The Pursuit of Healthiness

The Pursuit of Healthiness
Your Guide to Getting Healthy

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Workout #7: Work out with a Trainer (for about $5!)

There's no doubt that working out with a trainer is crazy hard but definitely effective! All the celebrities have one and look at how they look! However, a trainer, on average, charges $60 to $70 for a one hour session. If you were to train only twice a week all year, you could end up running up a bill of between $6240 and $7280. Most of us just don't have that money lying around. There are ways now a days to work out with a trainer without breaking the bank.

One way is the Verizon FIOS gift of OnDemand. OnDemand has a category called Health and Home. In this category, there is another category called ExerciseTV. They change workouts monthy. There's a huge variety of workouts, too, ranging from Bootcamp to Latin Dance to Yoga. There's an assortment of trainers for each type. Find one you like and look for most workouts he or she has done. My personal favorite is Viveca Jensen, who teaches Piloxing, a blend of boxing, pilates, and ballet. She is so upbeat and she talks through the working, making me forget how hard her workouts actually are.

Speaking of Viveca Jensen, I've found another way to train "with" her. In the Fitness Special of Seventeen magazine, one of her workouts is in it as she is known to be very big with celebrities, like Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. This issue includes not only Piloxing, but also yoga, dance, and pilates are also workouts that are on pages of this issue. The issue includes a calendar, dictating what days to do which exercise. If you don't like this issue, there is a workout in each and every issue of Seventeen. Don't like Seventeen? Use another magazine like Health or Self. Working out with a magazine is a great way to add variety to your routine because you could try something might never have thought of doing before.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Tip #7: Reward Yourself!

Quick: Why do you want to lose weight?
Is it to feel better about yourself? Is it to be viewed better by peers? Is it fit into that bikini you've hidden in the back of your closet that you are too scared to look at? No matter what your answer was, you're likely to forget it eventually. When that ooey-gooey-super-extra-chocolatey-creamy ice cream sundae comes calling your name, your diet plans often fall to the wayside. It might be a little easier to resist, though, if you know that if you lose two pounds that week, you'll treat yourself to that new book you've been dying to read. Rewarding yourself reminds you that you are doing something good for yourself and your actions deserve a little compensation.

Here's my list:
Five more pounds: New workout clothes (including Reebok Easytone! Dying for a pair! I heard they were amazing!)
Ten more pounds: Piloxing gloves and Barre DVDs (and a visit to the Birham yoga studio! Can't wait to try it!)
Fifteen more pounds: Mani-pedi and a facial!
Twenty more pounds: New bikini and a trip to the beach!
Twenty-five more pounds: Ralph Lauren Romance perfume!

You can choose from any rewards you really want! Maybe something like mine or maybe you'd rather have a new little black dress or a new tennis racquet! My only warning is not to reward yourself with food! Don't lose five more pounds and give yourself five-pound cupcake! You will start to relate happiness with junk food and you'll crave the unhealthy stuff even more. You'll basically be moving backwards in your diet. Chose something you really want (but wouldn't usually splurge on) that doesn't have to do with eating.

Starting making your list and stick to it!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Workout #6: Youtube!

You can find anything on Youtube. Seriously, you can find celebrities, singing cats, Twilight parodies, etc., etc. I have also found that Youtube has every workout out there, esspecially the new, hot workouts. Go on Youtube and do a little research. Look up boxing, for instance, and you'll find over seven pages of results. Look up boot camp workouts and you'll find over thirty pages. My favorite to look up, though, is zumba! A lot of zumba workouts I find in video games or classes in local gyms have zumba routines to Latin music I do not even know. There is nothing wrong with that and I don't mind going to those classes or playing those games every now and again, but my favorite zumba workouts are the ones to music I know and like.

Here are two of my favorite zumba channels!
hrounds73
GRDanceFitness

If zumba doesn't really interest you, look up something that does! I'm sure there is something on youtube for you!

You could also look for a video you might like on ExerciseTV's youtube. They have plenty of videos for exercising and health.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Tip #6: Be Social and Burn Calories!

