Exercise. You CAN do it!

As a teenager and young adult I did not do much for formal exercising.  In fact, I was pretty sure I would never need it. Ever. Or maybe I just hoped I wouldn't need it. I had my first baby and bounced back fairly well.  Second baby produced similar results.  And then the third baby came.  I lost some of the weight but never got back to pre-pregnant weight.  When baby number 4 came my weight didn't get any better.  It wasn't until I hit my 30's and had my 5th baby that reality really set in.  My mom  had struggled with her weight, but I just thought it would never happen to me.  I was somehow immune right? I'm not sure why I thought that way, but I did.

6 weeks after baby number 5 arrived I realized that the weight wasn't coming off...at all.  In fact I was gaining every week.  I was breast feeding and watching my food intake.  That should fix it! Right?? Wrong!

So I  began to diet and exercise on a regular basis.  It was hard.  I had to make the time to do it.  That was really hard.  And many days the internal battle almost defeated me.  I hated to exercise, but I liked how I felt when I was finished. The battle waged on...almost daily. It was rough, but as soon as I started seeing the weight come off, I knew it was exactly what I needed to do.  I became a little bit stronger....most days.

I started out with a Leslie Sansone workout.  I loved the 2 mile walk with weights.  It was enough to give me a good workout and wasn't so hard that I couldn't finish.  I gradually worked up to the 3 mile walk.  Over time I got bored doing the same thing every day.  I could practically do it in my sleep!  I began adding more workout DVD's to my collection.  Most of them were Leslie Sansone.  I thoroughly enjoyed her easy to follow moves and I was getting results.

There came a time when my body became used to doing the same exercise moves all the time and I was barely breaking a sweat.  It's an amazing feeling to see your body improve physically. And I knew that I could continue my improvement.

That's when I added in some Cathe Friedrich and Jillian Michaels.  At first I thought I was going to die! I was breathing hard, panting like a dog, and sweating profusely. I had to pause the DVD's several times to catch my breath before continuing on.  But I pushed on.  I did a little more each day.  Then each week.

Fast forward to today.  I rarely pull out my Leslie Sansone DVD's anymore.  Once in a while I will pull out an oldie but goodie and walk along with Leslie and her crew.  Today was one of those days. Yesterday I did a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout. Today my body needed a bit of a break. I chose the 30 Day Burn.  Although, instead of simply walking along, I jogged during almost all of the walking segments.  I increased the "skaters" to a higher impact movement with more jumping.  I used my arms more and really focused on tightening my abs.  That's the wonderful thing about exercising at home; you can make the workout your own.  If you don't feel like doing "kick backs" then do "knee lifts" instead.  Jog instead of walking.

Looking back over the years I can see that I have improved.  I've gotten stronger and healthier.  We each need to start where we are. Choose a level of exercise that is right for you. Start at a level that will allow you to get a good workout and raise your heart rate.  Remember to listen to your body. Everybody's body is different.  And that's okay!  Find a workout routine that you enjoy and start moving.

Something that I have learned over the years is that it's important to change things up....muscle confusion.  If you always do the same routine your muscles will get used to it and after a while you won't get the results that you want to anymore.  When I try a new workout I will do it once or twice in the same week.  On the other days I will do whatever workout I am in the mood for that day.  Kickboxing one day.  Jogging another day. HIIT the next.  I find that by switching things up my body isn't getting accustomed to the same movements every day.  I'm not getting used to my workouts and therefore they, the workouts, aren't getting too easy too quickly.

I've also realized that "muscle confusion" also causes sore muscles more regularly.  I'm usually sore at least once a week, if not more.  To me, it's a good sore. It tells me that I'm working hard and that I'm being successful in strengthening my body.

Don't know where to start?  At Collage Video they not only sell DVD's, but also allow you to watch a clip of the DVD to be sure you'll actually like it.  I have gotten too many workout DVD's that I ended up hating and giving away.  It was a waste of money.  I began going to this site and watching the clips before ordering a new DVD.  I purchased some directly from them and also from Amazon.

