Healthy & Fit Success Habit: Should you Keep an Exercise Journal? {Free Printable}

 Posted by
Apr 032013
 

Weekly Exercise JournalHow many times have you ever started an exercise routine only to quit once your motivation waned? I have found that women who are naturally healthy and fit keep an exercise journal of some sort.

What is an exercise journal? It can be a notebook, spreadsheet, app, or online tool where you keep track of your workouts. In an exercise journal, you record information about your daily workouts such as how often, how long, the intensity, how you feel before or afterwards, type of workout, etc.

There are many different types of exercise journals on the market today in addition to all the different printable ones I have found all over the internet. If you are looking for a journal already put together in a book format, I highly recommend the FitBook. I love this book so much that you can find it through my affiliate link: Get the FitBook Now. It is an awesome tool to keep (detailed) track of your eating habits and exercises.

I encourage you to find an exercise journal format that works best for you. Personally, I like having a hard copy to look back on my progress with. However, I have yet to find a printable exercise journal on the internet that looks cute and will let me write what I want to keep track of.

Why do Healthy & Fit Women keep an exercise journal?

  • Keeps track of your progress: where you are and what you need to work on.
  • Breaks down goals into manageable chunks.   Helps you keep track of what workouts you do.
  • Helps you plan your workouts. Makes sure you are including cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and some flexibility training in your regular workouts.
  • Might help highlight hidden barriers to you reaching your goals.
  • Help you keep track of sleep patterns which may interfere with your energy and workouts during the day.
  • How you feel during the day when you work out vs. when you don’t work out.
  • Helps you maintain a consistent plan and not just work out on a whim.
  • Keeps track of how you feel before your workouts vs. after your workouts.
  • Keeps track of what exercises or workouts you like or dislike.   Tracks your progress even if the scale or measurements stay the same.   Having a regular way to keep track of what physical activities you do is important for any successful fit plan because it will help you set goals, measure progress, stick to a program, and plan improvements.

So what do you usually record in an exercise journal?   Date, time, activity/type of workout, goal duration, actual duration, level of difficulty, how I felt before/after, my plan for today, did I meet my plan for the day, and a weekly roundup where I ask myself what the biggest challenge of the week was and what was the biggest triumph of the week.

I added these in an easy to use format that you can download and print for free. I just ask that you leave a comment below letting me know what your biggest goal is right now and what your biggest challenge is toward reaching that goal.

Click Here to Print My Weekly Exercise Journal

I want you to be successful in reaching your goals. Find what will work best for you to keep track of your progress. You can do a quick search and find many different forms of keeping track. I highly recommend the FitBook if you are like me and like to keep a hard copy of what you are doing. If you would rather a printable sheet you can write the information down on, you can always download my printable exercise journal.

Question of the day: How do you currently keep track of your workouts? Leave me a comment below…

7 Steps to Becoming a Weight Loss Success Story

 Posted by
Mar 142013
 

Weight Loss Success StoryThere are so many weight loss success stories out there and they come from all different types of programs. Many of these stories are awesome motivators, but you still have those that promote fad diets or “fast and easy” solutions.

I am not a big TV watcher, but one show that I do watch is the Biggest Loser. Now, I don’t like everything about that show. I feel a lot of what they show about the weight loss journey of these contestants paints a “you have to take it to the extreme to lose weight”.

I think this show turns off a lot of people to doing the lifestyle change plan for weight loss instead of one of those other lose weight quick programs out there.

What I do like about this show, however, is that it teaches weight loss is all about living a healthy lifestyle and making those changes necessary that you can keep the weight off for good.

As a nurse, I am a big promoter of healthy lifestyle changes to help people prevent or even reverse diseases. I do not back any of those products out there that promote weight loss for the quick course of the program. A person with these plans just puts the weight back on and then some. This is even worse for your health and risk of developing diseases than just maintaining an obese weight.

Sorry to break it to you, but in order to reach a healthy weight and to live healthy and fit for life, there is no easy solution. It takes a full lifestyle change. I am here to help you do just that!

