A line in my book really jumped out at me the other day, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. "Our bodies carry the evidence of our neglect" I've been thinking about that for awhile. If you look at people who are healthy, both physically and mentally, you can tell. But it's not just their faces and bodies, it's something from deep inside them. That's how you can tell the people that are happy deep inside. It's easy to take care of yourself on the outside, but be full of toxicity on the inside. When I was drinking all the time, my choice of beverage was beer. I wasn't the biggest fan of wine, to be honest I only drank wine around other people, when I needed to be more refined I guess. And I never really liked hard alcohol. You know those fancy drinks and people take a sip, and they go oh, I can't taste the alcohol? Well, I can always taste the alcohol. So, beer is definitely not a low calorie food. I am not proud of this, but when my drinking was at it's worst, I could drink over twenty beers in one day. I had one stretch of forty eight straight hours of drinking beer and no sleep. It sounds so sick now, but at the time I was proud! And I worked at a bar, so I was surrounded by people who thought nothing of my drinking. I"m saying all of this to say that even though It's been over three years since I lived that way, all of that beer weight has not left my gut. It is a constant reminder of how I used to live, or the total lack of neglect.
So, one of my goals, or resolutions for the New Year is to lose this gut once and for all. It's time to really say goodbye to those days. I don't know how I'm going to go about it exactly but I know that I don't feel a need to have a perfect "lean" body, The vegan YouTube community has really made me kind of loathe and dread the word lean. I just want my body to be even, and if I carry a few extra pounds that's fine, but lets have it be a little more evenly distributed please. I don't want to look like a man who spends every happy hour downing dollar Budweisers!
This is the first time in years I've cared enough about myself to make a commitment like this. When I was drinking all the time, I knew I was gaining weight, but vanity unfortunately could not overpower my need to numb my feelings. I also just chose defiance. I was a liberated, modern woman who wasn't trying to impress anyone, and I had spent too many of my years obsessing over my weight, now it was my turn to say screw it. Except that deep down I did care. But enough beer would make that inner voice of reason run for the hills.
I've never tried to lose weight or anything in a normal, healthy way. My life has been kind of restriction, or full on gluttony. Not so much now, now I feel like I have my eating in check, but the beer pudge is just beyond stubborn. Maybe I will just step up my cardio, I haven't decided. But it feels so good to be in this head space where I feel like I and my life is worth it!
I'll be back this week to give a full list of my goals for the fresh New Year!
I think my tummy is smaller than it was in high school and even college, but I am about the same weight (in the case of college, I weight MORE.) I think our stomachs can reflects what we eat, but how we workout and how we stand. I always encourage people to eat healthfully and move in a generally active way (walking and such) but here are somethings I think helped shape my tummy
ReplyDelete1) Tabata or HIIT Training- it is known for burning a lot of fat in a small amount of time. You can google video exercises for them, but it is basically an idea where you workout non-stop for x amount of seconds, then rest for a few seconds. They are kind of nice because you want to focus on form, and therefore the instructor is going too fast, just go slower. It will still have a great effect on the body.
2) Core strengthening. You can look up videos for these too but they can be brutal. I would recommend starting out with planks. They suck at first but it is a great way of setting personal goals. Try staying in a plank position for 15 seconds, then 20, and work your way up. I personally like Fitnessista's YouTube videos, particularly the Barre workouts. If you feel like your body is on fire and you are out of shape- don't worry even fit people have their bodies exhausted by those workouts.
3 Posture helps so I like doing shoulder strengthening workouts. Lifting weights might seem like it would add weight, and it does. But you are building more muscle, and sometimes slouching just makes tummies poke out. Besides superficial looks, keeping a straight back really helps with back problems. Again if you check out Fitnessista, she tends to have workouts that work the whole body.
Thanks for the tips, I need all the help I can get. I definitely know I'm going to step up my cardio. I've just recently been getting into shoulder strengthening and shoulder opening workouts, because I think my posture went to crap with my waistline! I'm not so interested in being thin or even lean, I just don't want the reminder of my past misery and bad choices. I will be looking up some workouts on Fitnessista's channel tomorrow! I love finding new workout channels, and new to me workouts! Thanks again! P.S. The dreaded plank!!!!
DeleteIn general I think everyone should strengthen their core, back, and shoulders. It makes everything in life better, bending over, cleaning tubs, sweeping, moping, everything! And I rather plank than sit ups! My tip in put on your favorite jam and really focus on the music. Time goes by so much faster!
DeleteI hope one day I will share your love of planks!I do my share of planks, but they sometimes piss me off! But I think that feeling comes from frustration because I'm struggling.
DeleteWow, thanks again for suggesting Fitnessista, I did one of her workouts this morning, and i loved it so much! It worked the whole body, and I sweated!
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