Be Honest, Be Healthy
With President’s Day upon us (not to mention an election around the corner), the subject of honesty is a pretty hot topic. Most of us have never chopped down our father’s cherry tree, and many of us tell the truth on a pretty regular basis. But, when it comes to being healthy and losing weight, being honest with ourselves can be a real challenge.
Remember: A healthy body is an honest body. So, here are a few tips on losing weight and shaping up… the straightforward and truthful way:
- Start at the beginning. Take stock of where you are, right now, in this moment. You can’t what happened in the past and can’t change everything at once, so take on one habit at a time. For example, rather than thrust yourself into a diet overhaul spend a few days focusing on swapping soda for water – nothing more, nothing less. Once that starts to feel natural, you can move onto the next habit (eating more veggies, less sugar, etc). Remember, you’re building a whole new house here, one brick at a time.
- Set a goal. Here’s where that honesty comes into play. As you set goals for yourself, dig deep, and reflect on your big-picture motivation for being healthy. For most of us, it’s not just about losing 10 pounds. It’s about lowering body fat levels, strengthening muscles, protecting the heart and preventing disease so we can enjoy longer, fuller lives with our loved ones. How’s that for an exciting goal?
- Keep a journal. This might just be the most important tip because keeping a food journal holds you accountable to yourself and keeps you on track. And sure, it’s a deceptively simple process: Whatever you eat, drink, or even snack on, jot it down. But a few years ago, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine released a study showing that keeping a food diary is a key element to losing weight and being healthy. The participants who kept a daily journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t. You may find that one of the biggest revelations in your journal is your food portions. It might be tedious, but take the time to do some measuring and weighing of your food – you’ll be amazed how often we overestimate what a healthy serving size should be. Want to try for yourself? Click here for a free downloadable journal of your own.
- Know yourself. Exercise, of course, is an important part of the equation. But the key to making it stick is choosing a routine that matches your personality. If you’re an introvert, you might prefer a solitary walk over a loud (and public) salsa class. Or if you’re easily overwhelmed, you need a system that takes the guesswork out of exercise. That’s why I created my Body Blast Solution. With 14 workout routines, a nutrition and wellness guide, and a set of easy-to-use equipment, this kit is a complete home gym.
So regardless of your age, weight, or lifestyle, don’t wait and make real (and honest) changes today.
I read recently that for kettlebell workout to be really effective, women need to work with 25-35 lbs. kettlebells. I have your kettlebell DVD and have 5 and 10 lbs. kettlebells (I’m in Canada so had to by kettlebells separately). So, using smaller kettlebells I may not be burning 1200 calories during a 60-minute workout as is reported with kettlebell workouts, however, are they effective and will these workouts help in my weight loss goals?
Thank you.
Hi Carole,
The idea behind my kettlebell solution is to allow you to train with kettlebells without hurting or straining your body. It’s true that you will burn more calories with higher weights, but if you start with 25lbs or 35lbs you’ll run a higher risk of injuring yourself or maybe even discourage yourself from doing the hard workout.
I would work with the lighter kettlebell weights at first. When you feel your body getting stronger and you are more comfortable with the kettlebells, move up to a higher weight.
Hope this helps!
Can anyone take this wuokort routine and make it more suited to a teenager with not as much time on his hands?Workout Day 1: —> Total body weight training, followed by 30-minutes of cardiovascular training (goals – to improve strength, explosiveness and cardiovascular conditioning, while maximizing post-wuokort calorie-burning)—> Complete 5 sets of 5 reps (with 45-seconds rest in between sets) for the following exercises: weighted pull-ups, dumbbell chest press on stability ball, stiff-legged deadlifts, dumbbell front lunges, barbell hang cleans, barbell push-presses, standing calf raises, 1-arm kettlebell swings, dumbbell side lunges—> After weight training, go immediately into cardio wuokort of a 30-minute treadmill run using rolling hills (various incline levels) and increasing speed slightly every 5-minutes. If you didn’t leave a pool of sweat on the treadmill, you weren’t going fast enough.Workout Day 2:—> 45-minute cardiovascular wuokort to improve endurance and raise lactate threshold.—> Using treadmill or running outdoors, complete a 45-minute tempo run (a tempo run is where you’re going at an “uncomfortable” pace throughout the entire session) Workout Day 3: —> Circuit training and plyometrics to enhance muscular endurance, improve explosiveness and burn lots of body fat.—> Complete 18 repetitions of the following exercises in circuit fashion (back-to-back, without rest): dumbbell front squats, decline push-ups (4-second lowering phase), 1-legged lying stability ball curls, bent over dumbbell rows, seated dumbbell shoulder presses, body weight dips—> After 1 circuit, rest 60-seconds and repeat one more time, for a total of 2 circuits—> When you finish your circuit training, perform 2 sets of 12 repetitions for the following plyometric exercises (taking only 30 seconds in between sets and exercises): box jumps, explosive push-ups (with clap), bounds for distance (standing still and with both feet together, jump explosively as far forward as possible, landing on both feet, pausing briefly and then repeating another bound), explosive burpees (with push-up at bottom and tuck jump at top)************************^^So this wuokort is for getting a body like Ronaldo, and it seems pretty good but I don’t have as much time as a pro athlete.. so could anyone sort of edit it so it’s less strenuous but still has effective results?thank you so much!