Realistic Fitness And Diet Advice For Real People

"Like you need to exercise."

This statement has been said to me numerous times when someone finds out that I exercise regularly. And it's almost always followed by an eye roll. My response is always the same: "Well, if I didn't exercise, I wouldn't look like this." Duh. Do you think Jillian Michaels doesn't need to exercise? Because a body doesn't get much better than that. Maybe she should just stop right now. I'm sure she'd look exactly the same in a few months. 

Another favorite: "You're so skinny. You can eat whatever you want." 

First of all, no, I'm not skinny. I may be smaller than today's average person. But I'm well within a normal BMI, and trust me, I have plenty of fat. I think a lot of people don't realize that being called "skinny" can be offensive. It doesn't necessarily offend me, but I don't want to be described as skinny. I'd rather be "in shape" or "fit" or "healthy." Just because I'm not overweight, it doesn't mean that I'm skinny. Okay? Okay. And just because you saw me eat a piece of pie at lunch today, that doesn't mean I can eat whatever I want. I mean, yes, I can, but I don't. If I did, I'd double my weight, no lie. I love food, y'all. Food is life.

But seriously, it doesn't matter what you look like, we all should do some form of physical activity as often as possible. I totally get that a lot of people have zero interest in exercise, and that's fine. To each his own. But for those who have any interest at all, I'm going to share my experience with you, and give you some realistic advice for real people. But first, I want to discredit some myths.

Spot Reducing Fat

I often see people sharing posts on Facebook saying something along the lines of "Get a flat belly with these simple exercises." A huge misconception is that you can spot reduce fat by exercising a certain group of muscles. It's not possible. While you can obviously increase muscle mass by concentrating on a desired muscle(s), fat burns evenly over the entire body. Now, if you're dieting properly, you may see fat disappear from your problem areas before the rest of your body. But that's not because you're only losing it in that area. It's because you have more fat there, so that's where it's going to be noticeable first. So don't waste your time doing 200 sit ups a day, because it's not going to flatten your belly if you need to lose weight all over. 

Exercising Alone Is Enough To Lose Weight

You can exercise all you want, but unless you improve your eating habits, you're probably only going to lose a few pounds quickly and then plateau. You have to consistently burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight. So if you're eating exactly the same as you ever have, and you add routine exercise to the mix, yes, you'll probably lose a little weight. Maybe you'll even lose a lot. But then it becomes so easy to throw in that extra snack or second/third helping and think, "It's okay, I'll exercise later." And then there will be some excuse to not exercise that day. And having that "I'll exercise later to make up for it" kind of attitude is basically viewing exercise as punishment. So you're going to need to make some changes to your diet.

That being said, a drastic diet isn't necessary to lose weight. Near the end of this post, I'll list some simple ways to reduce your caloric intake, without making huge changes to your diet. It's just as important, if not more important, as exercising. And my best advice about exercising is to start slow. Try exercising 2 or 3 days a week. Even if it's walking 30 minutes above what you normally do, that's a start. And walking is something your whole family can enjoy together. And only aim to lose 0.5 to 1 pound a week. If you find that amount to be easy, then go for more. But 2 pounds should be the max.

I Have To Do Cardio

If I had to do cardio with every workout for exercise to be effective, I'd have given up a long time ago. If running or other aerobic exercises aren't your thing, that's perfectly okay. As long as you're moving and burning calories, that's all that matters. I've realized that even strengthening and flexibility exercises rev up my heart rate. I may or may not reach that target heart rate that's recommended by professionals to get in a true cardio workout. But I don't really care, because it still works for me. My point is just make sure you do something, anything, to get your body moving outside of your normal routine and increase your activity as tolerated. 

Find the type of exercise that you enjoy. You're more likely to stick with it if you enjoy it. And don't choose something that's too challenging. Work your way up. I've tried everything from Zumba to using a Bowflex to HIIT circuit training exercises. Personally, I enjoy just about anything as long as it's not too repetitive. And it's important to switch it up. If you're always doing the same exercises, your body is going to get used to it and you'll stop benefiting from it. 

