8 things that are making you fat

My list of things that I think may prevent you from losing weight:

1. Eating when you are bored. I am a college student and when it’s time for me to study, I get hungry. Why? because I don’t want to study so I’m distracting myself. Studying bores me, so I say if I’m eating then I can’t study. When you are at work or school or at home, keep a bottle of water near you. Drink it when you get the urge to take a break and eat. Also, many times we are actually thirsty and dehydrated, not hungry. And drinking water will fill your stomach up with zero calories. Another method, is to keep gum with you. The chewing and flavor will trick your mind into thinking that you are eating.

2. Portion Sizes. I have near been to another country other then the United States. I hear that portions are so much smaller in European countries and countries around the world. America has changed our minds into thinking that portions are huge. Our portions are twice the size or more then those in foreign countries. You have to change your minds idea of how much food will fill you up. To do this just buy smaller plates and bowls. Also, when cooking looking at the portion sizes on boxes and try and go by that. It may take time to get used to it but your body can do it.

3. Processed Foods. Start buying organic food. It is more expensive but it has so many benefits. Also, it is fun to go to the local farmers market and see all the goods and talk to the local farmers. It will open up your mind. The supermarket isn’t the only place you can buy food. It could be fun to go to a local farm and pick strawberries and tomatoes. That’s cheaper too! Get creative and when you go to the store check out the organic sections and give it a try!

Fresh Fruit is great for any meal!

4. Excuses. No more excuses. Get outside and play. Play with your dog, play with your kids, play with friends… just go outside. Learn to love something outside. Like hiking, walking, golfing, biking, swimming… depending on your interests, there is something for you! Try something new like kiteboarding or stand up paddling. Who knows… you could discover something that you have natural talent for.

5. Lying to Yourself. Sometimes this is good but when you are lying about how just one bite of cake won’t hurt you, it will. It will stir that craving back up. I love cake, cookies, ice cream, brownies… who doesn’t? But since I keep saying just one scoop or just a little piece I will never get over eating junk food. You can eat it at special occasions but don’t pig out. And don’t lie to yourself saying that you ate healthy yesterday so its fine to eat bad today. It doesn’t work like that. Just like how if its frozen yogurt that doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Just be careful. Make it easy on yourself and just stay away from the unhealthy foods.

Another fun outdoor activity! I highly recommend trying a ropes course!

6. Being Lazy. Get motivated to move. Don’t be lazy. Clean the house, if it needs to be cleaned. This is simple and burns a lot of calories. You have to vacuum, make beds, fold laundry… you are constantly moving. It’s great. And make it fun, put your favorite music on and go in with a good attitude! Also, just being organized clears your head and makes you feel more energetic. Also, wake up early. Sleeping-in can make you feel tired, which will trigger the laziness. Get started early and workout. That way your mind hasn’t woken up yet and won’t know what you’re doing.

7. Computer Time. Go on the computer only once a day. People spend so much time on the computer. Pick the evening or morning to go on, whatever works for you. Also, limit your time. Don’t waste time on Facebook or Twitter. Just do checks on the sites and check your email, read the news. Be productive. That’s the goal. If you find yourself on youtube, stumbleupon… that’s when you need to shut it off.

8. Too Much T.V. It is so easy to watch T.V. and eat but have you tried to read and eat? It’s distracting… at least to me it is. The crunching or swallowing makes it hard for me to focus. But watching T.V. doesn’t take too much focus so that’s why it’s easy to eat a whole bag of chips in one sitting. Don’t do that anymore. Pick up a good book and distract yourself from the real world.

Want to Lose Weight FAST… Read below!

Who knew losing weight could be easy and fast?! I found this amazing website about 65 fast ways to lose weight! Read it cause it could change your life. The ways are so simple too. I was surprised at how easy it was to make a little change. For example, eating more home cooked meals… which also saves money! This website could have you ready for hitting up the beach or pool by Summer and who knows… maybe even by Spring Break! Set goals and get it done. I love to have some motivation so a lot of the time when I’m working out, I keep a goal in mind… such as Tone and Tan! Dream goal of mine.

Tone and Tan, keep saying it!

This website starts off with just eating more home cooked meals… if you can’t cook this is a great opportunity to learn. So many benefits! Also, another easy one is to go easy on eating bread. Who needs bread anyways. I personally would replace that with crackers… whole wheat of course. Also, eat breakfast. I don’t understand how people skip this. If you over eat at night then maybe you won’t be hungry in the morning so just don’t overeat at night and then breakfast will become your favorite meal! Its mine, I love cereal and oatmeal and eggs and pancakes. All breakfast foods I could eat all day! Another easy one is keep a healthy snack with you. That way you don’t starve yourself and binge later or have to grab something like fast food while you are out. This will greatly diminish your calorie intake throughout the day. Okay the last one I am going to tell you is STOP BUYING JUNK FOOD! If you don’t have it, how can you eat it? It’s impossible. When you go to the store, skip all those cookie rows and don’t even look at the bakery! So now get reading on the 65 fast ways to lose weight!

