Make Time For Yourself

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “In order to effectively take care of others, you first have to take care of yourself.” This is hard to do when we’re busy taking care of kids, holding down a household, working 40+ hours, volunteering, and just doing more things that take up our time. If you tend to put everyone before yourself, my ask of you is to change your mindset and make time for yourself, and then take care of everyone else. I remember how difficult it was to find time for my running and workouts while I raised two boys as a single parent. My workouts and running took a backseat while I took care of everything first. I found myself tired, unhappy, unmotivated and my health declined. When I started to “make” time rather than “find” time, I was much happier, healthier, more motivated and had more energy to take care of my kids, my job, and more. It’s time to put yourself first. Maybe you’ll have to talk to your family or friends to let them know of the change you plan on incorporating. Share with them the reason WHY you are making time for yourself first; I think they will understand.

 

My Clothes Fit Looser – But the Scale Isn’t Moving

Blood Sugar Stabilization

You notice a change in the way your clothes fit but the scale isn’t moving. Why is that? When you stabilize your blood sugar, your body releases stored fat while protecting your lean muscle mass. One pound of lean muscle is 3 times smaller than one pound of fat. This is why you notice a difference in your clothes before you see a change in the scale.

Muscle increases metabolism and every pound of lean muscle burns 50 calories a day. What does that mean? Even when you’re not exercising – you can sit on the couch watching TV and burn more calories just by having more muscle. I’m not telling you to sit and watch TV, I’m just providing an example.  🙂

If you’ve ever tried a low-fat or low-calorie diet, you may have noticed a major change on the scale the first few weeks. This is because “diets” cause you to lose lean muscle mass, not just body fat. This slows your metabolism dramatically.

You might experience quick weight loss on a “diet” due to loss of water weight. This comes back quickly the moment you add carbohydrates or calories to your meals; even good carbs and calories.

Pay attention first to how your clothes fit. The number on the scale will follow and it might be the last thing you notice that changes. When you stabilize your blood sugar, three things happen; you protect lean muscle mass, you increase your metabolism and you burn body fat.

In order to build lean muscle you must get moving. So, get out and exercise, lift weights, use resistance bands or find an exercise activity that you enjoy and get moving.  You must also follow a plan that will  keep your blood sugar stabilized and stay away from diets.

Attitude – it’s all how you look at it

Just for fun, thought I would post since many are experiencing the same thoughts.  🙂

New Year’s Resolution – You Only Need 1% Improvement

The beginning of each New Year brings about numerous resolutions. Losing weight, getting rid of body fat and getting in better shape is at the top of the list for countless individuals. For many, these topics are a recurring resolution every year but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Initially, we are excited and motivated but after two to three weeks, the newness wears off or life just gets in the way. This results in another unsuccessful bid towards our goal due to missed workouts or lack of adequate meal planning. There are many reasons why this happens – I won’t go into that now but I do want to talk about what you can do to be successful.

Think in terms of 1% improvement rather than “all or nothing.” The key to your success is knowing that a 1% improvement is a small victory to build upon. Small, incremental changes that you incorporate will become a permanent way of life. Will you fall off plan?  Sure you will, we all do. It’s important not to beat yourself up but rather get right back on plan. Remember, we are only talking about a 1% improvement.

It’s important to find a sensible program that you can incorporate in your every day life, not just for a few weeks or a couple of months. The crash diet that drastically limits your calorie intake or cuts out all carbs will be successful, but it will only be successful for a short time. The next step is knowing how you can be successful with your plan when you focus only on a 1% improvement. Looking forward to sharing those tips with you in my next blog.