The First Week: On the first week I gave you a look into what was going on with me, and what I did to lose weight. I gave you your first challenge, which was to drink nothing but water for a week.
The Second Week: Last week we talked about changing your diet by cutting proportions in half, changing your breads from white to wheat, and not frying anything!
This week we are going to talk about exercise. As I told you during the first week, I decided to use exercise at home videos. Mainly because going to the gym with a baby in tow would give me more reason to not exercise. The first video (or DVD) that I used was Leslie Sanson's Walk At Home video. You do 3 miles in 45 minutes, and it works everything. Arms, legs, abs, butt...everything! How does it do all of this? It comes with a band that goes around your waist, and two handles attached to bungee cords for your hands. Once I became experienced with this video, I swapped the band for 2 pound weights. You can either start out with 2 pound weights for each hand (which I recommend), or start out with the band. Either one will certainly show you a difference in your body. I used this video for over a year, and realized that I had lost all of the weight I was going to lose by just doing that video. I needed to switch things up, and I wanted to do something different.
Don't be afraid to change exercise routines. The main thing that you want to keep in mind about exercise is that you need to keep your body challenged. You need to change things up. Your body can get used to doing the same thing, and it will no longer be challenged to lose weight and will stop responding.
So, in a desperate attempt to change my routine, I discovered Pilates. Now, the important thing to remember about Pilates is that you can't just go out and buy any Pilates DVD. I did, and I spent a few months doing something that DIDN'T WORK! I finally ran across Brooke Silar's Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners. I was hooked from the start, and Brooke Silar is awesome. She was trained under Joseph Pilate's own protege. The best thing about the Pilates Weight Loss DVD is that it actually made me lose weight! It gives you exercises that actually sculpt and tone you, but are also considered "cardio" exercises. When I finish 20 minutes of this video, I'm sweating and my heart is racing like I had just ran a couple of miles. I HIGHLY recommend this video!
When I realized that I was maintaining my weight, and not really losing anymore, I decided to combine Leslie Sanson's video with my Pilates video. By doing that, I got immediate, dramatic results! You wouldn't believe it. I am still practicing these exercises. I do 15 minutes (1 mile) of Leslie Sanson's video with 2 pound weights, and 20 minutes of the Pilates cardio exercises for a total of 35 minutes a day. Yes, it's enough.
THE CHALLENGE: What I want you to do this week is go out to your local Wal Mart, or Target and buy either Leslie Sanson's '3 Mile Workout with Band' DVD or Brooke Silar's 'Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners' or you can just buy both. I would recommend starting out with Leslie Sanson's 3 Mile DVD to help get you started. If you can do all three miles in one setting, then that's great, but if not...build up to it. If you chose to do the Pilates video first, then I recommend doing the "cardio session" first. It is 20 minutes long, and it will make you very, very sore. You would never believe that you can move your body the way Brooke Silar does. But you can, and it's awesome!
Next week, we'll change routine a bit and see how well you did with the videos. Good luck...and remember to practice the 3 D's: Determined, Disciplined, and Dedicated
WHAT TO BUY
1. Leslie Sanson's 'Walk Away Your Waistline'
2. Brooke Silar's 'Pilates Weight Loss for Beginners'
3. Two 2 pound weights
4 comments:
I took a new class at the gym yesterday and it made me so sore. I guess it worked then! There was a lot of squats and lunges and I thought my knees were going to buckle and I'd fall over.
I do fall over when comes time for lunges...lol, but even if you're sore, you still gotta do it today! You won't stay sore as long. I never thought that was true but then the hubby told me that...I tried it out...and it works. Crazy.
I love pilates! Though I like Windsor the best. 'Cause I'm old and all of the other pilates videos I've tried are either too obnoxious (loud music, jumpy people) or don't have modified moves for people with back injuries (me).
I think it's all about finding an exercise that works for you. I know someone who lost 70lbs doing Tae Bo! Mainly it's just finding something you like otherwise you're not going to stick to it!
Well, Brooke Silar's videos are pretty good. There isn't any annoying music, and it's very quiet and it's very soothing. I love it. And she shot the video on the beach...so it's very serene. :)
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