Totally Taboo: Swimsuit Season!!

Ladies, ladies ladies,
I've done it - I have opened the can of worms that is swimsuit season. Today, March 20th, marks the first day of Spring. It's official, we have one season to get our bodies ready to slip into our bathing suits (note: I said "slip into" not "spill out of"). Don't fret! We have two months to shed those pounds you've been hiding under bulky sweaters and winter layers. BUT we must act now if we want our bodies to be as hot as the weather come June.
So let's set our goals, with a two month timeline, starting NOW. How do you wish to feel at the dawn of summer? I want you to feel confident and self assured (and maybe a little bit sexy too). How can we assure that you feel that way? By continuing our health-conscious lifestyles: mindful of calories in, mindful of calories out.
Here's our plan:
*if executed rigorously, you'll be splashing in the waves this summer, not hiding behind a boogie-board.

- Start with Breakfast: Dr. Layman of the University of Illinois says that people who start the day with a protein-rich breakfast save about 200 calories a day when compared to consume a carb-heavy meal.
- Drink only water (with lemon) or unsweetened iced-tea: According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition the average person consumes 450 calories a day from sweetened beverages.
- Sit down for family dinners and turn off the TV: Distracted eaters eat more food for longer periods of time, consuming more than 300 extra calories per meal according to a study published in Trends in Food Science & Technology.
- Pack lunch and eat dinner at home: Avoid restaurants and fast foods chains and you'll save close to 200 calories - the average number we additionally consume when eating out.
- Put FITNESS in your planner: hit the gym (tone those muscles), join a walking group (cardio, cardio, cardio), and recruit your family in the quest for burn-worthy fun (go hiking or play tennis together).
* tips taken and revised from The Lean Belly Perscription by Dr. Travis Stork

If you incorporate all of these lifestyle changes into your routine, you'll shed approximately 1,500 calories per day. Paired with the raw, natural nutrition plan we've integrated (no packaged foods, no added sugar, no white flour), you'll be dying to plan the next family beach trip. Maybe you'll even be sporting a new tankini to your next Aqua Zumba class!!
Lets go ladies, make it a healthy spring and you'll be ready to say 'hello' to summer.

Food Inc.

Recently, my family and I watched Food Inc. - a film exposing the mechanistic processes behind the food industry, the industry the American consumer succumbs to every time we peruse the grocery store isles. This film unveils the shocking truths behind what we eat, how it's manufactured, and who we have become as a nation.
Today we buy bigger-breasted chickens, herbicide-ridden seeds and perfectly plastic produce...but at what price? I'm not referring to the dollar amount (although grocery inflation has it's battle to fight as well), but to the environmental cost: obesity, diabetes, E-coli, and other bacterial illnesses.
We are blind consumers.

I challenge us fight oblivion, reign in our apathy and educate ourselves. The information is out there, let's not turn a blind eye but become involved!! The farmers and producers will manufacture what you (the consumer) wants - you call the shots. Don't let your silence set the standard for the food industry, stand up!!
Watch this film and tell me what you think. My personal reaction - organic vegetarianism (at least until I learn more and revolutionize the system).

Spinning Playlist:

Here's a sample of my Spinning playlist. Suggestions please, could you sweat to this mix?

say NO to self-hate!!

women and girls everywhere, of all shapes and sizes, MUST read this article:

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2011/02/shocking-body-image-news-97-percent-of-women-will-be-cruel-to-their-bodies-today?currentPage=1

Can you believe these facts & figures??
- only 3% of females love their bodies (whaaat, a teensy 3%!?)
- nearly half of all girls, three to six years of age, are afraid of getting fat
- on average females, have 13 negative body thoughts a day - one every waking hour!!




CHALLENGE: appreciate your body - You Are Beautiful!!

weight loss: the missing link

As strange as it may seem I get really fired-up when I read about health and fitness: recipe substitutions, weight loss stories, workout gear, etc. You name it - I love it. I realize that not everyone has this passion (I mean, there's a reason why I'm the one writing this blog and you are the one reading it), but I have stumbled upon a fun fact that should excite EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. What if I told you that in addition to eating mindfully and daily workouts, sleep promotes weight loss!!
That's right, turning in earlier could mean smaller numbers on the scale. If that doesn't sound like the easiest weight loss technique, I sure hope you like spending hours on the elliptical. Research shows that sleep is a crucial ingredient in the recipe for weight loss

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-s-brown/sleep-the-missing-piece-t_b_814566.html

               
According to the Oct. 5, 2010 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, overweight adults on a low calorie diet lost 55 percent less body fat when the slept only 5.5 hours a night versus when they slept  8.5 hours a night.

...and while I'm at it let me just say, "I told you so". A diet high in fiber = smooth sailing (in more ways than one). We constantly hear about the metabolic benefits of fiber, but what about the benefit of longevity? It appears as though we may have stumbled upon the fountain of youth: FIBER. 


The article is written for a research audience, so it reads a bit dry, but the message is this: 
"By gender, men with the highest fiber intakes had a 23% reduction in the risk of dying, while women   had a 19% reduction compared to those eating the least amount of fiber. There were significant reductions in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, infectious and respiratory diseases among both men and women, with the greatest benefit seen among those who consumed the largest amount of fiber. There was also a reduction in the risk of dying from cancer"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703584804576144641980847926.html


Your Challenge:
- get at least 8 hours of sleep at least five (if not every) night this week. 
- monitor your daily FIBER intake. Women should be consuming 21-25 grams per day. 
(whole grains, legumes, veggies, and fruits)

Weight Training for Weight Loss.

You swim, you run, and you bike but you avoid the weight room at all costs. First, because you wouldn't know what to do with free weights even if you could lift them, and second, because your goal is to whittle your waist, not to look like a professional wrestler. Am I right? 


Q: why on earth would I lift weights when I can burn more calories with cardio?


Answer: A sweaty cardio session will burn more calories than pumping iron in 30 minutes of exercise BUT lifting weights increases your ratio of lean muscle mass to fat. We all know that muscle burns more calories that fat, meaning that women who add strength training to their workout routines continue to burn calories after they leave the gym - the "afterburn". SCORE!!

The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research cites that women who completed an hour-long strength-training workout burned an average of 100 more calories in the 24 hours afterward than they did when they hadn't lifted weights.
William Kraemer, PhD, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine says that for women who want to lose weight or prevent weight gain (most, if not all of us), strength training is key: Women in their mid-30s begin to lose 5-10 % of muscle strength each decade. Since muscle burns an estimated three times more calories than fat, adding two to four pounds of muscle can translate into an extra 100 calories burned each day.


Use Womens Health Magazine's weight training tips:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-training-tips

As you increase your lean muscle, you will decrease your body fat % - boosting your metabolism and burning more calories throughout the day without any extra effort. Our workouts need to be a combination of aerobic and strength training exercises ladies!! Lifting weights will not only help us build lean muscle, but will also help strengthen our bones, boost our immune systems and improve our self esteem on top of seeing our bodies transform into fat-busting machines!! 


CHALLENGE: this week, add two full-body strength training routines to your workout. Do 10-12 reps for each move, repeat for two to three sets. 
** note: ask a fitness professional to give you a demo of your facility machines. 

Jillian Michael motivates:

Admittedly, I am a not-so-closet fan of all things Jillian Michaels: her 30-Day Shred workout DVD's, her television show, The Biggest Loser, I even follower her on Twitter. But why? Let me persuade you that my infatuation is more than just a celebrity crush - she gets results!! Not just on TV, because well, who knows what happens behind the scenes, but after sweating through a level of The 30 Day Shred I FEEL the results.

I don't want to be on this fitness fanatic bandwagon alone, meaning I want you to feel the results too. The truth is I can't provide you with enough external reinforcement to make your motivation a life long practice. Your reasons to get healthy ultimately come from within you. So, ask yourself:

1. What do I want to change? Be specific.

2. Why do I want to change it?

3. What will the benefits of making this change be to my body and to my life?

4. What am I willing to sacrifice to make this change happen?

It could be something as trivial as looking great in a bathing suit this summer, or something as serious as living to see your grandchildren, whatever it may be, the choice is yours and your health plays a HUGE role in making your goals happen. Is it worth it to you?


Glamour Magazine shares 10 simple ways to get started (per Jillian Michaels) http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2009/04/jillian-michaels-secrets-to-starting-to-
slim-down-today#slide=1


So here's the challenge (you knew it was coming):
- sweat with Jillian Michaels (try The 30-Day Shred)
- watch an episode of The Biggest Loser (it always motivates me) and,
- ask yourself the above questions and GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR.