You can’t exercise enough to counteract a poor diet. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
I’ve been working out regularly for two and a half years now, but over the last six months, I’ve noticed the pudge still increasing. I don’t love what I see anymore when I look in the mirror. My dad asked if I had gained some weight. Ha.
It’s all about diet. I have been eating out too much and eating too much sugar and eating whenever I felt like it. I’ve been eating this and this with this. Indulgence was my motto.
It was fun, but the weather is warming in my part of the planet and it would be nice to get back to my peak.
All of that is to say that March is going to be all about fitness and health for me. Here are my resolutions.
March resolutions
Fitness category
- Work out time/activity. Always.
- No sugar.
- Eat at home (don’t eat out). If you have any ideas for healthy recipes, leave me a comment. I’m looking at FitnessBlender’s website for suggestions right now. I’m also looking at this and this and this.
- Eat something green.
- Count your protein.
- Record plank time.
Writing category
I’m going to work on my book for an hour.
Meditation category
I’ve been meditating 24 minutes a day for about a year and a half. Still going strong.
Social category
I’m going to send a picture to my mom of what I made to eat that day.
Others
Remember that appearance is a consequence of fitness.
I like to mutter something to myself daily. It’s a good reminder and an easy A. (Here’s a list of some of the other phrases I enjoy.)
Clean something.
Spring cleaning! Spark joy organizing. There are pantries and closets and drawers to fix. I’ve accumulated stuff and it’s time to sort the junk.
Each day of March, I’m going to purge something according to the Marie Kondo method of organizing by subcategory. There are 24 subcategories that I count.
I’ve been wanting to do this purge since I first read her books, but back then I was traveling and only had a couple of suitcases.
Practice humility.
This resolution is one of the pillars of joy.
That’s it! I don’t have any resolutions for my business category because I don’t want to.
What are your resolutions for March?
Exercise is great, because it makes you look and feel so much better. Personally, I noticed that (minor) setbacks are simply part of the game. We’re all human.
And food is indeed a big influence on your weight. Adopting a healthier diet will do so much more than just exercising. Food is a big influence.
Eating healthier (and less) will help you burn away the fat. Exercising will help you stay fit, make you feel better and show those awesome abs!
I’m not sure if I would want to unclutter my house like Marie Kondo, but there’s something very fulfilling about throwing (or giving) away stuff you don’t need or want. Does Marie’s book also tell you how to prevent clutter from entering your house?
I like reading your blog posts 🙂
I’m glad you like my posts!
If something doesn’t spark joy, don’t let it into your home!
Hi Thrifty gal. Have you tried intermittent fasting (not as bad as it sounds)?
I tried intermittent fasting, but it had the opposite effect on me. I think it just depends on the person, because I also know people who were successful at intermittent fasting.
I have! Many times. It’s currently on my February resolutions. 🙂
Intermittent fasting will lead you to most of your health goals 👍🏽
Necessary, but not sufficient, I think.
Ugh – I hate registering on websites BUT it’s worth it to tell you (stranger!) that I have been following you (for years?) and I love your posts – Please keep up your writing, posting, and general youness – the vibes you are sending out into the void (internet) are really positive and helpful.
-FBDG
I appreciate you registering to tell me that. I also hate registering, but don’t know how to disable that.
A staple meal in my house is a salmon patty (no bun) from Costco, which is wild and not farmed, and mashed cauliflower (which you can find in the frozen aisle at Trader Joes). Throw in a lot of spices and it’s a fabulous quick healthy meal
I’ve been hankering for smoked salmon.
in the right planned contect a perfect weight loss meal.
I lost 50 pounds and have 20 more or so to go. The last 20 are HARD. I can’t tweak my diet any further. I really need some extra cardio work.
Cardio is the worst. I have a hard time making myself do cardio, so I feel ya.
But fifty pounds is killer and you should be so proud.
Thriftygal why don’t you count the calories too, while you’re at it? If you’ll recall the first law of thermodynamics, a.k.a. conservation of energy, you will appreciate that it is not possible to gain weight – indeed losing weight is unavoidable – if the calories intake is sufficiently low.
If you want to burn off that flab, muscle-building leg exercises give you a lot of bang for your buck – in my opinion!
And remember, working out and losing weight isn’t all about vanity. At least 3% is something else. Like being able to win a fight when someone insults your favorite species of warbler.
I’ve tried counting calories many times. I always give up quickly on it. It makes me miserable.
My favorite warbler is the wren. It’s a fun word to say.
Here is a random fact Cardio while can buffer sugar intake from the calories and assist in glycogen depletion can reduce metabolic energy expenditure by 30%, there was a study done on a bunch of women doing glycolic exercise and reduced their base this caloric intake around 20% and gained weight compared to those not doing glycolic exercises.
Everything is very context dependant.
FYI still following my goals i’m almost back to my lean weight currently down 42kg / 92 pounds.
I noticed on your goals list you had count protein, how do you determine adequate protein as a certain amount is just required for bone mineralization, let alone the correct percentage in a meal to stimulate lean mass protection which will decrease as you age.
Your luckier than myself as women hold onto lean muscle until their 60s then declines over the years unless protecting them, where mean loos lean mass from their 30s its one of the reason why the average men die out much quicker than women.
Aiming for 80 grams of protein/day. We’ll see if that’s possible.
“eating whenever I felt like it”
How about next time simply witness this desire, this craving. When you stop identifying with it then it will naturally go away and most likely you won’t eat until the body really need to.
It’s all related to meditation. Meditation is witnessing. It doesn’t have to be for just 24 mins a day, it can be every waking moment (during sleep to if you’re an advanced meditator)
I’ve read that perspective before. Just being aware of the craving is sometimes enough to thwart it.
Pick Up Limes has a great youtube channel and blog – lots of amazing food ideas.
Thanks! I was hoping for some suggested recipes. I’ll go check it out now.
Edited to add, I’ve gone through their website and watched some of their videos and really like these guys. Thanks so much for the suggestion!!