Into the Woods

Dear Angela,

Your entry made me remember something a physical trainer told me years ago. I will try my best to paraphrase what he said.

If you want to lose weight and get fit you can't trust any "get skinny quick" schemes. You have to realize it is 40 miles into the woods, 40 miles out of the woods. Meaning, if you have spent a lot of time not eating right and not working out then it will take time for your body to "get those 40 miles out of the woods." So keep going.

I don't know if this is the most brilliant wisdom of all time but for me I appreciated the metaphor. I also like the reminder that I shouldn't fall victim to trendy diets or magazine articles that promise: "Bikini Body in 30 days!" I must accept the reality you don't get that bikini body in 30 days (unless of course you only have a few pounds to shed to begin with and are already chewing on lettuce in your free time).

Having said this, I am fascinated by trendy diets and diets of all kinds. I like the idea of the losing weight by drinking water diet, I was fascinated (in a sick kinda way) by the Victoria's Secret liquid diet and I have a friend who swears by her version of the Rotation diet. For some reason I just like knowing what is out there. For me, it is a shame no one has pioneered the following diet:

Breakfast/Lunch: 1 Starbucks Latte (Medium size, 1 shot of espresso only, 1 flavor shot)

Dinner: Whatever you feel like eating.

In between: Whatever comes your way... so, say your coworkers bring in cookies? Why not! It would be rude to turn them down! (Actually, I feel like dieting in the workplace deserves an entirely different post... stay tuned.)

Of course, I could always name this diet now and put it out there for the masses. Except, I would be doing the world a great disservice because if you follow such guidelines your scale should probably just be thrown out the window.

Because we are on the topic of dieting I thought I would share a few resources I have found helpful.

MapWalk. This is for creating your own walking maps. Totally free. You can create your own maps as you please.


(Image Source)

Women's Health. This is my favorite work-out magazine. It puts Shape magazine to shame. I don't know how to describe my love for this magazine exactly but by simply picking it up I feel happier. (As a side note, I also enjoy reading Men's Health.)

Starbucks Nutrition. For people like me. If you aren't careful you can be the person putting on whipped cream (which can add up to 100 calories) or sipping an icy 1,000 calorie frappuccino on a hot summer day. As a general rule- I learn the drinks and then know how to modify them when ordering.

Pinterest. I browse this for both exercise tips and healthy recipes. A recent find includes this green monster smoothie that I plan on whipping up soon. Please note: I don't pay attention to all the thinspiration images that seem to flood Pinterest. I like the idea of healthy skinny but not rib-cages-poking-out skinny. I know for some people this might be their natural body type, which is something different than those who use extreme techniques to become rail thin.

Okay, that is my list of health and exercise resources for now. I will try to find more for the future and maybe you have some of your own you would like to share.

Until next time,
Rachel