If I Use Weights My Muscles Will Get Too Big

Don't even worry about this one, because it's not true. Unless you're doing some heavy duty weight lifting, you're not going to bulk up. I only use 2 and 5 pound hand weights during some of my workouts. And yes, I noticed some tiny growth in my biceps and forearms in the beginning, but barely enough to give me a little definition. The same happened with my legs just by using my own body weight. But that's a good thing! You're not going to look like a bodybuilder unless that's your goal and you workout accordingly. 

Weight Is An Indicator Of Progress

Stay off of the scales. Seriously. Especially if your goal is to lose weight, stay off of the scales for a while. I do think it's important to weigh yourself when you begin your journey, if you're trying to lose weight, because obviously you need to know your starting weight. But it's even more important to take measurements. A simple internet search will give you all kinds of suggestions on the best ways to do measurements. Write them down, along with your weight, or log them into a fitness app, whatever. Then forget about it for a while. 

Unless you're only doing cardio, such as running, what's likely going to happen when you first start exercising is this: You're going to lose fat, but you're also going to gain muscle. So in the beginning, you're not going to see the pounds drop, and that can be super discouraging. Much better indicators of progress are measurements or noticing how your clothes fit. For example, when I completed the most recent program that I participated in, I only lost 1.6 pounds. My goal wasn't to lose weight, but that was still such a disappointment. All that work those 12 weeks was for 1.6 pounds?! That was my first thought. But then I reminded myself that I no longer had to struggle so much to fit into my skinny jeans. And then I took measurements and compared them to when I first started the program. I'd lost 5.75 inches! That may not sound like a lot, but on my frame, it made a difference. And best of all, I felt better. I had more stamina than I'd ever had, plus I slept better and didn't feel so tired all day. Not to mention, it was a confidence booster. I'll share a review of the program I did in another post soon, complete with before and after photos.

Tips, Tidbits, And Tricks To Improve Your Diet

So this is the part where I'll share some advice that works for me. 

First of all, don't expect overnight results. In this world today, it's all about instant gratification. But it's unrealistic to see a difference after a week or two, plain and simple. Besides, it's healthier to lose weight slowly anyway. Plus, you're more likely to keep the pounds off if you lose it gradually. Even if you're not trying to lose weight, but want to tone up, or whatever your goal is. It takes time. I'm talking two or three months, not weeks.

Crash diets are no good. One of the worst things you can do is drastically reduce your caloric intake. Your body will go into starvation mode and cling onto every bit of fat that it can. I highly recommend using a fitness app to keep track of your calories if your intention is to lose weight. I know there are tons out there, but I've always used My Fitness Pal. Even if you're not trying to lose weight, but want to get fit, I still think it's a good idea to keep track of what you're eating. It'll help you see where you may need to improve your eating habits.

Pay attention to portion and serving sizes. Measure your food if you need to. What you think is a cup may really be almost 2 cups. And you'd probably be surprised to see what 1 serving of some foods actually is. Pop Tarts probably aren't the healthiest example to give here, but I remember the first time I looked at the nutritional value on the package, and realized that 1 serving is actually 1 pastry, not 2, which comes in 1 package! So that 200 calories is actually for only half of the package. That's crazy! 

I don't believe it's necessary to become obsessed with the nutritional content of everything you eat. For beginners, I think it's far more important to concentrate on portion sizes and maybe making a few substitutions to the diet you're used to eating. I mean, if you want to go cold turkey from an eat-what-you-want diet to 100% clean meals, then more power to you. That's awesome, and realistic, actually. But it takes a lot of willpower to do something like that. When I first got serious about making changes to my diet, I pretty much ate the same foods I always did, but with changes. What worked for me were these things:

