Live Fit

Christmas is over, and the holiday pounds have begun to come off, thanks to New Years resolutions about going to the gym every day of the week. But the energy behind that resolution is also beginning to wear thin with January drawing to a close. I know - I’ve been there. To be perfectly honest, I AM there right now. So here’s our kick in the pants to help refocus and re-evaluate. What are your goals? Why? Remember - eating healthy doesn't mean you are limited to poached chicken and celery stalks. And being fit isn't just about conforming to someone elses idea of what you should look like. But learning fitness as a lifestyle is a process with ups and downs. In the next couple posts I’ll give you the “recipe” that has been working for me. Today, we start with diets.

The first weapon in your arsenal to take out unwanted pounds is what you eat. While there may be short term benefits to cutting out sugar or carbs, living your life on a deprivation diet is not healthy. Its also not sustainable. Your body needs appropriate nutrition and that includes all the food groups. Keeping a rounded diet and hitting a healthy calorie number every day is important for any serious fitness goal, since you typically want to be leaning out and building muscle rather than just cutting fat and weight. If you can, talk to a nutritionist or a personal trainer (Breena Martinez is one of the best) to help you figure out your ideal diet.

We have all heard that a great figure is built from the inside out. There are tons of great resources out there but one of the most interesting I found recently was called “The Fast Metabolism Diet,” by Haylie Pomroy. This book introduced me to a fascinating new idea. The basic thrust of the argument is that most of us have been “dieting” for years and in many cases its taking a toll on our metabolism. When our bodies don’t get enough food they go into starvation mode and begin storing fat. Perpetual dieting and low calorie quick fixes turn our metabolism down so that it stores everything you eat in fat rather than burning it for energy like its designed to. The Fast Metabolism diet focuses on stopping that starvation mode and turning up your natural metabolism so that it starts consuming the food you eat and turning it into muscle rather than fat. I highly recommend the book.

There are other books, recommendations and systems out there and I encourage you to do some research and find one that you like. Keep in mind, if its a crash diet, you won’t be able to sustain it long term and you may gain the weight right back. In addition, crash diets can actually damage you through malnutrition if utilized long term. Look for a system thats safe, lifestyle focused and will fit in with your schedule. If its too complicated, you won’t be able to keep it up, and the secret to long term success is long term dedication. Those are the results that will stick with you. They take longer to see, but once you start seeing progress it quickly compounds!

One last note on diet books. Most of them are written to people who are actually overweight. Promises of 20-30 lbs gone in weeks, usually assume that you’re starting with a lot of weight to lose. If you, like I was, are about 5’7” and weigh around 140 lbs, you are not overweight. You may not be at your physical peak, but you are NOT overweight, and therefore your progress will be somewhat slower and you may find that you periodically plateau. That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It just means you need to keep your eye on your ultimate goal and keep working at it. If you’re not sure what that goal is for you, take a look at the questions I posted here. Keep those motivating factors in mind and you‘ll find yourself truly moving forward, even after the shine of New Years resolutions has faded away.

#fitness #fitgirl #selfconfidence