Weight loss Ground Zero

This weekend as part of It’s a Lovely Life’s 10K challenge, I did my first vlog. It was awkward and there were a lot ums and stops and starts, so it was easy for me at first to just go with the first vlog, since in my head I thought “it’s just an assignment and not that many people will see it,” but I thought to myself this is really ground zero, I am making a commitment to myself and to my readers I have to take this seriously, I cannot settle.

That started me really thinking about this weight loss, and despite the fact that I have been working out, since my 20’s I haven’t gone about it like a business, and the bits of information that I have gathered are slowly coming together into a picture of what will it take for me to start losing the weight. Not all the pieces are there, but enough that I know: nutrition, high intensity/interval training and weight training are key. You may say, Anita, everyone knows that, and you would be right, but each person is different in how their bodies react to different exercises and food, so it is a journey to find what works.

Believe me when I say I have purchased a lot of programs, some worked, but I wasn’t able to stick with them for a variety of reasons. Some worked when I was younger, but when I came back to them 20-30 years later, they no longer seem to work as quickly or as well. Some meal plans worked when I was in my late 30’s the “Michael Thurman Six Pack Abs” worked great, but the diet part was short lived for me, because it was so restrictive. If you are younger and looking to lose weight fast that was great, but you better have a plan to keep it off.

I know that I need to try something else, so I will be doing weight training on our Bowflex Ultimate weight machine. Ours is older than what you will find with the link, but it still does the job. You can get a look at the Bowflex Ultimate here from my first vlog:  https://www.facebook.com/myroadmystory/videos/734181593434172/. While I know everyone loves the latest and greatest, you can still get the desired outcome from older versions, if your budget doesn’t allow for a newer model. In addition free weights are also a good choice and less expensive. The great thing about the weight set in the link is that you won’t need a set of 20-30 weights, which will be extremely heavy + take up a lot of room. The set of weights that Bowflex offers is they can be adjusted up to 90lbs in 5lb increments. These are some ideas if your budget allows, but you can get weights and exercise equipment at any sports store, amazon, Walmart etc… Use what you have, your own bodyweight can be used to get a good workout in. Muscle tones you, strengthens you, and burns fat. Get your weightlifting on. I figure I will focus on getting at least 3 weightlifting days in a week with one focusing on upper body, lower body, and complete body workout. Look for my vlogs on this.

When I was in my 20’s I went to the gym with some friends, and we would walk around the track, but some of us were competitive souls, and we would do quick sprint races. Which little did we know were what is now called HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is really pushing yourself for a very short period of time maybe 30 seconds to 1 minute, with a break and doing it again. Everything is relative to your level of fitness, so before trying HIIT do some research, check with your doctor it can really get your heart rate going, and listen to your body. I would like to get 3 HIIT sessions in a week as well, they will be on the opposite days of my weight lifting.

Food plays such a huge role in weight loss, but also in your bodies ability to sustain a hard workout and then to recover. We all know that we don’t get enough fruits and vegetables in our diets. If you doubt the importance of fruits and vegetables check out the documentary “Forks over Knives” If that isn’t reason enough to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet; did you know that most fruits and vegetables are negative calorie foods. Calories are important if we are in-taking more than we are burning the weight begins to pile on, but so much of our food is full of hidden ingredients that rack up the calories. Fruits and vegetables, legumes and to some extent grains are about as close to simple foods as you can get today.

I plan on incorporating more fruits, vegetables and legumes into my diet. While fruits and vegetables do have protein, I will also be incorporating tuna, and protein powder as part of my meal planning. I read that Oatmeal is also a negative calorie food, and I do like oatmeal, so I can use that for breakfast, or a snack. I haven’t decided on my calorie intake yet, but with the help of the My Fitness Pal app it is so much easier for me to track my caloric intake. There is a free version and that is what I use or you can upgrade.

So in summary, you my readers are going to be my motivation I know that many who will be following my blog are struggling with weight gain, finding time to work out, let alone the energy. I have a workout plan that incorporates weight lifting and High Intensity Interval Training and a diet that incorporates more negative calorie fruits, veggies and legumes. I know that for the HIIT training I will probably do sprints, they can be done just about anywhere, but if you have a track nearby that is the best place, the track is made for less impact on shins and feet.

I am at ground zero, even though I have worked out off and on throughout my life I need to re-evaluate what I have been doing, and closely monitor what I will be doing.  I know that I can do this, I know that it will be hard but I am up to the challenge.

*Note: I am not a doctor nor sports fitness professional. This workout is not endorsed or approved by a doctor or sports fitness professional. Consult a doctor before trying any new workout.