Hello dear fitness friends. I hope you are staying on the course to a healthier life. As I look back at when I began this journey there were some things that I thought might be helpful for you. At least I hope so.

I have always struggled with my weight. I have never been obese, but as a mesomorph when I gain weight I am heavier on the scale than most. I might wear 3 or 4 sizes less than someone else and pull a big number on the scale. I tried everything I knew to lose weight.

Pills beware….

I tried the popular diet pills. I don’t recommend going that route. Here’s why. When you take pills to speed up your metabolism or trap fat, etc… you are cheating the system. Your body has a perfectly fine metabolism (unless you have a metabolic disorder), it needs the proper amounts of water, sleep, nutrients, and  stress management to run properly. Your metabolism is simply the action of hormones within your body. Once you stop taking the supplements to speed up your metabolism, you will gain weight. If you are not building muscle and eating properly, the pills are just hurting you in the long run. I have a relative who sabotaged her body with yo-yo dieting and supplements. She had to work extra without the pills to get the weight off. So my mantra is, “Eat Clean. Work Hard.”  There are some supplements that are good for you I can write about later. I am specifically speaking to the, “Take this pill and be thin by Monday.” Many of them are overloaded with stimulants and cause water weight loss.

I’ve found the secret to my weight loss as follows:

1. Drink more water. People who drink 8 or more glasses of water have a faster metabolism than those who drink 4 or less. Flush those toxins out.

2. Eat healthy. There’s no bypassing this one. Eat garbage, feel like garbage. Eat unhealthy, gain loads of weight. Load up on fruits, vegetables, and whole foods. Ditch the processed food, fast food, and added sugar. Eat 5-6 small meals and don’t skip meals.

3. Exercise and challenge your body. Resistance train.

People want a quick fix. It’s a journey not a destination. We don’t arrive at a certain point and stop. We have to keep going and pursuing wellness as a lifestyle.

Work it OUT!

If you’re a busy person, 1 hour of exercise is 4% of your day. I can ditch watching TV or even blogging to workout. You can get a good workout in 20-30 minutes.

Make yourself a priority.

My family taught us to put others first, to share, give more than you take. Great teaching, especially when it’s coupled with balance. A drowning person can’t save another drowning person. We cannot give everything away and expect to survive. We have to take care of ourselves. The goal of life isn’t selfishness, it’s also not self-neglect. You matter. Make taking care of yourself a priority. I had to. I was stressed, unhealthy, unmotivated, and miserable. I woke up one day and said, “This isn’t living, this is existing.” So give, but also take care of you. You can’t be all things to all people.

Keep up the good work friends! I believe in YOU! You can do it.