Stand Up Paddle Boarding: Fitness for everyone

Lately, I have gotten into stand up paddling, which is also known as SUP. This sport is new and on the rise! It’s great because anyone can do it and you don’t need lessons! Less money to spend! Yahoo! All you need is a board and a paddle. So simple. My first day on a board, I entered a race… 2 miles in wind and waves. I was unaware of how much endurance, strength, core, and balance was needed in this sport. Since that day, I was hooked. It’s so different then anything I have ever done. I play tennis, run, rollerblade, play soccer, ride bikes, but paddle boarding… I had no idea! Also, something I am looking into is getting my yoga teaching certification. Yoga on stand up paddle boards is becoming a huge thing! I think that would be the coolest job ever. You find some flat water, go out with a group, and relax on the water in a beautiful location. If you get hot, just jump in!

Get out there and have fun!

Someone I helped get started. You could be next!

For more extreme people, this sport is almost like surfing. Except you are already standing and it’s super easy to catch any wave. I have caught about 1 wave so far and it was so tiny. I’m still getting over my fear of dying on a wave. haha. I will find a video just so you can see how awesome it is, if you take the time to get out there! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rfw-R7QYNA&feature=related  There aren’t too many great videos out there that I could find but this one should give you an idea.

My favorite thing to do is just go out and paddle for hours in calm water. If it’s clear and a sunny day… I couldn’t ask for anything else. I can feel every muscle working, which makes me so happy. My arms, legs, back, and core get worked constantly as long as I’m moving. And also, if you can’t balance, take it slow. Practice on your knees and paddle. That is also a great workout. Do what you are comfortable with. And if you go out in waves, your body will definitely feel it a little more.

You just have to get out there and you will love it!

 

Getting that Beach Body!

I love going to the beach and showing some skin! I love having people walk by… and know they were checking me out (while I pretend not to notice. haha). This is a great feeling for men and women. I really believe that getting lean and tone is about 50 % working out and 50% nutrition. You have to do BOTH!

Be confident and proud of your body. You work hard for it!

For me, when I go to the gym, I do 20-30 mins of cardio on a machine that gets my heart rate up… remember it’s ok to sweat. I like the treadmill, the stair master, the bike, or the elliptical. Then, I go stretch. I stretch my legs a lot. It’s good for you to stretch because many people as they get older lose their flexibility and you are more prone to injury if you don’t stretch. After stretching, I do abs. And LOTS OF THEM! Learn to love ab workouts. Pick 5-6 good exercises that work on different parts of your core and just keep doing them! After that, I go lift weights but I only do arms. I feel like my legs get a good enough workout on the cardio machines. So I do arm workouts with a weight that isn’t too light or too heavy. Find what’s right for you. Work on your triceps, biceps, forearms, and shoulders. To finish, I go back to the cardio machine for about a 20-30 minute to cool down. I love going to the gym and remember to change things up. If you don’t have a gym to go to… that is not an excuse. You can run outside, do abs on a soft surface, then do push-ups, dips, curl things you find around your house… It’s easy!

Now for eating, this is where I lack. I love food. I love it so much I have even won eating contests. One time, I went to Olive Garden and ate 7 breadsticks, 3 bowls of salad, and my whole entree, which was a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I am trying to end my reputation of stuffing my face. I’m the one that people ask, “Hey Katherine, there’s two pieces of pizza… Can you finish them?” or they say that they are full and I finish their meal for them. Not a good rep. Lately, I have been trying to eat more meals, however, they are smaller in portion size. This is what my daily eating looks like:

• Breakfast 8:30 a.m.: A bowl of cereal (I love frosted Mini Wheats!) with skim milk.
• Snack 11 a.m.: A banana or other fruit, depending on what I have.
• Lunch 1 p.m.: Typically I have a low-fat smoothie with a protein bar. Or if that’s not an option. I love apples with peanut butter and a healthy turkey sandwich. No mayo. Just lettuce, tomato, turkey and whole wheat bread.
• Snack 4 p.m.: I like eating something like pretzels or wheat thins.
• Dinner 7:30 p.m.: Dinner is different every night. Just have a proportioned plate with lean meet, a veggie, and some grains (like rice).
• Dessert 9 p.m.: Frozen yogurt! I love ice cream and frozen yogurt is a healthy alternative
• And remember to drink lots of water throughout the day. You have to remind yourself to drink lots of it, I forget all the time.

