Back to Reality

As wonderful as it was to have Chris here with me this weekend,  holiday weekends like this aren't so wondeful for my exercise routine and meals. I spoiled myself eating and drinking whatever I felt like without working out! Shocking I know!! But now that he's gone :( it is time to start focusing on my healthy plans again.

To get myself back into my routines, I hit up my normal Zumba class and then did some other exercises with a friend. I made my way around the gym tonight using the stair machine, stationary bicycle, Arc trainer (that funky machine that is similar to an elliptical but provides results similar to jogging), rowing machine and the Nike Training app to work my abs. I have a feeling that I may seriously regret using the rowing machine tomorrow. Working out my arms and shoulders is something I don't do frequently enough.

I received an email this morning from the website Workout BOX that had ten tips for loosing belly blubber. I always love learning new tips and I hope you all do too because I'm going to continue loading you up with them. Here are the ten from Workout BOX:

1.  Clean up your diet - Eat fresh wholesome food
2.  Learn to cook - Control your fat, sugar and salt content
3.  Portion size - With a balance of protein, starchy carbohydrates, fruits & vegetables
4.  Get active - The more you move, the more calories you burn.
5.  Lift weights - More muscle means a higher metabolism, more calories burned and less body fat
6.  Peform the right exercises - Follow a structured training program suited to your goal
7.  Correct order of exercises - The most technical go first
8.  Get the intensity right - Work hard & break a sweat
9.  Get enough rest - Your body rebuilds & burns fat while you sleep
10.Chill out - Stress causes hormonal imbalances that may contribute to weight gain

Photo from ZestLife

Chilling out always seems to be the hardest thing on this list for me to do. With the 18 million things I always seem to have going on in my life, finding time to sit back and do something relaxing is really hard to do. In an effort to find some me time to clear my mind, I'm going to try to get myself up and to a yoga class tomorrow morning. I know you don't seem too stressed at 8 in the morning, but I'm hoping that starting my day off calm, streched out and at ease will set me up for feeling great for the rest of the day.  Now I must get some sleep to prepare for some early downward dog :)