A few posts back I talked about goal setting and only setting one or two goals at a time until a habit is set.
Along with the goal setting is important questions to ask yourself. Every time you go to do something you have to ask yourself if what you are doing is in alignment with your goals. For example if your goal is to eat healthier or lose weight by eating better, every time food crosses into your mouth you have to ask your self, will eating this food keep me in line with my goals? If not, it is time to put the fork down, if it will chow away.
Remember the fastest place from one point to another is a straight line so eating cup cakes and pizza is not a straight line. Also if you are craving person, can you find a way to limit your craving or cheat to once a day? If you are going to have a cookie for lunch are you willing to omit desert or that glass of wine in the evening?
Keep on trucking ladies, we are only three weeks away from it all.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Another Great Blog
I look at other health related blogs from time to time to get tips for us or to add to my own knowledge base.
This blog has a good video for the week for a few useful tips. http://fightingfatforamerica.com/fighting-fat/how-to-destroy-any-snack-attack-that-ruins-your-healthy-diet-plans/
Hopefully you can copy and paste that to get to the video, if not please post and I will review what Jayson talked about.
Happy weigh in day
This blog has a good video for the week for a few useful tips. http://fightingfatforamerica.com/fighting-fat/how-to-destroy-any-snack-attack-that-ruins-your-healthy-diet-plans/
Hopefully you can copy and paste that to get to the video, if not please post and I will review what Jayson talked about.
Happy weigh in day
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Habits
I apologize for the long stretch with out a post. It is my general goal to get some good information up here once or twice a week. Just lost my consistent flow, which leads me to my thought for this day.....
It takes 21 days of consistent effort to build a new habit. Just 21 days of doing something different or new every day to get a new habit. There are changes that I have been working on but nothing that I have done for 21 days in a row.
It is important to pick one or two things that you want to change or start a new, otherwise you will lose momentum trying to change everything all at once. So for example instead of trying to quit smoking, save money every week for retirement, eat less than 2000 calories a day, make sure the kitchen is clean every evening and work out more pick one or two items from that pile and work on those until they are a habit.
For me I think the biggest habit I would like to start is being able to plan out all of my meals for the day. I often skip packing a lunch for the day if the left overs don't look good which either causes me to eat too little for lunch and thus over eat at dinner, or I go grab some type of fast food, which almost always has more calories than if I had made it at home.
What habits would you like to work on?
It takes 21 days of consistent effort to build a new habit. Just 21 days of doing something different or new every day to get a new habit. There are changes that I have been working on but nothing that I have done for 21 days in a row.
It is important to pick one or two things that you want to change or start a new, otherwise you will lose momentum trying to change everything all at once. So for example instead of trying to quit smoking, save money every week for retirement, eat less than 2000 calories a day, make sure the kitchen is clean every evening and work out more pick one or two items from that pile and work on those until they are a habit.
For me I think the biggest habit I would like to start is being able to plan out all of my meals for the day. I often skip packing a lunch for the day if the left overs don't look good which either causes me to eat too little for lunch and thus over eat at dinner, or I go grab some type of fast food, which almost always has more calories than if I had made it at home.
What habits would you like to work on?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
3500
Half way through and we are still looking good. Just wanted to remind everyone of some things Orlando said to us our first night. It takes burning 3500 calories to lose one pound. We have to burn 3500 in excess of what we eat to be able to lose that one pound. When broken down that is only 500 calories a day or 30-45 minutes of intense cardio activities a day. To get to 2 pounds a week it is easiest to cut 500 calories from your daily intake as well as burn 500 calories. The weight loss is simple math, the rest is a little harder. I have an article published with www.livestrong.com titled How much should I exercise to lose weight. Feel free to take a look at that for more specific information.
Keep up the good work.
Keep up the good work.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Stress Supplements
Those who have a stressful day job may start to notice weight loss becoming more and more difficult. Weight loss is absolutely effected by stress hormones. These hormones will make it harder to lose the weight around the middle of our body and even make it harder on feeling like we want to go to the gym. Most people start to lose the desire to work out when stressed out, even though exercise is a natural stress reliever. We all have a tendency to pull away from the hobbies and activities we love when pain or stress set in, when in fact that is the time you need it more. Making yourself go to the gym when you don't feel like it, will actually make you feel better when you are done. Part of that will come from accomplish something and the other part, is from the natural release of endorphins.
If you find you need a little help decreasing the stress, there are two natural supplements that help and have little side effects. The first one is Cordyceps, it is a natural fungus (not quite a mushroom) that has been used in eastern medicine for years. The other is Rhodiola, an herb found only in high elevations. Both of these supplements are called adaptogens. It helps your body to naturally overcome the increased stress in life (adapt faster) and remain more calm. You will find you have more energy and sleep better. Either one of these supplements works well with stress related weight gain and helps to combat those effects. I have added a widget to the right of this blog that shows my top picks for those supplements. I have also created a health store just for us, that we can look through and shop at. This is all through Amazon. Just know that every product I have recommended is one that I took time to look at and find the best cost for the quality. Look for a post later this week on other stress relieving techniques.
