51 Reasons to be Active

5 Activating Activity Tip Sheet – 51 Reasons to be active

How To Be A Social Butterfly Without Gaining Weight

How To Be A Social Butterfly Without Gaining Weight

You love going out for nights on the town, partying with friends and being a social butterfly with a packed calendar. You are also trying to lose weight, get in shape and improve your health.

Are the two desires mutually exclusive? While your trainer will want you to watch yourself as you dine and even avoid wine, you don’t have to become a shut in as you work on a program. There are simple tips and tricks that can help you stick to your guns and still have the time of your life.

If you want to lose weight and still paint the town red, consider:

• Seeking support before you go out – Talk to your trainer, your spouse or the friends you intend to go out with and let them know you want to have a great time without suffering a weight loss setback. Your trainer can motivate you before you head out and your spouse or friends can provide you with the support you need to say no in the heat of the moment.
• Not skipping meals before going out – Many people believe if they skip meals throughout the day, they can eat whatever they want while they are out on the town. While this sounds good in theory, it doesn’t work. Starve yourself until the evening and you’ll be more likely to splurge on anything that is available immediately upon arrival. Plus, you can slow down your metabolism, which is not good for weight loss. Instead of fasting and then binging, eat small, calorie-controlled meals and snacks leading up to a big event so you can enjoy a normal meal and even a treat while you are out.
• Avoid the nibblers – If you’re at a dinner party, try to avoid the appetizers, especially if they are high in calories and fat. It is all too easy to let a bite of this and a bite of that add up to a whole lot of empty calories! Wait for the salad and the main course instead.
• Order wisely – If you’re eating out in a restaurant, take time to really consider the menu options. Go for an entrée that fits in best with the nutritional program you are following. Most restaurants have very healthy and very tasty alternatives to calorie-laden entrees.
• Be the designated driver – One of the worst things you can do while trying to lose weight or tone the body is to overdo on alcohol. If this is too much of a temptation, give yourself extra motivation to behave. Volunteer to be the designated driver and you’ll have two very good reasons to say no.

Going out on the town can be very difficult when you are trying to drop pounds and get into shape. Restaurants and parties present a lot of temptations. You can stay strong if you plan ahead and formulate a game plan. Ask your trainer or health club pro for additional advice on staying strong in the face of adversity.

Fun Aerobic Ideas

Fun Aerobic Ideas

If you think beneficial aerobic activity is limited to hours at a gym working out on a treadmill, think again! Exercises that produce excellent cardiovascular results abound and they don’t all call for equipment or even a trip to the gym.

While regular gym trips to work with a trainer are always smart, there are some fun things you can work into your routine on off days, when you are away from home or just don’t have time to make the trip. Chances are if you talk to the pros at your fitness center, you’ll even find your club has lots of options to offer that you might not have even considered.

To vary your routine and increase your enjoyment level, consider mixing up your aerobic exercise lineup with such things as:

• Cycling – Get a bicycle, a helmet and hit the open road. Stationary bikes do produce results, but the scenery can get boring fast! If you want to work cycling into your routine, it’s a great exercise that can even benefit your entire family. On off weather days, by all means, use the gym equipment. When the sun is shining, hit the open road for more enjoyment.
• Swimming – This is one of the best holistic cardiovascular activities going. Swimming works the heart and lungs while also toning the muscles. If you don’t have access to a pool at home or in your neighborhood, take advantage of your health club’s if one is available.
• Skiing – This is a great cardiovascular activity that can be a ton of fun, too. Cross country is the way to go to build up endurance and boost muscle tone and calorie-burning efforts. If it’s not possible to take the activity outdoors, cross country training machines are fun to mix into an overall cardio program. Check with your trainer for advice on getting started.
• Sports – There are many sports that can serve very well in place of more structured cardiovascular exercises. Tennis, basketball, football, boxing and even baseball are fun to play and they can most certainly add diversity to your workout routine.
• Dancing – Just get up and dance if you want to work your cardiovascular system and have some serious fun, too. Thirty or so minutes of moving to the beats of your favorite songs can really get your heart pumping and assist in cardiovascular conditioning.
• Taking a class – Aerobic classes, dance classes, Zumba and other organized activities can increase the fun of cardio exercise and even add to the camaraderie level. Check with your trainer to see what classes are offered at your club or keep your eyes open for fun activities offered at neighborhood recreation centers.

