How DO you get started anyway???

Getting started with weight loss:

Some tips that helped me when I started all of this was taking it slow and being realistic. I made goals that I could actually hit. And I realized it wasn't going to come off fast. Took me years to gain it after all. On purpose I wanted to lose slow. It is the best way to lose it and keep it off. Not a diet, but rather a lifestyle change.

I joined my fitness pal to track what I ate and how I moved, or rather, didn't move. If I drank wine, I logged it. Eye opening as it was. (6 oz of table red wine is approximately 150 calories) I started walking; parked further away, climbed stairs vs taking elevators... that sort of thing. MAJOR baby steps. I learned to eat better. Not less, initially, just better. Subway vs. McDonald's. Made better choices.

I blogged about it a while ago when I had many friends ask how I did it... you're welcome to read my blog too. It's more pics then text so it's easy to read through.

http://bwarsh.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-i-went-from-288-lbs-to-213-still.html

Some things you can do right now:

Start a food diary. I keep mine on http://www.myfitnesspal.com If you join, you can "friend" me (bwarsh73) and then get access to my diary to see what kinds of foods I'm eating now as well as seeing what I was eating way back when I started in Sept 2012. I promise you I don't go hungry ever and I get to eat pretty much whatever I want.

Get a pedometer. See how many steps you get on average now. Then step it up! Shoot for 10,000 steps a day. That's roughly 5 miles. It's actually much easier to hit then you'd think.

Any pedometer is great. It's about finding the right one for you and your wallet.



This is a good beginner pedometer around $20. Omron HJ325 Alvita Ultimate Pedometer, Blue You can just toss it in your pocket, no specific placement needed.










I now use a fitbit flex 2, (find me and friend me on fitbit: https://www.fitbit.com/user/26GVX3) and it's pretty awesome, and they can start just under $60. It's easy to wear, tracks a bunch of useful things, and syncs automatically to my fitness pal, which is really nice.






Drink more water. Seriously. Water is the best stuff ever! To start, get the minimum of 8 cups a day. That's roughly 64oz. Presently I'm drinking half my body weight in ounces a day, so I'm at around 82oz. a day. If you were 200 lbs, 1/2 your body weight in ounces would be 100 ounces a day. Work up to whatever your 1/2 body weight amount is.

Just start with these!

I do an accountability assignment each day now with my group. We all check in and share our assignments. Keeps us in check. If that's something you'd like to be a part of eventually, just let me know.

The schedule I use is this:

Motivation Monday - I share a motivational quote with the group every Monday. in my group others comment and/or share their own quotes.

Tasty Tuesday - We all try a new recipe or new to us food like Quinoa in place of rice.

Weigh In Wednesday - up or down, we share how the week went. If we're up 1 lb, or down 2 lbs... we share.

Thirsty Thursday - if we sucked the other days of the week, we try to at least have 1 day to get our drinking on! If you weigh 200 lbs, drink 100 oz of water; half your body weight in ounces is the goal here.

Fit Friday - we share what fitness activity we did that day... hitting your step goals... did a new cardio program, whatever.

Success Saturday- BRAG on how you did during the week. Share your successes...

Soothing Sunday - otherwise known as REST DAY. Yes, no matter how much you want to keep go go going, you do need a break and so do your muscles. Relax!

I'm an open book and I'm happy to share. Ask any questions.

It will take 30 days to become a new habit. Just keep going!!!

HELPFUL LINKS:

Follow me on my Facebook page: fb.com/UnderConstructionWithBwarsh
Join my Ladies MFP Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyFitnessPalLadies.

Want to track your food and exercise? Check out MY FITNESS PAL! It's free and it's fabulous! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Walking Calculator Steps to Miles: http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm and http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc3.htm

• These are great if your pedometer shows you your mileage. Approximately 2000 steps = 1 mile.
• Want to be more exact, this link figures out how many steps to a mile based on your actual height! http://walking.about.com/od/pedometer1/a/steps-per-mile.htm

The Calorie Burn Calculator: http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc#?1#?1#WebrootPlugIn#?1#?1#PhreshPhish#?1#?1#agtpwd

• This one allows you to choose the activity (pretty extensive list actually), enter the length of time and your weight and it calculates out how many calories you burned.

Zumba Calorie Burning link: http://caloriesburnedhq.com/zumba-calories-burned/

• Doing Zumba whether in a class or on a gaming system, this site will calculate your burn.

Follow me on my Facebook page: fb.com/UnderConstructionWithBwarsh 

Join my Ladies MFP Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyFitnessPalLadies.