HOOP yourself healthy

Some of you may have heard about the healthy advantages of HOOPing from me or someone else at some point..maybe you still didn't try it or you did and you just couldn't do it.  The same thing happened to me.  I had wanted to try it for over 3 years but as an avid procrastinator, my laziness and indifference got in the way.  (I remember really wanting to do it, I just didn't have the right motivation or the right hoop.)  I'm gonna tell you something that I learned that will save you a ton of time and trouble......
DO NOT BUY YOUR HOOP AT WAL-MART OR TOYS R US!!  Please!!  You'll thank me later.  They are too light and even the most advanced hoopers may not enjoy or even be able to do it.   I bought one a couple years ago and it just stayed propped against the wall behind my TV because every time I tried it I just couldn't do it!  How frustrating!

About six weeks ago, I FINALLY bought a good quality one and immediately put it to the test.  First I bought one that was too small around.  It was still really difficult to keep up.  Luckily, I was able to trade it in for a bigger, heavier one.  (Usually the weights go up the bigger they get.)  Once I got the right hoop, it was up hill from there!

(I should probably mention too that before I bought my hoop, I had recently lost about 15-20 pounds because I started eating a lot less and eating healthier when I did.  I started eating more meals a day and while I didn't really limit the foods I ate, I did buy healthier items at the grocery store, such as lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and limited my carbs.  Instead of bad fats like cookies, chips, fast food, packaged foods, etc., I was eating small amounts of good fats, such as avocado, nuts, olive oil, salmon.  I substituted sandwiches for salads with croutons instead and got creative with them.  [Creative salads, wraps, parfaits, and smoothie recipes will also be found on this blog in the future.]  You must remember that no exercise alone will help you lose weight.  My whole adult life, I've pretty much stayed the same weight, about 170-180 lbs.  I would move up and down, but never lost more than 30 lbs. at a time.  Because of my changed eating habits, plus more exercise, but not much actually, I was able to lose a good portion to start.)

As I started practicing, constantly at first, and then continuously as I had time, I got better and better and as the days and weeks passed, I started seeing muscles I had never even seen before on my body!  As I kept hooping, my already smaller body just started toning up like I've always desired.  Wow!  This hooping thing was really something!

Before: Probably my highest weight at my cousin's wedding a couple years ago.

After:  Still working to tone more, but an incredible difference!  The only thing I have been doing in the 

last 6 weeks is hooping, people!