Sunday, December 4, 2011

READER SPOTLIGHT! (Take 2)

Since our last reader spotlight seemed to go over well, I thought we'd do another!

But first, a small excerpt from the life of Amanda, in the times of a brutal workout:

I HURT.

Gee- that was fun, huh!?

Now on to Jazmine Chilo!

Jazzy is a senior from Washington. She is my most adorable cousin, and she makes Seattle worth visiting. If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop by and say "Hi-oh!"

We asked Jazz everything from what she does for a workout, who she works out with, what her favorite healthy food is, and what her demise is.

"For fun, I play just dance on the Wii, or do Wii Fit with my mom. After school, I go to the local gym and stay on the elliptical for an hour. I usually burn around 700 calories just doing that alone. This works best for my schedule because I know in advance how long it's going to take me, and can slip it into anytime of the day if something comes up after school. Any type of cardio is the best way to burn calories. If I can't go on the elliptical, then I run. That's second best for me."

According to Jazmine, she goes to McDonald's "at least three times a week," french fries and McDoubles being her favorites. She says she is "obsessed!!" As for healthy foods, she enjoys apples, steamed broccoli, and almonds, which she says is something she can snack on all day long.

Jazmine's fitness goal is "to stop going to McDonalds so often, and get back down to 140-145. Before I left for Iowa for the summer, I got a partial tear in my Achilles tendon." This injury caused Jazmine to be unable to work out for about 2 months, which caused her to gain 20 pounds. "I've lost 10 pof those pounds so far, so I'm halfway there!"

"Telling my family and friends that I'm trying to lose weight has helped a lot," insists Jazmine. "My mama encourages me to keep working out every day and buys me healthier foods and won't take me out to eat as much. Making the people around me aware that I'm trying to stay healthy is helpful because then they erase the temptations, like eating out or midnight snacks."

So what is Jazmine's advice?

DRINK WATER!!!

"I lost more weight drinking water and cleaning out my system constantly than I did with just working out and counting juice and soda calories. It also helps you feel more full, so you eat less." She also says that family coming around for the holidays makes it easier, since Wii Fit games and Just Dance "are the best to play with cousins, aunts, and uncles."

Jazmine says her lifesaving app is "Lose It! Its free in the app store in iTunes, and it helps you count calories, depending on how much weight you want to lose a week." She also says that if you think your tendons, ligaments, or muscles are damaged, then STOP WORKING OUT and let your body recover. "Its cool to be tough, but if you really damage yourself like I did, then it sets you back more than anything."

One final note?

"Most importantly, set realistic goals, and realize that if you want weight loss to be long term, you can't go on a temporary diet, you need to make healthy lifestyle changes." 


Jazmine showed a lot of personal strength sharing all of that with us, and I'd like to extend a giant 'THANK YOU!!!" from myself and the rest of my readers! She had some great insight and I can't wait to learn more about how her weight loss goals are going after the Christmas holiday!

Until then, happy weight loss!

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