If you don't want to spend any money, finding free workouts is easy now too!  I use YouTube all the time!  I haven't had to buy a new workout DVD for quite a while. I've used HASfit, FitnessBlender, Jillian Michaels, and Jessica Smith TV the most.

My favorite is Jessica Smith TV right now.  She has so many different workouts and usually shows both low impact and high impact.  She has some beginner videos and some advanced ones too.

Something I love about the HASfit workouts is that they always have a motivational quote at the beginning and end.  Here are some of my favorites for your enjoyment.

And last but not least...my favorite one:

In all cases, listen to your body.  That doesn't mean you should make excuses for not exercising, though.  Be honest with yourself.  Take care of yourself.  Be patient with yourself.  You'll see results in no time!

#lesliesansone
#walkawaythepounds
#jillianmichaels
#jessicasmithtv
#ilovetoexercise
#listentoyourbody

Panting like a dog...

How many of you really thought this post was about a dog?  Although our little chihuahua/jack russell terrier is sweet and cute and the best dog ever...she is not what I was thinking of at the moment.

Thinking of getting healthy...it would be crazy for me not to mention making sure that you are exercising.  You can lose weight by changing how and what you eat, but if you want to get fit and make your body stronger you need to exercise.  There's no way around it.  And once a person hits their 30's, 40's and 50's it gets harder and harder to lose those pounds a person has been meaning to lose all those years ago.  Why not start now?  Why not make the effort for a better you? You deserve it!

Today I did a workout that I haven't done in a while.  I thought I would breeze through it because I have flown through a lot of my old workouts lately.  I am stronger than I have ever been. But, alas, I was SO very wrong.  After about 30 seconds into the DVD I was panting like a dog.  I kept reminding myself to breathe, and to regulate those breaths.  I kept telling myself I could push through this.  And at one point I almost quit.  I let the negative thinking slip in  and I almost gave in to it.  When I don't finish something I started it's very frustrating to me.  I want to finish and finish well.  So, I pushed aside those thoughts and started reminding myself I only had 10 more minutes to go.  I told myself I could do it.  I pushed harder. I breathed deeply between exercises.  I willed the cramp in my side to disappear and refocused on breathing deeply.  And I finished!  I made it through; while panting insanely and sweating profusely.  I am soaked and gross, but I am feeling triumphant!  And now I have energy.  Energy to face my day.  Energy to focus on my kids.  Energy to make good food choices.  Energy to do a plank....just because I want to.  And energy to feel happy and positive.  THIS feeling is what I do these workouts for.  I do it for all those endorphins that are now flying.  I do it to prove to myself that I can.  It's like going to my very own pep rally.  I'm pumped!

I fight an internal battle every single day.  A battle that wages my lazy side and the side of me that desires desperately to be fit and healthy.  It's not easy, but I find that the more I push forward and exercise and eat right the more I WANT to do it.

This week, eat a fruit or vegetable you've never had before.  When cooking vegetables use REAL butter or olive oil.  Some people even use coconut oil; it's extremely healthy for you.  Use salt, pepper and spices for flavor, if you desire.  Saute, bake or grill it.  Yum. Now my mouth is watering.  :)

On Sunday someone shared a box full of fresh veggies from their garden and I grabbed a very large patty pan squash. I didn't even know the name of it.  It's quite large and I guess when they are smaller they can be sliced and eaten similarly to a yellow summer squash or zucchini.  We are going to try it out.

Now is a great time to do grilled foil dinners.  Cut some potatoes into cubes.  Cut bell peppers, onions, summer squash, zucchini, broccoli, carrots and any other veggies you like.  We even use frozen veggies. Use large pieces of aluminum foil that are about 12-15 inches in length.  Spray with canola or olive oil.  Place potatoes and vegetables onto the center of the foil. Add seasonings, salt and pepper and a square of  butter.  Grill until potatoes are cooked through.

