8 DIET BUSTERS TO AVOID

Tips to Stop Sabotaging Your Weight-Loss Goals

1. Liquid Calories: Watch out for empty calories in soft drinks, flavored water, and juices.  Your beverage of choice for quenching thirst should simply be plain water – and lots of it.
2. Dinner rolls: Do you ever ask yourself: “How could I be gaining weight when all I’m eating is fish and salad?”  Bear in mind that those three rolls you ate with your fish and salad packed a fluffy 250-500 calories each, depending on what kind of roll it was and how much butter you used.
3. Breakfast Cereal:  Our bodies don’t really need all those unnecessary and mostly nutritionally empty carb calories, especially at breakfast when the body’s insulin levels are being established for each day.  Try a protein breakfast of nuts, yoghurt, or eggs instead.
4. Chips:  An 8 oz. bag of potato chips has about 1240 calories (an entire days’ worth) with virtually no nutritional value. No further comment.
5. Granola Bars:  The average granola bar has about 120 calories (45 of those from fat), 8% Saturated Fat, and about 17 grams of sugar. Snack on an apple or a handful of fresh berries instead and skip the added sugar and fat.
6. High Fructose Corn Syrup:  This hidden ingredient turns up in almost 95% of all processed supermarket foods and is believed by many nutrition experts to be a leading contributor to the growing problem of obesity in the U.S.
7. Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Oils:  These processed fats accumulate in your body causing sluggishness, weight gain, and many experts have linked them to arteriosclerosis and hardening of the arteries.  They are found in processed breads, baked goods, chips, fast foods and breakfast cereals.
8. Supersize Portions:  By some accounts, most food items should be eaten in portions about the size of what you can reasonably hold in the scooped palm of one hand.  If your portion of anything (except maybe salad greens) is bigger than that, you are probably eating too much.  Small frequent meals are better than isolated large ones.

5 Moves to Melt Belly-Fat Outside the Gym

    If you’re noticing a little “extra love” around your midsection, here are some suggestions to get your core toned and tight.  

1. Walk:   Walking is the easiest way to burn fat around the midsection.  Purchase a good pair of walking shoes with excellent arch support and walk on different types of terrain such as asphalt, grass, sand and dirt.  Make sure you walk at least one hour each day for maximum results.  Try walking instead of driving when running errands.

1. Jog or Run:  Jogging or running provides faster results than walking, but is harder for some people to commit to, and harder on the connective tissue and joints.  Even if you jog or run around the block once a day, you will see results within one week.  Again, choose the proper footwear to support your arches and protect your ankles, knees and hips from strains and injury.

1. Bicycle:  Cycling tones the lower body while improving overall circulation.  Even if you only do it once a week, pedal for a period of at least one hour for best results.  Make sure your bike is the right height for you, and wear protective gear if riding in traffic.

1. Crunches:  Everybody knows that in order to achieve a flat, tight belly, you must do crunches; and it seems that this is almost everyone’s least favorite exercise.  The best way to attack those crunches is to just DO them (make sure you’ve stretched and warmed up first).  Start with 2 sets of 15 reps the first week, then gradually increase the reps until you’re up to 100 per set. Results are instantly visible after 3 or 4 sets.

1. Swimming:  An excellent total body workout, swimming not only tightens and tones the core, but works on the extremities and lateral muscles which are hard to target via other exercises. One or two hours a week is sufficient to produce dramatic results visible within the first month.

Build a Lean Machine

A truly lean body consists of firm, sculpted muscles, a tight core, strong limbs, and zero storage fat.  To get this type of body – and maintain it – apply the age-old combination of Diet and Exercise, with a little bit of Supplementation thrown in. In spite of all the hype out there, this is still the only way to achieve results!   Diet Just as every body is different, so is every metabolism, and hence everyone’s optimal diet. Nonetheless, the goal of your dietary focus should be to build lean muscle mass while eliminating fat deposits.  The best way to achieve this is by eating lean proteins and complex carbohydrates, while eliminating saturated and hydrogenated fats and simple carbohydrates such as refined sugar, white flour and processed foods. Lean protein effectively builds muscle mass while complex carbohydrates provide energy. Healthy fats such as those derived from olive oil, coconut, tree nuts, and avocado nourish healthy hair, nails, and skin, while lubricating the organs and stabilizing hormone levels to burn fat.   Supplements Supplementation should be specific to each individual body and supervised by a health professional after careful evaluation of your needs.  Supplements should also be rotated so the body does not grow dependent on them.  In many cases, proper supplementation may assist in losing weight and building muscle by supplying more nutrients to the body, making for quicker results. Amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fish oils provide anti-oxidant protection to protect against disease and aging, and also provide strength and fuel for your workout.   Exercise Your ideal exercise regimen should combine daily aerobics with one hour of strength training at least twice a week for best results. Once you experience how this will transform both your energy and your appearance, your own body will motivate you to continue!  

6 Reasons to Love Circuit Training

Circuit training is a form of total body toning and conditioning that consists of a series of sequential short bursts of resistance training exercises where each set of repetitions targets a difference muscle group in the body.  A “circuit” refers to the set of exercises included in the training session. Typically, the switch between exercises (or “stations”) happens quickly to enhance the cardiovascular benefits of the rotation.  By quickly switching from working one group of muscles to another, the body does not require a rest in metabolic rate between exercises; this continuity helps to accelerate and maintain increased heart rate, oxygen consumption and caloric burning.  Resistance training exercises are often combined with aerobics to further increase these benefits.  Many of my clients at Morphe notice that circuit training accelerates their metabolism, gets them to perspire more profusely, and promotes rapid weight loss and body sculpting.     Why We Love Circuits     1)            Circuit training targets different muscle groups individually, providing a focused conditioning and toning workout that sculpts and defines the entire body.     2)            Circuit training increases heart rate, oxygen consumption and combines the benefits of resistance training with the increased caloric burning power of aerobics!     3)            Circuits can consist of any variety of exercises, and may be adapted to any environment, such as an outdoor obstacle course where you do reps at each station.     4)            Circuit training is lively, challenging and FUN! It gets your adrenalin and endorphins flowing and helps your body detox through increased perspiration.     5)            Circuit training accelerates weight loss and body sculpting by increasing metabolic rate and stimulating caloric burning.     6)            And most importantly: Results! Circuit training delivers fast and dramatic results that mean you’ll look better this evening than you did when you got up this morning!