 by Gabby
Slim up for Summer - Part 3
It's been 2 months since I decided
to shape up for summer. The first month I concentrated on
eating a little healthier. I cut down on bread
considerably, added more fruit and veggies to my daily
diet and tried to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I
didn't do too well dropping any weight, but I felt a lot
better about myself.
Last month I added some exercise to my routine. Up until
then I was walking 3 to 4 times a week on the treadmill,
minimum 1/2 hour, sometimes as much as an hour (depending
on what was on TV). Then this infomercial junkie saw the
"Total Gym" for sale and bought it. It arrived
3 weeks ago. It took me a week to assemble it and watch
the videos that came with it. Then came spring break and
I went away. Out went my diet. Out went my walking. I
vegged out for a week...a sorely needed mental break.
When I got back I had 2 parties in 2 days (not including
my daughter's birthday weekend...cake, ice cream, pizza)
and when all was said and done I had gained back what
little I had lost, so it was back to square one.
For all practical purposes my starting point was March
19th. I won't disclose my starting  weight, but I will tell you that in
the last 2 weeks I've lost 7 lbs. In addition to walking,
I've added 2 starting exercises daily: leg pulls (calves,
hamstrings, lower and upper abdominals) and arm pullovers
(shoulders, upper back, triceps, upper abdominals) - 2
sets of 15 reps of each exercise. Next month I'll be
adding an additional 5 exercises, for a total of 7. I
don't anticipate moving on to the intermediate exercises
until late summer. However, you don't need a gym in order
to work out. Self Magazine shows you how to
create a workout using little more than a couple of
pillows, some soup cans and your own body weight.
Step-by-step pictures and videos help you get acquainted
with the exercises until you feel comfortable doing them
yourself.
One of the most motivating sites I found to help me reach
my goals is Goaltenders on Women.com . Whether you want to
lose weight, get fit or quit smoking (my next goal),
Goaltenders has a 6 month program to help you get
started. You'll get monthly goals and weekly objectives,
expert advice and group support.
Another site I like is Slim-Fast.com . While I don't do
the "slimfast" diet, I like their healthy
recipes and found 4 "buddies" who share my
goals and offer personal support and motivation. Once you
sign up, you can search their database of users to find
buddies who match whatever criteria you choose (location,
amount of weight loss desired, age, sex, etc.). The users
you choose are sent an e-mail notifying them you're
interested in being their buddy. If they accept, you can
begin corresponding via user email right on the Slimfast
site. I like to maintain my anonimity, so this works well
for me.
Finally, iVillage.com has a great diet and fitness
section with loads of information on the latest diets and
workouts, tools to assess your level of fitness, expert
advice and even inspirational stories to motivate you
into action.
Whatever you choose to do, develop a routine you
can follow; don't try to do too much too fast. Remember,
as in the children's fable, the tortoise, with his slow,
steady and consistent pace, wins the race.
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