Here are 7 Steps to Becoming a Weight Loss Success Story (FOR LIFE!):

Make a Commitment

How are you going to stick with your weight loss plan if you are not committed? It is very easy to find and use all the excuses in the book when you are not putting your weight loss plan as a life priority. If you keep saying you don’t have time, what are you putting as a priority over your weight loss plan? You will have time for anything you deem as important to your life. Are you ready to go all in and make the commitment to change your lifestyle habits so you can become and stay healthy and fit for life?

Set Realistic Goals

What is a weight loss plan without goals? How are you going to know how much you want to lose and in what time frame? A good rule of thumb for healthy lifestyle weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. If you have quite a bit to lose, you might find yourself losing more than that each week in the beginning. Do not get discouraged if you don’t maintain those huge 10 pound numbers like they do on the Biggest Loser. Remember, even on that show where they are doing heavy duty workouts and eating plans, they still have weeks where they just lose a pound or 2.

For more information on “Success in Achieving Health and Weight Loss Goals”

Get Support

Support is huge for sticking with your weight loss plan. It is important to choose an accountability partner that shares your need to make your plan a priority. They don’t need to be doing it with you, but they need to support you. You will want someone that will be a positive support and not put your current weight or lifestyle changes down. If you can’t find someone to take that role for you, feel free to join my community on Facebook or email me. I would love to help you make the changes and stick with them!

Find Your Motivation

Your success in reaching your weight loss goals rests in your ability to take 100% responsibility. It is all you who will be eating healthier food, getting more active, and making the lifelong changes. It is your responsibility for being where you are at and getting to where you want to go. People around you can be there to help support you, but it is all up to you with deciding how much you are motivated to get healthy for life. What is going to keep you motivated?

Weight Loss Resources

Find some great healthy lifestyle weight loss resources. There are a lot of books out there on weight loss. If you want to make the changes for lifelong health, I definitely recommend “Eat to Live” by Dr. Fuhrman for a healthy eating plan. Check out more blog posts here on my blog for some more great tips for how to eat healthy and exercise for a healthy lifestyle. I wrote a blog post about the Nutritarian Diet here. Remember, a healthy lifestyle and lifelong weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise so don’t forget to find DVDs, join a class at the gym, or find activities that will get you exercising!

For some ideas, visit my “Physical Activity Idea” blog post!

The Plan

Determine your plan of attack. What changes are you going to make or need to make to your diet in order to make it healthy and adequate to stick with for life? How can you fit more activities into your daily life? Don’t feel you have to do some of those extreme fitness programs out there in order to lose weight. The plan should reflect more about your lifelong plan to stay healthy and fit and less about just losing weight to go back to your old ways. What changes are you going to make?

The Lifestyle Mindset

The last step involves transferring everything you currently think about weight loss from the short term goal of fitting in those skinny jeans (which is important when you have a big event coming up!) and start thinking in the long-term. What do you need to do in order to prevent disease throughout your life? What do you need to do stay healthy and fit for life? Start thinking about a complete healthy lifestyle makeover!

Become a weight loss success story, but do it the healthy way! Your goal should focus on maintaining a healthy life and less on quick and easy weight loss.

Question of the day: What is your weight loss goal and plan of action? Leave a comment below…

Photo Credit

Healthy & Fit Success Habit: Love for Exercise

 Posted by
Feb 252013
 

Let’s face it. Working out is WORK!

There is not one person that I know that absolutely loves working out all the time. (If you find someone like that, let me know-I’d definitely like to meet them!)

  • It gets boring.
  • I’d rather be doing something else.
  • I don’t have the time.
  • {insert your favorite excuse here}

So, with nearly 70% of adult women overweight in the general population and about 60% obese in those diagnosed with PCOS, what are we to do? We know we must lose weight, but it’s hard, boring, and just plain painful.

On a recent episode of The Biggest Loser, the trainers were working with 3 overweight kids, helping them get more active. I thought this was a great motivational lesson for us adults. During the episode, the trainers introduced the kids they were working with to activities they enjoy.

  • One girl did some rowing and did some circuits with her classmates in gym class.
  • A boy played some baseball and then got a little sports club with his friends together.

