Tag: health

Overcoming hurdles

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This quote could not be more true! Cardio and I have never been friends. It is something that I have struggled with since I was a child, and even into adulthood. I never would have thought that I would be able to do a Turbo Fire workout, and even as I started the program I still had my doubts. I remember the first time I tried Turbo Fire, and even the next couple of times, I honestly thought that I was going to keel over and die. I was sweating buckets, I had to pause the tape every few minutes to get a drink of water, and my heartrate was so high I was actually starting to worry about my safety.

I pushed through though, and I’m not going to say it got easier, but I will say that I GOT BETTER. People usually say that it gets easier, and in a way it does. By the same token though, it doesn’t necessarily get easier- because as you get better, you find yourself pushing harder, doing more, bringing it just that much more. You can jump higher, kick and punch harder, master moves you couldn’t do when you started, and even get through workouts without having to pause the disk.

Believe in yourself, because you CAN do it. It doesn’t matter if you have to pause the dvd a hundred times to calm your heart rate and get a drink of water. It doesn’t matter if you have to skip moves because you genuinely don’t have the strength to do them. It  doesn’t matter if you have to follow the modified version of moves. All that matters is that you TRY, because the next time you try the workout you could be strong enough to do it. As long as you are trying, you are still burning calories! Push through it, and over time you will be amazed at what you have overcome.

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Pre-Diet junk food binge

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Does this sound familiar?! This used to be an annual thing in our house haha, but it is no good! All this does is cause you to gain extra weight that you will have to work off during your diet and/or new fitness routine. It does not make any sense for you to eat a bunch of junk food just to get rid of it,  because it is only going to hurt you in the end.

It is better to give it to a friend or family member than to gorge on it right before you start a new diet. It may taste good, but all it is going to do is make you feel pretty crappy and gain weight. Would you rather not “waste” the money it cost you to get the junk food in the first place and deal with the consequences, or get rid of the junk food and get off to a good start with your diet? Personally, I would go for that second option.

If you gorge on junk food before a diet, you are just setting yourself up for failure. You need to change your mentality surrounding the word “diet”, because getting fit and healthy isn’t a short-term thing – it is a lifestyle change. What you need to do is find foods like mimic the meals you typically enjoy, but that are much healthier for you. You don’t have to restrict yourself 100% of the time, but you should try to aim for 80-90%. If you want something that isn’t healthy, just work it into your calorie and macro limits for the day! It is possible to live a healthy lifestyle while still occasionally enjoying junk food, you just have to want it bad enough to keep yourself from junk food on a regular basis. Instead, use it as a treat for progress at the end of the month or something.

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Hunger VS Boredom

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This was a huge thing for me! I am a big time night snacker, and I loved snacking while I watched tv. Watching movies or shows without food just felt foreign to me. What this is though is habit and comfort, it isn’t hunger.

When you catch yourself heading for a snack, I want you to think to yourself: “Am I really hungry, or is this just habit?” If you are hungry, try drinking a big glass of water to hold you over until your next meal. Believe it or not, water can actually curb your appetite short-term. If that doesn’t work and you’re still hungry, go for some of healthy snacks! Celery is a great snack choice, especially if your goal is weight loss. If you are snacking at night, try to stay away from fruit because of the natural sugars. It is better to consume fruit earlier in your day.

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It’s never too late

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As a Beachbody coach, I have come across plenty of people in their 40’s and 50’s or above who are trying to lose weight and get healthy. Your age shouldn’t be a limitation. In fact, we gave my grandmother a Beachbody fitness program for Christmas this year! If you can move around, you can exercise at any age. Just modify the moves, it is as simple as that! Only do what you can, only go as low as you can, and start by using light weights in the beginning of your journey and work your way up.

Just ask the many people who start in their 40’s or 50’s or sometimes even later than that, or the many people who were obese when they started their journey. These people may have thought that they were too far gone to ever lose the weight again! In my opinion, the hardest part is the first few weeks to a month. During that initial timeframe, it is almost more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Of course your body will be challenge, but you have to get over the “I can’t do this” mentality before you can be successful.

Like I mentioned above, you just have to modify the moves and do what you are capable of doing. When I started there were certain exercises I simply had to skip because I lacked the strength to do them safely. There were many exercises that I had to complete using the modified version. Plus, I would have to pause the workout a BUNCH to get a drink and calm my heart rate down a bit. It was a struggle, but I just told myself that I could do it, and so I did. Over time I got better and better, I could do more exercises the regular way, I could finally do the moves I previously had skipped, and I found I didn’t have to pause the workout nearly as often.

I am not saying it will be easy to change your mental mindset, because it won’t. It will be a challenge, but what doesn’t challenge you, doesn’t change you! You won’t regret the changes that take place once you make these life changes, but you may regret it if you don’t.

