Buckaroo Barbie’s Post Thanksgiving Diet and Exercise Tips

So, the holidays are basically a diet and exercise booby trap. There’s the feast like, boozy dinners with family you haven’t seen in forever, you’ve haven’t eaten as healthily as you would have liked and thus don’t feel like exercising and pie, pie, pie and cookies and did we mention pie?! If you indulged a little too much this Thanksgiving (and who doesn’t during the holidays?), then follow these tips and tricks to help you get back on track.

·      Keep drinking enough water!!!

Your body needs at LEAST 64 ounces of water a day. You probably had some beer or wine or sodas or even spiced eggnog, like me, over Thanksgiving and alcohol dehydrates you. If you only apply one suggestion here, please let it be this!!

·      Put your workout clothes on first thing in the morning.

I’ve found that even if I really don’t want to work out, but if I get dressed in my workout clothes anyway, I go ahead and workout 98% of time. And it’s way better to at least do a little something, then nothing at all. If you tell yourself you’re only going to walk or run for 5 minutes, generally by the time the 5 minutes are up, you feel like finishing your normal routine. Exercise isn’t about trying to physically punish yourself for treats that you ate, it’s about making your heart healthier and your muscles strong…it’s a reward, not a punishment.

·      Get a workout/diet partner.

Whenever Adrian and I work out together, it’s WAY more fun. We laugh at each other, encourage one another and push each other. She also really helps me with my diet. Sticking to a healthy, clean, organic diet is really important for my health so that my Lyme doesn’t flare up. If I’m tempted to cheat, she encourages me to try a healthier version and doesn’t tell me “no”, just asks me if eating that unhealthy treat is really worth me feeling bad later. She’s basically the best. Having a workout partner can also help inspire you to try new things and spice up your routine. My friend Aleesha and I went on a run together last night and I would have never had the courage to try and to run that hill without her! I’ve effectively avoided hills for some time now and once I went with Aleesha, I was shocked to discover it was actually fun! Fun to run somewhere new, fun to try something new and really fun to have someone to laugh with while we were sweating! And kudos to all you moms out there, I only pushed the stroller with Aleesha’s two kids in it for a while…but dang ladies!! That thing is heavy! 

·      Don’t beat yourself up for crashing your diet or not exercising.

That shiznit is just not healthy. And the whole point of eating clean and exercising is to make your body and mind and heart and soul healthier and stronger. Just because you ate crappy until dinner doesn’t mean you have to blow your dinner as well. Make a change then. Start fresh and don’t be negative. Focus on what positive things you DID accomplish and don’t let a little thing like mashed potatoes and pie mess up your progress so far!

Keep it up, Dolls!

And if you ever need a cheerleader, Adrian and I are your biggest fans :)

xo xo Liz and Adrian