Wow...it's been a while!

Hello again everyone!

It's been a while since I last posted, I have been quite the busy little bee.  I hooked up with a trainer at the local gym here in Clarenville to get a new fitness routine and boy is he kicking my ass!!  Doing lots of squats, lunges and free weights so far, all kinds of fun painful stuff that I cannot wait to bring back to Hopedale for a Boot Camp this Spring! 

Weigh-in day was Sunday past and I am now the smallest and lightest I have been in 11 months (Whistler was a year ago Valentine's Day, and this is my goal - to be the same size one year later).  I have lost 1-2 pounds since weigh-in day, and am hoping that this Sunday I will be in the 170's.  I am currently 183.4, down from 192.5 during Christmas (and 194.5 in July).  I am hoping to be 179.9 or less on Sunday to make it to a new set of digits :)  I'm learning to embrace my numbers, taking it day by day and doing things to better myself and my health.  Eating healthy meals and snacks, not eating nighttime before bed, going to the gym 1-2 times a day, eventually I will get where I want to be.  I'm more focused on daily improvement.

I noticed a major flaw in New Year's Resolution's....they don't work.
My resolution was:  To lose 30 pounds by New Year's Eve 2011.
The problem:  Procrastination!
We all do it, and let's face it...we need to focus on the NOW and not the future when it comes to certain things.  Health and fitness is one of those things.  It is great to have long term goals, but you really need to make it an effort to change the daily activities that will get us to those long-term goals!  If we ONLY focus on the future, we will not fix the problems we face every day that discourage us from reaching that goal. 
It's easy to say, "I will have take-out today, I have a year to lose the weight" OR "I don't need to go to the gym today, I worked out twice this week which is ok, I'll go more next week".  But next week comes and the same excuses follow...

It starts with getting up in the morning (at a decent hour if you're not working) and exercising (this will boost your metabolism for the day).  And....EAT BREAKFAST!  Skipping meals can trick your body into thinking it is going into starvation thus storing more fat, which defeats the purpose of what you were trying to do (starve yourself skinny - it doesn't work...).  Eat egg white omlette or fritatta, boiled eggs, whole grain cereal (Vector is a great one - and has more protein than an egg), also Weight Control Oatmeal is GREAT!  Try and eat small meals every 4 hours to keep your metabolism up and controlled.  After working out try to eat something whole grain (good carbs and some protein).  Protein is IMPORTANT because it helps promote fat loss (Whey protein is GREAT for this)!  Smoothies with fruits AND vegetables can give you 50-75% the daily reccommended servings required (if you don't like Whey powder, put it in a smoothie).  Supper can be fish (great source of EFA's - just make sure to get WILD and NOT farm fish...the difference is wild fish each algea and plankton...which also have Omega's and Essential Fatty Acids...while farm raised eat whole grains and are dyed to get the right color and LACK Omega's).  It is important to watch the QUALITY of the food you eat.  Also, if you cannot afford organic fruits and veggies, be sure to buy the ones with HIGH pesticide ratings such as apples (which rate a 93 - the highest).  All of this information is available online and in bookstores (these books are GREAT investments). 

If you MUST eat at night, try a glass of water and wait 20 minutes if you are STILL hungry, have some protein (AVOID BAD CARBS!! and especially sugars and anything high in fat). 

What you must know about FATS....there are mono and polyunsaturated, saturated and trans fats.  Mono and poly fats are in most things and are okay to eat, saturated fat is not the horrible monster everyone thinks it is, it just needs to be eaten in the right foods (like eggs and not potato chips).  The only fat you MUST avoid at all costs is trans fats...consider this poison!

And the more colorful your food, the better it is for you...there is all kinds of goodies like deer fried everything, chips, chocolate, take-out...the "EASY" meals.  This is a lifestyle change, there will always be temptations, and you can allocate your calories on a treat day...don't consider this a jail sentence and that it's going to suck and be gross, boring and hard to cook.  Cavemen lived fine on high protein, high carb, high fat diets and all kinds of variations of that...HOWEVER, they did not survive on BARCODE PRODUCTS!

I like chocolate...so when I crave it I eat a square of 70% cacao.  I LOVE chips, so I eat skinny sticks (the garden vegetable kind), Terra Chips (vegetables), or a dozen multigrain tostitos with a little bit of salsa...
Yes, I still eat Lays, and Pot of Gold....etc....but it's a treat to prevent the "nighttime binge".  Just try and make better choices...life is all about choices....and YOU make them. 

It's UNREALISTIC to think we will never eat another piece of chocolate, or another piece of pizza after a good drunk...but occasionally is fine...otherwise you will pig out one night and feel even worse. 
the main goal is to be healthy and a good diet and daily exercise will do just that!
You don't have to train hard and go all out, but cardio promotes a healthy heart...and you can di it ALL at home.  Get a couple of 5lb weights, a matt and exercise ball, resistance bands and your own body weight and you do a multitude of workouts home.  Workout DVD's are cheap and great (Biggest Loser, Billy Blanks, etc).

I could go on forever...but this is all for tonight :)  I look forward to hearing your stories and progress.

Commit to be fit!