How you can prepare for Pregnancy

If you have the luxury of planning for your pregnancy, here are some helpful tips to get ready for pregnancy.

Visit your Doctor or Midwife

It’s a good idea to visit with your Doctor or midwife before you try to get pregnant to discuss relevant medical concerns, your pregnancy plan, and answer any questions you may have. If there is any health concerns, they will be able to help you prepare your body for Pregnancy.

Healthy eating habits

You shouldn’t be on a “diet” per se while you are pregnant, but before, during, and after your pregnancy you should have a healthy, balanced diet. If you are eating a lot of fried or sugary foods, you should start eliminating them out of your regular eating habits as soon as possible. You should focus on eating healthy food, not only fuel for your own body, but nutrients that will help develop a healthy baby too.

Prenatal Vitamins

During your pregnancy it’s crucial to have the right amount of vitamins and minerals in your body so that your baby gets the nutrients he/she needs in order to develop. Ideally, you should take Prenatal vitamins at least 6 weeks before you get pregnant. doing this,  you will be able to build up what your own body may be lacking in vitamins and minerals, and may help prepare your body for your developing baby. Folic acid is one of the many nutrients you will need which is found in Prenatal vitamins, and is  crucial to take – especially in the early stages of pregnancy – to prevent birth defects.

Work out

It’s healthy for you and for your baby to be fit before you get pregnant and to stay fit during your pregnancy. Of course,  you will want to make sure you aren’t doing anything too intense while you are pregnant because you don’t want to compromise your baby’s health. It’s not a bad idea to speak with your Doctor or Midwife about what type of exercise is appropriate for you.

Quit those bad habits!

Before you even try to get pregnant, you should stop smoking and drinking alcohol. You don’t want to wait until you have a confirmation that you are pregnant because in most cases, you don’t know you are pregnant until you are 4 weeks along already. As you may already know, consuming alcohol and smoking are extremely harmful to your baby during pregnancy and even after they are born – ever heard of second-hand smoke? Don’t allow your baby to suffer from something they have no control over.

I know it will be hard to stop drinking alcohol and/or stop smoking…but it will benefit you and your family in the long run, and I promise that you won’t regret it when your healthy baby comes!

Labor and Delivery

It’s always good to start with a plan of how you are going to have your baby delivered. Educated yourself on what to expect, what your choices are, and what’s best for you and your baby. If you are planning to get pregnant, or are already pregnant, I recommend watching a documentary called “The Business of Being Born“. It’s controversial and I love it because it will at least give you the other side of the story when it comes to having a baby. I feel that all soon-to-be Moms should at least know about natural births and the benefit that comes from them.

Tags: Baby, Business of Being Born, diet, doctor, exercise, Fitness, Healthy, healthy baby, healthy pregnancy, labor and delivery, midwife, minerals, no alcohol, nutrients, Pregnancy, Prenatal, prenatal pills, prenatal vitamins, stop smoking, vitamins, workout

I want to be Deprived Of…

A lot of people wonder why I am even trying to be healthier.  People will actually wonder why I am making a conscious effort to change some bad eating habits of mine. Hey, I am not perfect with my eating and exercising habits.  I am not claiming to be perfect, but I DO want to try my hardest to improve my overall Health.  My question to those who question my motives is “Why not?” There really isn’t anything to lose by improving your health, except for maybe a couple of things you just don’t want anyways.

“Living a healthy lifestyle will only deprive you of poor health, lethargy, and fat.”

-Jill Johnson

I want to be deprived of Poor Health, Lethargy, and excess Fat!

♥Twinkie

Tags: beneficial, deprived, eat healhy, eating habits, exercise, fat, healthier, Healthy, healthy habits, lethargy, Lose Weight, Organic, Perfect, poor health, quote, Skinny Tips & Quotes

10 Reasons why you’re STILL overweight…

1) You think “Fat Free” or “Sugar Free” means that it is “Healthy”

Marketing campaigns know that we are all trying to be healthier, and they are doing everything they can to sell you their product in an angle that makes you think their product makes the cut. They aren’t trying to make their products healthier. What does this all boil down to? The companies just want to make money, and the only way to make money is if you buy their product –whether it’s good for you or not.

Read the labels and ingredients and start learning how to understand what they really mean. It’s almost guaranteed that if something it marketed as “Fat Free” or “Sugar Free”, they are using dangerous replacements which usually end up being worse for you than the actual fat or sugar.

Most people still buy into this marketing scam – don’t let it be you.

