Concentric movements involve the muscle shortening as it works, i.e., the curling phase of bicep curls. Eccentric actions lengthen the muscles as they work, i.e., the lowering stage of bicep curls.
Isometric exercises require us to exert muscle force without moving! Basically, we have to hold the contraction without any movement of our joints.
There are two types of isometric contractions.
When we contract our muscles isometrically, we don’t move our limbs, lengthen, or shorten our muscle fibers. The joining is considered static. Even when we’re not moving muscles through their range of motion, the fibers are still activated and firing in response to the resistance.
The wall sit is an excellent example of an isometric exercise. After the squat, we hold the position isometrically for 30 to 60 seconds before we stand.
Top 4 Benefits of Isometric Exercises
Incorporating isometric exercises into our regular workout routine allows us to strengthen our muscles. They can assist in injury recovery and potentially prevent future injuries.
Isometric Exercises
One of the easiest ways to include isometric exercises into a workout routine is to incorporate a couple of movements that only require a stable surface for resistance and our body weight. The list below includes several basic isometric exercises to get started with.
Isometric exercises are excellent for many workouts and rehabilitation facility programs. They generally require minimal space, no equipment is necessary, and they’re easy exercises to perform in various settings.
]]>Let’s talk about the five best exercises for women in their 30s and 40s
Low-Impact Workouts
An excellent low-impact exercise is swimming. Swimming is technically a cardio workout that’s not hard on our body. You see, water reduces the strain on us while it increases the resistance.
Low-impact cardio is essential for endurance and for maintaining good heart health. Swimming is only one of several excellent low-impact exercises to add to your routine. Here are a few more:
Choose the exercises that work best for you and your body.
HIIT Workouts
HIIT is short for High-Intensity Interval Training. HIIT exercises are an excellent way to get a good cardio workout in less than an hour.
Let’s say you chose running as a form of HIITs; the idea is to spend between 30 seconds to a minute in a full-on run, followed by 30 seconds to a minute walking. The cycle repeats for around 10 minutes, or as long as you can.
Beginners new to HIIT can start with simple routines, following shorter intervals with longer periods of rest. If you go with 20 seconds on, 40 seconds rest, ten reps will do. However, going 30 seconds along with 60 seconds of rest should be done in eight reps.
Beginner Exercises
Intermediate Exercises
Advanced Exercises
HIIT workouts can be done alongside low-impact exercises and strength training. Take things at the speed and intensity that works best for your body without pushing too hard.
Strength Training Exercises
An excellent example of a strength training exercise is weighted lunges. This form of training is an essential aspect of a well-balanced routine. Training with weights will build muscle and protect our joints.
Strength Training Exercises
How Often Should We Exercise As We Get Older?
Once we reach our 30s, our muscle mass starts to decline. We must include bone and muscle strengthening exercises or activities into our schedule at least twice a week.
Those of us between our 30s and 50s should get anywhere from 1 ½ to 3 hours of moderate-intensity cardio exercises every week. Or we could shoot for an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a ½ of vigorous cardio activities each week.
Let’s not forget the basics of physical activity. Our body does best when we are physically active for an hour or more each day. Little things like walking, climbing stairs, dancing, and whatever makes you move can significantly impact our overall health more than we might think.
]]>Step 1: To Feel Pain & Take Responsibility For Our Feelings
To heal, we have to break through pain. We tend to run away from our emotions for reasons. Nobody wants to have an emotional breakdown while in the middle of a work shift, but that’s ok. The issue arises when we repress those feelings.
Ste 2: Move With The Intent To Learn
For substantial growth and self-love, we have to learn about our emotions, even those that cause pain or frustration. Eliminate all that is no longer necessary and validate what you need to. Understanding where the feeling comes from and what causes it makes room for growth, a place to fill with our new-found self-love.
Step 3: Explore Those False Beliefs
A “false belief” is a misconception that results from incorrect reasoning. We have to look within to see the views or opinions about ourselves based on misunderstanding or faulty thinking. If we allow the answers to come naturally, we’ll get a better understanding of what we’re thinking, causing the false beliefs. Now, we re-learn a better way!
Step 4: Start A Journal
Use a journal to jot down anything you did throughout the day that made you happy or feel good about yourself or your actions. Take time to consider any little thing about yourself that you love and why, then make a list to look over. These reminders are like stepping stones along the path of loving ourselves. It can also be beneficial to add things other people have mentioned they love about you.
Step 5: Acts of Love
All talk and no action don’t work with anyone, including ourselves. We have to show ourselves we care, just like we would show a friend or lover. During this point along the journey, we’ve opened up to our pain, transitioned into learning, rewired our thinking, and began writing it out. However small the act, do it for yourself. All the little things add up. Get the new glasses, and reward yourself with a tranquil trip to the park (whatever it is you’re into)!
Step 6: Check-In With Yourself
After the five steps have been traveled, it’s essential to touch base with our inner self to see how our emotions of pain, shame, and anger are healing. If things still hurt, travel around the self-love route again and dig deeper.
It may not seem like it now, but over time, we’ll discover that loving ourselves can improve many things in our life: our relationships, well-being, health, and self-esteem. Remember to always love yourself in all ways!
We can’t promise you that the road will be easy, but it’s a journey worth taking. Loving yourself opens up life on levels it’s difficult to comprehend unless you’ve experienced it. Give it a shot.
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Not only should we focus on the best foods for fuel and energy, but there is a “right” way to go about it. We don’t want to randomly dump fuel into the tank before we know the type of premium ingredients we need, do we?
We didn’t think so!
Four Ways To Fuel Your Body Pre-Workout
1: Spread Out Those Proteins
Proteins play a vital role in building and repairing muscles and bones, producing hormones and enzymes. Our body uses protein as an energy source too
The number of proteins an individual requires varies based on a few things:
According to the American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM), for optimal muscle maintenance, it’s recommended that 10 to 35 % of our daily energy intake or fuel comes from protein. For someone who regularly consumes 2,000 calories a day, the number of protein calories should be 200 to 700.
Enough of the technical stuff, and onward to the juice!
If increasing your lean muscle mass is one of the fitness goals, you might need more protein than had your main focus been strengthening your endurance. Walking and jogging don’t require as much energy as running through an entire set of a 30-minute weight-training session.
Eating protein in smaller amounts more frequently throughout the day can improve muscle building, according to a 2012 study. Adding more protein at breakfast (typically a low-protein meal for many) and cutting back on them during dinner. For some, dividing the extra protein between breakfast and lunch works more efficiently.
2: Proper Hydration
Drinking enough of the proper fluids before, during, and after exercising helps keep us from becoming dehydrated. It’s normal to sweat when we engage in physical activity; how much depends on the intensity of the physical activity or workout and our genes.
Kimberly Stein, PhS, senior scientist at the Gatorade Sport Science Institute (GSSI), shared information about hydration needs. She says the best way to know how much water we need is to monitor any weight changes, from pre-workout to post-workout.
All you have to do is weigh yourself before and after your workout session. If you lost weight, drink an additional 16 oz of fluids for every pound lost. If you’ve gained weight, you should be able to cut back a little fluid intake.
Make sure you drink fluids at least four hours post-workout. Doing so can reduce the feeling that makes us chug water. Electrolytes drinks are excellent.
3: Consume Enough Carbohydrates
While protein provides energy, carbs are the primary fuel source our body burns when we exercise. According to a piece published by ACSM, people who exercise (regardless of the level) should get between 50 and 60 percent of their daily calories from carbs.
4: Maintaining A Healthy Diet
What we eat and drink before and after a workout is essential, but we must focus on healthy eating habits all the time. We’re not saying it’s not ok to have a cheat day, but we mustn't allow it to become a habit.
Our body requires fuel; there’s no way around it! Make sure you fuel up before a workout and make wise choices throughout the week. Healthy habits can be hard to start, but it’s possible to accomplish both!
]]>An Eating Disorder?
An eating disorder is a serious and complex mental health issue that affects one’s emotional and physical health. Those with eating disorders develop unhealthy relationships with food, weight, or appearance. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder (BED) are general eating disorders.
