How Having Support Can Help Your Fitness Journey

When I first started working out, I had no idea what I was doing. I figured out on my own after a few months that cardio helped me really start dropping the pounds. I was given a treadmill and I had started walking on that daily. I learned that I should work out with weights a few days a week. I thought Monday, Wednesday, Friday sounded like a good idea. After a few months I started running for a few seconds at a time. Then I would increase my running time. Before long, I was running for the whole time instead of walking. Then, I worked on going farther each time I ran. When I would reach a new goal, I would try to surpass it. While that is good, it started some warped thinking in my mind. I couldn’t do less than the day before. If I ran 7 miles yesterday, I can’t run less today. Yes, I ran long distances EVERY day.

When I first started working out, I didn’t change my diet at all. Over time, I started thinking “could I make a healthier choice?” If the answer was yes, then I did. I looked for lower calorie options. The same thought process applied to my diet though too. If I ate XXX amount of calories yesterday, I couldn’t eat more today. Everything I read in “women’s magazines” stated that I should be eating 1200 calories a day. I was petrified to go over. I was convinced that I would wake up one day and have gained all my weight back over night.

After about 2 years of doing this completely on my own, my days consisted of working out and planning what I was going to eat today, tomorrow. I continued on, but my body was starting to just give out on me. I couldn’t do what I did before. I saw the infomercial for Body Beast. I ordered it, and was excited when it came. Then I realized, I wanted to follow this program to a T. I read through the nutrition guide. I had always heard that “you can’t lose weight and gain muscle at the same time.” That never made sense to me. I had done it. Doesn’t everyone who is trying to lose weight, combine cardio and weights? I had gotten a little “fluffy”, and I couldn’t understand why. I couldn’t understand. I was working out so hard and focusing on what I was eating- why was I GAINING weight?

When I read Sagi Kalev’s nutrition guide, I finally understood what that meant. According to that guide, I was supposed to eat 1000 calories more per day than I had been. Yes, you read that right. 1000. I took a deep breath and decided to JUST DO IT. Also, no cardio. Unless it was on my Body Beast calendar-no cardio. My body loved it. I looked forward to my workouts again.

Within two weeks, I was slimmer and I felt better. My body was finally getting what it needed. Your muscles NEED those calories to grow. They need REST in order to get stronger. I had been working out 3-4 hours a day (divided up, morning and evening.We have to remember that working out and eating healthy is a great thing. However, more isn’t always better. We also need to remember that we might not be able to do it on our own. Sometimes we need help and guidance. I wish that I had had some earlier on in my fitness journey. It would have saved me from a lot of mistakes, and would have been nice to know that I wasn’t alone.

It is so easy to get confused with all the information out there. There are so many books shouting at us "Eat this!" "Don't eat that!" We can feel torn and feel like giving up. 

Sometimes we feel that we should already know everything and are embarrassed to ask for help. Especially when we feel insecure already and are afraid of being judged. Or maybe, we feel already DO know it all – what we should be eating and how much. Whatever the case, we all can use a support system. When you have a support system you are more likely to succeed in your goals. You have someone to cheer you on when you feel you just can’t do anymore. Or maybe you need someone to be held accountable to. You know you won’t eat that doughnut if you have to tell someone about it.

I would LOVE to be a support system for you. I would love to help you reach your fitness goals or even get started with your goals if you don’t know where to begin. You don’t have to do it alone. You just have to have the courage to start.

"Courage  doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'"
                                                 -Mary Anne Radmacher

Ways to Drink More Water

We all hear that we need to be drinking more water. That fact is constantly surrounding us- in health magazines, online, etc. However, we seem to turn a deaf ear to that fact. We get busy, and don't think to drink water until we are thirsty. Even then, we seem to turn to other alternatives such as soda.

Our bodies are made of 70% water! Every cell in our body is made of water-organs, cells, blood, even our brains! If we don't drink enough water, our bodies can't function properly. Drinking more water can make us more alert and have more energy throughout the day.

