No excuses

It's been so long since I blogged about anything but I'm pretty sure back then I was complaining about being a heffer and making changes about it. I have some good news, I'm finally seeing results. I'm still not at my ideal weight but after a period of months, maybe even a year of going through a brutal on-again, off-again cycle of exercising and eating healthy, i can say I've lost 15 pounds! I'm starting to feel really good about myself and that definitely helps motivate me to keep pushing myself harder.

I'm now at a point where I can run for half a mile non stop. I know that soon i'll be able to do a mile, today I ran 3/4 of a mile non stop. That's my biggest accomplishment, it feels great after thinking I couldn't run more than two telephone posts apart. I realized that I had to stop making excuses and start doing something about it. Not having time was my worst excuse, well no, actually a pretty good excuse because I have two jobs... But there's time, and lots of it. Another excuse that I have is that I am a nocturnal person. I prefer to stay up late and value sleeping in. I recently chucked that excuse out the door and now wake up one hour earlier to fit in a morning jog. the positive results my body was experiencing from my afternoon jogs triggered my reason to start jogging in the morning- so what if I have two jobs, I'll make time! I've come to realize there's a lot of tips and tricks to keep motivated, and I just wanted to share some of mine, for anyone who would find it useful, or myself if I ever need a reminder.

Tips/Tricks on Eating healthy:

- Plan your meals and stick with it. Know what you're going to consume for the whole day. Keep it simple instead of discouraging yourself knowing you have to stress over preparing something. Here's what I do- breakfast: banana. snack: fat free yogurt. Lunch: salad and chicken. snack: babybel cheese. dinner: steak and veggies.

- Always keep fresh fruit on hand. stay away from the fake processed stuff. I like to have a bunch of bananas with me all the time because they do not need to be refrigerated and lasts me about a week. It doesn't require a lot of work to eat one and they are filling and very beneficial to the body.

- You could disregard this entire section because it's better to eat pure natural foods, but again, try to stay away from the fake processed stuff- you know, like the 100 calorie packs of cardboard tasting oreos. after trying one of those you'd gladly give up the pack for just one regular oreo. And read the nutrition labels- those things are usually ridiculously high in sodium! I used to load up on them all the time, but it's really just a waste of money. It makes you crave the real stuff- real sugar, real butter, real cheese... and then you end up overindulging when you actually get the real thing. it's better to just let yourself have the real thing in moderation, and trust me, one or two bites is enough to satisfy the craving. You decide what you want to sacrifice. Not saying I don't buy those things (those mini babybel cheese rounds are my guilty pleasure) but you just have to find a healthy alternative that you enjoy. If you like the way it tastes you're more likely to stick with it. Also keep eating the same foods. Don't bother trying new things, again, you'll just end up disappointing your taste buds and wasting your money.

Tips/Tricks on Exercising:

-This is where I recommend trying different things so that you can figure out what you enjoy doing. Walking is one of the easiest things you can do. Zumba is one of the most fun things you can do. Whatever it is- don't let yourself get bored or discouraged, if you don't like it, challenge yourself to find something else.

-When attempting to run/jog for the first time, you will find it hard and you will want to give up. Your brain will think of every excuse to stop. Sore feet. Sore shins. Side pains. Thirst. Fatigue. Replace those thoughts with other thoughts, whether it be positive or not- talk shit to yourself if you have to. Get that lazy fat ass moving! Once you experience the runner's high you won't want to stop. Be in tune with how your body is functioning- how your feet hit the pavement. How you propel yourself forward. How you breathe. How you're getting stronger with each step. When you pay attention to how your body is functioning you forget about the goal and it makes the jog easier and more empowering. If distance is an issue, the best advice I was given was to set little goals, one telephone pole or street sign at a time. Walk if you have to but don't give up. Challenge yourself to go a little further every time. Look around you at other joggers and be inspired by them. Look at the lazies laying on a blanket with a bag of chips and don't let it be you! Jogging is now my favorite thing to do, I enjoy it and I'm obsessed with it. It's free, convenient, and effective.

It's really all about being strong minded and wanting to make positive changes in your life. I decided that i want to be in the best shape of my life. Sadly these decisions are made after we hit a low point, but that's what low points are for, because the only way left to go is up. just believe that you will see results, and use those results as a positive motivator to stay on track. Don't use the results as a reason to be unhealthy. Forget the cheat days, it's all about being healthy all the time. Once you go back to eating a candy bar for breakfast, you set yourself up to be unhealthy and lethargic the rest of the day. So just believe in yourself and stay positive! No excuses! Push yourself to do more than you think you can, your body is much stronger than your mind tells you it is!