The Reality of Health and Weight Loss

Over the past 10 months, I’ve lost 2% of my body fat and dropped ten pounds. For some, that may seem like the real accomplishment.

But the real accomplishment is in what I’ve gained.

I’ve gained two new passions — yoga, which has dissolved that growing ball of stress that had been ruling my life and ruining my health up until I set foot into my first yoga class — and ballroom dancing, which is pure joy and happiness in the form of motion.

I used to count calories and focus on what was on the scale. That helped to an extent — I brought my weight back into a healthy range through changing my eating and exercise habits, but it still wasn’t the right perspective.

But losing weight was not what made me happy. What made me happy was gaining a love of fitness and eating healthy.

This is a health and weight loss blog because part of being healthy is keeping your weight within a healthy range. But that’s only part of embarking on a health journey. 

Being healthy means treating your body right. It means loving yourself, and loving doing things for your well being: sleeping well, eating well, exercising, and taking time to slow down and relieve stress.

So don’t just make everything about weight loss. You’ll find that by focusing on doing things for your health instead of agonizing over every calorie, you’ll be healthier and happier, and you’ll see a positive change in your body as a side effect of treating yourself right. 

It’s all about perspective.

-Amy

Ideally, you want to eat foods that don’t have wrappers. Whole, natural foods always win. But when you do buy foods from a box or a package, you should know how to read the labels and make the best choices.

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Hello all of you beautiful people! Today is that magical time of the week where I take a stand against dashboard spamming and instead answer most of this week’s questions in a handy dandy compact format!

EATING HEALTHY IN COLLEGE

This is still something I’m trying to learn!

I have both a microwave and minifridge, and as of yet all I’ve been “cooking” are Quaker Medleys (which aren’t terrible for you… but let’s be honest they still have added sugar) when I don’t feel like going to the dining hall for breakfast. 

However, that didn’t stop me from brainstorming some things that I plan on cooking in my dorm later this week!

Here ya go!

• Parfait. All you need is Greek yogurt, granola, and some frozen blueberries! All things you can easily store in your dorm. And no silverware is required (other than a spoon) because you can make the parfait in the yogurt container itself!
• Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich. Let’s face it, jelly goes bad and is a pain to store. Honey can last forever and you should have peanut butter on hand anyways for a post-workout protein snack! Add some cinnamon for a metabolism boosting snack!
• Fruit Toast. You know what I’m talking about. There’s all these gorgeous photos of strawberries and fresh fruit on peanut butter on toast. And you have to use all that whole wheat bread you bought, anyways!

Oh, and I also found this pinterest board with a bunch of dorm friendly recipes:

Beware, though — some of the choices (like the microwave cheesecake) are not very healthy!

I would suggest the caprese wraps, and my fellow vegetarians can just omit the chicken. 

As for exercise tips— see RealityofYou.com for all sorts of tips and keep an eye out for a special workout resources I’ll be *secretly* releasing via my Facebook page…. ;)

(and only you people who actually read these posts and like my Facebook page will be able to take advantage of said resources!)

WHY YOU CAN’T LOSE FAT IN ONE SPOT

Magazines lure us in with titles like “lose belly fat in seven days!” or “slim down your calves!” when in reality it is impossible to chose where you’ll lose fat.

Your body is genetically predisposed to lose weight in certain areas first depending on your body shape (Miller). 

For example, apple shapes will lose belly fat last. Pear shapes will lose the fat in their hips and thighs last. 

I’m a pear, and when I lost weight I dropped a cup size and several inches off my waist way before I lost any fat in my lower body. 

You can tone certain areas of your body by gaining muscle and doing strength moves, but you won’t see the definition those muscles provide until you lose the layer of fat on top of it. 

Apple shapes can do a billion crunches but they won’t have flat abs until they lose enough fat through a mixture of high intensity interval training and strength training. 

citation

HOW MANY DAYS A WEEK SHOULD I EXERCISE?

Hey there! Looks like you’ve got a great workout plan in the works!

Here’s some tips:

• Interval training should be done no more than 2-3 nonconsecutive days a week since they’re so intense, and they count as your cardio!
• Strength training is best when done 2-3 days a week as well, and if you feel like you need more cardio in your week you can integrate them in with circuit training. (Short bursts of cardio followed by strength training moves, and alternating between the two every few minutes.)
• You need at least one rest day every week, although sometimes you may need to take two if your body needs it. I do some low intensity yoga on Thursdays for an hour to improve flexibility because it’s my busiest work day and I don’t always have the energy to get to the gym. Generally, you want to workout between 4-6 days per week.

As always, listen to your body and craft the workout schedule that fits you.

That’s all for today!

If you like these snazzy posts, share the love and reblog ‘em :)

Source

Miller, Christa. “The Best Way to Lose Weight For Your Body Type.”LIVESTRONG.COM. Livestrong, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.

Hey everyone!

Recently I’ve been rewarding myself for reaching my fitness goals with new dresses!

After working out 5x/week for three months, I got the red one, (just in time for Valentine’s Day!) and after not drinking caffeine for two additional months, I got the blue one:

Modcloth (the clothing company these dresses are from!) is doing this thingamajig where you get $15 off any dress if you click on this link, and create an account!

Also by clicking on this link and buying something, I get a snazzy $15 coupon as well! 

If you do use the coupon, know that you have my eternal gratitude and I’ll personally send you a thank you note and a ridiculous amount of thank-you gifs such as this one:

Just send me an ask saying you used the coupon and prepare yourself for the abundance of gifs that will inevitably fill up your inbox!

Anyways, I thought I’d pass this on to you guys (and be 100% transparent about how it works — honesty is the best policy!) so if fancy shmancy dresses are your thing, you can use them as rewards for reaching your goals.

Have a great day!

Hey guys! Today is the first Fitblr Friday here on Reality of Healthy!

When you guys like or reblog my posts or send me a non-Anonymous ask, I love to check out your awesome blogs, and I thought, hey! My followers are really kind of awesome. I should spotlight some of their blogs!

So without further ado, here are two fantastic fitness blogs you should check out: 

• SweatandHappiness. This is an awesome, refreshingly unique health blog! Cassidy is such a role model, and instead of defining herself by the scale, she’s set some awesome fitness goals. She also categorizes her blog as healthspo instead of fitspo, and I think the difference is really eye-opening. I’ll also admit to stealing a few songs from her awesome running playlist.
• Accountablogity. The amount of colors on her workout whiteboard literally blows my mind, and she’s doing fitness the right way! She has a really helpful Youtube Workout page that lists some of the best youtubers and their workouts. 

I’ll be on the lookout for more positive health blogs to feature next Friday!

Have a great weekend!