Ahh no energy!

You would think that after all the times I've eaten the wrong foods, and not just a treat, like a lot of the wrong foods in one day, and subsequently felt like crap, I would maybe stop doing it?

Anywhoo, as you've probably guessed, I didn't stick too well to my diet today. There were biscuits, cake and not the small dinner I should have had, which would have made my earlier indiscretions reasonably harmless! (thats right, if you cheat during the day, and have a small dinner at night and also work out at night, you'll still lose weight.. well it works out for me anyway)

Its not actually the foods I'm annoyed about, so much as how de-energized I felt later when I tried working out. I was seriously considering not bothering, could barely even get going at first but I pushed on and managed to do about an hour and ten minutes of Zumba. So I got plenty of cardio, not too bad really. I'm not expecting a massive loss today, but neither should I gain too much.

The point of all of this is, no matter how crappy you feel, no matter how hard it is to put that dvd in,  just do it anyway, just do it!

Final note: Eating badly and trying to lose weight is much like putting dirty fuel in your car. It'll go, but not well enough to get anywhere.

Its all in your attitude..

You know those days when you have a lot going on and you just feel like saying to hell with it and eating a cake then going to bed? or contemplate all of the annoying little chores you have to do and so think you've got it hard enough? Why put extra pressure on yourself? Well we all do it, I myself in particular did this for years, but then there are those days when you look back and really wish you'd used that portion of your life more wisely. Sometimes, you've just gotta be tough on yourself and say, what do you want?! Exercise! you know it will make a difference and you'll be happy afterwards so put those stupid shoes on! or the classic, Do not put that in your mouth, find something else to do.

Yes indeed you do have to be "tough" on yourself, but then, why is it so hard to convince ourselves to take those necessary steps, even when deep down we know we want to?

Plausible Reason 1: You've been overweight for a long time, been put down for it for a long time and so have gotten into the habit of telling yourself its okay, you're okay and there's nothing wrong with you and therefore can't emotionally handle being "mean" to yourself.
- I did this, and the day I stopped I practically had to scream at myself to realize I was not okay, I was not happy, I want to wear the clothes I see, and why the hell shouldn't I? Why not me?

Plausible Reason 2: Your thoughts are a regular stream of, "Dieting is so hard, Man I want chocolate, I can't control myself, I'm lazy, I'm too lazy to exercise, I'm a failure, I can't do anything right".
- We conform to our mental picture of ourselves and strive to validate it. You've already failed before you even started, and honestly this is a bit of a cop out, you're convincing yourself to take the easy way out, basically disabling yourself. Think right, think enthusiasm! Exercise and diet are your ticket, not a jail sentence. Think right and you'll do right, don't make excuses, we are the masters of our mind.


There are a long list of reasons, but these are pretty common and all share the same end result= nothing, no change, no gains.

Anywhoo theres my "something to think about" for today. What always gets me is studying, its tedious and tiring, and causes intense snacking!

Even if I only employ this will power today its still a good feeling and I want to enjoy it:

Before sitting down to study I drank a green tea (to keep me awake, fatigue makes dieting, not impossible, but still difficult). And a low sugar-low fat yoghurt, full of protein so even if I did snack I wouldn't overeat because it fills you up plenty! and snack? Something sweet? Something treat worthy?

Cherries, strawberries and dry roasted almonds (meaning they weren't roasted in oil!) + a big bottle of water. I've been snacking pretty badly lately so something fresh sounds good and with the way I work out, so long as I don't go crazy, snacking during the day is alright, dinner is where it matters for me since I have a really light dinner and then workout. Sugar free chocolate has been serving me well as well, its hard to eat too much of.

Baking is another issue, I always make something whether it be cake or cookies and it certainly doesn't help any, to lessen the amount in my fridge, I put about half of whatever I make in my sister and her boyfriends fridge for them, but still, doing a no baking challenge for a week or two might be a good idea. I'll have to plan!

On the exercise front I did pretty well yesterday!  I went to the gym in the morning but unfortunately arrived late meaning I only got to do about half of the class I was going to, like 20 minutes worth of cardio, but later that night I put some funky music on and got into a dancing mood which equated to half an hour of stretching, an hour of practicing tap, and another hour of abs, inner thighs, butt, arms and balance workouts! I did this after having a really early morning to get to the gym! Felt like a superhero :)

Tips from today:

* Be aware of when you've actually got a good reason to quit and when you're just making excuses.

* Don't disable yourself, do you honestly think telling yourself you can't do it will help? Get excited about what your doing!


Exercise, Eat Clean and Moisturise!
Good Luck!
Rosie.x

Go with your strengths!

