Spot Reducing

I’ve received a couple of e-mails asking for advice on exercises to lose a few extra pounds in the belly area.  Since more than one person has asked about the same thing, I figured it would be a good topic for my next blog.  As far as certain exercises to zap the fat from a specific area, whether it be any of those troublesome areas such as the belly, thighs, or butt, there really is no way to only lose weight in a specific spot.  Although I can provide some great exercises for specific areas of the body for strengthening and toning the muscles in those areas, that’s not going to burn off the extra layer of fat on top of the muscles that you’re looking to lose there.  From everything I’ve read and tons of research out there, spot reduction is not possible.  Whenever your calorie intake is more than the calories you use, that extra is stored as fatty deposits.  Over time, where ever those fatty deposits prefer to store themselves can become our troublesome spots.  You can’t rely on specific exercises alone that target a specific area to lose weight or reduce fat in that area only. 

If you feel like you’re working out and working out but not seeing any results, you need to First take a look at your diet.  It takes a combination of proper diet and exercise.  Keep it healthy and watch your calorie intake.  If you’re going to the gym regularly but eating horribly on the side, it’s going to be extremely hard to maintain weight, much less lose any.

Then take a look at your exercise routine.  You can’t just do sit-ups for your belly or lunges for your butt and expect the extra pounds there to go away.  You need to include high energy cardio or aerobic type exercise into your routine to burn fat.  When doing this type of high energy, high effort exercising, once the body uses the available free energy, it then turns to the fat deposits for more and the result will be fat reduction/weight loss.  Although you can’t choose which part of the body you burn the fat or lose weight from, if that area is where most of the extra fat is stored, eventually you should see results.  In order to maintain muscle mass (which is very important) and to tone up and show definition, you need to also include strength training into your exercise routine.  Keep doing the sit-ups, lunges, squats, etc!  Although doing these exercises alone won’t make the fat disappear, you will still benefit from the high effort movement required as well as strengthening and toning the muscles so that you will see more definition once the layer of fat has been burned off from the OVERALL result of your diet and exercise routine!  

Lastly, don’t give up!  If you’re sticking to a safe and healthy routine, the process may seem slow, BUT if you stick to it and have patience, YOU WILL SEE RESULTS!

Quote

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born."

- Dr. Dale Turner

... I saw this quote on Shape.com & thought it was pretty inspirational.

Learn to Read Labels - Sodium

In order to eat healthy, everyone should learn to read food labels and educate yourself on the different nutritional values that you should try to meet or avoid exceeding each day. One of the biggies that I try to watch is sodium (Salt or Sodium Chloride). Most people will look at a food label and automatically check the Fat, Calories, or Carb content. But, if you’re not checking sodium content, you may not be eating as healthy as you think. Sodium helps maintain the balance of fluids, transmits nerve impulses, and influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles in your body. So, although sodium is an essential nutrient, your body only needs a very small amount of it. However, unless you’re actively keeping a watch on your sodium intake, most people unknowingly and easily take in over 3-4 times the amount of sodium needed each day. Too much sodium can not only contribute to excess water retention, but can also be harmful to your health since it can lead to increased blood pressure… a high risk factor for heart disease and strokes.

The American Heart Association’s recommended daily intake for sodium is to try to stay below 1,500 mg as an effective way to lower or prevent high blood pressure. If you are dieting to lose weight, this can be a huge challenge if you buy the “low calorie” prepackaged foods. Many of these are absolutely LOADED with sodium as well as many diet sodas…watch the labels! Although one of the main culprits of excessive sodium content is prepackaged and processed foods, keep in mind there are also many natural sources of sodium that contribute to your overall daily intake such as some vegetables, including celery, and many dairy products including milk. Also, consider how much you’re adding when you shake the salt shaker when you sit down at a meal.. and then even more when you start adding condiments. For example, one tablespoon of soy sauce contains about 1,000 mg of sodium! Even bread… one slice of white bread contains about 220 mg of sodium. Now add another slice, then some cold cuts (which are usually very high in sodium by themselves)…. Yes, it starts to add up fast!

