Are you in rut with your exercise? It’s easy to fall into a routine of doing the same things over and over. The exercises are comfortable and familiar, and you don’t have to really think about executing them.
To increase your fitness level and workout for better fat loss, you need to continue challenging your body. It’s good to throw in new exercises and do things that are different than what you’re used to.
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I’ve worked with many women who were afraid to weight train. “I don’t want to get big and bulky!” is the main reason I’ve heard.
Although women will experience an increase in lean muscle from weight training, the results typically are a tighter, firmer body. The results are not big, bulky muscles.
Muscle bulk has to be specifically trained for and is difficult for women to amass. Women simply do not have the amount of testosterone needed to easily gain muscle mass like men do. Many women train really, really hard to get even a little muscle size to show for all their hard work.
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When I walked into my shared office to retrieve some files, a fitness coach was talking to a woman about weight loss. “Do you have any suggestions for her?” the coached asked me. “She doesn’t know what to eat and ends up eating her kids’ food.”
“You need to prepare ahead,” I suggested. “And have things on hand that are really easy and fast to make like single-serving chicken breasts, and vegetable and rice microwave steamers. Always make extra, too, so you have leftovers.”
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If you had your pick between a hamburger and a hot dog, which do you think would be the better choice? Which one has less fat and calories?
I have to admit, I thought a plain hot dog would be the better choice. Not the case. A premium beef hot dog has 240 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 680 milligrams of sodium. A plain hamburger made from 85% lean meat has 213 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 61 milligrams of sodium.
Neither one makes a very good choice. Fortunately, there are many healthier options for grilling out on your deck this summer. You can have that delicious barbeque flavor while still watching your weight and your heart health.
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Do you wonder if you eat enough servings of fruits and vegetables each day? Look back over your intake yesterday. Count up how many servings of fruits and veggies you had in all. If you can count your total on one hand, that might not be enough.
Though “five a day” used to be the recommendation, the new slogan is “more matters.” For active adults, especially men, the need could be higher. You can check recommendations for your whole family at the More Matters website.
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There’s not a more enjoyable way to burn calories than walking, running, or cycling down a country road on a sunny day. Seeing wildflowers in bloom, animals romping in fields, and birds soaring in the sky is a balm to the soul.
But those country roads and mountain trails can be somewhat lonesome. Here are some ways to stay safe when you’re exercising outdoors.
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I’ve known about it, read about, and wrote about. Today I experienced it. Feeling really hungry – hungrier than usual – because I didn’t get enough sleep.
I’m not talking about the munchies when you’re in the mood to snack and pick at food because you want something that tastes good, or calms your nerves. I mean real hunger.
When my alarm went off at 5:30 this morning (after about 4 1/2 hours of sleep), my stomach was already cramping with hunger. I ate a couple of celery sticks and drank some spearmint tea. I could hardly wait for breakfast time at 7:30.
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Losing weight basically comes down to calories in, calories out. In other words, you have to burn more calories each day than the amount of calories you eat. This causes a calorie deficit. Your body then has to tap into your fat reserves for fuel. This causes your fat to be used up!
To make sure you’re not eating too many calories, you need to count your calories. Without keeping track of your calories, it’s almost impossible to create this calorie deficit.
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The hardest time for me to motivate myself to exercise is Sunday. Yesterday was no exception. We got home from church and the house smelled delicious from the turkey meatloaf and potatoes baking in the oven.
While my family was getting ready to sit down to a nice meal, I was changing into my shorts and t-shirt, and tying on my running shoes. The house felt so cozy and I was more interested in having a date with the couch than running the hilly route I knew was ahead of me.
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Several of my clients had a tough week. One was under a lot of stress and found herself eating to cope. Another one was sick with a cold/flu and couldn’t exercise. Then another one attended a funeral out of town and had to eat the food provided by neighbors and friends – like fluffy lemon cake with raspberry filling.
It was discouraging to them to see either a weight gain or no weight loss for the week.
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You try again and again to lose weight. You may stick to it a week, a month, three days, but in the end you fall back into your old habits. You’re not alone. Millions of people struggle with their weight, hoping someday they’ll succeed.
