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Accountability....why it helps!

Happy Monday friends!

Today I am going to talk about how to achieve weight loss and fitness goals.  I find it difficult to wake up in the mornings and go to the gym solo dolo.  I think it is partially because I don’t want to look like a goof lifting alone and it’s just nice to have that person there with you to talk to and make funny eye contact with when you see a “lunk” in the gym.  Here are a few tips and reasons why accountability makes weight loss and fitness goals easier to obtain:

Weight Loss Accountability

Willpower alone usually isn’t enough to keep you on track. Even when you think you are at your goal weight, it’s too easy for a few pounds to creep back on your body.  A study published online in the Journal of Women’s Health found that a significant number of women were unable to recognize small weight gains - between 4.5 and 8.8 pounds -  over a period of six months, and those little gains can add up fast.  

Make Friends With Your Scale

Now I usually say stay away from the scale, it is not an accurate measurement of your body.  HOWEVER, if you are trying to maintain or lose weight (no gain muscle) this is a great accountability tool for you! Normal daily fluctuations can be maddening when all you want to see is 1 fewer pound.  But it can still be a great tool says J. Graham Thomas, PhD, an associate professor at the Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical Center in Providence, R.I., which runs the National Weight Control Registry.  75% of the 10,000 successful dieters enrolled int he registry and weighed themselves weekly and 38% do so everyday.  “Weight creeps up over time, so our members find that this is the best way they can keep track and make immediate corrections in their diet,” Thomas says.

Where Is Your BFF?!

Having a “we’re in this together’ buddy not only reinforces accountability, but also provides positive weight-loss motivation.  You can call your BFF when you find yourself craving bad foods or not feeling the workout that day.  You may feel guilty cancelling a gym session if it means your BFF won’t workout either.  They will be depending on you as you are them!

Use A Food Diary

Write down your meals and snacks for they day and do not snack outside of what you wrote down.  This is a very reassuring way of helping you reach your goals. If it’s not written down, do not eat it.  You will feel AMAZING at the end of the day when you accomplish this goal.  Write down how you felt, if there were any temptations, and you goal for the next day.

Use A Tape Measure 

By measuring your hips, waist, chest, thighs, biceps, and calf muscles you can record tangible progress toward your goal with a measurement the scale can’t give you.  Muscle takes up less space than fat so you will see the inches drop even though there may not be a change on the scales.  Very encouraging! 

Keep The Big Picture In Mind

Why are you in the position you are in? Maybe Spring Break is coming up or a wedding or a vacation.  Don’t lose focus on what you want to achieve. Just make sure you are setting reasonable and obtainable smaller goals along they way!

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Motivation Monday

What’s your motivation? Take a look at mine up above. It might just look at a messy workout studio, but I know what happened here today. I got to work with some people who are eager, day after day, to improve their health and physical fitness. The one thing that makes this job so great is being surrounded by people who want to make a difference in their lives. It’s not always pretty, easy or quick, but it gets me up out of bed every morning.

Are you interested in creating a mess like this? The class you’re seeing is our NEW Lunch Hour Bootcamp, offered in our private studio located in the Edison Building. This class will be running through the fall, every Monday and Wednesday 12:00pm-1:00pm. If you have a free lunch hour and you are close by, stop in for a quick workout. Save yourself all the trouble of having to make an extra stop at the gym! We can’t wait to see you there!

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Health Trends: Fad v. Fact

It seems that health habits go in and out of style as fast as clothing and hair trends. Unlike fashion, following these trends can have serious implications for your long-term health, if in fact, they aren’t actually good for you. Do your research before you decide to buy into any popular health crazes or ask you friendly, knowledgeable Absolute Wellness Trainers!

Coconut Oil

The newest craze in cooking oils, a lot of people buy into the idea that coconut oil is somehow healthier for you than butter or even olive oil. The fact that ‘oil’ is in the name tends to be misleading. Oils are typically healthier to cook with, but those are the oils that are liquid at room temperature. If they are solid at room temperature, it means that they are higher in saturated fat, the kind that is linked to heart disease and clogged arteries. Compared to butter at 11 grams of fat per tablespoon, Coconut Oil has 14 grams of fat per tablespoon (and a higher percentage of that fat is saturated!). Other than that, coconut oil has the exact same nutritional value as unsalted butter.

