How I Lost 20 lbs In 5 Months

I've officially done it: I lost 20 lbs in 5 months.

Those of you who know me closely know that I don't like being overweight. I never date anyone significantly over weight, nor do I, myself, ever let myself get out of whack with my fitness routine. That was, until last year. What happened is I'd had toe surgery to repair an ingrown toenail. Now, a toe may not seem like a big deal, but that toe problem kept me off the beach (no walks), away from the dance floor (yep, no dancing), and pretty much stopped most of my other power aerobic activity. Unfortunately, I sat around and ate more with all that extra time. The result: I went from 18 lbs overweight to 38 lbs overweight! And even though I'm 6'3" tall, people were starting to comment: not good!


This year, I decided to take action and get myself back into shape.

How did I get in better shape? I'll share my tips here:


1. Do what you love. I started going for walks on the beach, playing golf, playing tennis, and going dancing again. These activities that I love gave me an easier start back into getting into shape. It didn't feel HARD to do any of these things. On the contrary, it was EASY. Always start with something pretty easy before getting into the harder aspects of any program.


2. I started working out. By implementing a workout program, I started to gain muscle again. At first, this didn't help me lose any weight. I stayed the same weight on the scale. BUT I gained muscle. And muscle burns off calories faster than fat, any day. To burn more fat you must gain more muscle! So, I started working out. Not only that, but I feel more toned now and enjoy the feeling of being more muscular.

3. I quit drinking. Okay, not completely, but I cut back on the booze. You retain 4x more fat when you drink alcohol than when you don't. So, if you want to reduce fat, it only makes sense to eliminate or significantly reduce your drinking of alcoholic beverages, including mixed drinks, beer, and wine. The side result is I think more clearly and spend less money! How did I do it? I drink 8 oz. water any time I feel the urge to drink. It works!

4. Dance more! I started seriously upping the amount of dancing I was doing starting on April 1. I did this for two reasons: (a) I wanted to be a better dancer, (b) I had gone through a breakup and wanted to meet other single women. I didn't realize at the time that I'd get in better shape from dancing, but man-oh-man some of those dance lessons kicked my butt! Especially the Afro-Cuban dance lesson with the professional choreographer. See my article on Salsa dancing to learn more on this one...


5. Eat healthier. Instead of drinking a soda, I now drink water or apple juice. Yes, the apple juice has calories. But, the saying "an apple a day" makes sense to me, so I'm not on a low-carb diet, just a healthier diet. I'll eat my fruit, vegetables, and less meat and processed foods like chips or french fries. Since I made this diet change, I found myself initially VERY hungry - to the point of feeling like I could eat the paint off the wall. However, after about two weeks of this hunger my stomach adjusted and now I'm fine with my new diet.

6. Aerobic techniques. The next step of my workout program has been to implement aerobic techniques to combine distance, repetitive, and short-distance activities into my workout. At the beach, I now combine walking with jogging, backwards jogging, and sprinting during two phases of my walk. Doing this aerobic work is raising my heart-rate and also helping rid the fat.


7. Play Competitive Tennis. My final step of my workout program is to find other tennis players and start playing tennis two or three times a week. I'm doing this because (a) I'll make new friends, (b) tennis players are in good shape and (c) I might have a little fun competing.


See, there's an old saying "If you want to be successful, copy other people who are successful." I noticed that people with the best physique are those who either: (a) workout, (b) play sports (like tennis, surfing, volleyball, and racquetball), and (c) dance. If you're seeking a way to get into your ideal shape, what program will you use?


Yes, I still have 18 more lbs to go, but now I'm in the discipline of living in a way that WILL drop the weight and WILL get me in better shape. I started small, and worked up to it. Disclaimer: As with any workout program, always consult a doctor before beginning your own program. But once you start, commit to it and stick with it! Sure, I didn't achieve my initial goal of 20 pounds in 30 days, but I did realize this goal withing 5 months! I hit my goal when I followed through on my commitment and stuck with it.

