BEACH BODY CHALLENGE

This week I'm trying something different...a challenge with a prize for the winner!

Did you realize that there are only 2 months left until summer?

Let's enjoy a friendly competition...it can't hurt to have an added incentive to our weight loss endeavours right?

The Beach Body Challenge is simple...whoever loses the most weight/inches/clothing sizes by the first day of summer wins!

LOL...I'd like to get each of us one of these illusion suits :)

The prize for the winner of the Beach Body Challenge is the must-have accessory that fits everyone heading to the beach...flip flops!!

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

It's time for our monthly check-in so we'll be using the stats you take today as your beach body challenge starting point.

Since I post my weekly blogs on Saturdays, the beach body challenge results will be posted on June 22.

(I will be contacting all participants on June 21 for their end of competition stats so I can announce the winner on the blog the next day)

If you'd like to join the challenge please leave your name and current stats in the comment area below :)

My check-in this month is pretty much the same as always. All I've done this year is stay stuck on a plateau. My inches haven't changed and my weight fluctuates by a pound or two...always gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over again. LOL...I am still weighing myself every day and it's never the same weight two days in a row.

I thought up this beach body challenge as a way to boost my competitive side enough that hopefully I would see more weight coming off and staying off. I haven't worn a bathing suit in decades...bought myself a tankini last year...and really want to find the confidence to wear it this summer :)

NEXT WEEK'S BLOG: The Weight of the Matter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER: Whenever I use the word DIET in my blog posts I am in no way suggesting that I have invented/discovered some miracle system to lose weight. Whenever I use the word DIET, I am simply substituting a single word to replace the longer phrase EATING HEALTHIER THAN IN THE PAST.

TAKE A BREAK

 

This week's topic is how the 80/20 Rule applies to exercising.

 

And I have to admit that this is my biggest stumbling block. I just don't get it, lol. Ask Al, he'll tell you that we've had many discussions on this subject.

 

The theory is...you must rest your body...take a break from workouts...or you won't see any results.

 

It's kinda confusing for me, so if you've got any input, please feel free to help me understand fully.

 

The way I understand it is that when your muscles recoup from a workout your body has to burn something to do it and if you have a low enough amount of incoming calories, it must burn fat to do it.

If you don't rest, your muscles don't completely heal.

When you rest every several weeks, it finally has this chance, and you see some weight loss. But, you're probably wasting a lot of the fat burning you could be reaping from your workouts. It would be far more optimal to work out just three of four days a week. That way you wouldn't have just one healing/burning period per month but one per week.

My confusion comes with my quest for weight loss. I feel the need to exercise after every meal to get rid of some of the calories I just ate. So, following that logic, I exercise 3 times every day. Of course there have been times when that just wasn't possible...lol I guess that's another 80/20 scenario I hadn't realized.

Oh, what a coincidence! During the writing of this week's blog post, I did myself an injury,lol, that's karma for you! Now I see first hand how important it is to give your muscles time to adjust.

BTW...in case you are wondering what I did to myself...I had doubled up my workouts at the beginning of April because I hadn't seen any significant weight loss for the first three months of the year. I started getting twinges of pain in my belly. LOL...I was hoping that it was the muscles churning away at my belly fat but it most likely was them screaming for a break!

Although I now understand more about taking a break, part of me still wants to exercise after every meal. So I am working on a compromise that I can be comfortable with :)

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

1. Are you already using the 80/20 principle in your workout routine? If so, do you take a monthly or weekly break? Do you see any weight loss as a result?

2. If you aren't currently following the 80/20 rule for exercising...will you join me in giving it a try?

or this challenge, I am going to try both methods. First I will try taking a break once a week and see if there are any results at the end of a month. Then I will try the other method by only taking a break at the end of the month and seeing what results ensue. Perhaps there will be no weight loss at all...but at least I will know I have healthy muscles :)

NEXT WEEK'S BLOG: Beach Body Challenge!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER: Whenever I use the word DIET in my blog posts I am in no way suggesting that I have invented/discovered some miracle system to lose weight. Whenever I use the word DIET, I am simply substituting a single word to replace the longer phrase EATING HEALTHIER THAN IN THE PAST.

A SLICE OF LIFE

 

In my opinion, there are 2 kitchen appliances that are a crucial part of healthy eating. The first one will be discussed this week and the second one will be the topic of an upcoming blog.