When I first started losing weight, I had no idea how to diet properly, it was too hard and far too confusing! So I chose to focus on exercise first and took up dieting later. 

I was so unfit when I started exercising, as in I could barely run 10 metres without getting puffed, when I was little I'd been a dancer for 9 years and was reasonably fit, but then I quit and it was around about then that I piled the weight on. Other than dancing, I've never been particularly athletic or sporty, I hated group sports in particular. When I started I didn't want to go to a gym, but I had one old yoga dvd  which I was actually capable of doing so that was what I did, every night, for about six months, I only lost about 5 kgs, but the point is by then I was fit enough to try something harder- Zumba. I was a bit gun-shy so I just used the same dvd (Sculpt and Tone from the first collection) every night for 2 months, and lost 15 kgs. Zumba still makes an appearance as my cardio atleast 4 or 5 times per week.  

I've told this story before, but then I thought hey? whose actually going to go searching through old blog posts to hear the lot, other than the seriously curious. 

The point is, most of us start out incapable of exercise, convinced we cannot do it, but as they say if you want to achieve something you've never had, you need to do something you've never done! 

A year or two on and I love exercise, its the answer to weightloss for me and my day just isn't right without it, but again, I bent the rules to make it work for me, I can't work out in the morning, I have neither the energy nor the will, so I work out at night, for about 2 or 3 hours right before bed, thats just what works for me. 

Its worked so well for me that I returned to Tap and Jazz this year, fully confident. 

I dance or go to classes at my gym about 3 times a week, but on an average day at home my exercise regime is:

• Half an hour of deep stretching
• 1- 1 1/2 hours of cardio (either zumba or elliptical)
• Strength, usually against the resistance of my own body, I have all different sets of exercises I've found from all sorts of places covering, Abs, Arms, Inner thighs, butt, overall legs. I particularly focus on my waist,  the back of my arms, butt and inner thighs. From being as overweight as I was, these areas are especially hard to fix, extra skin being a major concern for me. 

I've actually found I lose most weight from working out at home than anywhere else. 

* This is just what works for me as I have a particular body type I would like to achieve. So research, think about the end product, not just "exercise" in general. 

What's a goal without a little motivation?

My favourite fitness idol at the moment is Michelle Leigh Mozek, though I don't share her dreams, I find her determination really inspiring! A link to her facebook and twitter can be found here if you're interested, MichelleMozek.com.  

and my top 5 workout songs (because sometimes, you really need something to get you going!)

Drummer Boy- Alesha Dixon

Na Na Na- My Chemical Romance

Somethings gotta hold on me- Christina Aguilera 

Enter Sandman- Metallica 

Animal- Neon Trees

Remember exercise, eat clean and moisturise!

Good Luck!

Rosie.x 

Accountability Anyone?

A few weeks ago I was researching weight-loss competitions, figuring since I'm losing weight anyway, some friendly competition might provide some extra encouragement. In my googling I came across Ashy Bines Bikini Body Challenge, with mixed reviews.

Ashy Bines

Many girls praised the program while others said it was useless. Curious, I had a look myself and apologies to the non-believers but her program actually looks quite reasonable and actually works off of the same theories I developed.. you know the ones that have helped me lose nearly 35 kgs. She encourages portion control mainly at dinner time, which I know works like magic for me, and exercise, not just extra time spent in the gym, but quality moves to develop not only a smaller figure, but a womanly hourglass.. just a small, toned one ;)

Not only that, but her program also appears to be based more around sugar control instead of low-fat, which is marvelous! I've been waiting for someone to let that one out, since sugar is actually the diet destroyer, and low-fat foods are usually full of it.

So yes, Ashy Bines Program gets the tick from me!

Remember though, to always use caution, if you read something you don't agree with, research it yourself, don't ever go into these things blind.




Now those non-believers, I've always wondered whether or not they actually followed the diet programs they dismiss. Most diet's work off of the same concept- controlled calorie intake versus calories expended, as well as emotional well-being while dieting. Yet so many people start these diets with the idea that all they have to do is spend a certain amount of money, and they will lose weight. All I can say is take responsibility for your own actions, you are accountable for everything you eat and do or don't do. Believe it or not, but bought programs are just a helping hand, it is still hard work. Its much the same as someone saying the treadmill they bought hasn't helped them lose weight yet, when they haven't been on it in 3 months. Losing weight takes time, it won't happen in a day, it may not happen in a week, especially if your close to a healthy weight, but if you just keep pushing, regardless of results, it will happen!

Remember, eat clean, exercise and moisturise!
Good Luck!
Rosie.x