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Water weight seems to be an issue for some of us. It seems that we want to shed every extra pound we can. You know I’m not in favor of constantly weighing yourself and trying to make that number change. What I am in favor of is doing the basic fundamentals necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, with this post I won’t approach from a intent on changing the scale number, but more so from a “self-check” aspect. If you are retaining water. Try these changes……

Drink more water. Believe it or not, you may be retaining water because you haven’t been drinking enough of it in the first place. Lack of water affects your kidneys, which in turn affects your liver, which stops doing its job of burning fat. Not only that, your body doesn’t have the fluid it needs to flush out waste, so it holds on to what water it has, causing you to feel fat and bloated.

Sip steadily. The best way to take water is to drink small amounts continuously throughout the day. Chugging a gallon of water doesn’t provide your body with the water it needs because that “flood” of fluid gets passed on to your bladder and only a slight amount is absorbed by your body.

Reduce salt intake. This is one of the most important steps in reducing bloat because it has an immediate effect on the way that your kidneys control the water balance in your body. Too much salt causes the body to retain water leading to bloating and swelling, particularly in the limbs.

Eat your fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies not only contain a lot of water, they’re also high in bioflavonoids and Vitamin C, two substances that strengthen tissue and reduce the tendency of capillaries to leak fluid into surrounding tissue spaces.

Get moving. Exercise can help eliminate water weight through perspiration. You lose excess water as well as the sodium that causes you to retain the fluid.
Exercise helps to widen blood vessels. That means more fluid can get to and go through the kidneys to be excreted.
Get into a regular exercise routine. 30-40 minutes of daily exercise can help combat water retention, increase your metabolic rate and prevent constipation.

Sweat it out. Sweating is a quick yet very temporary way to lose water weight. It opens the pores for deep cleaning and rids the body of excess salts and water. Water weight lost through heavy sweating will be quickly regained once fluids are replaced ( soon after consuming fluids). If you have irregular blood pressure are pregnant or sensitive to heat, you should not sauna. Do not sauna for longer than 20 minutes. Remember this is not a permanent solution to shedding water weight so making the sauna, body wraps, garbage bags, saran wrap and any other apparatus a regular part of your weight loss regimen is a waste of time and money.

As you can see from the information provided, this is an internal issue, not and external one. This means it needs to be handled internally, not externally. Whatever the reason for water retention, this is about health and should be approached in that fashion.

~its about what YOU see in the mirror~

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Sometimes when we approach our weight loss or muscle building goals, we develop a routine. That routine may work for us for a little while, but there will come a time when we hit a (Exercise) plateau.

(Exercise) Plateau/homeostasis : A level at which the body stops responding to a certain activity.

See, the body is highly adaptable. It always wants to find the most efficient way to perform tasks. It will allocate more blood flow and oxygen to certain muscles that perform repetitive tasks, or use fat stores for energy to accomplish…..depending on the goal  trying to be obtained. Once the body can perform that task without strain on the system, it no longer has to adapt. When it no longer has to adapt, you no longer reap the benefits.

What must be done? One of three things, evaluate your nutrition habits, change your exercise routine,or decondition the body by taking a two week break from the performed activity. My recommendation is to change the routine. Present the body with a new challenge to adapt to……..Plain English coming in 3,2,1….If you’re running on the treadmill for 45 min without taking a break, and your body isn’t changing anymore, you need to cut calories, or do a different activity that you aren’t used to. If you’re benching 225lbs., 15 times with now problem, and you can’t get any bigger, then its time to add more weight (only 10lb increments). This is called “muscle confusion

One thing I ask my clients is “if your body is used to it, why should it change?” So if you can jog for 30min at a good pace, but your goal is to lose weight (not a long distance jogger),then maybe its time to start running. Maybe its time to start lifting. Maybe its time to start swimming. There are so many activities to choose from to achieve your goals, the question is “will you step outside your comfort zone and try something new?” I’ve posted some different activities in the past, but ultimately its up to you to change your routine from what you’re used to, to something that presents a different challenge.

~its about what YOU see in the mirror~

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Let’s learn about sugar and how to battle the effect it has on your body.

