I've been reading a lot of articles lately in which the writers try to make people pursuing a healthy lifestyle into the enemy. Trying to flip the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle into a symptom of insecurity or lack of confidence. I'll be the first person to tell you that you should be proud of your body not matter what it looks like. No matter what it's shape or size. Your body is amazing. YOU are amazing. Who you are and the magnitude of amazingness has nothing to do with what you look like (Yes, I know "amazingness" is not a real word, but work with me here). End of Story. However, if you feel you have to defend your right to be body proud at a larger size by putting down those perusing a healthier lifestyle, you might really want to reflect on why you feel this way.
I honestly think men and women can be gorgeous at any size. And I'm not just talking Tyra banks version of plus size.What matters is if you're happy and if you're healthy.
When I was medically considered to be obese I wasn't happy. Not because of the terminology, but because of the way I felt. Thirty-Five pounds ago I was tired all the time. It took effort to run around the back yard with my toddler. I had no energy. My feet ached at the end of each work day. I just wanted to sleep all the time. And I got sick more often than I do now. As a matter of fact, I hardly get sick at all now. In the past year I only had to call off work one time due to illness, mostly because in the past year I've only been sick one time in the past year (yes, I know, I probably just jinxed myself by saying that). When you consider I'm a Pre-K teacher staying that healthy is an accomplishment!
Now, I am happy. Now, I love the way I feel now. I'm only 35 pounds lighter than I
was 15 months ago, which is by no means super model thin, and with no desire to
be, I feel great! I love how easily I can move with ease whether its getting up and down and moving all round the play areas at work or just running around the back yard and climbing play gyms with my own daughter. Love it! Movements that took effort 35lbs ago take place without a thought today. I sleep better. I have more energy. And I really enjoy my life and my body and all the amazing things it can do.
I workout today because it's fun! As a matter of fact I recently started a new workout program, Beachbody's INSANITY! I'm taking the INSANITY Challenge! Which means I had to take "before" pictures. The funny thing is, I wasn't like most people who take "before" pictures when starting a new diet or fitness program with the depressed look on their faces looking all frumpy. Nope! Not me! I took before pictures and I thought, "Wow! I look this good before the program! I can't wait to see how much stronger and leaner I'll look after!" That's the goal for me. Not to be thin, but to push myself to my physical peak of fitness. I love my body and seeing all the amazing things it can do. There's more to being healthy than your annual exam and blood test results. THIS amazing feeling is what keeps me workout out and eating right!
But what got me to this point was a concern for my health.
On top of the way I felt, when I was overweight, was the concern for my future health and all the health risks that come with being overweight. In many of the articles I've been reading lately the writers defend their right to be fat (their words, not mine) by citing their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. That's great! That's a start, but there's more to the story than blood pressure and cholesterol levels. I almost didn't write this post because I don't think scare tactics convince any one to do anything worth doing, but the fact is this is not a scare tactic. This is reality.
The reality is carrying extra weight, especially around your midsection is dangerous, regardless of your blood pressure or blood test results, especially if that extra weight comes in the form of visceral fat. I've written about visceral fat and subcutaneous fat before in another article: Visceral Fat vs Subcutaneous Fat. So, while you're blood pressure may be at a healthy level, you may still be at risk. In addition to risk to your internal organs is the strong correlation between being overweight and serious diseases like Heart Disease and Diabetes and the increased risk of certain cancers. These are real risks to your health that can be prevented by adopting a healthier lifestyle. So, be body proud at any size, just be healthy too.
For more information on Diabetes Prevention check out this site:
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/?loc=DropDownDB-prevention
For more information on Cancer Risks check out these articles:
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/body_weight/overweight/cancer_risk.htm
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity
For more information on Heart Disease check out this site:
http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/behavior.htm
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Setting Clocks Back Doesn't Need to Set Your Fitness Back
It's that time of year again. The weather is getting colder and the sun is setting much earlier. The colder temperatures temp us to seek comfort foods usually in the form of carbs and sugar. The falling temperatures and the dwindling day light deter us from sticking to our outdoor summer workout routines because we don't want to leave our nice warm houses.
As humans we tend to be creatures of habit. We enjoy routines. As long as we have a routine we can stick to it. So, when seasons change causes a kink in our health and fitness plans. This is why I promote the idea of keeping your workout routines fresh. Learn to adapt and find ways to enjoy working out for each season.
I live in Pennsylvania where the outside conditions are drastically different in the spring and summer than they are in the fall and winter. While I enjoy the freedom, fresh air, and beauty of running outside in the spring, summer, and early fall, I find that it is neither fun nor safe to run outside in late fall and early winter. It gets dark so your a less visible to traffic and the amount and types of precipitation make it difficult to keep your footing. That and I hate being cold. I hate it with a passion. So, running outside when temperatures drop below 50, let alone below freezing is not my idea of fun and it's not a fitness routine that I could stick with. So, in the winter I bring my workouts inside. I've done anything from my own workouts, to EA Sports Active 2, to a variety of Beach Body workouts. As a matter of fact I just took the Insanity fit test today. I will be starting Day 1 of the 60 day Insanity program tomorrow.
Switching your fitness program every so often is a good idea even if you live in a area with more mild temperatures year round. Changing things up keeps your fitness routine fresh and interesting. Plus it might force you to workout aspects of your fitness or body that you've been neglecting in your current routines thus improving your over all fitness level.
Cold Weather and Warm Food
If you're like me, colder temperatures sends you raiding the cupboards for warm comforting foods. This can be dangerous especially since, as I've always joked, Halloween kicks off the eating season. From now until just after the New Year you'll be bombarded with cookies, cakes, snacks, and treats of all kinds. Who can resist the warmth of fresh baked breads, cookies, or cakes? While many of these things are absolutely delicious, as we all know, they wreak havoc on your health and weight loss goals.
I will never be one to tell you that you must completely deprive yourself of the occasional treat. I strongly believe you can enjoy some of your family's traditional holiday grub and still stick to your health and fitness goals. Just limit the amounts of the goodies and make it a point to reach for healthier foods for meals.
You can still get the warmth and comfort of your favorite winter time meals if you choose healthier versions of them. For instance you can choose whole grain versions of you favorite warm cereals, pastas, or breads. Even better, you can pair a smaller serving of your favorite comfort food with a side of steamed vegetables. Doing this will reduce your overall calorie intake and add healthier more filling components to your diet!
Since I started my journey back to health and fitness I have become a big fan of soups for my winter time meals! Soups are the ultimate comfort food since they are often low in calories and filling as well a hydrating... unless of course they are cream based soups then the low calorie factor is null and void.
So setting your clocks back doesn't have to set back your health and fitness routines too! With a little bit of creativity and adjustment you can continue making progress toward your health and fitness goals!
