THEIR ARE NO EXCUSES NOT TO EXERCISE ON A DAILY BASIS!!!

We all can come up with some great excuses why we don't or can't do some kind of exercise on a daily basis.  When I weighed 442 pounds I had a great list of excuses why I could not exercise and I'm sure that you do as well.  For example it's too cold outside, too hot outside, looks like it may rain, my back hurts, my legs are knees are sore, etc.  I'm pretty sure that I could write a book on excuses not to exercise daily.  Now I'm the opposite and have many creative reasons why I can exercise without it always feeling like I'm exercising at all.  A few examples are as follows.  Parking my car far away where ever I'm at, on hot and cold days walking inside the mall, store, or working out at the gym, at work taking the stairs because the elevator is always breaking down, walking at the beach because it's a nice day out, going on evening walks to unwind for the day, and walking to the nearby store because I'm tired of spending 3$ a gallon for gas etc.  Daily exercise is extremely important in losing and maintaining permanent weight loss so what I'm trying to say is that THEIR ARE NO EXCUSES NOT TO EXERCISE DAILY!!!!  I hope you all have a great and very healthy Father's Day weekend  :)

LOVING MY EVENING WALKS

Lately I have been going on evening walks after dinner when the sun goes down which has been very beneficial.  I have been walking for about 30 minutes to unwind after a long day and It's the perfect time of the day since summer is upon us.  At this time of the day the weather is really nice since It's not too hot or cold out.  They have been nice relaxing walks where I can enjoy being outside and not think about the stresses of life. I have noticed that after I'm back from my walk I feel relaxed, happy, and ready to get a good nights sleep for the upcoming day.  Before I would have dinner, watch some t.v., and then have dessert before heading off to bed.  I have been sleeping much better since I started my evening walks and feel well rested when I wake up in the morning. The exercise that I have been getting is very beneficial as well since it also speeds up my metabolism which helps me burn calories while sleeping. So the advise I would give is to go on an evening walk to unwind for the day.

PICKING OURSELVES UP AFTER WE FALL OFF THE WAGON!!

No one is perfect and every now and then including myself we will fall off the wagon.  We just need to get back to living our healthy lifestyle and not get down on ourselves for having an unhealthy day or two.  Were only human and this will happen many times during our weight loss journey and maintaining our weight loss.  It was once described to me that when were driving somewhere in our vehicle and we miss our off ramp or street we do not just keep on driving because we messed up.  If we did that then we would end up in who knows where when we finally ran out of gas!!  We find our way back to where we are going with a little detour and eventually find our destination.  The same goes for when we fall off track of eating healthy and exercising daily.  When we  have a rough day or two or three we just need to find our way back to our healthy lifestyle and get back on the wagon.  Over the past 4 years this has happened to myself many many times and I have managed to stay on track with my 230 pound weight loss.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I TRACK IN MY DAILY FOOD JOURNAL

I am posting an example of tracking in my daily food journal.  I will put spaces in between my meals and snacks so that everything is not all bunched up together which will make it mush easier for everyone to understand.  I eat 5 or 6 times a day so that I'm satisfied throughout the day and do not get too hungry or full throughout the day.  This will give you an idea of what I do on a daily basis which should help you out greatly on your weight loss journey which has helped me out greatly.  This does take a little bit of time to get used to  but it's worth it and over time you will do it out of habit.  If you that have access to a computer throughout the day then you could track on the computer which may be easier and more convenient.  




BREAKFAST

Sandwich Thin
Turkey Sausage Patty

MID MORNING SNACK

Apple
Fat Free Yogurt

LUNCH

Sandwich Thin
Deli Sliced Ham
Lettuce
Tomato
Individual Bag Of Baby Carrots
Poweraid Zero (32 oz)
Fat Free Yogurt
Fat Free Pudding Cup
Sugar Free Applesauce Cup

AFTERNOON SNACK

100 Calorie Snack
Fiber One Bar

LATE AFTERNOON

VU-TEK PRO 5 Protein Shake (After My Full Body Workout At The Gym)

DINNER

Taco Salad -Ingredients Below
Lettuce
Tomatoes
2 Boca Burgers Cut Into Small Pieces
Fat Free Refried Beans

DESSERT

Weight Watchers Ice Cream Cup

THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING A DAILY FOOD JOURNAL

What has helped me the most in dropping well over 200 pounds and keeping it off for over 1 year now is tracking what I eat.  I have been writing down everything that I eat throughout the day for over 4 years now. This makes me accountable for everything I eat and is also great to look back on when I'm struggling to see what foods I ate when I was losing weight.  I still do this and will continue to do so to maintain my current weight.  I use one page per day in a daily food journal which you can buy at any store of your choice.  In my next blog I will give an example of food that I eat and how I track it in my daily food journal.  It's always best to have a wide variety of food that you eat each day so that your not always eating the same food day after day.

ADD SOME BRIGHT COLORS TO YOUR PLATE FOR HEALTHIER MEALS

A little tip I thought I'd throw out there for everyone this morning is to have a nice colorful plate of food at your meals.  The more colors that you have on your plate the healthier the food is most of the time.  Also when their isn't much color on your plate then the food most of the time isn't very healthy.  I have noticed while eating that most people around me have plates that are white and brown and mine is much more colorful.  A few examples would be red, green, purple, and orange just to name a few.  For red you could have tomatoes, apples, watermelon, cherries, strawberries, bell peppers etc.  Green could be granny smith apples,  honeydew melon, grapes, lettuce, spinach, green beans, avocados, bell peppers, etc.  For purple try having plums, eggplant, beets, grapes, red cabbage etc.  Orange could be squash, bell peppers, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, yams, oranges, cantaloupe, etc.  These are just a few examples of colorful foods that are quite obviously much healthier than plain colored foods.  So I would suggest for everyone to add some color to your meals which are in most cases much healthier and in my opinion a lot better tasting!!!

THROW THE RULES OUT THE WINDOW

When I first started to exercise I naturally thought that I could only exercise one time a day.  A short time later when I was seeing a therapist for my weight problem I was told something that never crossed my mind.  At the time I was unemployed so I had quite a bit of extra time on my hands and she told me that their is no rule or law that states it's illegal to exercise more than once a day if you have the time and are up to it!!  I'm sure that many of you along with myself are very busy and it may be tough to find some extra time to get in extra exercise.  Tonight after returning from work (where I am very physically active) and having dinner instead of watching T.V. I felt like getting outside to clear my mind after a crazy day at work and went on a 45 minute walk which felt great.  So if you have some extra time every now and then instead of sitting in front of the T.V. go for a nice walk which will benefit you much more!