Staying Fit...

A friend of mine asked me the other day how I stay fit...  I told her I don't do much at all (so I guess I have good genes), but when I really think about it - there are quite a few things I do to stay fit.

I am not a Dr or a healthcare professional.  These are things that I have learned over my years on this earth.  I only hope that they might help someone else...

First, I try to eat the basic 12 everyday.  I read about this when I was pregnant and wanted to have a healthy baby, so I tried it and now I still try to do it.  If you eat this...you will not have time or room in your tummy for much of anything else. The basic 12 consists of:

Don't eat anything that is bigger than your fist!
5 servings of Fruits and Veggies 
3 servings of Protein
4 servings of Simple and Complex Carbs

Second, I eat fat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I do not believe in the low fat diets.  You cannot take the fats out of things successfully (they taste yucky and/or they have so much salt and other additives they are not healthy).  Plus, I think that if you don't give your body enough fats that you body will starve for them and start storing everything you eat to get enough fat.  A healthy amount of fat for a 2,000 calorie diet is approx. 65grams of fat that is right 65 grams of fat is healthy!  I don't eat 2,000 calories a day most days, but I try.  If you have high cholesteral or high blood pressure - do whatever your Dr says.

Third, I count calories.  How many calories you eat a day is also important...it is a mathematical equation...(with some exceptions such as metabolism, age, smoking, drinking etc).  If you take in more than you burn off you will So,you have to do stuff to burn off calories.  You also need to know what is in the foods you eat, so if you don't then you need to get a calorie counting book to see.  I only had to count calories and grams of stuff (fat, fiber, protein etc.) for a few months and then I had a really good idea of what I was eating.

Fourth, I snack.  I try not to get too hungry.  I find that my body works best when there is a pretty steady stream of food coming in and going out - lol.  If it is not dinner time yet, and I am hungry...I eat a snack.  Again, I try to eat something healthy...wish I ate raw veggies like carrots or bell peppers, but usually I eat a serving of crackers and drink water.  This takes the edge off (I am nicer to my family during this time too) and I don't over eat at dinner.  These snacks count in the basic 12 obviously...so if I eat crackers - I downsize my carb intake at the meal. 

Fifth, I get enough sleep.  Sleep is VERY important.  You should know how much sleep you need...I need about 7-8hrs a night (also if I don't get it...I can take a short nap and feel better).  My sister says she only needs 6hrs and can't sleep more than that...which is probably the case.  If I sleep only 6hrs I am tired in the afternoons and end up eating to stay awake/get energy...which is ok if you eat healthy stuff, but what is much better for me is to go take a 20min nap.  (It takes me 20min. to go to sleep, so this process takes about 40min).

Sixth, I drink a lot of water... I drink probably 1 soda a week (on pizza night).  I do love my coffee and will drink it most of the morning, but after that it is water all day.  If I get a hankering for a tasty drink I stir in some Crystal Lite or something to make it taste good to me.  I take a bottle of water with me almost everywhere I go.  Sometimes, I think I am hungry - but really I am just thirsty.  This also saves me lots of money at the Starbucks, Seven Eleven etc.

Seventh, I don't eat anything two hours before I go to bed - for me this is 8pm.  I started this, because I am usually dehydrated by the evening and I need to drink a bunch of water...but if I drink it too late I pee all night (probably too much info, but owell).  So, I started not drinking right before bed and in turn I wasn't eating anything either and I think it really makes a difference.

Eighth, I try to fit in some exercise/activity everyday.  I don't work out...wish I did, but cannot fit the 2hrs in my day that it would take to stretch, work out and take a shower.  However, I do try to go up and down my stairs as much as possible in a day...I have a 3 story house, so this is easy for me - I almost always need something on the other floor - lol.  I bought a pedometer (measures how many steps you take in a day) and I ended up taking on average about 11,000 to 16,000 steps a day.  This is good exercise for burning calories (however doesn't get your heart rate up unless you are walking fast for 20min - so working out is still better for ya).  I really like yoga too (also doesn't get your heart up)...it will make me sweat though - so can't really fit it in either... However, I find that if I am doing certain tasks during the day I can fit in a pose here and there (for instance, I do the chair pose while I am leaning over the sink to brush my teeth).  Still working on this one too.  Lots of things can be considered exercise/activity...sex, cleaning the house, taking the stairs instead of the elevator/excalator etc.

To be clear...I don't let the above things consume my daily life.  I did the above in earnest for a few months and when I had a good idea of it...I stopped.  If my lifestyle changed or if I gain weight, like when I started as a Stay at Home Mom instead of going to work, I paid attention again for a little while and then when I had a handle on it - it became back burner.

Hoping this helps!