In the Mood for Weight Loss: Tips for Improving Your Mood while Dieting

Many people on diets report being irritable, moody, and even downright depressed.  Exercise increases serotonin levels, which improve mood, so it is important to include regular periods of physical activity in your schedule.  Exercise is a must when taking steps to live a healthier lifestyle, but there are other ways to improve your mood while dieting.

· Eat frequently.  Eating small frequent meals helps you to stay level emotionally.  By eating every four to five hours, you will keep hunger pains away and avoid binge eating.

· Eat healthy carbohydrates.  Healthy carbs increase serotonin levels and, by extension, enhance mood. 

· Increase your intake of B-vitamins.  B-vitamins are known to stave away depression and lift moods.  Try eating more oatmeal, lentils, sunflower seeds, broccoli, and shellfish.

· Diversify.  Instead of cutting fat out totally, maintain a proper chemical balance by eating healthy fats such as avocado, salmon, olive oil, and nuts.

· Be fiber-rich.  In addition to helping you feel full longer, fiber helps maintain a steady blood sugar level.  By reducing swings in blood sugar levels, fiber also reduces mood swings.

Follow these tips to diet happy.

Back in the Saddle

Okay folks, I must now eat crow and send my most humble apologies. I know this is a new blog, and I can't be taking days off and stuff but sometimes life gets in the way.  I haven't quit working out; I've been been failing at my time managment.  Over the past two weeks I have worked out a total of five times... three times last week and two times this past week.  I have done three beachbody workouts and did one workout with my cousin in his garage with weights and one quickie exercise at home doing a combination of jumping jacks (in memory of the late Jack Lalanne), sit ups, and push ups.  I am totally committed to my body transformation but remember, I'm just like you.  I'm not a personal trainer or some retired athlete or an exercise freak, I'm just a guy living life that ended up gaining an extra 50 pounds that I want to give back to the food gods.  I have also been working some OT (I think I mentioned my 50 hour workweeks that have transitioned to 55-60 hour workweeks) which encrouches on my exercise schedule but I have made some rearrangements and will be back on track next week.  

I have made the decision to invest in INSANITY because after speaking to a couple of personal friends and hearing about the workout it may fit better with my situation.  My situation is that I'm really limited on time and these routines are about 10 minutes shorter than P90X (which average 55 minutes, INSANITY averages 45-per my contacts) and don't require any props such as weights, strength bands, pull-up bars, yoga mats, etc.  All of those things are not necessary for P90X but they are part of the routine and you feel lacking if you don't have proper equipment.  When I start back next week if I haven't gotten my hands on INSANITY, then I'll be doing one of my P90X workouts that don't use the equipment.

 

Thanks for hangin' in there with me on my journey and I hope that at least you've gotten something out of the interesting articles we've kept posting.  Ciao!

Cycle of Stress

Stress initiates inactivity.  This lack of activity is the precursor to both depression and WEIGHT GAIN.  Yes, stress leads to weight gain.  This study was published online in April 2010.  It indicates that depression also contributes to weight gain by increasing appetite while simultaneously decreasing the motivation to be physically active.  But how does stress fit in?  Well in many instances stressful factors reduce the amount of time we have for physical activity.  Once we begin to cut out physical activity, we begin to gain weight which leads to depression, less activity and more eating.  The cycle goes around and around.  To break the cycle we should do one thing:  stress less.  Exercise helps relieve stress, and it increases the body's metabolism.  The fact that exercise uses up those calories taken in during the day proves that just exercising 15 minutes a day can make a difference.  P90X where is my 15 minute workout?

Day Ten

Day 11 (10)

Okay so there was no day 10, ya boy blew it but that just meant I had to come back hard, and I started my first day of P90X.  This is my second time starting this series, but I'm gonna cheat.  I'm just letting you know before hand so you don't have to tell me I'm doing it wrong.  I have a pull up bar and weights, but due to some differences of opinion I am not using my pullup bar in the house, and I am not in the mood to lug my weights back and forth from the garage to the house, so I'm sticking with non-weight/pull-up bar exercises.  There are at least 3 dvd's that don't require weights; Kenpo X, Cardio X, and Stretch X.  After listing them, I know of two others that fit the same category; Yoga X and Plyometrics.  Plyometrics is INSANE so I'll save that for the middle of the week (if I do it yet) and Yoga X is 1 1/2 hours so that will have to be an evening exercise or one for the weekend.