When you consume starch and refined sugar, these foods enter the bloodstream quickly, causing a sugar spike. Your body then produces the hormone insulin to drive that sugar from your bloodstream into cells. But over time, excessive levels of insulin can make your muscle cells lose sensitivity to the hormone, leading to type-2 diabetes and heart disease. Your fat cells are another story: They always remain sensitive. Insulin spikes lock fat into them, so you can’t use it for energy.

How do you break this cycle? The first step is just to reduce the blood sugar spikes that produce sharp increases of insulin. The substance in our diet that’s most responsible for these surges is starch, namely, anything made from potatoes, rice, flour, corn, or other grains. (Think pasta, lasagna, white bread, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, and fruit…….. although healthy its still sugar) Limit your intake of these foods, and try these 7 healthy tricks to ease their effects.

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Sugar Blocker 1: Have a fatty snack 10 to 30 minutes before your meals

Reason: You remain fuller longer.

At the outlet of your stomach is a muscular ring, the pyloric valve. It regulates the speed at which food leaves your stomach and enters your small intestine. This valve is all that stands between the ziti in your stomach and a surge of glucose in your bloodstream. But you can send your pyloric valve a message to slow down.

Fat triggers a reflex that constricts the valve and slows digestion. As little as a teaspoon of fat, easily provided by a handful of nuts or a piece of cheese, will do the trick, provided you eat it before your meal.

Your New Secret Weapon To Fight Diabetes

Sugar Blocker 2: Start your meal with a salad.

Reason: It soaks up starch and sugar.

Soluble fiber from the pulp of plants, such as beans, carrots, apples, and oranges, swells like a sponge in your intestines and traps starch and sugar in the niches between its molecules. Soluble means “dissolvable,” and indeed, soluble fiber eventually dissolves, releasing glucose. However, that takes time. The glucose it absorbs seeps into your bloodstream slowly, so your body needs less insulin to handle it. A good way to ensure that you get enough soluble fiber is to have a salad, preferably before, rather than after, you eat a starch.

Sugar Blocker 3: Have some vinegar.

Reason: It slows the breakdown of starch into sugar.

The high acetic acid content in vinegar deactivates amylase, the enzyme that turns starch into sugar. (It doesn’t matter what kind of vinegar you use.) Because it acts on starch only, it has no effect on the absorption of refined sugar. In other words, it will help if you eat bread, but not candy. But there’s one more benefit: Vinegar also increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

You should consume vinegar at the start of your meal. Put it in salad dressing or sprinkle a couple of tablespoons on meat or vegetables. Vinegar brings out the flavor of food, as salt does.

Vinegar is also a metabolism booster

Sugar Blocker 4: Include protein with your meal.

Reason: You won’t secrete as much insulin.

Here’s a paradox: You want to blunt insulin spikes, but to do that, you need to start secreting insulin sooner rather than later. It’s like a fire department responding to a fire. The quicker the alarm goes off, the fewer firefighters will be needed to put out the blaze.

Even though protein contains no glucose, it triggers a “first-phase insulin response” that occurs so fast, it keeps your blood sugar from rising as high later and, reduces the total amount of insulin you need to handle a meal. So have meatballs with your spaghetti.

Sugar Blocker 5: Eat lightly cooked vegetables.

Reason: You digest them more slowly.

Both fruits and vegetables contain soluble fiber. As a rule, though, vegetables make better sugar blockers, because they have more fiber and less sugar.

But don’t cook your vegetables to mush. Boiling vegetables until they’re limp and soggy saturates the soluble fiber, filling it with water so it can’t absorb the sugar and starch you want it to. Also, crisp vegetables are chunkier when they reach your stomach, and larger food particles take longer to digest, so you’ll feel full longer. Another tip: Roasted vegetables like cauliflower can often serve as a delicious starch substitute.

Sugar Blocker 6: Have a glass of wine with dinner

Reason: Your liver won’t produce as much glucose.

Alcohol has unique sugar-blocking properties. Your liver normally converts some of the fat and protein in your blood to glucose, which adds to the glucose from the carbs you eat. But alcohol consumed with a meal temporarily halts your liver’s glucose production. A serving of any alcohol; beer, red or white wine, or a shot of hard liquor, will reduce the blood sugar load of a typical serving of starch by approximately 25 percent.