As humans we tend to be creatures of habit. We enjoy routines. As long as we have a routine we can stick to it. So, when seasons change causes a kink in our health and fitness plans. This is why I promote the idea of keeping your workout routines fresh. Learn to adapt and find ways to enjoy working out for each season.
I live in Pennsylvania where the outside conditions are drastically different in the spring and summer than they are in the fall and winter. While I enjoy the freedom, fresh air, and beauty of running outside in the spring, summer, and early fall, I find that it is neither fun nor safe to run outside in late fall and early winter. It gets dark so your a less visible to traffic and the amount and types of precipitation make it difficult to keep your footing. That and I hate being cold. I hate it with a passion. So, running outside when temperatures drop below 50, let alone below freezing is not my idea of fun and it's not a fitness routine that I could stick with. So, in the winter I bring my workouts inside. I've done anything from my own workouts, to EA Sports Active 2, to a variety of Beach Body workouts. As a matter of fact I just took the Insanity fit test today. I will be starting Day 1 of the 60 day Insanity program tomorrow.
Switching your fitness program every so often is a good idea even if you live in a area with more mild temperatures year round. Changing things up keeps your fitness routine fresh and interesting. Plus it might force you to workout aspects of your fitness or body that you've been neglecting in your current routines thus improving your over all fitness level.
Cold Weather and Warm Food
If you're like me, colder temperatures sends you raiding the cupboards for warm comforting foods. This can be dangerous especially since, as I've always joked, Halloween kicks off the eating season. From now until just after the New Year you'll be bombarded with cookies, cakes, snacks, and treats of all kinds. Who can resist the warmth of fresh baked breads, cookies, or cakes? While many of these things are absolutely delicious, as we all know, they wreak havoc on your health and weight loss goals.
I will never be one to tell you that you must completely deprive yourself of the occasional treat. I strongly believe you can enjoy some of your family's traditional holiday grub and still stick to your health and fitness goals. Just limit the amounts of the goodies and make it a point to reach for healthier foods for meals.
You can still get the warmth and comfort of your favorite winter time meals if you choose healthier versions of them. For instance you can choose whole grain versions of you favorite warm cereals, pastas, or breads. Even better, you can pair a smaller serving of your favorite comfort food with a side of steamed vegetables. Doing this will reduce your overall calorie intake and add healthier more filling components to your diet!
Since I started my journey back to health and fitness I have become a big fan of soups for my winter time meals! Soups are the ultimate comfort food since they are often low in calories and filling as well a hydrating... unless of course they are cream based soups then the low calorie factor is null and void.
So setting your clocks back doesn't have to set back your health and fitness routines too! With a little bit of creativity and adjustment you can continue making progress toward your health and fitness goals!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
What's Your Motivation?
How do you stay motivated to make the better choice, the healthier choice?
Making the better choice instead of the more comforting choice when it comes to food, Making the choice to fit in a workout instead of a few more minutes of sleep, isn't always easy. I takes motivation and daily reminders of why you are passing up a trip to Dairy Queen or choosing to only eat one ounce of dark chocolate instead of the entire bar to keep you on track. Sometimes just a look in the mirror at what you have accomplished is all you need. Or stepping on the scale every week. For some the motivation is reminding themselves of a specific date because their journey to a better lifestyle began because of an impending special event such as a wedding, a reunion, a landmark birthday, or some other special occasion, but depending on how far off the event is, it can be difficult to continually make the better choice. And once that day has come and gone, how do you continue to motivate yourself to stay on track?
I've been on a journey to a better lifestyle for a little over 11 months now. I've lost 37lbs and am literally half the size I was, but even I have had those moments of weakness and have run into what I viewed as road blocks, but I've kept as I say, "fighting the good fight."
These past few weeks since school has let out has been especially hard because it is a completely different schedule from the school year for me. So trying to rearrange everything has proven to be difficult. Then the other day I stumbled upon a healthy dose of motivation. I was scrolling through some Facebook pictures from 2 years ago when I took my daughter to an amusement park and I couldn't believe how different I looked then compared to now, but when I looked at those pics I didn't think about how I LOOKED so much as I how I remembered feeling. Those memories are happy ones because of the joy and excitement of my daughter, but remembering how tired I felt and how much my feet hurt at the end of the day the day is what motivated me. I remembered how much effort it took to keep up with my baby girl that day. And almost immediately, I made the stark comparison of the way I felt on this years trip to the same amusement park. I climbed the ropes, went up several flights of stairs to slide down slides multiples times, climbed stairs to the top of a big tree house and ran across a rope bridge, walked all over the park, play in the ball pit, and still had plenty of energy at the end of the day!
I feel the difference my lifestyle change has made every day when I run around the backyard playing tag, stomping like a dinosaur, or dancing with my baby girl. I can throw her in the air and catcher her as many times as she can manage to giggle out "again, again! mommy throw me again!" and ride her around piggy back without stopping to rest. This is why I choose the all you can eat salad buffet when we go to Chuck E Cheese, or the South West Chicken Salad with grilled chicken when everyone else gets McDonalds. This is why I'll gladly grill some salmon marinated in red hot, with a side steamed broccoli, and some fruit salad for dessert. And that is why I woke up early this morning and went for a half hour run. I thought of printing off a few copies of those pics from two years ago and hanging them on the refrigerator, the mirror, and near the bathroom scale, because it's no longer about how I look, or how much I weigh. It's about how I feel and what I can do.
This was never a motivation that occurred to me when I started out. My journey started because I simply want a better reflection. I wanted to look the way I did before I got married coupled with the fear of all the health problems that came with being overweight. Now, my motivation is the way I feel. Which also makes the food choices and the workouts easier to do, because even eating healthier foods makes me physically feel better.
So, how do you stay motivated?
Do you hang pictures of yourself to remind you of how far you've come?
Do you hang that special dress where you can see it every day?
Is it the compliments you've gotten from friends, family, and co-workers?
Do you keep a journal to refer back to?
Do you track the weight you lost?
Are you inspired by stories of others?
I've been on a journey to a better lifestyle for a little over 11 months now. I've lost 37lbs and am literally half the size I was, but even I have had those moments of weakness and have run into what I viewed as road blocks, but I've kept as I say, "fighting the good fight."
These past few weeks since school has let out has been especially hard because it is a completely different schedule from the school year for me. So trying to rearrange everything has proven to be difficult. Then the other day I stumbled upon a healthy dose of motivation. I was scrolling through some Facebook pictures from 2 years ago when I took my daughter to an amusement park and I couldn't believe how different I looked then compared to now, but when I looked at those pics I didn't think about how I LOOKED so much as I how I remembered feeling. Those memories are happy ones because of the joy and excitement of my daughter, but remembering how tired I felt and how much my feet hurt at the end of the day the day is what motivated me. I remembered how much effort it took to keep up with my baby girl that day. And almost immediately, I made the stark comparison of the way I felt on this years trip to the same amusement park. I climbed the ropes, went up several flights of stairs to slide down slides multiples times, climbed stairs to the top of a big tree house and ran across a rope bridge, walked all over the park, play in the ball pit, and still had plenty of energy at the end of the day!