So should I buy in? Coconut oil has a ton of benefits outside of cooking use. If you use it as a mouth wash, it has been shown to whiten teeth and help prevent or reverse gum resection. Swish a tablespoon of oil around your mouth for 10-20 minutes and let the oil leach out the toxins and impurities from your teeth and gums! It has also been shown to improve the look and feel of skin, hair and nails! Some beauty products can get pricey, and it might be worth a try.

“Tea-toxing”

Especially if you follow any celebrity social media sites, you have probably seen any number of brands of tea claiming to help you lose weight and rid your body of toxins - calling it “the cleanse”. To me, it sounds pretty ominous. But for whatever reason, it is the newest thing to be able to post an instagram pic of your latest cleanse or detox. In general, tea is very good for you and can have a multitude of health benefits. It has been shown to help curb metabolism which in turn can help you lose weight. But beware of the incredulous claims of losing 10lbs in 10 days, targeting fat cells or those other unfounded statements that seem to good to be true.

Should I buy in? For the most part, those teas that are marketing themselves as fat-burners or detoxing or weight loss teas are going to be more expensive because people are willing to throw money at anything that promises to give them a better figure. Before you succumb to that pressure, try drinking tea and water, improving your diet and portion sizes and exercising regularly. 

Alkaline eating

This is a new one that I hadn’t heard of before researching current health fads. From what I’ve read, it’s basically about eating foods to try to change the body’s pH (make it more acidic). Let me be very clear, you DO NOT want your body to become more acidic. That is an extremely dangerous health condition that can become deadly. That being said, medical studies that have been done have shown very little consistency on the effect of diet on pH levels. It may or may not work. Generally, the dietary changes that you will make in this type of diet (basically becoming a vegan) are not bad, but they also may not have the effect you want them to.

Should I buy in? Vegan diets typically do lead to better health, but unless you are very committed, they can be difficult to uphold. It can also be very tricky to get enough protein in your diet (if you read my last post you know that you should try to get more of it). Think carefully about whether or not you have the time and resources to get a complete diet while following this plan.

Gluten-free

I could talk about this one for hours. The first thing I have to say about it is that you have to remember that food companies are ALWAYS marketing to you. They have people that are watching for those health trends so that they can report back. So there are companies that will market foods as gluten-free on packaging, even when they have always been gluten free. Secondly, gluten free does not necessarily mean healthier. It can be just as high in fat as a non-gluten free substitute. 

Should I buy in? Unless you have a medical condition that requires a gluten-free diet, stick to eating real, unprocessed foods, controlling portion sizes and exercising regularly.

Low-fat or Fat-free

This isn’t a new trend by any means, but still important to talk about. It’s important to remember that companies want you to buy their product. And how do they do that? They make it taste good. And what makes it taste good without the fat? Sugar. This will contribute to the calorie content and too much sugar can also lead to type 2 diabetes. 

Should I buy in? It depends. Dairy products can be very high in fat, so reaching for low-fat options can help you reduce unnecessary fat intake (some is good). Make sure you carefully read the nutrition fact label before purchasing.

Have you heard about any other health fads/trends that you are unsure of? Ask AbsWell! You can reach us on Facebook, Instagram, email ([email protected]), phone [phone]) or our website (www.abswell.com).

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Tasty Tuesday You Are What You Eat

Those of you that are like me and love to know exactly how things work, keep reading today’s blog to learn more about what is actually happening inside your body.

We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘you are what you eat’, but is it really true?? On a certain level, it definitely is. Let’s break it down:

When you consume more calories than you actually burn in a day, your body will store those extra calories. But your body doesn’t store everything the same way. Here is a snapshot of how your body stores each of the three major nutrients.

Protein: in the body, protein must first be converted to glucose, then converted to fat, then stored. In order to carry out this 3 step process, calories will need to be used. So less calories are actually being stored.

