Well hi there. My name is Holly. I am a 21-year-old gal living in the city of Chicago. In 2012, I dropped the nearly 35 (oops – see pic) pounds that I gained my freshman year of college.
I have been able to keep off the weight for nearly 1 year 1/2 now, and I hope to share my insights with you as to how I lost, and continue to maintain my weight. So to start, I would like to present my top three ways that I keep myself fit.
(3) Portion control: This is a biggie, and probably the most important – but it’s not the most fun, which is why I’m keeping it at #3. In order to lose weight, I used the MyFitnessPal app and website. It helped me set realistic calorie goals on a daily basis. Seriously, I had no idea what was in everything that I was eating. It allows you to track both your daily calories and exercise. It also has an impressive database of foods (including Chicago specific places, like Portillo’s!) and the app features a barcode scanner that inputs any food in your pantry. C’mon, who doesn’t like scanning stuff?
(2) Don’t go crazy: Paleo? Gummy bear cleanse? Eating nothing but raw eggs or whatever the new craze is? DON’T DO IT. Honestly. Everyone I know has failed on a fad diet. Even if they lost weight initially, they weren’t able to keep it off because those diets don’t teach you how to change your lifestyle for good (you’re not going to be bringing your gummy bears with you to your wedding, are you?)
While it takes a bit longer, healthy eating and exercise is the only way you can truly achieve your goals.
Another thing – don’t go crazy! Especially if you’re losing 20+ pounds, you like, can’t not have a treat once in awhile (I’m not talking about a “cheat day” here – those don’t work either. I’m referring to the occasional indulgence.) And to compensate for that indulgence, I would recommend making it into an occasion. Love to veg out eating ice cream and watching Sex in the City re-runs? Instead, grab some low-cal froyo at Starfruit Cafe (a Chicago original!) and catch Miranda’s wild antics on the treadmill.
Speaking of exercise..
(1) Get ready to WERQ: This is the MOST FUN of all which is why I am putting it at #1. I hate exercise. Like, I really hate exercise. Not because I can’t do it, but because it’s just so boring. Ladies, I have found an answer to your woes. And it’s WERQ fitness. Without angering the creators of WERQ (Chicago natives, of course) because they dislike any comparison to the Z-word, WERQ is sort of similar to Zumba. Except with hip-hop and rap music, which gets you going hard. I can burn 400+ calories in a one hour class, and it flies by. It just is…fun. Check out the video below to see what I mean:
Click here to find a WERQ class near you!
Skinny Chicago 