Hi. I am trying a different blog format, so for now I have put this blog on hold. Please check out my new format at musclemommy.net
Something New
8 05 2010Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: calcium, calories, cardio, diet plateau, eat your veggies, exercise, fat loss, great looking legs, healthy diet, healthy eating, how to get fit, internal cleanse, new blog, portion control, tricks to lose weight, weight training
Categories : Exercise Tips, Fact or Fiction, Kristi's Comments, Nutrition Tips, Tips
A temporary fix… at best
7 04 2010It is so common to hear people saying that they want to lose weight and get back in shape again. Some people look for instant ways of losing weight, and as a result even get tempted to go in for crash dieting. We have all done it. A crash diet does give instant results, quick results. If you need to drop a few pounds quickly for a vacation or a class reunion, it can be a good temporary fix. A temporary fix to drop a few pounds, not a diet to stay on for more than a few days in an attempt to drop ten or more pounds.
Most people have the misconception that if they decrease the amount of food that they consume daily, they will reduce weight. It is important to understand the fact that too few calories can lead to severe internal weakness which can lead to all sorts of health problems and unintended consequences.
Crash dieting makes you an irritable person, and you face severe mood swings because of the imbalance of certain elements in the body. Most of the main organs of the body – such as the heart, lungs, kidney, liver etc. – need a lot of energy to function effectively, and the absence of food in the body affects their proper functioning. The organs become weak, and you may start to face problems such as kidney failure.
When you are crash dieting, your body does not get even the most basic of nutrients, which means that all internal systems start to become weak and fragile, and it may seem as if your body may collapse any moment. Weakness, loss of all energy, and fatigue will set in.
The worst effect of crash dieting is that you may gain more weight instead of losing. This is because once you have lost some of the pounds you desired (with the help of crash dieting), the effect will disappear once you resume with your normal diets. So, you will face weight gain instead of weight loss. Crash diets – a temporary fix at best.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: calories, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy habits, portion control, weight loss
Categories : Kristi's Comments, Nutrition Tips
The Gift of Breakfast
30 03 2010We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and we would never let our kids go off to school without eating a good breakfast. So why do we as adults think it is okay to skip breakfast? Some people lack motivation and/or the desire to eat breakfast due to time constraints or lack of a morning appetite. Neither is a good excuse.
The morning hours are the most ideal time of the day for refueling your glucose levels, and providing your brain and body with the energy they need to function optimally throughout the day. Also, by eating breakfast, you are increasing your chances of maintaining and even losing weight.
Studies show that by starting the day off on a healthy foot, you are more likely to continue making good food choices for the remainder of the day, and that those who eat a healthy breakfast are less likely to play “catch-up” later in the day. I have a friend who will often tell me that she has been so busy she hasn’t had time to eat anything all day. By the time she eats, she is famished and eats way more than she needs. If you eat 2000 calories for dinner, chances are you will not be hungry for breakfast. This same friend has also gained over 50 pounds in the last year. Sumo wrestlers use the same strategy for eating.
Give yourself the gift of breakfast. With a little planning, many breakfast meals can be prepared the night before to make for a quick morning meal or something easy to take with you to the office. In our house we have a gallon pitcher of pre-mixed protein shake and a carton full of hard boiled eggs. Add in a piece of fruit and /or a low fat yogurt, and you are good to go. My husband does this every day. I prefer quick cook oatmeal with flaxseed and cinnamon or Kashi cereal with low fat milk.
So what’s the best thing to eat for your first meal? The first thing I would recommend when choosing what to eat is to try to think outside of the typical “healthy” breakfast, especially if you have time constraints or don’t feel hungry in the morning.
Fruit is an excellent choice. It can be a fast option and something you can even eat in the car on the way to work. If you have more time, a morning smoothie can be the perfect mix of protein and carbs. If you’re willing to forfeit the normal breakfast routine, even a bit of steamed vegetables or soup can provide an optimal source of energy. Anytime I have a pot of left over sweet potato squash soup, that becomes my favorite breakfast. Many people do well eating their dinner leftovers the next morning which saves time and prevents food waste.
Regardless of what you ultimately decide to eat, the most important thing to remember is that each of us requires different foods and quantities based on our own biochemical, genetic and metabolic differences. The secret to breakfast is to choose something healthy, easy, and that you enjoy and can look forward to eating each morning.
