Weightloss and Fitness Essentials
A funny thing happens when people see me and ask what I do for a living. First, I tell them I own a fitness and lifestyle community. Next, they start asking how do lose weight the FASTEST. I go into the same things I tell my girls everyday: eat right, eat enough, get moving with intensity, and clean up the stinking thinking. I'll discuss a few specifics (that means blowing the bubble that there is not magic formula) and I slowly see this "glare" form in their eyes. They are looking at me like, "Well, it's easy for you because you are in shape."
When I see this look I say, "I'm no different than you. Losing weight is freaking hard. I know because I lost over 110 lbs. over the last few years." Suddenly their eyes light up, they lean in, and REALLY start paying attention to what I have to say. It's like if you are in shape you get no street cred to help people who need to lose weight.
This is when I go in for the "kill" as I like to call it...and no, I don't mean go to my website and join Phit-N-Phat and I'll help you all you want. 
What I mean is telling them all about changing their life. Never go into losing weight as a "temporary" thing. It's NOT. It's truly setting up a whole lifestyle that will keep you eating right and moving for the rest of your life.
An example of a huge lifestyle change for me is spending two hours on Sunday cooking and prepping food for my week. I am like all the other mothers and women out there...I have to make time to do it, but those two hours give me 49 wise decisions on what I'm going to eat for the week. That's right. I eat about 7 times a day and that's 7 times a day I stand at the fridge, pass a Mc Donald's, or look in the pantry for my next meal. If it's done I have taken away 49 choices for the week that could easily be bad ones if you catch me at the right moment.
I thought today I would share with you a few things I have done or bought that makes staying in shape so much easier for me. These little things make a big impact on making the lifestyle comfortable and easy.
Ogio Cooler Backpack - This holds my laptop, water bottle, wallet, and other stuff. The best part is in the bottom of the backpack is a seperate zippered cooler that holds my food for the day!
Ziploc Toss Away Containers - I have the square short version. When I prep my food on Sunday, I use these like they were my only little Lean Cuisines. They are a good size because it's about what you should be eating in quantity for a mini-meal. You can also reuse them or toss them!
Another hot tip for these: if you are a meal planner, take a Sharpie and label the containers Monday - Meal One, Monday - Meal Two, etc. :)
Jump Rope and Resistance Band - If you have these two things you can get in a quick workout anywhere. Do the following routine with this modification. Rather than going straight through the exercises, jump rope for 1 minute between each exercise. So, you would JR for 1 min., do squats, JR for 1 min., side delt raises, JR for 1 min., lunges, etc. At the end of the circuit, rest for two minutes and repeat one or two more times.
This is an excellent full body routine you can do while travelling, stuck in the house because of snow, to get used to exercising, etc.
Measuring Cups, spoons, and scale - I can't tell you how many times I have overate because I was too lazy to wash the one set of measuring spoons I had. Then one day a lightbulb went off: why not buy more? They are dirt cheap at the dollar store! I keep a bowl of measuring cups and spoons of all sizes on my kitchen counter so that they are always top of mind. It saves me from guessing and eating too much.
Gallon Jugs of Water - Have you ever left the house without your water and then ended up drinking diet soda or nothing all afternoon? I keep 2-3 gallon jugs of water in my trunk. I drink right out of them, too. If I'm in my car who cares what I look like? I also wag my jug around the gym because I know that during a workout I should drink at least half of it if not all of it on a long day.
Face Wipes - Do you breakout because you are working hard in the gym? I do. I keep some Olay face wipes in my car and I wipe down my face and upper back. It helps get the yuck off, cool you down a tad, and prevent acne from sweating or wiping your face after handling gym equipment.
IPod Downloads - I have a few of these for my Ipod. There are days where I need motivation or someone else to get the creative cardio juices flowing for me. ITrain has some great spinning and treadmill workouts. I don't like the boxing routines that much, though. Another FAVORITE of mine will soon be this one: Full Body All Out Workout by Jen Hendershot. I haven't done this routine with the download but she recorded it the night before the Phat Camp I attended and we did it live. It's great and if you like this style of boot camp workout then you would be a good fit at Phit-N-Phat because this how we workout everyday...rough and rugged. No sissy workouts for my sweet girls!
Those are some of the things I love that make life a little easier for me. Let's all share things we do that might help the next woman get in better shape quicker and easier!!! Come on everyone! You can cough up one tip!