-Don't eat second helpings.
-Eat slowly and stop when you start feeling full.
-Have a treat now and then, just don't over-do it. If you deprive yourself, you're more likely to cave and overeat. I treat myself to something sweet not every single day, but most days. I just make sure that I only have a little of it. If it's cookies I'm craving, I'll have 1 or 2 instead of 3, or whatever the full serving is. If I want ice cream, I'll have a Yasso frozen yogurt bar. They're only 100 calories.
-There are a lot of snacks that may not necessarily be "healthy," but they can be "healthier" substitutions. Chips are a good example. I recently discovered Terra chips, which are real vegetable chips, and they taste every bit as good as Doritos and such, but they're not as bad for you.
-Skip the bread. I often have a hamburger with all the toppings, but without the bun, and eat it with a fork. Want a turkey sandwich? Forego the bread and roll up all the toppings inside the turkey. 
-Use salsa instead of ketchup. 
-Switch to unsweetened almond milk. I only recently did this, and I love it! Unless I'm drinking it straight up, I can't even tell the difference.
-Cut down on carbonated beverages. This was the hardest thing ever for me. But what worked was first switching to a diet soda once a day, then weaning myself down to one every other day, and so on. I'll still drink diet soda sometimes if I'm eating out. But the best way to avoid it is to not buy soda in the first place.
-And that brings me to this: If you know you shouldn't be eating something, don't buy it! 
-Instead of sweet drinks or fruity drinks, have water with a low/no calorie flavor packet added.

I promise if you take control of what you eat, after a while you won't miss what you're not having. 

The most important thing you can do is educate yourself. There are endless articles on healthy eating and making lifestyle changes out there. 

As for exercising, you can always find time to fit in 15 or 20 minutes most days. How much time per day do you spend looking at your phone for no particular reason at all? Most of us do that for several minutes, if not hours, every day. Put down the phone and throw in an exercise DVD. Or don't put down the phone, but pull up a workout on YouTube that looks interesting. You don't even have to do the whole 30 minute workout or however long it may be. Just do as much as you have time for. 

This is all my own personal advice. I'm not a doctor or fitness expert by any means. I'm just sharing what has worked for me. I'm a very busy single mom of 4 kids and I have very little free time to workout or even cook healthy meals every day. I know if I can do it, so can you. Just do the best you can. What works for me may not work for someone else. We're all different. And we all have different goals. It's very important to find what works for you personally, taking baby steps if you need to. There may be some trial and error involved. I know there was lot of that for me. 

If you have something you'd like to share, I'd love to hear all about it. And I'd also like to share a couple programs that I've completed that have made a huge difference for me, both mentally and physically. Stay tuned for that future post. 

Show Me The Money

I created this blog to write about topics that I'm passionate about. And saving money is something I'm very passionate about. Aren't we all? So, it's pretty much a no-brainer that I should make my first official blog post about the many money saving/making techniques that I've been practicing over the past few years. I'm not saying that I've discovered a get rich quick scheme or anything. And I'm certainly no extreme couponer. But I do have a bit of an addiction that requires extra cash on top of what I bring home from work. More on that in a future post. But what I'm getting at is that I have a few tricks up my sleeve that have allowed me to stash away enough money to completely pay for two expensive cruises (plus partially pay for three more), many concert tickets, plane tickets, and Christmas gifts the past few years. Plus, I almost never have to pay for a hotel when I go on trips. That one is mostly thanks to my friend that I travel with, but I'll discuss that more in a bit.

"Is it worth it?" 

That's the first thing people ask me when inquiring about my money saving techniques. A few cents here... a couple dollars there... Yes, it's worth it! If you stick to it, those small amounts add up before you know it, I promise. And it honestly doesn't take up as much time as many people fear it does. Trust me, I have very little free time. What little bit I do have is usually spent doing important things. You know, like looking for something to watch on Netflix, adding it to my list, and never getting around to watching it. Well, that, and I'm like everyone else in that I tend to get caught up in whatever is going on in that addictive world of social media. Which is dumb, because I'm the most non-social person on the planet. But anyway, my point is, I'm the busiest person I know, and I still find time to do everything I'm about to tell you.

Okay, let's get to it. Click on the names of the apps/sites to learn more about them.


Cash/Passive Saving

Let's start with the basic, easy stuff that you don't have to put much thought into. I know a lot of people don't carry cash with them these days. I rarely do. But when I do have change or small bills like ones or fives, I'll put them in a jug in my closet and forget about them (because out of sight, out of mind) until I'm ready to pay for whatever I've been saving for. Like I said, every penny counts, and those small amounts add up over time. I guess you could always deposit it into a savings account. But if you're like me, it's not worth the hassle. Are you really going to bother taking $5 here and $2 there to the bank? Nah, me, neither.