While exercise machines will get the job done, a successful exercise program is one that offers room for flexibility and fun. If you want to increase the variety in your program, talk to your trainer for other fun ideas to mix things up a bit.

7 Smart Tricks for Healthy Eating

1. Egg Math

“When you make scrambled eggs or omelets, instead of two eggs, use one whole egg and one or two egg whites. I can hardly tell the difference between a two-egg omelet and a 1 1/2-egg one. The only downside was the dog started to get fat from all the yolks!”

2. Carrot Trick

“I buy the bags of shredded carrots from the produce aisle and put them in just about everything I cook for dinner: soups, casseroles, green salads, pasta salad, Chinese food, Indian food, Thai food, meatloaf, spaghetti sauce…. They don’t have a strong carrot flavor, so they blend right in to whatever I’m cooking.”

3. Be a Mixologist

“I hate soda pop due to its extremely high corn syrup taste, but I make my own fun fizzy drink by mixing fruit juice with soda water.”

 4. Mashup

“When making mashed potatoes, mix them with mashed cauliflower to reduce the quantity of carbohydrates. On the plate it almost looks as though it’s all potato. “Bread chicken breasts, veal or pork escalopes and fish with a mixture of half oat bran and half ground almond meal instead of bread crumbs. It makes a lovely, crispy, healthy coating.”

5. Add a Course

“I have found that serving a first course with dinner helps us eat more reasonably. We have a bowl of soup or a salad, after which I put the last-minute touches on our main meal. During the time it takes me to quickly saute some veggies or carve meat, transfer dishes to the table, etc., the first course ‘sinks in’ and we aren’t so hungry that we eat more than we should before we realize how much we’ve eaten.”

6. Better Baking

“I reduce the sugar in baking by a quarter to a half, depending on the item. I add ground almonds and oat or barley flour to my chocolate chip cookies.”

7. Almond Joy

“Instead of peanut butter, we use almond butter with no sugar added and add in a tiny bit of honey for sweetness. It’s less processed sugar and still tasty and filling. For one English muffin, I use two teaspoons almond butter and one to two teaspoons honey, depending on how sweet I want it.

“Sometimes I find the low-fat salad dressings don’t have much flavor, so I often add a little full fat (just a drizzle) to otherwise fat-free salad dressing. Alternatively, I add a little balsamic vinegar for flavor—it depends on my mood.

“I pre-portion light Chex mix or Wheat Thins into my own 100-calorie snack packs and never eat out of the box—this way I always know what I am eating.”

In the Raw

“My trick is to eat as much raw food as I can. I limit my cooked food to things I really like.”

Tips For Toning Up And Gaining Muscle

Tips For Toning Up And Gaining Muscle

Losing weight and losing fat are similar, but they do have some distinctions. When you’re shooting for the latter, toning up and building muscle is one of the most helpful things to do. Learning how to build muscle, however, is not exactly as easy as it sounds. Most trainers will tell you an approach that involves both diet and exercise is the best.

Muscle mass is extremely useful for fat loss for a very good reason. Lean muscles demand more calories per day to maintain. This means they can increase the amount of calories burned by a person. The more muscle mass, the greater the body’s natural consumption of energy. When the right diet and exercise program is put into place, muscle mass can help with fat burning and weight maintenance.

