Favorite DVDs

Let's face it,  exercise can get pretty boring unless it is full of variety and has the word fun attached to it.  Here in Michigan the winter months can get very cold, long and rainy.  In the winter I have walked the mall, watched videos on my laptop and have even found exercises "On Demand" since our cable company offers these for free.  My favorite thing to do is search for new DVDs on several of my favorite sites.  One such site is Collage Video.  At this site you can watch portions of exercise DVDs before you purchase them.  I have a bookcase full to challenge myself, get in quick workouts and I never get bored.  I have 3 series that I absolutely can tell you work my body.

The Firm Cardio Party is Great!  I do this one at least once a week.  All of these tapes are great for beginners all the way up to the novice exercise guru.  I have step tapes, strength training tapes and dance tapes from them.  They are easy to follow and really work my body into shape. They also offer exercise equipment and tools that fit with their workouts.

I love Kathy Smith!  Her workouts definitely make me sweat and work every muscle in my body.  She is easy to follow and has such a huge library of tapes to choose from.  I have this particular DVD and use it regularly as well.  She has sound advice on all her workout DVDs and is motivating and fun.  She has been on the exercise circuit for years and looks phenomenal!  Her exuberance is contagious so I keep coming back for more.

I love Prevention Magazine for it's sound advice, and tips and tricks to staying healthy at any age.  Chris Freytag is an excellent instructor in all of the Prevention DVDs.  I have them all.  I love this one in particular because it is 3 minutes cardio, 2 minutes strength training and 1 minute abs.  You go through 6 circuits and a cool down.  For a workout that targets every part of your body and teaches you each exercise easily and efficiently these DVDs are a great addition to your library or for anyone just starting out. It also cues you on how to work harder if you choose to.

Of course these are all wonderful ways to get started exercising or to keep exercising in the privacy of your own home.  I like them because I have my own personal trainer,  I don't have to go far to get started and I feel great afterwards.  I can do them when the weather is bad or when I am in a hurry and the variety is endless.

If you want to save even more money, check out the exercise DVDs at your local library.   

There's such a huge selection to choose from wherever you go.   So, what are you waiting for?  There isn't an excuse in the world why you shouldn't find something you like to keep the excitement going or to get started on an exercise regime today.

Keeping It Off -- A Mindset

Keeping it off and dieting is a mindset.  Like everything else in your arsenal of dieting tips, tricks, and tools your mind is the key to achieving what you desire in weight loss and lifestyle change.   

Get It Out Of Your Head

In the past after I lost pounds on several popular diet plans my mindset was that I could go back to my old ways.  The old me would start eating everything in sight and the exercise would be put on the backburner.  Lose the thought that things will be this way and you will move forward.

Now, after my last attempt at taking off the weight and keeping it off my mind tells me that this is my life.  Everything I did wrong is a thing of the past and new habits have emerged and will remain. 

Look At Your Food

Dieting means you never get to eat good food again, right?  You give up everything you love either foodwise or how you go about your day, right?  WRONG!  Lifestyle changes in diet and exercise are not a life sentence.  For me, I still eat all the same meals with my family only now I watch portions and choose healthier options for my recipes.  Ground turkey for tacos,  whole wheat pastas for our Italian nights, turkey bacon for breakfast or veggie sausages.   Life and the grocery store have so many wonderful options now.  Food is a delight when I try new fruits or healthy recipes.  My taste palate has learned to love new textures and colors on my plate at every meal.  Feeding my body with better things (and I'm still learning) are exciting not boring.

Exercise is fun because I make it fun!  I ask family and friends to join me and I do things I love like bike riding and walking. 

The Pollyanna Principle

Research indicates that, at the unconscious level, our minds have a tendency to focus on the optimistic while, at the conscious level, we have a tendency to focus on the negative. This unconscious bias towards the positive is often described as the Pollyanna principle.

In dieting and keeping it off we need to focus on the positive and truly believe it.  Recite to yourself how important you are and how great you are feeling and looking.  Believe it, walk it, make it real! Some of the ways I keep the positive is by reading positive quotes from others who are in the same place as myself.  I have friends who motivate and believe in me and I only surround myself with those positive people.  I gravitate towards powerful, positive pictures, stories and places.

Exercise The Mind

Taking time out to just be is so important to staying on track.  Meditating, listening to favorite tunes, writing down your thoughts, taking walks in nature and listening to the birds and feeling the sun on your face, listening to your own breath without the background noise of life always heading towards you.  Take time out and you'll feel refreshed and ready for whatever gets thrown at you.  You'll realize how important you are and why you're doing what you are doing for your body and soul.

Thinking positive and telling the negative to go away is so important.

Everybody gets stressed, bored, depressed, discouraged.  Our hurried world hands us these things everyday.  It wasn't always easy for me.  Changing my mind took time and practice.  These everyday idiosyncrasies still creep up on us when we least expect it and when we wish they wouldn't at the worst times.  They have taught me perseverance, goal setting, and hard work all over again.

Change your mind, change your life!