smallkine blogger

Pushups are one of those exercises most of us love to hate. Something about lifting your own body weight up and down from a horizontal position is just plain old hard, especially for women who often don’t have the same upper body strength that men do. Pushups are worth it, however, simply because they target so many different muscles - the chest, shoulders and triceps work together to move your body up and down, while the abs and legs work to stabilize your body.

Another great thing about pushups is that there are so many different ways to do them. If you want an easier version, you can try wall pushups or pushups on the knees. If you want something harder, you’ll love these staggered pushups. There are a number of ways to do them, but my favorite involves staggering the hands and taking one in front of you while the other is positioned directly under the shoulder. By staggering your hands, you increase the load on one arm, which adds intensity. This is also a great way to teach your body how to do one-armed pushups.

Do it right: In pushup position, on the knees or toes, walk the left hand forward while keeping the right hand directly under the right shoulder. Lower into a pushup, feeling the challenge in the right arm. Push back up and repeat for 4 reps before switching sides and taking the right arm forward. Continue alternating sides, completing 1-3 sets of 12-16 reps. You can also choose to complete all your reps on the same side before switching arms.

check out exercise.about.com for more sweet exercise tips

Every few months, your husband/or wife announces their intention to lose weight. I used to roll my eyes, figuring they would become a health nut for a week before giving up. But sometimes when you point things out you tend to not take anything seriously. In fact, by not giving support, decreases the chances for success.

You may have experienced something similar. Sometimes it’s subtle –- an eye-roll or a sarcastic comment. Sometimes it’s more damaging, creating an environment that runs counter to what you’re trying to accomplish.

Some signs of sabotage:

• Your husband/wife brings home a seven-layer chocolate cake to celebrate your 10-pound weight loss
• They laugh when you tell them you’re going on a diet and says, “You? Stick with a diet? Good one!”
• Your partner, knowing you’re on a diet, takes you to a restaurant that only serves fried cheese and beer
• Your mother-in-law frowns when you turn down her homemade gravy, saying, “My other son-in-law loves my gravy.”
• Your mother hands you a plate of lasanga and says, “You’re too thin and I spent hours making this just for you.”

Most family members may not realize they’re sabotaging you. They may feel threatened by a thinner you or worried that your new diet and exercise habits may interfere with a life they’re comfortable with.

So i joined this calorie count website that about.com is running and i filled out their questionnaire to determine my ‘diet profile’. accordig to them, im a “team player” and this is what they have to say about team players:

The source of your weight problems lies in the people around you. Simply put, if you were left on your own, you would weigh less. This is not to say that you should abandon everyone and isolate yourself, but that you should find a way to combine your weight loss efforts with peer pressure.

Your Eating Habits

Your dieting is characterized by your social obligations. People around you are not supportive of your dieting efforts, and they are not all that health conscious themselves. Therefore, you often find yourself eating late, consuming many meals, or making unhealthy food and drink choices.

The Solution

You probably know what you are doing wrong, but you find it hard to follow through with your resolutions. Don’t despair: There are countless ways of making other people happy, and plenty of them will be compatible with a healthy lifestyle. For example, replace bar meet-ups with dancing, meet your friends in the gym instead of in front of a TV, or keep trying new healthy recipes until your family discovers something new that they like.

Whatever that means, i’m determined to live a healthier life and lose some weight in the process. they also give you the ability to track your weight progress and give you an estimate of how long it’ll take to reach that goal your achieving. heres a screencap of my weight progress: