Posts Tagged ‘losing weight’

After my recent 3 week trip to the US, which consisted of eating pretty much everything I wanted, it is time to get back in shape. A lot of people say this, but what does “getting in shape” really mean? It could mean losing weight, putting on muscle, being more flexible, being able to run further. For me it means reducing my body fat to a level where my stomach muscles are more visible and adding some muscle weight. It also means having more energy.

The first thing I changed when I got home from the US was my diet. Okay, so I ate all the stuff I bought home from the US and then changed my diet. I figured out how many calories it would take to maintain my weight, and then reduced that by about 600 calories per day. Since I have to know how many calories I am eating I also have to keep track of my calories. This is actually a good thing, because it helps me eat better. knowing that I only get a limited amount of calories also forces me to eat more nutritious food. A few Oreos and I can’t eat for the rest of the day.

On every seventh day, I over-eat by about a 1000 calories. My weekly total is still down, but by over-eating my metabolism won’t drop and I will continue losing fat weight. It also helps keep you on track if you get to eat whatever you want once a week.

My workout consists of mostly exercises I can do without any extra equipment, pullups, pushups, squats, etc. The key is to do one exercise until exhaustion and then to quickly move onto the next exercise. Don’t allow your body too much rest.

I should also mention that I exercise 5-6 times a week. I have found that 2-3 just doesn’t cut it if you want results. Maybe if I was more active each day it would be better, but I spend a lot of time on the computer. Without the workout I don’t get enough exercise each day to maintain decent muscle development. This may seem like a lot for some people, but the good thing is that it is easier to stay in routine because you are doing it almost everyday.

In just a couple of weeks I will be turning 30 years old. Since 30 is kind of a big one, I decided to try and get in the best shape I have ever been in. Though I haven’t been updating, I have been exercising.

My original plan was to take pictures everyday of my progress. Unfortunately, due to the constant changes in weather, I have gotten sick about 3 times in the last couple of months. With the first two sicknesses I had a pretty high temperature, so stripping down to just shorts wasn’t really an option (I was cold with the heater on, tucked under blankets).  I do have about 19 days worth of pictures, but I I have also skipped quite a few. I may end up just braking the pictures into a beginning, middle, end shot. Lately, I have really been getting into editing video, so maybe I will film something. I haven’t decided yet. Any recommendations?

My primary methods of exercise are ones that I took from the “Truth About Abs” program (if you decide to purchase this program through this link, I get a percentage of the sale). They are very basic exercises, but they work very well. All of the exercises in that program can be done in your own home with very limited equipment. I know a lot of people like to go to the gym, but for me, working out is something I like to do alone. It’s just more efficient that way.

I have also been supplementing this with barefoot running on the beach. I can run a pretty far and not get too tired, but running on sand is an incredible workout. Even if you don’t have a beach, find a park and run barefoot. It uses a lot more muscles.

I would love to hear about everyone else who has some ind of exercise plan. Do you like it? How is it working for you? How long have you been doing it. Leave comments below.