January results . . . finally . . .

Okay, I apologize for the delay. This bug I had was a nasty one, and I ended up going an entire week with no exercise at all (bleh!). It seriously knocked me flat! Definitely no fun. I am sure, however, that this came about as a result of stress and over training, so I am approaching my workouts a bit differently now that I am back on my feet. More on that later (i.e. in another post).

Anyway, I promised to post my January results so here you go:

Measurements (as of 1/1/2014):	Measurements (as of 2/4/2014):
Weight: 179.2 lbs	Weight: 172.8 lbs
Body Fat: 43.3%	Body Fat: 41.1%
Waist: 41.5”	Waist: 40”
Hips: 44”	Hips: 42.2”
Chest: 42.2”	Chest: 40.5”
Right Arm: 13.8”	Right Arm: 13.2”
Left Arm: 14.5”	Left Arm: 13.8”
Right Thigh: 22.5”	Right Thigh: 23.5”
Left Thigh:  22.8”	Left Thigh:  23.5”

These results are a combination of eating well (I will post my eating guidelines in the very near future), exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep, and hoping for the best.

So here are a few tips that are working for me. Perhaps they will be helpful to you as well:

1. I have not starved myself or deprived myself in any way. I will talk about this more in my "eating guidelines" post, but suffice it to say that any kind of deprivation diet is not sustainable. If this is what you are using to lose weight, I wish you the best, but I do not believe you will be successful. In any case, I have never been successful (in the long term) losing weight with a severely restrictive diet.

2. I eat healthy, whole foods and keep processed foods to a minimum. This one is pretty self-explanatory. In general, if the food is packaged, and especially if it has a long list of ingredients, it is not good for you, no matter what it claims. Keep these types of food to a minimum.

3. I go to bed as close to 10PM as possible and I aim to get up around 6AM. A good night's rest is crucial to weight loss as well as to your overall health and vitality and mood. Don't skimp on sleep, even if it means missing your workout that day. Your body needs that time to repair and regenerate. So if something from your to-do list has to go, don't let it be your sleep.

I am happy with these results, and I am on track to reach that goal of weighing less than 120 lbs. by the end of the year. Yee-haw!