Weight loss and getting healthy

Usually around January everyone is on a health kick and this year has not been any different. Well, maybe a little different.  This time I decided to jump on the wagon with everyone else. While the masses were hitting the gym and the tracks; I was in my planning phase. I stayed in that planning phase for 3 months! Really I was planning. Here is what is working for me:

1)      Make a plan. You wouldn’t buy a car or start a new career without a plan, so do the same thing for your health. Since I had been here a few times I was very familiar with my down falls ( I say mine because everyone’s is different).  Things like what to eat for lunch, where to eat if I was traveling, how to fit in exercise, going to the doctor to discuss my plans and taking in her suggestions, how to pump myself up to cook healthy every day at home, things to leave off my grocery list, researching tips & tricks for my body type and how to combat holidays.  Although my plan looked fool proof, it was getting to be a way to dodge actually jumping in head first.

2)      Buddy Up. A good friend of mine, my best friend actually (some would say my only friend LOL) was thinking the same thing I was thinking about weight loss and health.  One day we were talking about it.  She asked me to join her at the park after work.  Those of you, who know me, know that socializing after work is a huge step for me in itself.  I conquered 2 issues that day. Starting to exercise and crossing my social boundaries.  I can’t lie, it was rough.  I had not exercised in two years.  I whined (boy did I whine), I complained, I blamed my smoking, a bad leg I didn’t have; I even blamed the squirrels.  There was one squirrel that appeared to be praying for me as I made a lap. Point being, if it had not been for my buddy I never would have started regardless of how much planning I did, I was not motivated.  Now rather we work out together or not, we stay in touch, share weight loss tips, food ideas and pounds lost. Other than motivation, my buddy holds me accountable and I do the same for her.  I work out hard when we do it separately because I know she is doing the same and I know she is going to ask me without a doubt.

3)      Drink up.  If you drink sodas, juices, coffee, teas etc.  In all honesty you can lose 10lbs just by eliminating sodas alone.  This is not research (it’s there if you need it).  This is tried and true, what I know worked.  I drink water and coffee now.  I know the more you weigh the more water you need and the more coffee you drink, the more water you need. If your body is made of mostly water, It makes sense that the bigger your body the more you need.  I drink 16 ounces of water when I wake up, I drink 16 ounces during my a.m work out, and I drink 8 ounces of water on the way to work with breakfast, 8 ounces with lunch and 16 ounces with dinner.  If I work out after work I drank whatever I get my hands on. LOL

4)      Be consistent.  Working out and eating right should be like every thing else in your life you get done.  Like going to work or doing laundry.  If you skip on any of these too often, there are going to be problems.  So, Get your routine and stick to it. 

5)      Be on Team you.  You should be your biggest cheerleader.  As long as you are doing something that’s great.  The only failure to me is to do nothing.  So reward yourself and  pat yourself on the back.  You deserve it.