March 16, 2018 by Heather

The Power of Walking

Walking is probably one of the most underrated forms of exercise. And while it may not seem as fancy or as important as other forms of intense exercise, we are designed to walk. It’s in our DNA and has always been a huge part of our existence as a dominant species on this planet all throughout the centuries.

Walking to Lose Weight

The CDC recommends that adults take about 10,000 steps per day – this is roughly about 5 miles. You’ve probably noticed your Fitbit or fitness apps give you this daily goal. Sadly, most people don’t get even close to that. This is especially the case for those with office jobs.

Walking is just as effective as some more intense workouts when it comes to losing weight. In fact, according to a few studies, walking briskly for as little as 30 minutes a day resulted in a smaller waistline and a lower body mass index compared to non-walkers. Ideally, you’ll want to gradually work up to a longer amount of walking time per day, but just remember that every little bit of walking throughout the day helps.

As you walk you burn up calories without leaving you to feel too exhausted, this can lead to an impressive amount of weight loss over time. Depending on your weight, you can burn up to 100 calories per mile, this is great news if you’re looking for a low-impact exercise that is free, easy on the joints, and something that can be performed just about anywhere.

Of course, healthy eating and more intense exercise also go hand-in-hand with weight-loss and healthy weight maintenance.

The Mental Benefits of Walking

Going for a morning or evening walk does more for you than just helping you lose weight or to help you stay physically fit. Studies have shown the effect walking has on reducing stress levels. It gives you a chance to clear your mind or gather your thoughts before the day starts or after a long day.

Walking gives us a much need break from things we’re easily distracted by at home, such as TV, smartphones or tablets. Many great ideas, inventions, and life-changing events came from a single walk. If you’ve been one to underestimate the power of walking, you may want to reconsider. Even just 5 minutes a day of walking can be the start of a new habit that’s good for both mind and body.

January 20, 2018 by Heather

Fat-loss vs. Weight-loss

The festive season is nearly finished and you might be tempted to step on the scale to see how many extra pounds you’ve gained and how many you’re hoping to lose.
Whatever you do, don’t start to panic. You ate what you ate, and you may or may not have kept up with your exercising. If there was any time of the year to sit back and enjoy life a little, it was now! If it’s any reassurance, you’re not alone!!!

Now the festive season has passed and the New Year is around the corner. But before you step on the scale and start to panic about the extra pudge around your belly – concocting an immediate “weight loss” diet of water and kale – let’s get a couple of facts straight.

Weight loss vs. Fat loss

We’re going to break down a hot topic term here which people seem to use interchangeably. “Weight-loss vs. fat-loss.”

Weight Loss – means lowering your body-weight, this includes the weight of your organs, bones, muscles, body fat, water, etc.

Fat Loss – means lowering the amount of body fat your body carries.

Misled by the Scale

There is a huge difference between losing fat and losing weight. For the average person, your goal should be to lose fat, not weight. Most people are misled by the scale and focus way too much on how much they weigh.

When you lose weight, you lose fat, muscle, fluids, etc. So, if your focus is seeing those lbs drop when stepping on the scale you may be losing important muscle – not fat.

Of course, in some cases, such as obesity, your goal is to also lose weight, but you want the majority of your weight loss to be fat, not weight.

Measuring your body fat according to the scale alone is an inefficient way to tell if you need to lose extra body fat. Another thing to consider is that muscle weighs more than fat, which means if you’re toning up and building muscle, chances are you may step on the scale and be surprised that you’re heavier than when you started. This is because you gained valuable muscle.

Replace Your Scale with Weights and Look Healthy

If you are seriously obese then you may want to keep the scales close by to monitor your general weight loss goal. But if you want to want to look and feel healthy put away those scales and pick up some weights!

Losing weight alone can leave you looking “skinny fat” because you have no muscle tone underneath for the skin to stick to. Start lifting weights and focus on losing fat and building muscle instead of losing weight!

January 5, 2018 by Heather

Incorporating Fitness into your Day

It’s human nature to feel too tired or lazy to exercise. To make excuses for why we can’t exercise in the first place. And to be honest it’s not easy sometimes to fit it into our day.

Our schedules are busy, our days are long, and when the day is done and dusted all we want to do is pour ourselves a nice glass of red and sit back and watch a few episodes of our favorite TV show!

Dedicating even just 25 minutes a day is sometimes difficult so we put it off for tomorrow, but then tomorrow comes and we still haven’t exercised.

Focus on Health and Strength

Many people get discouraged about their health and fitness goals when they step on the scale. They put too much emphasis on weight loss, rather than the gratitude they get from the joys of exercise and movement.

Forget the scale, and think about how you feel after a good workout. Find your motivation to exercise from the exhilaration you feel from getting out in the fresh air for a jog, or from a fun weekly dance fitness class.

Taking the time to connect with exercise on an emotional level will help you achieve your fitness goals in the long run, and you’ll begin to love it again.

Fitting It In

Think of exercise as something you just can’t live without, like food and water. This way you’ll commit to daily exercise and add to it your schedule just like any other appointment.

Develop a “move more” attitude by reminding your body to get more movement throughout the day in everything you do. Sit less, walk more. Park far from stores, and squat to pick something up.

Finding the Motivation

Some of the biggest reasons for not exercising are that we don’t have the proper motivation. Motivation can come in the form of a personal trainer or a regular weekly fitness class that you have to attend.

Fitness apps can be very motivational as it’s something you can follow and do just about anywhere. If you feel like exercising in the park, all you need is your app, a good spot, and a positive attitude!

There are plenty of health apps that record your daily steps, what you’ve eaten during the day, and how many hours you’ve slept. Seeing that you’ve only taken 600 steps in the day get you motivated to get out for a walk and see it change to the thousands. If you are interested in using a fitness app, reach out to me to learn more about Beachbody On Demand.

November 21, 2017 by Heather

How to Build Muscle Naturally

Let’s face it. Deep down inside we all want to look super fit! Lean and mean, and built like a machine! And there is no shortage at all for magazines, products, and supplements all promising us that six-pack we so desperately want!

Anyone can build muscle naturally without using any help from steroids. All it takes a whole lot of commitment, effort, discipline, along with a heavy dose of determination!

Most people envision their body transformation taking shape from a combination of weight-loss and muscle gain.

But how is it done exactly? (more…)