It’s day 2 into my blogging into the New Year and today I am going to talk about my exercise habits and how along with changing my eating habits have helped me successfully lose 90+ pounds and keep it off!
When I finally decided that I needed to change, I first changed my eating habits which I blogged about yesterday! I knew I also needed to get myself moving, but at the time just had no idea where to even start. I had started in the gym scene when I was in college, but I didn’t really care for it. To me, it was a weird combo of people and I always felt uncomfortable. I didn’t like feeling uncomfortable. If you read the blog from yesterday, I have experimented with many different ways to eat and have successful weight loss… My exercise habits are pretty much the same… I have changed exercise routines and done many activities to help me lose weight. Working out to me should be something FUN and ENJOYABLE, not a punishment. I like to mix things up when it comes to my workouts.
First stop, I found a women’s only kickboxing group exercise studio which quickly became my obsession! I started there 3 times a week doing cardio kickboxing for an hour. When I started, I quickly saw how out of shape I really was — I couldn’t even do a push up… CRAZINESS. It wasn’t long before the owner offered unlimited classes, and I was going to classes as many times a week as I could.
The class offerings then began to change, and she started offering on top of Kickboxing a class called Piloxing! If you have never heard of Piloxing, you should LOOK into it! It is a great choreographed class that mixes boxing, pilates, and dance into one killer workout! I started taking Piloxing with my Mama, who is now my workout buddy, and we just couldn’t get enough! This class is one that we want to take all the time! We found another local group exercise studio that had more offerings of Piloxing and moved over there. We’ve been at this studio now for a while, and on top of Piloxing we take Barre, Zumba, Butts&Guts, Bootcamp, and Piloxing Knockout… There are some great combinations of classes you can take and each instructor has a different style which makes it even better!
I quickly saw the weight coming off once I added in physical activity along with my diet change. I soon realized though that I NEEDED and WANTED MORE!
Here is a little something about me, I LOVE to eat… I LOVE food…. So I soon realized if I wanted to EAT then I needed to earn the fo
od! I know silly way to look at it, but I like to reward myself for a job well done, and so I do that with food. Now, I am not saying that I work out and then go have a hamburger… That’s not it at all. I workout, so when I sit down to have my meals, I know that a little extra on my plate won’t kill my hard work for the day.
So, along with working out at the group exercise studio, I decided to pick up running. Running to me was always something I liked to do, and some people think I am CRAZY. Running is a chance for me to be alone with my own thoughts and enjoy the outdoors. Some ask how I started running and honestly it’s like the line from Forrest Gump, “On that day for no particular reason, I decided to go for a run.” Two and a half years ago, we were on vacation, and I knew that I was going to need some type of exercise for the week, and so I took my running shoes with me and just started running. I never thought that 2.5 years later that I’d still be running and have successfully completed 2 half marathons, a 10k, and a few mud runs. Running combined with my other group exercise classes have helped me reach my first goal weight of 150 pounds, but that was just my SMALL goal! I still wasn’t at my BIG goal weight yet.
About 4 months ago, I decided I needed to once again add something else to my routine. I decided to take a leap of faith and try out a program with BeachBody called Les Mills Combat. It has been a LIFESAVER! I LOVE it! I usually get up in the morning and do my Combat workouts and then have another workout in the late afternoon or evening.
I have progressed from working out 3 days a week to working out 5-6 days a week, twice a day. This has helped me tremendously with getting down another 10 pounds and closer to my goal weight. People may think I am crazy, and you know what I might be… BUT our bodies were made to MOVE, they weren’t made to sit all the time. I know with all of this activity, I am not only making myself healthier, but I am also making my body a much happier and healthier place.
Exercise shouldn’t be a punishment by any means. In order to be successful and find something that you will continue to do, you need to search out the things you like to do. If you don’t like it, why would you put yourself through it?!? If the gym scene isn’t for you and you’d think you’d be better working out at home, I am happy to help find you a program that will fit your needs! If you think running is something you’d like to start doing, I can help you get started there as well! There are so many options available to you, you just have to search them out. Exercise for me is my “ME” time… it’s a chance for me to feel good and energized! I never do a workout to punish myself, my workouts are always done as a reward! 
Build A Better You! 