I feel the difference my lifestyle change has made every day when I run around the backyard playing tag, stomping like a dinosaur, or dancing with my baby girl. I can throw her in the air and catcher her as many times as she can manage to giggle out "again, again! mommy throw me again!" and ride her around piggy back without stopping to rest. This is why I choose the all you can eat salad buffet when we go to Chuck E Cheese, or the South West Chicken Salad with grilled chicken when everyone else gets McDonalds. This is why I'll gladly grill some salmon marinated in red hot, with a side steamed broccoli, and some fruit salad for dessert. And that is why I woke up early this morning and went for a half hour run. I thought of printing off a few copies of those pics from two years ago and hanging them on the refrigerator, the mirror, and near the bathroom scale, because it's no longer about how I look, or how much I weigh. It's about how I feel and what I can do.
This was never a motivation that occurred to me when I started out. My journey started because I simply want a better reflection. I wanted to look the way I did before I got married coupled with the fear of all the health problems that came with being overweight. Now, my motivation is the way I feel. Which also makes the food choices and the workouts easier to do, because even eating healthier foods makes me physically feel better.
So, how do you stay motivated?
Do you hang pictures of yourself to remind you of how far you've come?
Do you hang that special dress where you can see it every day?
Is it the compliments you've gotten from friends, family, and co-workers?
Do you keep a journal to refer back to?
Do you track the weight you lost?
Are you inspired by stories of others?
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Test Post
I didn't realize my blogger app want functioning properly, so there are several posts that I thought I published from my blogger app that haven't shown up on either this or my PreK blog. So this is a test post to see if uninstalling & reinstalling has made a difference. This could pose a problem because I am rarely sitting down in front of my computer. Hope this works.
The good news is it works the bad news is because I installed & reinstalled I lost all the unpublished posts from the last month or two. :: sigh::
Saturday, June 30, 2012
What's the Difference Between Organic and Non-Organic Milk?
I'm a Pre-K Teacher for a state funded program in which the teachers are expected to eat breakfast and lunch with the children in order to demonstrate healthy eating and proper meal time manners for the children.. So, I'm lucky in the way that I don't have to worry about packing my own lunches. This saves on my food bill. This also means other than my morning snack, dinner, and my late night snack I don't have to buy as much food as often. Since milk is served with both breakfast and lunch at my workplace. I don't often drink much milk at home. I opt for water or other low calorie beverages. Which often meant the milk I bought would often expire before I was done with it.
My cousin told me she started buying organic milk because it didn't expire as quickly as other milk. So, yes, it is a little bit more expensive if you have to buy gallons of milk each week, but for someone like me who only has to buy a half gallon every two weeks or more it actually save money on my food budget.
A few friends and relatives lately have asked me what makes it organic, assuming that there had to be some kind of chemical process involved to make it last significantly longer than the other milks. So, I did a little research. Found a few sites that explained the difference, but the best explanation came from the Stonyfield website.
Basically, the difference between organic milk and non-organic milk whether or not chemicals are used in any step of the production of the milk and or the cows producing it. There are no chemicals used as either pesticides to protect the grass or feed of the cows, not are the cow injected with any chemicals to boost milk production.
In general farmers of anything grown Organically do not us pesticides or other chemicals to deter bugs. They use more natural methods to control pests and increase the fertility of the soil they use such as crop rotation and effective use of cover plants.
Organic milk lasts longer because it is also ultra pasteurized.
For more information on the difference between Organic and Non-Organic milk check out the Stonyfield website or the website of your favorite or local Organic milk producer. Here are a few sites for Organic Milk Producers:
StonyField
http://www.stonyfield.com/why-organic/organic-defined
Horizon
http://www.horizondairy.com/why-organic/what-is-organic/
Organic Valley
http://www.organicvalley.coop/why-organic/organic-defined/
My cousin told me she started buying organic milk because it didn't expire as quickly as other milk. So, yes, it is a little bit more expensive if you have to buy gallons of milk each week, but for someone like me who only has to buy a half gallon every two weeks or more it actually save money on my food budget.
A few friends and relatives lately have asked me what makes it organic, assuming that there had to be some kind of chemical process involved to make it last significantly longer than the other milks. So, I did a little research. Found a few sites that explained the difference, but the best explanation came from the Stonyfield website.
Basically, the difference between organic milk and non-organic milk whether or not chemicals are used in any step of the production of the milk and or the cows producing it. There are no chemicals used as either pesticides to protect the grass or feed of the cows, not are the cow injected with any chemicals to boost milk production.
In general farmers of anything grown Organically do not us pesticides or other chemicals to deter bugs. They use more natural methods to control pests and increase the fertility of the soil they use such as crop rotation and effective use of cover plants.
Organic milk lasts longer because it is also ultra pasteurized.
For more information on the difference between Organic and Non-Organic milk check out the Stonyfield website or the website of your favorite or local Organic milk producer. Here are a few sites for Organic Milk Producers:
StonyField
http://www.stonyfield.com/why-organic/organic-defined
Horizon
http://www.horizondairy.com/why-organic/what-is-organic/
Organic Valley
http://www.organicvalley.coop/why-organic/organic-defined/
Sunday, May 6, 2012
How'd You Get Those Abs!?
I'm at that point in my health & fitness journey in which my focus has shifted from simply losing weight and thus feeling better while reducing my risk for certain health problems to improving my body's composition and training for competitive goals.
Once I met my initial weight loss goal (losing 20 pounds by my birthday) I decided to start focusing on adding more strength and muscle to my body. So, I got a membership to the local YMCA and started hitting the free weights and Nautilus equipment before doing my cardio workout. (Which by the way, after doing much research on the subject I have found that it is best to do strength training before cardio if you are doing both on the same day and have the options available. I'll have more on that in another post.)
I love working out at a gym because you get to see so many different approaches and techniques to health and fitness in one place as well as varying levels of fitness. I even enjoy overhearing some of the approaches to eating others have taken. Sometimes these conversations lead me to do some research to find out if there is any validity to what I over heard on the nutrition front, but a few weeks ago I noticed someone who had the most impressive abs. She had the ever so sought after "six pack." Yes, you read that correctly. I said SHE.
I was so impressed that when I ran into her the next week in the lady's room I just had to ask her, "How on earth did you get those abs?" And she of course confirmed what most current health and fitness articles have been saying. "It's all about the cardio." She said,"it doesn't matter how much ab work you do if there's too much fast covering the muscle."
