Winter Haven, Fl... February 11, 2005Barefooting Body Beautiful

Along the lines of my last post on barefooting goals, I have found that as I get older, the importance of having fitness goals becomes more and more critical.

The best part about having fitness goals is that as your fitness level increases, your ability to enjoy your barefooting and achieve new goals becomes easier! Even more motivating is the fact that now you can add your passion of achieving your barefooting goals as fuel to your fire for getting in shape.

Since my average age student is between 35 and 55 years of age, I know that fitness is one of the biggest goals in their lives. Instead of just trying to lose weight for your long range health, you can now get even more pumped because your efforts will now greatly improve your enjoyment of barefooting.

My biggest kick in the pants came from my own personal health battles (Lane "Dawg's" Personal Story) which were the best motivation I could have recieved. And instead of concentrating on the fear of the disease, my new healthy lifestyle became a fire inside me that saved me from having to give up the passion I have for my barefooting goals...and life itself.

I highly recommend you find the motivation before it becomes a life and death situation.

Start off with very achievable "baby steps" that will allow you to keep your confidence high. Losing a pound a week is an awesome goal that is very doable for anyone! This baby step will also keep you encouraged and stop you from gaining weight.

Lane Dawg's personal tips for barefooting body beautiful;

#1 Drink water (16 cups at least) every day replacing any sodas which are a huge impedance to weight goals (YES.... that means diet soda which does NOT help to lose weight!)

#2 Start writing down and keeping track of everything you eat so that you have a realistic idea of where you are in your consumption. I am very keen on http://www.myfooddiary.com which also helps teach healthy food habits.

#3 Weigh yourself daily! This is not fun but it does provide a reality check that is one of the best motivators. I do not like doing it either, but I find that it keeps me on track. Keep a journal of your weight and measurements so you know what is really going on.

#4 Get in the gym or find a workout partner to hold you responsible to your fitness goals. Write down your calories burned in excercise.

#5 Check your body fat so you can see when you are losing fat and when you are gaining or losing muscle.

If this seems too overwhelming for you, promise me that you will at least do two very manageable steps; Step #1 and Step #2. Do this for an entire month and you will learn so much that you will find a motivation that may have not been there before!

My personal feeling is that for every 5 pounds of fat that is lost, I feel like I have gained 5 pounds of muscle when I am skiing because of the improved strength to weigh ratio!

I hopes this helps to keep you healthy and motivated to enjoy your barefooting goals even more!

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