Leprechauns, Rainbows, And A Pot of Gold!

As the saying goes, “Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day”. Do you blame them? For most, St. Patrick’s Day equals boisterous parades/parties and endless eating and drinking. If you are anything like my clients, you are already planning a day full of corned beef dinners, Guinness beer, creamy Irish coffee and chocolate mint shamrock cookies with family and friends. 

With the holiday right around the corner, I get asked the same question… How can I enjoy the holiday without spoiling my weight loss goals? My initial response to that question is to stay focused on your goals and make the decision to not indulge in anything that would comprise those goals. Easier said that done, right? So, for those of you who live in the real world, I offer the following advice:

 Calorie Reducing Tips For Drinking:

• Establish your drinking limit to 1,2 or 3 drinks before you get to the party and stick to it
• Before each alcoholic drink, always have a low calorie, non-alcoholic beverage. This not only quenches your thirst but it sets the pace for slower, safer celebrating
• Turn your wine into a spritzer by adding an equal part of seltzer water or diet 7-Up
•  Choose a light beer over a regular beer
•  Ask for low calorie diet mixers where possible

Don’t be tempted to skip meals to allow for drinks, as alcohol won’t satisfy your hunger. In fact, alcohol lowers blood sugar levels. A drop in blood sugar levels sends signals to the brain that you are hungry. With alcohol in your system, willpower can go out of the window and the snack attacks kick in. Eating a proper meal before you go out will line your stomach and slow the rate at which alcohol absorbs into your bloodstream, keeping you in control of how much you eat and drink.

 Calorie Reducing Tips For Eating:

• Stick to your standard portion sizes and avoid second and third helpings
• Munch on healthier snacks between meals like a hand full of almonds, vegetables, fruit, or low fat string cheese instead of chips, cookies and cup cakes
• Consume 8-10 cups of water throughout the day
• Include a dessert in your total caloric intake for the day and enjoy it guilt free

 St. Patrick’s Day is a great holiday to share with close friends and family. To help stay on track with your goals (assuming you are interested) you should set some boundaries and create a plan before the festivities begin.  Above all, remember the true spirit of the holiday, don’t forget to wear green and just ENJOY yourself. We all deserve to have a little fun sometimes (within reason of course). Go ahead, eat, drink and be Irish! But choose to be the lucky leprechaun that survives the holiday without expanding your waistline.

Sláinte chugat (Good health to you),

 

Shaneya Harris, CPT, CAFT

Program Director/Instructor

San Fernando Valley Adventure Boot Camp

Shaneya@ValleyAdventureBootCamp.com

Office: (818) 357-2352

Running Is The Best Way To Get Fit?

Myth: Running is the best way to get fit.
Fact: There is no one best way to get fit. You have to do what you like or you’ll find a reason to quit. Getting fit physically & mentally is a process that takes time & patience, w/built-in rewards all along the way. If you’re looking for instant success (like lose 10 pounds in 10 days!)you’re only looking for trouble.

Sneak Calorie Burning

 What are your plans for this weekend? A great way to promote weight loss is to pack your weekends with physical activities. Weed the garden, walk the dog, plan a bike trip, or clean out the garage. The key is to keep on moving. For a person who weighs 160 pounds, participating in any of the following activities for thirty minutes will cause the following expenditures in calories:

Chopping and splitting wood 288 calories
Cooking dinner 96 calories
Digging in the garden 240 calories
Dusting 120 calories
Grocery shopping 190 calories
Ironing clothes 190 calories
Making a bed 94 calories
Moving furniture 288 calories
Playing with the kids 192 calories
Raking the lawn 206 calories
Shoveling snow 288 calories
Taking out the trash 120 calories
Trimming bushes 168 calories
Washing dishes 144 calories
Washing Windows 144 calories
Watering outdoor plants 120 calories
Vacuuming 196 calories

What are you waiting for? Find an activity and let the calorie burning begin!

Should I Begin Weigth Training After I lose Weight?

MYTH -You shouldn’t start weight training until you’ve lost most of the weight you want to lose because it will slow down your fat loss, or trap your fat in the muscle, or who knows what else.

FACT – Weight training is VITAL to a weight loss program because it turns up the metabolic fires that burn calories – and it tones your muscles. You should start weight training immediately.

Strength Training is Crucial

Strength training is a crucial factor in losing fat. Not only does it make your body and bones stronger, it also help to raise your metabolism so you burn more calories all day long. For those wanting to loose weight, make sure your workouts are balanced between cardio and resistance training.  

Can Muscles Turn To Fat?

MYTH:  Muscles will turn to fat when you stop using them.
FACT:  Muscles can not turn to fat.  Muscle and fat are two separate and distinct tissues. They simply do no have the physical capability to change from one type of tissue to another.  Muscles have a unique property of “use it or lose it”.  If you do not use a muscle, it will literally waste away (atrophy).

What are you doing to maintain or build your current muscle mass? Email us for more infomation on this topic.

Set Your Goals AND Write them Down!

Did you know that writing down your goals is one of the best ways to assure that you will meet them? Make the (healthy) habit to write down your fitness and weight loss goals and to update it periodically with your progress. Remember, the more specific your goals are, the more likely you are to meet them. Instead of writing ‘I want to lose some weight’ make your goal more definite like: ‘I want to lose 15 pounds and fit into my size 8 pants’. 

What is your motivation?? What’s driving your desire for change? Identifying your motivating factors is also crucial to staying on track. A motivating factor driving a current client is to ”look better than her EX-husband”. This is the most unique motivating factor that I’ve heard in some time, but the point is, (for her) this factor was strong enough to keep her focused on achieving her goals. 

Share your goals and unique motivating factors with us. We love hearing from you!