If you really want to lose weight, try to identify your pitfalls. If you can figure out the reasons behind your weight loss failures, you can begin working to overcome these things.
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I was crouched down by the cans of stacked tuna in the grocery aisle looking for just the right kind of tuna. An overweight, middle-aged lady stood next to me scanning the cans with a somewhat bewildered look on her face.
“Do you eat much tuna?” she asked me.
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“In the next week, I’m finally going to get below the 200-pound mark,” Bonnie told me. “I’m so excited. I haven’t been there in years.”
She went on to tell me how she had bought a new swimsuit a year ago, but had been too heavy to wear it. She kept it in her drawer until last week. “I wore that swimsuit last week when I took my daughter swimming,” she said. Her face beamed.
Then I talked to Greg. He’s been working really hard on weight loss for the past four months. His pants are getting so loose he has to cinch them together in the back.
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I heard about a woman who lost her husband. She was lonely and grieving and looking for comfort.
She didn’t like to cook for herself and sit at the table alone. So one evening she decided to drive through Kentucky Fried Chicken and buy a bucket of fried chicken.
“This will last me several days,” she thought to herself.
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Many people will be celebrating Easter Sunday with a special meal. Traditionally, glazed ham or roasted lamb, hot cross buns, hard-boiled eggs, baked cheesy asparagus, mashed potatoes, and homemade chocolate candy may be served. How about your family? Are you planning a special dinner for Easter Sunday?
For us, we will be enjoying dinner at my mom’s table. She is serving chicken cordon bleu, broccoli-rice casserole, and raspberry-pecan salad. Dessert is the doozy. Triple layer yellow cake with chocolate fudge icing – all made from scratch.
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I overheard a lady at the gym talking about her dogs. Her veterinarian had instructed her to help them lose weight. She was getting ready to pick them up and take them for their daily mile walk at the park.
“I cut back on how much food I give them, too,” she said. “I figured if it’s not there, they can’t eat it.”
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My sons like to race each other. Inevitably, the younger one gets upset because the older one always wins. I remind him that though his legs are shorter now, some day he’ll grow up to be as fast as his older brother.
There are days at the gym when sometimes I am tempted to feel like my younger son. There are women working out who can run faster, do more pull ups, box jump higher, and squat jump farther than I can. There are others who burn more calories in the cycling class than I do (that just about makes smoke come out of my ears).
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I spent hours painting my son’s bedroom this afternoon. Once the ceiling dried, we put up a really cool track light that can be shaped in a zigzag with six directional lights. Tomorrow I have more paining to do on the walls, plus some patch work.
Even though the painting is partially finished, it’s amazing how different the room looks already. The color changes the whole feel of the room and the light brightens it tremendously. (While we’re at it, I wish we could put in new carpeting too, but that will have to stay on my wish list for now.)
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If you’re like me, on the day or two before grocery shopping the food choices around the house get a little lean. My lettuce is either gone, or has gone bad. I’ve eaten all my yogurt and fresh strawberries. I’ve grilled all my fish. The last of the raw almonds has been snatched by my son.
Part of eating nutritiously, however, means you need to have healthy foods on hand. Here are some food staples I recommend having on hand so even when your “fresh” foods start running out, you can still keep a healthy diet.
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It takes a lot of focus to stay really tight with your food. You have to think ahead about what you’re going to eat for each meal and snack. You may need to get up early and pack food to take with you. Or you may need to put dinner in the crock pot before leaving for work.
Then there is the energy needed to resist temptations. It takes a pile of restraint when there is “bad” food readily available. Like cookie trays set out on the lunchroom table, or a luncheon where the provided food is anything but healthy. And how about when you’re really hungry and the kids don’t finish their snacks?
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I’ve been asked more than a few times, “How can I get my husband to lose weight?”
It often happens that the wife is the first one to take initiative toward making healthy lifestyle changes. She starts eating healthy foods and exercising, and wants the love of her life to join her. But her husband digs his heels into the ground – actually he digs into Little Debbie cakes, soda pop, double Whoppers, and Cheetos.
Not only is her husband resistant, but he’s bringing garbage into the house. He complains when she goes to the gym. He wants to go out to eat, out for ice cream, out to see a movie. Or he wants to sit on the couch and send her to the grocery store for his treats.
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