Five tips to focus on in your fit life journey

Hydrate!

"My fit life journey" can mean different things to different people. But weather you're trying to lose a few pounds, overcome obesity or maintain a healthy weight, the basics of living a fit life are basically the same.

When I started my fit life journey a few years ago, the tips I'm providing here were considered non-negotiable for me. And even today, as I'm closer to my healthy weight goal than I've been in two decades, I try to remind myself to stick within these guidelines in order to stay on track.

So check out this list, then comment. What do you do to ensure your journey a fit life journey?

1. Hydration - Drink water all day long. How much? Google that question and add your specific weight and geographic area, because body mass and climate both have an impact. In general, drink eight 8-ounce cups of water per day, plus more if you're overweight and/or living in a dry climate or at high altitude.
2. Portion size - The most common mistake any of us make with regard to our diet is eating more than our body needs. This takes focus, because the system these days appears to be stacked against us. For example, typical meat portions at restaurants are rarely less than eight ounces, but an appropriate serving of any meat is about four ounces. See a doctor or nutritionist (or Google) to find out how many calories your body needs. 
3. Food is fuel, not your friend - Plan to have smaller portions spread out over the course of the day to ensure your body has nutrients accessible at times it needs them most. Then you won't be as tempted to have something to eat the next time anxiety, stress or emotional drain sets in.
4. Plan ahead - By cooking and pre-packaging healthy meals in advance, say on Sunday night before a busy work week, you can avoid the pitfalls of eating out. This could save you considerable amounts of calories over the course of your week because even the "healthy" meals at restaurants often come served in portion sizes larger than your dietary needs.
5. Exercise every day - They say you should always have rest days built in to your schedule, and that's true. You shouldn't hit the gym or go hiking or running every day of the week. But you should infuse an attitude of exercise into every single day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Park at the parking spot farthest from the door at work or at the grocery store. Take the dogs for a walk twice a day around the block instead of just having them do their business just beyond the front stoop or in the back yard. You will be surprised how this speeds you toward your goals.

These are not just a few tips to be implemented from time to time but rather they are key ingredients to living a fit life. Don't just pick up one or two of these tips and try them out; Commit to implementing them this week and focus on adhearing to a plan for at least four weeks in order to see results. Once you have made these five tips a habit, check back here for more tips for making the most of your fit life journey.

Check this out - IN IT TO WIN IT: The End in the beginning

I'd like to recommend that you all check out this brave new blogger - Laina. I met her on Twitter, and she's at the start of her own journey to overcome super obesity. I know what it's like to be where she is right now. And this blog is a beautiful step in the process of taking control over her situation and seeking accountability. By reading along we all take part in helping someone attack obesity and finally gain the kind of freedom all humans crave!

IN IT TO WIN IT: The End in the beginning: Hello! I want this blog to be about a journey back to health. I have like so many tried and failed every attempt to lose weight. If we a...

Twitter second to none for networking with a specialized audience

I've been tweeting regularly for the past couple of weeks @MyFitLife2Day. My goals for doing so weren't so clear when I started. I really didn't "get" Twitter. I thought it was just for celebrities and people who wanted to keep track of them. But what I have found is that Twitter is an amazing way to gain access to and network with professionals, peers (and even potential clients) within my realm of specialization - and it's cheaper, easier and more effective than any professional conference I could attend!

Just one week into my time on Twitter, I was thrilled to be re-tweeted by the man I would most like to model as I mold my career as a life coach, educator, author and motivational speaker - Anthony Robbins (@tonyrobbins). When that re-tweet went out to his two million followers, I gained more than 100 new followers myself within the next 24 hours. I'm probably still getting followers from that re-tweet, and from it, I have gained two new clients for my life coaching practice.

Glad for Gunnar's retweet and mention!

Celebrity blogger and fit-life promoter Perez Hilton replied to one of my tweets about a week later. While his tweets go out to around 5 million folks, I didn't get as much play from it for two reasons - 1) It wasn't a re-tweet but a reply, or a mention, and 2) Only a small portion in comparison to the whole of Hilton's followers are interested in his FitPerez brand (the folks most likely to follow me in response). As a result, I gained a few new followers from that mention, but not nearly as many as I did from Robbins'.