I find that its a lot easier to do something with a little support. Take dieting, for example. It's hard to eat one piece of dark chocolate when the other people you are with are diving into a slice of chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling and whipped chocolate frosting. What helps me to eat only the piece of chocolate and not the cake is surrounding myself with health conscious people. I inform my friends that I am trying to get healthy and the people who are health conscious only try and help. They say that they won't order anything that I can't eat and they will pass on dessert so I won't get tempted and they'll stop eating whenever I do. They commend me only my weight loss efforts, some even saying that I'm their role model and they are trying to do the same thing. Its easier to diet when someone is backing you up one hundred percent.

Exercise is the same thing. It's hard to push yourself into running the extra mile when you are the only one running. It's a little different when a track star is running next to you. You want to push yourself harder. You want to prove that you can be just as good as they are. It's just human nature. I join my friend for her dance workouts, even though she has been dancing since she was 3. She's crazy when it comes to practicing her routines, but I know she got her body from doing these workouts. I can do the same. I also play tennis with another friend who plays on a tennis team. I took lessons when I was 10 and that's it but it is fun and challenging to play with her. Tennis and dance both torch tons of calories but I don't even notice because I want to prove to myself that I can be just as good as they are.

When my friend who dances and I get together, we often end up playing Wii Fit or the Michael Jackson Experience or Just Dance, all three of which are challenging and major calorie burners. Neither of us notice because we are so busy going, "Oh come one! Best two out of three!" or "You got the star points! I did the actually moves! Rematch!" We plan on doing it for half an hour and end up playing for over an hour! You can play with up to four people so gather up groups of friends and just have fun!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tip #5: Watch What You Eat (Or Watch Something Else!)

I just got back from the final Harry Potter movie (I promise no spoilers!) and it was the first time ever I bought a box of movie candy but didn't finish it! I'm really so proud of myself right now! I joined the website Sparkpeople which makes me track everything I eat and I tracked 2 servings of Junior Mints on my way out, which did not put me over the fat or calorie limit that Sparkpeople provides me. The only problem with that was that I bought the box, unknowing that there was actually 3 servings in the box! Uh oh!

Like I said I always finish the box, but this time I decided to eat the two servings and save the final one. The box said 16 Junior Mints a serving so I allotted myself 32 Junior Mints. I ate 6 before the movie even started. But suddenly the movie started and it was like "What Junior Mints?" In the back of my mind, I kept the number in my head. At about 10 minutes in, 8 Mints....30 minutes was 12....1 hour was 16. However, it wasn't the first thing on my mind. What was the most important thing I was thinking about was "What the hell is going on now?"

By the end of the movie, I ended up having 4 left over from my 2 servings! So this is what I discovered, which seemed to help me not overeat: Know how much you can eat, but keep yourself busy! If you aren't thinking about how much you can eat, you won't think about what you CANNOT eat! And when you think about what you can't eat, your mind convinces you that you are depriving yourself (even though you aren't) and you end up eating more than your allotted servings.

I've leave you with these two things. One: Go out, have fun, and be social! You'll enjoy yourself so much that you won't be able to think about food! And Two: Go see Harry Potter! It's amazing!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Workout 5: Beach Body!

I've recently been contacted by the Beach Body brand and asked for me to post some of their links on the blog! They contacted me about a month ago so during that time, I did a little research and talked to some friends who had used some Beach Body products before. So far, all I've heard are great things! Bear in mind, these workouts do match their names, like "insanity" or "asylum." You have to be ready to go hardcore to do these workouts! So far, I'm going by what I've heard but I haven't committed to do any yet, but that's not to say that I'm not going to! Here's my plan!- My endurance is low right now and I know that if I start a Beach Body workout, I'll give up too fast and get discouraged. Instead I'm going to condition myself with strength and cardio workouts, adding a little more time and reps each time so I can build my endurance and stamina! Once I reach that point, I'm going to go "insane!" If you know that you probably can't hold your own against these workouts, I suggest you do the same! Don't push it to the extreme just yet! However, if you are good against your regular strength and cardio workouts and you think you are ready to push youself, give Beach Body a try! They are also excellent for athletic conditioning! I know a lot of student athletes who have done Insanity to prepare them for an upcoming season.

If you think you're up for a challenge, check these workouts out!
p90x
p90x2 workout 
Turbofire    
Asylum
Insanity

If you aren't sold on Beach Body yet, check out these links to their youtube and newsletters!
Youtube
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