When you shop, look for low sodium versions of everything! Eliminate or cut back on your shakes of the salt shaker..when you prepare a recipe, try using half of what it calls for in salt. If you use canned vegetables or beans in a recipe, rinsing them well first can get rid of half of the salt content. Avoid salty snacks and as always, drink lots of water and eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits instead. Even though some of these naturally contain some sodium, it is minimal amounts compared to most prepackaged foods. Any reduction in the amount of sodium you take in will be healthier for you, and avoiding it will help you include healthier low-calorie foods in your daily eating.

"Eat This, Not That!"

I have absolutely fallen in love with these books! You can pick them up, flip open to any page and be amazed at the calories, fat, carbs, sodium, etc. in the regular items you eat daily. Each book has a different theme of what they will cover in the book. But between them all you will come across your favorite dine-in restaurant, your regular fast food place, items on your grocery list, the vending machine at work, the food court at the mall, your favorite holiday meals, and so much more. I own three of the books... and I've changed my mind about a lot of items I usually ate. 

Fun Facts:

The first book states the "Worst Mexican Entrée" is the Chipotle Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito ... 1,107 calories / 44g fat / 113 g carbs / 2,656 mg sodium!!! If you did a Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl with lettuce, black beans, green salsa, and sour cream it would only be 489 calories / 22 g fat / 1,006 mg sodium. 

The first book states Dairy Queen's 6-piece Chicken Strip Basket has 1,270 calories / 67 g fat / 2,910 mg sodium!!! That is nuts!

The first book also states the "Worst Food In America," it's Outback's Aussie Cheese Fries 2,900 calories / 182 g fat / 240 g carbs!

Next time you're at your local store... pickup an Eat This, Not That book and learn something new! You will be shocked by the calories you put in your body on a daily basis. 

Quote

Every month Oxygen magazine puts a motivational quote in their magazine called "Oxygen's Exhale." I loved the quote this month....

"It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is much better at the top."

- Arnold Bennett

Holiday Eating

The Holidays are almost here!  My favorite time of year!!  Who doesn't look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas and all of the fabulous food that goes along with them?!  The holidays wouldn't be the same without all of our favorite foods!  So trying to eat healthy without totally depriving yourself during holiday eating can seem pretty impossible.  I'm a firm believer that you should allow yourself to indulge now and then...so go ahead, splurge a little!  BUT that doesn't mean you have to lose total control and can't still make smart choices!  Throwing all control out the window will just cause you to overeat and take in HUNDREDS of extra calories that could easily be avoided ! There are tons of ways that you can save calories during holiday eating and I thought I would share a few easy ones: 

 

1. Eat breakfast! Don't think that skipping breakfast will "save" calories that you can use later for the big meal. It's not true! Meal skipping and starving yourself will just lead to overeating later.  If you're starving when you sit down to eat, you'll be more likely to not only overeat, but use less control over your food choices.  A healthy breakfast with some protein and fiber will help take the edge off your appetite. Try having an egg with a slice of whole-wheat toast, or a bowl of whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk.

2.  "Lighten" up your recipes! Whether you're the host for a holiday dinner or you are making side dishes to take to a family gathering, try making healthier versions of the dishes.  A few tips for this:

-  Replace the fat in stuffing with low-sodium chicken broth  - Many recipes have 2 to 3 sticks of butter or margarine as the "liquid" to moisten the bread stuffing. Replace all that fat with equal amounts of low-sodium chicken broth for extra flavor without calories.  A cup of chicken broth is around 10 calories — compared with an ounce of butter at 100 calories. (A stick of butter/margarine is 800 calories.)

- Use sugar substitutes in place of sugar and/or fruit purees instead of oil in baked goods.

- Try plain yogurt or fat-free sour cream in creamy dips, mashed potatoes, and casseroles.

- Lose the crust. The crust is fat laden, and most people won't even miss it. Try baking your favorite pumpkin pie filling in small ramekins and top with chopped walnuts or a spoon of whipped cream.  You can do the same for apple pie  — Bake the apples with a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon in a small ramekin.

3. Skip the skin!  You can cut your calories in half per serving by eating the meat you like — very little difference in calories of dark and white meat, but skipping the skin.  For a 6-ounce serving of turkey, taking off the skin saves about 300 calories.

4.  Portion Control!!  Try using a tablespoon to serve yourself instead of the typical serving spoon. Compare a tablespoon in serving size to a typical serving spoon — about one-third to one-half cup. You can save hundreds of calories on all those side dishes just by downsizing your serving size with a Tablespoon instead!  Also, just skip over the dishes that you can have year round - don't waste the calories.  Treat yourself to a small portion of all your favorites that only come around on the holidays.  Also, SLOW down and avoid going back for seconds!!  Eat slowly and drink plenty of water with your meal.  After that first plate, take a break before going back for second helpings...If you give your food a little time to settle, you will usually find that one go round has you plenty satified!

5. Alternate your alcohol. Alcohol contains a whopping 7 calories/gram!  That's almost as much as fat (which is 9 calories per gram). Those calories can add up!  If you're going to drink alcohol at family gatherings this holiday season, try alternating...have a drink and then have a water, seltzer, or diet soda to cut your calories in half.  If you're a wine drinker, you can alternate the same way or try having a "spritzer" through the evening — half wine and half seltzer — as another way to cut calories.

6. Exercise!!!  As always, some exercise is always best.  Although the first thing we usually want to do after leaving the dinner table is head to the couch, avoid that!  Grab a family member or friend after dinner and take a 30-minute walk.  A walk will help aid digestion and even though it may be hard to avoid the initial temptation to lay around after your holiday meal, once you start your walk, you're usually going to feel better and be glad you did it! Plus, a little secret... most gyms are open on the Holidays for at least a few hours. Get up early and get a workout in! 

Alcohol = Calories!

5oz. of Red or White Wine = 100-130 calories

Red Bull and Vodka = 177 calories

SF Red Bull and Vodka = 74 calories

5oz. Mojito = 160 calories

Vodka and Water = 100 calories

Strawberry Daiquiri = 250 calories

American Beer = 150 calories

Liquor (80 proof) = 100 calories

Liqueurs (Bailey's, Kahlua) = 150 calories

Champagne = 100-130 calories

Rum and Coke = 156 calories

Frozen Margarita = 246 calories

Margarita on the Rocks = 182 calories

Whiskey Sour = 210 calories

Martini = 175 calories

Now, how many of you usually only have one drink? Think about it!

I got these numbers from Woman's Health Magazine and FindArticles.com. 

"The Bikini-Ready Workout"

My favorite book The Woman's Health Big Book of Exercises has workouts in the back of the book personal trainers have come up with. My favorite "The Bikini-Ready Workout." I did it for a month before I left for Spring Break with my family...

Me- Spring Break '10

This workout was created by one of Hollywood's most famous trainers Valerie Waters. As you can see from my picture above, it made me very lean, and toned. I loved it!! :) Here is an example of her workout:

Circuit 1:

Single-leg hip raise  2-3 sets 12 reps.

Side plank 2-3 sets 30 sec. hold

Plank 2-3 sets 30-40 sec. hold

Situp 2-3 sets 12 reps. (I usually do 25 reps.)

Circuit 2:

Dumbbell squat 3 sets 15 reps.

Single-arm cable row 3 sets 12 reps.

Dumbbell straight-leg deadlift 3 sets 12reps.

Dumbbell bench press 3 sets 15 reps.

Circuit 3:

Valslide reverse dumbbell lunge 3 sets 12 reps.

Dumbbell shoulder press 3 sets 12 reps.

Dumbbell lunge 3 sets 10 reps.

Triceps pressdown 3 sets 12 reps.

Dumbbell curl 3sets 12 reps.

TRY IT!! :)

"The Eat- Clean Diet"

Just started reading this book... and, I believe it's a book everyone should buy. If you are trying to lose weight... or even not, this book is the key to everything you need to know. You will be healthier, happier, more energized and looking better than ever. Tosca Reno explains in the book,

 10% Genetics + 10% Training + 80% Nutrition = "Body Beautiful/Body Healthy Formula"

Quote

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."

 - Lance Armstrong