That one Fat Friend

We all have that one Fat Friend, this is the friend who is mentally fat. He/She will do anything in their power to convince you that you dont need to work out and will convince to ditch the salad for some In N Out. This friend is not necessarily horrible, but he/she can be a major setback if you dont learn to fight for your rights. Help this friend see how important this is for you. Avoid eating out with he/she or learn to pack your lunch. You can also do the reverse, introduce your friend to some yummy healthy meals you have discovered and maybe you can bring he/she to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You can be a fitspiration. :)

Cheat Days

Cheat Days are brilliant..... and much needed for all of us.... anytime your diet consists of you depriving yourself from certain foods you will slowly fall back into your old habits. But nibbling or having a small piece of your favorite cake can help you feel content and move forward.
Deciding on a Cheat Day is important, just as much as you plan out your good days, your cheat days should be planned out as well. This way you can make sure you eat the things you have been craving or miss. The most important thing a cheat day helps you realize is that once you have stuffed your face at the end of that day you are so ready to go back to your healthy meals. From time to time these days help you get pumped and ready to go back to your good days.

Lazy Days

There will be lazy days, It has been almost 9 months for me and I still have a few lazy days out of the week. These days are ok, we all need them. Lazy Days give our bodies a chance to take a break and relax. One lazy day a week is enough just to keep you going and your energy level boosted.

If you plan ahead you can make sure your lazy day ends up on a day where you cant fit in your workout. Planning ahead is key! I can not stress enough on this!! If you dont plan ahead, you will end up not working out. Even though 80% of your results come from your diet and eating habits, the 20% of the workout is that extra touch of sexyness you feel when the pounds come off and your clothes start looking even better and better on you!!!

So my dear friends if your feeling lazy, your not alone. As long as you know how to identify these days, work through them, and conquer them!! I am here to tell you that you can conquer them, whether its by treating it and having an actual lazy day or re-evaluating why your feeling lazy that day and getting your butt up for a workout.

I'm not telling you its going to be easy, I am telling you that its going to be worth it. If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done..... a lazy day is a condition but you can and will get through it like I do.

Haters Gonna Hate

Anything you try to complete on your own is always a challenge, but when you have that support group you need it gives you the extra push! We all need have and want fans, I personally have a good group of fans who cheer and root me on through this process. It easy to fall back, give up, and not continue the race when you dont hear your fans cheering you on from the sideline. Find the right support group and share with them what your weaknesses are, and how you can work on them. Not to sugar coat anything, keep in mind also that when you have got fans and a good support group you also have haters. Those individuals who will always have something to say to criticize you or try to bring you down from your accomplishments.

Especially when it comes to weight loss everyone ALWAYS has something to say; especially women. It will affect you from time to time, but dont let it affect you permanently. Learn from it, and use it as a stepping stone to get one step closer to that finish line. That is exactly what I have been doing, and I can say I have come pretty close to the end. This is why it is important to evaluate your reasons for changing your life and losing weight. If you are in it for all the wrong reason, you will fall back. Step back and ask yourself why you are doing this? Most importantly who are you doing this for? There is only one right answer, make sure that is your answer. The rest will fall in place and your support system will continue to support you, most importantly Haters will continue to Hate.

Excersizing for Life..nothing else...

If you really realized how positively your body reacts to excersize you would do it more often. The problem is we get inpatient, we don't wait to see results. If you care about your body, and your health you WILL keep up with it and make it your lifestyle. People make so many excuses, but if we wait for excuses to go away they never will. Excersize for your life and only that. Focus on how much of a positive reaction this gives to your body and soul. Excersizing is not just about weight loss, its about feeling great. When you excersize you are automatically energized and full of life.

Studies show that:

"Exercise boosts your brainpower by increasing serotonin, which makes you more productive. It also decreases stress levels and gives you more energy via endorphin release. Even better, regular exercise keeps you healthier and slows down progression of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis and loss of muscle mass. Keep up your exercise plan and you'll find yourself with a strengthened cardiovascular system."

You don't need research studies to show you that excersizing for your life will benefit you. Just Try it. Find what you like, find what fits your life and do it for YOUR Life, no one elses.

No Excuse Zone

At this point, how you have been keeping up with your life improvements should feel like a regular life routine for you. It should be incorporated in your lifestyle, it should not come to you as much of a challenge as it was before, it should now feel like the norm. This is when I would say it is key to pay attention to "No Excuse Zone"'s. No Excuse Zones are the simple decisions we choose not to make each day. For example, choose the stairs instead of the elevator. Park far and walk, the amount of extra walking we can do throughout the day outside of our workout sessions help us burn so many extra calories!! It's those extra calories that help make a difference on the scale and in your clothes.

Happy?