Eating disorders are treatable. People with these issues must seek treatment, as people with untreated eating disorders risk developing many life-threatening problems.
Are Eating Disorders Common?
Unfortunately, eating disorders are more common than many people realize. Around 30 million Americans have an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are caused by several complex factors, including brain biology, genetics, personality, cultural and social ideas, and mental health issues.
Types of Eating Disorders
There are several types of eating disorders. Some people might have more than one type of disorder.
Anorexia nervosa
People with anorexia Nervosa greatly restrict food and calories, sometimes to the point of self-starvation. Anorexia is characterized by an obsessive desire to lose weight and a refusal to eat healthy amounts of food to provide the body the nutrients and calories it needs to function correctly.
Bulimia nervosa
People dealing with bulimia binge-eat large amounts of food over a short time. After consuming the food, they may force themselves to purge the calories by vomiting, using laxatives, or exercising excessively to eliminate the food and calories from their body.
Binge-eating disorder (BED)
BED is characterized by a person experiencing a loss of control over their eating. They will eat or perceive that they’ve eaten large amounts of food in a short period of time. However, after binging, they don’t purge or burn off calories through exercise. Instead, they feel uncomfortably full and can struggle with regret, shame, guilt, and depression.
Management & Treatment of Eating DisordersEating disorders are the 2nd most lethal psychiatric disorders, next to opioid addiction.
Restricting calories, extreme exercise, or throwing up can and will affect your overall health. Untreated eating disorders place those at risk for serious health problems, including:
How Treating Disorders Are Managed or Treated
Treatments for eating disorders will vary depending on the type of disorder and the individual's specific needs. Experts can help people address and manage food-related issues even without a diagnosis.
Treatments
The best treatment approach is typically a combination of all these professionals working together to get a comprehensive treatment to address the mental, physical, and behavioral aspects.
Dieting isn’t always the solution! If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, please reach out to someone for help. You’re beautiful, loved, and can get through this!
]]>Ignore those strange stereotypical images surrounding a woman lifting weights and do that thing, girl! Even female bodybuilders still look like women. However, lifting some weights when you hit the gym won’t have you looking like any kind of bodybuilder, as that look comes from intense bodybuilding. By all means, if you’re hoping to get a bodybuilding figure, do that thing too!
Muscle Building & Ladies
While men and women are similar structurally, we have many physiological differences affecting each sexes ability to gain muscle mass. Physiology says we can do the same exact workouts while maintaining our individual structure, whether it be male or female.
The main reason we ladies can’t gain muscle mass as quickly or to the extent that men can is because of the difference in hormone status.
Testosterone is responsible for the masculine traits such as facial hair, deep voices, and more hair! It’s one of the androgenic hormones that are responsible for anabolism in our body. Males and females both produce testosterone, since it’s necessary for body function and hormonal balance. However, males have much higher levels of testosterone than females.
The female hormone equivalent to testosterone is estrogen. While estrogen increases growth hormones, it also increases something called SHBG, which will decrease the levels of free testosterone in the body and cortisol, which reduces muscle mass. This is how our bodies balance things out when we lift. It’s how we keep from looking like MEN!
Muscle Types & Muscle Fiber
There is a similar distribution of the percentage of muscle fibers in both men and women. However, women have a 60-80% of the muscle CSA or cross-sectional area, and whole muscle ACSA, anatomical cross-sectional area, than those of males. Meaning, despite the potential for muscle hypertrophy over a short period of time, similar percentages will increase in muscle mass or volume caused by resistance training. The result is smaller total overall gains in ACSA and CSA in females than in males.
The Final Word
A masculinization in females will not happen as a result of heavy weight lifting or training because of the excess of androgenic hormones like testosterone, paired with correct stimulus for muscle growth. Honey, if you want to get into some intense weight-training, don’t allow some myths to creep into your mind causing doubt. Do the darn thing and lift those weights. You will look like an amazingly beautiful woman that someone won’t want to mess with!
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Antioxidant-Filled Foods
Antioxidants are known to have the ability to protect the cells in our body from damage caused by free radicals. Exposure to certain chemicals, pollution, smoking, radiation, and byproducts of regular metabolism activity can trigger the free radicals to wreak havoc on our bodies.
Dietary antioxidants include vitamin A and related carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and various phytochemicals like lutein, lycopene, and quercetin. Natural sources of antioxidants are excellent for their anti-inflammatory properties, which help heal and repair, but antioxidant-rich foods also benefit cleansing our system.
Prebiotic-Filled Foods
Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients often added to “functional foods.” Prebiotics are believed to promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which increases our gastrointestinal health and provides other health benefits.
Increasing the beneficial bacteria in our gut helps detoxify our system while helping our body absorb more nutrients. Prebiotic-filled foods also improve calcium absorption, improves our immune system defense, decrease allergy risks, and provides other positive effects on our metabolism.
Fiber-Filled Foods
Fiber is well-known for its role in digestion, but there’s much more to it than that. Dietary fiber can promote several benefits, including improved control of cholesterol and blood sugar, lowering the risk of heart disease and diabetes, aiding in weight loss, preventing obesity, and can reduce the risk of cancer.
Insoluble fiber doesn’t absorb water and speeds up our digestion process. In turn, the fiber helps our body eliminate waste faster before it has a chance to build up in our body. Adding fiber-rich-foods to our regular diet will pose many benefits, so eat up!
Heart-Healthy FoodFoods that are good for our heart can help us detox our body by lowering our “bad” cholesterol levels. High levels of LDL or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol can cause plaque to form in our arteries. In turn, high cholesterol can lead to a variety of severe conditions.
Hydrating Foods
Hydration is essential for the normal functions of our body. Drinking enough water is one of the primary keys to general well-being, including detoxifying. We can consume various y hydrating foods to help us detox along the way.
Foods To Eat For Detoxing
If you haven’t guessed already, nutritious and healthy food choices are the keys to optimal health and wellness, including regular detox. I’ll keep these sections short and straightforward.
Vegetables
Vegetables thought to be beneficial for a liver detox include:
We can incorporate other healthy veggies into our diet to maintain a healthy and detoxifying diet. These include:
Fruits
Fruits contain phytonutrients that produce numerous health benefits and aid in naturally detoxifying our system. Fresh is always best, but frozen fruits will work as well. Some of the best options to choose for detox include:
If you consider the plethora of healthy food options, you’re bound to find all sorts of food that can help you detox while pleasuring your pallet. Whole grains and complex carbs should be included in your regular diet. Beans, legumes, and healthy fats are essential as well.
Our body is amazing, and it naturally handles most situations thrown its way, including detoxing. Consuming the right foods regularly helps our body do everything it has to, so it can support us in every way possible.
]]>You’re not alone! And, we’re here to help you find that mid-year motivation to get back on track with your personal fitness goals.
Stop Thinking of It As Exercise
Sometimes exercise loses its appeal, causing us to stray away from it in search of something else that might help. Maybe it’s time to find activities that qualify as exercise (basketball, running, skiing, etc.), but they are things you have fun doing. Doing activities we enjoy doing makes the “exercise” fun; therefore, we look forward to doing it again.
Remember, there is no perfect activity for everyone. Suppose you prefer dancing or walking in the park, while for others, it’s CrossFit, Peloton, and Zumba; what works for you may not work for me.
Utilize Incentives
A mega study was published by researchers that tested the effectiveness of over 50 approaches to motivating people to exercise. Over 60 thousand members of the 24-Hour Fitness gym chain were offered a free audiobook, which gave participants something to look forward to while exercising.
If you don’t go to a gym, provide incentives for yourself. Enjoy an episode of your favorite bingeworthy podcast while you work out; audiobooks are an excellent option. If you have a treadmill, watch an episode of your latest go-to series.
Exercise Should Be A Priority
The number one reason most people say they don’t exercise is that they don’t have the time. While that tends to be accurate, the only way to find the time is to make it by prioritizing fitness. Schedule it just as you would an important doctor, dentist, or mechanic visit.
If you can’t find space in your schedule, squeeze exercise in wherever possible. Little things like taking the stairs rather than using the elevator, walking to the shops nearby instead of driving, and moving when you can.
