Great Resources to Start your Journey

Want to lose weight? Here are some resources that REALLY helped as I embarked on my weight loss journey. Seriously.

1. Hungry Girl. Visit www.hungry-girl.com and sign up for her daily (yes, an email every day) emails with great snack ideas and meals. She takes "normal food" and figures out how to make it healthy. I loved her when I was easing into healthier eating. She is great for the beginning changes in lifestyle.

2. Eat This, Not That, from Men's Health. Again, this is a daily email. I like daily emails bc they remind me, first thing - everyday - that my goal is to eat healthy and make good decisions. Sign up for the free e-newsletter here: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/home

3. Find an app or site that will help you track calories and foods. I love Sparkpeople.com a good friend of mine loves Loseit.com ... Also, Weight Watchers has one too, I think. After each meal (snacks too!), enter your foods and keep track of your intake. Don't do too little, but of course don't eat too much! Sparkpeople also allows me to track my fitness stuff and then gives a differential so I know how many calories I burned over what I consumed. Know this: to lose ONE pound, you must burn 3500 more calories than you consume.

4. Fast Food Salvation: We are busy people and can't always cook every meal. For that, I keep a list in my glove compartment of 35 fast food options that are less than 500 calories. VERY handy! http://weightloss.about.com/od/eatsmart/a/052207a.htm

5. Not a resource, but still important: Eat breakfast. Seriously. Everyday. Kick off your metabolism within an hour of waking up and your body will learn to trust that you are going to feed it. Then, eat every 3 hours or so. A lot of times our bodies horde calories out of fear it won't get fueled again soon. Give your body what it wants (and what you probably love if you are like me): FOOD. Just not too much :)

28-Day Boootcamp? I'm in!

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions? For me, I set a big goal: This year I will run a half marathon ... on April 10, if I have my druthers.

The funny thing is, after walking 20 miles a day for three days straight last summer, 13.1 miles isn't that intimidating to me. Maybe it should be, since this will involve the move I hate the most: running. But if I learned anything in 2010, I learned that I am capable of doing whatever I set my mind to doing - so long as I plan and prepare adequately.

So, since the race I want to run is in 14 weeks, I've spent this morning coming up with a training plan for the half-marathon. Most of the plans I see online are 10-week plans for people who can run 3 miles without stopping. Because I have only done that once and it was months ago, I figure I need a bit more time.

My plan involves spending the next 4 weeks getting my body back into running shape. This, of course, involves training my brain that running does not mean Death himself is after me and is no need to panic. It involves reminding my heart that it's ok to pound a bit quicker for awhile. And reminding my lungs that they need to work while I run - the entire time.

So, imagine my glee when I saw a 28-day Bootcamp program in my inbox from Sparkpeople. Ladies, I forwarded it to you in case you wanted to join too.

I just finished the video for Day One and, um, yeah. I'm a lot more out-of-shape than I realized! But that's ok. With the 28-Day Bootcamp program, and cardio 5 days a week, I still think I can be running 3 miles by the end of January and then ready to build miles for the half-marathon.

The video was quick and really did get my heart rate going.  The dogs, watching the entire time, thought I'd lost my mind and were very concerned. But, I already feel like I accomplished something this year and that's all that matters!

Seriously, check out www.SparkPeople.com if you haven't already. It is GREAT for tracking fitness, counting calories, and reading healthy recipes. If you have joined, post your user name so we can find you! I'm Nallie01 and can use a few more friends on there.

Linking and Thinking More

Here is a round-up of links I've received lately ... the good ones, at least.

Can you be healthy at any size?
Women's Health is asking a question we all want answered. Is BMI really that important? Can you be healthy and still "overweight"?

Cut your Carbohydrate Footprint
The guys over at Eat This, Not That point out hidden sugars in what have become everyday "health" foods - like store-bought granola!

31 Days to Healthier Holidays
Sparkpeople has provided daily tips to get us through the next month of holiday hoopla. Hooray! They provide a nice calendar that will look great hanging on fridges or cubicle walls.

The 9 Best Winter Foods
Another winner from Eat This, Not That is a great introduction to winter fruits and veggies that might spark some creativity in your kitchen. I know it did in mine!