Hey gals.. i have been reading and posting on the Happy Housewives club and a few people asked for some tips and "helps" .. i post the 12 tips below.. and wondered if you experienced gals had any more great tips to add? If so.. you can post them here in the comments or on your blog.. I would love to have a "tips" page link on the side bar and if you dont mind i would add your tips to mine for those who are searching for that info :)
you gals are great..
thats for being so encouraging to me! Here's a little list of "tips".. things that helped me along the way (and still do 
(these are in no particular order)
1. Dont quit. no matter how many times you have to start over.. starting over is NOT quitting.. and not quitting is progress and progress is what gets you where you want to be.
2. Find support. Others who think the way you do. If you dont have someone in your area.. family or close friend .. the find one via the web.
3. Start a blog (my fitness blog has kept me going when i wanted to quit many many many times) At first i kept to myself.. but as i started making progress i shared it with more and more friends.. and now.. well.. now its out there for the whole world to read LOL. .. all i am saying its journal for yourself.. if you want to keep it private.. or make it members only.. then do what you need to to feel comfortable.
4. Have a plan. Set goals. Reward yourself (sometimes with a bag of cookies.. but mostly with new clothes.. or going to a movie)
5. Find ways of staying motivated (watch and talk to people who have become fit.. biggest looser, some one from your local church who "into fitness" or via the web .. like other bfl or fitness blogs)
6. When I set my goals i try to create a theme around them (my blogs theme right now is 4th of july because thats when i will run my 1/2 marathon.... before its been "remembering the 1980's" as i was getting in shape for my 20th hs reunioin.... I have had lots of themes... it keeps me from getting board.
7. GET Equipment at HOME> its cheaper than a gym membership.. you can workout while the kids nap.. and NO EXCUSES not to miss. Most of our weight equipment we have picked up at garage sales. CHEAP!
8. Dont focus on how much you weigh.. take measurements and PICTURES. YES.. PICTURES.. the dreaded "before picture" .. THAT in and of itself made me want to workout and NOT miss.
9. Take monthly or bi monthly pictures to monitor your progress... sometimes our brains are not caught up with our fit bodies.. and we think we have not made progress.. but then you take a picture and you see new muscle.. or a smaller tummy that your brain was telling you wasnt there
10. make sure and eat your 5 to 6 meals a day.
11. If you are addicted to something.. (like i am).. take it one "addiction" at a time . first.. i cut out ice cream every night.. then I cut out tons of chips with my sandwich, then cereals, then crackers, .. now i am working on getting most sugar out of my diet.. its a slow process.. but doing it slowly makes you successful)
12. If you are doing Body for Life.. ENJOY YOUR FREE DAY! eat a whole cake if you want and dont feel guilty. .. once i ate a whole loaf of garlic bread by myself.. UHG.. I was sick for the rest of th weekend.. but man it tasted good! AND i ate healthy the rest of the week!
I am going to post this on my blog and ask the other readers to post thier tips too.. lets see if they have any other tips
Free day Explained (this is my experience)
BFL free day is explained as being a way 1. to mentally make it through your week with no cheats. and 2. to give your body more calories so it 'tricks' your metabolism into burning MORE calories.
Free day worked amazingly well for me because i would focus on the Saturday free meals when i wanted to 'cheat' and eat something that was not on my plan for the week. There were times when i would refuse a cookie during the week because i knew on Saturday i could eat 12 if i wanted too! Most times i refused foods to hold off until my free day... when the free day came around i didn't eat near as bad as i had envisioned :) . All this to say for me.. its a mental freedom to know that i can eat whatever i want on that day and not feel guilty about it.
I have read a lot about body builders and other athletes alternating caloric intake because it does trick your metabolism into burning more calories. I agree with this.
Good things about free day: you get to eat whatever you want with no guilt, it gives you a reason to say NO during the week to foods that are not good for you. and it tricks your metabolism. Its reminds you of what you felt like when you ate without restriction. When you ate without thinking about it.. ... bla.. bad, bloated, no energy.
Bad things about free day: Sometimes the free day could spill over into the week... become a free weekend or a free 4 days (it happened to me more than a few time). For me.. along with the delicious joys of high caloric free day foods came an upset stomach and laziness :)
I still have a freeday every week. But my body has gotten so use to eating healthy that it totally rejects food if i over eat or go over board. I can no longer eat three donuts without paying a price. After almost 2 years of this life style my body has adjusted over time to crave the good foods and reject the bad.
Freedays are all a part of the process for me.. ... Its about being in control.... its about delayed pleasure.... and.. it reminds me that its what I do MOST of the time that matters. I have never been perfect on the BFL program. I never had a perfect week when it comes to eating.. but its not about being perfect.. its about not quitting.. about making it work for you. Its a process ... and it works! (anyone else have any thoughts on free days?)
(hope this helped)
...
Its all about deciding to change.. simple as that. YOU can do it!