When we consider exercising an option, we allow ourselves to skip or avoid it. Make it a priority, and it will become a healthy habit before you know it.
Exercise might be a priority, but it doesn’t require a rigid or hectic schedule. A 2020 study conducted by Dr. Milkman and several colleagues revealed that being flexible with yourself to meet your fitness goals can increase and boost your chances of succeeding.
Over 2,5000 Google employees, some being randomly assigned to get paid for going to the company gym during a specific time frame scheduled in advance. Rather than forming stronger fitness habits through committed schedules, the study revealed that those who were given flexibility continued their fitness journey even after the incentives ended.
Create an environment that supports success rather than setting yourself up for failure. Cabinets stocked with junk food aren’t the best idea, so instead, fill them with healthier options.
Anticipate how exercising makes you feel. While it might not feel so good when you initially get back into it, once the benefits start flowing, you start experiencing the positive effects.
If you fall or hop off the tracks again, that’s OK. Try to get back up and into your routines right away. We don’t want to completely lose our groove or the work we’ve put in thus far, right?
Finding what works best for you is one of the most vital parts of success. Motivation is sometimes hard to muster up. Consider getting something that makes you want to reach your goals. Maybe a waist trainer, fat cream, an outfit to work out in, or some new equipment.
]]>We’re not here to discuss whether waist trainers work or not, either. Furthermore, we’re bringing the whole truth about waist training to the table, and to reassure you, there’s no reason to be afraid.
Waist Trainers: A Brief 101
Modern waist trainers are similar to the corsets worn over a hundred years ago. Corsets were worn under a woman’s dress to ensure their waistline appeared smaller than it was.
Waist trainers are commonly made using thick and sturdy fabric. Many feature metal boning, which provides support around the torso. Trainers wrap around the torso or midsection with various fasteners: lacing system, hook-and-eye clasps, and sticky fasteners.
Waist trainers are meant to be gradually worn, building up to wearing them for a more extended time until you’re comfortable with them.
Waist training belts won’t cause your body to keep its permanent shape. They’re meant to be a temporary fix with various benefits. The benefits support you along your weight loss journey.
Waist Trainer Benefits
Waist trainers provide short-term results toward the long-term goals. A waist trainer will give an immediate shape-shift if you want to look better in an outfit. You can wear a trainer for specific outfits or on more of a long-term basis.
Wearing a waist trainer helps motivate some people to want to do better with their fitness plans. When worn correctly, a waist trainer can help improve posture. They can also keep you from overeating.
Wearing a waist trainer isn’t going to provide permanent results. However, it leads to them.
Are There Risks To Wearing Waist Trainers?
There are risks with everything? Isn’t that so?
It’s true that waist trainers keep our core tight and nicely compressed, but if they’re overused and depended on, they can lessen our core strength over time. Waist trainers maintain our posture, which is a benefit. However, we should include core exercises into our schedule to avoid becoming lazy.
You may have heard that waist trainers can cause internal damage. That is true, but if it’s worn too tightly and overused. We must listen to the cues our body gives us. If we feel pain or are uncomfortable, it’s best to remove the trainer. You can try to readjust it or give your body a break.
If you’re new to waist training, please take the time to learn the proper ways to wear a waist trainer safely. When worn correctly, they can provide fitness benefits to help with weight loss.
Remember, there isn’t one sole technique, routine, piece of equipment, or regime. The best fitness advice we can share is to incorporate various methods and practices, and you’ll be on your way to the better body you want. You shouldn’t be afraid of waist trainers; you should educate yourself on using them correctly.
]]>Changing your fitness plan isn’t something to feel wrong about. Rather, consider that making changes and adjustments to your workout regime is healthy and beneficial.
We will always be learning new things throughout life and many things about ourselves along the way. It’s OK to learn as you progress throughout your fitness journey.
Sometimes while learning what works, we stumble across what doesn’t.
Figure Out Why The Strategy Didn’t Work
Feeling as though we failed can feel terrible, but failure is only a bad thing when we refuse to learn from it. To be the change we wish to see, we must be honest with ourselves about what went wrong and why.
Plan A New Approach To Fitness
It shouldn’t surprise us when we try the same thing repeatedly without positive results. It’s as if we often expect something different. Once you’ve tried a time or two, face the music and try something new.
Set Goals & Learn How To Reach Them
Someone who wants to get into shape but focuses on spending all their time at the gym on the treadmill will lose weight. Instead, part of their time should be spent on strength training. Knowing the right methods and techniques goes a long way.
Eating Healthy Is The Key
We tend to focus on eating fewer calories rather than eating the right kind of foods. Consuming fewer calories will only get us so far during our weight loss journey. However, adjusting our diet allows us to focus less on counting and more on eating the right things.
Combining healthy eating habits with weight training and cardio will benefit your body on many more levels. Incorporating various techniques will push us along further with more results.
Building Habits & Setting Goals
While some people achieve their fitness goals by setting goals, others should focus on building healthy fitness habits. Creating healthy habits that we follow consistently changes how our mind thinks and what the body craves. Whichever works best for you and provides positive fitness results is what you should go with.
Track Your Results
Take before, during, and after photos of yourself during your fitness journey. Use a journal of sorts to log regular entries about your achievements and goofs. What you track depends on your goals. For instance, log your weekly weight and regular calorie intake if you’re trying to lose weight by cutting calories.
What works for others isn’t always going to work the same for us. That is also true when it comes to something working for you once in the past, with no results in the future. Make the adjustments to your strategy that work for you. Give it a few weeks, and change things if you aren’t feeling and seeing results!
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While some websites and trainers charge for their fitness courses, there are many videos trainers upload for absolutely free on YouTube. We took the liberty of checking into some of the longest top lists and narrowed the list down to a handful of choices.
If there is any equipment required for these routines, it’s very basic items like yoga mats and dumbbells.
1:30-Minute calorie killer HIIT workout
Equipment: Yoga or Exercise Mat
HIIT, or High-Intensity Interval Training, is an excellent way to remix traditional cardio, so it doesn’t get boring. This HIIT workout pushes you to work hard for 50 seconds, with 10 seconds of rest in between; this keeps our heart rate elevated. You don’t need equipment because there are enough floor movements, so all you might need is a floor mat for comfort.
The Calorie Killer HIIT workout isn’t narrated. However, there are visual clues - timer and exercise names and an audio countdown. You’ll need to see the screen to know what exercise is coming up.
2:30-Minutes Fat-burning home workout for beginners
Equipment: Light Dumbbells - Optional
This fat-burning session is a full-length, low-impact workout designed for complete beginners. It’s an excellent introductory workout for people getting started or getting back into shape.
The video is fully-narrated and designed to be followed closely, meaning you’ll want an exercise area that allows you to watch and follow along with the instructor on-screen.
3:30-Minutes Full-body dumbbell workout
Equipment: Exercise Mat / Yoga Mat, Dumbbells
If you seek strength training, this full-body dumbbell workout might interest you. The workout routine includes a four-minute muscle activation to get your body prepared for weightlifting activities.
Since it’s a dumbbell workout, most exercises are supplementary, safe, and easy to learn on your own. Kelsey Wells, the sweat app, leads the workout. You’ll need one pair of dumbbells (however, having multiple weights for different exercises can be beneficial) and an exercise mat with enough space to comfortably move around.
4:30-Minute Full-body Pilates workout
No Equipment
HIIT workouts aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and some people have other things they’re working on, like their core strength. This full-body Pilates core workout routine can benefit your physical and mental health.
Core strength is essential for everything that we do.
5: Strong nation's 30-Minute class
No Equipment
If you’ve never heard of Strong Nation, it’s a Zumba-branded workout. It syncs HIIT movements together perfectly with background music. Be prepared for an intense workout! Technically, it's a HIIT exercise featuring mainly strength and plyometric (jumping) exercises. It’s a nice change of pace from the typical at-home cardio routines.
While you won’t need any equipment for this workout, there is a lot of jumping, and general movement, so a sturdy surface with an open area is recommended. It’s also a good idea to use a surface that isn’t extremely hard to protect your joints from impact.
There are countless training videos online; find what works best for your goals and strategy.
