Get Fit! 10 Tips From Karra

I had on my to do list for this week to start to exercise. Today is the first day I have felt better since the cold I caught on Friday. So today is the day.

I started by weighing myself. O.M.G. This is not cool!  I haven’t weighed this much since… well, I can’t even remember! Not cool!

Scale

Ok, time to work out. I decided to give my 7 minute workout app a try… Yeah, no, this is not going to cut it. I stopped after 5 minutes and I could feel the extra weight. I needed help from a professional. It was time to call Karra.

Karra Crawford is an awesome personal trainer in Ahwatukee (Phoenix, AZ). I’ve been dying to work with her for a long time. I couldn’t wait any longer.

We met up for lunch, where I had a healthy lunch… except for my beer! I had to show her how afraid I was to give that up. We worked out what we were going to do, I scheduled my first lesson and I got some great tips from her for eating right.

1. Eat Close to the Hoof or the Vine

This means avoid eating foods that are processed or high in sugar. The less it takes to make, the better. This is great too because it makes for easy meals. Meats grilled or baked, veggies raw or baked or grilled or boiled, fruits (2 servings a day), should make up the main portion of your food. Luckily my low FODMAP diet for my stomach issues is just what she is talking about!

2. Its About What You Eat 80% of the Time

Yes you can have a piece of chocolate. Or in my case, some beer. It isn’t about what you eat 20% of the time, but what you eat 80% of the time. Keep your diet on 80% of the time, and you will see a difference in your health, not just your weight!

3. Don’t Starve Yourself

I’ve heard this before. It is about being a lifestyle change. You shouldn’t starve yourself and not eat. This is a big problem with yo yo diets. People starve, deprive themselves of certain foods, and then when they start eating again, they pack on the pounds because their body is in starvation mode.

It is all about controlling your portions and eating mindfully so you know when you are full!

4. Have Carbs with Protein

I’m a good girl. I don’t skip breakfast. Right now, in the morning I have a banana.  Karra was quick to tell me to have some protein with those carbs, otherwise my blood sugar will sky rocket and later in the day I will crash.  Try some eggs, or nuts or even peanut butter (though that can be full of fat). See, and here I was thinking I was doing good.

5. Don’t be Starving, Don’t Be Full

This is a great tip. Sometimes I wait until I’m super hungry, and then I stuff my face! Not cool.  Its ok to be a little bit hungry. It is also ok to not be completely full. I hate that feeling anyway, I don’t understand why I stuff my face like that!

6. Don’t Eat 3 Hours Before Bed

Now I’ve heard, don’t eat after 7pm. But what happens if I go to bed at midnight or 1am like I do some evenings? It is really best not to eat before bedtime. Your body will be more awake if it is digesting food. It also isn’t good for your body to be digesting food while sleeping. It is ok to go to bed a little bit hungry. That just means you will be eager to eat breakfast in the morning!

7. Start Building Muscle

As women get older, we start to lose muscle mass. It is important to keep building those muscles. Now this might not reflect on the scale right away (which is why we start with measuring ourselves instead of just weighing ourselves), because muscle does weigh more than fat.

It is important to build muscle. During our workout, Karra said if I can only do one type of workout, lift. I will get some cardio with lifting, and keeping my muscles fit is super important. That is great, I’m ready to have more energy then ever before!

8. Track What You Eat

This is so funny. I love tracking what I eat. For some reason, though, I thought to myself, I want to be free from tracking. Nobody else tracks, why should I. Oh, well, most people are overweight and unhealthy. Hmmm, maybe I don’t want to be like them after all!

Karra was about to go into why it is important to track (if you don’t know what you are putting into your body, you won’t know why you are getting certain results), but I cut her off. Yes! I love to track! I’m game.

MyFitnessPal is a free tracking tool that I love.

9. The First Workout Is The Worse

First-Workout with Karra

O.M.G. I think I almost died a bit today in our first workout. But you know what? I feel fabulous right now! It was painful as I was doing it, but knowing this is the MOST I will ever weigh in again, I know that future workouts are just going to be easier and easier. I’ve got this!

10. Drink Lots of Water

This I know and I still don’t do it! I live in the freaking desert, I should know better!

Drink plenty of water. Soda, coffee, and yes, even ice tea, does not count!

I am so excited to be transformed by Miss Karra Crawford. If you are ready to get in the best shape of life, don’t hesitate to contact her.

If you would like to follow me on this journey, leave a comment. Let me know what you are going to do to get into shape and start living a healthier life today!

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