If you find you need a little help decreasing the stress, there are two natural supplements that help and have little side effects. The first one is Cordyceps, it is a natural fungus (not quite a mushroom) that has been used in eastern medicine for years. The other is Rhodiola, an herb found only in high elevations. Both of these supplements are called adaptogens. It helps your body to naturally overcome the increased stress in life (adapt faster) and remain more calm. You will find you have more energy and sleep better. Either one of these supplements works well with stress related weight gain and helps to combat those effects. I have added a widget to the right of this blog that shows my top picks for those supplements. I have also created a health store just for us, that we can look through and shop at. This is all through Amazon. Just know that every product I have recommended is one that I took time to look at and find the best cost for the quality. Look for a post later this week on other stress relieving techniques.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Mediterranean Diet
It's week four and it looks like we are still doing a good job and plugging away at working out and watching what we eat. There are not many diets and trends that I support since most of them are hard to maintain over a long period of time. I would like to give a thumbs up to the Mediterranean diet. On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being the hardest to comply to and 10 being the easiest) for an ability to maintain as an eating lifestyle this diet gets a 7/10. This diet is based on eating large amounts of vegetables, fruits (as in more than five servings a day of both), nuts, whole gains and fish. There is no dairy or red meat in this diet. A four year study was done in Spain on this type of eating. An interesting find was that those who followed this diet had a 30% less chance of Depression. While the study would be more helpful in different populations and a stronger control done, it is helpful information. How this translates to all of us.... a diet high in fruits and vegetables and whole grains is good for you! Ta Da! Ok not a true eye opener but science is catching up with common sense. :) Keep up the good work.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Metabolism
What is metabolism? Basically stated it is the process our bodies use to burn the calories we eat. Everyone wants to know how to increase metabolism. The rate of it is effected by age, hormones, what we eat and what we do in terms of activity. While we cannot change our age, we can work on everything else. If you are concerned about your hormones, talk to your doctor about having them tested first. Otherwise we cam change our eating and our activity to keep the thermal effect up.
Eating lean proteins and eating meals every 3-4 hours will keep your body happy. The best form of lean protein is wild caught fish.
Two types of exercise that help the metabolism are strength training and cardio. The two types of exercise that don't help with metabolism are balance exercises and stretching, while both are very important they do not turn on the furnace. If you have yet to add strength training just know that adding 3-5 pounds of muscle will burn an extra 100-250 calories a day! Your metabolism also increases after cardio and stays increased for a while after, so make sure to take the stairs at work or get up every 45 minutes and move around to get the heart rate up a little, even if it is just to go up and down a flight of stairs, start using bathrooms on different levels in your building if you can.
Want to know if you metabolism is burning right? Test yourself. It is a simple self test, and not 100% accurate but gives you a good idea. First thing upon waking in the morning, don't get up right away stick a thermometer under your arm and test the temperature. It is most accurate if you test for a month so we can take into account the hormones that increase our body temp during our female cycle, but if not 7 days of testing gives you an idea. Your underarm temp upon waking should be 98.6 or higher. If it is off, it lets you know your body is slowing down a little. Again if you think your issues might be hormonally related, please contact your doctor.
Eating lean proteins and eating meals every 3-4 hours will keep your body happy. The best form of lean protein is wild caught fish.
Two types of exercise that help the metabolism are strength training and cardio. The two types of exercise that don't help with metabolism are balance exercises and stretching, while both are very important they do not turn on the furnace. If you have yet to add strength training just know that adding 3-5 pounds of muscle will burn an extra 100-250 calories a day! Your metabolism also increases after cardio and stays increased for a while after, so make sure to take the stairs at work or get up every 45 minutes and move around to get the heart rate up a little, even if it is just to go up and down a flight of stairs, start using bathrooms on different levels in your building if you can.
Want to know if you metabolism is burning right? Test yourself. It is a simple self test, and not 100% accurate but gives you a good idea. First thing upon waking in the morning, don't get up right away stick a thermometer under your arm and test the temperature. It is most accurate if you test for a month so we can take into account the hormones that increase our body temp during our female cycle, but if not 7 days of testing gives you an idea. Your underarm temp upon waking should be 98.6 or higher. If it is off, it lets you know your body is slowing down a little. Again if you think your issues might be hormonally related, please contact your doctor.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Cravings
What does it mean when we have constant cravings for certain foods? There are many answers to that question.
I want to briefly discuss a few places that those cravings come from and any possible ways to address them.
A simple reason for cravings is simply habit. Are we used to having dessert after dinner every night? Is it something you cannot give up? Do you always have a glass of wine with each meal? Think about little habits that have become ingrained. We don't always have to stop them if it will make it hard to stay health focused but rather look at replacing that with some other healthy habit. What if you did have dessert but it was more fruit based and fewer in calories. You could still have your cake and eat it too. Or having smaller portions of what ever it is.