That doesn’t mean you should have several drinks (especially if you have diabetes, as multiple drinks can cause hypoglycemia). Not only does alcohol contain calories, but it also delays the sensation of fullness, so you tend to overeat and pile on calories. Be especially mindful about avoiding cocktails that are made with sweetened mixers, yet another source of sugar.

Sugar Blocker 7: Eat sweets for dessert only. And I would limit this to once a week. Dont use this post as a crutch to go crazy….LOL

Reason: All of the above.

If you eat sweets on an empty stomach, there’s nothing to impede the sugar from racing directly into your bloodstream, no fat, no soluble fiber, no protein, no vinegar. But if you confine sweets to the end of the meal, you have all of the built-in protection the preceding rules provide. If you want to keep blood sugar on an even keel, avoid between-meal sweets at all costs, and when you do indulge, don’t eat more than you can hold in the cup of your hand. But a few bites of candy after a meal will have little effect on your blood sugar and insulin, and can be quite satisfying.

 ~its about what YOU see in the mirror~

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There are many benefits to exercising in a group fitness class. Honestly, the best workout I ever got was in a class. I felt I needed to be the example for the group, so I pushed myself harder than I would’ve on my own. I saw many members of the class improve quickly. Also we looked forward to seeing each other and encouraged each other every time we came. Even the slowest out of shape person improved because they had us there helping the along the way. If you workout alone or don’t really know how to approach your goals, don’t be shy, try a class.

 

Here’s a great article on 10 benefits to taking a class.

 

1. Saving Time: The pace of group fitness classes makes the time fun and the energy level of the instructor helps you to forget you’re working hard.

2. Saving Money: Personal training, which I also recommend, is roughly three times the cost of a single group fitness class making group exercise classes perfect for the money conscious. The benefits you gain with a workout also save you money on health care, as people who workout are far less likely to get sick and also recover from illness and injury quicker than non-exercisers.

3. Make it Social: Group fitness is a great way to meet like-minded and like-motivated individuals. You’ll find you share common goals and interest which can be a great motivator to work hard in class and create accountability for coming back week after week.

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4. Set the Tone: Group fitness is no longer confined to big-box gyms or health clubs. Small studios and fitness centers are on the rise with their personalized and detailed attention to your needs as a client.

5. Motivation: Having someone telling you to work harder and encouraging you to take your fitness to the next level will get you there. The instructor sets the tone, while having others in class offers another level of motivation through a tiny bit of competition and camaraderie.

6. Challenge: #5 benefit of motivation ties into the benefit of being challenged to work harder. You want to keep pace, meaning you will be challenged to work harder. Studies have proven that working out in a group results in a bigger calorie burn.

Tae Box class Monash Sport

7. Keep it Fresh: Is there anything you CAN’T find with group fitness? Pilates, yoga, boot camp, HIIT, Zumba, boxing, circuits, TRX, running clubs and hiking groups. Whatever your flavor or need, chances are you can find a class or encourages someone to start one.

8. Learn Something New: A good class and a great instructor will show you how to work your body and muscles properly. Trying something different challenges both your mind and body, two things that ward off the effects of aging.

9. Safety: When beginning a new or different fitness routine, feeling safe and being safe are key. Instructors will be able to help explain and model what you’re doing, how to do it and what you should be feeling. Never hesitate to ask questions or as for alternative exercises if you need additional assistance.

10. Make it your own: An experienced group fitness instructor will offer modifications that allow for different fitness levels among the participants. Most classes will offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercise options. Make sure to come at least 5 minutes early when you’re taking a new class and introduce yourself to the instructor. Developing a relationship with your instructor is the key to finding the workout that will challenge you in a safe manner.

