I am getting ready to head out to the beach today. The beach is one of my favorite places on earth. I cannot wait to be able to run on the beach, there is nothing more peaceful than running alongside of the ocean. Being on vacation is not a reason to skimp on your workouts. Here are a few things you can do on vacation:
1. Take an early morning jog or hike
2. pack resistance bands for your strength training. These are small and light and will fit right in your suitcase and you can do many strength exercises with them. You can also do push-ups, squats, dips, and lunges in your hotel room
3. Sign up for any outdoor activity that may be offered
4. Look for a hotel that has a gym and get up first thing in the morning and do your workout
5. Pack a jump rope. You can do an awesome cardio workout with the jump rope. It is a very portable piece of cardi0 equipment
There are lots of things you can do to stay active while vacationing. Be careful not to overeat on your trip and get moving!
Have a safe and fun vacation!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Kick diets to the curb!
Ok I am probably going to go off on a rampage here, but here we go. Why do people go on diet after diet?? Obviously if you have been on several diets in your lifetime the DON"T WORK! Every time I see or hear someone say, "I am going on the low carb diet" or "Juice Diet" or "I am cutting out all fat", etc I want to scream!!! Sure you may lose weight in the beginning but You will NOT keep it off. WHY? Because you have't changed anything about your lifestyle. You have not changed your habits. You are seeking a quick fix. When you start one of these diets ask yourself, "can I eat like this forever?" I seriously doubt it. Your body needs carbs- complex carbs such as brown rice, whole grains, etc. These are your energy sources, cut them out and you will be tired and sluggish and quite frankly not a pleasant person to be around because you will be cranky!! Low fat.....you have to learn what are good fats and bad fats. Again your body NEEDS a certain amount of fat everyday. Good fats come from sources such as nuts, lean meats. Stay away from saturated and trans fats. Fat free foods are often replaced with sugars. And speaking of sugars. This is where your enemy lies. Sugar is more dangerous to you than fats. You want to avoid added and high sugars as much as you can. If it has more than 9g of sugar ,don't eat it.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, avoid processed, prepackaged convenient foods. Eat 4-5 small meals a day to keep the metabolism fired up. Kick sugar to the curb. Eat high fiber, whole grains to help keep you full. Have a protein with your carbs. Fill up on fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats such as chicken and fish. Drink lots of water, avoid sodas. EXERCISE- cardio 5-6 days a week for 45 minutes, at least 3 days a week of strength training. Add intervals to your workouts- speed up, slow down.
Don't get bogged down in the newest "diet" craze. Learn to change your habits and your lifestyle for weight loss that will last forever.
Check out Tosca Reno's The Eat Clean Diet. This is not a "diet". It is how you should eat. It pushed 4-5 meals a day, fresh natural foods. Follow a clean eating lifestyle and the weight will fall off.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, avoid processed, prepackaged convenient foods. Eat 4-5 small meals a day to keep the metabolism fired up. Kick sugar to the curb. Eat high fiber, whole grains to help keep you full. Have a protein with your carbs. Fill up on fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats such as chicken and fish. Drink lots of water, avoid sodas. EXERCISE- cardio 5-6 days a week for 45 minutes, at least 3 days a week of strength training. Add intervals to your workouts- speed up, slow down.
Don't get bogged down in the newest "diet" craze. Learn to change your habits and your lifestyle for weight loss that will last forever.
Check out Tosca Reno's The Eat Clean Diet. This is not a "diet". It is how you should eat. It pushed 4-5 meals a day, fresh natural foods. Follow a clean eating lifestyle and the weight will fall off.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Beach Body Ready!
The weather is getting warmer, the days are longer, and summer is around the corner. With summer comes shorts, sleeveless shirts, sundresses, and the often dreaded swimsuit. No need to dread the swimsuit this year. Follow these 5 tips and you will be on your way to a beach body.
1. Drink more water. Water is a natural appetite suppressant and also aids in the body’s metabolism of stored fat.. Without proper hydration the kidneys cannot function as they should and they have to put some of their load on the liver. The liver having this extra workload will metabolize less fat and store it. Often times we mistake dehydration for hunger. If we reach for a glass of water before we reach for a snack we can sometimes curb that craving. The average person should drink 8, 8oz glasses of water a day. More if you are working out. Drinking cold water can actually help boost your metabolism.