Sometimes a food craving is emotionally based. This is a large discussion area. I would not do it proper justice to just briefly describe it here. There are several great books on emotional eating by Doreen Virtue. You can even read a excerpt on this webstie http://www.innerself.com/Behavior_Modification/Food_Cravings.htm.
Some people have the same food cravings, it is always for one type of food. If you tend to have the one type of food craving ie I can never pass up a soft chocolate chip cookie and I seem to crave it often, don't band yourself from eating them just because you are trying to lose weight. I find that if I allow myself a cookie on the weekend or have it as a reward for losing some weight, I do not break my diet and buy a batch of cookies and eat them in one sitting. Also remember if you do give in to a food craving, try to limit what you eat and get back on the healthy kick. Many dieters prescribe to an all or nothing motto and that is often why they fail. Just go back to the healthy eating the next day.
Also remember to do the work to burn off that cookie or piece of chocolate. There is roughly 50 calories in two Hershey's Kisses milk chocolate and just five minutes on the stair machine will burn that off. Five minutes of work to have two delectable kisses in your mouth... well worth the effort.
Keep up the good work ladies!
I want to briefly discuss a few places that those cravings come from and any possible ways to address them.
A simple reason for cravings is simply habit. Are we used to having dessert after dinner every night? Is it something you cannot give up? Do you always have a glass of wine with each meal? Think about little habits that have become ingrained. We don't always have to stop them if it will make it hard to stay health focused but rather look at replacing that with some other healthy habit. What if you did have dessert but it was more fruit based and fewer in calories. You could still have your cake and eat it too. Or having smaller portions of what ever it is.
Sometimes a food craving is emotionally based. This is a large discussion area. I would not do it proper justice to just briefly describe it here. There are several great books on emotional eating by Doreen Virtue. You can even read a excerpt on this webstie http://www.innerself.com/Behavior_Modification/Food_Cravings.htm.
Some people have the same food cravings, it is always for one type of food. If you tend to have the one type of food craving ie I can never pass up a soft chocolate chip cookie and I seem to crave it often, don't band yourself from eating them just because you are trying to lose weight. I find that if I allow myself a cookie on the weekend or have it as a reward for losing some weight, I do not break my diet and buy a batch of cookies and eat them in one sitting. Also remember if you do give in to a food craving, try to limit what you eat and get back on the healthy kick. Many dieters prescribe to an all or nothing motto and that is often why they fail. Just go back to the healthy eating the next day.
Also remember to do the work to burn off that cookie or piece of chocolate. There is roughly 50 calories in two Hershey's Kisses milk chocolate and just five minutes on the stair machine will burn that off. Five minutes of work to have two delectable kisses in your mouth... well worth the effort.
Keep up the good work ladies!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Simple Science to Help Your Body
Morning,
I wanted to remind you all of something very simple, and sometimes we needed to be reminded of the simple things, like sitting up straight, looking both ways before crossing the street and chewing with our mouth closed. The simple task I am going to remind everyone today is, chewing your bites of food 30 times before swallowing. Maybe you have heard this before, maybe you haven't.
The interesting point behind it not only has to do with better digestion, but better energy overall. Why is this you ask? Well, our body uses at least 10% of our body's energy to digest our food. You heard me right, at least 10% of our energy every day is taken up by eating. While eating and the energy to digest is important, why not take a little more time to chew it up properly so we use less energy to digest it? That way we might have the energy at the end of the day to get a little more cardio in. Plus chewing 30 times burns a few more calories than chewing how you normally chew. ;)
Digestion starts in the mouth, so the more we chew the more the enzymes in our saliva break the food up and the more nutrients we get with less work. Start counting the number of times you chew, you may realize you chew much less than you think and it becomes quite a bit of mush by chewing 30 times. Not only does this help you digest better but it slows you down and teaches you to focus on your eating, which will also give your body the full signal sooner and you will end up eating less at every meal. Give it a try and see how it works for you.
I wanted to remind you all of something very simple, and sometimes we needed to be reminded of the simple things, like sitting up straight, looking both ways before crossing the street and chewing with our mouth closed. The simple task I am going to remind everyone today is, chewing your bites of food 30 times before swallowing. Maybe you have heard this before, maybe you haven't.
The interesting point behind it not only has to do with better digestion, but better energy overall. Why is this you ask? Well, our body uses at least 10% of our body's energy to digest our food. You heard me right, at least 10% of our energy every day is taken up by eating. While eating and the energy to digest is important, why not take a little more time to chew it up properly so we use less energy to digest it? That way we might have the energy at the end of the day to get a little more cardio in. Plus chewing 30 times burns a few more calories than chewing how you normally chew. ;)
Digestion starts in the mouth, so the more we chew the more the enzymes in our saliva break the food up and the more nutrients we get with less work. Start counting the number of times you chew, you may realize you chew much less than you think and it becomes quite a bit of mush by chewing 30 times. Not only does this help you digest better but it slows you down and teaches you to focus on your eating, which will also give your body the full signal sooner and you will end up eating less at every meal. Give it a try and see how it works for you.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Amazon Products
Hi all,
I searched through Amazon to create some thumbs up products for health, relaxation and good information. If you want to know the cost of the product, just hold your mouse over the picture and an explanation and a price will show up. If you want it, just click on it and it will bring you to the checkout at Amazon. Pretty simple. Some of these items are great to package together to create a reward for your self or a day of love for good work done. More post to follow on that.
