Monday, April 19, 2010
So time is getting shorter and shorter as the wedding is coming up quicker and quicker. I will be going dress shopping around July- August. This means I have 3 MONTHS to get into the best shape of my life!!!!
For some, this can be rather daunting. But I know I can do it. Your mind set will be the biggest challenge for achieving your goals. Most people, like me, don't like exercising and eating boring healthy food and would rather indulge in a big slab of meat lovers pizza with extra cheese followed by a chocolate sunday. It's the consistency that will give you the results. You need to make the decision now that this is going to be a lifestyle habit. Its a way of being. You wont lose weight going on a diet for 2 weeks and then going back to your usual way. The only way of getting through to seeing results is CONSISTENCY. I can't stress this part enough.
If you think eating plain chicken or tuna doesn't taste as good as a double cheese burger, you are RIGHT. And it NEVER will taste as great, NEVER! It ALL comes down to daily choices, which will it be? All the delicious food you desire or a body you are happy with? I personally know I can't have both. If it were up to me I would have be eating dozen doughnuts for breakfast but I am not willing to take the consequences. I know it will not produce the body I desire.
I think everyone wishes to be in their best shape of their lives, but with all the temptation out there we need to learn to say "no, thank you". Its not easy getting into tip top shape, if it was easy everyone would be fit. It takes a lot of effort and a bit of sacrifice. There is no secret workout or a diet pill to make you lose weight. If this is something that is really meaningful for you, then the results will be much more worth it.
Its important to set a goal. I know this doesn't sound important, but it really is! If you set a goal that is right for you, it will help you along the tough times. When you don't want to workout, you can think about why you are going through all of this for and it will help you to stay on track. Also establishing people that motivate you. I really enjoy watching the videos Zuzana makes on Bodyrock.tv she always makes me feel pumped to do a workout, her workouts are really fun too coz they are different every time. I also get motivation by looking through bodybuilding.com You can find lots of info on their site, along with new workouts, and reading about transformations.
So my plan of attack for the next 3 months is to eat clean consistently and exercise most days.
Some tips on eating clean:
Avoid all processed foods and sugar
Combine protein with carbohydrates, ie. oatmeal and boiled eggs etc
Drink PLENTY of water
Aim for 7- 10 servings of fruit and vegetables a day
Watch portion sizes
In the way of exercise, I will lift weights and do high intensity interval training. Muscle is a metabolic tissue, meaning it will boost your metabolism and burn calories. In order to build muscle you need to lift weights. And no, you wont get buff and look like a man. Females don't have the same amount of testosterone as males do. The buff females that you see are probably on steroids or are eating LOADS of calories. When I talk about building muscle I am talking about doing traditional weight training, bench pressing, bicep curls etc.
And high intensity interval training consists of either doing interval training on say the stationary bike or doing workouts from bodyrock.tv... The workouts Zuzana does uses mainly bodyweight exercises, which are extremely effective.
I will be alternating between strength training and interval training.
This plan is the ONLY way of getting into shape. If you look at the people who are always on the treadmills or elliptical machine are usually the ones having problems with losing weight and is stuck in a plateau. Long duration cardio actually wastes away your muscle. And like I said, muscle burns calories. Cardio will only burn the carbohydrates you currently have in your body and wont even tap into the fat that is stored around your trouble areas.
To avoid a plateau you need to always be making your workouts challenging. If you are able to pump a certain weight and you are able to easily complete the set then you need to either add another set or increase the weight.
The other point I would like to make with weight loss and toning up is you need to make your workouts smarter. By that I mean make it intense and challenging by using supersets. By supersetting you are combining two or three combination of exercises and completing the sets and reps as quick as you can (keeping proper form). ie. squat and then straight into pushups. Thats one superset- complete that 3 to 4 more times. Aim for 3 different supersets per workout. You will suprised by how hard to actually is. There are no rests between exercises. There are short rests after each superset.
An example:
Superset #1: Repeat 3-4 times
Squats
Pushups
Superset #2: Repeat 3- 4 times
Lunge with bicep curl
Bent over row
Superset #3: Repeat 3 - 4 times
Deadlift
Tricep dips
That will be an example for a workout for the day. This way you are using strength training, and keeping it intense. The shorter and more intense you can make the workouts mean the longer your body can recover and the longer you can burn calories through the day. Thats the other benefit to strength training. Because you are building muscle you will be burning calories throughout the whole day, even if you are watching a movie. Whereas long duration cardio, you are only burning whatever carbohydrates you have at that current time.
I will keep you posted on how the transformation goes. I will show you guys what my workouts consist of and an example of my meals throughout the day. I took photos awhile ago and will retake them again as I go along. Bit scared to post them on here but we will see how we go :)
I hope you will join me in this exciting challenge
Remember, STAY CONSISTENT. Say no to junk food and exercise most days. We will enjoy an exciting and sexy body together :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

By doing long duration (eg 0ne hour) cardio you create PEOC (post exercise oxygen consumption which means that you continue to burn calories after your workout whereas short workouts of under an hour do not create the same effect.so there is some benefit in doing long duration cardio at a high intensity.

Katie said...

It depends on what you are doing for your cardio. If you are just doing a slow jog for an hour,its not intense enough. If you are doing a 20min jog and then go into interval training you are getting the most benefit. Cardio exercise is good but it shouldn't be the focus for your fitness program... Thanks for commenting :)

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Katie
Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand
Hi.. Im Katie. I am 20 years old. I am a student nurse. I love learning about healthy eating and living healthy lifestyles. There are so many lies and myths about the food we eat today and I am determined to spread the word. If you have any questions don't be shy to ask. Email me at k_rotgans@hotmail.com P.S I am not a doctor, I do not diagnose conditions. I am just hear to educate myself and others. Any symptoms I address please see your doctor.
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