Muffin Top?

Muffin top? I don't even LIKE Muffins! 

You know where you stand on gravity when your clothes start fitting a little snug... but if you're like me, you refuse to acknowledge this fact and blame it on the dryer, water weight/bloating, etc. My turning point in my weight gain came one day when my husband (after hearing me complain about my fat once again and the fact that all my clothes were tight) said to me, "Why don't you just buy bigger pants?" That's what he said.... this is how I took it...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!! **Now, I must say as a disclaimer: He's a man and didn't think anything of it though I am pretty sure he will think twice the next time he wants to comment on my clothes. 

As much as it hurt to admit it, I knew it was time to do something because I was NOT buying new pants. For one, I pay a lot of money for my jeans due to my giraffe legs and two, if I did buy bigger jeans... what's gonna happen when THOSE get too tight?! I was ending that cycle REAL quick. 

Research

I started doing my homework on weight loss and working out. I had tried P90X in the past and though I loved the results I was getting, I would ultimately get sick in the middle of the 90 days and lose my stamina resulting in starting over every time. (Side note here: I was NOT following the diet which I now believe would have helped maintain my progress.) I knew I needed a shorter term goal so I could feel a sense of accomplishment from finishing. 

A friend had once told me that Jillian Michaels had some great workouts on DVD and that they were about 30 minutes long. So, I purchased "30 Day Shred" by Jillian. What I love about her workouts is they are 30 minutes long, 30 day goal, and tri-leveled. You start at level 1 and progress to level 2 and finally to level 3. She shows you how to modify exercises if you can't complete them and continues to push you to try the advanced movements if you can. It's also set up in a 3-2-1 cycle.  You complete 3 minutes of strength, followed by 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs before moving to the next cycle (There are 3 cycles in every workout.). She also includes a warm-up and a cool-down which is very important in every workout. I was able to complete the program in 30 days and repeated it another 30 days doing the "more advanced" movements in most cases. I had a sense of accomplishment and was encouraged to keep working out to get even better results. 

Now, it is also important to note here that weight loss does not come without a diet of some sort in synergy with exercise. Let me repeat: YOU CANNOT WORK OFF A BAD DIET. <-- It took me a long time to come to this conclusion myself but the sooner you can come to peace with it, the sooner you can reach your weight loss goals. What I did initially is I downloaded a free app for my phone called LoseIt (also available via web: http://www.loseit.com) so I could track my calories. The app made it easy to know what I was eating and helped me realize some of the foods I was eating were high in calories. I began making better food choices (as far as calories go) and seeing the numbers of the scale come down. After awhile, I stopped tracking what I was eating on the app but continued to make better food choices because I was more educated now about what I was putting in my body. I encourage anyone to track their food for 30 days and I promise you will learn what foods you should avoid too. 

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I read a book by Tosca Reno called "The Eat-Clean Diet" in June. This book helped me understand that eating clean isn't a diet.... it's a life style change. Our brains are wired in such a way that if we can't understand the rationale behind something, we don't place as much importance on that particular issue. After I read this book, I understand the principles of eating clean and have placed more importance in making sure I choose foods that are good for my body. I recommend reading this or another book about eating clean foods so you too can help your brain place higher importance on your quality of life because when you eat cleaner foods, it's not just weight you'll lose and here's an example: My mom is now over 60 and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a couple of years ago. She refused to live with the diagnosis and started researching online. She discovered that many people had reduced or eliminated their symptoms by cutting our artificial sweeteners and products from their diet so she got rid of the Sweet N Lo and as much as possible from all other foods and she has been symptom free since. <-- WOW. If that isn't evidence enough! Read the book, it's enlightening! 

Coupled with eating clean and exercise, make sure you drink lots of water, LOTS. If you aren't drinking at least 8 glasses a day, you probably aren't drinking enough water. Think about it like Tosca: if you put food waste into your garbage disposal, you have to have water to flush it out otherwise, it gets nice and nasty in the disposal. The same is true for your body. What you eat has to be flushed out. If you aren't drinking enough water, chances are you are dehydrated. Here are some signs that I have experienced: fatigue, headache, constipation, back pain, weight gain, cellulite, blurred vision... OMG, just by making sure you drink enough water, you can reduce or eliminate those symptoms! Grab a glass and drink it now! 

If you can, check out my friend, Alicia's blog on eating clean as well. She's got some great material that's research-based as well (That's important, y'all!). Most recently, read about coconut oil and it's benefits in your diet. 

Think. Work. Achieve. The choice is yours.