Big n' Fancy

Well, I'm going to have to go against what I said in one of my previous posts; I'm going on a diet. Or atleast start watching the calories I take in. This does not mean I will refuse Christmas cookies. That's not possible for me. No self control. Feel free to send them my way.

Why am I doing this?
Because we are goin' all big and fancy for NYE at the Palmer House. I'd like to be all fancy for NYE, but not big. I figured while I have a few weeks until I stuff my face with food and alcohol, I should stick to healthier foods. I'll also be doing  my normal workout routine, just in case a cookie (or 5) just accidentally make it into my mouth.

Making a meal plan and tracking calories is a tedious task. I don't want to count them myself, and I can't make decisions on what I want to eat for dinner.

"What should we eat for dinner babe?"
"I don't care, whatever you want."
"Should we just order Thai?"
"No. I'm on a diet."
"Okay, Pizza?"
"I said...I'm on a diet!!"
"Then I guess it isn't whatever I want, huh?"

Sound familiar ladies?

What we need to do is find someone who will plan our meals, track our calories taken in (and burned!) for us...and for free! No Weight Watchers or expensive Insanity Work Out and Meal Program needed!

I've been using SparkPeople since I actually started caring about my weight. SparkPeople lets you set your own goals. You enter your starting weight, your goal weight, and when you would like to lose it by. From there, it comes up with a meal plan (including how many calories you should be taking in a day) as well as how many calories you should be burning a week (it also has suggestions for work outs if you aren't sure where to start.) Every week you can track how much you lost and it will make a fun, fancy graph for you that shows your progress! If you need motivation, there are blogs from other users. There is a whole section on the website right now about how to survive this calorie-overload season we call the holidays. Sometimes, it even suggests to indulge a little :)

I really suggest using SparkPeople. It's free. It does what you want it to. All you need to do is really dig deep to find that motivation to continue to input in your information everyday and to weigh yourself weekly. It will adjust your meal plan accordingly, which will help you in your progress.

Booty Work

We are a month away from when our New Years Resolutions are put into work....

And I'm sure on NYE, girls throughout the nation are going to be squeezing into their barely-there dresses with their boobies poppin' out, looking in the mirror, pinching some part of their body saying "Oh my God, I'm getting like so fat. I really need to like, start eating better or like working out or something, yaaa? That is so going to be my New Years Resolution!!! *Yells to friend* "Can you grab me a beerrrrr?? It's time to get like totally wastedddd. We are so getting McDonalds afterward..."

Admit it, at least once in your life, you were that girl. But hopefullyyyy we are past that now and you truly are interested in being healthy/getting in shape. But why wait for New Years Day to start? Just think, start now and that skimpy NYE outfit of yours will slide on so much easier! So start now! Start a month early and get in the gym/outside before everyone else joins in a month. Then you can laugh at them and be all whispering to your girlfriend, "I've never seen that person here before. I bet it's their New Years Resolution...we probably won't see them after Week 2."

There is one dilemma about working out: it can get friggin' expensive! You pay crazy amounts to use a gym facility, when you probably only use a quarter of the machines that they offer. You DO NOT need those machines! You do not need to hand over your paycheck just to look good. 

Since May 2012, I've lost 15 lbs, and noticed an incredible difference in the way my body is simply shaped and toned. I didn't pay a dime. Now, I'm no fitness expert here but I do know what worked for me. As you can see by my last post, I don't eat that healthy. I enjoy food way to much to just stop indulging in what I love (Although If I did have one suggestions, cut back on the alcohol. Packs on the pounds, wastes money, and no one likes a girl who gets wastedddddd every weekend anyways.)

So here is what I did:
Cardio + Strength Training. Simple.

Cardio
I'm lucky enough to have a small gym facility in my building. Not much too it; just a few ellipticals,  bikes, and treadmills. I built up my endurance. I started running for one minute, walking for two, and just building upon that each day. Now, I run for atleast 30 mins every other day. If you don't have a facility like this, don't pay money at a gym...go run outside!! 

And if the weather isn't nice, and all else fails...DANCE. Seriously. Turn on that song that gets your body rockin', and spend maybe 15 minutes just going at it. I don't care if you think you can't dance! Move around, shake something! You're burning calories, and that is what's important. If you need some inspirational music to get groovin', this song is always the sure thing for me:

Booty Work by T-Pain. O Yes.

Strength Training

You can simply use your own body weight to tone and gain muscle. For example, leg lifts are KILLER on your lower abs! No weights needed. Check out the image below. I based all my workouts around these suggestions. I'd pick a few a day, 3 reps, 20x15x25 for each move.

It's really is easy to find something that works for you without paying a gym membership. When a move says to use dumbbells, grab two bottles of water! You shouldn't have to pay to change your body. Check out my 'I Workout' board to see what workouts I've actually tried and loved, and ones I'm still looking forward to trying.

Remember: stick to it. You won't see results right away, but you will start to feel better. You will start to just feel healthier, and you will continue to make healthier decisions. 

Good luck and get started NOW!