Across the miles

Yesterday I was chatting with one of my dear, dear friends that I met at Biggest Loser Resort.  She’s struggling to find time to get her workouts in.  A lot of people I met out there are going through the same thing once they return to reality.  My problem isn’t the workouts.  It’s the food.  And while I can’t help her with what she eats, I can give her suggestions for workouts.  No, she’s not lazy.  Her schedule is ridiculous and we all know how hard it is to make yourself and exercise a priority.  She works a full time job which requires many hours, is taking SIX classes to try and finish her degree and has a six year old son and husband at home.  She doesn’t have a gym membership so we evaluated what tools she has on hand that she can utilize.  Remember, you don’t have to belong to a gym to get healthy.  Seriously, if you’re saying that, it’s just another excuse you can go ahead and throw in your steaming poo pile.  So my friend has an elliptical, a weight set, a pool and water weights and a Kinect.  She also has the P90X, insanity and beach body video sets.  Here is a workout schedule I mocked up for her to try of quick and easy ideas that she can do while still spending time with her family.    

Monday-walk at lunch, after dinner, in the morning, whenever. But a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes. 

Tuesday-Just dance or a Biggest loser workout dvd (or a video of her choice).  This way you are getting cardio and some toning.

Wednesday-jump on the elliptical for a mountain or treading class

Thursday-30 minutes of the at home version of Cam’s cardio circuit.  Depending on how many “stations” you can make out of your weight set do 1 minute weights, 1 minute dance party/shadowboxing/cardio, 1 minute weights.  Remember you can also add planks, push-ups, crunches, lunges, jumping jacks, squats, etc. too if your weight set doesn’t have a ton of variety. 

Friday-pick your cardio day but do an HOUR and get your sweat on.

Saturday & Sunday can be fun in the sun days!  Swim once the pool heats up (laps and using the noodle exercises we learned), bike rides, hit the trails and walk, play soccer or whatever you can do outside as a family. 

I’m encouraging her to log her food too.  This isn’t something we had to do at Biggest Loser because all our meals were prepared for us but something that should be done by anyone that is trying to lose weight.  Many people think this I process is too time consuming or annoying but it’s so worth the five minutes a day you spend to really evaluate what you are eating.  Trust me.  It’s the first thing I do every morning when I log into the computer.  It’s so second nature to me I don’t even think about it at this point.  If you have time to watch TV, read a book or play a video game, you have five minutes to log your food.  Again, throw that excuse in the poo pile.  Utilize all the free resources like Livestrong, sparkpeople, lose it, my fitness pal and hundreds of others!

My other piece of advice?  Start a victory journal.  I did this because I found that too often I was spending my day worrying about what I didn’t do or had done “wrong”.  Like Katina says, “be easier on yourself between the ears and harder on yourself at the gym”.  If you have a bite of that brownie, okay.  Move on.  But we get so wrapped up in not being what we deem as perfect that we give up and toss in the towel.  So celebrate victories big and small.  I walked at lunch today.  I went five minutes longer than yesterday on the treadmill.  I opted for grilled chicken and side salad at lunch instead of pizza and cheesecake.  I made a healthy and yummy dinner for my family.  I logged my food three days in a row.  My pants feel loser today.  I went on a bike ride.  I did crunches during a commercial break.  I took the stairs instead of the elevator.  I didn’t have a cookie at work.  I walked to the park instead of driving. The list goes on and on.  Anything that you do which is a step in the right direction towards a healthier you…jot it down in your journal!!  Each Sunday night go back and look at your journal and see what you’ve accomplished this week.  Use that as motivation and to set up a stellar week ahead.  Be proud of the little changes you have made and celebrate those victories.  Because they are victories.  Remember, no matter how slow you’re going, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch.  Shine, be brilliant and have a safe and wonderful weekend!!!