No More Diet Deprivation

It's been my experience that the biggest downfall to dieting is depriving myself of foods I love.  It's amazing that when I realize I can't have a certain food, I seem to want it even more, and I obsess over NOT being able to have it!  Here's the trick...let yourself have a small splurge everyday.

Allow yourself one treat, whether it's a piece of chocolate or a small order of fries or whatever your Achilles Heel might be.  Knowing that you can have one treat per day keeps you from feeling deprived and helps you to keep on track the rest of the day.  You know it won't be the end of the world because you can have a small treat again tomorrow!  If you deprive yourself, you tend to overdo it when you finally have a taste of the foods you love so much (that don't necessarily love you back).  Everything in moderation, right?

Be mindful of serving sizes and make sure you counteract your treat with the appropriate amount of exercise to balance out.  Better to have a small treat everyday than to go all out and REALLY set yourself back by overindulging!  Think of it this way, it's easier to work off 2 pieces of chocolate than to try to work off a whole box because you've felt deprived!

The Beauty of Multi-Tasking

As women, we are always doing 10 things at once, right?  Well, as much as most of us don't enjoy housework, why not put a positive spin on it?  Keep in mind as you're cleaning your house, you're burning calories, so you're knocking two birds out with one stone!  A workout and a clean house!  It's a win-win situation!

According to www.fitday.com, the average sized woman burns about 86 calories per hour with doing light housework.  Now, if you straightened up every day, that adds up!  In the end, we can all be happier, fitter, and organized!

So when you have one of those days where you don't feel like working out, disguise it!  Or vice versa if you don't feel like cleaning up!  You'll be glad you did!

Virtual Trainer

Let me start off by saying that I've been a Shape magazine subscriber for about 3 years.  Love it!!!  Taking the time to sit and read through it is something I consider one of my simple pleasures in life.  I love checking the mail and seeing my new subscription every month...nice change from the envelopes of bills!

To be honest, because I read the magazine, I typically don't visit their website.  I decided to check it out the other day because I saw in their magazine that they have a "Virtual Trainer".  Well, since I'm still hanging in there to lose 8 lbs., I thought it would be good to freshen up my workout routine with some new ideas.  What I found was amazing!

Their Virtual Trainer is an online tool that helps you to keep a food diary, calculates your calories burned from workouts, and tracks your progress.  If you've ever used Weight Watchers online, it's actually pretty similar.  I had great success with Weight Watchers, so I was psyched to find Virtual Trainer.  The best part...IT'S FREE!  The downside, I will admit that a few times when I've tried to log in, the site was down.  But otherwise, it's a great tool!

If you're on a budget and looking to lose some weight, check it out!