I just wanted to start with the basics. I have a lot of people asking me where to start, what to do. I was just like you a year ago, maybe two. It’s hard work. You have to make sure you’re ready for this kind of commitment. It’s not just a simple date you can go on every once in a while. This is a lifestyle change and an amazing one at that. Consider it a marriage, not a one nightstand. It’s hard but I promise it’s worth it. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way lets start.
Excuses: “I’m too tired!” Okay well then you don’t want this bad enough. “I’m too large to do running, weightlifting, etc.” Then you don’t have the mindset I can point you to a few good minor athletes that weigh 200-300 pounds. “Eating healthy is expensive!” Not if you’re really willing to stop spending $20 on chips and soda weekly. Excuses are a million in one. I made them as well when I started. I was constantly making excuses. “Oh I’ll start next week.” Next week never came. “One more cookie couldn’t hurt.” One more cookie turned into 3 or 4 more cookies and pretty soon the whole damn package was gone. Excuses are for those who are weak and don’t have determination. Make this decision for you or a loved one, whoever, just do it, stop making excuses and start your change.
Diet: Okay this section is going to be broken down into a few subsections. I want to change your mindset. I used the word diet, albeit very loosely. You should instead refer to it as eating, it’s what really makes or breaks us. Don’t think of it as a diet, refer to what you eat as a diet “oh my regular diet consists of -said food-” Don’t say “I’m on this three week diet to lose 15 pounds” Not only will you not keep that weight off but it won’t work. which leads me to say this, NO, I repeat, NO amount of exercising will burn that Big Mac off, the large fry, or gallon of ice cream you consumed. Diet/eating/lifestyle, whatever you call it is a HUGE part but you have to use both diet AND exercise to achieve goals. I’m sure you’ve heard abs are made in the kitchen (that’s not entirely true) it does however have some truth to it. You can’t eat like shit and workout and see results. I’m not saying you can’t have your occasionally Big Mac, fries, or ice cream. I’m saying you need to learn when and where it’s appropriate (alone in your room, at 12am in the morning, watching Netflix…is not). I suggest the first thing you do is be honest with yourself. Take into account your true weight (not the one on your drivers license, which we are ALL guilty of lying about) and your height. Plug that into a nifty calorie calculator along with your activity level (don’t lie about this either it’s important because the only person you’re cheating is yourself). I suggest this one from mayo clinic. Download a cool app because we all have some type of iPhone/Android and keep track for about a month. Enter EVERYTHING, drinks, condiments, snacks, meals. This will let you see just how many calories everything is. However calories are not everything and I stress that. I only say to start by doing this to learn PORTIONS. See below. What to eat: You’re probably not going to like what I’m going to have to say right now…throw out those Cheetos, chips, chocolate bars, sugary cereals, and sodas. Processed garbage will get you NO WHERE. I do occasionally however eat white bread when the mood strikes me HOWEVER that is VERY rarely and I eat chocolate (I honestly prefer dark). I’m human I like my sweets too. What to eat is actually simple, stick with the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you eat healthy foods, the other 20% you can eat junk within REASON. I tend to stick to a simple grocery list that only consists of three areas in the grocery store. The produce section, the meat section, and the “organic area” which my hubby hates (sorry babe). Eating right doesn’t have to be expensive at all. We do it for about 60-100$ weekly. Eat the on sale fruits and vegetables. Blueberries are $1.99? Cool pick up two cases and eat them for a late night snack and breakfast. It’s really simple but I’ll do a in-depth grocery list later. What I want you to get out of this right now is that you have to change your diet. You cannot eat the same garbage and expect to see results. I’m sorry but it’s not going to happen. I’m a runner so I eat my carbs, you can have carbs too! You just have to choose the right kind. I’ll talk about that as well later. Also have I mentioned no fast food? I used to live for my weekly Zaxbys meal, I haven’t eaten Zaxbys in over 6-7 months now. If you HAVE to eat out there’s healthier options choose them. I also want to mention that if you don’t like the taste of something healthy…too bad get used to it. Stop saying you don’t like the taste of water, it’s too blah, okay well you NEED water, think of it like air. Stop wasting extra calories/empty calories on sodas and other drinks like sweet tea. I cannot stress enough when I started this journey I was miserable. I over salted all my foods, added sugar into my green tea, and would use A LOT of mayonnaise (that’s actually my kryptonite). I can now say all that’s changed and it can for you too. I just want you to get out of this section of eating is that you should look towards healthier options. I LOVE vanilla ice cream and recently switched a healthier option, there’s ways around this. If you can’t totally give up junk food all at once…fine! Don’t! Do what works for you, but I’ll just tell you what’s worked for me and that’s giving up all the junk food and eventually not even caring for it anymore. I can pass a bag of chips up like no ones business and stick with raw vegetables or fruits and I PREFER them! -gasp!- I can also say no cake and ice cream. It gets easier, learn self control and the battle is already won. If you still feel the need to eat junk, then by all means cut it out, get some self control and see my next section. How much to eat: Okay so here’s where it really REALLY matters, yes eat healthy, blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to sound like a broken record. I want to give you some advice. Portion. Portion. PORTION! Do not sit there with your hand in a family sized bag of chips and expect to lose a pound by Friday. Don’t load salads down with ranch dressing. Stop and think about it. Below is a picture I swiped from a cool wordpress blog Diet & Obesity. 
Holy S H I T! What a difference and look at the calories. This is the reason we have a growing epidemic of obesity. I won’t get on that soap box though. Just think of it this way, would you rather consume more food for less calories or less food for more calories. That’s what it breaks down into. If you pay attention a serving size on a bag of chips is just 9-11 chips. That’s it, not even a handful, it’s also just a small taste. Yes, I’m one of those people that need a lot to feel fulfilled. Yet a serving size of broccoli is 10 florets or a whole cup. Sure it’s not as tantalizing as say salt and vinegar Lays, but you also won’t regret eating broccoli. I might actually do a post later comparing servings. However right now, if you must eat junk, LOOK AT THE SERVING. Stick with the 80/20 rule. If you’ve been on track eating right, treat yourself to half a chocolate bar after dinner or a glass of chocolate milk after your work out. Be mindful. That’s why in the first section I suggested looking more towards calories the first month you start trying to make changes. It shows a lot. I can’t tell you how many times I actually went over my daily 2,000-2,300 calorie limit. That’s fine. You’ll have days like that. Accept them and move forward. I also want to warn you, don’t obsess. I’ve previously come dangerously close to having a eating disorder. I’ve obsessed nonstop about what I’ve eaten, how many miles or weights I’ve lifted, and the extra helping of dinner I had. Don’t do what I did and make yourself sick from not eating. Eat! Only eat the good stuff (which I now do no worries)! Just start being mindful of how much a serving really is and don’t deprive yourself of food, drink water if you’re hungry and after a glass of water if you’re still hungry…eat!
Exercise: Exercise is going to become your best friend. You’ll turn it it when you’re upset, happy, sad, depressed. It’s never going to let you down or hurt you emotionally other than give you a natural high and sore muscles. I’ll leave this part short and sweet because within the next two posts I’m hoping to get more in depth. I just want to get this point across, find something that works for you– and do it a lot. I love running, I love yoga, and I love hiking. That’s what my blog will be based around and body weight exercises. I enjoy weightlifting but there’s nothing in my opinion better than a long five to seven mile run or hike. Others can disagree and say that it’s weightlifting or whatever else. Some people might even tell you that cardio is bullshit. I don’t care I love this “bullshit” and I’ve lost 70-80 pounds from cardio. I just want you to take away from this section is to find what works for you. You need help running? I can do that. Yoga? More than happy to help. Body weight exercises? Sure. Trails? No problem. Weightlifting I can show you websites but that’s about it and maybe refer you to someone. Just remember if you don’t like running or sit ups, try something else. Go throw some heavy stuff around or invest in a kayak or learn some nearby trails. Get up and move. As long as you make an effort I promise you’ll see results.
I hope I’ve been of some help during this first post. I know I didn’t get in depth at all and I tend to be long winded but hang in there and within the next few weeks I’ll post running plans, some shopping lists, and maybe some recipes. Check out my contact page on info if you need to contact me or for those of you that know me personally, message me on Facebook I’m always willing to help.
Fitness for the Fat Girl 