Motivation Monday: 10 Fitness Tips That Helped Me Shed 30 Pounds

To preface, I am not a dietitian/nutritionist/personal trainer. These tips come from my own personal experiences from the past year.

Everyone will have different reasons and goals, but I feel that these 10 "rules" really kept me on track. I've been on "maintenance" for the past few months, but I find that that can be an obstacle in and of itself especially during the winter/holidays. Now I'm back in it to burn some more fat and build muscle and these will become more important than ever.

1.  The greatest thing that has gotten me this far on my journey: STAY CONSISTENT. I cannot stress to you enough how important this is. Remain consistent with your diet and exercise. This doesn't mean that you cannot have off days. In fact, most people need them. You need a day off from exercising so that your body can repair itself and build lean muscle mass. Sometimes, you also need a day to eat something that might not be the healthiest, but that you've been craving (within reason). Otherwise, you might end up binging because the cravings get out of control. I've also heard that throwing your body a curve ball can actually increase your metabolism if you're eating clean the majority of the time.                                    
2. Eat clean! No, this isn't always for everyone. But I strongly believe it's one of the healthiest approaches to eating. By eating clean, I mean: cut out the refined, processed foods (especially refined sugars). Most of this actually wasn't all that difficult for me, personally (my personal struggles dealt with my sugar addiction - more on that at a later date; also, white rice! I've almost always eaten whole wheat everything, but since I'm asian, white rice took a while to switch, especially since I used to fail miserably at making brown rice, haha), since I was raised by an Asian mother who told me what too much fast food can do to me. She told us how unhealthy frozen meals/canned foods were and we always had a home-cooked meal growing up. I do understand that not everyone has that. Some people are raised to eat differently and it's difficult to break out of that cycle. Or, sometimes, regardless of how someone's raised to eat, they end up having tastes for something completely different or rebel. For instance, my sister, she's been obese most of her life. I'd say about 95% of the food she eats is processed. That's not how we were raised, but that's how she eats. She was able to successfully drop 40 lbs for about a year limiting her caloric intake (similar to something like Weight Watcher's). I find this approach easier for those who find eating clean too daunting. I prefer eating clean, because I don't like to count calories and I don't personally think this is the healthiest way to lose weight. I suppose it depends on the person and what their goals are. My goals were to be as healthy as possible with the added benefit of losing weight. If I don't get enough veggies in, I'll usually throw in a green smoothie or juice into my day to up my veggie intake tremendously (usually not a problem in the summer. In the cold months, I tend to struggle with getting enough veggies in, unless I'm conscious about it). Shoot for: drinking plenty of water, eatings tons of veggies (and leafy greens), get your proteins in and good fats and you should be solid. Regardless of what approach you take, keep in mind: you cannot out-exercise a poor diet! Weight loss is: 20-30% exercise, 70-80% what you eat. Check out Tosca Reno's books if you want to learn more about Clean Eating.                                                        
3. Which brings me to my next tip: Remain conscious of your goals. Whatever your goal is: lose fat and gain muscle, to run faster, to increase endurance, to fight an illness, etc. I believe it's paramount that you remain conscious of what you want throughout your journey. I found that when I lost sight of my goals, I would stumble.                                                    
4. Surround yourself with supportive family/friends. It's difficult when someone you love isn't supportive. I've actually lost touch with people and never bothered to keep in contact because they were negative and would make me feel more down just being in their company. You don't need that toxicity in your life. If it's a family member or someone you cannot live without: talk to them. Tell them how you feel and how they can help.                                         
5. Motivate yourself. This can be a long journey. It's important to stay motivated. I've done this in several different ways. 





