Guest Post: Lose Weight By Never Stepping Into A Gym

Hi All!

Happy Friday! :) As I said in yesterday's post-I AM DONE WITH FINALS!!!! And so excited about it (can you tell? :)) My brain is still total mush, so today the amazing Amanda of Living in Another Language has kindly offered to guest post for me while I go into town for some much needed R&R :) Thanks Amanda!!

Enjoy her post and make sure to check out her blog-it's fabulous!!

I'll be back to regular schedule programming tomorrow, see you then lovelies! 

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Hey, Amanda here from over at Living in Another Language. I'm an expat living in South Korea teaching little kiddos about English. Trust me, if you would have asked me 4 years ago if I'd ever consider teaching I would have laughed in your face. However life has a way of changing things, and here I am. 

My husband and I realized two years ago that we wanted more to life then just graduating college, getting full-time jobs, and settling down, so we: graduated, got married, got full-time jobs, quite our jobs, and moved abroad. All within a year and a half. How about that for a crazy adventure? 

We love our life, and plan on traveling around for at least 4-5 more years. So far we've been to Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam (with friends), and this summer will take us to Borneo, Malaysia.

I started my blog a year ago to document my travels, but it's morphed into a travel/photography/domestic blog. It's pretty much my baby, and I've totally fallen in love with blogging. 

However I do have another love. I love health. Call it my mother being a marathon runner my entire life, but I grew up with an awareness towards general health and fitness. 

Living in South Korea has posed its problems when it comes to maintaining the healthy lifestyle I had back in Portland, Oregon. I was juicing, working out at the gym, and going on the occasional jog. When we moved here I was clueless about continuing on with my health lifestyle. It's taken me a year and some, but I've figured it out. I'm here now to tell you that it's fully possible to lose weight and tone up without having to go to the gym. 

 How to do it (Disclaimer: I'm not certified in nutrition or health, this is just what has worked for me):

 1. Portion sizes I never realized how terribly huge portion sizes are in America. It took traveling to different countries to realize this. One American plate can easily be 2-3 meals. Take your time while eating, it can take a solid 20 minutes for your stomach to even recognize that you're full. Even if you have food left on your plate, DON'T keep eating. Stop and save it for next time. Nothing better than leftovers right?  

2. Smoothie supplement I can't hype on this enough. About 4 weeks ago I bought a blender. I had been wanting one for months, but for some reason never spent the time actually looking into/shopping for one. The first one I bought was a cheap 350W blender, and it only lasted a couple of weeks. I've upgraded to the more expensive 600W version and it's worked like a charm. 

Old blender (with green smoothie still attached) meet shiny new blender

I had a juicer when I lived in Portland that I'd use every day. I seriously thought about buying a juicer here, but fruits and veggies are so expensive it just wouldn't be worth my while (if you've ever done a significant amount of juicing you know that it requires an insane amount of produce). So, I settled for the blender. I've been attached at the hip to my blender ever since. I have spent the last month making green smoothies every day for lunch, and I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it has been. Two cups of spinach, yogurt, coconut water, a banana, and chia seeds are my staple, and then I add fruit for flavoring. Not only do I have more energy during the day, my skin has cleared up, and I've been feeling less bloated! How about that for a win-win? I drink about 24-28 oz every day, and it fills me up every time. 

 3. Insanity/home workout program When my husband and I first moved to Korea I was pretty set on joining a gym. It wasn't until I realized that the membership fee was 60+ dollars a month that I said, "No Thanks." I was too unfamiliar with the territory to start running, and my husband didn't feel comfortable with me running by myself in the early mornings/late evenings That's when I found the Insanity Workout. This program is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me. I started my first 60 day run through last April and lost 12 inches total (not so much in the lb area...but I gained a TON of muscle). I have completed it two more times since then. Some would say I'm kind of addicted to this program, but there's reason as to why. Not only can I do it at home, but I need absolutely ZERO equipment-just a TV, a pair of tennis shoes, and a willing heart. 

Why has it also been the worst thing? It's brutal. The first few days I could hardly walk or get out of bed. I know that sounds a little bit extreme but it's true. Try it yourself and you'll see. The 'insanity' of the program is why you get such fast results. By week two I could see muscle definition. By week four my 6 pack was popping out! In all my time (and money) working out at the gym I had never seen such results. I'm sad I hadn't discovered the program sooner. 

 4. Extra curricular activities Another great way to stay in shape is to find an activity you love. Soccer, volleyball, baseball, football, running, hiking, swimming, yoga: the list could go on and on. For many, exercise isn't their definition of fun. That's because they haven't found what they like to do yet! Don't be afraid to give things a try.  

5. Positive attitude It's hard maintaining a positive attitude when you feel like crap and you just don't want to do it anymore. I doubt you can name a single person out there who hasn't had a downer day at least a couple times a month. I LOVE living healthy, don't get me wrong, but it can get tiring sometimes trying to maintain a healthy life. I am constantly battling with myself about getting up early to do a workout, or sleeping in. That's the worst. But I swear, you NEVER regret a workout when it's finished.  

6. Motivation and dedication The best motivation out there is finding and memorizing your end goal. What do you want to accomplish? I use 'what I want to look like by vacation time' as my end goal and it's worked for me. Some women use clothing sizes, some use self 'gift' bribes, some use total weight loss. All are great, one may work for you better than another. Dedication is HUGE when it comes to living healthy. There are some weeks that you do a terrible job, and some weeks that you do great. Just remember, even if you only worked out once this week, that's better than not working out at all. Consistency is key...and your hard work will pay off over time! After a year of living healthy in a foreign land I'm happy where I've gotten, but I still have a lot of work to do. Pretty sure it never ever 'ends.' :) 

Just remember, I'm here for you! If you have any questions feel free to email me at: livinginanotherlanguage@gmail.com You can stop by my blog and check out what's happening in South Korea anytime as well here (PS this week I'm hosting a HUGE Worldwide giveaway, so check it out...honestly, I wish I could enter). I'm also on Bloglovin', Twitter, and Facebook. 

Thanks for letting me take over your blog LB! Good luck with finals! :)