The whole premise was to find activities to get these kids as well as millions of kids around the country more active in order to stay healthy.

So why aren’t we adults taking lessons from these kids? They have learned that living healthfully can be super fun.

In order to lose weight and get healthy, it does not take working your bun cakes out for 3 hours a day in a gym somewhere. It requires a more active lifestyle.

Throughout the day, find ways to increase the amount of time you are moving around.

Find an activity OUTSIDE the gym to get you motivated to GET ACTIVE. We are not focusing on working out anymore. NO! We are focusing on GETTING ACTIVE all day long.

One way to do that is to go back to those activities you enjoyed as a child. For me this included lots of sports. However, as an adult, it is a little more challenging to get involved in those team sports. So, think of some other activities that get you moving and hanging out with others like playing sports does.

How about trying these activities?

  • Dancing
  • Snowboarding
  • Hiking
  • Walking
  • Running
  • Skiing
  • Surfing
  • Paddleboarding (I really want to try this!)
  • Yoga
  • Skating
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Biking
  • Golf
  • Basketball
  • Kayaking
  • Geocaching
  • Wakeboarding
  • Rowing
  • {Insert your idea here}: Be sure to leave another great idea below in the comments…

You never know if you will enjoy it until you try! Getting more active through these activities will also help you meet new people and even have more things to do with friends besides getting together for dinner all the time. Focus your get-togethers on a fun new activity.

Finding an activity you enjoy not only sets you up for loving exercise, but it will help you enjoy more with friends, and build in a great support network for keeping up your healthy goals!

YOU SHARE: What is one activity you would be willing to try? Leave a comment below…

Healthy & Fit Success Habit: Why Lose Weight?

 Posted by
Feb 182013
 

I haven’t been as regular with these little motivational posts as I would like, but here is the next installment…finally!

Do you really want to lose weight?

“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.” ~Doug Larson

“I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets.” ~Dolly Parton

“Can it be a mistake that ‘STRESSED’ is ‘DESSERTS’ spelled backwards?” ~Unknown

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” ~Zig Ziglar

I just couldn’t help sharing those quotes :) When doing a search for weight loss motivation, I came across thousands of funny quotes like those mentioned above. The number of overweight women keeps growing by leaps and bounds, but maybe not as exponentially as the quotes out there poking fun of diets/weight loss!

You Share: What is your favorite weight loss/diet quote? Leave a comment below! 

Weight loss is one of the biggest battles for women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. The number one step you must take BEFORE you start waging the war for a slimmer figure is to determine your WHY.

Your WHY is your motivating reason for wanting to lose weight. This is the driving force that is lighting the fire under your bun cakes to get them off the couch and working towards your goals. The weight loss journey can be a tough road with lots of successes and failures. It is easy to give up when the going gets tough, but having a WHY that truly reaches to your core will keep you going!

In determining your weight loss WHY, you are asking, “why is weight loss important to me”? Why do you want to lose weight?

  • Do you want to get healthy or look great for a friend’s wedding?
  • Do you want to lose some weight to help boost your fertility?
  • Do you want to lose weight so you can run around with your kids?
  • {Insert your reason here}

The core of your reason for weight loss must not be for your husband, boyfriend, best friend, etc. It must be for you! That is what will keep you motivated!

Your WHY must be something you believe in totally! It will be the difference between choosing that piece of fruit vs. that piece of cake when the going gets tough. Believe in your WHY and you will win!

Your “WHY” is key. Without a big enough “WHY”, you are not going to be driven enough to do what it takes to be successful. Success takes determination! Are you determined to do what is needed starting today?

Motivational Homework: What is your motivating “WHY” for wanting to lose weight? Get support and let us know your “WHY” by leaving a comment below.

Research shows you have a better chance of sticking with your goals if you write them down! Start below by writing down your WHY!

So, what is Motivation Monday? It is a quick blog post of motivation to help kick start your “Healthy Metabolism Habits” this week. I find these ideas around my favorite social media sites, blogs, or from your inspirational comments. :) Got a motivating picture, story, or quote you would like to share? Leave a comment below or connect with me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, or Twitter!