Are You Happy? If you can confidently answer this question with a "yes" then you are so close to the finish line my friend. Most people think that this process is about trying to live up to standards whether its the standards of the media, our friends, our love interests, our families. If you are going to do this you have to do it for yourself and NO ONE else. If you believe that you are truly happy with yourself being overweight then I will tell you that you don't need to change your life, but I know for a fact that that would be a lie. No one is truly 100% happy when there is so much room for improvement and change for your physical health, your physical being, your mental being and most importantly for your heart. You have not found true happiness and self satisfaction with yourself till you can truly challenge yourself on improving your life, improving to feel healthy again, and most importantly regaining your energy about Life. When you keep your body happy, you will feel happy as a whole. You will have energy to live again and to do things and overcome challenges you never thought you could before. The only person who truly benefits or loses from this in the end is YOU.

Plataeu

It's gonna happen, you can't control it but you can work through it. The fact of the matter is that this process is not as breezy as you think. I am here to give you the reality of it, sugar coating nothing. You will eventually Plataeu, some sooner and some later than others. Do not let this discourage you, plataeu simply proves how consistent you have been with your regime and this is great but its time to move forward to bigger and better things. It's time to challenge your body and work it towards becoming the best its ever been.

When you Plataeu your body simply becomes accustomed to the workouts you have been doing and the number of calories you are consuming. It is time to change it up, step it up. How much cardio were you doing each day? Add 30 minutes to this. Where you using weights or doing and strength training? If not now is the best time, I am not saying bulk up but It is time to tone up those arms and legs. I started with two 3 pound weights to work on my arms, this one small step makes a huge difference in your workout. Also change up and intensify your cardio. Were you walking? now step it up and jog or run. If you hike like I do increase your distance and intensity. Remember guys, we have the formula to this solution its a matter of using the formula to actually solve the problem. You may also need to switch up your eating regime. I started eating small meals every two hours.

Here is an example of what I ate today:

8am: Corn Flakes 1 cup (no milk)

10am: Banana half

12noon: Chicken cutlets, brown rice, & cucumber

2pm: Small Tomatoe & other half of a Banana

4pm: Baby Carrots

6pm: Chicken & Steamed Veggies

8pm: Fruit or Yogurt

**This may be really challenging the first week because as your metabolism speeds up you will feel very hungry more often through out the day but you will get used to it!! I promise!! Nothing is impossible.

Let's move forward from the challenge of Plataeuing, as we continue to reach our goal weight. Are you going to let this discourage you?

Bring It

Overcoming a challenge is not easy and for many weight loss is that challenge. At least it has been for me, all my life I have struggled with the idea and process of weight loss. It is a mental challenge and most definitely a physical challenge. However with the right support system you can overcome both. I have already reminded you that this process is not easy, but it can be accomplished. To finish this marathon you need a support system, with the right amount of support you WILL finish this race.

All of us have experienced a time in our lives where  someone or something makes us feel like we can't accomplish a challenge or obstacle in our lives, for me that was weight loss. I have come across many different classes of individuals who have made me feel like I can't do this, well guess what I WILL do this just for those individuals. Starting from friends and ending with a teacher I have been put down and reminded over and over again that I am overweight.

Find the right support system, surround yourself with those individuals who understand how important this is for your life and most importantly for your health. Find a workout buddy as well. Every little piece plays a major role in the process as a whole. Let's do this together and not let anyone tell us we CAN'T overcome these obstacles. I have began to overcome mine, and I am here to remind you that you will too.

Focus

It's been almost 2 months and 2 weeks now; 24 pounds lost. Wow, time flies that is why it's important to make the most of time. Every single day counts towards your progress. To be able to progress you must be able to use all of your time wisely. Ask yourself, are you giving time for your workouts each day? Have you been eating healthy and consistently? I want to show you a break down of what an average day looks like for me, food wise and workout wise.

**I try to break up my meals into small portions through out the day, this may be hard to do at first; but practice makes perfect.

Menu:

Breakfast: Oatmeal or Egg Whites w/ Wheat toast oh and COFFEE of course!

Snack: Banana or Carrots

Lunch: Protein, some type of salad/veggie side & a fiberous carb.(wheat toast, lentil, beans, whole wheat pasta, vermicelli)

Snack: String Cheese with grapes; YUMO!

Dinner: Subway or Tuna Salad or a nice homemade meal


**Keep in mind, the key thing with your meals is portion control not deprivation. I have not once deprived myself through out this process. Have it all but in moderation and within the calorie range you are consuming, and always spread out your meals through out the day, this is what gets your metabolism going. =)
I have been eating 1250 calories everyday since February 6th on my start date. To determine my calories  I use the most amazing app ever created by IT people! "my fitness pal". Download this NOW. When you are tracking your food you are more likely to have a successful day then when you don't. Tracking your calories will help you see how you can plan your day, trips, weekends, anything last minute that might seem to throw you off. Most importantly, this app has a search engine that has the food calorie listings of over 1 million different types of food.