1. Social networking sites. Pinterest especially. I "like" or "follow" positive fitness pages/people/what-have-you, so it's usually the first thing I see when I go to any of my social forms of media. On Facebook, I made a "list" of liked pages and categorized them into different groups, one of them being "Health & Fitness." When I don't want to see all the Facebook drama (haha), I just click on this list and just get updates from those people/groups. On Pinterest, there's already a Health & Fitness category, though I also follow many fitness/health fanatics/boards. On Tumblr I do the same (though I don't really keep up with Tumblr... haha. Oops).
2. Progress pictures. Sometimes your weight won't budge, but you are changing. Other times, it's just nice to have a visual of how far you've come. I like to do it from different angles to see where I'm gaining muscle/lost fat. 
3. If you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen the "pounds down" jars. I did something similar, as visual motivation, but made a poster. I don't have a specific weight in mind to get to, but it's gratifying to see how much I've accomplished.
4. Motivational poster! You can make a collage of whatever motivates you. Images, quotes, whatever. I found some images of fit/toned girls who have the same body type as I do and put those up along with motivational quotes.
5. Watch a weight loss/healthy living show. I particularly like Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and The Biggest Loser. I usually do this in workout clothes and the show will usually get me itching to work out. I sometimes do this during, or I'll watch for 15 minutes, turn it off and get into my workout routine for the day. I mean, if those contestants can do it, why can't I? When I watch, I realize how much more they have struggled than I have and how difficult it must be for them to do this at four-hundred some-odd pounds (or however much they weigh). I don't agree with all things said/done during the show by some of the contestants or trainers (and oh my gosh - the product placement in Biggest Loser! : )  ), but I take it with a grain of salt. It's just amazing to me to see the contestants transform so drastically in such a short amount of time.                                                              
6. Be patient. It's not going to happen overnight. It might take a while to see any physical differences. Don't obsess over the scale. If you're feeling impatient, check out your progress pictures and see a visual of what's changed. Measurements are also great to keep track of. Muscle weighs more than fat, so I find measurements and progress photos my best tools. Sometimes it's difficult to keep going when you don't see any changes, but I promise you, it's worth it. It's not only about how you look, but how feel. I do see physical changes, but what's more, I feel stronger, more alive, energetic and have more endurance.                                                               
7. Accept and love yourself. Your self worth is not defined by your physical attributes. Yes, it is an amazing feeling to see yourself accomplish your weight loss/health goals. However, regardless of how you look, everyone has some beauty inside of them. It means nothing if you reach your goal weight/fitness goals, but don't love yourself. I personally find the most beautiful people are the ones that are confident, regardless of how they look; that remain positive through and through; that are happy with themselves.                               
8. No excuses! A 1-hour workout is only 4% of your day! I know how it feels to want more hours in the day. Believe me, I know. But if you're truly serious about living a healthier lifestyle, you will find a way to make that happen. I used to think I had so many limitations keeping me from being active. However, I was persistent and found ways around those obstacles. I know that you can too. There are working mothers, people who work crazy-long shifts, students who work, elderly people, people with disabilities, etc. that are able to find a way to fit in their workouts and eat healthy. There's always going to be someone busier than you or someone who has more obstacles in their path that is able to keep up their hectic schedules and work out too. For me, this meant some time-management, but it's been worth it. Now I'm also more productive too, which always helps matters (thanks to the extra energy! :) ).                                                                                    
9. Do not compare yourselves to others. What's that quote? Comparison is the thief of joy. Abso-posi-lutely! Everyone loses weight on different time frames and in different ways. When my little sister lost 40 lbs, she started to look long and lithe. I don't compare my body to hers, because I know that mine could never look like that. And I don't want it to. I love my short, somewhere between and medium and petite figure. Sure, that will mean that I will put more weight in my thighs and that a small amount of weight gain will show on my body, but you know what? I don't care. If you're on this journey with someone of the opposite sex, you might notice that men typically lose weight faster than women. If you compare, it might just dishearten you.                                       
10. Be accountable. Don't blame others. Don't blame the dryer. Or your circumstances (goes back to the excuses rule). You are in control of your body. These are different ways to stay accountable.
1. You can join forces and start this journey with someone. I chose to start this journey with my sister. We both have some kind of health concern that makes it difficult to lose weight. She has PCOS and I have hypothyroidism. But we keep each other accountable and remained so for a year. She moved out into a house with her fiance a couple of towns over, so it's more difficult... but we still check in with the other's progress, even if we don't work out with each other any more. And guess what? It works out. When I started slacking, she'd ask me about it. When she started gaining weight, I told her (okay, this might be difficult with friends, depending on your relationships, haha. We're honest with each other and she appreciates this kind of thing), gently though. She actually didn't notice. She got on the scale and then realized she had gained 10 lbs and got back on track. I don't however, hound her about it, because that can have a negative effect on relationships/weight loss/gain depending if they are an emotional eater, etc. etc.
2. Telling your friends or loved ones keeps you accountable. 
3. Also blogging about your experience keeps you accountable. Especially if you are more private about your weight loss/what-have-you.
4. I used to use SparkPeople to keep me on track (though, I'm not a fan of calorie counting. I don't mind short periods of doing this, to break through a plateau, but for me, it's too time-consuming in the long-term). You can find supportive groups/forums on there, though.

Remember: You are accountable for your actions. No one can lose the weight for you or choose healthy options for you.                                                                                                                                           ------------------------------------------------------------

I hope that these tips will help you all achieve your goals!

Love always,

Marie