Here are some ways that might be helpful in helping to hydrate a little more easily.

~ Drink some water as soon as you get up. I used to immediately reach for coffee the moment I got out of bed. When I was trying to get healthier, I tried drinking at least a cup as soon as I hopped out of bed while the coffee is brewing. 

~ Maybe drink one cup every hour on the hour. You could set an alarm to remind you. One cup every hour will definitely add up by the end of the day!

~ Every time you come out from the restroom, drink a cup of water. What a good reminder!

~ You could make it a habit to drink water every time you------. You fill in that blank. Could it be while checking emails? Waiting for coffee to brew? Waiting for the kids to get in the car in the morning?

~ Buy yourself a pretty water bottle that you can carry around with you all day. Maybe pink and sparkly? (Or is that just me?)

~ Drink water before your workout, during your workout, and after your workout. What happens when we work out? We sweat, and that is our bodies losing more water. If you want to get the most out your workouts- to go hard and really rock those workouts....make sure you drink your water!

~ Drink water instead of ------. Again, you fill in that blank. I gave up diet soda, and started drinking water instead. With my meals, I realized that I didn't miss it at all.

~ Sometimes our bodies are telling us that we are hungry. Then we wonder why, because we ate not too long ago. The same part of our brains that tell us that we are hungry, also control our thirst. So we sometimes get our signals crossed. Try drinking a glass of water and wait 20 minutes. If you are still feeling hungry, then it is true hunger.

~ You could try drinking it hot, with some lemon slices. Treat it like a treat, and you might find you really enjoy it.

~ Sometimes we have other ailments that we don't even think of as being caused by not drinking enough water. Such as constipation and  headaches.

Hopefully you will be able to incorporate a few of these ideas into your daily life to help increase you water consumption effortlessly. Watch your energy rise and your skin glow!

Confused about food packaging?

Words that companies use on their packaging to describe their foods can be confusing sometimes. The FDA regulates the specific descriptive wording, but it can still be confusing to us- the consumers. For example, when you see a bag of jelly beans labeled "fat free". You wonder "did they change the formula?" Nope. The jelly beans are pretty much pure sugar- and always have been. The package isn't lying. There isn't any fat in them. However, they have NEVER contained fat. Just sugar. The change in packaging was just done to confuse us as consumers into thinking that those jelly beans are now a healthier food.

Most people looking to lose weight try to read labels and all the packaging labeled "light", "low-fat", "non-fat", or "reduced calorie" all sound very appealing. So how do we know which is right for us to choose?

Here is a list of FDA regulated food descriptions with the criteria that companies are required to meet to include these descriptions on their packaging.

Free: is often associated with fat free or sugar free. It meant that the product contains no amount of, or only trivial quantities of the said components. Less than 0.5 g per serving or less 5 calories per serving.

Low: can be used if the foods can be consumed regularly without causing excessive intakes of said component it is referring to.

Low Calorie: less than 40 calories per serving.

Low fat: less than 3 grams of fat per serving.

Low sodium: less than 140 mg of sodium per serving.

Light: This one has 3 possible meanings. 1.) It has 1/3 fewer calories or half the fat. 2.) the sodium content of a low calorie, low fat food has been reduced by 50%. 3.) the term describes the color, texture or other property as long as it explains it's meaning.

Reduced: the contents contain at least 25% less of the component than the original.

Lean: less than 10 grams fat, 4.5 grams or less saturated fat, and less than 95 mg of cholesterol per serving per 100 grams.

Extra lean: less than 5 grams fat, less than 2 grams of saturated fat, less than 95 mg of cholesterol per serving.

Good Source: 10-19% of the daily value of said item.

High In: 20% or more of daily value of said item

Extra: at 10% more than the daily value in the referenced food.

Very low sodium: 35 mg or less soium

Sodium free: less than 5 mg per serving

High Fiber: 5g or more of fiber per serving

We all want to be healthy. I hope this helps a little when food shopping in reading food labels, so you can make the best decisions for you in your food purchases and not be tricked by the food companies packaging.