Tomorrow is the day it all begins. I have grand plans to be fit and healthy, to work out daily and eat right, to set an example for my children. Today, I
Really, I am the kind of person who needs a schedule....a game plan. I don't know if it's OCD or what you call it, but I can't go into anything flying blind. I need a set schedule of what I will do and when I will do it, or I won't do it at all. So, here is my beginning plan of attack:
Chalean Extreme from Beachbody: A couple years ago I purchased (and actually USED) the Chalean Extreme workout program from Beachbody. I found this program easy to follow. It is low impact and the daily workouts vary nicely. It is broken down into three phases, and you do one phase a month for three months. It starts out slowly allowing you to build up muscle. It uses cardio and resistance training, which is probably why I like it. (I know that cardio is completely necessary, however, I completely LOATHE cardio and a workout program that is cardio alone will never work for me. The only time I currently run is if there is a fire or I am being chased by a chainsaw-weilding phsycho.) In order for this progam to be effective, all you really need are weights or resistance bands. I purchased weights that allow you to select a weight from 5 lbs to 45 lbs in increments of 5 lbs on a single dumbbell from Walmart and they are more than enough to complete the entire program. As I said before, if you prefer not to invest in weights, resistance bands are a much less expensive alternative. This program worked great and I saw results, but then I fell into the old routine and gained my weight back.
There's an app for that!: Yup, apps. Again, if I can't track my progress, I will more than likely fail. So, I purchased the Endomondo Pro app for my Droid. I actually took a walk yesterday just to try it out. It has tons of features. It tells me how long I've walked, how far I've walked, and even has a cute little GPS map that tracks my route. You can also set it for other activities such as cycling and running (and I have already covered how I feel about that.) I can then post the GPS map of my walk to my Facebook page to show off my mad walking skills to all of my friends. I enjoy listening to music while I walk, so as I was strutting along with my earbuds in, a voice came over and informed me when I had walked one mile. Considering I was walking in the middle of nowhere with only my dog, I about jumped out of my pants. I did quickly learn how to turn that feature off.
Diet. Uggh. I do not follow diets. I know what to eat and what not to eat. Like I have said before, fitness interests me. I have spent much time researching healthy eating and recipes. Apparently, I have spent more time researching them than applying what I have learned. The difficult part about this for me is cooking for a picky family. My hubby is a meat and taters kinda guy and is not impressed when I cook healthy foods. On top of it, his problem is GAINING weight. He is only about 125 pounds, so we need to fatten him up. Anyone who has every tried to eat healthy knows that it is expensive! So to cook for my family while trying to keep healthy meals in the house for myself has been tough. Still not sure how this is going to work, but I will do my best.
Websites. Sparkpeople.com and Fitday.com are both free and have excellent tools to track progress. I have started to use both of these in the past, but again, and have never stuck with them. Hopefully, this time will be different.
Wish me luck!!
I have not been paid to endorse any of the above mentioned products. They are simply products that I have used in the past that have worked for me. Here are links to there websites if you would like to research them for yourselves:
ChaLean Exteme by Beachbody:
http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/chalean_extreme.do
Endomondo Sports Tracker App:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.endomondo.android.pro&hl=en
Weights:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Universal-Selectorized-Dumbbell-Set-w-Stand/14660321