Another trick to let change add up without really thinking about it is this: Whenever you write down an amount to deduct from your checking account -assuming you're old school like me and still use a register to keep track of your transactions- round the amount up to the next dollar before subtracting it. You'll forget all about that extra change and have quite a bit saved up before you know it. Personally, I can't do this because I'm too anal and have to know the exact amount I have at any given moment. But I know people who do this and it works for them.

If you have the option to have money deducted from your paycheck and directly deposited into a savings account, go for it. Chances are that you won't even notice it's gone. Even if it's just $25 or so, if you're paid bi-weekly, that's $650 a year! Start low with about $10 if you're hesitant, and increase it later if you find that you don't miss it.


Sell Some Stuff

My first adventure into making some spare change was via eBay. This was circa 2009. At the time, I was in need of some extra cash for a trip I had planned. I was living paycheck to paycheck (as I basically still am) and had nothing at all to spare. I had a couple of yard sales, which can be a great way to quickly make a little money, but it's kind of hit or miss. But I had a bunch of stuff left over and decided on a whim to put it all on eBay. I had no idea what I was doing, but I educated myself and I've made the bulk of my extra money that way. I mostly sell my kids' outgrown clothing, but I've found that people will buy the most random things, like a vacuum filter. You never know what people are looking for, so list anything that's in decent shape and you'd like to get rid of. If you're a newbie and need some advice on how to get started, let me know!


Credit Card Rewards

I think one of the easiest, yet most overlooked, way to passively earn money is by taking advantage of credit card reward programs. I prefer the ones that give you cash back; specifically the ones that offer 2%+ back. To get the most bang for my buck, I charge everything that I buy (even the tiniest charges like $2) to one card and pay it off every pay day. This way I don't have to worry about due dates, carrying cash, interest charges, or overdrawing my checking account. But to pull this off, you have to be strict about paying the entire balance every pay period, or at least by the due date every month, or else those interest charges will add up fast! That would completely defeat the purpose. I try to not pay attention to how much cash back is accumulating, because if I knew I had $200 waiting on me, I'd be tempted to use it on every day charges. If that's what you want to spend it on, then great. I just prefer to use mine on things that I consider extra expenses. For example, I allow the savings to add up until my next vacation, and use it to pay for whatever I bought during the trip, like food. If you travel frequently, a hotel rewards card is probably a great idea. Most of them give you at least 1 free night yearly and you can redeem points for free/reduced fee nights. As I mentioned earlier, my friend whom I usually travel with (the same one who introduced me to many of these techniques), uses her hotel rewards credit cards to get us free stays almost every time we go somewhere. Plus, we redeem our e-Rewards for IHG points. More on that below.

My favorite credit card is the Citi Double Cash card. It rewards you with 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% on what you purchase, and 1% on what you pay back. I also like the American Express Blue Cash Everyday, which you can apply for with this link. You'll get 1% to 3% cash back on purchases, depending on the category of the purchase. 

One little extra hint regarding credit cards: Add authorized users to your account to help your rewards accumulate faster. Of course, you should only do this for people whose charges you'd normally be paying for yourself anyway, and trust to not go crazy with the spending power, such as a significant other or children. The American Express card that I mentioned will allow you to add your child as an authorized user at the age of 13. But authorized users for the Citi Double Cash card must be 18, I believe. At least, when I added my oldest son that was the minimum age. One important point to note: If your credit isn't so fantastic, you should probably not add an authorized user. You don't want to impact someone else's score negatively.


Online Coupons/Money Back Sites

You'd be surprised how much you can save when using these apps. All of these are simple to use. Trust me, if they weren't, I wouldn't use them. 

Ibotta Choose your offers, (basically like online coupons that you redeem after your shopping trip), and either take a photo of the receipt or scan the QR code to redeem. Cash out after reaching $20. New offers added weekly.