I searched through Amazon to create some thumbs up products for health, relaxation and good information. If you want to know the cost of the product, just hold your mouse over the picture and an explanation and a price will show up. If you want it, just click on it and it will bring you to the checkout at Amazon. Pretty simple. Some of these items are great to package together to create a reward for your self or a day of love for good work done. More post to follow on that.
Another Week
Another week another weigh in. Don't feel discouraged no matter what it is, if you are nervous about getting on the scale, step on it backwards and let Pezzulo just write down the numbers. Keep focused and keep plugging away. For those of us on the Dragon boat team, the practice has started up again so that will add to our cardio minutes. Keep up the good work. Feel free to post a win, or to just vent!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Serving Sizes
All the time we hear about serving sizes. Sometimes it is hard to picture what a true serving size is, so I am going to list some common every day items that might help you to picture a proper serving size. It is hard to keep in mind especially when going out to eat and the plates and the serving sizes are growing larger and larger. So even if you are being savey and split a meal with a friend it is still helpful to know what serving size you are eating.
For breads and pastas one serving size is 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of pasta or rice, or 1 oz of ready to eat cereal. To picture this the slice of bread should be the size of a standard 3G (or blackberry) cell phone, 1 cup (remember a serving is 1/2 cup) of rice or pasta is around the size of a tennis ball or ice cream scoop, cornbread is the size of a bar of soap.
For vegetables one serving size is, 1/2 cup of cooked or chopped veggies, 3/4 cup of veggie juice, or 1 cup of raw chopped veggies. To picture, 1 cup of raw salad greens is the size of a baseball, 3/4 cup is the size of a small child's serving cup at Starbucks, a 1/2 cup of chopped veggies is the size of an ice cream scoop. Also a 1/2 cup is 6-8 asparagus spears, or 7-8 baby carrots.
With fruit a serving size is 1 whole apple, banana, or orange, 3/4 cup for just juice, or 1/2 cup for chopped or canned fruit. To picture it, 1/2 cup of grapes or other chopped fruit is the size of a light bulb. A medium sized fruit is the size of a tennis ball.
For proteins a serving size is 2-3oz of animal meat, or 1/2 cup of cooked dried beans, 1 egg or 2 TBSP of peanut butter. To picture it, 1 serving of meat is generally the size of a deck of cards. With Chicken, 1 drum stick and one thigh or one breast is one serving of meat. With 2TBSP, that is generally the size of a ping pong ball.
Diary has it's own catagory here since it contains fat and protien. One serving size is 1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 1 and a 1/2 to 2 oz of cheeze. To picture it all yogurt would be the size of a tennis ball, and milk is the size of a full small (smaller than tall) kids cup at Starbucks, ice cream would be one scoop, and cheese in cube form 1 oz is the size of a pair of dice or a 9 volt battery.
Finally for fats one serving size is 1 Tsp of Butter or 2 TBSP of salad dressing. To picture these, 1 tsp is the size of a stamp and the thickness of a pencil. Typically 1 pad of butter has 2 Tsp. For 2 TBSP of salad dressing or oil picture the size of a ping pong ball. Most of the carafes that the dressings are served in at a restaurant are 3-4 TBSP.
Hopefully these are helpful to keep in mind even though there is quite a few of them. Once you get a general idea of what a serving size is.
For breads and pastas one serving size is 1 slice of bread, 1/2 cup of pasta or rice, or 1 oz of ready to eat cereal. To picture this the slice of bread should be the size of a standard 3G (or blackberry) cell phone, 1 cup (remember a serving is 1/2 cup) of rice or pasta is around the size of a tennis ball or ice cream scoop, cornbread is the size of a bar of soap.
For vegetables one serving size is, 1/2 cup of cooked or chopped veggies, 3/4 cup of veggie juice, or 1 cup of raw chopped veggies. To picture, 1 cup of raw salad greens is the size of a baseball, 3/4 cup is the size of a small child's serving cup at Starbucks, a 1/2 cup of chopped veggies is the size of an ice cream scoop. Also a 1/2 cup is 6-8 asparagus spears, or 7-8 baby carrots.
With fruit a serving size is 1 whole apple, banana, or orange, 3/4 cup for just juice, or 1/2 cup for chopped or canned fruit. To picture it, 1/2 cup of grapes or other chopped fruit is the size of a light bulb. A medium sized fruit is the size of a tennis ball.
