I want to lose weight. Where do I begin?

I have been going through the questions that get posted  on the page- a great deal of them deal with : Where do I begin? I want to lose weight, but where do I begin? Well, Wanting to is where you begin.. the desire is there, now act on it!  



Whats the first step?


Gather information, and get excited about it! Educate yourself on the process. Google! Almighty google was my friend in the beginning of my journey! Google search things like "clean eating"  or "how to lose weight the healthy way". Subscribe to magazines like Oxygen , Muscle and Fitness for Her and Clean Eating Magazine. Join Fitness groups on social networking sites, there are so many- literally thousands. Find a group that suits your needs and become an active participant! Ask questions. Fitness pages LOVE it when you ask questions, cause after all that's what we're there for! It is so important to have as much information and support as possible! Some advice? Enlist your Doctors help, your Doctor can tell you the best plan for you current physical and health level. Start building your support team now!


   Read success stories.

  

When you read weight loss success stories it empowers YOU! Knowing that other people have done it, lets you know that losing weight isn't an impossible task. Reading about women who have had the same struggles as you re-assures you that you aren't alone.  If they can do it so can you!

 "The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

 

Next, identify your goals. Make a list of things you want to accomplish. The bigger goals- break them down into less daunting "mini goals" For example if you have a goal to lose 100 pounds,break that down to smaller goals like losing 8 pounds  in a month.

Once you have identified your goals, make a plan- figure out how you're going to accomplish your goals. If your goal is to prepare at least 4 healthy meals this week. Go to your local book store and pick up a healthy eating cook book, start incorporating new recipes in your weekly menu.

The key to starting your journey is not to overwhelm your self! Jumping into your new life head first, trying to do everything at once, WILL lead to failure. You have to be realistic with yourself! It took years for you to develop your unhealthy lifestyle, it will take some adjustment to get comfortable with the new one. So, by having an action plan to achieve your goals, you take control of your fit chick journey. As the mountain can be moved by removing one stone at a time, you will reach the desired outcome and achieve your goals on your fit chick journey one step at the time.

"You are what you eat"

        

      Start keeping a food diary, and this diary is not about  counting calories. I want you to  just write down what you eat, and how you feel before and after you eat.  You might be wondering why I suggest you write down how you feel before and after you eat. Well it's because often you'll find that-  we eat because we're bored, angry, lonely, and frustrated.  Sometimes it's hard to identify these negative feelings, and they are hard to identify because we've spent years being emotional eaters, it is now natural to us, as natural as breathing.  So by writing down your feelings you can identify and now re-train yourself.  Instead of filling the void negative emotions leave with food, you can choose to do something more productive like journaling, going for a walk, or calling on a friend for support. 


 Keeping a journal isn't just for keeping you aware of what you are eating, or how you feel before and after eating. It can also help you figure out the best way to eat specifically for you. If you find through your journal that you get super hungry after eating a certain food or at a certain time of day, you might want to plan a different type of food or perhaps schedule a mini meal instead of just a snack. Keeping a journal can also help you trouble shoot if the scale is refusing to budge. Review your journal carefully and see if there are any extras sneaking into your diet. By extras I mean: oils, dressings, cheese, toppings and sauces- those are common culprits


What do I eat?

Figuring out what's healthy and what's unhealthy can be overwhelming, there is some new and improved way of eating coming out every year.  So I will make it easy for you and get right to the point.  CLEAN EATING IS THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE YOUR WEIGHT LOSS GOALS!

 ..You must, MUST eliminate processed foods. Any foods that you buy at a drive-through is going to be detrimental to your weight loss goals (and your health). Stay away from fast-food, candy, donuts, cookies, cakes, pies, chips, etc. With junk food you pretty much have to use your head—if you think it’s bad for you, it probably is. Like I mentioned before this lifestyle change will take some time, you have to do it at your own pace. Make a goal to eliminate two processed foods from your diet for a month, once you've completed that goal, add more to the list before you know it you'll be eating clean without a thought, once you start eating clean, you'll find that you loose your taste for the processed crap!  A clean eating perk? You don't have to be concerned with counting calories! Eating clean alleviates the hassle of counting every calorie. Since you are not consuming junk, you knock out a ton of calories by default.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know that there are still many people who do the calorie counting thing regardless and they are successful doing it, BUT! if you have ever counted calories, you understand how tedious and annoying it can become. Learn about proper portion sizes and stick to that.  You can learn more about portion sizes in the  The Eat-Clean Diet® Recharged!, you will see results while meeting your body's nutritional needs.


To learn more about clean eating check out the "The Eat Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno.. to see a list of clean eating food (click here) .  To get more information about Clean eating check out my blog posting "clean eating 101"  ( click here ) to see that.

Get Moving!

 Exercise isn't just joining a gym and spending an hour staring at the wall while you run on a treadmill.  Try running, tennis, basketball, walking, swimming, bicycling, dancing, martial arts, jumping rope, or exercise videos at home. There are so many options for you to choose from. Join your local YMCA or health club and find out what kind of yoga, Pilates, spinning, zumba, or other aerobic classes that they have available. You can also go to the fit chick exercise blog so you don’t have to spend time or money on a gym membership.


Ideally when you first start out you want to try and get around 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 3 or 4 times a week. Once you get used to it you can ramp it up to 60 minutes a day, 5 to 6 days per week along with strength training.


Rome wasn't built in a day


Before you embark on your journey, you MUST keep it real with yourself.  Understand that you will not lose 50 pounds in 2 weeks.. you aren't on the biggest loser and your inner motivator isn't Jillian Michael's! There will be days where you feel like you've seen no progress. There will be days when you want to yell "LIAR!!" while hurling your scale out of the bathroom window.  You will hit plateau's, and I guarantee you'll see some hurdles, roadblocks, self doubt, and haters on this journey. If you go in knowing that  it will not be smooth sailing, and that at times it will be hard-- it will be easier for you to accept your mistakes, and learn from them. Remember: There is a blessing in every lesson.  Make a commitment to yourself to never give up, even if you fall, and I mean fall hard, promise yourself that you will get back up and if you have to crawl until you're strong enough to reach your goals you will do that.


If you have any more inquiries leave them in the comment section below, or you can email me at fitchicks01@gmail.com. Hoped this helped! :-)