2. Kick processed food to the curb. Eat foods as much as possible in their natural state. Avoid frozen meals, white, starchy foods, fried foods, foods high in sodium and salt, chips, excess cheese, fatty salad dressings, and calorie-rich, nutrient deficient foods. Try eating more lean meats such as chicken and fish, whole grains, fresh produce, nuts such as walnuts and almonds, and fiber rich foods. Never skip breakfast! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Try old fashioned oatmeal with flaxseed and a banana, scrambled egg whites with while grain toast, or plan greek yogurt with natural granola and slice strawberries. Eating 5-6 small meals a day with help fire up your metabolism and help from overeating at meals. Have healthy snacks readily available so you don’t reach for the vending machine food when the 3:00 slump hits. Remember nutrition plays a very important role, exercise cannot make up for a poor diet.
3. Limit white sugar intake. Read your nutritional labels. If it has 9 grams or more of sugar, don’t eat it. Look out for ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup. Trade sodas, even diet sodas for water. Avoid or limit alcohol intake.
4. Get moving! Cardio exercises will torch the calories. Choose an activity that you enjoy such as running, walking, biking, swimming, jumping rope and do it 5-6 days a week for at least 45 minutes- 1 hour. Try changing it up and doing different cardio workouts throughout the week to avoid a plateau. Give interval training a try. Interval training has proven to be a great way to burn lots of calories fast. Walk for 2 min, jog for 1 min, run as fast as you can for 1 min, recover for 2, repeat throughout your workout. Try joining an exercise class for extra motivation and support.
5. Don’t skimp on the weights. While cardio will burn the calories, it is weight training that will help you keep it off. Adding muscle to your body will help speed up your resting metabolism as well as give you that nice, toned body. Plan to work the major muscle groups (quads, hamstrings, gluteus, calves, chest, back, biceps, tricep, and abs) a minimum of 2 days a week. Allow each muscle group a recovery of 24-48 hours before working them again. If you unsure of what type of exercises to do think about hiring a personal trainer to get you started on a program designed especially for you.
1. Drink more water. Water is a natural appetite suppressant and also aids in the body’s metabolism of stored fat.. Without proper hydration the kidneys cannot function as they should and they have to put some of their load on the liver. The liver having this extra workload will metabolize less fat and store it. Often times we mistake dehydration for hunger. If we reach for a glass of water before we reach for a snack we can sometimes curb that craving. The average person should drink 8, 8oz glasses of water a day. More if you are working out. Drinking cold water can actually help boost your metabolism.
2. Kick processed food to the curb. Eat foods as much as possible in their natural state. Avoid frozen meals, white, starchy foods, fried foods, foods high in sodium and salt, chips, excess cheese, fatty salad dressings, and calorie-rich, nutrient deficient foods. Try eating more lean meats such as chicken and fish, whole grains, fresh produce, nuts such as walnuts and almonds, and fiber rich foods. Never skip breakfast! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Try old fashioned oatmeal with flaxseed and a banana, scrambled egg whites with while grain toast, or plan greek yogurt with natural granola and slice strawberries. Eating 5-6 small meals a day with help fire up your metabolism and help from overeating at meals. Have healthy snacks readily available so you don’t reach for the vending machine food when the 3:00 slump hits. Remember nutrition plays a very important role, exercise cannot make up for a poor diet.
3. Limit white sugar intake. Read your nutritional labels. If it has 9 grams or more of sugar, don’t eat it. Look out for ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup. Trade sodas, even diet sodas for water. Avoid or limit alcohol intake.
4. Get moving! Cardio exercises will torch the calories. Choose an activity that you enjoy such as running, walking, biking, swimming, jumping rope and do it 5-6 days a week for at least 45 minutes- 1 hour. Try changing it up and doing different cardio workouts throughout the week to avoid a plateau. Give interval training a try. Interval training has proven to be a great way to burn lots of calories fast. Walk for 2 min, jog for 1 min, run as fast as you can for 1 min, recover for 2, repeat throughout your workout. Try joining an exercise class for extra motivation and support.
5. Don’t skimp on the weights. While cardio will burn the calories, it is weight training that will help you keep it off. Adding muscle to your body will help speed up your resting metabolism as well as give you that nice, toned body. Plan to work the major muscle groups (quads, hamstrings, gluteus, calves, chest, back, biceps, tricep, and abs) a minimum of 2 days a week. Allow each muscle group a recovery of 24-48 hours before working them again. If you unsure of what type of exercises to do think about hiring a personal trainer to get you started on a program designed especially for you.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Boot Camp will not make up for a poor diet!
