You're sick of being out of shape. You're sick of WISHING you looked better. You're tired of eating greasy foods that don't sit well with your body. In fact, you're just plain out TIRED--sick and tired of being sick and tired! Your energy isn't what it used to be...or what it could be. YOU WANT TO GET BACK IN SHAPE! You want to feed your body healthy foods, foods that will nourish it and keep you feeling good.

You've decided you'd like to start eating healthier and get in better shape. You'd like to tone up that body, lean out, and go down a few sizes. You'd like to feel better inside and feel more confident. You'd like to get back in shape, or just plain and simple, get IN shape. You want to turn more heads and think "daaamnn" when you look at yourself in the mirror. You want to be able to run up a flight of stairs without being out of breath. Or perhaps you'd just like to celebrate how wonderful your body is, and feel more energetic and more mentally aware.

Whatever your reasons, you've decided to make a change and DO something to make it happen. But where do you start? How do you keep motivated?

I have some basic guidelines for you.

You must take into consideration, however, that EVERY body is going to respond a little differently. But i GUARANTEE that dedication and persistence to what I offer below, will get you EXACTLY what you realistically are capable of acheiving. (By realistic, all I mean is if you want bigger boobs, or a 10 inch waist, this is the wrong place for you. But if you'd like to look and feel your best healthfully, read on...)


KEEPING IT BASIC

• Cut out the fast food/fried/heavy creamy foods.
• Cut back on that sugar (soda's are very high in sugar!).
• Work at getting your heart rate up for 30 mins straight, at least 3 times a week.
• Take the stairs. Park further away. Don't be afraid to lift things (using good posture of course, don't hurt yourself!)
• Carry a bottle of water with you and drink it throughout the day.
• Cut back on that alcohol!
• Eat more vegi's.
• Most of all, keep focused, keep a vision of what you'd like to look and feel like, in your mind. Remember that anytime you're feeling discouraged.

As far as the way your body LOOKS, this is probably the most important part of it. Most people tend to think that working out is the key to the look of anyone's body. But this is simply not true. Remember this phrase: "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." You have abs, right now. Most likely they're just not showing because they're covered by a layer of fat. Of course, doing ab exercises, will give you MORE muscle in your abs, but it's not going to make the muscle show. The key to your body, is what you put in it. Trust me on this one.

I am NOT going to reccommend calorie counting at all. I'm going to reccommend something MUCH simpler, and MUCH more effective, BFL style...

Portion sizes.
This is what I want your meals to look like:
Imagine a normal sized plate. 1/3 of it should be filled with a carbohydrate, the other 1/3 should be a protein, and the final 1/3 should be some form of healthy vegi. Or simply, just have a fist sized amount of each. That's right, make a fist, then put a serving of each category, about that size, on your plate. That will be considered one meal. It's not going to be very big. You want to eat quite a few times a day. 5-6 times a day is optimal. It keeps your metabolism fired up.

Here are some ideas for you...all of these are GREAT sources:

Carbohydrates: Whole cooked oatmeal, brown rice, barley, baked potatoes, yams, Kashi, any kind of fruit (apples, strawberries, cherries, grapefruit, bannannas, etc.), corn, whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pitas, whole-grain cereals (fiber one is definitely a great fiber source), natural popcorn, non salted pretzels, and so on...

Proteins: Chicken breast, Turkey breast, Lean ground beef, low-fat cottage cheese, Salmon, Water-packed tuna, Orange Roughy, egg whites (adding in an egg yolk or two is just fine), whey protein drinks, Boca burgers or garden burgers, tofu, and so on.

Vegis: any vegi, is great. However, vegi's like carrots and especially corn should count more as a carbohydrate rather than a vegi portion.

Most of all:

• Try and stay away from foods that have a high source of sugar.
• Try and stay away from foods that have a high saturated fat content. ***This does not mean stay away from fat. There is a HUGE difference between saturated and unsaturated fat. Saturated fat is the stuff that you'll find mostly in red meats and highly fattening foods like fast food and fried anything. Whereas unsaturated fat is VERY good for you. In fact, I definitely reccommend making sure you're getting it in your diet! It will actually enhance your fat loss. You can get this through cold-water fish, like salmon. Another great source of it is "flaxseed oil" which has been proven to keep your skin softer/more subtle, less break outs, and help with pms as well as with weight loss plateus. =)
• Try and stay away from heavy creamy pasta sauces, bacon or sausages, heavy beers, mayo, sodas, hot dogs, etc (fried/fattening foods.)
• Watch your white flour intake...(white breads, flour based cereals, and then of course cookies and baked goodies).
  
  

Cardio. Some of us love it, some of us hate it, but EVERYONE can benefit from it. I also think everyone can learn to love and crave it. There are SOOOOOOOO many different forms of cardio out there, that there's no reason to make yourself bored and dread getting on a treadmill. Go skating, take your dogs for a walk, go mountain biking, dance around your room, go jumprope in the backyard. Pull your hubby by his arm and go have some hot n wild kinky sex. Just get that heart rate up for at least 20 mins straight. And work from there.

If you're not looking for a huge body transformation, just add cardio to your day and don't worry much about changing your eating (although, of course, eating healthier will make you have overall better workouts). You'll still make changes in your body and you'll still build endurance and earn a healthier heart.

Some people have a naturally fast metabolism and don't have to watch what they eat as much. (If you are one of those people, I ENVY YOU!) If you're a cardio addict, you'll definitely need to be eating more than I mentioned above. However, if you're like most of the majority, you probably have a hard time getting your ass up and moving for 20 mins straight, especially when you haven't done it for a while. I promise you though, once you start, and keep it up for about 3 weeks (they say it takes 21 days to form a habit), it'll be MUCH easier and you'll literally start to crave it. You'll not only have much more energy, but HELLO...endorphins galore! =D Here's a plan for you, if you're just starting off:
Go for a walk or run (whichever gets your heart rate up enough to get you breathing more deeply) and keep this up for 15-20 minutes. After you're done, STRETCH! Even if it's for just 5 minutes. And while you're stretching, think about how you feel. Aren't you proud? Don't you feel the slightest bit better about yourself? You should, and I'm sure you will. Now remember that feeling. And promise yourself, that NO MATTER WHAT, for the next 2 weeks...4-5 days EACH week...you are going to do this. And by that second week, you should be pretty easily able to finish those 20 minutes, if not more. I dare you to quit after two weeks of sticking to it. You won't want to. The feeling, is addicting.