What goes in....

My husband is currently on a HFLC (High Fat Low Carb) diet, he's always on it, I have friends on low carb diets, with no carbs after lunch, I am not on any diet, I have never been on one, I love my food too much....doesn't make sense...or does it?

Perhaps I delude myself, and that I am always on a diet. This is because I watch what I eat, and try to balance this out with how much I burn. I do not count every calorie, but you will not find me eating fries and burgers everyday.

Why don't I believe in dieting?

Michael Phelps eats 12000...yes that's right, twelve THOUSAND calories a day. (Article link at the end of this blog) He doesn't look it, in fact, he looks like the weight loss models we are used to, those whose images are to used to sell to us supplements and what nots to reduce our calorie intake.

I do not know how many calories I consume a day. I know that last night, I ate a steak, with potatoes that were fried in butter, and a sauce that had butter in it, with cauliflower covered in cheese...oh the horror!

But I paid for it today, and will probably continue paying for it for a few more days. My weight training remains the same (though I am currently working on increasing my threshold) but I do more intense cardio or add High Interval Intensity Training (HIIT) to help burn off that indulgence. I work it till I feel like I am going to collapse...I say this because we have a tendency to 'baby' ourselves, measuring how much we take in exercise-wise, saying, I will run 3 miles today and that will be enough....perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't, perhaps your body can surprise you and push harder, go further. I learnt not to place limits on myself...and try, try harder, and my body constantly surprises me.

With that said, you have to be careful. Beginners have to start slow. Over exerting yourself can lead to injury, not learning correct form can also lead to painful injury. The initial pain with beginning activity after a long period of inactivity can be a de-motivator  it only lasts a short while. After that, you'll get addicted to the high you get while exercising. That and the feeling of satisfaction over taking control of your body.

My mantra remains...what goes in, must come out....well, not that way, but through sweat and hard work.

Have an active day!



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2177613/Michael-Phelps-12-000-calories-day-dont-doing-harm.html

"I am doing sit ups everyday but it's not working...."

The next comment usually is

"It's in my genes"...

RUBBISH!

I don't mean to be rude or mean. I am not a medical doctor. I do know that there are people with conditions that make them susceptible to weight gain and that with some, it's almost inevitable. But that is a minority. For the most of us, what we carry around has all gone through our mouths, yes, think of it that way, that small opening is responsible for all that we carry around, how much damage that little organ can do.

Back to my sit ups, or rather, yours...and most Kenyan women.

We have deluded ourselves into thinking that sit ups are the answer to our potbelly problem, the magic pill, if I do twenty a day, surely this muffin top will go. Oh, and let me add some crunches and some of those butterfly ones I saw on that exercise DVD...that's all well and good, you're firming up those ab muscles alright, your core is getting strong, but it's all going to remain hidden under a layer of fat.

I do not have perfect abs, I work on them five times a week incorporating at least one ab set when working on other parts of the body. In other words, it is a work in progress.

I have more bad news, it is more difficult for us women to get ab definition. I have a dear friend who started working out with her husband, her husband's abs started getting definition before the third week...she was a bit incensed, but she's a doctor, she understands, it's biology, its unfair, we have to work harder. But then think about it, as career women, sisters, mothers, wives, aunts, and so much more, don't we (usually) work harder than men anyway?

So, instead of developing a six pack or something close to it that is hidden underneath a layer of fat, why not burn the fat as you develop those abs?  The best way to do this is to get your heart pumping. Some good cardio work will get that done. When I do not have enough time to run, or do a tae bo, or kickboxing work out, I usually incorporate 5 minutes of skipping in between weight training sets, this gets my heart pumping and I can be sure I burn fat as well as build muscle (which is the fastest way to get fit, lose weight and keep it off). Jumping jacks also work, and for the more advanced, push up burpees really get that heart pumping.

Think about it today as you do your sit ups or crunches at home...are you burning enough to show off all that hard work?

I can't go to the gym....I diet...

I am addressing something I have heard a lot of women say over the years when I say I exercise. I wonder if it is: -

i - The fear of pain or
ii - Sweat...it's unlady like to sweat? or
iii - Fear of hard work? or
iv - Fear of failure having made the commitment or?
v. - The cost?

Maybe I am being overly optimistic, I think it is the last two that bother people more than the first three.

You see, dieting is a private affair, the whole world does not have to know you are dieting, and if it fails, it is also a private affair. However, exercise is difficult to keep a secret, unless you live alone and exercise only in your abode. If one fails, they think they will be subject to ridicule, and comments like..."all that exercise and you're still ...," we are good at that, shame on us.

Every serious thing we do in life requires a commitment. When we are employed, we make a commitment to work in order to get remuneration, when we marry, we make a commitment to be faithful and live - in good and bad times - with our partner, when we go to college we make a commitment to graduate, when we buy a house on mortgage we make a commitment to pay the monthly installments so that the house can be truly ours...we make commitments everyday yet the most important commitment, which is to take care of ourselves in order to ably complete all other commitments, we refuse to make.

I read a comment on an article in an AAR (insurance) newsletter recently, and paraphrased, it went like, we spend our lives making money and then spend all that money in old age on illness. Mostly preventable illness.

That first step I made especially after the birth of my daughter is an investment, that I will be able to skip with her and play hide and seek. That first walk I did, that I ended up crying after, was the first step towards gaining back my fitness, not having shortness of breath as I climb up stairs, avoiding medication for my asthma, and so much more.

Therefore, commitment towards living a fit, and healthier lifestyle is the most important thing you will do today.

Cost?

I admit, gyms can be costly. But you do not need a gym to get fit. Get moving! That's all it takes!
Taking a walk, that is exercise, with time, it becomes less challenging and you have to increase your pace to a jog, or a run, or increase the distance, all that matters is that you're moving.

Heard that it takes weight training as well to lose and keep the weight off? Do you realise your own body can be used in weight training for both push and pull exercises that will help build and maintain muscle? Try and do a push up, unless you're already fit, this simple exercise will show you just how challenging using your own body as a weight can be. The more fit you get, the more challenging you can make it...moving on to walking push ups, or one hand push ups....

So you see? The barrier is only in our mind.

Dieting alone won't tone your body, it won't sculpt it. You need to move to get to where you're going...literally :-)

Have an active day!