Well, she's mostly right. It really doesn't matter how many crunches, sit-ups, planks, burpees, leg lifts, reverse crunches,...etc. That you do. If there's a thick layer of fat over your abdominals you will not be able to see the definition of the muscles that create the six pack look. But, it's not all about the cardio, well, ok, it's not JUST about the cardio.
Most health and fitness experts and novices alike would agree that cardio is the best way to burn calories and fat. So yes, it is it is absolutely necessary if you want to achieve that six pack look, but you still need to eat a proper diet. I can preach about this from experience. I ran cross country and long distance in track in both high school and college and though I was fairly slendor I still did not have a defined mid section. Instead I had the littlest pouch especially on my lower abdominals.
Granted this it's partially a genetic issue as much as it is an issue of calories and nutrition, but just to give you an idea of how much cardio I did on a daily basis when I was running (which was practically year round). I had distance days and speed days. Both started out with an easy 3 mile warm up. Followed by either a long distance run which was usually somewhere between 7-10 miles or speed workouts - sprints totally between 4-6 miles. So, I was putting in the time and effort when it came to cardio, but I still didn't have that definition.
Now, having to take a more serious approach to eating properly to stay healthy, I attribute that to the fact that my diet was made up of mostly carbs (as I "carbo loaded" the night before races) and the occassional Snickers bar... ok...ok... I guess I have to be honest here. Snickers bars were a daily treat for me. Snickers bar got me through the day between classes when I was in college. But I can't blame spaghetti and Snickers for my lack of definition or the cute little bit of chub that lingered over my abominals because there's more to it than that. Genetics.
Are you an Apple or a Pear? I'm definitely an apple. Which means the first place my body tends to store fat is on my stomach not my thighs. Which is problematic when trying to achieve that six-pack look. Combine that with that fact that your body burns fat over your entire body, not just one targeted area (regardless of the focus of your workout) and it makes it very difficult to get those defined abs.
Having had the conversation with "Abs Girl" as I have come to refer to her I've become more motivated to take a more serious approach diet just to see if it is possible for me, through proper nutrition and fitness to achieve those abs, but my goal isn't completely vain. I also have a competitive goal, which in all honesty is more important to me than getting those defined abs. I've started training to get back in good enough shape to run a 10K. So there's my cardio. Now I just need to focus on my diet and see what happens!
Once I met my initial weight loss goal (losing 20 pounds by my birthday) I decided to start focusing on adding more strength and muscle to my body. So, I got a membership to the local YMCA and started hitting the free weights and Nautilus equipment before doing my cardio workout. (Which by the way, after doing much research on the subject I have found that it is best to do strength training before cardio if you are doing both on the same day and have the options available. I'll have more on that in another post.)
I love working out at a gym because you get to see so many different approaches and techniques to health and fitness in one place as well as varying levels of fitness. I even enjoy overhearing some of the approaches to eating others have taken. Sometimes these conversations lead me to do some research to find out if there is any validity to what I over heard on the nutrition front, but a few weeks ago I noticed someone who had the most impressive abs. She had the ever so sought after "six pack." Yes, you read that correctly. I said SHE.
I was so impressed that when I ran into her the next week in the lady's room I just had to ask her, "How on earth did you get those abs?" And she of course confirmed what most current health and fitness articles have been saying. "It's all about the cardio." She said,"it doesn't matter how much ab work you do if there's too much fast covering the muscle."
Well, she's mostly right. It really doesn't matter how many crunches, sit-ups, planks, burpees, leg lifts, reverse crunches,...etc. That you do. If there's a thick layer of fat over your abdominals you will not be able to see the definition of the muscles that create the six pack look. But, it's not all about the cardio, well, ok, it's not JUST about the cardio.
Most health and fitness experts and novices alike would agree that cardio is the best way to burn calories and fat. So yes, it is it is absolutely necessary if you want to achieve that six pack look, but you still need to eat a proper diet. I can preach about this from experience. I ran cross country and long distance in track in both high school and college and though I was fairly slendor I still did not have a defined mid section. Instead I had the littlest pouch especially on my lower abdominals.
Granted this it's partially a genetic issue as much as it is an issue of calories and nutrition, but just to give you an idea of how much cardio I did on a daily basis when I was running (which was practically year round). I had distance days and speed days. Both started out with an easy 3 mile warm up. Followed by either a long distance run which was usually somewhere between 7-10 miles or speed workouts - sprints totally between 4-6 miles. So, I was putting in the time and effort when it came to cardio, but I still didn't have that definition.
Now, having to take a more serious approach to eating properly to stay healthy, I attribute that to the fact that my diet was made up of mostly carbs (as I "carbo loaded" the night before races) and the occassional Snickers bar... ok...ok... I guess I have to be honest here. Snickers bars were a daily treat for me. Snickers bar got me through the day between classes when I was in college. But I can't blame spaghetti and Snickers for my lack of definition or the cute little bit of chub that lingered over my abominals because there's more to it than that. Genetics.
Are you an Apple or a Pear? I'm definitely an apple. Which means the first place my body tends to store fat is on my stomach not my thighs. Which is problematic when trying to achieve that six-pack look. Combine that with that fact that your body burns fat over your entire body, not just one targeted area (regardless of the focus of your workout) and it makes it very difficult to get those defined abs.
Having had the conversation with "Abs Girl" as I have come to refer to her I've become more motivated to take a more serious approach diet just to see if it is possible for me, through proper nutrition and fitness to achieve those abs, but my goal isn't completely vain. I also have a competitive goal, which in all honesty is more important to me than getting those defined abs. I've started training to get back in good enough shape to run a 10K. So there's my cardio. Now I just need to focus on my diet and see what happens!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Luv Saving Money: Mediterranean Snacks, a healthier way to snack: Re...
Luv Saving Money: Mediterranean Snacks, a healthier way to snack: Re...: Mediterranean Snacks was founded in 2005. Their mission? "Innovation To produce great tasting, nutritionally superior snacks" Their snack...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Simple Tips to Get Started on a Journey to Better Health
As I get closer to my health and fitness goals people that I know have become more interested in what I have been doing. Based on the comments that some have made when inquiring about my success, I have come to the conclusion that their new found interest in my success is based on the fact that I have been able to lose weight and keep it off for an extended period of time, 7 and a half months so far.
Recently a close friend of mine who has been struggling with getting back into shape over the past few years have asked for my advice. So I sent an e-mail with a few tips and one rule to help get started. These 9 tips and one rule are the core of what I believe will lead to better health and better fitness because they are the starting points and building blocks for making continued better choices. This is the approach I took. Many diets have people making drastic changes to their daily life and/or eating habits which is why most fail after just a few weeks or months. It is my belief that adopting a healthy lifestyle that one can sustain over a long period of time must start small, but making progressively better choices.
