Airys Mind Fitness Blog

I’m sorry I don’t drop a line a little more often. Lately many things have been going on at school plus last weekend was my sister’s b-day and we arrange a party at home.

We had some ham and cheese snacks as well as cocktails and a whole 33L barrel of beer. Everything looked delicious but… what about my strong and unbreakable fitness plan??Was I supposed to say no to everything I help putting together???

Not at all!!

Here are some tips I followed (and you can easily follow too) when going to a party.

1—-Before

Plan what you want to eat and drink. In the case of my sis’ party I knew everything we would serve so I was able to decide how much would I consume. I chose, according to my calorie tracking plan, to have 1 beer, two cocktails, and two times serving at the ham plate. That’d be it (and that was successfully it!).

But it is not easy to know when you go to a friend’s party so try to plan guessing on what will be served. It is always useful to write down how many calories do your favorite cocktails or drinks have and choose a number of each. This will keep you from going over you calorie limits and overdrinking.

With food this may be hard because trying to guess about what will be served it’s almost impossible so  you have two options:

Ask your friend what will be served or (these is the easy one:)

have a healthy fulfilling snack before going to the party.

Attending a party or a dinner party with an empty stomach will just result in overeating, overdrinking or will be torturous for the entire night if you try to stick to your plan. This snack may contain some fruit and a peanut butter sandwich or some veggies with some cheese on them, a little fat will help you feel full for longer.

2—-During

Distribute your chosen drinks along the night and stay away from sweet soda. Sometimes it’s hard to say no when a drink is being offered to us especially if your friends have their glasses on hand.

Prefer water or soda water. You can find gassy water in most parties so prefer it rather than regular soda (coke, lemon-lime, etc.)  If you don’t like it that plain, add some lime and (if your plan allows you to) a bit of salt, this will make a very tasty drink! You can always have a sweet trait so try to drink only light soda but don’t abuse of it. Drink small gulps and avoid keeping your glass in hand all the time, try to keep it on the table (but in sight, you know, as a precaution especially on discotheques)

Stick to your previous choices at most!!

Let’s Dance!

My sister hired a DJ and we had music all night long and danced along. If there’s a dancing floor try to use it all the night. The most important about dancing is to have fun and express yourself; it doesn’t matter you don’t know how to dance, just don’t stop moving!! Remember to stay hydrated (with water or even ice).

3 —–After

If you successfully followed these tips you will only have to enjoy all the good memories. But if you didn’t… don’t worry either!! You can always workout a bit (very important, just a bit) more in the gym the next day and always remember to go back to your plan.

If you are a party person and go to parties a few times per week you will easy dominate these steps practicing but if you’re not, don’t worry if you drank or ate a bit more than expected; one night (just one night) will do no harm. The most important thing is to have a great time!!!
So now you know, say yes to parties and enjoy yourself!!

‘Till next time and have an awesome weekend!!

Hi Everyone!!

As I’m getting started as a blogger to this site, I will talk about getting started for a new fitness plan.

When we start a new fitness plan, we star with a lot of enthusiasm. However, as time goes by, we get bored, tired o we just quit because we don’t see the desired results. This is due to a lot of bad decisions that we make, but this is not our fault anyway, we just don’t know.
This blog has as its purpose to give you some tips that can work whenever you start or try keeping a dietary plan.
In this first entry, I shall talk about getting started with a new plan; a new way of living.
1. – Consult a physician or nutritionist

When we decide to start a fitness plan, it has a main reason. It could be due to a medical condition (hypertension, diabetes, or being predisposed to develop some illness), a real change of life, or just because we want to look great for summer. Whatever the reason is, it is very important to receive professional orientation. Unless we had gone to medical school or had studied nutrition professionally, we’re not the ones to establish the best plan for our health. To start a fitness plan or any kind of physical activity that is not adequate for our body and our lifestyle could be hazardous to our health.
A physician and a nutritionist can orientate you according to your very own needs and likes, as well as what is easier for us to do.

2. – Establish realistic goals

It’s very important to keep ourselves motivated by our very own achievements. There are hundreds of scientific investigations that prove that the better we do, the most motivated we stay. If we reach our goals, it is a lot better to keep our plan and not quit.
Establishing very high goals, will not only be hard to achieve and will demand an effort beyond our capabilities, but will make it hard to keep the rhythm in the long term.
The best thing you can do is to establish realistic and easy-to-achieve goals, like loosing a pound instead of two a week, and to exercise during 15 minutes each day instead of spending two ours at the gym on weekends. Starting slow is the most advisable thing no matter what your physical condition level is. Challenge yourself but don’t expect to run a marathon in your first moth of changing. Remember, if the little you loose (or gain) it’s done with the minimum sacrifice, it will never return.

3. – Get organized

One of the reasons why people leave their fitness plan is because it becomes incompatible with their daily life activities. This incompatibility is due to we are not organized. Increasing events to our already tight agenda implies to make new changes that not always need to be so radical.
For example, it is important to increase our physical activity but if we don’t have enough time to do it, some small changes in our routine will make a big difference:

Take a small walk for at least one minute every hour. This will not only help you to start a more active rhythm, but will keep stress out of the way.

Organize your food times. I’m not the one to tell what is to be done in a fitness plan, but certainly I can tell how to manage it. Most plans require you to eat five times a day. Schedule those meals dividing your day by four, starting with breakfast.

For example, if you have breakfast at seven and dinner at 9, then your day last 14 hours, if you divide it by four then you are going to have your meals every 3 and a half hours approximately. Shape Up club will help a lot with this issue. You can easily organize what you eat and how much you it. It is also very important since many people lose weight just by realizing how much do they eat.

4. – Join your friends or communities

Having social support is also very useful. Having someone to go jogging with or dinning out with, who is in your same situation will help a lot. If you don’t have anyone, don’t worry,  go and find those people. It’s not that hard, there are many online communities, like the one at Shape Up Club, that can help you to keep motivated by sharing experiences.

Or it is always helpful to follow Sarah’s advice and join a health club or a class, you’ll find that you will have a lot more things in common with them than what you have thought!!
5. – Change your thoughts!!

This could sound very challenging and ambitious but it’s the best beginning. Think positive, always, and stay focused on what you want to achieve.
The most important thing to do is to accept your body as it is. Many of us don’t have a model’s genetic structure, but that doesn’t have to be a problem, we can be fit with our own body. I shall talk about this again, so feel free to let me know your doubts or concerns.

THINK HEALTHY!, this is the only body you have.

Thinks that any change you make will be forever, specially if you want to change your lifestyle. Don’t quit completely junk food, especially if you are so used to it. Having pizza or a hot-dog once a month will do no harm (unless you have a medical condition that strictly prohibits it), all the opposite, it will make your experience a lot easier (minimum sacrifice).

Have a Great Week!!!

Hey there!!
My name is Airy Devesa. I’m a psychologist from Mexico City. In this
blog you will find several topics concerning psychological issues
related to a healthy way of living like emotion, motivation and self-
esteem, among many others.

I also take any suggestions and if you have any specific concerns I’ll
be happy to help you!