Building muscle and toning up the entire body for a better look and increased calorie burning can be helped along by following these tips:

• Work with a trainer to create a good overall program – When you are trying to tone up and lose fat at the same time, you want to use a multifaceted approach to exercise. A program that contains both cardiovascular and strength training exercises is often best. If drawn-out cardio sessions do not appeal, interval training might be in order. On the strength training end, it is especially important to consult fitness professionals at your health club to make sure a safe, targeted approach is taken. Overdoing or proceeding without proper form can be dangerous.
• Vary the exercise program – If you tend to get bored easily with exercise programs, let your trainer know this. Seek out alternatives and options that can work your cardio system and your muscle groups. The more variety built into a plan, the more likely it is you will stick with it.
• Consume a proper diet – When the goal is to tone up and gain muscle, diet is especially important. Even if fat loss is a part of the plan, starving the body of enough calories and proper nutrition can actually hamper efforts. A portion controlled diet that is well-rounded and includes fruits, vegetables and lean protein can help with muscle building efforts.
• Drink plenty of water – Water is essential for hydrating the body – and the muscles. Make sure to keep the body well hydrated while trying to build muscle and lose fat. Avoid sugary drinks with empty calories as they can undermine positive efforts.
• Get plenty of sleep – Rest is important for good overall health. Make sure to get at least the minimum seven to eight hours to prime your body for each full day ahead.

Toning up and gaining muscle mass can supercharge the fat loss process. Make sure to consult a fitness professional to create a program that works for you and takes healthy and safety into consideration.

Healthy Sounding Foods May Not Be As Healthy As You Think

Healthy Sounding Foods May Not Be As Healthy As You Think

When you’re trying to lose weight and get into shape, picking the right foods is essential for reaching your goals. Unfortunately, the prospect is not as easy as it sounds and it can be downright confusing. It sure doesn’t help that many foods that sound healthy turn out to be nothing more than junk.

If you’re fed up with hidden surprises in the foods you eat and want to see real results with your exercise and weight loss program, you are going to need to learn to be savvier about the foods you consume. While your trainer or the pros at your health club can guide in the right direction as far as meal plans go, you can benefit from brushing up on the bombshells to watch out for. The reality is many healthy sounding foods simply are not.

Here are some of the things to watch out for as you work on weight loss efforts:

• Canned soups – While it might go against the wisdom of your mother, canned soups are not always good for you. Many are high in preservatives and most have tons of salt. Sodium can hamper weight loss efforts and it’s just not good for your heart. Even if canned soups are low in calories and fat, the salt content can make them a very bad choice.
• Juice – Fruit juice is a great option in place of sugary sodas, but this is not the case if that juice happens to contain high fructose corn syrup. This is used in place of sugar, but has the same basic empty-calorie effect.
• Dried fruit – Although plain dried fruit is a great snack choice, many prepackaged products have some hidden ingredients. Sugar, trans fat and other unwanted ingredients might be lurking in those apricots or prunes. Read the label before buying just to be sure.
• Low, or no-sugar items – Take extreme care when buying products that tout themselves as low or no sugar alternatives. While a product might not contain “sugar,” it could have corn syrup, dextrose and a variety of other high-calorie sweeteners.
• Diet sodas – You won’t get a high sugar content with these, but you might end up with a few ingredients you didn’t bargain for. The synthetic sweeteners in diet sodas are not necessarily the best for the body. Many have actually been linked to weight gain rather than loss.

Eating right is essential for losing weight and getting into shape. Work with your trainer and you will find out just how important diet is. Unfortunately, making the right choice in foods is sometimes a loaded proposition. To get the most out of your meals and snacks, make sure to read labels and brush up on the pitfalls to avoid.

The Benefits Of Stretching

 

If you’re working with a trainer or other fitness pro at your health club, chances are you’ve been told to stretch and warm up before diving into cardio or weight training exercises. It’s also likely that you’ve heard this so many times you’re tired of being told. After all, your workout would go a whole lot faster if you didn’t have to waste precious time on the preliminaries, right?

Wrong! Like it or not, those preliminaries are important. Stretching is vital for helping prevent injuries during workouts. Fail to warm up and you can pull or tear muscles, sprain ankles and cause yourself a wide range of other problems you don’t want to face. The fact is this is a necessary step to help you keep your weight and fitness goals on track.

