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Before: August, 2013
After: October, 2015 |
While I was on the elliptical at the gym today, I saw an advertisement on the TV for some food plan that guaranteed fabulous abs in 30 days. "Eat this special thing and follow our meal plan and you'll look great in 30 days."
Thirty days?
On one of my recent sleepless nights, I saw an advertisement for some ab machine that was sponsored by a couple of champion body builders. They both professed to use this machine and said that it was responsible for them winning their respective titles.
What a bunch of hogwash! I seriously want to know who buys this stuff? And who believes it?
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| September, 2013: This was taken a few months before I decided to do something about my weight. I was willing to try just about anything, but whatever I did, I wanted it to last. |
If you've followed my blog, you know how I feel about Weight Watchers, but at least Weight Watchers is a sound nutritional plan. Yes, it involves points, which I hate to count. But you eat normal food and it takes time. You don't buy some special pill or powder and expect instant results.
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| Stability ball planks: This was my time today. I'll tell you, it was not easy!!! I hadn't been doing these for a while, so my time was really bad when I started doing them again. Today I got back up to my personal record of four minutes. Now it's time to beat that! |
Listen people, there are no quick fixes. How long did it take you to gain the weight you have on your body? What makes you think you're going to be able to lose the weight quickly and have fabulous abs in 30 days? I have been at this for 22 months and I'm still working on having fabulous abs. It takes a lot of work, patience and a "never give up" attitude.
Sure, you can probably lose a decent amount of weight in 30 days by following some fad diet. But this is not going to give you any long term results.
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| Proper nutrition is key to weight loss and long term success. |
The bottom line is that losing weight and keeping it off requires work. For me, Weight Watchers did not work, but I know many people have had success with it. What worked best for me is following flexible dieting. I had really good results with this and it has taught me how to eat and keep the weight off. I also lead a relatively active lifestyle. I enjoy hiking and cycling (in warmer weather), I lift weights several times a week, and I recently started doing yoga.
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| The view looking straight down from the top of Mount Norwottuck. |
So, do yourself a favor. Do you want to lose weight? Look up flexible dieting and give it a try. Create an account on MyFitnessPal and join the community there. Check out BodyBuilding.com: they have a wealth of information about nutrition and exercise, geared towards varying levels of knowledge from novice to expert. I find myself reading their material pretty regularly.
Do you want to get in shape? Join a gym. Lift weights. Sure, cardio will help you burn calories, but weight lifting will result in increased muscle mass and improved metabolism.
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| Not a big fan of gym selfies. I always feel so self-conscious. I like this picture because you can see the muscles in my arms. This didn't happen because I subscribed to some gimmick on TV. It took hard work and perseverance to accomplish my goals. |
Don't believe any quick fix you hear or read about. Believe in hard work and dedication.
Questions for you: (Answer in the comment section below.)
What fun things are you doing this weekend?
What's your favorite form of exercise?
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