Coupons.com app Just like it says, coupons in an app (you can print coupons via the app as well if you wish). You'll take a photo of your receipt to get cash deposited into your PayPal account. Just make sure you "clip" your coupons prior to your shopping trip or you won't be able to redeem them. I found that out the hard way.

Receipt Hog Take a photo of receipts from retailers such as supermarkets, dollar stores, drug stores or convenience stores to earn coins that may be redeemed for cash or gift cards.

Shopkick Earn "kicks" just for walking into many stores. Then, scan a few selected items with your phone while you're shopping, earn more kicks, and redeem for gift cards. Easy peasy. You can also earn kicks for buying selected items and submitting (taking a photo of) your receipt.

Fetch Rewards This is the easiest way to earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards. You're rewarded for simply taking a photo of your receipt within the app. Points are given based on items you've purchased from participating brands. I don't buy many name brand grocery items, but I still rack up points every grocery trip I make. Enter my referral code during signup and you'll get 2,000 Fetch Points ($2.00 in points!) when you complete one receipt: T3PHN

Receipt Pal Just like Fetch Rewards, it's super easy because all you have to do is take photos of your receipts, up to 12 per week (you can submit more to earn chances at winning a gift card). Redeem for gift cards.

Money Making Sites/Surveys

So, as I was saying, I don't really have much extra time on my hands. And I definitely don't want to be spending that little bit of free time glued to a computer or phone doing surveys or whatever to earn a few cents here and there. I'd rather be sucked into an Instagram black hole or something that's a total waste of time. But yes, I actually do surveys and "watch" videos and such. Though, I never sit down and do them for hours at a time. I may start a video playlist on Swagbucks or Inbox Dollars and let them run while I'm preparing dinner or cleaning, clicking on the next set of videos now and then as I walk by if necessary. Surveys are more time consuming. But I've been known to go through as many as possible while I'm waiting on my kid to finish up band practice, or while I watch a movie that's not exactly captivating, or waiting 17 minutes for pizza to bake. 

I'll list my favorite sites below, along with a quick description. If you have any specific questions about any of them, I'll be glad to help you out. If you prefer to redeem points for cash back, as I do, you'll need a PayPal account for most of them. I like that they pay you via PayPal, because it's another way that I can kind of forget about it until it's needed. Then I transfer it to my checking account. One very important thing to remember when signing up for any of these programs in which money is redeemed to PayPal: Make sure you use the same email that's associated with your PayPal account. 

And one last tidbit of advice for anyone who is hesitant about giving your email account to these companies when you sign up: don't be hesitant. I've used my "real" email account for every one of them, and I don't receive any spam at all, just legit notifications regarding my account activity. That being said, if you are required to enter an email for any of the surveys or offers within the site, you may want to set up a new email account specifically for that purpose. You will get spam from those.

Swagbucks has the best cash back offers for online purchases. But you can also do surveys and sign up for offers for "swagbucks" that you can redeem for cash or gift cards.

Paid ViewPoint is by far the easiest in that there are usually only 10 or 11 questions to answer per survey, so they're really quick to complete. Plus, there are no qualifying question to answer. But you'll only get 1 to 3 surveys per day on average. Most surveys pay 10 cents each, but the more you answer, the more higher paying surveys you'll get.

Branded Surveys This has definitely been the best site for me as far as qualifying for surveys. I can easily make $10 per week. 

Inbox Dollars I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this one, because the minimum amount to cash out is $30. I think that's a little high based on the length of time it takes to earn that much. It's very similar to Swagbucks.

Quick Thoughts This app at least pays 10 cents if don't qualify for a survey. That's more than most apps pay for disqualifications. Most don't pay anything. And those that do, only give the equivalent of 1 to 5 cents, or nothing, as consolation. So this is a pretty good deal. You may only complete 5 surveys per day. Redeem for gift card codes.