Now my confession going into this past weekend... I blew my Friday workout (no motivation whatsoever) and I didn't make it up at all Saturday or Sunday.  Although I thought about it, thinking about it was the most exercising I did.  Not ony did I not exercise, but I ate like a kid in a candy store.  It was my son's 6th birthday party so I HAD to taste a few of his birthday cup cakes.  I HAD to make sure the chocolate cupcakes were as good as the yellowcake cupcakes.  Not only did I have to check quality but also consistency to make sure the there were no bad cupcakes in the bunch.  Now it wouldn't be right if I ate ALL of the cupcakes but I had to make sure I was statistically accurate in declaring that the cupcakes were above par for quality and tastiness.  ;-)  Well I'm sure those cupcakes added a few weeks to my attainment of that beachbody but I'll use it to strengthen my resolve.

Thanks for the last two weeks Chalene, Tony it's me and you now buddy.  Check back with me tomorrow and I'll keep you posted.

"Do your best, and forget the rest" - Tony Horton

Motivation

What is your motivation?  When making any type of commitment, consider the motivation.  In order to start an action, you must commit to going through the process involved in performing the action.  (What motivates you?)  After that decision, you must decide to continue to do those actions again to see success.  Make health your goal and see the results long-term.  Use P90X to reach your temporary goal of having a beachbody.  If your motivation is a longterm goal, then your effort will produce longterm results rather than the up and down roller coaster of yo-yo dieting or exercising.  Do a little everyday and control your food and drink portions.  Exercise to reach your goal of a revitalized body.  Focus on hydration; drink water.  Be well.  Stress adds pounds too.  Focus on health.  Let that be your motivator.

Days Seven, Eight, and Nine

Okay so I've been slacking a little but that doesn't mean I haven't been working out, but I've been slacking there too.  


Day 7 
Went well.  At least I completed the 45 minute punch, kick, jam that I started last week.  Still a little tired when I wake but it's pretty much routine.  


Day 8 
Well, I flaked. 20 minutes into the workout I talked myself out of continuing as I got started a little late and my dvd player decided to slack on me.  It's an old combo dvd player (dvd & vhs cassette combo) and sometimes it won't play dvd's, burned, brand new or otherwise.  Since I started late I convinced myself to end the workout early but told myself I'd do an excercise that evening.  I came home after another 10 hour day still somewhat enthused about an evening workout but fizzled on the couch in front of the TV.  


Day 9 
I completely bombed, I started the 45 minute video but switched to the 20 minute video (jumping around for 20 minutes is better than nothing right?)... Well I didn't even do the complete 20 minutes.  After 5 minutes into this routine I had an urge to expel last night's dinner.  Nature calls and sometimes we have to answer, but instead of pausing the video, I let it play.  I came back with 7 minutes left.  I finished that and called it a wrap.  I think I need to examine everything from food, to exercise routine, to amount of sleep.  It may be one thing or all of them BUT... I'm not quiting.  I'll figure this out and get that beachbody I'm aiming for!!!!

Check ya'll tomorra!

Tips to Avoid Exercise Burnout

The beginning of a new year brings tons of resolutions.  Weight loss often tops the list as a reachable goal.  In order to reach this goal, it might be surprising to know that moderation is key.  Exercise burnout can cause the most committed person to end their workout routine and give up their weight loss goals, but it does not have to be that way.  Consistency in scheduling your exercise time is important, but so is variety.

To avoid exercise burnout follow these tips:

• Start out slowly.  In the beginning take your time getting used to the workout.  Exercise for 20 minutes and work your way up to the desired amount of time you would like to exercise.
• Mix it up.  Change your workout completely every 8-12 weeks.  This gives you something to look forward to as you reach your exercise goals.
• Do a different workout on alternating days.  The same workout can get boring when it is repeated everyday.  I love the beachbody workouts for this reason: there is so much to choose from. 
• Recurring injuries may be a sign that you are exercising too much.  When injuries occur, take a break from doing the exercise that caused the injury.  Give your body a chance to heal.  Find a different way to exercise that muscle group.
• Try something unique every 3 months.  You may find a new exercise to include into your routine.
• Every 3-6 months take a week off.  This allows you to regenerate the energy you need to continue your workouts, and it is a reward for reaching your workout goals.