How to Get Started Managing PCOS Naturally in 3 Steps

 Posted by
Feb 112013
 

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine (hormonal) disorder that affects about 10% of women. The underlying cause is unknown, but is thought to be related to insulin resistance.

For more information about PCOS you can visit my page: Have PCOS? Start Here.

PCOS affects the body’s hormonal balance which can cause symptoms such as menstrual cycle irregularities, infertility, acne, abnormal hair growth, obesity, and increases a women’s risk of developing long-term health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

“Go lose weight and come back when you want to have children”.

Many of the women that I have talked with who have been recently diagnosed with PCOS have said they left their doctor’s office feeling confused about what they can do that doesn’t revolve around medications. The doctor just gave them a prescription for birth control pills or metformin and said “Go lose weight and come back when you want to have children”.

While it is important to follow the treatment guidelines of your doctor, there are a few lifestyle modifications you can make that can lower your dependence of medications or allow you to get rid of them altogether.

What can you do to manage PCOS naturally?

Research has consistently pointed to three general steps you can take to manage or even help you reverse your symptoms of PCOS. I will cover each in more detail with future posts.

Step 1: Eat more whole, plant-based foods. These include fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and 100% whole grains.

This will increase the amount of quality nutrients you eat and will help improve insulin resistance which is thought to be a major player in most women with PCOS. By switching to a high nutrient diet, you are giving your body more of what it needs to heal itself and restore balance with less of the processed and animal products that contain chemicals that interfere with your hormonal balance. Whole, plant based foods will help control your symptoms by lowering testosterone levels, improving menstrual function, improve acne and abnormal hair growth, improve fertility, help control your weight, and lower your risk for developing heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Get Started Tips:

  • Decrease the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, and salt in your diet.
  • Increase the variety of vegetables you eat on a daily basis.
  • Eat small, frequent meals.
  • Snacks are encouraged! Choose lots of fruits, vegetables, and nuts for your snacks!
  • Read more about Healthy Eating.
Step 2: Get up and moving!

You have heart it before. Exercise is good for you. I am not just talking about working out as if you have Jillian Michaels behind you. It is more about finding ways to get moving more throughout the day.

What can exercise do for your PCOS?

Exercise improves insulin efficiency, helps with weight loss, and helps prevent complications such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer. In addition it can help increase your basic metabolic rate (think of this as the increasing the amount of calories your body burns when are aren’t even working out). And if those benefits are not enough to convince you the importance of working out when you have PCOS, maybe improving your skin, lowering stress, improving your mood, and improving your quality of sleep are motivation enough to get out there and get moving!

Get Started Tips:

  • Get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week (running, walking, hiking, swimming, tennis, etc.)
  • Can’t leave out strength training! Work with some kind of weights 2-3 days per week.
  • Work all major muscles in your arms, core, legs, butt, etc.
  • Don’t be worried about building bulk; working with some weights will help get you that toned look!
  • Read about how to Get Started with Exercise.
Step 3: Cut out your toxins.

Your body comes into contact with thousands of toxins every day from foods, cosmetics, cleaners, plastics, smoking, etc. It is pretty much impossible to avoid them all, but it is important to avoid them as much as possible. Many toxins are endocrine disruptors which means they interfere with your hormonal balance. This increases those annoying PCOS symptoms, and your risk for developing heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.

Get Started Tips:

  • Eat organic as much as possible. If you can’t afford everything organic (who can anymore?), stick with going organic for produce such as apples, berries, and lettuce that does not have a skin that you can peel off.
  • Take inventory of your household cleaners. You will find most household cleaners contain harsh chemicals that are endocrine disrupters. Switch to using hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar for general disinfecting.
  • Stop smoking and limit alcohol intake.
  • Take inventory of your cosmetics which contain ingredients that have not been properly tested and can be endocrine disrupters.
  • Read more about Getting Rid of Toxins.
Do you have any great PCOS tips you live by that will help other women with PCOS? Share your expertise by leaving a comment below!
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