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| ICED WATER BOOSTS METABOLISM ;) |
Well hello lovely friends!
At the start of this year, it is accustomed in my family to always make a list of new year's resolutions, of things to sort of aim to achieve within the year. As usual, I started my list off (And if you want to see the post,
click here) with the usual "be kinder, be gracious, be elegant..." all that kind of stuff, and by the end of the list. "loose a tad of weight"
After all, what is a new year's resolution without it, eh?
But seriously, they are new year's resolutions. Who actually follows through with them? You say.
This year, probably one of my main resolutions was to follow through with my resolutions.
I've never been particularly sporty...in other words, you know that kid that always manages to somehow get a ball to the head, or fall over when they're just standing still...well, that was me. And it still is.
So, I've decided to take matters into my own hands by aiming to go to the gym at least three times a week, and for about four months (at the start of the year), this went so well. I felt so much more confident with the way I looked, and I felt like a better person.
Doing this was possibly the best thing I'd ever begun to do, so today, I'm going to kind of make a post explaining how I achieved this.
***I am by no means a nutritionist, personal trainer or expert in any field of fitness, I am merely a teenager who is aiming to get healthy. :) ***
STEP NUMBER ONE: Cut the emotional dreaming crap.
I was used to spending nights sitting up in my bed until two a.m. literally whining about my body, my fitness, all that kind of stuff. I would complain and be depressing and everyone else would be all "Shut up, Lucy". And by the time the new year rolled so slowly around when it kind of hit me that I was never,
ever going to tone up or lose weight if all I did was sit in bed complaining. And my Mum then came in an gave me a huge lecture about it.
It's good to dream, but you're never going to get somewhere unless you take action into your own hands.
And with that, I literally decided that I would turn my life around (HALLELUJAH). It is a bit of a crude wake-up call, but in all seriousness, it is quite true.
STEP NUMBER TWO: Cut the calorie crap.
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| Yummy |
I'm not a diet analyst or anything of the sort, but of course if one were to be eating high calorie, fat, carb foods, then naturally, one would put on some.
One needs to have a good ratio between eating healthily and exercising, and my mum told me (and this is the part where I'm not sure about) that 60% of a health/fitness kick comes from cutting down on unhealthy foods. Having said that, exercise is totally important, especially if, like me, you want to tone up a bit more.
I'd highly recommend looking up at blogs for quick and easy to make foods, of which are all very healthy and go on websites like:
http://pickyeaterblog.com/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/
http://www.veggiesandme.com/
http://wolfandwillowblog.com
On the topic of food, it's so important NOT TO CUT MEALS!!!!DDDDOOOO NOOOTTT CUT OUT ON MEALS!
I know my teenage friends think that cutting breakfast and going on an empty stomach is the highway for skinniness, but it is so not. Here are the reasons why:
1. Cutting meals slows your metabolism (slower metabolism means it takes a longer time to lose weight)
2. Oh my god, you will be so hungry!!! I can't go more than about two hours without sustenance.
3. While you may get off for about a week or two of not eating specific meals, in the long term, it encourages binge eating not a week later, consuming a high amount of calories in a short time span
4. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it enforces concentration and focus in the brain. If you are going to have a big meal, have it at breakfast, that way you can burn it off over the day naturally.
STEP NUMBER THREE: Get Motivated
I always find that the hardest part of getting into motivation is..... getting into my gym gear, though once I'm in my gear, I'm determined to do a good work out. For me, should I be totally slap-on-the-couch unmotivated (as I was about a month ago), I go out and buy some fabulous gym gear from shops like Lorna Jane, Lululemon, Victoria's Secret, etc.
This not only gives me an excuse to shop, but also motivates me to actually work and exercise in something comfortable and lovely at the same time.
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| Saw this, thought it was cool. |
STEP NUMBER FOUR: Make Time
One doesn't find time to work out, one makes time.
As you know, I am still in school and that takes up a huge amount of time - schooling, co-curricular, homework, test prep, assignments, friends, and other things. Last year, I used to get up at five to go to the gym before school, but who on Earth was I kidding? I was absolutely shizzled after about a month of that.
Now, I go after school between about four to seven depending on what I have on that day.
Before finding out what times I could go, I wrote up a plan of which days I had to do what, and when I could slot in a work-out.
I've been ill for the past week, however, I still exercised even though today I only went for half-an-hour. Putting in to perspective, doing something is better than doing nothing.
If you can't go to the gym, do those fabulous little 30 day ab workouts or conduct home workouts like Pilates, yoga or running around the block with the dog.
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| The Perks of Outside Exercise |
STEP NUMBER FIVE: Stick With It!!!!!
The second hardest part (which ties in with motivation), is to stick with it. Once you're in it for about a month, you get this feeling when you begin to crave exercise and being healthy. Because I have been sick, this has been the worst part of it all because its this gut feeling when I could have done something, and I haven't.
I go to the gym with my mum and it's so much better than going alone. Grab a pal and hit the gym or go for a run and then go for a smoothie afterwards. I feel so much more motivated to exercise when I have a friend to exercise with! It passes the time so much quicker, and it keeps you going in the long-term, setting you into a habit.
In a nutshell, the year will go on whether one does exercise or not, but in the long run (<~~~ hehehe punny right there), how and where do you want to see yourself when next year rolls around.
I know where I want to see myself.
