1. I do not diet. I have an eating plan. Same difference? Perhaps, but the word "diet" has such a punitive meaning to a lot of people and it already gets your brain in "denial mode". So take that word "diet" and remove it from your memory banks. You won't be denied any types of foods- you will simply make smarter choices. (And if you slip up, don't kick yourself over it. Progress, not perfection. Remember?)
Intake
Part of your daily mission is this. Determine your needed caloric intake for basic functioning. (I used http://caloriecount.about.com/ to find mine. Go to "Tools" and then "Calorie Target". You can call your doctor and ask the nurse...whatever.) You burn calories just by breathing... you burn calories by digesting food. My body needs between 1500-1700 calories a day just to keep me functioning. Think of it like a car. If you run it on fumes, you're not going to get optimal performance and will probably sputter and stop before you reach your destination. Subsequently, if you found yourself stuck on the side of the road, you wouldn't dump a sack of sugar in the tank, and we're not going to do that to your body today.
For the rest of the day, I want you to pay attention to the labels on food containers. We're looking at serving sizes and calories per serving. We're not CALCULATING anything today. I just want you to be aware. Our eating plan is simply about portions, smart food choices, and staying under my allotted calories for the day. So just for today, I want you to eat like you normally do, but eyeball the serving sizes and calories.
Drinking water
Many people have a huge hang-up with drinking water. 64 ounces?? That's crazy and unrealistic. Well, here's my way around that. I have a 32 ounce mug with a straw that I keep at my desk. My daily goal is to drink one before lunch and one after...that gives me four hours to drink 32 ounces of water. I can do that.
Your challenge:
Find your cup/bottle/container of choice. (I have to have something with a lid- I never have made it out of the sippy cup mode.) Fill it with ice cold water and nurse that baby for the next hour. No chugging required. If you have a 20 ounce bottle, great. 8 ounce? Awesome. 40 Big Super Gulp Mammoth beast... I'm impressed! Bottom line. I want you to drink one of those today. Don't shoot for 64 ounces of water intake today. Baby steps. Set a goal you can achieve. For those of you who work, keep a little post-it note on your desk of how many times you filled your bottle today. If you stay home, write it on the fridge or dry-erase board. But, just for today, focus on increasing your water intake by one bottle.
EXERCISE
Get moving! With every action you make, you burn a calorie or two, did you know that? Did you know that if you clean the house for an hour at a moderate pace, you can actually BURN 300 calories or better? No gym required, there, baby!
OK, got your comfy clothes on? Tennis shoes? Hair pulled up? NO??? Why not?
We are athletes in training. Dress the part. I wear stretchy pants, a tank-top, and sports bra to work out. In fact, here's how I prepare for a work out. You've heard of "Making your nest", right? I have a routine that I have to follow every time I get ready to work out, and it helps me transition from office worker to athlete. I put on my "uniform" and I start getting in the zone with every addition to my uniform. I start mentally preparing by saying, "I am an athlete. I am an athlete." After I am dressed, my hair goes up. I have a few idiosyncrasies that have developed over time...as in, I can't get in the zone unless I have fresh Blistex on my lips, a piece of Extra Polar Ice gum in my mouth, and my MP3 player blasting. The gum keeps me from getting cotton mouth in the middle of a run and gives me something else to focus on when my biceps are burning. The Blistex....I have no idea. LOL. Once I have donned my uniform, I put on my weight lifting gloves, and when I look in the mirror, I am ready to roll. You may develop something like this routine over time, you may not. Whatever it takes to make that shift in your head from average woman to Super-Sexy Goddess of all Exercise, do it. You own this place. Rock it out.
Challenge:
3 minute stretching
10 minutes of Cardio
10 minutes of Toning
3 minute stretching
I can't emphasize enough...STRETCH. We have been pretty sedentary for some time and we want to avoid injuries, right? Stretch...and listen to your body. NEVER STRETCH without a quick warm up. Do something to get your heart rate up just a bit and get extra blood into those muscles. I usually ride the bike, do the elliptical, or walk for 3-5 minutes. If you are working out at home, put on a fast song, crank that baby up, and dance!!
Here we go!!
1. Pick your activity of choice for your warm up. Set a timer if you need to (the oven is fabulous!) 3 minutes.
2. Stretch (If you need specific stretches, let me know and I'll email you some. I just do the same types of stretches we did in P.E. when I was a kid.) Hold each stretch for 12 seconds. You'll want to stretch your arms, abs, back, hips, quads, calves, and ham strings. Don't forget to do a few neck stretches, too.
(CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU'RE ALREADY 10 minutes into a work out and we haven't even started!)
3. Do five more minutes of cardio. Dance, jump, march, run in place, whatever... (again, if you need more structure here, let me know and I'll tighten it up for you.) Set a timer...five minutes. If you are winded, good... if you are out of breath, ease off a bit. No passing out allowed. LOL. Are you uncomfortable? Good! It feels good, doesn't it? Are you in pain? Ease up.
4. Toning: (don't get caught up in the idea you have to have weights. Grab a family sized can of veggies in each hand, or a can of pork and beans in each hand and poof- we have resistance. You can also use a sack of potatoes, liquid laundry soap... etc. If you lift that over your head ten times per arm, you'll feel it, trust me.)
Two sets of 10:
Arms-
10 bicep curls
10 tricep "pushes".- stand with your arms at your sides and "push" your palms back as far as you can. This will work your tricep area. Use weights/resistance if you want.
10 arm lifts- stand with your arms at your sides and lift them even with your shoulders. Slowly lower back down. That's one.
10 overhead lifts- Bend your arms and have your hands even with your shoulders. Lift your arms above your head.
STRETCH YOUR UPPER BODY NOW.
Does it burn? Fabulous! It's supposed to! By the time you get to #8, you should feel the burn and have to dig deep within to reach those last two reps. That's completely normal.
Legs
10 squats (easy at first...then we'll work on going lower and lower.)
10 tippy-toes. (hands on your hips, stand up on your tippy toes then back down flat footed...that's one.)
10 standing leg lifts- Hands on your hips, lift your leg out side-ways and back to center. That's one. Switch legs. Wash, rinse, repeat.
10 lunges per leg.
STRETCH! DRINK WATER!!!
That's it for today! If you're still in the zone, keep going...just remember to be easy on yourself. And I am SOOOOO PROUD of you!!
Now...for those of you reading this at work... you can STILL do all of this. Tee hee! Do modified stretches at your desk, get up and walk around the office for a few minutes or walk a flight of stairs. You many not get that heart rate up as much, but it still counts!!
SELF
Taking care of your mind is just as important, if not more-so in this process. I need you to get a notebook, a journal, open a blank word document...something. But here's your challenge.
Write 10 nice things about yourself. (Trust me, there are hundreds, but just pick ten today.)
Write about how you are feeling in this moment, after your workout. Be honest and real with yourself. If you're tired and cranky, put that. If you're proud and energized, do that too. Write for two minutes how you feel.
Lastly, I want you to write this on a piece of paper as big as you can. "I AM AN ATHLETE." Put it somewhere so you can see it a lot. It will make you smile. :)
Recap: become aware of calories, get some hydration going, get moving... and be nice to yourself.