]]>Some of us indeed tend to self-sabotage, but there are things we can learn to do to stop self-sabotaging. We have to be our own support system, even if we have outside support; this way, we can relieve some stress rather than put more on ourselves.
How To Stop Self-Imposed Pressure & StressThe sooner you nip this issue in the bud, the easier it can be to maintain a healthy, happy environment for yourself. Let’s talk about a few things.
High Achievement vs. PerfectionismSome people easily slip into perfectionists habits without realizing there’s a better way to do their best and without beating themselves the entire way. Many perfectionists believe they need to achieve perfection or have failed (at least on some level.) There’s no way this belief doesn’t lead to stress!
The first step is recognizing the difference between being a perfectionist and a high-achiever. Isn’t it less stressful to have a “do your best” attitude rather than a “must be perfect” frame of mind?
We can find ourselves holding on, emotionally, to mistakes we’ve made and noticing more of what we do wrong than what we get right. Holding on like this causes anxiety when we do good jobs that aren’t perfect. That being said, there are better ways to handle it.
Leading A Balanced Life
We can live a full life, but if it isn’t balanced, we can become over-stressed too frequently. How do we draw the line between being overwhelmed and excitedly busy?
It starts with paying attention to how we feel at the end of the day, weekend, or week. Life is busy; some of us have kids, jobs, college, families, overtime, illnesses, dishes, laundry, trash, pets, and so on.
Step back and start paying attention to how you feel at the end of your day, especially at the end of your “weekend” or days off (whenever you’re about to start a new week with new challenges to face). Take a look at your life and schedule to see if you have time for handling those essential self-care activities.
Start with the basic self-care activities.
Taking care of ourselves is a crucial part of stress management. We should always find time to do the little things that help us de-stress.
Let Go of Pessimism, Become More Optimistic
Unrealistic positive thinking isn’t focusing on anything and everything good while ignoring our significant problems or cues. That tends to make mistakes that create more stress.
Realistic positive thinking is when we focus on the positive things without ignoring or failing to address the issues that require attention and response. This mindset or frame of mind allows us to become more effective in life, with less stress to struggle with.
Optimistic thinking is a specific pattern of thinking that allows us to focus our attention on our accomplishments that increase and maximize our confidence, allowing us to do our best throughout the future.
Be All In Your Feelings, The Feel Better
It isn’t healthy to constantly stuff our feelings away or deny how we feel.
To help relieve the pressure and get through stressful times, we should become more aware of how we feel and why. Talk to a friend, family member, or therapist, write your feelings down in a journal, work towards activities that provide a healthy emotional release, and move forward.
Accept Your Weaknesses
Not only should we accept our weaknesses, but everyone else’s as well. Of course, we can give ourselves a break to destress, but how about giving one to everyone else?
Key points here: don’t take things too personally, don’t hold grudges, and try to find the best in others by understanding how things might feel from their perspective. Forgive yourself and others for past mistakes and mishaps, and release some pent-up stress you likely didn’t know existed.
It’s healthy to put a certain amount of pressure on ourselves. However, too much can lead to an unhappy life, over stress, fatigue, and a general feeling of stress. Let it go!
]]>Counting calories any time during a weight loss journey isn’t such a bad idea. However, it’s unrealistic to try and fit it in 365-days a year, every time we eat.
If you think about it, it doesn’t necessarily support a balanced lifestyle; instead, it contributes to stress levels, confusion, and guilt, causing unnecessary frustration. It tends to be one of the top 10 reasons people give up on their fitness goals.
Maybe we should let go of calorie counting as one of the primary elements of reaching our fitness goals. Forming healthy eating habits can produce results, and the benefits are long-term.
Top 3 Reasons To Skip Counting Calories For Weight Loss
Counting calories regularly can lead to eating disorders. It doesn’t necessarily solve underlying problems that may be making it difficult to maintain your weight.
Putting so much focus and concentration takes away from the experience and pleasure of the “food experience.” Eating isn’t meant to be shoveling food into our face because of a time constraint like lunch break for school or work. Military personnel are given a limited time to eat as they prepare for potential emergency situations.
We are meant to have a whole experience that tantalizes our five senses.
What does the food or dish look like? What colors pop out at you? Are they dull or bright?
What can you smell? Can you pick out the various spices, herbs, and ingredients?
What does the texture feel like in your mouth? If it’s something you eat with your hands, what does that feel like?
Does it taste good? What flavors can you describe?
Is it crunchy? Can you hear the crisp lettuce or the sizzle of the sauce?
How is counting calories beneficial?
If a person is on a calorie-specific diet for health or weight-loss reasons, it makes sense to count calories. At the beginning of our fitness journey, it is helpful to count calories to lose any extra weight before we start toning up.
Those are two of the main ways counting calories is beneficial.
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Many of us have started a new fitness regime or program only to turn around and quit. Often, we stop because we’re bored, don’t enjoy it, or become impatient waiting for results.
Utilizing the tools or techniques below can help you remain motivated throughout your fitness journey.
Set Attainable Goals
When you begin any journey, it’s best to start with setting simple goals, then progress to longer-range goals. Keep in mind to keep your milestones realistic and achievable. When our goals are too ambitious, it is counterproductive, often leading to feeling frustrated and giving up.
Keep It Fun
If you prefer to work out at home, look for online videos and resources to keep you in the mood. Dancing, jogging, biking, and numerous other activities make excellent options. When you start a new fitness program, give it a week or two, and if you’re not feeling it, find something else instead.
Physical Activity Should Be Part of A Daily Routine
If you schedule your workouts the same way you would other important activities, it helps keep us from making excuses. Slip physical activity in throughout the day by taking stairs instead of the elevator, walking to the shop rather than driving, or taking a walk during your lunch break.
Every bit of physical activity adds up in the end. Suppose you work from home; in that case, take time to stretch, walk or get active however works best for you.
Put It In Black & WhiteSchool taught us something from day one: writing and repetition help us remember and act. Writing down our goals provides us with a visual reminder of the accomplishments we’re trying to reach.
As our journey proceeds, we should also write down the little achievements along the way. Keeping an exercise journal can help us work toward our goals, reminding us of our progress thus far.
We don’t have to face fitness alone. Team up with friends, family, or co-workers. Enjoy outdoor physical activity with the kids or hit the gym with friends. You can encourage and motivate one another to keep up the excellent work.
Don’t Forget The Rewards
Rewards don’t always have to come in material form; they can be as small as reveling in the positive emotions you have from completing a fitness goal. Internal rewards allow us to make long-term commitments to regular exercise. Our brain and body become trained, and it craves those good feelings.
External rewards are also nice. Once you reach moderate or long-term goals, treat yourself to some new gear, a spa day, or whatever it is you enjoy indulging in.
Remain Flexible
Flexibility is different from slacking or laziness. For instance, suppose you’ve been too busy with work or the kids to work out; take a day or two off. If you NEED a break, go easy on yourself and take it. The important part is not allowing a couple of days to turn into a month because it can happen quickly.
What works for one person may not for another. This basic formula is the foundation for helping us keep ourselves motivated to reach our goals and stay fit. Everything we do matters!
]]>Those of us who reach our healthy weight and maintain it have similar habits. These habits are far from anything extreme or crazy. But, they consistently allow us to commit and lead a healthy lifestyle.
After all, our health and fitness should matter regardless of what new fad is trending. Let’s go!
Breakfast FUELS The Day
Back in elementary school and even before that, many of us learned or at least heard about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. While all meals are important, breakfast is one that we should avoid skipping.
Studies show that eating breakfast can help improve our satiety, focus, and energy levels throughout our day. Skipping breakfast is like rushing to work without stopping to fill up the gas tank, only to find yourself running on fumes and late for work.
Getting into the habit of eating a healthy, balanced breakfast will help us in the long run because it provides the much-needed energy for general activity and function. Still, it also reduces cravings and growling tummies later in the day.
Stay Hydrated & Be Extra When Necessary
Our body contains more than 50% water. It should not come as a surprise that drinking water is necessary to maintain our bodies' fluid balance. The fluid balance is essential for transporting nutrients throughout our bodies. Staying hydrated means the nutritional benefits of the food we eat will flow easier and even more quickly.