For proteins a serving size is 2-3oz of animal meat, or 1/2 cup of cooked dried beans, 1 egg or 2 TBSP of peanut butter. To picture it, 1 serving of meat is generally the size of a deck of cards. With Chicken, 1 drum stick and one thigh or one breast is one serving of meat. With 2TBSP, that is generally the size of a ping pong ball.
Diary has it's own catagory here since it contains fat and protien. One serving size is 1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 1 and a 1/2 to 2 oz of cheeze. To picture it all yogurt would be the size of a tennis ball, and milk is the size of a full small (smaller than tall) kids cup at Starbucks, ice cream would be one scoop, and cheese in cube form 1 oz is the size of a pair of dice or a 9 volt battery.
Finally for fats one serving size is 1 Tsp of Butter or 2 TBSP of salad dressing. To picture these, 1 tsp is the size of a stamp and the thickness of a pencil. Typically 1 pad of butter has 2 Tsp. For 2 TBSP of salad dressing or oil picture the size of a ping pong ball. Most of the carafes that the dressings are served in at a restaurant are 3-4 TBSP.
Hopefully these are helpful to keep in mind even though there is quite a few of them. Once you get a general idea of what a serving size is.
The Skinny on Supplements
Many people debate if a supplement for weight loss would be helpful. Many people lose weight and keep it off with out the use of weight loss supplements. Weight loss supplements are a big business. When Ephedra was legal it was a multi-billion dollar business. It went off the market because the effects were generally like a mild form of speed and highly addictive. Many weight loss supplements have a high risk of addiction and return of weight once you stop taking the pills. If you feel you really need a little extra boost for now there are a few nutrients that will help you health wise and are not addictive.
Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) are quite helpful. MCFA's can be searched for by typing into google or knowing specific acids like CLA, Coccnut oil and Lauric acid are a few. Taking 2000-4000 mg a day will give the body the healthy fats that your body needs so it can burn the stored fat.
If you have worries about diabetes other helpful supplements are low doses of Chromium. Anytime you want to add supplements for weight loss or health, it is very important to talk to a health professional about what your concerns are, what you past health issues are and what is safe to take with any current medications. Also when you buy any products, make sure you buy high quality, essentially you get what you pay for. So the buy one get one free gallons of supplements that are sold at grocery outlets are not the best choice. If anyone is curious about some good brands please contact your doctor or even give me a call at my office.
Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) are quite helpful. MCFA's can be searched for by typing into google or knowing specific acids like CLA, Coccnut oil and Lauric acid are a few. Taking 2000-4000 mg a day will give the body the healthy fats that your body needs so it can burn the stored fat.
If you have worries about diabetes other helpful supplements are low doses of Chromium. Anytime you want to add supplements for weight loss or health, it is very important to talk to a health professional about what your concerns are, what you past health issues are and what is safe to take with any current medications. Also when you buy any products, make sure you buy high quality, essentially you get what you pay for. So the buy one get one free gallons of supplements that are sold at grocery outlets are not the best choice. If anyone is curious about some good brands please contact your doctor or even give me a call at my office.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Challenges
Christine posted some great information about the difficulties we experience as we try to lose weight.
While it is tempting to be the biggest loser and take the pot prize, it is also important we are creating healthy habits that we will keep up with once the contest is over. If you have a day where you fall off the wagon and binge a little, its ok, as long as you get back on the wagon. What you do six days a week is more important that what you do one day a week. So have you burger and fries on one day but keep with the healthy choices the rest of the week.
If you are starting to feel a challenge with losing weight, look at what is going on. Is it time to revisit the measuring cup? Many times we eyeball our serving sizes and the size starts to creep up over time. Lets check that we are still eating only one cup of cereal in the morning vs one and a half. Also are we being honest about what we are eating or are we forgetting about the chips we tried at lunch from a friends plate?
Other things that effect our weight loss, high stress. Is our job getting to us or other situations at home? Try to find some relaxing activities away from it all. Exercise is one of the best stress reducing things we can do. Otherwise try soaking in the tub with the ipod on so you don't have to hear anything else.
Make sure you are getting a full nights sleep if you can. Sometimes getting the right amount of sleep will get you back on track.
This challenge again is about creating sustainable habits that you will keep up with when money is no longer the prize. Think about what you are doing now and can you add a little more to it, or are you doing too much.
While it is tempting to be the biggest loser and take the pot prize, it is also important we are creating healthy habits that we will keep up with once the contest is over. If you have a day where you fall off the wagon and binge a little, its ok, as long as you get back on the wagon. What you do six days a week is more important that what you do one day a week. So have you burger and fries on one day but keep with the healthy choices the rest of the week.
If you are starting to feel a challenge with losing weight, look at what is going on. Is it time to revisit the measuring cup? Many times we eyeball our serving sizes and the size starts to creep up over time. Lets check that we are still eating only one cup of cereal in the morning vs one and a half. Also are we being honest about what we are eating or are we forgetting about the chips we tried at lunch from a friends plate?