While it might not be as fun as jumping right into an aerobics class or challenging yourself with weights, stretching does offer a number of benefits that go beyond prepping yourself to exercise. In addition to preventing injury and sparing yourself admonishment from your trainer, stretching can benefit you by:

• Lessening muscle tension – Stretching any time can help you lessen the tension in your muscles and help you relax. Learning how to stretch properly can prevent injuries and reduce your stress any time of the day. Stretching exercises do not have to be limited to the gym alone!
• Increasing your range of motion – This is important for helping prevent injuries during workouts, but it can also boost your overall flexibility all of the time.
• Boosting coordination – The more limber you are from stretching, the more likely it is your coordination will be spot on. Tight muscles can lead to rather awkward movements.
• Increasing circulation – Basic stretching exercises not only loosen the muscles, but they also get the blood flowing. This is important for laying the foundation for a good workout and it’s just good for the body in a general sense.
• Boosting energy – When the blood starts flowing and the heart starts pumping, energy levels increase. Stretching can give you the energy you need to complete a workout routine. It can also be a great pick-me-up in the middle of a long day at work.

While you might not want to admit your trainer is right, stretching and warming up right before workouts is essential for a number of reasons. When you prime your body for a workout, you prevent injuries and better prepare yourself for going the distance in your routine. Plus, learning how to stretch safely can provide you a needed lift out of the gym, too.

How To Overcome Setbacks In Your Weight Loss Journey

How To Overcome Setbacks In Your Weight Loss Journey

You’ve been working hard, eating right and have even been exercising at home on your off days from the gym. The Kg’s have finally started to melt off and you’re seeing results. Unfortunately, you slipped up over the weekend and ate like the world was going to end tomorrow. Your guilt level couldn’t be higher.

Relax! You’ve just proven that you’re human. You can get right back on track and will likely not even notice your discretion on the scale.

Losing weight and sticking with a program calls for lots of hard work. It is not uncommon for people to slip up from time to time. In fact, some programs even call for allowed slip ups in moderation. Even if yours doesn’t, you don’t need to beat yourself up and think all efforts have been in vain.

Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, consider taking these steps to overcome the setback you have faced:

• Own your error – Admit to yourself that skipping routine exercise or binge eating was not in your best interest. While an occasional blooper is not uncommon, you want to get yourself in the right mindset to avoid making cheating a habit.
• Tell your trainer – If you’re working with a trainer, tell them about the setback. No, your trainer is not going to yell at you or make you drop and give him 20 – at least it’s not likely! Instead, your trainer will probably give you constructive advice for getting back with the program and avoiding temptation in the future.
• Consider the trigger that set you off – Try to figure out what made you do what you did. Perhaps you were craving sweets? Maybe you were just too busy to get down to the gym? It could be that friends dropped by with your favorite take-out food in hand? Whatever the case, try to recognize the trigger so you can avoid it in the future. Do let your trainer know about possible triggers. He or she can help you come up with alternative behaviors that can help you down the road.
• Forgive yourself – Slipping up is perfectly human. The mistake is not really a problem. It’s the steps you take now that matter. Let the error go and resolve to stick with the program and refocus yourself on the goals you have set. One or two setbacks doesn’t mean those goals are not attainable.

As much as most people would like it to be, weight loss is not an overnight adventure. To realize healthy, safe and lasting changes in weight, time is often required. How long the process will last depends a lot on starting weight, goals and personal persistence to stick with a program. Occasional detours are often a part of the road to weight loss. Just make sure to clear your mind and get back on the right path when they happen.

Five Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

“Metabolism” is the name of the bodily system that converts food calories to energy needed to perform various tasks, like pumping oxygen to muscles during a long walk. Many variables contribute to your metabolism, including heredity, gender and age. But you can quicken yours; here’s how.

Exercise more. When you walk, run, or lift weights, you increase the energy required of your body, which raises your metabolism then, and for hours afterward.

“It’s not a huge spike, but it makes a difference,” says Gary Miller, PhD, associate professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read more

10 Best Foods for Your Heart

Simple food choices go a long way when it comes to your heart’s health. Focusing on fresh foods full of heart-healthy fats and antioxidants can decrease your risk of developing heart disease and cut your chances of a heart attack. These 10 foods will help keep your ticker in top shape.

Oatmeal
Start your day with a steaming bowl of oats, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. This fiber-rich superfood can lower levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clear.

Opt for coarse or steel-cut oats over instant varieties — the coarse and steel-cut contain more fiber — and top your bowl off with a banana for another four grams of fiber.

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