Drinking water can make us feel full, which isn’t bad unless we aren’t eating enough. Also, when we stress and work our muscles, they lose water. Without rehydrating, our muscles will become tired faster, and your stamina may decrease.
Set Deadlines…. And Stick To Them
We are often more efficient and likely to reach our fitness goals when a deadline is present. A deadline eliminates procrastination, making the goals seem tangible and realistic (which they should be).
There is something about terminology and our brain. The word deadline sounds serious; shouldn’t our fitness be serious? Goals and deadlines are the gateways to a successful finish. Get in shape, and stay in shape!
Think Ahead
Make it a habit to be prepared. It’s best NEVER to assume healthy options will be readily available when you’re not in your own kitchen.
Breaking bad habits and forming new ones can be difficult on many levels. If it was normal to stop at a burger joint to grab lunch for a long time, we might want to consider making lunch dates with ourselves to find more suitable options; if there aren’t any, we might be better off packing our lunch.
Stay Consistent
Consistency is the key to long-term fitness and weight loss results, and everyday life goals in general.
We will have days when we dread working out, so we skip it. Overindulging happens occasionally; an extra cookie or two or an extra cheat day because it’s a holiday. That’s nothing to sweat about.
What truly matters is that we are staying consistent with our eating habits a majority of the time. If most of the time we’re making healthy choices, we’re doing great; it’s when we only exercise good eating habits that we need to work on our mindset.
Choose Whole, Real Foods
Overly processed foods don’t have much nutritional value, if much at all. Making it a habit to choose whole, unprocessed food that are as close to the original source as possible is a must. Whole foods fill our body with more nutrients than food fluffed with unnecessary filler.
Examples of Whole Foods
Some foods have to be processed because they can’t be eaten raw. Some processing is ok, for instance, pickles. Simply try to limit or eliminate hyper-processed things full of ingredients that are difficult to pronounce; not to mention unnecessary.
Making it a habit to fill your home with healthy food options makes them a more convenient option. If we don’t have greasy, salty chips and sugary snacks readily available, and instead had better options, we’d reach for them.
Any changes we want to make about ourselves require the formulation of new habits, and breaking old ones. Once the negative habit or behavior is replaced with a positive option, our tendencies and even cravings shift.
Good habits are the key to seeing long-term weight loss results. Why work so hard to get where you are, to turn around and sabotage the results? Form good habits, stick to your plan, and before you know it, you’ll be happy, healthy, and might I say impressed with yourself!
]]>While a plain helping of Brussel's sprouts may seem drab and flavorless, or maybe the texture is awkward, cooking vegetables in various ways can significantly increase their flavor and palatability and change the texture.
Disliking some vegetables might be because of a specific gene that makes some compounds taste more bitter. This is why some vegetables don’t taste good. Since eating healthy is so important, we want to share ways to help you enjoy eating more veggies.
Tips & Techniques For Trying To Enjoy Eating Veggies
Add A Bit of Vegetables To Foods You Like
Incorporating vegetables into your diet can be as simple as adding tomatoes and lettuce to a sandwich, adding veggies to an omelet, or tossing up some stir-fry.
Cook For A Different Texture
Some of us don’t appreciate the texture of over-boiled mushy vegetables. Look for recipes that change the texture to something more your style. Oven-roasting, steaming, frying, and grilling vegetables can alter their texture and change their flavor.
Go For Frozen
Buying fresh produce only to toss it in the trash after a week of not using it can cause us to stray from buying any at all. While fresh is usually best, frozen will do the trick, and frozen veggies aren’t lacking nutrition.
Veggies For Breakfast
If spinach and tomatoes are off-putting on a breakfast menu, try adding smoothies to the menu. There are numerous smoothie recipes containing fruits and vegetables that taste incredible. If you have good recipes to follow, it’s likely you won’t even notice kale or carrot is blended in with the pineapple and strawberry.
Play Around With Flavors
Don’t be afraid to play around with flavor combinations for your vegetables. You may not appreciate swish chard stalks until you cook them with olive oil and garlic drizzle and top them with grated Parmesan cheese.
Snack Size
It can be a hassle trying to have a salad or stir-fry when we're on the go, especially if you’re in the car. Get some snack-size veggies like grape and cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, carrot sticks, and mushrooms.
Make Soup
Those who don’t love vegetables but enjoy soup will often eat soup with vegetables in it. If that sounds like you, eat more soup and add more veggies to them.
Vegetables contain essential nutrients our body needs for optimal physical health and well-being. If you’re not a fan of all veggies but like some of them, increase your intake of them and see if you can find other similar varieties to try out.
If you’re not the next best chef, that’s ok. Meal kits can provide instructions to teach you. Or hop online and see what videos you can find to guide you. Don’t let vegetables intimidate you or your palette; there are ways to find love for them.
]]>One of the first steps to reaching our wellness and fitness goals, along with addressing what we feed our body regularly, is to become more aware of the thoughts and emotions we feed our minds. There are different habits we can create or strengthen that will help us always stay accountable. Self-awareness leads to accountability!
Self-Awareness For Health & Fitness
Self-Honesty (Keep it real with ourselves)
It is essential to be completely honest with ourselves regularly, especially to promote change. We have to be honest about how our daily choices impact our health.
Need an idea? We’ll tell ya, but it must be done without judging our responses for this to work.
Make a list of healthy habits that support overall fitness (physical and mental). Then, make a second list of the unhealthy habits that make us feel poorly about ourselves or our decisions. The end result, seeing the choices we make in black and white, allows us to identify any habits we want to change.
Be Accountable
Becoming or being accountable helps solidify our benchmarks and allows our peers to offer encouragement and support along our fitness journey. Holding ourselves accountable to others can also help us stay responsible for ourselves.
Get Zen! Calm Your Mind!
Regularly practicing calming meditations can help us increase our levels of awareness. You don’t have to get any special equipment or gear; five minutes a day in a quiet location has benefits.
Many people believe that meditation helps builds self-love and acceptance.
Stop Self-Sabotage
One of the main reasons people part ways with their fitness goals is self-defeating mental patterns, also known as self-sabotage. We all experience them at one time or another. You know, that voice that whispers words causing doubt like, “you’re never going to lose that much weight” or “you might as well give up; this will be so hard.”
You’re not alone. These thoughts are a natural resistance caused as a response to change. While the thoughts may be persistent, they’re also temporary and will fade into the distance. Before we know it, we hear positive thoughts cheering ourselves on.
While it’s easier for some than others to help stave off invasive chatter, it’s possible. Simply acknowledge the thought and actively reset your inner conversation by taking every negative thought as a reminder to swap it out with a positive one.
Look For The Good Things
Home, life, work, kids, or whatever they may be for an individual are responsibilities we juggle daily. Sometimes, we’re left with little room to find the good things; we should be using our sense of self-awareness to identify or remember the things that make us happy and then make more time to enjoy them.
Ease up where it’s needed and batten down the hatches. Self-awareness is the key to reaching health and fitness goals and accomplishing many things in our lives.
Our mental and physical wellness should remain balanced, as our overall health rests on the foundation provided by our minds. Our mental state has an impact on our physical being. Increasing our self-awareness strengthens us at our core!
]]>Regular breaks or rest allow our body to repair and recover from day-to-day wear and tear and added exercise. Rest is a critical part of progress, and skipping it can lead to burnout or overtraining.
Benefits of Rest Days
We often hear about the benefits and advantages of getting regular exercise. Today we’ll touch on some advantages of taking normal rest days.
Recovery TimeA day of rest isn’t about being lazy. Resting is essential for muscle growth. The University of Colorado, Boulder explains how strenuous workouts can cause muscle breakdown; resting allows them to build back up.
Exercise causes or creates microscopic tears in our muscle tissues. While we rest, reparative cells (fibroblasts) repair them, which helps the tissues heal and grow. Thus, strengthening the muscles.
Another important factor is our muscles store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. While we exercise, the stored carbs “fuel” our workout. Resting allows our body the time it needs to replenish the energy source before the next workout session.