I encourage you to hit the gym daily and to keep a food diary. Before you grab that candy bar… think to yourself, “Is it more satisfying to feed my craving for a few minutes or is it more satisfying to get the body I have wanted for years.”

Running – It Will Get You Where You Want To Go

So recently, I have tried to get into running. It was easy at first but once the soreness hit… OUCH! Getting out of the house was tough. But once I am out, it’s all up to me. I control the pace, I decide where I go, I say how far I go, I determine how hard I am going to push myself. There is really no excuse because I decide everything. Just remember, “The hardest step for a runner is the first one out the front door.” And I decide, if I have what it takes.

I’m learning to love running. It helps me relieve so much of my stress and it gives me time to think. And if I have a good playlist on my iPod, I feel like I could go all day. Pick songs that make you happy. I’m a college girl so many of my songs I doubt you would want to run to but this past week this is what my running playlist looks like:

Who Says – Selena Gomez, Who’s That Boy – Demi Lovato, I Like it Like That – Hot Chelle Rae, My Girl – Mindless Behavior, 2012 – Jay Sean, Good Life – OneRepublic (I absolutely LOVE them!), Absolutely (Story of a girl) – Nine Days, All the Small Things – Blink 182, Spending All My Time – Aaron Fresh, Bass Down Low – Dev, Semi Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind.

So these songs are just my playlist, EVERYONE is different. And if you haven’t heard some of these songs, look them up, you may like them. These are just songs I can sing in my head and they distract me from what I’m doing. Change your playlists often if you run a lot because then you will get bored… at least I get bored.

My schedule for running looks like this:

• Monday: Run 3 miles or 25 mins. Can be outside or on a treadmill. Doesn’t matter to me!
• Tuesday: Run 5-6 miles or 40-45 mins. If I feel good I keep going but sometimes I walk at the halfway point but I don’t include that in my total time. Just shoot for a time frame of total and if you walk don’t include it. (I feel like that’s kind of cheating yourself)
• Wednesday: I run for 10-15 mins as a warm-up so don’t kill yourself during this part. Then I sprint in 1-minute intervals with a minute walking break. Repeat this 5-10 times or as many as you can do! Try and improve each week! Make sure to cool down after.
• Thursday: is the same as Monday.
• Friday: I usually do just a light 20 minute run. Nothing too intense.
• Saturday: Is the same as Tuesday! Go hard cause Sunday you have off!
• Sunday: Recovery day! RELAX! Woo!

Try this! I think it works. It was hard the first week but it’s getting easier. I’m going faster and getting stronger. I love seeing results. Here is a workout for people who don’t want to do mine, it says it’s for beginners so if you don’t run… Look into it! http://www.superskinnyme.com/beginner_running_program.html

What will you choose?

 

If you work at it, everyone will LOOK at it!

Okay so who doesn’t want a great butt? I’m pretty sure everyone would be happier if they could tighten it up. Well I found this great website of exercises that really help shape up your butt. It’s called “22 Best Exercises for a Perfect Butt.” That title should make you want to read more. I was like I need to read this! And I was surprised when I was reading it because a lot of the exercises I already do. They are fun and there are a lot of ways to work on that area of your body so there should be no excuses from anyone. You can go bike riding, running, or just stay inside for some stationary workouts. I encourage you to check out this website. I did, so now when I’m doing any of these exercises I think to myself… If you work at it, everyone will look at it! Get motivated. Challenge yourself and see how many of these workouts you can do a week. The results will come. Trust me. Here’s the website: http://weightloss.allwomenstalk.com/best-exercises-for-a-perfect-butt/

Go biking with friends… make exercising not even feel like exercise!

Leave your comfort zone

85 pounds of snake around my neck! Now that's something new.

I think one of the main things that keeps us from reaching our goals is being scared. Scared of what people will say, scared of failing, scared of not knowing what is going to happen next… this characteristic of being “scared” is a giant obstacle. Lately, I have been trying to live out of my comfort zone and it is amazing. Now looking back on the past, I’ve realized that I have had many lost opportunities. I regret not challenging myself. From now on, I am changing this. You can start small and work big. I’m starting small. I play tennis and I need to stop being scared to speak up. Speak up to my coach, speak up to my team and most importantly, speaking up to myself. Telling myself I am going to fight for what I have worked for. Not speaking up can really limit your success. Have a voice. This will have life long results. Also, just the other day, I had the chance to hold a 12-foot long python. This is definitely out of my comfort zone but you know what? I did it! And I am so glad I did. I don’t know when I will have that opportunity again, so when the opportunity arises, go for it! Furthermore, I have had many lost opportunities that are channelling my thoughts towards expanding my horizons. Now, I hate waiting for those chances to come again. Start today because it will change your life.