We don't have to starve ourselves to drop the weight and gain the muscle. We don't have to kill ourselves in the gym 10 times a week, either. We just need to be more disciplined to take the time and make the effort to be our best self.
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How I Got Rid Of My Joint Pain In My Hands

I was listening to a program today about health and wellness programs. You know, so many people are focused on thinning their waistline, diets, workouts, but even more people are taking prescriptions for problems with energy, brain power (mental clarity), focus, stress, joint-comfort, and other diseases.

Are you looking for peak performance in your work, play and daily tasks?

I might have a solution for you, as simple as a daily drink of water (or other liquid), that costs less than a Starbucks cup of coffee.

Still here? Cool. I'll take the attention from your eyeballs as an expression of interest and permission to share more.

I recently got involved with a product that is delivering on this promise of lower stress, optimal health, higher joint flexibility, and better mental clarity. These are all things that, in running a site like AspireNow, I always have interest in learning more. How about you?

In just a short time after learning about it, the stories about this product are incredible.

For example, a friend of mine said she started taking this juice supplement after being diagnosed with Lupus (a mysterious blood condition). She started taking Xperia and after only one month was given a CLEAN bill of health.

Personally, I found that my mental accuity is more focused, my sense of taste and smell seems heightened, and more than that, the pain I'd experienced for the past year in my foot and hand WENT AWAY! Pain in the hand, which, by the way, a doctor had told me to "just live with it, you're getting older." I'm a saxophone player, so I can't have my hands hurt and play optimally.

My bass player, Jamie, who gifted me product to introduce me to this daily supplement, stopped going to the chiropractor and took off a knee brace he'd worn for 10 years after using this supplement regularly. As a result, his work production in his masonry business went up dramatically. He went back into his chiropractor's office with a box of this liquid supplement. The chiropractor said, "I haven't seen you in a while, Jamie, what's up?" Jamie said, "well, try this, Doc, and you'll find out why."

Shoot, if you ask me, CEO's ought to gift every employee in their company this product. Isn't productivity good for the bottom line? How much money do companies lose on "sick time" for mental, stress, and health issues?

Professional athlete coaches ought to get their athletes (and other personnel) using it... teachers ought to get their parents to give it to kids. One story I haven't personally experienced, but heard about from Jamie, was this kid who took Univera's products and went from being a "D" student, diagnosed with ADD problems, to an "A" student (with remarks about how quickly he changed and improved his focus).

I'm not giving you a sales pitch. This stuff doesn't need one. I just want people to get involved and at least TRY it. What could you lose? Yes, ask your doctor first. But try it... I'll offer it to you without charging you for your first try, that's how much I believe in it.

I can't promise that you'll have this same result, but if you're going to a chiropractor, taking meds, trying to lose weight (and struggling with it), experiencing pain, or simply want to live longer and sustain PEAK PERFORMANCE, visit my Abundance Awaits You website, sign up for the free gift, and try it out. Why am I gifting this free? Because I care about HELPING PEOPLE. You probably already know that from reading the articles at AspireNow.

You can learn more at my site for Univera:
http://www.univeraPowerTeam.com/AbundanceAwaitsYou

This is the only mention I'll make of this at my blog. I'll post more at http://www.advancedbreakthroughs.com/ and also probably a page that describes more at AspireNow in the future. As you can tell, I'm excited about Univera's products enough to post them here on the A-blog - but, hey, it's about SELF-HELP. I haven't had a product that literally healed me of pain (other than a temporary drug) and delivered on the promise before like this one, so can you blame me?

Learn more about it here:
http://www.univeraPowerTeam.com/AbundanceAwaitsYou

P.S. - There IS a business opportunity if you wish to share the product with your friend, too. I won't go into details on that, except to say that people are making anywhere from $500 to $27,000 per month (not kidding) after getting involved in this program. Just try the Univera product yourself for a while, and if you're convinced that you like the product, why not share it with others? I'll help you get started if you're interested. Also, there's a link for that at my site, too:

http://www.univeraPowerTeam.com/AbundanceAwaitsYou

Note: claims are true personal stories of the author and two of his friends. Your individual results obviously may vary. According to the FDA guidelines, consult a physician before beginning any supplemental diet program.