When I e-mailed my friend my advice to him was to start by applying any of the tips he could immediately without completely disrupting his current lifestyle. Then add the others as you feel comfortable.
As I have said, this is a very close friend of mine so I'm well aware of his health needs and important medical history. Some of the following tips may be beneficial to you, however take them with a grain of salt and what you know your own needs or health concerns are and NEVER EVER begin a diet or fitness regime without consulting with your doctor. With that being said, the following is the tips I gave him... I tweeked them a little specifically for this post.
Like Myself, my friend has hypothyroisim. Which, any of you who also have this know, makes losing weight even more diffcult. Which is why it is very important to take the medication correctly. Some of the tips are also geared specifically to try to fit into his currently lifestyle.
TIP#1: Take Thyroid medicine AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP
I keep my thyroid medication in the bathroom. The first thing I do in the moring is go to the bathroom, strip down, and weigh myself, then take my thyroid medicine before I do anything else for the day. I would really like you to try to do this. Try moving you medicine to the bathroom and keep a cup in there for the express purpose of taking the medication after you go to the bathroom and before you do anything else you take your medicine. This will help the medication work better AND it will help you eat sooner in the day without affecting you medication. Also, if it is in the bathroom where the only thing available to you is to drink is water you'll be sure to take it with water instead of something else.
RULE #1: Only weigh yourself once a week, first thing in the morning after you've gone to the bathroom, then take your thyroid medicine. So, I want you to weigh yourself tomorrow (Monday) morning, after you've gone to the bathroom. And not weigh yourself again until next Monday morning after you've gone to the bathroom. You will drive yourself insane if you weigh yourself every day or more often. Weight fluctuates throughout the day and throughout the week based on what you've eaten, how much sleep you've gotten, etc. So, once a week, first thing the the morning is the only weight to keep it consistant!
TIP #2: Eating Throughout the Day
You should try to eat at least 4 times a day ideally 5-6 times a day, this is a combination of full meals and small snacks just to keep putting calories into you body for you body to continually metabolize. Once your body gets used to the idea that there will always be more food coming in it won't store as much as fat it will pull its energy from the food coming in. Try to set up an eating plan that is realistic to your day. Break down your calorie goal so that you know how many calories you should eat at each meal eat day. Try to adjust your calories per meal to something you think you might realistically be able to pull off based on your day and your food options. But don't fret, if you go over your calorie goal for a specific meal on any given day, the same number of calories less throughout the rest of your day.
TIP# 3: Make Better Choices
I know this tip can come off sounding a little like a lecture if it's read the wrong way, but it's not at all, it's actually making things a little easier for you. Making this "diet" a lifestyle change isn't about going all or nothing it's about making each food choice better than your last. This will eventually be how you can still eat the things you enjoy the most without feeling hungry all day. If you go out to eat somewhere most places will have some kind of healthy options especially chain restaurants like Applebees, Chilis, Denny's things like that. Try to look for those and select an appropriate meal based on calories only for right now. Once you get used to this and start losing weight and keeping it off then start looking at other nutrients to fine tune what your eating. If there isn't these types of choices on a menu the try to looke for baked, grilled, or broiled options rather than fried and breaded food. Just a little hint, you can eat WAY more veggies and fruit for the same number of calories than you can of carbs or fatty foods. This will help you stay under your calorie goal without feeling hungry all day.
TIP#4: Makeing Room on Your Plate for More Fruits & Veggies
To help you be able to eat a larger quantity of food try to fill half of your plate with veggies or fruit, preferably veggies because they have less sugar and less calories. 1/4 of your plate should be protien (a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards) and the other 1/4 can be carbs or dairy look for whole grain or whole wheat options) Another good idea is to eat a salad before your meal that way it will fill you up and you wont want to eat as much of the other stuff.
TIP #5: Find the Nutritional Values on Websites
Most major food chains have a nutritional information link on their webpages so you can find out exactly how many calories you are eating when you're eating their food. You can even ask for a nutrition pamplet from McDonalds and they will give you a hard copy. This will help you make better food choices when you are pressed for time and just want to swing by McDonalds or some other fast food restaurant for dinner instead of making your own. I do this a lot especially if I find conflicting information on MyFitnesPal about the number of calories in a particular food product. It would probably help you out too to download the MyFitnessPal app on your phone so you can accurately track your calories at each meal instead of trying to remember everything at the end of the day.
TIP #6: Drink More Water
If there was ever a magic weight loss potion water is it. I can't exactly explain it. Water does have many benefits though. It cleanses your system including your liver, kidneys and digestive track which makes it work better and makes you feel better. It keeps you hydrated which also helps keep your metabolizism at its best. And probably the simplest reason why it helps with weight loss is that it is a pure zero calorie beverage that takes up space in your stomache. Try to drink at least 8 oz of water before each meal. You're goal is to drink 8 - 8oz cups of water throughout the day. You'll have to go to the bathroom more at first but once your body gets used to being hydrated you won't have to go as often. And believe it or not drinking more water actually helps flush out your systems which helps you avoid becoming bloated or retaining water. Combonated beverages and alcohol, especially beer are notorius for bloating.
TIP #7: Stock up on Healthy Foods in your Apartment
Keep Raw meat in your freezer so you can just thaw it out and cook it every day.
Keep at least a weeks worth of Canned or Frozen veggies in your apartment in case your fresh veggies go bad or you dont have time to stop and pick some up
Keep at least a weeks worth of canned of frozen fruit in your apparment for the same reason you keep the veggies. This way when you're feeling hungry and you want to snack you'll have healthy low calorie snacks to choose from.
You may even eant to keep some frozen dinners like Healthy Choice Meals in you freezer too just to make it a little easier to know you're getting a healthier meal.
TIP# 8: SLEEP!!!
Sleep is important attempt to get 8 hours a sleep a night and definitely no less than 6. Sleep resets the body and gives it time to rest, heal, and repair the damage done throughout the day. It also plays a major role in keeping your metabolism at it's best. If you get too little sleep it throws off the chemical balance in your body which in tern throws off your metabolism.
TIP# 9: Workout as Often as Possible
Try for at least 3 days a week, but defnitely not less than once a week. This is basically every other day. Exercise boosts your metabolism and you burn calories during the workout and during what some call the after burn. By working out three days a week you keep it boosted because as the afterburn wears down over 24 hours your boost it back up again with your next workout. There are only 3 reasons you should ever skip a planned workout 1) You are hurt/injured, even then depending on the injury you might still be able to workout the uninjured parts of your body. Typical muscle soreness from the previous days workout does not fall under this category. 2) You are seriously sick. I mean throwing up running to the bathroom to avoid pooping yourself kind of sick. When you are that kind of sick you need to rest more than you need to workout. If you just have a headach or stuff nose of just some kind of feeling lousy sickness try to workout out any way, I like to pretend that I sweat the sickness out when I do this and you may find yourself feeling better after the workout. 3) You need sleep. As much as you need to workout, you need sleep even more. getting that metabolism boost from a workout won't help you if you're body chemistry is all jacked up from not sleeping enough. Nor will you build the muscle you just attempted to put on if your body does not have time to sleep and repair the muscle you worked.