Other things that effect our weight loss, high stress. Is our job getting to us or other situations at home? Try to find some relaxing activities away from it all. Exercise is one of the best stress reducing things we can do. Otherwise try soaking in the tub with the ipod on so you don't have to hear anything else.
Make sure you are getting a full nights sleep if you can. Sometimes getting the right amount of sleep will get you back on track.
This challenge again is about creating sustainable habits that you will keep up with when money is no longer the prize. Think about what you are doing now and can you add a little more to it, or are you doing too much.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Building Muscle
A quick word to muscle building. Some people have joined this contest not so much for weight loss but to increase tone and overall fitness.
For those who want to look more tone, pay attention. It takes some time to build muscle. The standard medical answer is that from beginning of a weight program to the end, it takes on average 8 weeks minimum to build more muscle. There are other opinions about this in the world, but I am giving you my perspective from my training. In order for the muscle to actually build, ie get stronger, you not only have to be patient, but you also have to work the larger muscles to fatigue often. So a short intense work out (30 minutes or so) is more beneficial than two hour long sessions. Working the larger muscle groups or combanation moves like squats and lunges will get the smaller muscles working in the area as well. Again this is for those who want to build muscle vs just get stronger. To get some more size to the muscles, you need to tire them out several times a week. This will send a signal to the brain.... 'I have to get bigger to adapt to this weight lifting.'
For those who start now, they will still have a chance of looking fit and tone by the end of our contest.
For those who want to look more tone, pay attention. It takes some time to build muscle. The standard medical answer is that from beginning of a weight program to the end, it takes on average 8 weeks minimum to build more muscle. There are other opinions about this in the world, but I am giving you my perspective from my training. In order for the muscle to actually build, ie get stronger, you not only have to be patient, but you also have to work the larger muscles to fatigue often. So a short intense work out (30 minutes or so) is more beneficial than two hour long sessions. Working the larger muscle groups or combanation moves like squats and lunges will get the smaller muscles working in the area as well. Again this is for those who want to build muscle vs just get stronger. To get some more size to the muscles, you need to tire them out several times a week. This will send a signal to the brain.... 'I have to get bigger to adapt to this weight lifting.'
For those who start now, they will still have a chance of looking fit and tone by the end of our contest.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Muscular Fitness
Hi all,
Sorry about the lack of post this week. The time flew by. Here we are at another weigh in date. Anyone nervous that they might have put some back on or not lost anymore? I am after our potluck the other night. Even though it was healthy, I still had quite a bit.
Today I wanted to talk about the importance of a weight training program. Many women put it off because they want to do cardio and lose weight first. This is actually counter productive. Adding muscle early on will help to increase your overall BMR (basil metabolic rate) this will mean you burn more calories at rest, for even muscle at rest has a higher demand for calories than fat alone. Add some weight training now, even if it is push ups and squats using only your own body weight. Need help creating a strenght work out? You all have plenty of people here than can help or start using those great training DVD's that Christine is handing out.
Sorry about the lack of post this week. The time flew by. Here we are at another weigh in date. Anyone nervous that they might have put some back on or not lost anymore? I am after our potluck the other night. Even though it was healthy, I still had quite a bit.
Today I wanted to talk about the importance of a weight training program. Many women put it off because they want to do cardio and lose weight first. This is actually counter productive. Adding muscle early on will help to increase your overall BMR (basil metabolic rate) this will mean you burn more calories at rest, for even muscle at rest has a higher demand for calories than fat alone. Add some weight training now, even if it is push ups and squats using only your own body weight. Need help creating a strenght work out? You all have plenty of people here than can help or start using those great training DVD's that Christine is handing out.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Are we on track?
Getting ready for week one weigh in? Are we feeling on track? Any wins as far as avoiding temptation? Lets hear about it.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Calories Smallories
There is always a buzz about calories and how much and how little. Today we will talk about how little.
In the world of nutrition there is the buzz of "starvation mode" and getting in that mode will cause your metabolism to slow down and eventually stop losing weight. There are many myths around this topic but the true definition of starvation mode is to eat less than 50% of your daily caloric expenditure.
In general it is recommended that you do not eat less than 1000-1200 calories without the supervision of a doctor. Eating less than this will not put you in to starvation mode truly, but will prevent you from getting all the nutrients and minerals that you need for the day. Many people don't know the key signs of a mineral deficiency, and some deficiencies can have very serious side effects, the most serious of course, death.
Unless you are getting your blood work checked by a doctor try to keep you calories above the "magic" 1000-1200 per day.
In the world of nutrition there is the buzz of "starvation mode" and getting in that mode will cause your metabolism to slow down and eventually stop losing weight. There are many myths around this topic but the true definition of starvation mode is to eat less than 50% of your daily caloric expenditure.
