#1- The biggest and most important thing you can do for your health.

Yesterday I hinted that I would post THE most significant thing you can do to increase your health, thereby setting your body up for effective weight loss. That number one thing is..... (drum roll please).... exercise. You were afraid I was going to say that right? Well, so was I. You see, I too have slipped out of the habit of daily exercise and that is one of the routines that I have been determined to reinstitute in the Month of February (and beyond). Even if you eat poorly, you can come out ahead if you exercise! (No, this is not an excuse to eat poorly) Getting your heart pumping is the equivalent of plunging the pipes, cleaning, massaging, detoxifying and energizing every organ with life giving oxygen.

I know there may be many obstacles in your way this month that keep you from instituting the good habit of a daily walk and I too have had to overcome several one by one. My children were too little to leave and too many to take at one point. I also could that claim whenever I start to exercise my children all pile on top of me wanting to "play" as well.

If you have these difficulties I can sympathize as I have been there too. The only way I could and can pull off a daily routine is through the use of Jane Fonda Collection: The Complete Workout & Stress Reduction Programvideo, in fact. I still laugh at myself when I remember the promise this young bride made to her husband over 2 decades ago. I boldly promised my husband that I too would look as slim and trim at 50 as Jane does in her video. (she was fifty when she made it. Yes, I have been doing her workout that long!)

Well, I have arrived, in the 50 Plus department but to look as fit and trim as Jane Fonda, well, that might be a stretch. But how far off base might I have been if I didn't even try? (Can hear my goal setting philosophy in a nutshell?) Still today I plug in Janie Baby and we go though the whole routine together. For those of you who do not like her feminist views, neither do I but her complete workout is the best I've seen around, and I have looked around. (You do have to endure some cat calls during the tougher workout parts and a few other minor feminist comments but other than that it is worth the time invested in a good workout.

Here is what one Amazon reviewer had to say about the new Dvd set.

As a beginner, who had a total lifestyle change to include my diet, Mrs. Fonda's Personal Trainer series really helped me lose weight, tone up, and be fit. I lost 20 lbs and have kept it off. I also had success after I had my son when I used her videos in combination with a 2 mile run 5 days a week. I also recieved complements on how my body looked, many people would ask me if I was a gymnast!:) Her workouts and fitness philosophy are right on. I highly recommend this series for anyone just starting out. They are easy on the joints, and have three women who demonstrate basic, intermediate, and advanced levels in each workout, as well as lead some of the workouts, so its not all Jane. The workouts really have some great basic moves for learning about the body in toning and stretch. The aerobics get the heart rate up, and the moves are simple. The aerobics section does require a little bit of space, enough to walk about 5 paces in each direction. I've moved up in my fitness level, but I still use this series for toning, stretch and when I just wanted to burn a few extra calories.

This month I plan on alternating the video workput with an outside neighborhood walk. Mon, Wed and Fri for 50 min inside with the slim trim lady, and Tues and Thursday outside with my youngest son. (He's pretty slim and trim as well) The advantages to this alternating plan is it give your muscles a days rest so you are not overtaxing them. Furthermore it is not actually beneficial to continually work and rework the same parts without a break or any variety. If for some reason you simply could not go out for walk, then it might be best to alternate a few different video programs by different instructors for mental and physical variety. So if you care to join me and working along with any video you have right now, I'd love to hear from anyone attempting to do the same as me. Getting back to moving and stretching adn burning a few extra calories.

Tomorrow I will be discussing the second biggest necessity to a healthy lifestyle. Any guesses?