An overview of my diet and fitness secret!

You may be looking at this post because you fit one of the following categories:

1. Other diets and workout routines just haven't produced results!
2. My body is different, nothing so far has worked for me.
3. I'm looking for the secret that the "before and after" fitness people know.
4. I lack motivation.
5. I'm too busy.
6. I lie to myself....Wait, what?

 I do have a secret to my fitness success. It is something I had heard of before but never realized the significance. I look back at all the time I wasted doing everything else and laugh. People even tried to tell me the secret many times. I read it online, in books, heard it from personal trainers. But I never listened. 98% of you won't believe me and won't do this. Your choice.

My secret is this: be 100% honest with yourself. Both about what you ARE doing and what you are NOT doing. WAIT! I know you're tempted to stop reading, because (like me) you are thinking to yourself "Ugh, I was hoping for the REAL secret that would change my life this very moment!" Well folks, this is the same stuff you're going to hear from friends, pros, PTs, and winners of the Biggest Loser. So you can go on throughout your life looking for the next person's secret and the next revolutionary-mega-super-awesome diet wherein you lose 10lbs a week and then you will die crying about the fact that you never reached your goals. Have fun with that. For those of you who can be honest with yourself enough to realize you might be looking for the end of a fitness rainbow with a big golden pot of weight loss secrets that doesn't exist, read on.

 I remember the day this transformation started. I looked at myself in the mirror and forced myself to stop feeling guilty, sad, or angry about it. I forced myself to see a girl with good intentions and bad execution. I, for the first time in years, didn’t hate my body. I just wanted to improve the one I had. I went out for a run and (in a sense) never looked back.

Up to this point, I really had been “dieting and exercising” for YEARS! Literally! I tried so many diets, went to the gym, went on runs, and it never worked! Weird. How is it that all of these tried and true tips never worked for me? Thyroid? Genetics? Hormones? The universe just hates me? Life is so unfair!!! Nope. I just wasn’t being consistent and dedicated for more than a few weeks at a time. I would try a diet and workout routine for a couple weeks or maybe even up to a couple months and when I didn’t  look extremely different, I would give up and fall back into my old self. I would snack when people weren’t watching, eat cereal at midnight, skip breakfast, use every birthday, holiday, or special event to eat whatever I wanted, and go through the motions of working out a few times a week, and think to myself “I'm too busy today, I’ll be better tomorrow”. Listen to me. Today counts!

I’m not going to list my specific diet and workout routine. Why? Because it doesn’t matter. Seriously, I change it all the time because I get bored. I recommend livestrong.com as a great online resource for fitness and diet routines. I've used a lot of them and they're great. But most of the time, I do not follow any specific one. In fact, I struggle more when I do that because it's impossible to follow it 100% and then you give up. The one and only important thing is that you look at every single day as an opportunity to improve your life. Look at the long term. Ask yourself: “Is this contributing to my new healthy lifestyle, or is it taking away from it?” Everything you do is one or the other. Every single day.

Here’s my guide for food:

Food:

Calories: 1200-1400 per day

Hierarchy of food group amounts:

1. Vegetables

2. Lean protein

3. Healthy fats

4. Fruit

5. Grains

6. Yummy snacks that I just can’t give up like Healthy Choice fudge bars and low cal jello

7. Bites of Morgan’s “normal people” food ;)

 8. Dairy. I, personally, try to stay almost completely away from dairy. There have been lots of studies on both sides and I’ve found I do better without it.

Beverages: Water, water, then more water. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere and strive for at least 100oz a day. It may not be the best, but I keep myself sane with Crystal Light, Mio.

Portions: Stop eating when you are satisfied. Not when you are full. Not when your plate is empty. Not when it stops tasting good. It never will.

*Try to stay completely away from processed/packaged foods, soda (even diet), and fast food (some places have good salads with low cal dressings for emergencies).

Exercise (5-6 days a week):

·     AM: First thing in the morning: 45 minutes of fasted cardio (on an empty stomach to blast fat). This can consist of a run, power walk, jumping jacks, Zumba, running up and down your stairs, etc.

·       PM: (Or just anytime throughout the day after you've eaten) 30 minutes of muscle training. This can all be done at home, on the road, or at a gym. I love pilates and calisthenics. You can find awesome workouts on YouTube! Keep in mind: PUSH YOURSELF! Sweat, feel the burn, focus!

·       * (I have found fat melts away fastest when I “bookend” my day with exercise. First thing in the morning and then again in the evening.)

Well, that's the secret ladies and gents! For those of you who have stuck with me long enough to read to this point may think, “Oh, I’ve done all this before and it doesn’t work.” Yes it absolutely does. You’re just not committed. Plain and simple. Try it HONESTLY for 6 months and see what happens. I dare you.