Slim for Life (18 page)
Authors: Jillian Michaels
ENGAGE IN
AIRPORT
EXERCISE • 1 POINT
Don’t want to skip your workout? Want to make every minute of your trip count? Whether you’re a workaholic road warrior who spends half your life in airports, or you’re stuck on a stopover en route to a villa vacation, you can grab a workout before you even take off. A cool website,
www.airportgyms.com
, offers a unique service: it posts listings of airport gyms, airport exercise clubs, and fitness centers within a short distance of airports in and around major U.S. and Canadian cities. You can even check out the nearest gym online to see what it offers, so you’re geared up and ready to exercise when you get there.
One of the worst things you can do to your body is sit for hours on a flight and never get up from your seat. If you’re flying for more than an hour, it’s easy to feel just as stiff and cramped as you do at work if you sit all day. Not moving around for long periods of time can cause problems with circulation. For anyone who has existing circulatory issues, it’s even more important to move about the cabin when you can, to prevent blood clots from forming.
Here are some ways to get your move on in a plane:
• Avoid crossing your legs or ankles for long periods of time. Curl and uncurl your toes. Pull one knee at a time up toward your chest. Stretch your back, rounding your spine forward and arching it back.
• March in place, lifting your knees. I know this looks silly, but you’ll feel much better than the people sitting next to you do.
• If you’re not completely squashed like a sardine and have a little room, bend forward, reach for your feet, and hang like a rag doll.
• Stretch your arms overhead, grasp your opposite wrist, and stretch, then do the other side.
• Simulate biceps curls using your water bottle. Press up for modified triceps dips by pushing down on the seat arms.
• Twist and stretch your torso, placing your opposite hand on the seat arm and looking behind you. Repeat in the other direction.
• Try to stand up every hour you’re in the air. Before you head back to your seat, stop at the back of the plane and do push-ups on the wall. (It’s great for conversations, trust me.)
• Do deep yogic (belly) breathing. Inhale through your nose, expanding your belly, and slowly exhale through your nose. Not only is this great for calming nerves, it helps to balance
the left and right sides of your brain and circulate oxygen throughout your body. On a plane it’s particularly great to do because your circulation is already compromised.
Stay at a hotel with a gym. If that’s not an option, stay at a place with a gym nearby so you can get a guest pass. Most big chain gyms offer a free weekly pass on their websites as incentives to join—download it and save the gym fee. Another thing to consider: if and when you join a gym at home, look for a chain that’s as national as possible, and sign up for all clubs. I do this with Crunch. That way I can work out at any Crunch gym when I travel. While they aren’t in all parts of the country, I’m covered when I’m in California, Florida, and New York.
Bring a fitness DVD, pop it in your computer, and get your move on. Or bring a resistance tube—it’s cheap and portable. Toss it around the leg of the bed and get in your chest flys, military presses, rows, curls—you can add resistance to just about any exercise with this tubing. You can also use an app on your phone. My Slim-Down Solution app has tons of exercises with demonstrations available.
One warning before you read on—this one was introduced to me by
Bob Harper. At the airport’s convenience store, grab a deck of
playing cards. Not only can they keep you entertained on your flight, they can give you a sinister workout in your hotel room. The first step is to assign an exercise to each suit. Say burpees for spades, push-ups for diamonds, sit-ups for clubs, and squats for hearts. Then go through the entire deck of cards and do the assigned number of exercises per card. So a 4 of clubs would mean you do 4 sit-ups, an 8 of spades would mean 8 burpees. Assign the face cards a value of 10, and the
ace is 11. (No, it’s not a 1—this is not blackjack, and it’s not optional.) Try to keep it moving, and rest as little as possible. I promise you’ll get an insane workout at little cost within a minimal space.
Check and see if the hotel TV’s On Demand programming offers free workouts. Also, see if the hotel has simple equipment—a yoga mat, pair of dumbbells, or the like—that you can take back to your room.
If you’re on holiday, plan an active vacation, and try fitness regimens that are new to you. Go paddleboarding in Hawaii. Mountain-bike in Moab. Hike the Grand Canyon. River-raft or kayak the Kern River. Snowboard or ski in Sun Valley or Aspen. By making fitness part of your vacation lifestyle, you’ll expose yourself to new things and prevent yourself from packing on pounds when packing your bags.
SLIM MYTH:
Sweating eliminates toxins.
FAST FACT:
Only 1 percent of the toxins that leave our bodies are excreted through our sweat glands. The main role of sweating is to regulate our body temperature; it’s our natural cooling system. The main organs responsible for excreting waste are actually the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, immune system, and lungs.
Walk the town. Often when I’ve gone on what should be the most fattening vacations (hello, Paris food fest!), I’ve actually come home a pound or two lighter. That’s because I spent all day on my feet sightseeing. Get out, meet the people, take in some history, and see the place! Being on your feet for hours at a time, even when you aren’t “exercising hard,” will burn tons of calories and also allow you to take in some culture.
