How do I Transform?

When we jump on the scale and receive a significantly higher number than we'd like, the most common reaction is to think one of two things:

1. It's time to join a gym (or buy a treadmill)
2. I'm going to starve myself

Sometimes we get desperate enough that we think we should do both.  While exercising and controlling our diets are definitely the right things to do, it's our own lack of knowledge about nutrition and exercise that causes the majority of us to do these things and give up shortly thereafter, when not seeing the changes that we'd hoped for.

First, when you see that number on the scale, be realistic with yourself.  It took a while to gain the weight (or body fat) and it's going to take a while for it to come off.  Sure, with proper diet and exercise, it will come off a little faster than you put it on, but certainly not overnight.  It took me over a year to get to where I was completely confident in myself once I began trying to accomplish my own transformation.

Weight loss Starts in the Kitchen

 

80/20 Rule... weight loss is 80% diet/nutrition, 20% workout

There's a common saying that weight loss (or fat loss) is 80% about diet/nutrition and only 20% about your workout.  It is true that if you work your tail off in the gym but eat like crud, you won't see the results you are looking for.  In fact, you'd be working to maintain and not to improve.

As you can see in my very first post on this blog, my weight loss primarily came from watching how much I ate (portion control) and then what I ate (nutrition).  Working out gave me the shape and lower body fat (think less jiggly, fewer pounds of cheese) that I was ultimately looking for.  Building muscle actually increases your body's natural metabolism and therefore, you'll burn more calories with more muscle than you will otherwise.  But still, if you have beautiful muscle tone and start eating nothing but pastas, pizzas and cake, it won't be long until you'll be back to a jiggly, jell-o form.

Liz's Transformation

My neighbor, Liz, underwent her own transformation beginning in March of this year.  She did it with a combination of things all at once; she started a very lean/clean diet and incorporated Body By Vi shakes with that, and she joined the gym and began following a beginning weightlifting program in order to tone up as she lost her body fat.  Doing this sped up her results and Liz feels absolutely amazing.  She constantly has people asking her what she has done to get into this kind of shape, and she looks and feels amazing. 

Body By Vi promotes 90 Day Challenges, and the purpose of this is to set a realistic goal for yourself that you want to reach within 90 days' time, and go after it with everything you've got.  Liz completed her first 90 days with 32 pounds and 9 inches lost, and she went down 2 dress sizes.  Her face has leaned out, her arms have leaned out, her waist has leaned out, she looks better and feels more natural energy now that she's putting healthier things into her body.

A Better You, a Better Lifestyle

The biggest culprit for most of our health problems today is our diet.  I personally believe that the reason for this isn't that we are stupid, it's just that we've never been taught how to eat properly.  That was the case with me; it wasn't that I was gluttonous and threw caution to the wind and ate everything that I knew was bad just because of that momentary pallet satisfaction that I received, rather it was that I just didn't know that I was not making the best choices for my body.

Now that I've made healthier eating a lifestyle, I feel better overall.  When I do make bad choices and drive through Popeye's Chicken, etc., I feel absolutely horrible afterwards; my stomach is in knots and it's miserable.  When I indulge in my sweet, sugary favorites such as the Uncle Daryl's chocolate cake at the Chocolate Bar or Cheesecake Factory's Turtle Cheesecake, I feel a total sluggish drag shortly after the sugar rush wears off. 

True, it's unrealistic to ask anyone to just eat steamed chicken breast or grilled fish with veggies for every meal for the rest of their lives.  You have to find a happy medium for you and give yourself cheat days so that you won't turn to binge eating.  And if you're having a hard time kicking that sweet tooth, then find a healthy choice to satisfy that (Body By Vi does an incredible job at this with its shakes and Nutra Cookies). 

Think Baby Steps

Change scares a lot of us (myself included) because it's that fear of the unknown.  What I would suggest to someone who would like to improve their health but doesn't think they can change everything at once is to take baby steps.  Even if it's something as simple as cutting out fried foods, that's one step in the right direction.  Or if you slowly cut back on the amount of butter that you use, that's another step.  Or even if it's just drinking more water and less cokes, awesome. 

Regardless of how quickly or slowly you move toward a better you, you're moving in the right direction.  When you make a decision to become a healthier you by learning what choices are best for your body, you will feel much better about your health.  You can do this.  There is no possible way to fail.

=)  Amanda