Health & Fitness

I have been on a journey to get healthier and lose weight.  It has been a long journey with a big learning curve!  The end result was losing 28 pounds in a year and overcoming some health issues.  Many people have asked me the key to my success.  While I have tried many different things over the past few years, there have been a few things that have helped immensely.

Drinking Water

I will admit that at one time, I drank 6-8 diet sodas per day.  I couldn’t even tell you if I had ever finished a bottle of water in my life.  Drinking more water has been monumental in helping me.  The more you can drink, the better success you will have.  I try to drink 1 bottle of water each hour or two in the morning, getting the majority of my water consumption in by early afternoon.  That helps eliminate middle of the night potty breaks.  🙂  Water also helps increase your energy level, flush toxins, assist in digestion and is wonderful for your skin.

Sleeping

Your body renews and rejuvinates itself during the sleep process. I seriously underestimated the amount of sleep I was getting and always wondered why I was so tired.  I installed an app on my phone called SleepBot which allowed me to track my sleep.  When I realized I was 10 hours in the deficit by the 3rd day, I knew I had to make some changes.  As I increased the amount of time I was sleeping, I noticed I was a lot less grumpy. I was more likely to exercise.  Most importantly, the weeks I had enough sleep, the scale/measuring tape was more likely to move in  my favor!

 Eating Healthy

This can mean different things for different people.  For me, it meant completely eliminating all processed foods, bread and sugar and eating mostly vegetables, fruits, meat (especially more chicken and fish) and more limited dairy.  Along the journey, I read a suggestion that whatever the healthy choices you make for yourself, your aim should be 85-90% success.  Strive for Progress and Not Perfection!  In my case, that means that I might indulge in a dinner roll once a month and instead of having a banana every single day (my old habit), I limit them to once a week. There is one other secret to tell you.  I have chocolate almost every day.  🙂  My chocolate of choice is Lindt 85% dark chocolate because it only has 2.5 grams of sugar for 2 squares, which is just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Exercise

Get that body moving!  Even if you haven’t exercised for years, it is time to start.  Set a goal, gradually increase it, and learn to enjoy it.  A few examples are:

• Walking 5 minutes each day, gradually increased to 30 minutes.
• Train for a 5k by using the Couch to 5K method.
• Begin with 15 minutes of a workout DVD and gradually increase until you can do the entire video.

My workout of choice is called T-Tapp.  In 60 days, I lost 14 inches and you can see my results above.  Most importantly though, it helped me overcome painful back issues.  You can read more about my 60 Day Challenge Here:  Lisa’s 60 Day  T-Tapp Challenge.

What is T-Tapp?  It was named after Teresa Tapp who created the program. Here is the official definition:

Comprehensive, compound muscle movement done in a specific sequence involving isometric isolation with linear alignment and neuro-kinetic flow.  Works muscles layer by layer from the inside out.  Develops muscle density instead of muscle mass.  No jumping. no weights.  Inch loss every week…and no loose skin.  It’s the Workout that Works regardless of age or fitness level.  

For additional information and to see the workouts, Visit the T-Tapp Store!  

Nutrition Supplements

Working along side my doctor with blood work, there are several different nutritional  vitamins and supplements I have added, including vitamins B, C and D and Alfalfa.  In addition, I learned about an AMAZING product line called Plexus.  Their main product is called Slim and helps assist the body in controlling blood insulin levels.  As I began to research more into the product (because I was beyond skeptical!), I learned the your blood insulin levels affect your metabolism, your hormones, your adrenal glands, your thyroid and more.  Do a google search for “Insulin Resistance” and whatever your health challenges are.  You may be stunned, like I was.  This product has helped with mental clarity, stopped food cravings, improved my sleep, allowed me to eliminate bio-identical hormones and lowered my thyroid medications.  In addition, it has significantly helped my husband with severe mood swings.  They also have several products to assist with Candida/leaky gut syndrome.  Learn more by visiting this website:  Plexus Worldwide

Keeping Track

• Keep a food journal and write down everything you eat.  Every. Single. Bite.
• Keep an exercise journal.  Plan your workouts each week and put them on your schedule as an appointment with yourself.  There is something fulfilling about cross those workouts off as you complete them.
• Weigh yourself every day…or measure yourself once a week.  This one is a bit controversial because lack of results can discourage some people. Have a weight range of +/- 2 pounds to stay within.  Don’t get upset if the number goes up but know that you need to eat more vegetables, drink more water and decrease less healthy food choice until that number goes down.  This way, 5-10 pounds isn’t going to sneak up on you. Weighing yourself every day also helps you see what foods effect your weight.  For example, I know I cannot eat pasta because I gain 3-4 pounds overnight.

Consistency

This one was a bit frustrating for me.  I wanted to get on the scale and see amazing results quickly.  Instead, my 28 pound weight loss took me 10 months….only averaging ½ pound per week with long stalls in between, despite PERFECT eating most days.  Mine was most likely due to menopause and thyroid issues but that didn’t make me feel better.  I can honestly say now that I am so glad I did not give up.  There were many days I wanted to though.  Many.

Consistency doesn’t mean you are doing the same thing all the time.  Your body may adjust to one thing so you will have to change it up to keep it effective.   Consistency is doing SOMETHING continuously toward your goal to get the results you want.  You have a choice.  You can keep going or regret that you stopped.