Reduces The Risk of Injury
Overworking our body and mind can have a negative impact on regular activities. If we’re overworked, there’s more of a chance that we might drop a weight on our foot, misstep, or lose balance.
Overtraining exposes our muscles to repetitive strain and stress. Can you guess what comes next? Yes, this increases the risk of sustaining overuse injuries.
In turn, extra days of rest become necessary, which can negatively impact our fitness training than taking a day when we should’ve.
Improve PerformanceWithout enough rest, running through our regular routine can become complicated, let alone present a new challenge. Suppose we wanted to run an extra mile or do another rep; the motivation might not be there if we're not rested.
Overtraining decreases our performance by reducing our endurance, slower reaction times, and sloppy agility. Getting that day of rest will produce the opposite effects by increasing our energy levels and preventing fatigue.
Prevent Muscle Fatigue
Speaking of fatigue, rest days are essential for avoiding unnecessary exercise-induced fatigue. Exercise depletes our muscle’s glycogen levels, and if they’re not replaced, our muscles become sore and fatigued.
Healthy Sleep
The end of the circle is the beginning! Regular exercise can improve our sleep, but those rest days are helpful.
This is because physical activity increases cortisol and adrenaline, energy-boosting hormones. Constant exercise without rest causes an overproduction of these hormones, which leads to difficulty getting a good night's sleep, fueling fatigue and exhaustion.
How individuals spend their rest days varies depending on their regular workout routine. While some spend the day exercise free, lazing about relaxing, others can’t help but take a brisk walk or do yoga. Regardless of what you do, make sure you get REST on your rest days! Remember, rest is best 24-hours after every workout!
]]>Suppose you find yourself putting in your all without significant results. In that case, this is an excellent time to assess the workout routines you practice and see if there are mistakes in the way you’re doing things. No worries, you’re not alone, and this doesn’t ONLY happen to women.
Not Pushing Enough WeightMany women are nervous about becoming too muscular, and as a result, they tend to go for the least amount of weight. We’re not weaklings; we don’t have to start at a 1-pound dumbbell because the gym is new to us. Check and see how all the weights feel when you find something that causes a bit of resistance when you lift it, that’s likely your best starting weight.
We’re UnbalancedOne of the most common mistakes we make is focusing on a specific body part. Sure, that area gets a regular workout, but the rest of our body is left unattained. Not to mention, if we continue putting all of our focus on one area over a long period of time, it can gradually lead to an injury.
It’s OK to add more focus on a specific body part, but be sure your whole body gets enough exercise too. Balance is necessary!
We Don’t Check Our Form EnoughThere is a proper way to do things. We focus on the exercise or workout routine, but not our form or method. It’s crucial to concentrate on the way we’re performing sets of exercises. If you’re unsure, talk to an instructor or check into it on the web.
Focusing On One Type of WorkoutCardio and strength training workouts are crucial for fitness. We're unbalanced if our sole focus is on one without the other. Cardio is beneficial for burning fat, while strength training helps our metabolism. Combining both types of workouts will give us results.
Where Is Our Post Workout Fuel?It’s common to see men making protein drinks after their workout. While some women do the same, many skips this option of refueling. Protein helps replenish and rebuild our muscles. It’s essential to refuel our bodies when we’re done working out. It doesn’t have to be a protein shake; you could choose a protein bar or protein-filled foods.
Skipping The Warming Up & Cooling Down ProcessHaving high standards is excellent for success throughout life in general. However, sometimes we set unrealistic goals that aren’t attainable, leading to failure. Failure doesn’t feel good, and it can add to the pressure of wanting to throw in the towel. Set small goals and reach them a little at a time.
There’s nothing wrong with starting low and slow.
]]>Life gets busy, but we can’t let it get in the way. Sure, it can be faster to hit the drive-through, but it’s not going to help you reach your fitness goals. Make time in your schedule for meal planning, grocery shopping, and meal prepping. Then you can ensure you have healthy choices at the tip of your fingers.
Learn as many time-saving tricks as you can. Buy pre-cut produce, use a slow-cooker or crockpot for meals, and double recipes to ensure you’ve got leftovers to freeze or refrigerate. Keep a list somewhere you will see it and include quick, healthy meals and snacks, so you’ve got something to work with on the fly. It also makes shopping and cooking go smoother too.
Making too many changes at once can cause us to fail before we even start. Making small changes over time will still have a significant impact, and it isn’t as overwhelming. Feeling overwhelmed leads to stress, and better body goals should feel positive! There’s no reason to make managing a diet more challenging; it only leads to feelings of self-doubt.
Mastering small changes allows you to gain confidence, and every slight improvement will become a part of your lifestyle. Once a new habit is successfully incorporated, start with the next one. Remember, change is a process, not an event.
Our attitude and mindset play a larger part in a healthy lifestyle and making a diet work than one might assume. Once you make your decision to change your eating habits, you might feel like there’s no room for error. We are human, and we might backslide or encounter various setbacks. With the all-or-nothing attitude, one setback can feel like a failure, which leads to quitting.
You’re aiming for progression, not perfection! Setbacks are merely bumps in the road, but you keep on driving! The change will take time, and you can get there if you keep going!
Starting a healthy lifestyle can mean we should cut back or give up on some of the foods we love. Eating healthier doesn’t mean it’s the end for some of your favorites. A healthy and successful diet is about learning how to eat a variety of foods; however, it has to be in moderation.
Self-control is essential for change to take place. It’s easy to eat seconds of our favorite dessert, but everything isn’t supposed to come easy. What’s not easy is suffering from some form of chronic illness or disease. Any verified diet will work if you work it!
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Intermittent fasting is also known as ‘restricted eating,’ but for someone sounds less intimidating. Who likes feeling restricted? Especially when it comes to favorite foods. Either way, intermittent fasting has proved to be just as effective a weight-loss technique as complicated diets.
One of the theories from Dr. Artur Viana is; when we practice time-restricted eating, we typically consume fewer calories. Some of us have stretched our bellies a bit and need time to shrink the stomach back to the average size it should be.
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting. Nothing tells you specific foods to eat, rather when to eat them. It’s not a diet in any conventional sense; it’s more appropriately described as an eating pattern.
One common intermittent fasting practice involves a 16-hour, daily fast or fasting for 24 hours, twice a week. Fasting isn’t a new practice; in fact, it’s an ancient practice practiced by many people throughout the world.
There isn’t one set way of practicing intermittent fasting. There are several methods, each splitting the day or week into fasting and eating patterns.
During a fasting period, you would eat very little or nothing at all.
Reducing our calorie intake can help with weight loss as long as we overeat during the eating periods. Many people feel that the 16/8 method is the easiest to stick to and the most sustainable.
When you practice intermittent fasting and exercise regularly, you can lose weight and improve your overall health and wellness. We often consume too many calories and exert too little. It should be the other way around; we should eat and utilize the nutrients to provide everything we need, including energy.
Consuming too many calories can be extremely easy. We don’t all have the time to count calories, and nutrition doesn’t seem as widely taught as it once was. Being mindful is a part of intermittent fasting, dieting, and general health. To succeed at anything, we must be aware of what we put into our body, how often, and how beneficial it was. It can be faster and easier to make mindless choices. Still, thoughtless decisions can lead to health issues, and prevention is the best medicine.
]]>Utilize Your Resources
YouTube and other online media resources have tons of incredible workout videos you can follow along with for free. Libraries typically have a section on sports and exercise; why not check out the potential there? You don't NEED a gym to practice Zumba. The material is available if only you look for it.
Go Play At The Park
If you have kids or pets to take to the park, take advantage of the opportunity and get a workout in while you're there. Considering that playgrounds are literally obstacle courses, there isn't much of a reason that one couldn't work as a means of exercise. The monkey bars are great for pull-ups. Simply run the entire course or make use of what serves you.
Many parks have scenic trails if you're into jogging or walking. Cardio workouts are some of the best for overall fitness and health. Climbing to the top of the jungle gym and back down can be a fun way to work those glutes and thighs.
Partner Up
Find a fitness buddy and work out together if it's the company you prefer. This can be at a park, in your backyard, basement, or in a cornfield. That part doesn't matter so much. You can also get the family involved and get in shape together.
