Okay, here we go. The hardest part of losing weight I found is not the exercising. We can burn calories taking a walk, playing with the kids, jumping up and down, or going Salsa dancing (like me and my girls did - whew that was fun and sweaty!). The most difficult thing to get a hold of is the food we put in our mouths. Hold on to your hats, I'm getting ready to give you a lot of information and homework but don't worry, just refer back to the blog or shoot me a message. What I really want to do is make sure we're making life changes that are actually maintainable. This is not going to be rocket surgery, I promise. I mean, I can't tell you to eat bean sprouts or drink shakes for the rest of your life, can I? HECK NAW!!! That's how most of us end up regaining any weight we lost. (In your best cheerleader voice) Ready?!?! OKAY!!!!!
The food challenge for the next two weeks is . . . to only eat food prepared at home. Why? Well, when we go out, we cannot control the amount of salt, sugar, butter, sauce, or preservatives in the food and typically, we eat more than we're supposed to. I know I do; I leave restaurants feeling like WHOA, roll me outta here!! On the weekend, you may eat out EXCEPT fast food! I don't want you touching french fries or any burger from YOU KNOW WHERE! I ain't naming no names but you know exactly where I'm talking about, your favorite last minute stop shall no longer be your favorite stop. For those of us who have someone that likes treat us to a meal or two, please go ahead and order the steak, the Tilapia, the salmon, hell go for the lobster and tell your date that it is a part of your healthy eating plan. I mean, if you really want the salad, eat it but I don't anyone going hungry. You'll never survive if you're hungry. That's easy right. Uh, but wait, there's more AND you get to choose a cheat day. This is a principal that was confirmed by my dear friend, fellow singer and vocal coach Eric Arceneaux - http://www.youtube.com/user/EricRCNOmusic. His tactics might be a little radical to follow, but if you're game, I mean, the proof is in the pecs!! I mean, pics :-)
You have two homework assignments.
Food Chart
Food diaries work, yes they do but most of us don't have time to jot down EVERYTHING we ate. We're going to have colored coded food charts. Every time you eat a fruit or vegetable of that color during the day, put one X in the box but leave room in the box just in case you eat more items of that color on that day. The goal is to get at least 5 X's each day. Yes, this is a trick to get you to eat at least 5 fruits and/or vegetables a day.
This is the fruit and vegetable chart. I am NOT against eating meat; I once was vegan but had to put meat back in my diet and I allow a few dairy products here and there (but OH that is SO dangerous for the ozone layer!!) So please eat some meat - steak, Salmon, Croaker, crab (real crab meat), chicken, lamb, turkey - EAT IT! We don't lose weight because we don't eat enough good food, so please, don't starve . . . eat my dear. Let's get some squash, mango, zucchini, eggplant, blueberries, raspberries, apples (ooh, I love apples), pears (did you know they had red pears? I love those too), oranges, pineapple. Be careful with the pineapples and bananas, they have lots of natural sugar so if you're following through on the water, you'll be quite sugary sweet :-)
Hmm, I should make this a little more difficult though . . . and I will, no rice or potatoes until you've had three vegetables for the day. Uh huh, I said it! These are starches that your body processes as sugar and ends up in that lovely spare tire around our waists. :-) Thank me later.
The second challenge is to come up with a workout schedule for the next two weeks. It should include 40 minutes of cardio at least four times a week and 30 minutes of strength training two/three times a week. The strength training can be lifting weights or things like lunges, push ups, tricep dips, squats, yoga even!. We all have busy schedules so you have to plan it. Let me know what you came up with for the next two weeks and how you're doing with the food and water challenge. Its not going to be overnight, but we're going to work at it together. Until next time, let's get #PixieDustPotent with One Dress Size Less!
Keyona
You have two homework assignments.
Food Chart
Food diaries work, yes they do but most of us don't have time to jot down EVERYTHING we ate. We're going to have colored coded food charts. Every time you eat a fruit or vegetable of that color during the day, put one X in the box but leave room in the box just in case you eat more items of that color on that day. The goal is to get at least 5 X's each day. Yes, this is a trick to get you to eat at least 5 fruits and/or vegetables a day.
Hmm, I should make this a little more difficult though . . . and I will, no rice or potatoes until you've had three vegetables for the day. Uh huh, I said it! These are starches that your body processes as sugar and ends up in that lovely spare tire around our waists. :-) Thank me later.
The second challenge is to come up with a workout schedule for the next two weeks. It should include 40 minutes of cardio at least four times a week and 30 minutes of strength training two/three times a week. The strength training can be lifting weights or things like lunges, push ups, tricep dips, squats, yoga even!. We all have busy schedules so you have to plan it. Let me know what you came up with for the next two weeks and how you're doing with the food and water challenge. Its not going to be overnight, but we're going to work at it together. Until next time, let's get #PixieDustPotent with One Dress Size Less!
Keyona
