Fitness Friday - The Rocket Science Edition

This week our assignment for Fitness Friday is to list our top 3-5 tips for health and fitness. Of course, at first I thought of the obvious ones - regarding physical effort:

1. GET MOVING! I'm amazed by the amount of people out there who will try every fad diet in the world but not get up and MOVING to assist their weightloss/fitness goals. We live in such an "instant gratification with no effort" society. Sorry folks, that's not how it works. Exercise, being active, actually burning calories and building muscle is essential for becoming more fit.
2. Another obvious one - watch what you eat. Eat in moderation. Don't eat emotionally. Try to eat non-processed foods. Avoid sugar, but also avoid toxic sugar substitutes. If you have to pick one over the other, go with the more natural type! Get the right balance of protein, whole grains, and fruits/veggies. This is something we've been taught since Kindergarten practically, so its a no-brainer. But I totally understand the issues behind poor diet... my diet is an example of that.
3. Drink water! Not flavored water (unless you want to use some fresh squeezed lemon or lime), which is loaded with artificial stuff. Not soda (or coke, if you live here in the south and to you "coke" includes every type of soda there is, except Pepsi, and I don't have to tell you not to drink Pepsi because no one would even imagine drinking Pepsi down in these parts). Especially not diet soda! That stuff is terrible for you and has been shown to help you hold on to weight. Water, its what God made for us to drink. Its good for you. You need it. Drink it.
4. Get some sleep. I don't do well in this area. I tend to burn the candle at both ends. But I've heard studies saying getting the right amount of sleep actually helps with your metabolism and weightloss. So go to bed at a decent hour, get up at a decent hour. Our bodies naturally follow the sun's rhythms, even if you consider yourself a "night owl". Your hormones react to sunlight, so do your best not to throw them out of whack by staying up too late or sleeping in too late.

OK, while I was walking this week, I also thought of some "non-physical" tips for fitness and weightloss. These are also pretty basic:

1. Set a goal. What is your exact goal? The more specific, I think, the better. Just "getting fit" or "being toned" is fine, but, say "walk 12 miles a week" or "run a 5K" makes things a bit more focused so you have something more tangible that you're working toward.
2. Commit yourself to reaching that goal. Of course, you think, well, duh - I just made a goal, why wouldn't I meet it? Trust me - I make goals all the time. And am so proud of myself for creating a goal. And then don't actually apply myself to meeting it. I was just excited to have a goal ;-) So really determine to take the steps required to meet that goal.
3. Finally, persevere - everyone who has set diet or fitness goals knows there comes a point of resistance - a wall, so to speak. Persevere past that point, and you will succeed. It will be hard! But keep your goal and your commitment in mind, and keep on moving forward, despite the frustration, discouragement, disappointment or setbacks you might experience. Git 'r done!

So there are my tips! As far as my week went, it was haphazard. Monday I spent 2+ hours at the grocery store preparing for my first ever attempt at once-a-month cooking, Tuesday I spent recovering from said shopping trip, and Wednesday was my cooking day, which took from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm. Phew! But I did get a small amount of "real" exercise in - I walked about 7 miles this week, but only did one day of weight training. But its better than nothing! I walked 3.5 of those miles by myself, wearing the baby and pushing the double stroller with Joel and Nathan in it, but the other 3.5 I was able to enjoy the company of my friend Marcy, which was much more enjoyable. I also went for a small outing with my friends, Duk-Sun and Paul Spillers, but it was more leisurely and relaxed than exercise. My husband has officially jumped on the running bandwagon. Perhaps when the baby can be content in the stroller and Joel is a bit more secure on his bike, I will start running also. I enjoy the Couch-5K plan alot. We'll see. I do actually own a treadmill, I could think about putting that into use.

Find more tips and join in the fun over at A Family Revised!