Op4G (Opinions For Good) This is a charitable survey site that allows you to choose how much of your earnings you contribute to the charity, in 25% increments. That may seem like a bit of a ripoff, but the payouts for surveys are good. Most are at least $2, and you'll usually get a 25 cent consolation reward if don't qualify for the survey after answering a few demographical questions. I contribute a portion of my earnings to Children's Craniofacial Association, an organization near and dear to my heart because of the condition my daughter was born with. If you use this link to join, it will automatically set this as your charity, too. But it can easily be changed to a charity of your choosing. 

e-Rewards: You must be invited by a brand to join this program. I have no idea how I was invited. But from what I've seen, if you sign up for certain rewards programs, such as airlines, hotels, car rentals and the sort, you may receive an invitation. In the event that you ever receive one, I highly recommend e-Rewards. There's not a cash back option for the points you accumulate with e-Rewards, though. You'll mostly benefit from this one if you use points for travel expenses such as hotel, flights, and car rentals. Some brands have limitations as to how often you may redeem points for rewards, but not all of them.

I guess that pretty much sums it up. There's actually a lot more I'd like to talk about, but I don't want to be too long winded. I'll definitely add some more tips (other than apps and websites) in a future post. 

Please note that there may be more ways to redeem your rewards/cash back than those I mentioned. I'm just letting you know how I do it! And remember, you're not going to make enough money from these methods to quit your day job or anything. But they're excellent sources to supplement your income a little, depending on how committed you are. It's basically what you make of it, ya know? If you have any tricks/hints/secrets/favorite apps please please please tell me all about it!

The Warden Says Hello!

To be 100% honest, I have no idea what I'm doing. But I've been wanting to start a blog for a while now. Why? Well, mostly because I want to share my experiences and advice in hopes of helping out others. But also because I've found that my life as a single mom to four kids is too... crazy? fascinating? ridiculous?... to not share. There are far too many "You can't make this stuff up" moments that would make for great entertainment. And I've had a couple of people say that, based on my Facebook posts, I should run a blog or write a book. Well, the blog thing seems much easier, so I'll start here.

I have 19+ years of parenting experience, including many ups and just as many downs. Maybe some of you will relate. Maybe not. But hopefully my stories will not only entertain, but perhaps encourage and inspire now and then. I'm generally not a super positive, inspiring person. I'm more of a "if something can go wrong, it will, and I expect it to" type person. But I do have a lot of things that I'm passionate about and would like to give a little advice on those topics. So I'll give it a whirl and see where this goes.

You'll find that I keep it real. When writing, I tend to not censor myself. I guess that's a good thing, but super ironic. Why ironic? Well, because "in real life" I'm just about as introverted as one can get; Introverted and plagued with social anxiety. But social media and the like offer me an outlet where I can be myself without the crippling fear of being judged. I also find that ironic, because I've never seen such judgmental people as those that exist in the comments section of any viral post ever on Facebook.

Expect sarcasm, sass, bluntness, swearing, my honest opinions, and lots of real talk about my kids, dogs, job, passions, and life in general. Okay, there will be some sweet mushy stuff, too, I guess. You'll learn that I'm about as open-minded as one can get. I respect that everyone has an opinion on every topic ever, and that their opinion may not be the same as mine. And that's okay! I enjoy comments and feedback, and welcome constructive criticism. But I will never respond to hate.

I'm not going to limit my blog to parenting, although that's what 96.3% of my life involves. I'm going to talk about anything and everything that runs across my mind on any given day. That'll include everything from fitness to money saving/making techniques. I'll probably ramble and go off on one tangent after another. Who knows? I'm new to this and I'll just have to see how it goes. And I hope you'll tag along for the ride. Just don't expect anything fancy like an amazing layout and magazine-worthy photos, because I'm a bit technologically challenged. But I'll do my best.

Oh, and you may be wondering about my blog title: The Warden Says. "The Warden" is a nickname given to me by my ex-husband/one of my best friends, Lonnie. Yes, you can be friends with an ex. (I'll definitely write about that one day.) He and our sons, Tyler and Tristan, refer to me as "The Warden." That's even my contact name in Lonnie's and Tristan's phones. You can imagine why, though it's a total exaggeration of my parenting style, no matter what they say. But I've often heard one of them start a sentence with, "Well, The Warden says that..." So now you know.

Stay tuned...