The Plan: About Exercise

Ok, so I know for fact that if I don't plan for what I want to accomplish I automatically fail. So I need to have a plan for the exercise part of my goal: Lose Weight and Get Fit.

I also know that I need to get my whatever workout in early in the morning for the following reasons:

1. I get it out of the way early and I don't have to be thinking ALL DAY LONG that I HAVE TO DO IT!

2. I like getting ready early-showered, hair & makeup done- for the rest of the day

3. When I postpone the workout for "later", 99.9% of the times I don't do it

4. I hate seeing woman wearing their sweat clothes, especially their sweat pants on public besides the gym and I don't go to the gym, so please take them off before going some other place than the gym!!!

5. Helps me to stay in track for the rest of the day meaning that I am more conscious on how and what I eat, puts me on the: Do I really want to waste those precious calories on this? I DON'T THINK SO mode.

6. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the high I get from exercising

7. I also LOVE concentrating on what I am feeling while exercising, you know, like when you do squads and you concentrate on your thighs and derriere and you imagine how you are sculpting them, AWESOME (said on Oprah's tone).

So here is the plan:

1. Workout early in the morning, preferably at 5:30am, from Mondays through Saturdays, I will take Sundays off form EVERYTHING!

2. Do 30 minutes of HIIT cardio Mondays through Saturdays (High Intensity Interval Training)

3. Do strength training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
I will do Chris Powell's push-ups/squads/sit-ups combinations and I might throw in some Jillian Michael's Shred in 30 and Ripped in 30
#FromFat2Fab

sweat it out baby!

The Importance of Body Hydration

 Drinking water is a PLUS in weight loss. Since we were kids we heard we needed to drink 8 cups of water a day.  Since then, things have changed and the number of drinking cups too. To keep your body hydrated it is as simple as diving your weight -in pounds- in half , the result is the amount of ounces we should drink.
Example: I weigh 168 pounds 168/2 = 84meaning that I need to drink 88 ounces (about 10 1/2 cups) to keep my body hydrated.
One nice tip:our internal body temperature is 98 degrees Fahrenheit, when we drink cold water, our metabolism has to work, in other words, our body has to use/burn calories, using approximately 8 calories, to heat up the cold water,  helping us to lose weight. 
When we exercise, we need to increase the consumption of liquids. It is recommended to drink 8 ounces of water/liquids per every 15 minutes of exercise.So go ahead and drink up!!

#FromFat2Fab

Homemade Sweet Potato Chips

So, I need to have healthy JUMMY snacks  handy to have a better food intake. I decided to use my "so long waiting to be cooked" sweet potatoes that I had on the counter but, what to do? CHIPS!!! as as sweet potato chips!!! awesome, I searched different ways on how to do it and I am SO glad it worked. 

So here it is:

1. peel the potatoes

2. slice into 1/16" or as thin as a nickel

3. place in a large bowl 

4. add 2 Tbs olive oil

5. if you like spice, add 1 tsp of it plus 1 tsp kosher salt

6. coat the potatoes

7. place in cookie sheet ( I used parchment paper)

8. bake at 375 degrees for 15 or until they are crispy

I made 4 trays and I ate 3 of them, oops!!! I place my left overs-yeah, you heard me, leftovers on a ziplock bag to eat later.

Note: Sweet Potatoes are complex carbs, which are good for ya. They are 77g of water, 1.6g protein, 0.05g fat, 20 g carb, 3g fiber

#FromFat2Fab

My Pinterest

Follow my Fitness board in

http://pinterest.com/rosihowell/fitness/ 


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Water with Lemon

Water with Lemon is a novel by Zonya Foco, the host of Healthy Bites. Once an overweight person, she shares on this novel 8 habits that changed her life once and for all! This is a novel with 3 main characters, quiet entertaining. I loaned the book from the public library along with the Lickety-Split Meals recipe handbook mentioned on Water with Lemon. This novel delivers a compelling story with characters we can relate to. #FromFat2Fab

Chris Powell's: Choose to Lose: The 7-Day Carb Cycle Solution

Chris Powell is the host of Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition here is his website www.chrispowell.com . 

Anyways, he has a book : "Choose to lose: the 7-day carb cycle solution" which I love. Back in September 2012, I lost a WHOLE LOT OF WEIGHT AND INCHES thanks to following what is in this book. It is an easy way to lose weight and tone muscles. They way of eating is delicious and healthy. 

Choose to lose: the 7-day carb cycle solution is divided into high-carb and low-carb days, it gives you a  list of the foods you should eat on those 2 different days with the option of cheating meals. It tells you to do strength training 3 days a week (push-ups, squads and sit-ups--with illustrations showing you form and techniques) and cardio 6 days a week where you can choose what you want to do (jog, run, hike, bike, dance, etc). No need to buy equipment. Both strength training and cardio, combined, should be between 20-30 minutes a day, peace of cake!!! 

It also gives you a FREE day of exercise and eating his way.

The kind and types of food are included it. So you don't feel deprive at all but, Chris teaches you when to eat it.

This  7-day carb cycle solution resets every 4 weeks, being the 4th week a high-carb day every day, which confuses your metabolism and makes you lose more weight and faster.

I am glad I bought a hard copy and not a digital version.  I have "crucified" this book with side notes and things I want to remember, something I feel is not the same with digital versions (call me old fashion if you will). So there you go, if you want to see my numbers from September 2012, check out my post HERE. #FromFat2Fab

My Fitness Pal

One of the most easy to use apps is My Fitness Pal. It is 100% FREE plus whatever you log on your phone will automatic synchronize to the web version and vise-versa.
This amazing app is available for IOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone platforms.

How it works?
Well, you input your personal info as of height, weight, how much you plan to exercise and most importantly what are your goals: Lose weight, maintain, etc.  Based on what you put in, it will tell you how many calories you should eat a day and how many calories you need to burn a week to accomplish your goal.

It also keeps track of your meals, which you can log by typing in to their database or scanning labels. Lots of support from fellow members, tons of recipes, and success stories.

#FromFat2Fab