Workouts: My workouts consist of a lot of cardio, I recently incorporated weights into my workouts but for someone my size cardio was key from day one.


The key to your workouts is finding a physical activity you enjoy, most people don't even know what they enjoy.

Try it out: Hiking, running, biking, walking, swimming, etc the list goes on. For me it was Love at first Hike. I hike at least 6 to 7 days a week up the Observatory trails. Through time you can pick up the pace of your workouts, you don't have to start out hard right from the start. I started with 2 mile hikes and now I do 4 miles of hiking a day with weights. You will work with how your body reacts, your body will help you see what it is you need.
** If you are someone who works long hours, you can get a gym membership. Outdoor activities are more exciting but you can save these for the weekends or a day off! Do not let this bring you down!! FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS!

Obsession

Obsession: the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistant idea.
When you want something so bad you will work for it, if you want it bad enough you obsess over it. Without the domination of the thought and persistent idea of weight loss you will not consistently move forward with the process. In the nicest way possible I am letting you know that if you want this bad enough  you must obsess over it. Obsession can be looked at negatively but not in this case! you are re-prioritizing. We usually give time to the things we enjoy most and the people we love most. Make this your priority, when you are planning out your days and your weeks your workout needs to be the first thing scheduled. The meals you will cook or eat out need to planned ahead. Not working out is not an option! If you want to make changes, permanent changes for your life this is where you must begin; with obsession. If you don't obsess over it, then you don't want it bad enough. I can confess that I'm definitely obsessed.

The Ultimate Test

The decision's been made, you want to change your life. You want to improve with every single step. The problem though is that life can set us back very easily. Every single moment we live something comes up. The most important thing to consider is that if we plan ahead we can over come almost every situation that might set us back from our decision. These setbacks are the ultimate test, everytime you can conquer a setback you have passed a test that has and will bring you closer and closer to YOUR goal.

Setback #1: Events
- Events can be Birthdays, Dinner outtings, Weddings, any event that will take you out of your routine of working out and eating a healthy meal.

Setback #2: Travel
- Travel will do the same but even worse because you might end up in a location you have never visited so you dont know the nearest gym or the healthiest restaraunts.


Dont Panic!!!! There is ALWAYS a study guide to an Ultimate Test!! I am here to share that study guide with you.

Study Guide:

 Rule #1: You must plan all your meals ahead of time the minute you find out you have an event or that you are traveling. This may mean making a grocery list and packing a whole lot of low cal snacks, and fruits. This may also mean that you will need to do some research on restaraunt menu's, and grocery store locations around the location of travel/event.

Rule #2: Always pack your workout clothes!! It does not matter where your going and how long you are staying almost every Hotel in the U.S. and in other Countries has a gym. However, lets say you decide to travel to one of the most deserted parts of the world, you can utilize outdoor activities (Hiking, walking, running).

Rule #3: You must give a prep talk to anyone traveling with you that might somehow prevent you from passing this test. Remind your loved ones that you are working really hard to stay focused and this is very important to you.

This is your study guide, it's a bit broad but we will get into more detail about what workouts and healthy meals can look like later; do not proctrastinate. Study for your Ultimate Test in advanced, acing this exam means that we will reach that finish line.

Marathon

So you woke up one day and realized you really need to lose weight. I have woken up to that thought at least once a month all my life, and I just turned 26 this last September. It is not an easy thing to realize or admit. The decision of losing weight should come from you, no one else. This is so important because we are all somehow affected by our surroundings, advertisements, movies, everyone in Hollywood "seems" beautiful and perfect. The truth is they really are not. You can lose all the weight in the world, and wear a size 0 dress but if you first dont find yourself, who you are what you stand for you will never be satisfied with yourself.
My Realization came down to this: Am I comfortable with my body? No Do I feel physically Healthy? No. The answer to those two questions were enough for me to finally decide that this is now or never. In the past I have gone through this same cycle, waking up realizing that I need to lose weight, agreeing with myself that I will start, but somehow I always started it and never made it to the finish line. My goal this time is making it to the finish line. This is my marathon and I have decided to run the full 25 miles of it. Have you?

Diet

If the average person truly understood the definition of the word diet, it would change perspective to how they use this word every day. In the standard dictionary the word diet is defined as: "food and drink regularly consumed" or " Habitual nourishment". Basically what you eat on a daily basis without practice just as it comes is considered to be your "diet". Now some individuals may be on a "special diet" that maybe their doctor placed them on, etc. This is the only exception to the word. My frustration with our society today is that we have re-defined, used and abused the meaning of the word "diet". The reason for my concern is that we fail every single day with healthy eating because we focus so much on what a "diet" is. Re-Asses your definition of the word today.