2) You don’t get enough sleep

Sleep is underrated – by far. You should get the recommended 8 hours each night, and you will notice some very positive effects from this. Your body will feel rested and better through out the day. You will be more likely to exercise (you have the energy to make it happen), and you have a better chance of overcoming any junk food cravings you may have during the day. When you are more tired, you are more likely to “give in” to temptations. A lack of sleep negatively effects your immune system, which can make you sick. When you are sick, the chances of you keeping up (or wanting to) your work out routine is unlikely. You should consider sleep as being mandatory.

3) You like to try new “Diets”

I have already said in previous posts why I don’t like to “Diet”, but I will briefly say it again here. “Diets” tend to be short term! Make your healthy eating habits a Life style change, and you will see lasting results, which is what you want anyways? No one wants to just gain it all back again and again…so don’t! Lose it and keep it off for good.

4) You think having the occasional treat doesn’t really add up

This one almost makes me laugh, but it’s a reality check for most of us. Just one Oreo cookie is about 60 calories.

And let’s be honest…who only has one Oreo cookie? In my not-so-healthy days, I remember easily eating 10 Oreo cookies (or more), which is half of my daily calorie count. What’s worst is that I find myself still craving more cookies, and I am still hungry!

Check the calories. If your little treat is high in calories and you won’t be able to stop at just one, move on. Find something that will satisfy your hunger. A great alternative is finding a Fruit or veggie that you love and won’t resent when it becomes snack time.

5) You think you are “Naturally this Big” or “Big Boned”

That’s what happened to me too. I thought I was naturally a size 10 or 12. According to all the “medical” and “scientific” charts out there that tell you what your healthy weight range is for your age and height, I was supposed to be around 170 pounds. I don’t know who made up that bull, but if I were 170 pounds, I would not be close to healthy unless I was some body builder. As we all know, most of us aren’t body builders, so I consider those little “healthy weight charts” a piece of trash.

Once I started to get my act together and start taking my health more seriously, and listening to my body’s needs, I got down to 130 pounds and fit nicely into my size 2 jeans. Find your true healthy weight.

6) You think Skinny people don’t need to exercise

This one gets me every time. I hate how I will mention that I went to the gym and someone has to make the statement “You’re skinny, you don’t need to go to the gym”. Yes, someone really did say that to me, and No, I did not listen to them!

Just because you are Skinny, doesn’t mean you are privileged and somehow don’t need to exercise. I don’t care what size you are – Skinny or Overweight, you can benefit from exercising on a regular basis, and quite frankly, your body needs it.

For those who think Skinny people don’t need to exercise: How do you think thin people got to be thin in the first place? The answer is that the thin people exercise and eat healthy regularly. I didn’t become a size 2 by accident and neither did they.

7) You are (still!) skipping Breakfast

Ok, so this one I still don’t get. We have all been told how Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, and people are still skipping it! It may be for many reasons. You are “too busy”. Not a good enough excuse people! I wake up at 4:00 AM to go work out, make a healthy breakfast and lunch, work for 8 hours or more, make dinner, clean up, work some more, etc.

We all live a crazy and busy schedule. That’s life, and I get that. But there just isn’t an excuse anymore for skipping breakfast.

Be sure to eat something healthy – anything with processed sugar should be completely avoided.

8 ) You think you will reach your Goal Weight in 30 days or less

Guess what? You didn’t gain your weight overnight, and you won’t lose it all overnight either! Just because you aren’t seeing huge results your first month, doesn’t mean you should give up and say exercising and eating healthy doesn’t work. Just like you were consistently unhealthy and gained weight, you now need to work on consistently being healthy and exercising.

You will eventually lose the weight, and before you know it, you will be able to fit back into those skinny jeans!

9) You drink Energy Drinks and Sodas that are “0 Calorie” and think it’s a Healthy choice

Zero calories do not mean that the drink is Healthy. Energy Drinks and Sodas with Zero calories are another marketing tool to make these drinks seem “healthier” or “not as bad” for you. Reality is this: Energy Drinks and Sodas have zero nutrition, and there is absolutely nothing good in there for you. Nothing! Doesn’t matter if it has 300 or no calories, it’s just not good for you, regardless of the number of calories it says on the back. Your best bet is to just drink water.

10) You keep saying you are “Fat”

The way you feel about yourself plays a huge role in whether or not you will succeed with your weight loss and overall health goals. Ever heard of the popular Movie “The Secret”? Well, the Law of Attraction is real. Your mind is very advanced and sophisticated, and if you keep telling yourself that you are “fat” and “overweight”, then your brain keeps telling you to do things that will keep you in that state of being.