I often get the question, "How come I am not losing weight? I come to boot camp every week but I just don't see the numbers moving on the scale." The first thought that pops in my head is "What are you eating?" SO many people think that as long as you workout you can eat whatever you want. I used to think like that as well. I mean I work out 5 days a week and I teach 5-7 classes a week if I want those cheese fries I can eat them, right?? That way of thought couldn't be more wrong!! About 80% of your physique comes from what you eat. Foods high in sugar, calories, fat, processed, etc are not only bad for our body but they wreck havoc on the waistline as well. If you want to see good results from your workout program you MUST change the way you eat. Here are a few suggestions....GET RID OF THE SUGAR! I think this is the toughest one. Sugar is hidden everywhere, the sugar found in fruit is fine. Stop eating processed crap! And that is what it is- crap! Eat food in it's natural state as much as possible. Avoid white starchy foods and choose whole grains instead, eat 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies. Get your protein from lean meat sources such as chicken, fish, or turkey or beans or nuts. Learn what kind of fats are healthy. NOT ALL FATS ARE BAD! Your body needs fat, diets that are extra low fat are not good, you just need to learn what the good fats are. Avoid trans fats. Nuts such as almonds, peanuts, walnuts, and fish such as salmon are excellent sources of good fats and ricj in Omega 3 fatty acids. I highly recommend the book The Eat-Clean diet. It will change your life! Make this year the year to make those healthy changes. It is a lifestyle change. Fad diets do not work. Give healthy clean eating a try for 2 weeks. I can almost guarantee that if you try to go back to your old way of eating you are going to feel terrible. Your body feels so much better when you give it the nutrients it was designed for.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
water water water!!!
We all know that our body is made up primarily of water. We all know that our body needs water to do its basic functions. Did you know how crucial water is to weight loss? You know that "magic pill" that everyone is looking for for weight loss?? Guess what, I know what it is!! It is exercise, proper diet and WATER!!!! Thats right water!
This is how it works:
Water supresses your appetite naturally and helps in the body's metabolism of stored fat. Many studies have shown that if there is a decrease in water intake fat deposits will increase. If the body does not get enough water then the kidneys can not function properly. When the kidneys cannot take on their full load, it has to dump some of its load into the liver. One of the primary functions of the liver is to metabolize stored fat itno energy that is usable for the body. If the liver is having to take on some of the work of the kidneys then it cant operate fully either, know what happens? The liver metabolizes less fat and more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss comes to a halt! The average person should drink 8- 8oz glasses everyday (2 quarts). An overweight person needs more. They need an additional glass for every 25 lbs they are overweight.
I know I preach on water a lot but it is soooo important! Drink up ladies!!
This is how it works:
Water supresses your appetite naturally and helps in the body's metabolism of stored fat. Many studies have shown that if there is a decrease in water intake fat deposits will increase. If the body does not get enough water then the kidneys can not function properly. When the kidneys cannot take on their full load, it has to dump some of its load into the liver. One of the primary functions of the liver is to metabolize stored fat itno energy that is usable for the body. If the liver is having to take on some of the work of the kidneys then it cant operate fully either, know what happens? The liver metabolizes less fat and more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss comes to a halt! The average person should drink 8- 8oz glasses everyday (2 quarts). An overweight person needs more. They need an additional glass for every 25 lbs they are overweight.
I know I preach on water a lot but it is soooo important! Drink up ladies!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Marine Mud Challenge 2009
Saturday me and 7 other boot campers ran the marine Mud Challenge at Ft Gordon. It was 4.5 miles with 17 obstacles through the woods and through water and mud. I have never done anything so challenging in my life but it was the most rewarding thing that i have ever done! Saturday I put all my self doubts to the side. Saturday I proved to myself that I am strong and that i an do pretty much anything that I set my mind to. About half way through the race I found inner strength and will that I never knew I had, determination as well. My group completed the race in 1 hour and 3 minutes and took home second place in the female division. I cant tell you how proud of all of us I was! I know these girls were proud of themselves. I know once they completed they felt strong and powerful. Girls, you can do anything you put your mind to. Believe in yourself and never, ever sell yourself short!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Easy ways to add exercise to your day
Being active is a choice. You can choose to sit in front of a TV all evening and eat bon bons. You can CHOOSE to complain about being overweight but do nothing about it. You can CHOOSE to set an unhealthy example for your children. You can choose to drive around for 15 minutes looking for a closer parking spot. OR you can choose to be ACTIVE. You can choose to make little choices everyday that make a huge difference. Talk a walk after dinner, ride bikes with the kids, take the kids roller skating, walk the dog, take the stairs instead of the elevator, join an exercise class or group to hold you accountable, do jumping jacks during commercials, do 30 squats, 30 pushups, and 30 crunches while watching your TV show, hold your baby and do squats, run up and down your stair 10 times a day, play tag with the kids, go hiking, play a family game of baseball, kickball, or soccer. You see there are so many ways to stay active. Make it a goal to do 60 minutes of activity a day. It doesnt have to be all at once. You can break it up throughout the day. Just get moving! I promise, you wont regret it! :)
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