Carbohydrates: this is less complicated, these nutrients need to be converted to fat first then stored. This still requires energy and calories though. *complex carbohydrates will require more calories than simple carbohydrates to be stored.

Fat: in order to store fat, the body doesn’t need to go through much to store it, so in comparison to protein and carbs, a larger percentage of calories will be stored.

SO....

When you eat excess amounts of protein, 35% of those extra calories will be stored as fat.

When you eat excess amounts of carbohydrates, 70% of those extra calories are stored as fat.

When you eat excess amounts of fats, 98% of those calories are stored as fat.

So, the moral of the story is to eat more lean protein and your body will stop storing as much fat, giving you the chance to burn it off!

Give us a call if you are interested in a FREE consultation for exercise programming or nutritional counseling!

920-841-2443

[email protected]

www.abswell.com

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Fitness Friday!

I have two questions for you my friends:

Did you workout today?

Do you own a sturdy chair?

If your answers were NO then YES....keep reading for a simple workout you can do before you get into your Labor Day Weekend Festivities!! We work hard so that we can play harder!

So since this workout doesn’t require any added weight or resistance, you may want to plan for higher repetitions than you normally would...you want to feel the burn! I would suggest anywhere between 10-20, but do what feels right for you.

Narrow-stance Squat Taps

stand in front of your chair with your feet together, for the best form, just pretend that you are going to sit down, but just as you feel yourself touch the chair, stand back up! Simple!

Wide Leg Squat Tap Hops

same idea as the last exercise, but add a small hop as you stand up - nothing crazy here!

Single Leg Lunge

Take a step forward from the chair and reach one leg back so that the laces of your shoes are flat against the seat of the chair. You should be far enough away that when you lower yourself towards the ground, your front knee does not pass over your foot (if it does, you can adjust by moving your front foot forward slightly). Repeat on both sides!

Chair Dips

you will want the heels of your hands on the edge of the seat, fingers facing outward. lower your hips towards the ground then press back up (if you start to feel discomfort in your shoulders, don’t go down as far and relax your neck muscles)

Push-ups

can you do normal push-ups? if not, this exercise could change that! the angle that the chair puts your body in changes your weight distribution so that your arms don’t have to push as much weight as when you are flat. So if you practice doing push-ups like this regularly, soon enough you will have enough strength to do flat push-ups!

Plank

Simple! Stay in the start position of the push-up and hold it! You can also try on your elbows! I would recommend holding this position at least one minute or longer.

Plank + Leg Extension

While in the plank position, slowly raise and lower one leg at a time, alternating for at least one minute. You can do this in push-up position or elbows for extra challenge!

*if any of the plank exercises start to hurt wrists or shoulders, move to elbows and decrease time. Also remember to relax your neck muscles! They work too hard during the day already, give them a break!

**If you want an extra challenge (especially on the push-ups and planks) use a swivel desk chair, like the one I used....holy cow - talk about an abdominal burn!

If you liked this workout and are interested in learning more about how we can get you into shape and being the best version of yourself, email me at [email protected]

visit our facebook page

visit our website 

OR call us at 920-841-2443

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Tasty Tuesday

What’s the LOW-DOWN on LOW-CARB diets?

Low-carb diets have been around forever in tons of variations. If you’ve ever wondered if this type of diet is right for you, been stumped on how to start or confused by all the jargon, keep reading to get some straight-forward answers!

The first and most important thing to understand is what carbs actually do in your body. Carbs are the main source of fuel for any type of aerobic exercise or activity. In the United States, we tend to over-consume carbs in comparison to how active we are. So when those carbs aren’t used for exercise, your body has an evolutionary response to store them for later. You guessed it, they are converted and stored as fat.

Carbs also affect your blood sugar levels, because they are converted to glucose in your blood stream for energy. A lot of times, Type 2 Diabetes is linked to obesity and poor diet choices. If you are constantly eating too many carbs that spike your blood sugar rapidly (not to mention the subsequent crash), it can throw off your body’s production of insulin, which regulates blood sugar. 

