Is This Correct?

According to my scale, I have lost 10 pounds! Can this be right? On January 19, 2012, I weighed in at a whopping 148 pounds, which was very disappointing as this is the heaviest I had ever been. This morning, 2 months later, I weighed in at 138 pounds! I guess all of my hard work and dedication has been paying off.

It feels go great to know that powering through these past few months of intense exercise and strict eating habits has actually worked!

Progress Report

Why you don't want to lose "weight"

People have been asking me why I want to lose weight, and I think I should clarify my goal. It’s not that I want to lose weight; I want to lose BODY FAT. When I say that I want to “lose weight”, I really mean that they thin out the layer of fat that is sitting on top of my muscles, and add more muscle to my body.

 250lb vs 120lb woman

This image compares a 250 pound and 120 pound woman. As you can see above, body fat is yellow in color, soft, flabby, and voluminous. Fat sits on top of our muscle as a layer that is as thick or thin as we allow it to be. Having a thick layer of fat is what makes our bodies bigger, softer and heavier than most of us would like. Unfortunately, there’s limitless potential for how thick this layer of fat can get. 

The majority of people today have a fat layer as thick as several inches off the muscle, up to a foot or more. In order to control the thickness of our fat layer, we must regulate our activity level, exercise, and most importantly, what we eat!

In order to tone or define our muscles, we must thin out the layer of fat so much that we are able to see and feel the hard muscle underneath.

How to Lose Fat and Only the Fat

Gut Bust

Back at it!

I am very glad to say that after 2 weeks of no exercise, I have finally made it back to the gym! In case you didn’t read last week's blog post, I was suffering from bronchitis, and was unable to exercise. I must admit, it was VERY difficult to start exercising after not doing anything for almost 2 weeks. I started with a HIIT workout, followed by some abdominal exercises, and then basic shoulder and back exercises. I know that the first week back to the gym will be a challenge, but I am confident that I can pull this off!

Abs!

Here are a few of my favourite ab exercises. These moves are exhausting, but help to sculpt the abdominal muscles.

Side Plank

Target: Obliques

Preparation

• Lie on your side on a mat.
• Place your forearm on the mat under your shoulder perpendicular to your body.
• Place your upper leg directly on top of your lower leg and straighten the knees and hips.

Execution

Raise your body upward by straightening your waist so your body is ridged. Hold this position for 30 seconds, and repeat on the other side.

*Extra Challenge: To make this plank more challenging dip your hip so that it almost touches the mat, and then return to your original position. Repeat this move 12-15 times and then switch sides.

  

Kneeling Cable Crunch

Mid-week Motivation

Hello everyone! I find it hard to stay motivated sometimes, especially after a few days of intense training. Hope these photos help you to stay positive throughout the rest of the week!

Take part in my challenge!

In order to achieve anything in life, one must set goals, both personal and professional. I have created this blog in order to challenge myself to lose 15 pounds.

I have always been very active by exercising regularly at the gym several times a week. However, since this school year has started I have had a very busy schedule, and have not had enough motivation to exercise and eat healthy. I have realized that when I work out on a regular basis, I feel energized and more motivated to accomplish other goals. I have been telling myself I would lose these pesky pounds that I have put on over the past year, so I’m promising to myself, in front of the readers of this blog, that I will.

I will be blogging weekly about my fitness schedule and routines, things that keep me motivated, eating habits, and my success along the way. I hope that this blog will not only allow me to stay focused on achieving my goal, but will inspire others to encourage themselves to achieve any personal goals they may have.