Chores Galore
Anyone who has spent hours dusting, mopping, vacuuming, and doing laundry knows that it's a bit of a workout. You can turn chores into a workout by adding a weighted vest, wristbands, ankle bands, and waist trainers. Why not kill two birds with one stone.
Adding weighted gear keeps your hands free while adding extra pounds. Waist trainers will keep your body aligned with good posture and promote sweating. You could use these same items at the park or while you're out for a run.
Be Inventive & Creative
Get creative and open your mind to the opportunities. If you don't have any dumbbells or a kettle ball for specific exercises, find something else that can do the trick or comes close. Half-gallon jugs filled with water add extra weight while doing arm curls.
Take advantage of any and all opportunities to swim. Swimming and walking give our entire body a workout. Gardening, hiking, and bike riding are excellent ways to enjoy a gym-free activity.
Getting into shape and maintaining our weight has to do with being active. There is no rule or law that states we have to work out in a gym with membership. Enjoy exercising from the comfort of your home or wherever works best for you, and don't bother others. The more excuses we make, the less likely we are to reach any personal goals we set. Step up, stay strong, stay motivated, and put your back into it!
]]>Are you familiar with the term “feeling blue”? When people feel blue, they generally feel down in response to disappointment, discouragement, and even grief. Emotions and colors seem to go hand-in-hand. For instance, the color yellow tends to evoke a feeling of happiness and cheer. We’ve seen people bring gift baskets full of yellow or neon yellow items to help cheer someone up.
If you think about the color gray, it’s created from blending black and white. Meaning it is somewhere in the middle. There are always two ways to look at things, positive or negative. Gray clouds in the sky indicate rain, and they block out the beautiful yellow sun. Without enough sun, we can get depressed.
When someone’s skin is gray, it’s not a good thing. When it comes to emotions, the color gray can define feeling listless and drained. While the color gray can be calming and dispassionate, too much of it can be depressing.
Lilac is a shade of purple, and purple colors can have a wide variety of emotional and psychological effects. While some shades of purple can bring about feelings of calm and spirituality, lilac can represent feeling stuck.
Again, it’s more of a color created by blending two, which makes sense why it denotes feeling stuck and powerless for some. Remember, every color will be different for each individual. Maybe for you, lilac is something more positive.
How could any neon color be anything but positive and bright? That being said, neon pink can bring inspiration and creativity. Perhaps that’s why back in the 80’s and early 90’s people who went to the gym could be found wearing neon-colored spandex and clothing.
Creativity comes in so many shapes and forms. When it comes to reaching our goals, sometimes we have to be creative about getting there. No money or time for a gym membership? Fill some half-gallons with sand or water and use them as weights
As I mentioned earlier, yellow can bring about happy feelings and emotions. Neon yellow is optimistic and cheerful. Honestly, many happy and positive emotions are associated with the color yellow.
The colors we wear, what we see, and what surrounds us can indeed impact our emotions and mental state. If your office space is drab and dull, that might shine through with your attitude and performance. However, if we add a little splash of color and brightness, it might change things up like you’d never believe.
The next time you’re feeling stuck, down, listless and drained, consider the colors surrounding you. It wouldn’t hurt anything to add a splash of neon yellow or pink. If anything, it could infiltrate your emotions with more positive and outgoing emotions. We all work hard to achieve the final results at the end of the tunnel. It isn’t always easy, and it’s not meant to be, but there is always something we can do to keep on keeping on.
I hope your days are full of bright colors that shine like the sun. If the color gray is favorable for you by chance, I hope many gray days are ahead.
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Targeted weight loss, also known as, spot reduction, is an extremely popular idea because it’s appealing to our intuition. It does seem to be pretty reasonable to assume that the fat we’re burning during specific workouts would come from the targeted area. However, that’s not how our body works and science shows us different. Now, as we said, targeting muscle groups to improve or increase muscle mass DOES work, but the fat doesn’t melt away around the abs merely because we’re doing crunches.
104 participants completed a 12-week resistance training program in a 2007 study led by the University of Connecticut. Under close supervision, the targeted exercises were performed and the subcutaneous fat was monitored for differences. The MRI assessments of their fat before and after showed us that the fat loss tended to be generalized rather than localized. Myth busted!
Physiological Reasons Why Targeted Weight Loss Doesn’t Work
There are a few basic reasons why targeted weight loss cannot be obtained.
Fat loss or targeted weight loss comes down to the basic principle of how many calories you use versus how many you absorb. Sure, doing daily crunches will effectively strengthen your abdominal muscles, but it’s not likely going to burn fat localized in that region. The best way to think and act on weight loss is to reduce our overall body fat by combining cardiovascular exercises with weight training, and nutrition. Only then, will those pesky fat cells be defeated.
Choose healthier foods, exercise regularly, and keep your mind on the prize.
Not Knowing YOUR Reasons “Why”
Sure, it’s easy to answer why you’re working out with a simple “I want to lose weight” works but why? What is driving your goal to lose weight, build muscle, or whatever the goal is? It can cause us to lose motivation if we don’t know or consider why we are doing whatever it is.
For some of us, the lack of WHY can become an obstacle. It gets in the way, even though it sounds like it shouldn’t. Knowing why we want to reach goals helps us keep our eye on the prize at the end of the tunnel. It’s easy to look the other way and move on, but that’s not going to help achieve goals. Always remember your reasons why, and it can help you eliminate that unnecessary obstacle you may have not even realized was present.
Not Setting A Game Plan
Setting your goals and getting excited about them is only half of the fun. When you don’t create a game plan for achieving your goals, it might not happen. Once again, you’re creating a bump in your own road.
Let’s stick with the goal being to lose weight. Having a goal doesn’t give you the steps to reaching that goal. You’ll have to formulate a plan that works for you so you can lose weight. Maybe include things like how much time you’ll dedicate a week to working out, how your diet can change, and any other steps that help you do what you’re setting out to. Not having a plan is like having a destination set without directions on how to get there.
A Lack of Confidence
Having confidence, not to be confused with arrogance, is an essential aspect to succeeding. A lack of confidence is only another bump in your road. It can be hard for some of us to remain or have confidence, but it’s important to try and muster some up if we want to reach our health and fitness goals. You might have some goals that seem intimidating but similar to a child learning to walk, you have to take it one step at a time. It’s all about finding the right perspective about everything to get where you want to go!
Not Enough Resources
Some health and fitness goals can take a lot of prep time or training. This can be challenging when you work full-time or have other obligations that take precedence over another aspect. You don’t need expensive equipment to get the job done. Little things like waist training belts and body bands can provide a similar workout intensity minus a trip to the gym. Maybe you want to eat healthier, but lunch break only allows you enough time to hit a fast food restaurant. Consider trying meal prep in advance, and you can eat healthy all the time.
We don’t mean to be our worst enemy or obstacle. Often, we don’t realize that the problem has to do with us. Push past any excuses, find the root of the issue, and work towards improving yourself by eliminating obstacles you may or may not have put in your own way. We’ve all been guilty of it at one point or another.
We are often encouraged to try harder when things get tough. That seems logical, but is it really? Trying “harder” might actually be counterproductive. Sometimes trying harder at what we’re already trying hard to do doesn’t actually increase our likelihood of success.
If you’re not getting the results you’re looking for, quit trying harder. It’s better to step back and analyze things. Take a look at your goals and any strategies you’ve been using to reach these goals. Instead of banging your head against the wall and trying harder, try something new. Adjust the approach you’ve been taking and shift your energy and results by changing the activities, behaviors, environment, and mindset.
When you recognize that you’ve not put in the effort, you could’ve, ask yourself what it would take for you to be more committed, and then work on that. For those times when you genuinely have put in all of your efforts, you have to look and see what’s in the way, keeping you from reaching your goals.
Try to see if you can try a different approach. Suppose you’re working on losing extra weight, and you’ve been full-force into working out; however, you’re not eating the best diet. You can make the necessary changes to help you get the results you want. Why try harder at the gym when the energy needs to go elsewhere?
So, what can we do if we’re not supposed to keep trying harder? Focus on these things:
Try! Make an effort in the best ways you can, and you will succeed. Trying too hard causes so many negative emotions, and we don’t think it works for everyone. Not that you shouldn’t try hard; instead, don’t waste your effort over-trying! It doesn’t feel good, and it’s honestly more counterproductive than trying at all.
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Coffee, the drink so many of us wake up to, even having seconds and thirds every day! But, could coffee be leading to weight gain?
Before you dump out that mug, read on to get all the details!
There’s research surrounding coffee and weight gain, as well as weight loss, and we actually found that it can do both! But HOW? You see, coffee has different effects on different people. Similar to anything we consume, people metabolize coffee differently.
Did you know that depending on the person, coffee can take anywhere from 2.3 hours to 9.9 hours to metabolize half the caffeine consumed?
Scientists at Anglia Ruskin University in England looked into the relationship between how many cups of coffee are consumed daily and total body fat and trunk fat. The results found that women in all age brackets who drink 3 to 4 cups of java a day had lower total body fat than those who consume less.
It has to do with the bioactive compounds in the coffee aside from caffeine that regulate weight, and it might help control weight. We know this might sound confusing because we’re supposed to be talking about how coffee makes us fat.
While drinking coffee might boost the metabolism, adding sugar and cream can decrease our appetite. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Some people end up overeating because they tend to eat until their stomach is stretched to feel full. This is why it’s a good idea to try and eat something before you have coffee. Too many cups of coffee, back-to-back, will leave you feeling full, but then your body will crave the vital nutrients from the food we eat, so it’s not really a win-win situation.
Caffeine and hunger activate the stress axis and raise the stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is responsible for increasing our appetite. Coffee and caffeine can increase stress. Higher stress levels lead to higher abdominal fat. There is evidence that more body fat leads to a more elevated cortisol output, and thus creates a vicious cycle.
Coffee might effectively increase our metabolism; however, it may still encourage weight gain. The train rides both ways.
Are you sleeping enough?
Caffeine is a stimulant, and it works by blocking the effects of adenosine. Adenosine is a chemical in our brain that makes us sleepy. We often hear about happy chemicals like dopamine, but we rarely hear anything about adenosine. That jolt of energy from the coffee is excellent, but it leads to disrupted sleep patterns when we consume it later in the day.
What do you put IN your coffee?
Many of us enjoy a sweet cup. Caffeine can alter our perceived sense of sweetness, resulting in the craving for sugary, sweet foods. When we add too much sugar into our daily diet, it will eventually lead to weight gain. Using sugar and then topping it off with flavored creamers leads to slow weight gain. BUT! There’s a way to counteract sugar cravings. Try having your cup of coffee with food that provides a source of protein and healthy fats.
Nuts often pair well with coffee, or you can have an egg or two for breakfast with your morning brew. Healthy fat and protein both promote a feeling of fullness, which can reduce sugar cravings.
If you’re one of the lucky ones whose metabolism increases when they drink coffee, that’s fantastic. But if you’re a mere mortal like us, you might want to make a few changes in the way you drink your coffee.
Add less sugar or drink fewer cups. You could also increase the amount of physical activity throughout the day to help burn off those pesky calories from your Grande coffee from Starbucks.
We love coffee just as much as the next person! But we to be mindful of our mind and body, so we don’t overdo it. Limiting your coffee intake to four cups a day is a good level to stay. Anymore could lead to weight gain and a heap of other issues. Enjoy your coffee, but be aware of any potential side effects to still have the best of both worlds.
]]>Planning and preparing meals ahead of the game will have you on your way to eating right in no time. Instead of rushing out during your lunch break for some fast food, you can be relaxing with a delicious dish that's going to provide so much more than a greasy stain on your shirt.
If you're intimidated or uncomfortable with cooking, there are loads of tricks to help you get delicious results anyway! Are you ready for meal prep?
1. Meat Three Ways: Lean meat like chicken is a healthy choice. You can save time with your meal prep by making chicken three ways in one pan. The clean-up is easy, and the flavors are banging. Use aluminum foil as dividers in the pan. Choose your three flavor season blends, and there you have it. Then when it's time to toss your meals together, you've got a variety to choose from rather than one flavor profile.
2. Freeze Blende Smoothies: Mornings can be rough for some of us. Sometimes it seems easier to head out and buy an energy drink, but wait! Take some time on a day off and whip up your favorite smoothie blends for the next week or two. Pour your smoothie mix into a muffin pan. Once they're completely frozen, pop them out, and toss them in a baggie. Now, in the morning, all you have to do is throw a few smoothie cups into a high-powered blender, and you're off!
3. Go To Veggie Town: Chop, dice, or spiralize your raw veggies in advance. When you get hangry in the evening, you'll save some precious time. A spiralizer will make spiralizing veggies a breeze. Zucchini noodles and butternut squash will stay fresh for 3 to 5 days if properly stored. Chopped vegetables like carrots, onion, and pepper can last about a week when stored properly. Once all your vegetables are prepped, you can refrigerate or freeze them and use them as needed.
4. Oatmeal Jars: Fiber-rich foods are ideal for holding you over until lunchtime. Avoid the instant packets because they contain so many added sugars and unnatural ingredients. Get a glass jar with a lid, toss in your oatmeal and your favorite blend, and it's ready to go. Add some hot water and let it infuse right before eating. This same technique works for salads on the go. Pro-tip, add the dressing right before you eat, or the salad will go soggy.
5. Portions: Eating healthy is all about the type of food and how much we eat. Using glass jars for our snack portions can help us avoid overeating. It's easy to munch on pretzels before you realize you've eaten them all in one shot. A little clear jar only holds so much, and you might feel some kind of way reaching for a second jar.
There are so many incredible meal prep ideas out there, making it difficult to choose only five. But five is a great place to get you started! We hope these meal prep ideas will help you along your healthy eating journey!
]]>Metabolism and metabolic rate are often used interchangeably. Our metabolic rate is the number of calories we burn. The higher our numbers are, the more calories we burn, as well as it being easier to lose weight and keep it off.
Having a high-functioning metabolism helps provide us with a sufficient amount of energy and helps us feel better. We don't all have a high metabolism, so we've decided to share a few ways you can increase your metabolism, so it works better for you.
Pack In Protein
Eating increases our metabolism for a few hours. This is known as the thermic effect of food or TEF. It is caused by extra calories needed to digest, absorb, and process nutrients from our food.
Protein causes the most significant rise in our TEF, increasing the metabolic rate by 15-30% compared to the average 5-10% from carbs and 0-3% from fats. Consuming protein has also shown us that it makes us feel more full and prevents overeating.
Consuming more healthy protein can also help reduce the drop of the metabolism associated with losing fat. It reduces muscle loss which is a common side-effect of dieting.
Drink Cold Water
Water is life! When we consume more water than sugar-filled drinks, we're more successful at losing weight and keeping it that way. Replacing the calories from sugary beverages with water automatically reduces your caloric intake. It might also temporarily speed up your metabolism. Water is good but cold water can increase the effects even more significantly. Water also helps fill you up!
High-Intensity Workouts
HIITs or high-intensity workouts involve quick, intense bursts of activity with a moment of rest between. You can burn more fat by increasing the metabolic rate even after your intense workout is complete. Mixing up your regular exercise routine and adding a few high-intensity activities can definitely boost your metabolism and burn fat!
Lift Heavy Items
Our muscles are more metabolically active than fat is. Building muscle can help increase our metabolism. You can burn more calories every day, even during a day of rest. Lifting weights can help retain our muscles and combat the drop in metabolism that can take place during weight loss. Remember, higher amounts of muscle will result in a higher metabolism naturally.
Stand Up More Often
Sitting on our bum too often is bad for our health. Long periods of sitting burn fewer calories and only adds to weight gain. We've heard that an afternoon of standing up at work can burn as much as over 170 calories! If you're stuck behind a desk or sitting more often than standing, try to stand in intervals as often as you can.
Our metabolism will only continue to be slow if we don't do something about it. These simple techniques can increase our metabolism, having us feeling great with every day that comes to pass. Do what you have to do to take care of yourself! Your health is essential!
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