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Are fad diets any good?

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Doing super restrictive diets, like many of the fad diets out there claiming to help you lose weight fast, is not a good idea at all! Sure, you will most likely lose some weight, but chances are as soon as you go back to eating normally you will gain it all back. What you lose with fad diets is the water weight, which comes back as soon as you get back to your normal eating habits. You WILL NOT maintain that weight loss, so what is the point in picking a diet that is not sustainable long-term? What is even more important to note is that it is simply NOT HEALTHY.

Instead, find a variety of healthy foods and meals that you enjoy, and then create a new healthy lifestyle around those foods! Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean depriving yourself of junk food 100% of the time either. It is important to have a cheat meal every once in a while to not only help you stay on track, but also because it revs up your metabolism. As long as you don’t completely pig out and you eat in moderation, one cheat meal is not going to hurt you every now and then – it can actually be beneficial! If you deprive yourself entirely of things you crave for a long time, there is a higher risk of going on a binge at some point. If you plan out your cheat meal and use it as a reward for progress, you will curb those cravings for a while and help yourself continue moving forward. 

Furthermore, you can still have “cheat” meals without it entirely being a cheat. For example, when I crave junk sometimes I will have a plate of nachos made with organic nachos, salsa, and cheese. If your kryptonite is chips, try cooking some homemade popcorn and just melting a bit of real butter to put on top with some sea salt. I also like having homemade pizza every now and then, and I just measure out my toppings so that I know how many calories I am consuming and I can organize the rest of my day around it. 

You need to remember that one bad day is not going to make you gain a bunch of weight. That works both ways though, because one GOOD day is also not going to make you LOSE a bunch of weight. Results will come over time, and with effort.

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Hip and Thigh exercises

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Contrary to popular belief, you actually can’t spot train! All of these exercises will work the hip and thigh area, but they also work other areas in your legs as well. If you do any of these, or even many of the exercises in the “butt exercises” note, they will work these areas. One thing I’ve learned throughout my own journey is that you just have to do leg exercises in general, and the weight will come off wherever it feels like coming off lol. I still have fat on my hips and thighs that I would like to get rid of, but doing only these exercises wouldn’t make that happen any faster. It would actually be counter-productive because this area natually takes longer for us as women to lose, so you might as well work all the other areas while you’re at it so that you see progress everywhere else while you wait! The key is that you’ll be building muscle, and the muscle is what is going to burn off the fat.

-Squat with leg lift (Do a regular squat with feet shoulder width apart, then when you are standing up lift one leg out to the side. Be careful not to lean to the other side, and focus on standing straight just lifting the leg up and out to the side. You can alternate legs if you want, or you can do one leg then the other)

-Standing hip opener (Stand straight and bring one knee up so that the top part of your leg is parallel to the floor, then bring the leg out directly to the side but keeping it at the same angle, and then lower the leg back to the ground. Again, try to remember to stand up straight and not to bend into the turn. This will work your legs as well as your core and your abs from balancing and using that core strength to stand straight)

-Bowling lunge (Get into a lunge stance with most of your weight on the forward leg, and then inch the other leg behind you and to the side. You should be able to lift your back toe off the ground and balance on the front leg for a few seconds. It will feel like you’re about to throw a bowling ball. Once in position, lunge down, then come back up slowly. Repeat as many times as you can)

-Sumo squats (Get into a wide foot stance with toes facing outward. Squat down and then come up slowly. Again, repeat as many times as you can)

-Pulsing sumo squats (Same as regular sumo squats only this time instead of coming all the way up when you finish the first one, you only come halfway up. Do that pulse three times, then on the fourth you can come all the way up. This counts as one rep)

-Hip raises (Lie on your side on your mat and hold yourself up with your arm resting on the mat and your foot closest to the ground on the mat on its side with the other foot resting on top of it. Slowly lift your hips off the ground so that the space between your body and the mat forms half of a triangle. You can do this with your knee on the mat instead of your feet if you don’t have the strength to get up, but try it with the toes first)

-Leg lifts (Get in the same position as the hip raises only this time you will lift the top leg up into the air as high as you can)

-Wall sit (Get into squat position with your back against the wall. Your legs should be at a 90 degree angle, with the top part of your leg parallel to the floor. If it starts to burn too much just come up for 10 seconds and then inch back down. If your legs start shaking too much, you’re done)

-Step ups (If you have a stepper or a small stool this would come in handy. Otherwise just use something about the same height or even just a regular stair if you have to, but ideally it will be a bit higher than a typical stair. You just step up with one leg, step back, and then lunge back with the other leg. This is one rep, and do as many as you can on one side before switching to the other)

-Toe touches/deadlifts (If you have weights you can use them to make this a deadlift, otherwise you can use cans of soup or something to make it at least a little more difficult. Stand up straight and then bend down but keep your back straight as you come down and try to bring your hands or the weights as low as you can)

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Quote of the day

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“Choose your relationships wisely. Being alone will never cause as much loneliness as the wrong relationships. Be with people who know your worth. You don’t need lots of friends to be happy; just a few real ones who appreciate you for who you are. Oftentimes walking away has nothing to do with weakness, and everything to do with strength. We walk away not because we want others to realize our worth, but because we finally realize our own worth.”