Low-carb diets can also be helpful for those who have issues with weight fluctuation. I know that for myself, I fluctuate in weight when I am not paying attention to my carbohydrates because I tend to choose higher calorie options. A low-carb diet can help you keep the calories and sugar content lower and keep a healthy weight.

For those who are extremely active, athletes, regular exercisers (especially intense aerobic exercise like running or biking) are usually not in need of a low-carb diet. When you complete intense aerobic exercise, you need carbohydrates to fuel that exercise before. Low-carb diets are mostly suggested for healthy individualized who find it hard to get high intensity exercise regularly.

*Before starting any diet, make sure to contact your doctor to see if it is appropriate for you and your health status. Here is a link to some contraindicated conditions. 

The Ketogenic Diet (Atkins)

This diet changes the proportions of what you are eating. General recommendations are to eat 50% carbs, 20% protein and 30% fats of your total caloric intake (1500-3000 calories per day). A ketogenic diet keeps your total calories the same, but changes the percentages, increasing fats to 70-75%, 20-25% protein, and 5-10% from carbs. The idea is that your body learns how to burn fat more efficiently. Most recommendations concede that this type of diet is best done in the short-term, because of your body’s release of ketones, which can be detrimental in the long term. Follow this link to learn more about this type of diet.

Cyclical Low-Carb

This is another good way to do the ketogenic diet without the negative side effects of high ketone levels. You can cycle on and off the low carb high fat diet  in increments to help your body keep burning fat over time.

Targeted Low-Carb

This option is great for those that find they are not extremely active but are not sedentary. If you exercise regularly at a moderate intensity, you will still need carbs to fuel your exercise. Instead of just eating them throughout the day or week, you can target them in your diet based on when you will exercise. For example, if you exercise every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 5:00pm, you could eat more carbs as a snack between 3:00 and 4:00pm. If you are a regular runner or biker and compete in races regularly, you can target your higher carb intake around workouts and competitions. This way, your body is getting just the right amount of carbs.

Here is another great website for more information on low-carb high fat diets.

As part of our personal training packages, we offer nutritional and overall wellness coaching! Call us today for a free consultation or 4-week trial membership! We are here for when you’re ready to start your wellness journey!

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How Much Is Your Health Worth?

My job is essentially a sales position. Everyday, I am selling health and wellness to as many people as possible. But this isn’t a one time transaction, people typically don’t buy into a healthy lifestyle in just one day. First, it can take weeks, months, maybe even years for an individual to decide to make healthy lifestyle changes (some may never even get past this step). From there, it can take months to replace bad habits with good ones, learn strategies to live a healthy lifestyle, and then actually APPLY what you learn. It’s no wonder that there is such a large market for quick fix weight loss formulas. 

Now it sounds like its more effort than it’s worth, right? Wrong. Answer me this, when you hear about the amount of effort this healthy lifestyle requires, why do you believe that it’s not worth the effort? (And I really do want your answers!) Why don’t you believe that your health and well-being are precious enough to invest time into? If you can’t find an answer to that question, maybe you can answer this one:

If I asked you to name all the things that you love in your life, how long would it take for you to name yourself?

Tough one. I believe that we are programmed to put ourselves last on the list of priorities. Society tells us that we aren’t good enough, glamourizes impossible standards and basically cements the idea that we will never be good enough. So we shrug, throw in the towel and focus on taking care of other people in our lives, our jobs, our pets, other hobbies that take our minds off it.

But let me make something as clear as I can make it: you are human just like the next person. There is nothing inherent about you that makes your life less worthy than someone else. Being born with different features, lower metabolism, more baby fat, taller, shorter, wider, skinnier, black, white, brown or otherwise, does not make your life less valuable. I have seen people turn a life around (mentally and physically) and believe me when I tell you that the most attractive thing about them is their happiness, how content and peaceful they are with who they are, not what some people think they should be. The simple truth is that scientifically, there are certain things that make you either healthy or unhealthy. You can choose to live in a healthier lifestyle with healthy eating, regular exercise, healthy mental habits, surrounding yourself with loved ones and spreading your blessings around.

Don’t let anything make you think that a different lifestyle isn’t for you. Health is for everyone. You were given one life to live: cherish it, value it and above all, find joy in it!

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What Is Sugar Really Doing To You?

In the battle against bad nutritional choices, sugar tends to be enemy no. 1. No matter where I go or who I talk to, sugar intake is always part of the discussion on healthy eating. Even in my own diet, sugar is the biggest culprit of my poor choices. Why does sugar give us such a hard time?

Apart from being highly addictive, sugar is everywhere! It comes in all kinds of forms and can be found in more foods than you could wrap your head around, even foods that some might consider healthy! Soda, fruit juices, artificial flavors, pastries and even some refined grains. What may affect how much sugar we take in more than any of that is our perception of sugar intake. According to multiple studies, a majority of participants were found to underestimate their sugar intake. One study found that participants who underestimated their sugar intake were 60% more likely to be overweight than those who overestimated. So just being conscious of how much sugar you are actually consuming can help you lose or maintain weight.

Sugar intake has health implications far beyond weight gain, although that seems to be the consequence that most people are familiar with. It’s obvious that just the fear of gaining weight isn’t enough to stifle the urges. So here are a few more reasons to be motivated to cut down on the sugar:

 Sugar can impair memory

Studies done at UCLA have shown that sugar can have a negative effect on both memory and learning skills.This has huge implications for children, whose brains are constantly growing and making connections. Too much sugar can close off those connections

Sugar will increase your appetite

As if it’s not enough that the empty calories of sugar store themselves as fat quickly in the body, research has shown that sugars tend to interfere with hormones in your body that control appetite. So you will actually feel more hungry after you eat a lot of sugar.

Increase risk of heart disease

For years, research has pinned saturated fats as the main culprits of heart disease. While this is still true, new research is showing that high levels of sugar intake can also be correlated to an increased risk of heart disease. This most likely has to do with increased body weight, higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol and the effect on insulin that is caused by too much sugar.

Rotting your teeth out

Yup, your mom wasn’t lying to you about this just to ruin your life, it’s the truth. Sugar will raise the acidity in your mouth which allows for more bacteria to grow and cause damage to your enamel. No amount of floss, brushing or mouthwash can get rid of all the bacteria that can form.

Diabetes

I mentioned insulin before, but I have to mention it again. Too much sugar in the diet can put a huge strain on your pancreas’ ability to create insulin. Insulin’s role in the body is to break down glucose. Having too much glucose in the blood means that the pancreas has to work overtime to create more insulin, but the glucose in the blood becomes resistant. So the blood not only contains high levels of glucose, but also high levels of insulin that is not able to do its job.

Joint inflammation

Studies have shown that increased sugar intake causes chronic inflammation, which puts an individual at an increased risk for heart disease, and can cause bone and joint pain (which can exacerbate arthritis and inflammation associated with aging).

Energy Drainers

We think of sugar as the reason why we have energy, which is true in the short term. You may also know the feeling of the sugar crash. This crash is caused by the high glycemic index rating of simple sugars, meaning that they spike blood sugar levels very quickly, resulting in an enormous drop off. Complex carbohydrates, which rate low on the glycemic index, raise the blood sugar more gradually and give you long-lasting energy.

If you take in too much sugar on a regular basis, you may find you are always low on energy. This is usually linked to a magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is a mineral that your body uses to create energy and has been shown to decrease feelings of fatigue. For every 1 molecule of sugar that you consume, your body needs to use 54 molecules of magnesium to process it. If your body is using more magnesium than you are replenishing, you will find that your energy levels decrease in correlation.

So what will it take to convince yourself that it’s necessary to take control of your nutritional habits and partake in mindful eating? Maybe it’s your kids, grandkids, spouse, dog or cat. Maybe a beloved family member who you saw fighting with health issues. Or maybe you will simply come to the conclusion that you should love yourself and your body enough to take care of it.