It's only 25 minutes......

Beauty starts on the inside.  So one of the major things I am doing over the next year is trying to loose some of my extra pounds and get healthy.  Who isn't now a days?  I started my new leaf with an over haul on my eating habits.   In all honesty what I put into my body was not too bad.  We started trying to eat cleaner and better over a year ago and have done well keeping up with that.  The big thing for me was how I eat.  I'm not really much of an eater.  You may think skipping meals will help you out but it doesn't.  All that's going to do is slow down your metabolism.  So I've become more cognizant of not only what kind of food and how much of it but how often.  It's recommended that you eat several small meals rather then a couple big ones.  

A big kick of I did to this was doing the Ultimate Reset.  I'm not going to sit here and say I bought all in and these supplements are some magic powder that will make you thin and beautiful.  But it did help me form some good habits.  The program is 21 days in which you take your water consumption very seriously and then slowly cut out animal products and processed foods and grains.  In the end you are full vegan.  This isn't a lifestyle I could keep up but it does help to build a schedule of eating fresh, prepared by you food.  You also see how easy it can be to get in your fruits and veggies.  I was never hungry.  I didn't starve myself.  I did loose seven pounds and really boost up my metabolism.  I may have added back meat and dairy but I haven't lost those good building blocks.

Of course all of that is nothing with out a work out.  Right now I am doing an at home work out called Focus T25.  If you have every heard of Insanity then you know Shaun T.  The premise is that the work out is only 25 minutes but during that time there are no breaks and you go all out.  You do pretty hard core work outs once a day for four days and on the fifth day you do two work outs (am and pm).  You get one day off and a day of stretch.  The work outs change everyday so you don't get bored doing the same thing and it keeps your body guessing so you have less plateau.  I like that it's not a huge time commitment and I don't need a bunch of equipment or to go to the gym (that is always full of people who look like the don't need to be there which just makes me feel like a fat kid).  It's a lot of cardio and there is a huge focus and making sure you always have your core engaged.  I'm only three days into this, I took a week off between Rest and starting, but I feel good about it.  Weigh day is on Saturday (STATerday) so I will see if I've made progress then.  I did start it out 8.5 pounds down and 6 inches disappeared.  

My biggest advice, things that have helped me this far, would be to do this with a friend.  My 'coach' (yeah there's a lot of Beachbody stuff going on but it's not the only thing out there just what's working for me) is a great gal and friend LT.  She's got even more then me to loose and has made so amazing progress (75 pounds!!).  She's been a real inspiration to me.  The other piece of advise would be to stay off of the scale!  No really.  Put it away and break it out once a week for weigh ins.  But don't just use that as your guide line.  Get a seamstress tape and tape your self once a week too.  Some weeks you may not see any weight loss because you've built muscle but seeing those inches go away will keep you motivated.  Of course do all the good for you stuff like eat balanced and drink lots of water and plenty of sleep.  I also give myself a cheat meal once a week if I feel like it.  That's the day to have the thing that's you weakness.  Pizza and a beer, maybe it's a carb fest, maybe it's desert.  Having that once a week, without guilt, is a great way to stay on the right path.  One meal will not hurt you and it's okay.  

What do you do to stay in shape?  Any good advice?