My Fitness Journey - Losing 7lbs and Getting Lean

Earlier this year, I conducted a poll asking readers what kind of entries they would like to see in the future. A whopping 10 voters said they would like to see more food and drink reviews. I've been giving the readers what they want when I discovered the "stats" tab of my blogger account where blogger tracks which entries received the most views. Not surprisingly enough, some of the entries with the most views are ones of me in a swimsuit, there have only been 2 so far.

1. Sun Diego
2. Random Summer Happenings

This makes 3.

THE FIT FOODIE:

I've discussed how I keep my wallet fat with all this eating, and now I will discuss how I try and keep my body not-fat with all this eating. Be prepared to see some unflattering pictures.

Florida, 2008. Have you heard of the term "high school skinny"? Well, I was actually high school chubby and college skinny. But after graduating college, my lifestyle was just work and drinking, resulting in the picture above. I didn't realize how "round" I had become until these pictures from our 2008 vacation came out.

Palm Springs, May 2010. Since 2008, I had tried but only half heartedly to change my lifestyle and lose some weight. I improved but just slightly. These photos don't show the whole picture because I got a little bigger after the Florida vacation and then started getting a little smaller before this picture. This was right after our New York trip where I ate my body weight in food and before I had begun my summer workout regimen. At this point, I was doing a little bit of Insanity, Taebo, power walking videos, and some crunches and squats daily.

Palm Springs, May 2010. This was taken the day after the previous picture. What a difference having an empty stomach makes. I'm also learning that these are not the most flattering swimsuit styles for me as it makes my top look even smaller and my entire body more pear shaped. I only bought so many because the pattern doesn't show tan lines.

 Wilder Ranch State Beach, June 2010. This was about 1 month into my Insanity routine. I would do Insanity workouts about 5 days a week. On the other days, I would try swimming or playing tennis with friends.

Huntington Beach, late July 2010. I was in full Insanity mode the the whole month of July and was just starting to get bored of it, substituting some days with swimming, tennis, or jogging. This different swimsuit pattern helps alot. Take note ladies, triangular tops. The tan and the pose helps too. Arm out, chest out, stomach in, bend one leg.

Since this photo, I've been swimming everyday and haven't touched Insanity at all. Insanity can be high impact on people with bad knees such as myself. It can also get boring once you've gone through the entire video series twice. I wanted to do P90X but the thought of staying indoors another month doing video workouts was a bit depressing.

Overall, in the past 3 months, I've lost about 7 lbs. I post this now because fall/winter is coming and I'll resume eating and getting "round". Thanks to Jimbo for getting me the Insanity videos.

TIPS:

• Cut out or moderate alcohol intake. It really is just empty calories.
• Eat smaller portions but more frequently. I try to eat about 4 small meals a day.
• Eat dinner at least 3 hours before you sleep.
• Get workout buddies.
• Stick to a workout schedule so you won't be tempted to skip.
• Exercise. In any way, shape, or form, just exercise. You can't healthily lose weight by cheating this step. I don't believe in diet pills or fad diets. You really just have to put in the work. I made it a goal to do at least 1 hour a day of something active (tennis, jogging, swimming, Insanity or other workout videos, hiking, tubing).
• And of course, suck in and smile!