Steer clear of prepacked seasoning mixes.  They will inevitably contain artificial preservatives, tons of extra salt, and MSG.  Find recipes for spice mixes online.  Get creative.  Make your food taste delicious while staying healthy. Your body will thank you!

Getting Healthy

After baby number 5, little miss Curly Girl, I struggled to lose the weight more than I ever had.  First, I had never gotten back down to my pre-pregnant weight since my first child.  Second, I was now in my 30's.  I have heard for years that it is harder to lose weight once you hit your 30's but I hadn't yet seen those issues myself.  I was beginning to think that people said that to help themselves feel better for not being able to lose weight.  BOY was I ever wrong.

After Curly Girl was 6 weeks old and I was able to safely begin working out again, I was up and at 'em.  I worked out 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day.  The numbers on the scale were not dropping.  In fact the numbers were climbing.  Those numbers were making me want to get more and more serious about my weight and health.

Most people need to go out to the gym or join a group like Weight Watchers to lose weight successfully.  Having a support system is very important for weight loss.  It's not easy to do on your own.  My Mom, Gramma, Mother-in-law, sister, and a good friend had all gone to Weight Watchers and I had seen their success.  But I was SO sure I could do it on my own.  After a lot of frustration and gaining more weight I finally bit the bullet and started Weight Watchers.  It has been the best thing I have ever done.  It works for me.  But you have to find a weight loss program that works for you.

It took me 2 years to finally lose all the weight from having 5 children.  2 years of faithfully counting points and exercising.  I like to exercise at home.  Again, that is what works for me.  I have found that I like certain workout DVD's.  I like walking workouts, and kick boxing workouts, but not all of them.  It can get very costly to keep buying DVD's only to find out you hate them. I gave several away.  I mean, come on, some of the instructors are ridiculous, or annoying.  Some of them don't explain what their doing very well.  And sometimes I just don't enjoy the workout at all. I found a great website that has all kinds of different workout DVD's.  They rate them and have a fairly good description.  But the best part is that they have little clips you can watch to see if you'll actually like it.  This has worked really well for me. I rarely purchase anything from Collage Video but I use their site to get information.  Then I go to Amazon to make most of my purchases.  Once in a while Walmart of Target will carry the DVD for less and I'll grab it there.

I have found that what works best for me is to reward myself with a new workout DVD every 3 or 4 months.  This method has built up a nice DVD workout library that allows me to switch up my workout on a daily basis.  PLUS I am not paying for a gym membership and spend a whole lot less doing it this way.

If you have a hard time motivating yourself to workout, find a friend or two who are willing to do it with you.  Set dates and times to workout together.  Motivate one another to get healthy and fit!

One of my favorite instructors who is easy to follow and upbeat is Leslie Sansone.  She has some great walking workouts for all people.  She has some for beginners and some for those who have been working out for a long time.  Some people find her fairly annoying and on some days I do too, but she is positive and is motivating for me.

Today I finally pulled out my 4 mile walk DVD.  I didn't think I could do it yet, but I actually got through it and I feel great!  I am THRILLED to have reached this point again! I didn't think it was going to happen after baby number 6, Littlest Miss. It's scary to lose all the weight and then get pregnant again.  I was a HUGE fear of mine that I wouldn't be able to lose the baby weight this time.  But, thankfully, I am almost there!

If you want to find out if you like the walk workouts here is a Leslie Sansone workout on Youtube.  You can find several of hers on Youtube....here is another one.

The other instructor I enjoy is Jillian Michaels.  But I don't like all of her DVD's.  I like the kick boxing style workouts.  One is Kickbox Fastfix, and the other is Cardio Kickbox.

What ever kind of workout you choose to do, do something that you like, that you enjoy, that makes you feel good and makes you happy.  Now go kick some butt and have an excellent day!