Let the Wellness Begin!

My work desk at 10am... and all the good things that are helping me with my weight loss and fitness.  

My water bottles! 

Water is sooooo darn important to keep us hydrated, especially in the New England winters when our skin is exposed to cold and dry conditions. 

Fresh fruit and yogurt!

A mid-morning snack of yogurt and fruit keeps me full until I take a late lunch. The apple is ready for my afternoon snack.

Hot tea and an inspirational reminder!

My "Life is good" mug is full of Earl Grey, a nice way to get in a little caffeine and add to my hydration.  No sugar, no creamers. And every sip gives me a peek at the inspirational reminder that life is, indeed, good!  ; )

FitBit encouragement!

My Fitbit is on my wrist 24/7 now and I have found it is really a great way to keep me motivated to get in extra steps, track my sleep patterns, and challenge friends who are also tracking their wellness with Fitbit online.

Let's make this first work week of 2015 and the hlgJumpIntoJanuary Challenge a great one!  Let me know how, and if, I can help you!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Jump Into January with SMART Goals!

So here we go again... a New Year is upon us and many of us scramble around trying to imagine our lives in perfect order and everything is in cosmic alignment. Hate to burst your bubble, but no one's life is ever going to be perfect... let's settle for great! :)

I don't like New Year resolutions - I think they're a set-up for failure because they're often so broad there is no way (or a very slim margin that) they can be accomplished. And the failure of living up to our good intentions often is downright depressing which - for some - can lead to a downward spiral.  Who needs THAT?! I certainly don't and doubt you do either.

So let's do this for the New Year:  Let's set Smart GOALS! 

A Smart Goal is a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Restricted Goal.  If I were to set a goal of being able to run a full marathon on April 19th (Boston Marathon Day), that wouldn't work because it is Specific and Measurable but it is NOT Attainable or Realistic for me... being that I don't currently run at all!   What would be a Smart Goal is to run a 5k by April 19th and to set my sights on that attainable, realistic and time related goal.

I rejoined the YMCA on Monday evening.  It felt darn good to walk in that door again, plunk down my hard earned cash and have a goal in mind and be doing something about achieving that.  When I went home, I finally took the time to scan through my "On Demand" section of my cable stations and found that Gaiam TV is free for me with my subscription and has a huge array of yoga, aerobic, pilates, kick boxing (by Jillian Michaels!), and more classes/routines. I'll be using those as well.

My goals for January are:

1. Get to the YMCA every Saturday, Monday, Wednesday.
2. Work out at home every Thursday, Sunday.
3. Walk 2 miles daily (I have my dog, Ruari, to walk, anyway, so this is fairly easy for me to check off).
4. Eat no more than 1200-1300 calories daily and lean toward whole foods wherever possible.

Join me in January to get a jump on great goals for 2015 and join #hlgJumpInJan challenge on Twitter!  Remember that is really important and effective to WRITE OUT your goals on paper.  It helps, believe me! 

Happy New Year and happy, healthy 2015, friends!

Dream. Believe. Achieve!

HealthyLoserGal / Jan 

Cherish Your Dreams...

I was happily down 1.5 lbs. this morning when I stepped on the scale. I am sure it was a lot of show shoveling and the Walk Away The Pounds DVDs I've been using.  Oh, and cutting out the junk I ate over the holidays and replacing it with healthy food!  That *may have* had something to do with the loss!  I hope all the challengers for January Jump In are feeling positive and have your goals written down.  Let me know in the Comments or on Twitter if you need some encouragement. :)

I found the quote below today and think it is perfect for those of us with Vision Boards and goals written to help us achieve our goals!

Here's to a great week for us! :)

Dream.  Believe.  Achieve!

Jan / HealthyLoserGal 

January Jump In Challenge! Let's Set GOALS!

If there has been one thing I have learned in the last four years since starting my weight loss and fitness journey it is this:  you have to set GOALS for your own success.  And you have to WRITE THEM DOWN! If you don't write them down in a journal or make a dream board, you may as well be wishing.  And we can all wish, but wishing doesn't make the pounds come off or your BMI go down.  Just sayin'...

So as I'm beginning the New Year, I'm not out wining and dining today, I'm home blogging and journaling because I KNOW that if I just think about the goals I want, nothing will happen.  I have to have them there before me - confronting and challenging me - every single day.

And then you have to TAKE ACTION.  I can write out terrific goals, inspiring goals, needed goals for myself and my health, but if I'm going to sit on the couch on my butt and do nothing, nothing is going to come back to me.  In order to achieve your dreams and your goals, you have to take action.

So here comes the January Jump In (#hlgJumpIn) actions that I am taking.  It falls into four easy criteria that you can modify however you want to best fit your health level if you'd like to join the challenge for this month:

1. Hydrate.  I plan to drink 1/2 my body weight every day in water.  If you don't like plain water, you can drink unsweetened tea or water with lemon or lime.  Whatever will get you to stay hydrated without carbonation or sugar works.
2. Plan and track.  Planning my food has always been difficult for me for whatever reason.  To alleviate "falling off the planning wagon" I make the first month's food fairly similar.  I eat a lot of chicken and salmon, salad greens and veggies (both raw and cooked into meals), fruit, low fat yogurt and simple grains. I try to stay away from cheese and cut down on mayo, sauces. And then as soon as I have eaten something, I track it.  There are so many great apps available as well as websites that allow you to track (and plan) your foods but I usually use an old favorite, FitDay.com. Free and easy to use and has a vast food list for nutrition and calorie counting.  My calorie allotment daily is between 1250 to 1400 calories. 
   