This is SO true. I never did understand the people who spend their lives getting into relationship after relationship after relationship just to avoid being alone. Personally, I would rather wait it out for the REAL thing. I want someone who loves me for me, and that is what everybody should be striving for. We all deserve to be happy, and keeping negative people around will only bring you down.

Only YOU hold the power to eliminate the people constantly spouting negativity from your life! Give the negative people in your life the boot, and focus on spending more time with the people who treat you as you deserve to be treated. If you surround yourself with positive people, you will find that you start to become a more positive person yourself. 

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Butt toning exercises

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Here are some moves you can do to tone your butt. You can add weight to a lot of these to make it harder and work better, but it isn’t necessary.

-Regular squats (feet shoulder width apart)

-Sumo squats (feet further apart with toes pointed outward)

-Pulsing squats (Squat down, then only come halfway up 3 times, then come all the way up on the fourth pulse. That is considered one rep)

-Squat and hold (Squat down and hold position for 10 seconds, then come up)

-Wall sits (Put your back against the wall and squat down so that your knees are at a 90 degree angle. When it starts to burn just come up a bit to give your legs a break, then get back down into it. If your legs start shaking, you’re done)

-Lunges (You can do these as walking lunges where you do one on each side, or if you don’t have much space you can do them standing still in one place doing a full set on one leg and switching)

-Screamers (Get in a lunge stance with most of your weight on the forward leg, then you bring the back leg off the ground with your knee coming up. Pull your hands in as you bring the knee up, it will almost feel like you’re pulling someone down to knee them in the gut or something. Do this repeatedly as fast as you can. You will know why they are called screamers within like 5 seconds lol)

-Leg extensions (Get on your knees on a mat and raise one leg up into the air as high as you can repeatedly, then the other leg. This can also be done standing up, but you have to be careful of your posture and that you aren’t cheating by leaning forward)

-Leg pulses (Get in the same position as above on your mat and raise one leg up as high as you can, then only bring it back down halfway and keep pulsing up)

-Bridge (Lie down on the mat with your feet planted down below your butt, then lift your body up into a straight line)

-Hip thrusts (Rest your shoulders on a bench with your feet planted on the ground and lif your body up into a straight line so that your legs are at a 90 degree angle. I usually do this with a barbell and some plates by resting the bar across my hips)

-Back kicks, aka donkey kicks (You literally just kick straight behind you. You will have to bend forward to do this one, and you probably shouldn’t try this at the gym or you may get some strange looks lol)

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Don’t Hesitate

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So many people say “I’ll start Monday”, or “I’ll start after New Years”, or “I’ll start after I eat all of the bad food in the house so that it won’t be there to tempt me”. and things of that nature. Yet, that day never actually comes. The more you put it off, the less likely it is to actually happen.

If you have the motivation to get started and you WANT to get started, don’t let yourself put it off. If you do, chances are you’ll never get started. If you do get started and you ate all of the junk food in the house so that it wouldn’t be there to tempt you, chances are you will have put on some extra weight. Now you not only will have wasted time you could have been making progress, but you’ll have put on more weight that you will have to work off!

Why not get started early and build the good daily habits that will keep you going during and after the bad days to come? There will be days when you will give in to temptation, and what I want you to remember is that one bad day is not going to wreck your progress. However, by the same token, one good day is not going to give you progress.

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Food VS Body

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Lol I totally agree, and I bet I am not alone in this! The cravings subside most of the time, but every now and then I do crave stuff like pizza, chocolate, ice cream, or my kryptonite, ROOTBEER!

Just because you have those cravings, doesn’t mean you have to indulge all the time.You should never completely restrict yourself from having things like this long term because it can actually be counter-productive. If you try too hard to NOT eat something, eventually you are going to get caught on a rough day and you are going to go on a binge.

Make the choice to treat yourself once a week, and try to pick cheat meals that are still relatively healthy. You can do this by make meals that mimic the foods that you love. For example, with Shakeology I mimic my love of ice cream by making it neapolitan flavored! My personal favorite cheat meals are homemade nachos and homemade pizza. We use organic nacho chips, we measure out the salsa and the tex mex cheese, and we throw it in the microwave. For the pizza, we use a healthier brand of thin crust and measure out some sauce, pineapple, pepperoni slices, and cheese. These meals are delicious, and I am able to eat them completely guilt free!

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