IT'S A NUMBERS GAME

What are your goals for working out? Seriously take a minute and think about why you lace up and race out of the door in the direction of the gym, why do you roll out your yoga mat and punish your poor muscles? Have you thought about it? Now write it down or type it depending on which year you were born.
My goals for working out are:

1. I want to lose weight
2. I want to tone up
3. I want to be healthy

I must say for a health professional number 3 should be number 1 but I admit that I am a vain female health professional who likes to feel good wearing bikinis hence the order of my goals. Currently I have a Basal metabolic Index of  26.79.
BMI is a scientific calculation of ideal weight based on weight in kilograms. The formula is weight in kgs divided by height in square meters. KG/m2. Based on this one can be stratified as being underweight, healthy, overweight or obese.

BMI Categories: Underweight:..................................<18.5
Normal weight:.............................. 18.5–24.9
Overweight:....................................25–29.9
Obesity:...........................................BMI of 30 or greater
What is your BMI?
As you can see I am over weight for my height, I need to lose some kilos in order to be considered a healthy weight and less at risk of heart disease. In the last 3 months I have lost 10kgs(22 pounds) based on simple math, it is not remarkable but it is the most progress I made in a year of trying to lose weight . Working out for weight loss is arithmetic; how many calories do you take in versus how many calories do you burn? The average female requires 1600- 2200 calories while the male requires 1800-3000 calories.
To put this in perspective, a slice of white toast has 100 calories, a slice of whole wheat toast 78 calories, two table spoons of peanut butter 190 calories, 1 fried egg 92 calories, a tablespoon of margarine depending on the brand 45- 100 calories, 1 tablespoon of butter 50 calories. So lets say your breakfast consists of 2 slices of white toast with two tablespoons of peanut butter and margarine and a fried egg you will have consumed 530 calories. You can make use of a calorie tracker like my fitness pal (its an app on Google play) to workout what calories are in the meals you consume.
Anything you consume on a daily basis is either burned up to produce energy for your daily activities or stored as fat fondly referred to as love handles, bat wings or thunder thighs. I am by no means trying to turn you into a calorie counting stick figure, however it helps to be aware of how much food you consume versus how active you are. One hour of aerobics activity like brisk walking or dancing or light jogging burns 300-500 calories. If you have no medical condition hindering weight loss aim to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories a day in order to lose 0.5kgs-1kg a week. This of course is easier said than done, relatives and friends visit and disrupt your routine, after work drinks materialize out of thin air, buy one get one free pizzas scream your name from the rooftops. It's a conspiracy I tell you! But that is the difference between the quitters and those who see results. Consistency is key, you falter and cheat once in a while but altering your lifestyle is the only way to achieve whatever fitness goals you may have. It certainly doesn't happen overnight- unless you're a Hollywood starlet but if you keep at it, it does happen. Here's some tips to help you if you are on a mission to loose weight and gain some muscle definition in your body:

• Love yourself as you are now. Regardless of societies definitions of beauty stand in front of a mirror and take in that beautiful creation that is you. This way you will want to give your body the best that you can.
• Don't drink your calories, sodas and fizzy drinks are loaded with unnecessary calories because they still leave you hungry and thirsty when you're finished with them; it's just like being in a relationship with someone you don't really like- a bloody waste of time.
• Drink water; refreshing, healthy, zero calories. Drink a glass of water a few minutes before a meal, it tricks your body into early satiety.
• Eat your water; fruits and fresh vegetable are laden with water and healthy vitamins. Eat as much as you can.
• Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day no excuses, take your bus a little further from your house than you normally would, crank up the volume and dance to your favorite tunes, take a brisk walk around your neighborhood, join a gym, play a sport. Anything really, in the words of Nike; just do it!
• Don't stop, you can fall off your routine but when you can get back on it and keep going, fitness is not an end point, it's a lifelong lifestyle change.
• Track your progress but don't only rely on the scale. Consider how many inches you're losing not just pounds or kilos. As you replace fat for muscle your  body weight might not change much but your waist thigh and arm circumference certainly will. You must also take note of how much better your clothes fit.

Try incorporating these into your lifestyle and see you on the other side. Next week I'm starting a squat challenge in an attempt to have a butt that defies gravity.