January Slim Down, What are you doing?

I've not really joined in this week's show us your life to give fitness tips, but rather to record some of the tips I've read from the other bloggers. There are many inspirational stories there and I'm so glad to have read about them. I've struggled with my weight since I was...born (9 pounds and 18 inches long, do you think that is a fat baby??) I have many {should be} motivating factors to get serious about this weight loss thing and I just hope I'm on my way...

Some good tips from She Blogs

• 100 extra calories a day = 10 lbs a year! That should make you think twice!
•  You want to burn calories, right?  Then work out at 60% - 70% of your target heart rate. People will kill themselves with super strenuous workouts and cannot figure out why they aren't dropping the lbs. It's because your working too hard! Who'd a thunk it?!?! For most women, 60% might be a step aerobics or body-pump class. If you want the specifics and how to calculate your targert heart rate, go HERE.
• My pet peeve is when women say they don't lift weights because they don't want to bulk up. Women literally do not have enough testosterone in their body to ever get bulky. Ever. Men even struggle bulking up - Why do you think they take a ton of "supplements"? So go lift some weights. NOW! Don't know what to do? Download the "BodyFitness" iPhone app. It's free and very simple, so you have no excuses!
• You burn 3x as many calories when you lift weights. Here's how: you burn calories while actually lifting weights. Then, you burn them all the next day and a half while your body is repairing the muscles you broke down. I am sitting at my desk right now burning calories because my biceps and quads are super sore. I love being sore. Love it. Cardio is over-rated.
• It cracks me up, but the new thing is that the old Jane Fonda leg excercises shown here are tried and true! They REALLY work your hips and glutes. So get to doing them while watching TV. Be sure to wear an awesome leotard, tights and leg warmers.

Inspiration and tips from Melissa's Thoughts:

About 13 years ago, I lost 87 lbs. Yup, I went from 250 to 163. How did I do it? I went to a awesome doctor. Dr. Gabe Mirkin. He sent me to cooking school and then taught me how to live a healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Mirkin lives a Vegetarian lifestyle and I could not follow that to the "T". So, I followed his plan and added fish and chicken into the diet. It was amazing how the weight came off and how full I felt all the time. In fact, I had to remind myself to eat. I carried grapes, apples, Oranges and veggies with me everywhere I went. People would tell me how amazing my completion was and I felt full of life.

Another thing I turned to was this book. There are prayers in here that really helped get me through those first months when all I wanted to do was rebel. I knew that God had sent me to this doctor and that I had to follow what he said. In a little over a year, I was almost to my ideal weight and felt wonderful.

Some great ideas from Sassin' Southern Style:

I have three things I have to promote in terms of today's blog.

1) Sparkpeople. I've been on it since January 2006 and love it. I need to see all of my calories and nutrients to keep myself on track. The community is fabulous and I'm in a number of groups such as Turbo Jam, which brings me to #2.



2) Turbo Jam. Chalene Johnson created Turbo Jam and sold it on informercials for the longest time. I have all 15 of the DVDs and they are fabulous. I love all of them and if I happen to "hate" one of them, it's because it is such a great workout.



These are Chalene's abs!


3) Both of these things allow me to profess my love for my Polar F4 heart rate monitor. I have had a heart problem for a long time, so it allows me to keep my heart rate in check to keep myself from overexertion, but also to track how many calories I've burned.

Many people are also doing Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred workout dvd and I think I'll add that to the list as well.  I have many things to ponder and mull over in my brain this weekend...as we all know I am list, detailed, and goal oriented.  I only wish these habits would work there way into my diet/exercise world.
  

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January Slim Down, What are you doing?