I can’t tell you how many vacations I take where I get my workout in the pool. This is a big one for people with kids. My kids love the pool,
and I play with them or swim laps while they play. It’s a great fitness resource, if weather permits, for hard-core workouts or active fun family time.
Ask the hotel staff or search the Web for local parks, hiking paths, and jogging routes. You can also take matters into your own hands by checking out
www.trails.com
. This website offers great options and resources for practically anywhere in the world you might find yourself.
☐ Fill up your tank.
☐ Stay away from the buffet.
☐ Choose wisely.
☐ Indulge responsibly.
☐ Sample small portions.
☐ Sidestep it.
☐ Swap sides.
☐ Be high-maintenance.
☐ Avoid danger.
☐ Be multiculturally selective.
☐ Keep a private stash.
☐ Start a bandwagon.
☐ Have a plan.
☐ Pack it in.
☐ Walk ’n’ talk.
☐ Rrrrring!
☐ Grab and go.
☐ Be action packed.
☐ Be a gracious guest.
☐ Lighten up.
☐ Be a party planner.
☐ Jump the gun.
☐ Pick your battles.
☐ Be soup smart.
☐ Don’t forget to dry off.
☐
Get it to go.
☐ Be generous.
☐ Take a pass.
☐ Pat it down.
☐ Play the field.
☐ Look ridiculous.
☐ Gear up.
☐ Have coffee to go.
☐ Stock up.
☐ Be resourceful.
☐ Make convenience count.
☐ Choose the least of all evils.
☐ Be picky.
☐ Play cards.
☐ Be demanding.
☐ Have an adventure.
☐ Sightsee.
☐ Get wet.
☐ Happy trails to you.
☐ Sip from a wineglass.
☐ Water back.
☐ Fib.
☐ Be creative.
☐ Send a Jibjab.
☐ Cop a squat.
☐ Be competitive.
☐ Play ball games.
☐ Engage in airport exercise.
☐ Fly fit.
Total
points
for
Chapter 4
Total number of
tips
I’m incorporating
STAYING
MOTIVATED
This chapter may not seem critical, as it doesn’t directly pertain to weight loss,
but
it is, and here’s why. I can give you all the info. I can make it easy to apply and affordable. I can spoon-feed it to you and hold your hand while you digest it. But if you aren’t motivated to utilize it and make it your way of life, then none of what I’ve brought you in these pages matters. I’ve basically wasted my time writing this book, and you’ve wasted your money buying it and your time reading it. As if this thought weren’t annoying enough, think about what’s really at stake here—your health, your confidence, your quality of life, your relationships, your sex drive, and (insert practically everything awesome here). All of these are negatively affected when your weight and health aren’t optimal.
Not living up to your potential or living the life you deserve is a damn shame. I want you to have everything you want for yourself. Honestly, you deserve it. We all do. But staying on track doesn’t come without some effort—you know that. You can trust that the guidance and instruction outlined in this chapter will make the work far more palatable and possibly even enjoyable.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
MAKE IT PERSONAL • • • 3 POINTS
Before you take that first step on the treadmill or steam your first piece of broccoli, I want you to make a
Slim List. It’s supersimple to do and will tell you a lot about yourself. Don’t worry, it’ll be fun. Write down all the reasons you want to be healthy, and how you think being slim will improve your life.
Many people, when searching for motivation, look outward, and while that can help to catalyze an initial change, lasting motivation must come from within. As I’ve said, leading the slim life isn’t always easy. Although I’ve tried to make it as uncomplicated and stress-free as possible for you, ultimately there’ll be some sacrifice involved. Sacrifice is part of being a grown-up, isn’t it? To help you manage this fact of life, you have to find your “why.” Why is the sacrifice worth it—to
you
? There’s a famous quote from Nietzsche that goes something like this: “If you have a
why
to live for, you can tolerate any
how
.”
Identify your
why
. Why is staying motivated important to you? Be specific. Make it very personal and detailed. Don’t just say things like “I want to be healthy.” What does that mean? What would that look like in your life? Do you want to play hockey with your kids? Look amazing at spring break? Wear high-fashion clothes? Live to be one hundred? Make your baby daddy sorry he left you for the secretary? Have sex with the lights on? Whatever your motives, write them down and post that list everywhere you can. Let your wants, your needs, and your desires motivate you!
SLIM MYTH:
If you lose weight too fast, you won’t keep it off.
FAST FACT:
Ridiculous. I’ve taken 100 pounds off of a man in 6 weeks, and 3 years later he’s still proving my point. It’s not the speed with which you take the weight off that matters—it’s the method by which you did it. And a recent study conducted at the University of Florida also proves my point: it revealed that losing weight quickly in the early stages of a weight-loss program may be more beneficial, over the long term, both for losing the weight and for keeping it off. The researchers indicated that those who lost weight quickly were five times more likely to achieve clinically significant weight loss by an 18-month marker than those who lost weight at a slower
rate. As long as you do it through exercise and clean eating, as opposed to starvation, there’s no reason for you to put the weight back on, other than unresolved emotional issues or struggles.