Archive for February, 2011
Have you ever heard or read this statement:
Drink ‘This’ For Fat Loss?
I’m sure you have.
Is there really a beverage that will aid you in fat loss? And if you think so,
what do you think it is?
Did you answer, “water”?
Drinking water increases fat burning.
The reason is because water relieves the burden on your liver by keeping your kidneys properly filtering.
When your kidneys are stressed from too little water, your liver has to take over and help.
Why is this a problem?
Because that takes your liver away from one of its other important functions. Your liver is your primary fat burning organ.
Here’s your first tip: Drink 16 ounces of water 15 minutes before eating and you’ll lose weight.
You’ll find that drinking water prior to meals decreases the amount of food consumed.
One reason is obvious. Your stomach feels more full, right?
The other advantage of drinking more water prior to eating is this.
In your body you want to keep acidity at optimal levels. This increases
your core temperature slightly. This is called “thermogenesis” and is a good state to be in for fat burning purposes.
So there you have it. This week try it and see how it goes.
And remember, there are three benefits:
1. Better appetite control
2. Increased thermogenesis, which aids in fat burning
3. Decreased stress on your liver so it can optimally burn fat.
Yup, good old fashioned water is the number one
fat burning beverage. So drink up and enjoy!
shelli
In my last blog post about belly fat loss I mentioned strength training, in other words, adding muscle.
And then it occurred to me that many women (and yes, even many men) are confused about why muscle is so ESSENTIAL.
So we might title this week’s blog post:
MUSCLE: Why you need it!
First, you need time to build muscle so it’s important you don’t get discouraged. You can’t take a linear approach like you can with fat loss. Muscle is built in spurts.
Next, adding muscle will melt body fat faster than any diet plan or cardio workout.
How? It increases your metabolic rate.
Muscle gives you an edge because it requires fuel to burn. It’ll burn up calories and your body will have less calories to store as fat. Another way to say this is that your consumed calories are burned at a quicker rate.
And YES, even over the age of 35 people can still build muscle!
You lose more than a pound of muscle every year past the age of 35, which means keeping muscle and adding more muscle is a MUST.
That’s because muscle (even a POUND of it) melts off body fat. If you don’t pay attention to your muscle mass, you’ll get fat.
Here are some tips to apply to your muscle gaining efforts:
1. Change your routines frequently. Remember, muscle is built in spurts and responds to intense activity. Once your body gets used to what you’re asking it to do, it’s time to change things up.
2. You want to keep your training fresh. Often a three week routine followed by a week of rest and then a new routine for the following three weeks works well. Cycle your routines.
Some people need to gain muscle to look the way they want and some people have enough muscle and just need to burn fat. I rarely come across anyone who doesn’t need to diet down first and then add some muscle. Five to ten pounds of muscle added for most of us is a good goal.
Again, we all should be REALLY serious about adding lean muscle to our bodies. Don’t think it’s not important for you just because you’re not into “bodybuilding.”
I’m talking about having a healthy and lean body look. I don’t like the word “toned” but that’s the image most people think of. When we see a woman who has a healthy proportion of fat and muscle, we often think of that woman as “toned”.
Yes, we need to lose body fat, but adding muscle ensures the fat doesn’t come back!
So I hope this refreshes your memory as to why we need muscle.
If you’re not already doing muscle KEEPING or muscle GAINING activities, I’m encouraging you to start NOW. You have nothing to lose (maybe) and plenty to gain!
shelli
Some research-proven belly fat burning tips for you today.
But first let’s do away with a myth…..or two.
You’re NEVER too old and it is NEVER too late to lose belly fat.
Perhaps you know this, but perhaps you’ve been discouraged and are glad
that I’m reminding you of this. Either way, it’s good to review what I’m sharing with you.
Another myth is that it’s hard to lose belly fat.
While I won’t promise you it’ll be easy, I do know that with these tips it’ll
be a whole lot less struggle and your efforts will be a whole lot more effective.
Yes, you must plan for exercise, shop accordingly and even prepare yourself mentally for the challenge, but it’s well worth it.
So here are 5 tips!
1. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
It’s been proven time and time again that no matter what
diet you’re on, if you eat more fruits and vegetables you will lose
more fat than anyone eating the same diet BUT not as many fruits and vegetables.
In one study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
after 1-year, the low-fat, fruits and vegetables group (LF-FV) lost
more weight than another group of women on the low-fat (LF) diet
only.
Why?
Because the LF-FV group reported being less hungry. They ate more food in the form of fruits and vegetables so they felt more satisfied. Eating more makes sense, right, but it still depends on WHICH foods.
2. Make Sure You’re Utilizing Interval Training
Many studies have found interval training to be best for losing
belly fat.
According to Professor Steve Boutcher, an Australian expert on
interval training, “high intensity intermittent exercise may result
in greater fat loss in the abdomen”.
That means that unlike doing hundreds of crunches which can potentially wreak havoc with your back, interval training can work to burn belly fat better than everything else.
3. There Are Different Types of Cardio
If we separate out interval training from other cardio exercise for fat burning purposes, what do the studies show?
In one study researchers compared high-intensity cardio against
low-intensity cardio. Both groups burned the same amount of calories
in their workouts (400), but the high-intensity group exercised less.
Results?
The subjects in the Low-Intensity Exercise group did not lose fat.
On the other hand, the High-Intensity Cardio group lost a
significant amount of abdominal fat.
How can we interpret this?
The research shows that exercising harder results in more
belly fat loss in less time. This less time factor is great to know.
So it’s not the time spent, but rather HOW you spend the time that counts.
And in fact, slow cardio does NOTHING for fat loss. Yes, it has benefits but is not the best choice for fat loss. If you’ve ever trained for a marathon you can probably attest to this.
All cardio is not the same. First decide on what results you want and then match the exercise choice.
4. Exercise with Supersets Leads to More Calories Burned
The latest research shows that superset training boosts metabolism more than traditional straight set training.
You can read more about what super set training involves or talk with your own personal trainers. I want to bring this to your attention and point you in the right direction. Again, choose the result you want
and then choose routines accordingly.
5. For Calorie Burning Use Lower Repetitions in Your Workouts
Researchers had women do two workouts. One workout was done with light weights and high reps, and the other workout was done with heavier weights and 8 reps per set (this group was called high-intensity).
The study found that the high intensity group burned more calories
AFTER exercise and therefore the scientists recommend high intensity
resistance training rather than low-intensity high rep lifting.
Many women (though very few men) still seem to be stuck on the old outdated way of strength training: light weights and many repetitions.
Let’s move along and use newer more informed knowledge so we are not wasting our time and efforts.
In other words, lift heavy, lift often and learn to love to lift! OK–maybe just LIKE to lift, but lift never the less!
So if you hear yourself saying, “Belly fat be gone,” these five tips will come in handy.
shelli
Do you ever experience back pain?
Lately I’ve observed that more and more people are talking about their back pain.
A physician friend of mine told me that more than 80 per cent of adults will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.
Then we started discussing what people can do in their HOMES to help alleviate back pain.
That’s the kind of discussion I enjoy because it produces solutions and options so that you can be proactive in your own care.
Here’s what we came up with!
1. Use reclining furniture.
Many physicians and chiropractors recommend sitting in a reclined position to help alleviate back pain. You want to support your back and lumbar spine. Reclining does a better job of taking away strain from your back compared to sitting up straight or lying flat on the floor.
2. Get a good bed.
This is a huge topic in and of itself but is also a key to alleviating back pain. A good firmness is important, and if you can’t get a new mattress but know that yours is not supporting you properly, get a foam topper.
3. Take a look at the heights of your tables.
Stay away from trendy bar-height tables that don’t allow you to anchor your feet. Sitting at these tables can put added strain on your back and require extra effort when you get up or sit down.
4. Do you have a nice deep tub in your house?
Moist heat is often recommended for back pain. Soaking in a deep warm tub, or better yet, using whirlpool jets, can provide soothing relief. Keep the jet setting low so that you feel like you’re getting a gentle massage.
5. While hard wood floors are beautiful, it’s better support to have carpet or padded area rugs.
Over the years when I’ve had wooden floors in my home I’ve purchased carpet remnants and foam padding and had them fitted to the floor space I wanted to cover. This has worked well. I also prefer to have carpeted stairs and find it easier to practice good posture going up and down stairs when they are carpeted.
6. When you have back pain it’s a good idea to organize your space in a way that doesn’t make you REACH too much.
Store heavier items as well as the things you use most often at arm level so that you avoid the strain that comes from bending or lifting.
Yes, these 6 pointers may seem like common sense, but sometimes we don’t see the changes we can make in our own living spaces.
And of course, as a movement coach I’d be very remiss if I didn’t mention that things like your posture and how you move have a HUGE influence on the health of your spine and back.
So don’t forget that you don’t need to suffer with back pain.
There are a lot of options for self care but I thought looking inside your home for changes you can make was worth focusing on. Hope you did, too!
shelli