Recently a close friend of mine who has been struggling with getting back into shape over the past few years have asked for my advice. So I sent an e-mail with a few tips and one rule to help get started. These 9 tips and one rule are the core of what I believe will lead to better health and better fitness because they are the starting points and building blocks for making continued better choices. This is the approach I took. Many diets have people making drastic changes to their daily life and/or eating habits which is why most fail after just a few weeks or months. It is my belief that adopting a healthy lifestyle that one can sustain over a long period of time must start small, but making progressively better choices.
When I e-mailed my friend my advice to him was to start by applying any of the tips he could immediately without completely disrupting his current lifestyle. Then add the others as you feel comfortable.
As I have said, this is a very close friend of mine so I'm well aware of his health needs and important medical history. Some of the following tips may be beneficial to you, however take them with a grain of salt and what you know your own needs or health concerns are and NEVER EVER begin a diet or fitness regime without consulting with your doctor. With that being said, the following is the tips I gave him... I tweeked them a little specifically for this post.
Like Myself, my friend has hypothyroisim. Which, any of you who also have this know, makes losing weight even more diffcult. Which is why it is very important to take the medication correctly. Some of the tips are also geared specifically to try to fit into his currently lifestyle.
TIP#1: Take Thyroid medicine AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP
I keep my thyroid medication in the bathroom. The first thing I do in the moring is go to the bathroom, strip down, and weigh myself, then take my thyroid medicine before I do anything else for the day. I would really like you to try to do this. Try moving you medicine to the bathroom and keep a cup in there for the express purpose of taking the medication after you go to the bathroom and before you do anything else you take your medicine. This will help the medication work better AND it will help you eat sooner in the day without affecting you medication. Also, if it is in the bathroom where the only thing available to you is to drink is water you'll be sure to take it with water instead of something else.
RULE #1: Only weigh yourself once a week, first thing in the morning after you've gone to the bathroom, then take your thyroid medicine. So, I want you to weigh yourself tomorrow (Monday) morning, after you've gone to the bathroom. And not weigh yourself again until next Monday morning after you've gone to the bathroom. You will drive yourself insane if you weigh yourself every day or more often. Weight fluctuates throughout the day and throughout the week based on what you've eaten, how much sleep you've gotten, etc. So, once a week, first thing the the morning is the only weight to keep it consistant!
TIP #2: Eating Throughout the Day
You should try to eat at least 4 times a day ideally 5-6 times a day, this is a combination of full meals and small snacks just to keep putting calories into you body for you body to continually metabolize. Once your body gets used to the idea that there will always be more food coming in it won't store as much as fat it will pull its energy from the food coming in. Try to set up an eating plan that is realistic to your day. Break down your calorie goal so that you know how many calories you should eat at each meal eat day. Try to adjust your calories per meal to something you think you might realistically be able to pull off based on your day and your food options. But don't fret, if you go over your calorie goal for a specific meal on any given day, the same number of calories less throughout the rest of your day.
TIP# 3: Make Better Choices
I know this tip can come off sounding a little like a lecture if it's read the wrong way, but it's not at all, it's actually making things a little easier for you. Making this "diet" a lifestyle change isn't about going all or nothing it's about making each food choice better than your last. This will eventually be how you can still eat the things you enjoy the most without feeling hungry all day. If you go out to eat somewhere most places will have some kind of healthy options especially chain restaurants like Applebees, Chilis, Denny's things like that. Try to look for those and select an appropriate meal based on calories only for right now. Once you get used to this and start losing weight and keeping it off then start looking at other nutrients to fine tune what your eating. If there isn't these types of choices on a menu the try to looke for baked, grilled, or broiled options rather than fried and breaded food. Just a little hint, you can eat WAY more veggies and fruit for the same number of calories than you can of carbs or fatty foods. This will help you stay under your calorie goal without feeling hungry all day.
TIP#4: Makeing Room on Your Plate for More Fruits & Veggies
To help you be able to eat a larger quantity of food try to fill half of your plate with veggies or fruit, preferably veggies because they have less sugar and less calories. 1/4 of your plate should be protien (a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards) and the other 1/4 can be carbs or dairy look for whole grain or whole wheat options) Another good idea is to eat a salad before your meal that way it will fill you up and you wont want to eat as much of the other stuff.
TIP #5: Find the Nutritional Values on Websites
Most major food chains have a nutritional information link on their webpages so you can find out exactly how many calories you are eating when you're eating their food. You can even ask for a nutrition pamplet from McDonalds and they will give you a hard copy. This will help you make better food choices when you are pressed for time and just want to swing by McDonalds or some other fast food restaurant for dinner instead of making your own. I do this a lot especially if I find conflicting information on MyFitnesPal about the number of calories in a particular food product. It would probably help you out too to download the MyFitnessPal app on your phone so you can accurately track your calories at each meal instead of trying to remember everything at the end of the day.
TIP #6: Drink More Water
If there was ever a magic weight loss potion water is it. I can't exactly explain it. Water does have many benefits though. It cleanses your system including your liver, kidneys and digestive track which makes it work better and makes you feel better. It keeps you hydrated which also helps keep your metabolizism at its best. And probably the simplest reason why it helps with weight loss is that it is a pure zero calorie beverage that takes up space in your stomache. Try to drink at least 8 oz of water before each meal. You're goal is to drink 8 - 8oz cups of water throughout the day. You'll have to go to the bathroom more at first but once your body gets used to being hydrated you won't have to go as often. And believe it or not drinking more water actually helps flush out your systems which helps you avoid becoming bloated or retaining water. Combonated beverages and alcohol, especially beer are notorius for bloating.
TIP #7: Stock up on Healthy Foods in your Apartment
Keep Raw meat in your freezer so you can just thaw it out and cook it every day.
Keep at least a weeks worth of Canned or Frozen veggies in your apartment in case your fresh veggies go bad or you dont have time to stop and pick some up
Keep at least a weeks worth of canned of frozen fruit in your apparment for the same reason you keep the veggies. This way when you're feeling hungry and you want to snack you'll have healthy low calorie snacks to choose from.
You may even eant to keep some frozen dinners like Healthy Choice Meals in you freezer too just to make it a little easier to know you're getting a healthier meal.
TIP# 8: SLEEP!!!
Sleep is important attempt to get 8 hours a sleep a night and definitely no less than 6. Sleep resets the body and gives it time to rest, heal, and repair the damage done throughout the day. It also plays a major role in keeping your metabolism at it's best. If you get too little sleep it throws off the chemical balance in your body which in tern throws off your metabolism.
TIP# 9: Workout as Often as Possible
Try for at least 3 days a week, but defnitely not less than once a week. This is basically every other day. Exercise boosts your metabolism and you burn calories during the workout and during what some call the after burn. By working out three days a week you keep it boosted because as the afterburn wears down over 24 hours your boost it back up again with your next workout. There are only 3 reasons you should ever skip a planned workout 1) You are hurt/injured, even then depending on the injury you might still be able to workout the uninjured parts of your body. Typical muscle soreness from the previous days workout does not fall under this category. 2) You are seriously sick. I mean throwing up running to the bathroom to avoid pooping yourself kind of sick. When you are that kind of sick you need to rest more than you need to workout. If you just have a headach or stuff nose of just some kind of feeling lousy sickness try to workout out any way, I like to pretend that I sweat the sickness out when I do this and you may find yourself feeling better after the workout. 3) You need sleep. As much as you need to workout, you need sleep even more. getting that metabolism boost from a workout won't help you if you're body chemistry is all jacked up from not sleeping enough. Nor will you build the muscle you just attempted to put on if your body does not have time to sleep and repair the muscle you worked.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
SlimKicker Review: After One Week
I was invited to try out this site to help with my health, fitness, and weight loss goals. The first thing I noticed about this site is the immediate walk through of the site. That is very helpful for any website. If you're looking for a way to keep your health and fitness routine fresh, this is the way to do it! SlimKicker.com presents you with a multitude of health and fitness challenges for you to incorporate into your daily routine!
After the brief walk through I took the time to browse around the site myself. I wanted to see how it tracked everything. Then of course I was interested in the types of challenges it offered since that seemed to be the main concept of the site in general. Some of the challenges were the types of things I like to see when it comes to encouraging people to make better choices and ease them into a better lifestyle for their health and fitness. Simple challenges like move during commercials, do 10 wall squats a day, replace juice with tea for a week, eat a salad a day,..etc.
However, some of the challenges go entirely against my personal health and fitness beliefs such as the "No Snacks after Dinner" Challenge. It is common knowledge in the weight loss world that to keep you metabolism boosted throughout the day it it best to eat small meals around the clock, which for many include Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks in between. I personally eat 5 - 6 times a day a small snack in the morning, Breakfast, Lunch, and After Noon Snack, Dinner, and Late Night Snack. To eliminate a snack after dinner would have my body going more than 12 hours without food if you include 8 hours of sleep. I would wake up in the morning hungrier than I normal which would cause me to overeat throughout the rest of the day or feel hungry all day. Not to mention drop my blood glucose levels and basically it would just be a train wreck from there, but I guess that's the other great part about this site. You don't have to accept any challenge you don't want to or don't agree with and still do well.
I wasn't a fan of the "Eat Like a Caveman" challenge at first either because it's based and a strict diet that is in my personal opinion is unrealistic for today's busy families. However, after I read the challenge I warmed up to it a little more because it was only asking you to do it for week and only for one meal a day. Which is pretty attainable, even over a long period of time.
I was also skeptical of the fact the challenges only last week with the thought that it kind of contradicts the idea that Health and Fitness is a lifestyle change, but after accepting a few of the challenges, I've come to see the benefit of these challenges. The challenges introduce you to a healthy habit that in order to complete the challenge you actually have to think about in your daily life and find a way to fit them in. After doing it for a week it becomes a habit that you can continue with it. For instance I accepted the "Replace Soda challenge". I usually drink, milk, juice, and water throughout the day, but have gotten in the habit of drinking a diet soda with my dinner every night. This challenge had me thinking about what else I could have instead of just reach for that can of soda. After doing it for a week, I find myself automatically going for ice water or Crystal light instead!
All of the challenges that I perused were all well written and explained not only the challenge, but the benefits of the challenge, which is good because I'm one of those people that like to know why I'm doing what I'm doing and how it's actually going to help me.
Another great thing about this website is that you can get e-mail notifications about the latest challenges. I recently received a notification about a Giveaway challenge that's fun and easy. The challenge this week is to do 1 Body Weight Exercise a day for 5 minutes A Day! There's a $50 Nike Gift Card at stake which would be an awesome reward if I actually won it, but I'm just looking forward to incorporating some of the Body Weight Exercises into my daily routine! The e-mail I received broke down 6 body weight exercises to try. So, I got started right away!
You can enter your food items on this website just like many other calorie counting websites and earn points for it. With each entry you receive points as well as a little healthy eating tip associated with the type of food you entered. I have to admit, some of these tips were new to me and had me thinking about it throughout the day. Just another way SlimKicker offers you ideas on how to improve your health and fitness.
This is just my initial impression about this website. The longer I work with it the more excited about it I become. I will post another full review after about a month if you want to find out more about it.
After the brief walk through I took the time to browse around the site myself. I wanted to see how it tracked everything. Then of course I was interested in the types of challenges it offered since that seemed to be the main concept of the site in general. Some of the challenges were the types of things I like to see when it comes to encouraging people to make better choices and ease them into a better lifestyle for their health and fitness. Simple challenges like move during commercials, do 10 wall squats a day, replace juice with tea for a week, eat a salad a day,..etc.
However, some of the challenges go entirely against my personal health and fitness beliefs such as the "No Snacks after Dinner" Challenge. It is common knowledge in the weight loss world that to keep you metabolism boosted throughout the day it it best to eat small meals around the clock, which for many include Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks in between. I personally eat 5 - 6 times a day a small snack in the morning, Breakfast, Lunch, and After Noon Snack, Dinner, and Late Night Snack. To eliminate a snack after dinner would have my body going more than 12 hours without food if you include 8 hours of sleep. I would wake up in the morning hungrier than I normal which would cause me to overeat throughout the rest of the day or feel hungry all day. Not to mention drop my blood glucose levels and basically it would just be a train wreck from there, but I guess that's the other great part about this site. You don't have to accept any challenge you don't want to or don't agree with and still do well.
I wasn't a fan of the "Eat Like a Caveman" challenge at first either because it's based and a strict diet that is in my personal opinion is unrealistic for today's busy families. However, after I read the challenge I warmed up to it a little more because it was only asking you to do it for week and only for one meal a day. Which is pretty attainable, even over a long period of time.
