Okay, I must confess that when I was about 60 pounds lighter, I bought some sexy exercise clothes to show off my svelte new figure such as these cute things from Otomix. (Although I never did the belly thing. Not me. Not my style.)
Now, four years later, I’m battling to lose the weight again and there’s no way you will catch my butt in one of these right now. I’m busy wearing big ol’ comfortable Villanova sweats and loose t-shirts and that’s okay. You’ve got to be comfortable when you exercise. If you’re feeling self conscious or can’t bend without fear of ripping your pants, find something else.
I must say that I was inspired to start up again by Carole Carson who I met at BEA (you may remember her from an earlier blog). We talked for the longest time about our battles with weight and her success which she’s turned into a book — FROM FAT TO FIT. I’m lucky to have a copy that I’ve been reading through and I hope we’ll have Carole on as a special guest blogger soon!
Anyway, with inspiration hounding me, and my hubby giving me a Mother’s Day gift of personal training sessions, I’m at it again and have lost 13 pounds and a dress size.
Not bad. But here’s the thing — you need to be comfortable with what you wear. That’s my fashion fitness mantra for today.
Comfort. Loose clothes and shirts. Sneakers that support you with whatever you’re doing.
Also, think comfort with what you are doing. If you haven’t exercised in a while, don’t try to run a marathon. Start slow and build yourself. Fifteen minutes of walking up to half an hour of walking will make a world of difference.
Think comfort with what you’re eating. I confess that I will never be a rabbit. I hate most lettuces and salad greens. I HATE SALAD. There. Said it.
But I love vegetables and leafy greens like kale, broccoli rabe and collard greens. So instead of a salad every day for lunch, I’ve been eating some grilled/steamed vegetables with a portion of a lean protein and/or cheese.
Yes, I know cheese is high in fat, but please don’t take away my cheese! How do I get around that? Well, Cabot’s has some great lower fat cheddar cheeses that are quite tasty and even has individual snack packets that are great to take to work or for a quick snack around the house.
Of course, the Kraft Polly-O Mozzarella sticks are awesome as well and if you haven’t visited the Kraft website, please do so. They even have a Healthy Living section where they give all kinds of low cal recipes, have meal and fitness planners and all kinds of helpful tools for those who are trying to change their lifestyles. (Don’t tell them that I told you this, but you can substitute something else every time they mention a Kraft product in their recipes! LOL!)
Also, notice I didn’t say diet. A diet is just for today and as I told myself the first time I lost all the weight, I need to make a lifestyle choice for all the tomorrows that will come.
And it’s got to be a tasty one or else . . . You know what happens.
Oh man I’m not a fan of greens especially lettuce but I hear ya … weight and fitness is close to my heart *grin* I am trying to lose a few more pounds ;o)
Hey pity we didn’t get time to do those walks in Houston, would have been so awesome ;o)
It will definitely help both your weight and your fitness, especially if you keep your eating the same or less. Doing any additional physical activity burns more calories and builds muscle. Muscle demands more energy even when you are not exercising and so by building muscle, it will use more of the energy you take in.
Exercise is a win-win-win in lots of ways! Good luck with it. I’ll keep you guys posted on how I’m doing.
As for the link to DESIRE CALLS, it should be:
http://www.eharlequin.com/article.html?articleId=1262
AHHH the dreaded diet. I have been wanting to lose at least 30 pounds for the past 8 months. I just had a baby 11 months ago and it seems I am still carrying around some unwanted baby weight :). I have decided that after he has breakfast in the mornings we’re going to take a walk around the neighbor hood. It may only be a mile or a little more but its better than nothing. I wonder if that will help me lose any weight? I wish you all the best in luck. Hugs, Crystal
http://www.myspace.com/crystaljo722
I have to be aware of what I eat because I’m hypoglycemic, so I can’t just eat anything.
BTW, the link to Desire Calls doesn’t work. I tried it and just sends me to Harlequin’s main page, and I can’t seem to find the link to Desire Calls. Do you know its new URL?
I love to hear about changes ordinary people are making to lead healthier and “enlightened” lives. It’s my passion. When I invited people in our community to join me in getting fit, over a 1,000 responded–and my book, From Fat to Fit, was the outcome. Now I want to repeat our happy experiment in other communities. Maybe one of your readers will bring me to their town. If they do, we’ll get everybody up and moving, I promise. As we lose tons of fat, we’ll have tons of fun. Oh–and did I mention, I do this for free? For the sheer joy of encouraging ordinary people to become more fit? I’ll even donate 500 books and give event organizers a manual so they can take advantage of what I’ve learned. Do I have any takers?
And thanks for the nice compliment, Caridad, about our meeting in New York. Sometimes you meet a person and instantly you know that you will be friends for life. You are one of those people. I am so impressed with everything you do.
Carole Carson