Start thinking “healthy” and “thin”, and your brain will start programming your thoughts and actions to lead you to a lifestyle that will help you become healthier.

It’s not all about wishful thinking, because action is involved. You need to do your part. Bottom line: Believe you will succeed and continue to exercise and eat healthy. Know that you will get there!

Good luck with your Health goals!

♥,

Twinkie

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Walk, Jog, or Run?

Is walking better for you, or is jogging? What about running?

Walk

Walking is a lot easier on your body than jogging or running, and if you have been out of the gym for awhile, walking is an excellent place to start. Walking is also a great cardiovascular exercise, and should not be looked at as an inferior workout to either jogging or running. Try to keep a steady brisk walk, and this is a great way for you to burn calories and lose weight.

Focus on walking correctly, get good comfortable shoes, breathe correctly, and work your way up to speed walking. If you have ever had a knee injury, you might want to stick to walking until you have fully recovered from your injury. Never feel like you have to go faster than what your body is ready for, or capable of.

With any other workout that you do, walking is also a great cool down.

Jog

If you like a short and intense workout, jogging might just be for you. Jogging takes less time for the same calorie burn and cardiovascular benefits compared to walking. Be sure that you have great shoes, and that you are jogging correctly. Jogging can be really hard on the knees and shins if you jog “wrong”, jog for a prolonged amount of time, or even if you didn’t properly stretch before or after your workout. Something important to also keep in mind, is to breathe correctly. It is important that you breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. If you need help practicing this, try walking until you can get the hang of things.

Run

Most people who say then went “running” actually went “jogging” instead.  Running is faster than jogging, and if you are on pace to finish a mile in less than 9 minutes, you are “running”. Just like walking and jogging, running is a great cardiovascular exercise, but takes much faster to burn the same amount of calories as it does for walking or jogging. Just know that this is an intense workout, and not for those just trying to get back to the gym. This is something you should work up to, but you don’t have to reach this point.

Which one is for me?

Do what is best for your body. Because I have had a knee injury in the past, I am not pushing myself to run, and I even limit the amount of jogging that I do. Am I depriving myself of anything? No. Whether you walk, jog, or run,  you are having a cardiovascular workout, burning calories, and getting a great exercise in. As long as you are properly warmed up and prepared, whether you walk for an hour, jog for 15 minutes, or run for 3 minutes, your body will thank you.

Tags: breathe, burn calories, burn fat, cardio, cardio workout, cardiovascular, cool down, exercise, Fitness, Healthy, heart, injury, jog, jogging, knee, Lose Weight, quality shoes, run, running, running shoes, shin, Skinny, walk, walking

I hate “Diets”

I hate “Diets” because it just seems to imply that someone is only exercising or eating healthy for a short period of time. Once they lose weight and reach their goal, they go back to their old habits!

This type of thinking only turns “diets” into “yo-yo dieting”, which means after all that effort and time you too to lose weight and learn great eating and exercise habits, you just gained back all your weight…and then some.

If you know what I am talking about first hand, I am sure you hate dieting too. You are in luck though, because I have some good news and…depending on how you look at it, maybe some bad news too.

Bad news first

I don’t think that it’s bad news, but for some it might be just that. The bad news is this: There is no magic diet pill or spell that will make your magically thin and healthy. Crazy, right? I feel like I might have just told someone that Candy Land doesn’t exist! hehe

You have to think of your eating habits and exercise routines as a part of your life. If what you are currently doing isn’t getting you to where you want to go, a temporary and short term fix won’t solve the problem for good. Maybe temporarily, but you don’t want a temporary fix because you will constantly have to worry about fixing a problem. You want to have a permanent fix. This involved a complete lifestyle adjustment and for some…and pretty big change in your life.

It may be a bit slower of a process to finally get to where you want to be. It may take time to find the healthy foods that you love to replace the old foods that didn’t do your body any good. It may take time to find and start a realistic workout routine you can keep up with and stay with (not the same machine, but the routine). By doing it this way, a lifestyle change, you will see long term results, which in the end, it’s something we are all after.

The Good news!

Your body will feel great! It’s amazing how much happier people seem to be when their body’s are functioning at their best because they are receiving the nutrients and exercise they need.

It’s not always about looking skinny/fit/slim…it’s all about being healthy and feeling good!

As always…it will be worth it. I’m here to cheer you on. You ready for this?

♥,

Twinkie

Tags: diet, dieting, eat right, exercise, fit, Fitness, Healthy, Nutrition, Skinny, SkinnyTwinkie, slim, Twinkie, Weight Loss, yo-yo diet, yo-yo dieting