Day Six

Hey folks, okay I slipped up... today is supposed to be day 7 instead it's day 6 (I took an extra day of rest, not because I needed it but because it was convenient).  I went to work on Saturday and when I came home my wife was in clean up mode which means everyone is in clean up mode.  After the clean up, the plan was to get in a P90X excersice but instead I lounged on the couch like a potato.  Today I planned to start P90X but I changed my mind last night when I went to sleep at midnight instead of 9pm.  I am going to play it by ear with regard to which workout I will do, but most definately I will continue my daily workout regiment.  See you tomorrow.  "Do your best and forget the rest"-Tony Horton, P90X creator.

Water Me

Don't underestimate the power of water.  Drinking two glasses of water (16 oz.) before every meal will help you eat less.  Now, research has shown that only those over 35 benefited from this aspect of drinking water, but there's another benefit that drinking more water gives to dieters: increased metabolism.  Since water helps the body flush toxins out, drinking more water allows more toxins to be flushed out.  When the body continually has enough water on hand, your liver will work more efficiently to metabolize the fat and get it out of your body.  Not drinking enough water causes your body to bloat.  This happens because your body thinks it is not going to get more water anytime soon, so it holds on to the water it does get.  Once you start drinking more water, the old water goes out, and your body loses the bloat.  In a nutshell, I'm adding two glasses of water before every meal to my weight loss plan.  Between P90X, healthy eating, and drinking water, I should reach my goals.

Day Five

I got a bit more sleep last night (not much about an extra 30mins).  One more day of workouts, then a one day rest.  I may not get the extra sleep tonight, but I sure will tomorrow morning.  The workout was cool, I think my legs may be a little fatigued because they seemed to burn a bit more today than usual.  I also notice putting more energy into the workout now that I'm used to the routines.  I know that once I start P90X it'll be more difficult to get used to the workouts because each day is a different workout rather than the same routine everyday (which is what I'm doing now using Turbo Jam: Kick, Punch, Jam).  Time to get ready for work, I'll keep everyone in the loop.  Laters!

Days Three and Four

Day 3

Up and at it!  I started it and smashed it... I'm feeling next week is the time for upgrading to the next level.  This is definitely a warm-up to prepare my body for the torture of P90X.  Blog more later.

 

Day 4

This was a little difficult.  I gotta start getting more sleep.  Right now my schedule requires that I go to bed around 11pm and wake at 5am and immediately start my workout.  That is 6 hours of sleep and people say that we need at least 8... hmmm... If I start P90X, that's an extra 15 minutes in the workout with 3x the intensity.  Yeah, tonight I'm gonna crash earlier and see how I feel tomorrow.  I'll let ya'll know.  Til then!!!

Day Two

I feel like I'm on a good routine. It was easy to get up yesterday, and it was the same this morning.  I called my coach, Morgan, to give him a little encouragement that he wasn't alone, and I started my routine. I'm still using Turbo Jam: Punch, Kick, Jam, but I'm feeling almost ready to graduate to P90X.  I'm not sure because that's an extra 15 minutes to the workout, and I'll have to get up that much earlier to make sure I get to work on time.  I'll probably just wait until next week and stick with my original plan.  I also notice myself making better food selections.  Partly because I hate to be working out so I can maintain my belly blob and not improve and partly because my body is craving more nutritional fuel.  Well, 2 days down, 58 to go!!!

Day One

Yesterday was day 1.  it wasn't that hard but I did cheat and instead of starting P90X I went with Chalene Johnson's Turbo Jam: Punch, Kick, Jam.  This exercise is 45 minutes and I like it because of the punches and kicks, of course, but Chalene introduces her audience to capoera, brazilian martial arts.  It's not like anyone is going to become a martial arts expert but it makes the workout go that much faster and makes it less work and more fun.  My workout buddy in Illinois is on his program too, Insanity.  1 down 59 to go!!!! Stay Tuned.