!
Don't be afraid of lifting heavy weights! Building muscle is a great way to shed fat. Muscles burn a bunch of calories so you become a calorie burning machine even when you are just lounging around watching Netflix. I would strength train as much as you do cardio! Its probably even more important. Don't be afraid that you are going to get bulky and manly. It just isn't how women's body's work. You will have sexy, sculpted muscles that make you look lean and womanly Muscles are smaller that fat so you will actually look more tiny. I bought a dumbells set last year and I use it every day! Now I want to invest in even heavier weights! This is the dumbell set I use. I love it! They are easy to hold and don't hurt the skin on your hands and they store really easily. I actually keep the weights in the bottom of my basket that I have a bunch of blankets in by my couch. It also comes with a video that shows you various exercises to do with the weights that I have used many times.
#8 Use My Fitness Pal to track your calories!
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ is a free way to track your calories! You can download a free app for your phone too. It has a huge database of food. I love the feature where after you've entered in your calories for the day it tells you "If you ate every day like today, in 5 weeks you would weigh ____ lbs.". That really puts things into perspective for me. A big part about losing weight is how many calories you consume. If you want to lose a lb. a week you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories. So you need to either eat 500 calories less a day than you burn or you can burn 250 calories exercising and eat 250 calories less. Its science! As my blog title says, I'm a HUNGRY MOM! So I exercise to help with the calorie deficit. I pretty much exercise to eat more :). But now I've gotten addicted to exercising so if I don't I notice I feel a little grumpy and don't have as much energy.
#9 Listen to your body!
You need to make peace with food and eating. Its so hard! We have been at war with food since our first diet. But the deal is, we need food to nourish our bodies. And food should be enjoyed. So much of our lives revolve around it. So I suggest be friends with it. Don't ban a food. It will only make you want it more if its forbidden. Just listen closely to your body. It knows what it needs to be healthy and for you to feel good. If that soda is making your stomach feel bloated, put it down and maybe don't pick it up again! If you are feeling satisfied, STOP EATING! Don't continue to mindlessly shove food down your gullet until you are uncomfortable and sick or just to clear your plate. Its okay to throw food away.
#10 Be active, have fun, and get good sleep!
Getting a fitbit is a great way to motivate you to be active. It tracks your steps so you can see how much you actually move! It has lots of neat tools on there to tell you how much sleep you have gotten as well which is another important part of weight loss. It keeps you accountable and also motivates you! Chase your kids around. Throw them in the air. Go for walks, hikes, and bike rides. Get off your behind and clean the house, play with the kids, take them to the park and play tag, turn on some music and have a dance party, just get moving and have fun with it. Then you will be burning calories all day long and not just during your half hour workout time. Love that body of yours and don't be afraid to move and shake it no matter the size. It will get smaller and prettier if you do!
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