I was also skeptical of the fact the challenges only last week with the thought that it kind of contradicts the idea that Health and Fitness is a lifestyle change, but after accepting a few of the challenges, I've come to see the benefit of these challenges. The challenges introduce you to a healthy habit that in order to complete the challenge you actually have to think about in your daily life and find a way to fit them in. After doing it for a week it becomes a habit that you can continue with it. For instance I accepted the "Replace Soda challenge". I usually drink, milk, juice, and water throughout the day, but have gotten in the habit of drinking a diet soda with my dinner every night. This challenge had me thinking about what else I could have instead of just reach for that can of soda. After doing it for a week, I find myself automatically going for ice water or Crystal light instead!
All of the challenges that I perused were all well written and explained not only the challenge, but the benefits of the challenge, which is good because I'm one of those people that like to know why I'm doing what I'm doing and how it's actually going to help me.
Another great thing about this website is that you can get e-mail notifications about the latest challenges. I recently received a notification about a Giveaway challenge that's fun and easy. The challenge this week is to do 1 Body Weight Exercise a day for 5 minutes A Day! There's a $50 Nike Gift Card at stake which would be an awesome reward if I actually won it, but I'm just looking forward to incorporating some of the Body Weight Exercises into my daily routine! The e-mail I received broke down 6 body weight exercises to try. So, I got started right away!
You can enter your food items on this website just like many other calorie counting websites and earn points for it. With each entry you receive points as well as a little healthy eating tip associated with the type of food you entered. I have to admit, some of these tips were new to me and had me thinking about it throughout the day. Just another way SlimKicker offers you ideas on how to improve your health and fitness.
This is just my initial impression about this website. The longer I work with it the more excited about it I become. I will post another full review after about a month if you want to find out more about it.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Health Rally Review
I have had a link for this Health and Fitness website under my Websites & Resources page on my blog for a few months now, as I was one of the testers for the Beta site, but now that it's up and running to the public I thought I'd take some time to promote it a little. Health Rally is website that truly has a unique twist on Health and Fitness websites. I'll start off by saying it can be used for every aspect of health. Whether you are trying lose weight, are training for a Marathon, or are trying to quit smoking or another unhealthy habit.
www.HealthRally.com
Like most health and fitness communities Health Rally prompts you to fill out a short profile. You can choose your reward, build your health team by inviting people you know to join your rally, as well as note your mood for the day along, and use a slide bar to adjust your progress so far.
I have been on my health, fitness, and weigh loss journey for 7 months now. I was introduced to Health Rally a few months after I got started. This was a great supplement to my health and fitness regime. While most Health, Fitness, and/or Weight Loss sites offer some sort of community to help encourage you and keep you motivated on your journey, Health Rally allows you to make that community more personal in that you can choose who sees your rally and who you want on your journey with you, (provided those who you invite to your rally accept your request.) I found this kind of support and encouragement more valuable than the random strangers on other sites because the people encouraging me in my rally were close friends and family who truly understood how hard I was working and what all I have been through
This was a great supplement to the calorie counting website I was using because it gave my journey are more private and personal touch. The great thing about it is that Health Rally sends out weekly e-mails to your Rally Team to remind them to keep you motivated which several members of my health team had mentioned that they really liked that because they wanted to be supportive, but would have probably forgotten about that particular mode of encouragement with all the other social media sights we are all mutually on. I have to admit that I first started out wondering if this was really going to be useful because all the people in my Rally were also my friends on Facebook and we could just encourage each other there, but what I found was that I enjoyed logging into my Rally and seeing all the motivation comments and support in place instead of getting lost amongst the multitude of posts on FB or Twitter.
Another unique aspect of Health Rally is the rewards. I have only recently come upon another site that incorporates a visual way to remind you or even encourage you to reward yourself for your progress. Basically, you choose the reward you wish to give yourself by the time you reach your goal. And select either a pre-made picture of that goal or you can make your own. Then you set a dollar amount. The people who support you in your rally can support you both verbally and financially through this website. They can pledge money toward your reward item to help offset the cost for you. The awesome thing about this is, if you don't reach your goal, the money gets credited back to the people who pledged it. So it pushes you in that way to complete your rally.
I can see this site being great for groups too. Especially if they want to raise money for a specific event or cause. This would also be a great way for group of people to have a private way of connecting and sharing their progress. I guess, I have to say, I really like the privacy aspect of it. Instead of having to form a "closed" group as on many other social media you already have your own private group and rally team. So, get a bunch of your closest, friends, family members, co-workers, or whomever and have them all sign up for a Health Rally account then invite one another to each others Health Rally and keep each other motivated!
www.HealthRally.com
Like most health and fitness communities Health Rally prompts you to fill out a short profile. You can choose your reward, build your health team by inviting people you know to join your rally, as well as note your mood for the day along, and use a slide bar to adjust your progress so far.
I have been on my health, fitness, and weigh loss journey for 7 months now. I was introduced to Health Rally a few months after I got started. This was a great supplement to my health and fitness regime. While most Health, Fitness, and/or Weight Loss sites offer some sort of community to help encourage you and keep you motivated on your journey, Health Rally allows you to make that community more personal in that you can choose who sees your rally and who you want on your journey with you, (provided those who you invite to your rally accept your request.) I found this kind of support and encouragement more valuable than the random strangers on other sites because the people encouraging me in my rally were close friends and family who truly understood how hard I was working and what all I have been through
This was a great supplement to the calorie counting website I was using because it gave my journey are more private and personal touch. The great thing about it is that Health Rally sends out weekly e-mails to your Rally Team to remind them to keep you motivated which several members of my health team had mentioned that they really liked that because they wanted to be supportive, but would have probably forgotten about that particular mode of encouragement with all the other social media sights we are all mutually on. I have to admit that I first started out wondering if this was really going to be useful because all the people in my Rally were also my friends on Facebook and we could just encourage each other there, but what I found was that I enjoyed logging into my Rally and seeing all the motivation comments and support in place instead of getting lost amongst the multitude of posts on FB or Twitter.
Another unique aspect of Health Rally is the rewards. I have only recently come upon another site that incorporates a visual way to remind you or even encourage you to reward yourself for your progress. Basically, you choose the reward you wish to give yourself by the time you reach your goal. And select either a pre-made picture of that goal or you can make your own. Then you set a dollar amount. The people who support you in your rally can support you both verbally and financially through this website. They can pledge money toward your reward item to help offset the cost for you. The awesome thing about this is, if you don't reach your goal, the money gets credited back to the people who pledged it. So it pushes you in that way to complete your rally.
I can see this site being great for groups too. Especially if they want to raise money for a specific event or cause. This would also be a great way for group of people to have a private way of connecting and sharing their progress. I guess, I have to say, I really like the privacy aspect of it. Instead of having to form a "closed" group as on many other social media you already have your own private group and rally team. So, get a bunch of your closest, friends, family members, co-workers, or whomever and have them all sign up for a Health Rally account then invite one another to each others Health Rally and keep each other motivated!
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