 

 

An electric food slicer is a must! It can be used to slice meat, bread, cheese, fruits & vegetables.

 

For us, the most important use health wise is slicing bread. We buy unsliced loaves from in-store bakerys and slice them ourselves at home. Don't know about stores in your area, but here, the stores have their blade set in a locked position and cannot slice bread thinner for you.

 

Here is a pic of store sliced bread:

 

 

And here is a pic of bread sliced at home:

 

 

See the difference? It also means a difference in calories too. It may not look much thinner but depending on the type of bread, it could mean 100 less calories in a sandwich. Something I am very thankful for :)

 

 

Our 2nd favourite thing to slice up is meat. Since processed lunch meats are a no-no, we now make our own lunch meats by cooking up beef, pork, chicken, turkey, meatloaf etc. and then slicing them thinly.

 

 

And thirdly, we also slice our own cheese. Real cheese slices are much tastier in sandwiches and burgers than processed cheese ones...and of course much healthier.

 

You can also slice up fruit and vegetables. Pretty handy for slicing something big like a pineapple or watermelon. But personally...I find it too much trouble to drag out the slicer when I just want to slice up a tomato, red pepper or potato for supper...I still do those by hand.

 

 

Another use for the slicer, would be to thinly slice up desserts/snacks such as banana bread or fruit cake so that your treats wouldn't be so heavy in calories.

 

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

 

What would you slice up? Can you think of something I haven't mentioned that would make our diets healthier if it was sliced thinner?

 

LOL...I'm sure you can guess what I would slice up!

 

NEXT WEEK'S BLOG: 80/20 Rule for exercising

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

DISCLAIMER: Whenever I use the word DIET in my blog posts I am in no way suggesting that I have invented/discovered some miracle system to lose weight. Whenever I use the word DIET, I am simply substituting a single word to replace the longer phrase EATING HEALTHIER THAN IN THE PAST.

WHAT'S YOUR WORKOUT?

There are many different ways to work out....

These are just a selection that I found online...I'm sure there are many more ways to workout.

And the most popular of all....

walking, jogging, running!


THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

Part 1: What is your favourite way to workout?

Part 2: Challenge yourself to try a new method of workout for one week...and let us know what you tried and how it turned out :)

My favourite workout is walk aerobics. I have 2 dvds which contain a total of 8 different workouts. 15 minutes = 1 mile. I mix & match workouts so my muscles don't get used to the same movements. I've gotten as far as 3 miles at a time. I also use hand weights while working out...I started with 1 lb. and am up to 3 lbs. now.

As for part 2 of the challenge, I'm going to try out some beginner's yoga and I've got a cardio dance dvd to try out :)


NEXT WEEK'S BLOG: A Slice of Life

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER: Whenever I use the word DIET in my blog posts I am in no way suggesting that I have invented/discovered some miracle system to lose weight. Whenever I use the word DIET, I am simply substituting a single word to replace the longer phrase EATING HEALTHIER THAN IN THE PAST.

DIET DEMONS

 

It's time for our monthly check-in. But before we get to that, I'd like to talk about diet demons. We all have them, don't we? LOL...surely I'm not all alone in this battle!

 

 

I actually have two demons that I am battling right now. My two biggest hurdles with healthy eating is my chocoholicism and my enjoyment of celebrating holidays & special occasions. And wouldn't you know it, this weekend is a double whammy, a holiday celebrated with chocolate.

 

 

I work hard at counting calories, eating healthily and exercising on all the "everydays" of my life. But when it comes to holidays, birthdays & anniversaries I don't deprive myself of any of our traditions, especially the menus. If I didn't have the food & drinks that I associate with those times, it just wouldn't be special to me any longer.

 

 

We are celebrating Easter early this year, just like we did with Christmas, because Desiree is working on the holiday itself. So we've already had our Easter dinner & Easter baskets yesterday. Desiree arrived Thursday and we had Toppers Pizza for supper when she got here. LOL...and I still have several days of over-indulgence ahead because Jesse will be here until Tuesday. Thank goodness we have another month until the next check-in...plenty of time to work off the extra calories :)

 

One health bonus for Al & I this year...since we don't have a mall anymore, easter chocolate clearances aren't as accessible to us, we'll have to travel out of town and by the time we get there, the shelves could be bare.

