Reminder Pants - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In my closet are lots of pairs of pants, but more specifically two specific pairs of pants.  I call them my "reminder pants".  

The Good - 
These are a pair of black suit pants.  They are a size 38.  To be honest, my chubby buns and dunlap belly I am sure stretched it past the 38 inch waist line.  There were Sundays when I would pour myself into those pants and uncomfortably suffer through the service. 

Now I am a true 34 inch waist!  Woot!

Those pants serve as a reminder of where I have come and how much progress I have made.  These are just a simple reminder of the good!  They remind me of the wins in my health and fitness.  The wins in my weight loss journey!

It's amazing reminder!

The Bad -
The skinny pants that I wear to work.  Like all of you I have moments of slipping back into poor habits.  There are days I skip workouts and feed my face fattening foods.  As I slide into those pants and pull that waist line across my belly I am reminded that I need to get back on track.  

Just the feel of those pants snuggling up under that little pooch belly that rares it's head when I make excuses for my health and fitness.  It reminds me "Jeff you need to refocus".

The Ugly -
Simply get rid of these.  Just a reminder that sometimes you make terrible clothing choices.

Enough said!

4 Tips to Picking the Right Workout

So you are ready to start...but where do you start.  Here are 4 tips to think about when picking the right exercise and fitness program for you.

1) Pick something you LIKE to do.

If you like cardio, do cardio.  If you like to hike, hike! Running your thing, go run Forrest! It is important to find a program, a schedule or workout that you enjoy.  If you enjoy your exercise regime, there is a greater likelihood of you dragging your rear end out of bed to do it.  Pick something you like to do.  Pick something that you look forward to doing.

2) Pick a program that MATCHES your goals.

If you are trying to lose weight, then the program you are doing needs to match that goal.  You want to add mass, than you need to workout in a way that adds muscle mass.  Your goals and your program need to match.  This will prevent discouragement because you will actually get the results you are looking for.

3) Pick a program that fits your ability.

The worst thing you can do is take on more than you can handle.  This often results in either injury or be overwhelmed and quitting.  Make sure that what you choose to do matches what you are capable of doing.  Now this is not permission to not push yourself to your fullest potential.  Yet, understand that you need a program that is aligned with your capabilities at the current moment.

4) Pick a program that fits your lifestyle.

If you don't have 2 hours a day to go to the gym, than a fitness program that requires 2 hours a day will never work for you.  This is not a excuse for you not to workout or leverage the "I don't have time" excuse.  Yet, you need to have an understanding of what fits into your schedule.  There are plenty of great programs that are 25 or 30 minutes and get results.  Or if you have an hour, find a program that goes a whole hour!  Just make sure what you chose will continue to fit into your lifestyle.

The greatest tip I can give is just to pick something.  Get moving, get started, and start seeing results!