Healthy Life Style and possible weight loss… Watch and learn how.

My friend and I are starting a new healthy lifestyle. Not that we were unhealthy before; we had slipped a little in the past few years. I know what to do, but became a little lazy with the abnormal stress I had been under. I plan on keeping you posted here as to our progress while letting you know what we are doing to better our lives by getting back in balance.

To me "balance" incorporates different aspects of our life that are required to create a whole complete person: mental (peace of mind), physical (body), emotional (How we handle actions and reactions of what is going on around us), and I believe all of this is a direct result of us as a spiritual being. I am going to start with "physical" because as people see results physically they become encouraged and motivated to try more.

I am in my forties; and most of my friends are in their fifties. So we are faced with different life challenges that may accompany our age groups. Therefore, we are not implementing everything at once; every week or two we are adding one or two of the ideas to our life. Here are some goals we are working on together:

• Get plenty of exercise. We have decided to "walk." Walking is great and we can talk to each other as we walk to better our relationship. We also chose walking as opposed to other types of exercise due to some joint/health issues. Exercise is a dieter's best friend! It not only burns calories, but can actually improve your resting metabolism. No time for a long workout? Do what you can; even 10 minute intervals are better than no exercise. We bought a little pedometer to clip on our belt that shows number of steps, and translates that into miles. Our goal is to walk an average of three miles each day (including daily work, and any exercise we can get in)
• Get proper sleep. People not getting enough sleep have a much higher risk of obesity. Exhaustion can make you feel hungrier, and impair your judgment. Eight hours of good sleep a night is a good goal to shoot for.
• Turn off the TV. You actually burn less calories watching television than you do sleeping. Your brain will become sluggish from watching television if you are not engaged. If you just can't give it up… do easy exercises like squats, sit-ups, jogging in place, use resistance bands, hand weights, treadmill, or ride the stationary bike. We don't have the equipment or the space for equipment, so we are turning the T.V. off.
• Go shopping when you are not hungry. Create a shopping list, stick to it, and don't buy the junk food. Store tempting foods for others in the family in cabinets or drawers out of your sight.
• Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. Eat in moderation, healthy meals, and eat when are truly hungry.
• Lose weight slowly. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you're actually losing mostly water and muscle rather than fat. Fast weight loss can take a toll on your nerves, and reduce your energy enough to feel sick and reduce your immune system. Aim to lose 1-2 lbs a week to ensure healthy weight loss.

Check back soon for the rest of the story as I will be keeping you updated on a regular basis.