This brings me to my latest - a re-tweet and a mention by Gunnar Peterson, a famous personal trainer to the stars who has trained many A-list celebrities and been on countless morning talk shows and such. It's only been a few minutes since I got the mentioned by Gunnar Peterson, but already I'm getting new followers as a result. The thing I love about Peterson is that he isn't just focused on the A-listers - his mission seems to be getting people started and continuing with an exercise lifestyle. I like this a lot, as it's similar to my own mission of getting people to treat food as fuel, not as a friend.

The point to this soliloquy? I'm damn glad I signed up for Twitter, and am glad I have at least some amount of social media savvy to be able to make the most of it. There's still a lot to learn, but I think I'm on the right track!

Top ten favorite foods - and then some - to fuel my fit life!

Someone just asked me on Twitter @myfitlife2day, "What are your favorite foods?" I came to my answer very quickly and I posted it right away. It wasn't hard to come up with the ten. I just thought about my regular shopping list.

Here are just a few of my favorite foods - always on hand!

Here are the first ten favorite foods that popped into my mind:

Spinach
Carrots
Celery
Quinoa
Eggs
Black Beans
Tomatoes
Prunes
Greek Yogurt
Cherries


After I'd posted it I thought of a few others that should really be it. Walnuts, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds - all daily staples - are missing. And where's the broccoli, cauliflower, kale and collard greens? How about the limes, grapefruit and oranges? Come to think of it, bananas should really have been at the top of the list, but somehow they were completely left off. Oh well. I can't really think which of the ten I'd bump off to make room for any of these anyway. Maybe I should have given this question a bit more thought!

Anyway, the point is this: Do you think the person who asked me my favorite foods meant me to respond with dishes that I eat on a regular basis? Perhaps. But the focus of my fit-life plan is whole foods. I don't think of the recipes, though normally it's a mix of several of the ingredients listed above in some form or another and is usually seasoned with a variety of fresh herbs and dry spices (never salt).

The secret to my weight loss is simple. I eat a variety of whole foods on a daily basis. I eat a healthy balance of fats, carbs and proteins. And I eat at times of the day when I need these foods to fuel my activity.

What are your favorite foods? Let me know in the comments section below!

@MyFitLife2Day Goes Boldly into the Twitterverse

The past couple weeks I haven't been blogging as much as I like to. Instead, I've been focusing on micro blogging, having just recently discovered the joy of Twitter!

I'm mostly Tweeting with the following hash tags: #fitspo, #fitness, #inspiration, #overcomingobesity, #healthydecisions, and #itsyourdecisions. And in just 19 days I've amassed more than 500 followers - many of whom re-Tweet my original quotes.

Two of my most famous mentions were from two men that I admire and attempt to model as I build my career in online publishing and as a fit-life promoter.

The first was a re-Tweet by life coach, author and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins.

Tony Robbins re-Tweets @myfitlife2day to more than two million followers

The second was a mention by celebrity blogger and fit-life promoter Perez Hilton in reply to a mention I made of him. With nearly 5 million followers, this guy is truly a Twitter rock star!

Fit-life inspiration Perez Hilton gives @myfitlife2day a shout out!

Looking for inspiration? Here it is

I found this video on YouTube, and it's amazing. I especially love lines delivered by Sylvester Stallone as Rocky starting at 4:37. Kudos to the person who made this!

Will Body Combat improve my quality of life?

Today in response to one of my articles on fitness and weight loss published on HubPages, someone asked me if I could share with them a list of "quality of life" improvements that have come about as a result of my extreme weight loss. Great question, and I'm going to have to dig deep. There are physical as well as emotional improvements, mental clarity, etc. Let me see...I'm definitely going to have to work on this today.

Another thing on my agenda for today is that I'm planning to take my first group fitness class. My gym - Midtown Sports and Wellness in Albuquerque, NM - offers several LesMills classes, including Body Combat. The name itself is intimidating to me. Plus, it sounds pretty rigorous. Still, I'm not afraid of a little sweat, so what could be the reason that I'm feeling so intimidated about showing up?

I think it has to do with the group dynamic. I've observed group classes from the outside, and everyone seems to be in their own little zone. But I still can't help but think I will be judged if I'm not doing something right, or if I need to take a breather at a time not designated for one. I know this is all in my head, and I need to get over it soon because class starts in two hours!

Hmmm, I guess this dilemma could play into my article on quality of life somehow. Well, two years ago such a question wouldn't even come to mind - a group fitness class? Please! I would put off things like taking a shower because of how difficult it was to maneuver in there. Sheesh! What am I waiting for. I think I'll get ready for class!