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~ it’s about what YOU see in the mirror~

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THESE ARE REAL ADVERTISMENTS

So your friend tried this new diet, and they’re telling everyone about it. It sounds crazy, but you are thinking of giving it a try anyway. The diet consists of eating whatever you want for one day and fasting for two days straight. It worked for them but you know its unhealthy. What do you do? I’ll tell you what you are going to do, have some patients, continue to do what you’ve learned, and be consistent in your efforts. All too often there is a comes a miracle diet, miracle powder, miracle pill, miracle drink that will change the way you approach health and fitness all together. It lasts for a couple months, dies out, then the next big thing hits the market. Sometimes you end up with lawsuits like Fen Phen(http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118016) and Ehpedra(http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/lawsuit/pph_class_action.html#.U3C2pPldXEw). Ok, one may lose or gain weight from a ridiculous diet depending on their purpose, but at what cost? I often advise people to consider approaching health from the inside out. On the outside they may have changed but what ill-effect will it have on your liver, kidneys, arteries, etc. Being healthy is about more than looks, its a “total” body concept. I wouldn’t want you dropping 100lbs but still running the risk of keeling over from a heart attack because your focus was only about your weight and not health in general. I know its not spectacular and dramatic to hear “drink water, eat veggies and fruit,  lean cuts of meat, no white starches or wheat, no sugar.” Its fairly simple……too simple. I think that’s why some flock to the abnormal. The funny thing is its becoming abnormal to eat in that fashion. I get criticized on a daily basis myself. “You don’t eat this?!” “You only eat how much of that?!  “You crazy!” I also think that’s why these so called miracle cures/diets become so popular. It seems that it has become more widely accepted to parade around saying “I’m on a diet right now”, than it is to “live” a healthy lifestyle and cut things out you don’t need. Don’t be deterred, make your changes as you see fit. Hold your head up and continue to apply what you’ve learned. That criticism is people’s way of making themselves feel better about their current state and choices (I  will be talking more about that one day). So remember, my slogan is more of a self-esteem building concept. Its not meant to be looked at superficially, and the results you seek should be from a health stand point not a superficial one. Therefore, no matter what results a person has, the very first thing your should consider is “How did they achieve them”. If it doesn’t sound healthy, its probably not……..

~its about what YOU see in the mirror~

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That’s an appealing title isn’t it? It seems that in this day of fitness a great majority of people want results with little to no effort. People wonder why it takes them so long to reach their goals but won’t approach them in a logical manner. If little to no effort is how you got the way you are now, then how can you expect to have the opposite effect on your body from that same approach? If you are saying in your head “something is better that nothing” right now, then I’m speaking to you.

What is your INTENSITY level when you exercise? Do you expend all the energy you have in the shortest amount of time, or do you try to conserve energy until the predetermined time has elapsed?……….Plain coming english in 3,2,1……Do you 1. Go hard, catch your breath, then go hard again? OR 2. Go through the motions until your 30min. or however long you decided to workout has past…….on your cellphone, talking to your friends, reading a book, looking at everyone else like they’re crazy cause they’re sweating all over the place. Walking out the gym looking the same way they did coming in. Then get online talking about how you got it in at the gym today. (are you uncomfortable reading this right now?) Understand this, no matter what it is in life, your approach dictates your outcome. If you want mediocre results then give a mediocre effort. If you want life changing results then give a life changing effort. If you want the effects to last short term then give a short term effort. If you want the effects to last long term, then give a long term effort. Simple logic. These post are a direct result of what I see everyday. I have people coming to me on a regular basis asking how can they reach their goals, but wait til the VERY last second to start achieving them, with a laundry list or things they don’t want to do. It seems everyone wants that spectacular “after” photo, but will put more effort into searching for the easiest way to get there, with as little effort as possible, than actually working towards that goal.

Take a look at these pics and decide who’s going to reach their goals quicker……

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The reason I chose this topic is because this is how the fitness industry makes BILLIONS. They tell you what you want to hear…..QUICK, EASY, CONVENIENT. Well I’m going to tell you the exact opposite. Get up! Get out the house! Skip putting on make-up (ladies)! Put the phone down! Close the book! AND GO HARD! Go until you need to catch your breath. Go hard until it burns. Go hard until you need to lay down in the middle of the floor no matter where you are. Get up and do it again…….and after that, get up and do it again. This is how you change your life.

~it’s about what YOU see in the mirror~

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