3. Move, move, move.  I will be walking a total of 15-20 miles a week. This works for me but you can move in any way you know will work for you and that you can stick with.  In the dead of winter you're not going to find me walking outside except with my lab on those "doggie necessary" walks. : )  But, I walk on the treadmill at the YMCA or Cambridge Athletic Club and have Walk Away the Pound DVDs to walk to in the privacy of my own home.  I will be firming up my sagging arms with the help of a kettle bell and stand alone weights.  I use a balance wheel, a stability ball and Lisa Johnson's Pilates' DVD in my own home, too.  There really is no excuse to not get some activity in daily with the online and at home sources we have available to us! 
4. Be accountable to others.  Tell everyone you know that you're changing your lifestyle and taking time for yourself.  And I do mean everyone! Friends, co-workers, social media buddies. If your friends give you a hard time about getting healthy, you might ask yourself how good of friends they are to not support you in your goals. And if you just had the thought "what if I tell my friends and then fail", all I can tell you is GET THAT THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD.  You need to remain positive and upbeat no matter how hard it may feel.  You're telling everyone so they'll support you and - if necessary - you can prove it to them and to YOU that you are going to SUCCEED!  There is no other game plan here except to plan on succeeding.

So are we ready to tackle our fitness and weight loss and JUMP IN to the new year with positive action? Let me know if you want to join me by leaving a comment here or on Twitter or Facebook! 

I am ready to make big changes starting today and by my telling you am expecting you to hold me accountable, too!

Here's to our success!

Dream big dreams and write them down.  Believe in yourself and accept only success as an outcome. Achieve your best life knowing that you worked hard and have learned you CAN achieve goals you work hard for!

xo

Jan / HealthyLoserGal

January Challenge: 20 for 20

So we're already ten days into 2012... and I hope that the year is off to a terrific start for you.  I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the changes I'm making and have decided there is nothing like a good challenge to make me feel like I can do anything! [Que memories of reading Supergirl Adventure Comics at the beach when I was a kid...]

For the next 20 days in a row (no breaks for good behavior this month... the first 10 days were all the break we should have needed) I challenge you to join me in twenty minutes a day of some sort of workout.  You can - of course - exceed the 20 minutes per day but to be in the 20 for 20 (or #hlg20for20) you need to commit to twenty minutes of moving / exercise for the remaining 20 days of January.

This January Healthy Loser Gal challenge is about two things... self-discipline and starting the year off with a healthy attitude.  Everyone of us can find 20 minutes in our days to have the self-discipline to commit to exercise, walking or just moving it to lose it!  You could just do exercises during the commercial breaks of an hour television show and you'd have nearly 20 minutes in!

I'm a huge fan of walking so I'm going back to my morning walks before work once I'm in my new home as of Sunday.  And I'm going to add the extra challenge of the 20 minutes of exercise for 20 days to that. 

Are you in? : ) I think this is an easy, fun challenge and I hope to hear what your 20 minutes per day will take the shape of.  If you need some help with ideas for the next 20 days, I've put together a list of online resources from sites I trust and that I believe will inspire and motivate you.

Do you know about GaiamTV.com? This is a WONDERFUL site that has an incredibly diverse selection of streaming exercise routines available for a low monthly subscription fee.  GaiamTV features Yoga Studio, Fitness Studio, Wellness Center, Spirituality, Metaphysics, and much more.  You're going to recognize many of their instructors, too! 


Some of the GaiamTV instructors

 During this 20 for 20 Challenge, I've teamed up with GaiamTV.com to offer one OUTSTANDING Fitness themed gift basket to one of the 20 for 20 Challengers. That, alone, should encourage all of us to exercise for 20 days straight for 20 minutes so you can be in on the fantastic giveaway from GaiamTV on January 31st! :)

Other inspirations:
Dr. Oz' "You on a Diet" has a companion workout section on the RealAge site.  Check out the workouts here for 20 minutes of beginning exercises to help you feel good about challenging yourself to 20 minutes for 20 days!


Women's Health Magazine Fat Burning

 I am a huge fan of FITNESS Magazine and their 20 minute express workouts feature something for everyone.  Check out the ultimate lunch workout slide show!

Do you love Joel Harper workouts?  Well, apparently Dr. Oz does as he features @JoelHarperFit (NYC trainer extraordinaire and no relation to our beloved Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser!) in this 20 minute workout to blast away fat!  (Yes, please!)  Also search Joel Harper on YouTube and find some great workouts there.

Want 20 minutes of intensity that you're going to feel the next day?  Try Women's Health Magazine's Lose Belly Fat: 20-Minute Fat-Burning Workout. The next day, as you recover, you may want to opt in for the 20 minute walk (read the info carefully and make certain you're fit enough to do high-intensity workouts... it is good to push your comfort zone a little bit but not good to hurt yourself if you're just starting to exercise).

Let me know on Twitter (@HealthyLoserGal) or on Facebook (HealthyLoser Gal or page: Healthy Loser Gal) or by commenting here if you're part of the January 20 for 20 Challenge, friends. If you want to be in on the GaiamTV.com giveaway, please follow @Gaiam on Twitter or GaiamTV on Facebook.

C'mon and join me... let's make January a healthy, I'm-proud-of-what-I'm-doing kind of month! :)

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / Healthy Loser Gal