------------Be sure not to miss my post from this morning (below)----------
you gals are great..
thats for being so encouraging to me! Here's a little list of "tips".. things that helped me along the way (and still do (these are in no particular order) 1. Dont quit. no matter how many times you have to start over.. starting over is NOT quitting.. and not quitting is progress and progress is what gets you where you want to be.
2. Find support. Others who think the way you do. If you dont have someone in your area.. family or close friend .. the find one via the web.
3. Start a blog (my fitness blog has kept me going when i wanted to quit many many many times) At first i kept to myself.. but as i started making progress i shared it with more and more friends.. and now.. well.. now its out there for the whole world to read LOL. .. all i am saying its journal for yourself.. if you want to keep it private.. or make it members only.. then do what you need to to feel comfortable.
4. Have a plan. Set goals. Reward yourself (sometimes with a bag of cookies.. but mostly with new clothes.. or going to a movie)
5. Find ways of staying motivated (watch and talk to people who have become fit.. biggest looser, some one from your local church who "into fitness" or via the web .. like other bfl or fitness blogs)
6. When I set my goals i try to create a theme around them (my blogs theme right now is 4th of july because thats when i will run my 1/2 marathon.... before its been "remembering the 1980's" as i was getting in shape for my 20th hs reunioin.... I have had lots of themes... it keeps me from getting board.
7. GET Equipment at HOME> its cheaper than a gym membership.. you can workout while the kids nap.. and NO EXCUSES not to miss. Most of our weight equipment we have picked up at garage sales. CHEAP!
8. Dont focus on how much you weigh.. take measurements and PICTURES. YES.. PICTURES.. the dreaded "before picture" .. THAT in and of itself made me want to workout and NOT miss.
9. Take monthly or bi monthly pictures to monitor your progress... sometimes our brains are not caught up with our fit bodies.. and we think we have not made progress.. but then you take a picture and you see new muscle.. or a smaller tummy that your brain was telling you wasnt there
10. make sure and eat your 5 to 6 meals a day.
11. If you are addicted to something.. (like i am).. take it one "addiction" at a time . first.. i cut out ice cream every night.. then I cut out tons of chips with my sandwich, then cereals, then crackers, .. now i am working on getting most sugar out of my diet.. its a slow process.. but doing it slowly makes you successful)
12. If you are doing Body for Life.. ENJOY YOUR FREE DAY! eat a whole cake if you want and dont feel guilty. .. once i ate a whole loaf of garlic bread by myself.. UHG.. I was sick for the rest of th weekend.. but man it tasted good! AND i ate healthy the rest of the week!
I am going to post this on my blog and ask the other readers to post thier tips too.. lets see if they have any other tips
Free day Explained (this is my experience)
BFL free day is explained as being a way 1. to mentally make it through your week with no cheats. and 2. to give your body more calories so it 'tricks' your metabolism into burning MORE calories.
Free day worked amazingly well for me because i would focus on the Saturday free meals when i wanted to 'cheat' and eat something that was not on my plan for the week. There were times when i would refuse a cookie during the week because i knew on Saturday i could eat 12 if i wanted too! Most times i refused foods to hold off until my free day... when the free day came around i didn't eat near as bad as i had envisioned :) . All this to say for me.. its a mental freedom to know that i can eat whatever i want on that day and not feel guilty about it.
I have read a lot about body builders and other athletes alternating caloric intake because it does trick your metabolism into burning more calories. I agree with this.
Good things about free day: you get to eat whatever you want with no guilt, it gives you a reason to say NO during the week to foods that are not good for you. and it tricks your metabolism. Its reminds you of what you felt like when you ate without restriction. When you ate without thinking about it.. ... bla.. bad, bloated, no energy.
Bad things about free day: Sometimes the free day could spill over into the week... become a free weekend or a free 4 days (it happened to me more than a few time). For me.. along with the delicious joys of high caloric free day foods came an upset stomach and laziness :)
I still have a freeday every week. But my body has gotten so use to eating healthy that it totally rejects food if i over eat or go over board. I can no longer eat three donuts without paying a price. After almost 2 years of this life style my body has adjusted over time to crave the good foods and reject the bad.
Freedays are all a part of the process for me.. ... Its about being in control.... its about delayed pleasure.... and.. it reminds me that its what I do MOST of the time that matters. I have never been perfect on the BFL program. I never had a perfect week when it comes to eating.. but its not about being perfect.. its about not quitting.. about making it work for you. Its a process ... and it works! (anyone else have any thoughts on free days?)
(hope this helped)
...
Its all about deciding to change.. simple as that. YOU can do it!
------------Be sure not to miss my post from this morning (below)----------
Comments
I think that's what Ruthie was saying about how her body has adjusted to not wanting to eat all the junk and how her body rejects it.
Thanks Ruthie for all the tips. I love it! I need all the help I can get.
Oh and the pictures thing! I know, I know. I just can't get myself to do that yet! Uh!