 

 

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

 

Part 1: It's check-in time...either measurements or weight, it's up to you. Do you have any changes to report? As for myself, I weighed myself before the weekend festivities started...I've lost 1 lb. this month :)

 

 

Part 2: Do you have any diet demons? What are they? Are you having a hard time with keeping them reined in?

 

 

NEXT WEEK'S BLOG: What's Your Workout?

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

DISCLAIMER: Whenever I use the word DIET in my blog posts I am in no way suggesting that I have invented/discovered some miracle system to lose weight. Whenever I use the word DIET, I am simply substituting a single word to replace the longer phrase EATING HEALTHIER THAN IN THE PAST.

TUMMY TUCK

This was a serendipitous adventure for me so I thought I'd share it with you.
No, I didn't get liposuction or purchase spanx, I just sucked in my belly with amazing results :)

It all started out with a simple command on an exercise dvd..."pull back your bellybutton towards your spine". Sure, I can do that I thought to myself. LOL...turns out I could only do it for about 30 seconds! Turns out my stomach muscles were so slack from years of carrying around alot of belly fat that they just couldn't handle it. In fact, it was so hard to do that concentrating on it made me miss my steps that I was supposed to be doing.

I made a conscious effort to suck in my belly even when I wasn't exercising. For instance while doing housework or sitting watch tv. LOL...some nights I'd lay in bed sucking it in hoping that I'd fall asleep like that and it would stay that way until morning!

I was amazed at how quickly I was progressing...especially when, during the exercise dvd, the instructor would come to a new step saying to suck belly in, and I would realize that my belly was still sucked in from the previous time she told us to. Soon I was able to hold my tummy in with little effort for the whole 15 min. workout and then later on for a 30 min. workout.

I couldn't believe how much good posture could influence the way you look. When I was obese, I didn't want people to notice me, so I would walk around slouched over. But now I walk around with my belly sucked in, my shoulders back, my chest out, strutting my stuff. Darn, I should have been doing this all along, then my belly wouldn't have been sticking out farther than my chest, lol!

Another thing I discovered was the difference in my gait. When I was obese, I'd just shuffle along in flat shoes. Now that I'm able to wear heels it's impossible to slouch and shuffle.

3 other visual benefits of the tummy tuck are:

1. You look taller (which is great if you are only 5'2" to start with)
2. You look younger (even if you've got grey streaks in your hair)
3. You look confident (gotta show love for your body no matter what size it is)

THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE:

All you need for this one is a tape measure, pen & pad, your belly :)

1. Take your belly measurement before & after doing a tummy tuck.
2. Try holding it in for 1 minutes...was that too easy? Go for 5 minutes.
3. This week, try to incorporate a tummy tuck into your daily activities...while washing the dishes, while waiting in line at the    store, etc.
4. Do a tummy tuck in front of the mirror...do you like what you see...are you more confident/comfortable in your body?
5. Please share your findings in the comment area.

We'll keep track over several months to see if our before & after tummy tuck measurements change much at all. I wish I had taken my measurements last year when I started. The more you do the tummy tuck, the more the difference should lessen especially if you are also losing belly fat through diet & exercise. How exciting it would be to not have to suck in your belly eh? LOL...I think I left those days behind me years ago...before I gave birth to 5 BIG babies...and before I fell in love with my own cooking & became a chocoholic :)

Personally, I don't think you have to lose alot of weight to feel better about yourself. Even if I hadn't gone down so many sizes, I would have still felt so much better about the size I was in, if I had known how much better I could make myself look by simply doing a tummy tuck to improve my posture. LOL...this is where Al is going to pipe in and start chuckling about how goofy I used to look when I tried to tuck in my belly...I've learned that the key to success is doing it so it isn't obvious you are doing it! Thus, the practice of doing it around the house so that you get used to doing it all the time. Well...not really...lol, who in their right mind doesn't want to just lounge around letting it all hang out once in awhile eh...that's why they invented sweats & slippers!

BTW...this free version of a tummy tuck does not get rid of flabby skin or belly fat...it just tightens up your transverse abdominis muscle...it just gives the illusion of a trimmer belly which in turn gives you a boost to your morale.

NEXT WEEK'S BLOG: Monthly check-in

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DISCLAIMER: Whenever I use the word DIET in my blog posts I am in no way suggesting that I have invented/discovered some miracle system to lose weight. Whenever I use the word DIET, I am simply substituting a single word to replace the longer phrase EATING HEALTHIER THAN IN THE PAST.