For years, I struggled with a little extra weight. Usually, I carried around about 25-30 extra pounds. I knew I was overweight, but I didn't feel fat...until the day I looked in the mirror and saw a back roll. I was in my forties and wondered why my membership to the gym wasn't working for me. I lifted weights about three times a week. I knew how to eat a nutritious diet. I just didn't know what else to do.
I thought back to the times in my life when I was in great shape. In high school, I played sports and prided myself in being able to run fast. In the Air Force, staying fit was a way of life. You got up every day and worked out, often times jogging, just as sure as you had your morning cup of coffee. Then, I thought about what I was currently doing and learned something about myself. I wasn't consistent.
Without the consistency of team sports, practices and games I'd rather hang out with friends eating pizza or grilling out. Without the consistency of working out as a way of life and preparedness as it was in the Air Force, I'd let myself go too many days without the right exercise and the right foods. I had the knowledge, but knowledge alone does not keep your body in the best condition.
My weight loss limitation seemed to be consistency. Did I need to hire a personal trainer? I knew I couldn't afford a personal trainer at $60+ per hour. Then, late one night, I found an infomercial on P90X. The boot camp style workout brought my mind back to my military days. I ordered the program thinking that maybe it could keep me motivated for a while. It changed my thinking and my life. It actually put a virtual personal trainer right in my living room and gave me an online support community of others involved in the program.
P90X helped guide my nutrition back to healthy habits. I eat clean 98% of the time now. My mind is focused on fueling my body rather than entertaining it. And, although I was already into strength training, I learned a few other things about my workout habits.
First, variety in your routine is needed to keep you motivated each day and to keep your body responding to the demands you're putting on it. If you do the same thing everyday, your body gets used to the demands and works more efficiently by using less calories to do the same thing. Ouch! That doesn't help much in losing weight.
Second, although I'd worked out in the gym a lot, I didn't work out my abs or core. I wasn't concerned about flexibility, and the last thing I wanted to do was cardio. P90X helped me change all that and put me on a course for a healthy and fit lifestyle.
Both cardio and strength training are crucial elements for losing weight. Maybe you've heard it before. To lose weight, you have to create a caloric deficit between what you eat (the calories you consume) and what your burn through activity and normal body functions.
Strength training is important because it builds muscles. Whether you want to add muscle and bulk up or just tone and shape your muscles, one thing is true - muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue even if you're not doing anything! Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue, too. That means it takes up less space. Increasing your muscle mass increases your metabolism. You'll have more energy and burn more calories.
My problem with cardio was that I hadn't found something that I really liked to do. I knew that cardio was essential, but I couldn't motivate myself to stick with it. My home gym has a nice treadmill and an elliptical as well as Bowflex Revolution - all attempts to add cardio to my life. I have a short attention span on cardio equipment. I just get bored.
In P90X, I learned about interval training and actually had a cardio workout with all thirteen routines, including the yoga workout! I found something I actually enjoyed. The Kenpo karate was empowering. Now, I know P90X isn't the answer for everyone.
My whole point is my awareness that every individual must find an activity that keeps them moving and burns calories. My mom has Fibromyalgia. She does well in the water and loves swimming. I'm not a water person, but that works for my mom. When we were younger, my sister was a dance instructor. I cried when I was a little girl because mom made me take dance lessons. See what I mean?
If you like to walk, walk. If you like to play football, join a league. If you like to use an elliptical, do it. Do whatever it is that will keep you motivated to keep moving. Then, combine that with a little strength training and proper nutrition.
One final word of advice: learn all you can from other people's experiences. Become a student of life. If you want to lose weight and get in shape, follow people who are doing what you want to do.
Julie Butts is a fitness fanatic, Beachbody Coach, dog lover, writer, and owner of justgetmefit.com justgetmefit.com. Her personal mission is to enlighten, inspire, and promote healthy balanced living. As a Beachbody Coach, she helps people define and reach their fitness goals with programs such as P90X, ChaLean Extreme, Turbo Jam, Slim in 6, and TurboFire.
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