i have been chunky most of my life. i couldn’t complain about it though, because i have been sedentary from childhood till early adulthood, except maybe a few summer swimming classes. and then i graduated from college and went on a month-long US vacation (which was when I was at my biggest. hello thanksgiving and Christmas and new year dinners! and NY pizza OMG!). since then i have always been struggling with weight loss. this is one aspect of my life that has been really holding me down. i've been going to the gym for a couple of years now, but i have only started seeing significant results a few months ago. what did i do differently this time? basically i got tired of the jokes and nasty comments and self-pity that i started making a plan to solve it (it’s called Project 2011 FIGHT! hahah!). here are my 6 personal pointers that helped me a lot.
1. Just do it.
- When you're thinking twice if you should workout because you feel too tired or too lazy, think no more. The answer is "Just Do It". 5 minutes into your workout, you'll feel so energized, you'll thank yourself for getting your ass off the couch.
2. Indulge once, cut back five times.
- I love food. I'd rather spend hours at the gym instead of controlling my food intake. But even if I exercise myself to death, I couldn't get significant results. So I started making a conscious effort to control my food portions. But after 2-3 weeks of cutting back, I reward myself with 1 Quickly Taro-Taro (ahhh heaven!) or a serving of ice cream. A treat once in a while is ok since it would stop me from eventually losing my mind and bingeing.
3. Get online help.
- Sign up in weight management sites such as www.fitday.com (It's free!). You input the food you eat and activities for the day so you could monitor your calorie intake versus the calories burned. There are also features wherein you could set your weight goal and then the site would compute what your calorie deficit should be. It really does help because 1) it makes you more aware of what you're eating/doing everyday, and 2) it helps you familiarize yourself with the approximate calories of your food. I did this religiously for 2 months. Now I do rough estimates since I already know how much to eat everyday.
4. Get motivation and inspiration anywhere you can.
- You need your personal motivation in order to keep going with your weight-loss journey. But it doesn't hurt to get motivation from others too. Read success stories and be inspired. Utilize your desktop wallpaper. Watch The Biggest Loser. Take a look at your "goal clothes". Looking for a challenge? Make a bet. Have fun working out with your friends (luckily I have this workout-addict friend who made me level up my workouts. LEVEL 5 RAWR!! Now I have my BC batchmates as well YEY!!). Pray.
5. Have concrete goals.
- You can't just say "I want to lose weight." That's too vague. You have to be specific with what you want and you have to have a timeline (a realistic one, please). When i started going to the gym a few years ago, i had general goals. But I only started to really lose weight on when I said “I want to get back to my college weight. I want to be able to wear good-fitting, trendy clothes. I want to have more defined cheekbones and jaw lines. I want to be able to do higher and more powerful roundhouse kicks. I want to be able to do 8 or more consecutive muay thai jump knees with ease. I want to have stronger arms and legs, all in 6 months." I have less than 2 months to go! Next in line: 5lbs lower than my college weight, push-ups on toes, stronger core, all in 2.5 months.
6. Make time for it.
- It's all about priorities. When I need to go to the gym, that timeslot is taken. Unless there are special occasions or emergencies, I will be unavailable when it is time to work out. There was a time wherein we had to be at the office until midnight, so I could not go to the gym during my regular schedule which is after 6pm. So I worked out during lunchbreak instead. If you want to do it, there are no excuses.
I haven’t met all my goals yet (and I still get the occasional fat joke)… but i'm street brawling and side-kicking my way to achieving them all. FIGHT!
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