Sweating it

Today has been a a relaxed day so far, with writing the blog and going through pictures (and having a talk on FaceTime with my bestie which just cheered me up so much). I thought I should pick it up by doing some exercising. I've always struggled with my weight a little, partly due to a genetic glitch that causes my body to produce more insulin than needed (insulin is an anabolic hormone so extra is just making all those extra calories turn to fat that much faster) but also just because I know I'm a bit lazy at times and love chocolate, especially during the dark months. Though I'm far from being happy with my body, I don't beat myself up for it too much. I've always known that loving me for me is the key to happiness, so although I always feel like I should be on a diet and do more exercising, I also let myself off the hook at times when I'm just too exhausted.

Spring has always been the best time for me to get my fitness back on and this year is no different. Like I said, I had a bad accident during the Holidays and haven't really been able to work out ever since, but now I'm finally getting back to it. My bestie (whose amazing blog you can read here, make sure to check it out!) is getting married in the fall and to help support her attempts at looking her best on the big day the bridesmaids and I have set up a wedding boot camp. It really helps to set up a plan with the girls and work together towards a common goal, because after all we all want to look fabulous in those photos. I'm also about to take an amazing sailing trip with some friends in May, so knowing I need to be presentable in a bikini by then helps with the motivational issues as well.

I've found several really great shape up plans online, my favorite being Lauren Conrad's Bikini Bootcamp which I just love love love. For our wedding bootcamp we wanted something a little bit simpler and more effective though. The general rules are easy to follow and hopefully we will see some visible results come fall.

1. Eat clean: The most important part of weight loss is to realize that it really happens in the kitchen. No processed foods, no fast carbs - the more you cut down on carbs the better, at least for me, no sweets or sugar. (Oh boy was this tested at brunch on sunday, but I'm happy to tell you that I did manage to skip the dessert table, hooray!) Counting calories is essential - at least until you just learn how much is enough - because as we all know weight loss is all about how much you put in your body vs how much you spend. I love that these days this arduous task is made so much simpler by all the wonderful apps for our smart phones. My favorite is Lose it! because not only is it an amazingly simple app for calorie counting, they also have a website with lots of extra features.

2. Weight training: I have a personal trainer to whip me into shape, but due to my accident I haven't been able to train with her since December. I'm a firm believer in the effects of weight training and that most of your exercising should comprise of muscle building work outs. Not only does it help you to sculpt a more toned body, but muscles use up more energy so you'll actually be rising your basic energy expenditure levels. My PT always tells me that the weight is just right when I can finish 8-10 reps so that I really feel it on the last 2-3 reps. If I can do 15 reps easily, the weight is too light and doesn't really engage all of my muscle fibers and thus doesn't really build up any muscle either. For the wedding bootcamp we're really focusing on our arms and chests and backs because that's really the only part that our beautiful gowns reveal. I'm very excited that I finally found 5kg dumbbells this past weekend and have already tested them out and they really bring the needed extra kick to my arm training. I'm aming for 30-45min of strength building exercising 3-5 times a week.

3. Cardio: Although not the key factor in weight loss (as many still seem to believe), cardio is very important for other health benefits such as making the heart stronger and boosting general endurance and as new research shows it may even help preventing dementia later on. I haven't been able to do almost any cardio for months now, but with the cast and the iron pin coming off of my foot this week, hopefully I'll be able to at least take nice walks soon and (fingers crossed) start running by the end of this summer. The aim is to do about 3-5 hours of cardio per week.

I'll post some specific work outs later on. Time to get into shape again!

What are some of your biggest fitness obstacles and best advice?

xx

H