December Fitness Routine

Ok, recently I've decided that I need to step up my workouts. A few crunches and releves aren't cutting it. I've moved past that stage. It's about time. I've been doing them for 2 1/2 years.

After doing a bit of research (and by research I mean Pinterest) i concocted a recipe for my daily workout.

FIRST OF ALL. I am taking this pledge:

1. Drink one glass of water every hour. It will make you feel full. 2. Drink ice cold water. Your body will burn calories just getting the water to a normal temperature to digest. Also it is great for your complexion. 3. Drink 3 cups of green tea daily. It will help boost your metabolism, plus its anti-oxidants make your skin look great. 4. Take vitamins daily. Do not take vitamins on an empty stomache, otherwise they have nothing to catalyze with. 5. Eat ice or gum when hungry. This will make your body think it had food without the calories. 6. Eat spicy foods. They raise your metabolism. 7. Take cold showers because your body will burn calories to heat you back up. 8. Brush your teeth so you won’t be tempted to eat afterwards. 9. Wear a rubberband around your wrist. Snap it when you want to eat. 10. Use smaller plates and utensils so it seems like you ate more. 11. Chew each bite of food thoroughly and then take a sip of water between bites. You will feel full quicker and will not eat as much. 12. Sleep at least six hours a day. If you get less than six this can lower your metabolism by 15%. 13. If you start to feel hungry do sit ups. 14. Pamper yourself! Give yourself a facial, paint your nails, anything to make you feel pretty. 15. Keep track of everything you eat to manage your weight better. 16. Keep good posture, burns 10% more calories when you sit up straight. 17. Make a list of all the “bad” foods that you crave and tend to binge on. Each day, pick one to take out of your diet that you cannot eat again. Take one off the list each day until there are no more bad foods you can have. 17. Avoid alcohol! A shot of liquor has 100-120 calories, a glass of wine has 80 calories, a lite beer has 110-120 calories, and a regular beer has 140-170 calories. 18. Avoid eating anything bigger than about a cup, your stomach will expand and then you’ll get hungry more. 19. The smell of coffee is thought to supress appetite. 20. Wear applied lip gloss. It makes you more aware of what’s going in your mouth. Also, flavored ones may help with cravings. 21. Have 6 small meals a day. 22. Low calorie hot chocolate curbs chocolate cravings, and makes you feel full. 23. Take a picture of yourself wearing a bathing suit or something equally important to you, look at it before you want to eat. 24. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to realize the stomach is full. 25. Eat lots of fiber. It makes you feel full and takes fat with it out of your body. The natural cleansing helps improve both your energy level and overall feeling of wellness. 26. Before you dig into that cake, bag of chips, candy, or whatever, take a deep breath and count to 100. Usually by the time you get to 100 you will have convinced yourself that you don’t really want it. 27. Celery actually burns calories. Every hour eat a stalk of it. Not only will it fill you up, but it will also get your metabolism kicking. 28. Read the nutritional information. Remember, fat-free does not mean calorie-free. 29. Keep an eye on fiber content. Get as much fiber into your diet as you can, while cutting fat and calories. 30. Don’t eat a lot at once. Spread your food throughout the day. This will help to avoid binging and keep your metabolism going. 31. Avoid alchohol. 32. Do not eat in front of the computer or TV. This distracts you from recognizing you’re full. 33. Stay away from Slim-fast and other so-called “healthy” candy bars and shakes… one look at the nutition facts will tell you why. Save yourself the money, and the calories. Buy yourself some flowers instead -- they make you happy. 34. When having cravings try drinking a tall, icy glass of water with slices of lemons or oranges - sometimes what you think is hunger is really thirst. 35. Remember, an occasional binge doesn’t hurt, in fact it’s quite beneficial if you have reached a plateau (stopped losing weight). Just don’t binge too regularly! 36. Love and respect yourself and your body.

It's quite the read, but read it through and you will want to take it with me.

SECONDLY, I am going with this plan:

"Set your alarm for 6am. Don’t groan when it goes off and pull the covers over your head, get up and start your day. Put on a baggy top and running shorts. Go downstairs and pour yourself a nice big glass of ice water. Cut up some fruit and mix it in with yogurt. Add some granola. Now go outside. Stretch for 10 minutes. Skip for 5 minutes. Jog for 10 minutes. Run for 10 minutes. Walk back. Lay out a towel on the ground and lie down on it. Do 50 crunches. Yes, they hurt, but they are 100% worth it. When you’re done, get in the shower. Use a nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner. Shave your legs and wash your body. Exfoliate your face. Get out of the shower and let your hair air dry. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If you do, good for you. Do this every day and you will continue to love yourself. If you don’t like what you see, do this every day and pretty soon you will. Being lazy might feel good at the time, but being active feels better in the long run. How badly do you want it?"

Now, to that plan I am making a tiny adjustment. Along with the 50 crunches, I am adding:

3 sets of wall holds, for as long as I can

15 to 20 bent-knee push-ups

20 chair dips

40 second plank into tummy tucks (as many as possible)

30 donkeys

20 front lunges on each leg

Jumping on the trampoline for (at least) 10 minutes

SO. here is the total workout:

"Set your alarm for 6am. Don’t groan when it goes off and pull the covers over your head, get up and start your day. Put on a baggy top and running shorts. Go downstairs and pour yourself a nice big glass of ice water. Cut up some fruit and mix it in with yogurt. Add some granola. Now go outside. Stretch for 10 minutes. Skip for 5 minutes. Jog for 10 minutes. Run for 10 minutes. Walk back. Lay out a towel on the ground and lie down on it. Do 50 crunches. Yes, they hurt, but they are 100% worth it. Then, 3 sets of wall holds, for as long as I can. 15 to 20 bent-knee push-ups. 20 chair dips. 40 second plank into tummy tucks (as many as possible). 30 donkeys. 20 front lunges on each leg. Jumping on the trampoline for (at least) 10 minutes. When you’re done, get in the shower. Use a nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner. Shave your legs and wash your body. Exfoliate your face. Get out of the shower and let your hair air dry. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If you do, good for you. Do this every day and you will continue to love yourself. If you don’t like what you see, do this every day and pretty soon you will. Being lazy might feel good at the time, but being active feels better in the long run. How badly do you want it?"

THAT is my December pledge.