In general it is recommended that you do not eat less than 1000-1200 calories without the supervision of a doctor. Eating less than this will not put you in to starvation mode truly, but will prevent you from getting all the nutrients and minerals that you need for the day. Many people don't know the key signs of a mineral deficiency, and some deficiencies can have very serious side effects, the most serious of course, death.
Unless you are getting your blood work checked by a doctor try to keep you calories above the "magic" 1000-1200 per day.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Getting started
Ok,
Well we are all weighed in and some of us had a nice mini work out. It was super great of Adapt fitness to welcome us and give us all of that great material. The math of it really is more calories burned than more taken in. Not to sound like a broken record, but use either the sheets Steph printed out for us, www.sparkpeople.com or www.livestrong.com to track what you are eating and see where adjustments need to be made.
My personal philosophy is that it is hard to follow a reduced calorie diet forever so it might be helpful to cut back on some calories, but for a long term weight loss and management plan find out where a good baseline of calories is and just work out more. I would rather do some extra sit ups and stair climbs to get in 2000 calories and be happy than cut back 500 calories in food and be grumpy.
I will try to give tips every other day and info from the sites I am on. Please feel free to post your opinion and or give other advise on top of mine. :)
Well we are all weighed in and some of us had a nice mini work out. It was super great of Adapt fitness to welcome us and give us all of that great material. The math of it really is more calories burned than more taken in. Not to sound like a broken record, but use either the sheets Steph printed out for us, www.sparkpeople.com or www.livestrong.com to track what you are eating and see where adjustments need to be made.
My personal philosophy is that it is hard to follow a reduced calorie diet forever so it might be helpful to cut back on some calories, but for a long term weight loss and management plan find out where a good baseline of calories is and just work out more. I would rather do some extra sit ups and stair climbs to get in 2000 calories and be happy than cut back 500 calories in food and be grumpy.
I will try to give tips every other day and info from the sites I am on. Please feel free to post your opinion and or give other advise on top of mine. :)
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
1st meeting
Hi all,
It is suddenly more official, the first weigh in is just over a week away! The date is September 16th. We will be meeting at 5:45-6pm at Adapt. The address is 9923 SW Artic Drive Beaverton OR 97005. Looks like we will be doing a weigh in with pictures and a work out. Sounds like it will be an evening of great information and a fun work out together.
Look forward to seeing you there.
It is suddenly more official, the first weigh in is just over a week away! The date is September 16th. We will be meeting at 5:45-6pm at Adapt. The address is 9923 SW Artic Drive Beaverton OR 97005. Looks like we will be doing a weigh in with pictures and a work out. Sounds like it will be an evening of great information and a fun work out together.
Look forward to seeing you there.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Interesting to notice
How many of you have signed up for Spark People yet? And of those of you that signed up, how many have started using it? I noticed that just by tracking how much I eat, not purposely making changes, that I have dropped my overall daily calorie intake around 1000 calories a day! I had no idea I was eating that much. Now I am in a healthier level and will be ready to reduce the calories a little more come contest time. It's good to hold yourself accountable and see the trends.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Spark People user name
Hi all,
If you want to sign up for spark people, will you give me props as the referring person? My user name is Harpie19. Thanks.
If you want to sign up for spark people, will you give me props as the referring person? My user name is Harpie19. Thanks.
Body Fat Testing
Hi all,
I know not everyone is checking out this blog but it is the best place to post info.
If we want to be super on top of getting this contest and numbers worked out we can get hydrostatic body fat testing done. It is done in a water tank and gives you a break down of your weight and then what % is fat and muscle etc. We don't have to be that specific, but I did call a local hospital and they will do a group discount if we are interested. The discount price is 40 dollars at the start of the contest and 35 at the end. I don't want to make this expensive, but those who are interested for their own knowledge, just respond to this post and I will start setting up some times for us or a way for them to know our group and what to charge. :)
You need to bring a bathing suit and a towel to the hospital for that.
I know not everyone is checking out this blog but it is the best place to post info.
If we want to be super on top of getting this contest and numbers worked out we can get hydrostatic body fat testing done. It is done in a water tank and gives you a break down of your weight and then what % is fat and muscle etc. We don't have to be that specific, but I did call a local hospital and they will do a group discount if we are interested. The discount price is 40 dollars at the start of the contest and 35 at the end. I don't want to make this expensive, but those who are interested for their own knowledge, just respond to this post and I will start setting up some times for us or a way for them to know our group and what to charge. :)
You need to bring a bathing suit and a towel to the hospital for that.
More about Spark People
Morning,
I just wanted to let you all know on www.sparkpeople.com you can get points for tracking your nutrition and fitness and goals on their site. You even get points for reading articles and taking polls. You can then cash in these points for prizes. Sounds like fun to me. It is a fee site so there are a bunch of ad sponsors. If you can overlook those, then it is a very user friendly site to use. I am already seeing a pattern of me eating well all the way until dinner time and then I overconsume. I personally have also used the site to track my measurements and come up with mini rewards for following a plan.