A great way to determine what is right for you is to experiment. Try out seven different breakfasts over the course of a week and really pay attention to how you feel afterwards, and then again two and four hours later. Include in that experiment foods that you typically eat or desire the most at breakfast, regardless of their nutritional value, just to further understand the impact those foods versus other foods have on your body.
At the end of the week, I guarantee that you’ll have a clear understanding of the best energy sources for your body and know what to eat for this key mealtime.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: calories, fat loss, healthy diet, healthy eating, healthy habits, portion control
Categories : Kristi's Comments
Focusing on the basics… again
19 03 2010Everyone gets off track. Clearly, I have gotten off track of keeping up with my blog over the past few weeks. That is not a reason to give it up all together, but to re-commit to getting back into the groove.
If your exercise routine is off track, don’t worry. Now is the time to re-commit. Right now. If you have gone a few days or a few weeks without exercising or eating healthy… go grab an apple right now. Go for a walk right now. Go to the gym right now. Let’s get back on track together.
Your first main goal with weight training isn’t appearance. Focus on strength and then appearances can come later. Build on becoming stronger in the basic moves each week, even if it is only a little bit, and then after several weeks you can move to isolation(moves that focus on certain muscles) movements.
.
Improve your posture while training and at home. Stand and sit up straight. No slouching while exercising. This helps you improve your self image and prevent injury by reducing bad form. It also promotes a stronger core, which can protect your lower back. So stand tall, shoulders back, stomach in and it will make the form of the movement balanced and more effective. Working smarter not harder.
.
While strength is your mission, it should be about form too. Throwing around heavy weights improperly will not do any good for your muscles. There are a ton of videos on proper exercise form that you can find on U-tube. You can also get assistance from a good personal trainer.
.
Have a recovery period. Your muscles develop and grow during rest. So make sure you give your muscles time to rest. 3-4 days rest for each muscle group is best for the most effective muscle development.
There is an effective time limit for Cardio. You don’t want to end up breaking down muscle mass, and simple sugars, over fat. Normally this is about 45 minutes on a treadmill. Any more is a waste of your time and gains. If you really need more cardio, you can move to two times a day to be effective.
Every 6 weeks try something fun you couldn’t do before. For example, try a new exercise class. If you were worried before that you wouldn’t be able to last an entire session, try it anyway. If you have been walking, add a few minutes of interval jogging in your routine. You are six weeks stronger and you will definitely surprise yourself. Knowing that you can do something you couldn’t before is a great motivator.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: calories, exercise, fat loss, fitness, healthy diet, healthy habits, portion control, tricks to lose weight, weight loss
Categories : Exercise Tips, Kristi's Comments
No Failing
27 09 2011Some of my clients are facing new weight loss challenges and the dreaded plateau, but you can actually be on a successful weight loss track, and because you don’t KNOW what a successful track looks like, it may feel like you are failing.
Once you believe that you have screwed up, it is easy to say “screw it” and really screw up. I am good at that! If only you knew how well you were doing! While success does depend on your specific goals, starting point, body type and exercise routine, there are a few things that are consistent across the board. Here are some things to consider:
1. Weight loss does NOT come in the form of losing two pounds every week until you reach your goal, no matter how well you’ve stuck to your food and exercise plan.
When you gain weight, you don’t gain two pounds every single week in a measured fashion. You’re not going to lose it in a measured fashion no matter how well you stick to your plan. You might lose two pounds one week. You might even lose three pounds in a week. Then, you might lose one pound the next week.
Some weeks you might lose zero, and there are weeks you even gain. These weeks are the most frustrating, and we all have these kinds of weeks where we feel like we’re doing everything right and the scale doesn’t give us what we want.
Keep track of the weekly weigh-ins but take a look at the month and see the overall trend. You might have gained a 1/2 pound one of the weeks but take note if you lost 4 pounds overall for the month. If the month is trending downwards, you are in the right place.
2. Nobody is perfect 100% of the time.
Just because you went out drinking and ate all the bread, stuffed yourself with fried food and had two desserts, and then woke up and had eggs Benedict the next day does not mean you have failed.
Everyone does this.
We all make a commitment and we all slip up. I ate an entire chocolate cake the other day. You fell. So what? Learn what will work for you to get back on track. You can fall and still be on a successful weight loss track by simply making the decision to get back there.
Real life weight loss is like a marathon, some miles are effortless, some are excruciating and the only way you really fail is if you quit.
Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: calories, eat your veggies, fitness, healthy eating, healthy habits, holiday eating tricks, internal cleanse, portion control
Categories : Kristi's Comments