Are you feeling healthier than you did when you made your New Year’s Resolution on January 1st? Are your pants still trying to kill you by strangulation? Are you still a member of the “Clean Your Plate Club”? Before another year and ten pounds go by, let’s take a notice of whether or not your habits are working for you and helping you accomplish your goals. Or would you rather wait and just be battling yourself yet again?
Before we talk about exercise, let’s state one thing: You Can’t Out Run Your Fork! What are you eating? Most people that struggle to lose weight do so because of food or drinks that are strictly empty calories and ONLY hinder the goal of weight loss. If you are trying to lose weight, especially the liquid empty calories, are a major ‘NO NO!’ I recommend starting out with cutting the calories that you get from your drinking habits first and ease into cutting the ones you get from food. It makes the transition easier because you’re not cutting calories from both sides of the equation all at once. After that, any ‘snacks in a bag’ should take a hiatus and when you desperately need a snack, mix in an extra dose of fruits or vegetables.
Once the cravings start to subside and healthy eating habits are easier, then you should start to retool the exercise program. There’s never a ‘better time of year’ or ‘an easier time’ to start exercising. Like NIKE always says, “Just Do It!” There should be a minimum of two to three weight lifting days per week. What is the best exercise to lose weight and reshape your body? It’s not endless hours of only cardio! It’s the weight training MIXED with quality cardiovascular training. Push yourself…you’ll be amazed what you can accomplish! Cardiovascular exercise is great for your heart, and burns calories but it also breaks down muscle in your body if weight training isn’t included in the routine. Building your muscles is the best way to lean out. Weight training prevents osteoporosis, strengthens your muscles, prevents injuries and makes you look great, so stop with the multitude of excuses and get to the gym.
Before another year gets away from you and you move up a pant size, get your diet and exercise program under control. If you keep telling yourself, “I’ve only gained three pounds over the last three months”, just be prepared to weigh 12 pounds more by the end of the year.
Like my college baseball coach used to say, “There’s nothing to it but to do it!”
So why not do it the right way? Why wait?
