Heal{th}

Laura's slim down plan:
30 days: April 13 - May 13
Support: Co-workers
Goal: To make lifestyle changes that lead to a loss of 5 inches (from anywhere) and hopefully 7 -10 pounds along the way. Keeping the idea of balance in mind I feel that I am incorporating easy everyday habits that will add up to great results.

My personal approach is two pronged: In the kitchen and Activities. I know that nutrition is key to good health and so is fitness. I also know what doesn't work... plans of diets or workout schedules that I'll complain about more than actually follow. So this is a trade off of one bad habit for every good one.

The kitchen component:

~ Finish meals before 8pm vs. Binging at Midnight
I have a collegue that says this is the single thing that she changed and in six months she went from a size 12 to a size 4! I think that really says something.

~ Energy vs. Wheat
On the recommendation of a friend who has cut wheat out of her diet and says she feels soooo much better for it. It's not about the carbs thing its about the gluten which is like glue in your bloodstream> slowing oxygen > making you feel sluggish. This is going to be a 30 day experiment to see how I feel and if I feel it is something that I should continue.

~ Green Tea vs. Coffee
Green Tea is so good for us on so many levels! I am looking at it from an anti-oxident perspective, but I have heard of GT being looked at in weightloss studies. And coffee (specifically caffine) is an inflamitory, so out it goes!

~ Eat Breakfast vs. Run> Starve> Binge
A hardy breakfast full of sustaining protein will help with sugar cravings and keep me from wanting to pig out at night when I usually get the urge. Limiting (not cutting out entirely) fruit in the mornings should help keep my cravings for sweets down to a minimum.

~ Go Nutrients vs. No Nutrients
Incorporate more raw veggies into my meals. I do like raw veggies, but I often flake when it comes to meal prep and I wind up getting frozen veggies and I cook them. I know that I need to be eating things as close to their original state as possible to gain the most benefit and so I am making this a focus.

On to activities:

~ Bike Trip vs. Cellulite Trip
I have a beautiful neighborhood and a great bike, lets shake things up by going for a bike ride at least three times per week. For my 30 day experiment that's 12 trips. Totally doable!

~ Getting sexy thin vs. Watching sexy thin
I like TV. I do. I am usually so brain dead at the end of the day I sit on the couch eating movie food (a fav in my house). Basically I work on getting fat everyday - diligently! But I plan to change all of that. I am moving the coffee table out of the way... making room for push ups and crunches and stretches! Every commercial I have to do a set of something. Its a start.

~ Yoga vs. No-ga
Look up the yoga classes this month and put them on the calendar today! I love how i feel after yoga class (specifically bodyFit at gold's gym its a combo of different practices). I should get back into what I love!

~ Walk the dog vs. Sit on the couch
No not the yo-yo trick, actually walk the dog. I feel like such a bad puppy mommy. I usually just let her out into the back yard for her exercise. She is frustrating to walk because she want to stop and smell everything! But I am putting it on my list, not for the aerobic exercise (that I know I'll never get with her) but for the connection with another living thing and the connection to nature.

~ Meditation vs. Aggravation
I love meditation. I am a habitual person. But it seems that anytime I have a disruption to my daily schedule I have a difficult time bouncing back. So after a series of schedule adjustments I am putting meditation back into daily rotation - where it belongs. I feel so much calmer when I am in a regular practice of meditation. 1 hour per day.

Left hand: 8 W G B R

Right hand: B F Y D M

I'm going to put the initials on my hand to remind me to incorporate these things into my daily life. I think that these are all doable and I have done them all sporadically for a very long time. I think that by combining things that work I can maximise the benefit of each.

I'll keep you posted along the way! Success or failure... you'll see it all here!

L.