For those who have joined this contest but just want to bulk up, there are fitness tracking goals under the myfitness section. I am really liking the site and all the things it offers. Please post to the blog when you have signed up so we can find each other there as well. :)
I just wanted to let you all know on www.sparkpeople.com you can get points for tracking your nutrition and fitness and goals on their site. You even get points for reading articles and taking polls. You can then cash in these points for prizes. Sounds like fun to me. It is a fee site so there are a bunch of ad sponsors. If you can overlook those, then it is a very user friendly site to use. I am already seeing a pattern of me eating well all the way until dinner time and then I overconsume. I personally have also used the site to track my measurements and come up with mini rewards for following a plan.
For those who have joined this contest but just want to bulk up, there are fitness tracking goals under the myfitness section. I am really liking the site and all the things it offers. Please post to the blog when you have signed up so we can find each other there as well. :)
Monday, August 24, 2009
Great tracking website
Hi all,
I found a great website for tracking your nutrition and calories. http://www.sparkpeople.com/
This is a very user friendly website. I played around with it this weekend. Terri Jo has also used it and recommends it.
I have never used a more easy food tracker to enter my food and calories. It is just hard to be honest about the actual portions I eat. :) It will total the calories, protein and fats for you so you can scroll to the bottom of the page and see what you have left for the day.
Entering the workout stuff is easy. I cannot find anything for Dragon Boating but I would use Kayaking for regular practices and maybe vigorous rowing for our race weekends.
Interesting point I found for me is that our race weekends we normaly burn around 300 calories with our races and warm up before hand yet, for me I eat around 3000 calories. Not great for the fitness goals. I will post this link as one of the main websites to visit on the right hand side of this site if you aren't checking things out right now. Get all your information in order now though. Start tracking your diet to see where you are at and what will have to change by the time we start our contest. :)
I found a great website for tracking your nutrition and calories. http://www.sparkpeople.com/
This is a very user friendly website. I played around with it this weekend. Terri Jo has also used it and recommends it.
I have never used a more easy food tracker to enter my food and calories. It is just hard to be honest about the actual portions I eat. :) It will total the calories, protein and fats for you so you can scroll to the bottom of the page and see what you have left for the day.
Entering the workout stuff is easy. I cannot find anything for Dragon Boating but I would use Kayaking for regular practices and maybe vigorous rowing for our race weekends.
Interesting point I found for me is that our race weekends we normaly burn around 300 calories with our races and warm up before hand yet, for me I eat around 3000 calories. Not great for the fitness goals. I will post this link as one of the main websites to visit on the right hand side of this site if you aren't checking things out right now. Get all your information in order now though. Start tracking your diet to see where you are at and what will have to change by the time we start our contest. :)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Start Date and reccomendations
Hi all,
So we are thinking a tentative start date to shed the pounds is Sept 16th with the 1st weigh in being at 18:30-19:30. We are going for 12 weeks to see who can shed the largest % of body weight. There are websites for in season foods in OR at this time of year, other sites that have useful information and diet plans to the right of these posts. If you are excited to lose weight and not sure where to start, take these weeks before the contest starts and do a food diary. Include portion sizes too.
A user friendly site is www.google.com/ig/ this also has an application for any of you who have an iphone. There is also an application that you can purchase for 30 dollars that will not only help you track your fitness and calorie goals but also help you with your daily tasks. If anyone is interested in that one, I am currently researching it to see if it is worth the cost. If there are any other web sites that anyone else thinks are helpful for diet diary and calorie counting please post.
So we are thinking a tentative start date to shed the pounds is Sept 16th with the 1st weigh in being at 18:30-19:30. We are going for 12 weeks to see who can shed the largest % of body weight. There are websites for in season foods in OR at this time of year, other sites that have useful information and diet plans to the right of these posts. If you are excited to lose weight and not sure where to start, take these weeks before the contest starts and do a food diary. Include portion sizes too.
A user friendly site is www.google.com/ig/ this also has an application for any of you who have an iphone. There is also an application that you can purchase for 30 dollars that will not only help you track your fitness and calorie goals but also help you with your daily tasks. If anyone is interested in that one, I am currently researching it to see if it is worth the cost. If there are any other web sites that anyone else thinks are helpful for diet diary and calorie counting please post.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Welcome!
Hey all,
Just wanted to give a shout out to you and say I am so excited to get going. This blog will have an Amazon store with recommended products if you want to purchase anything or just peruse the options of what other ladies are doing. This blog is for us to post about our challenges, wins and questions. I will try to keep the info short, fun and informative. I would like for all of us to post and get info on here. Can't wait to get started!
Just wanted to give a shout out to you and say I am so excited to get going. This blog will have an Amazon store with recommended products if you want to purchase anything or just peruse the options of what other ladies are doing. This blog is for us to post about our challenges, wins and questions. I will try to keep the info short, fun and informative. I would like for all of us to post and get info on here. Can't wait to get started!
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