Fitness Friday

WebFit Tip November 30, 2007

It takes a superhuman effort to say no to everything you'll be offered in the coming weeks, so instead, try for moderation. Follow these guidelines and you'll ensure minimal damage.

1. Portion control is everything - Eliminating or even limiting certain foods is brutally hard during the holidays. So do the next best thing: Eat reasonably small portions, limit the foods you know you should limit, and don't stuff yourself.

2. Plan ahead - During the holidays, try to plan around where you're going, what temptations are likely to arise and how you're going to deal with them. Decide in advance what you're going to allow yourself, but prepare for it so you don't go overboard. Don't be afraid to taste things without finishing them.

Holiday Weight Loss

Can you really lose weight during the holidays?  The short answer is yes. Of course, as I’m sure you can imagine, losing weight during the holidays is not an easy task.   Weight loss is one of those constant struggles people deal with every day even when it’s not a holiday.   But rest assured, with the right planning, successful weight loss is just a few steps away.

One thing that makes losing weight difficult during the holidays is the fact that so many of our holiday traditions involve or even highlight food.  And the featured food is usually not your typical healthy fare that dieters seek.  It is important to keep in mind that weight loss becomes more difficult when you feel that you are sacrificing the foods you love. Deprivation is not the answer to surviving the holidays.  In fact, it’s a surefire recipe for disaster.  A better strategy is moderation.  By taking a moderate approach to the holiday offerings, you may not achieve a multiple-pound weight loss, but you can certainly maintain your current weight and perhaps lose a couple of excess pounds along the way.

Discover Which Form Of Cardio Exercise Is Most Effective To Burn Off Body Fat?

I am sure you have wondered at some point in time which cardioexercise is better. To put it in simple terms, both low and high intensity exercises will help you to burn off body fat. The question here is which is the most effective to burn off more body fat.  When scientists first discovered that during intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles for energy. During low intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of fat.

If your wondering whether or not it works, the answer is no because there are so many obese people still around. Even though they are working out with low intensity routines, it still makes you wonder how it can be.

The scientists were right when they said the human body burns more body fat during low intensity exercises like walking or swimming. During a high intensity exercise such as running, the body will burn a lot more calories. Even if some of the calories burnt are from glycogen, there are still many fat calories burned as well.

WebFit Tip November 23, 2007

As we enter the holiday season, please remember this is the time of year when most people tend to add about 1 pound to their respective weight.  The really bad news - the extra weight never comes off.  Here are a few tips to help survive the holiday season:

1.  Workout as early as possible, preferably first thing in the morning.

As our schedules become more hectic, try to wake up earlier and get the training done before work.  On days off from work, definitely try to get the training done as early as possible.

2.  Plan your workout days one week ahead

Due to increased amount of get togethers and days that the gym will be closed, it is best to decide a week ahead what days you can make it to the gym.  And, be flexible as there are always last minute changes

3.  Plan your cheat days wisely

Attempt to space your cheat days with several days in between.  5 - 6 days are best.

4.  Eat your cheat days wisely

When you have a cheat meal, start eating the protein portion first as this will start getting you full.   Also, just because it's a cheat meal, please don't stuff yourself.

How To Stay On Track

Laziness is usually cited as the reason that people can't stick
to a diet and fitness plan.  While that may be part of the problem, something should be said for the fact that it's just really hard to stay focused on something when you have so many other personal responsibilities to address.

Even something as essential as staying fit can fall by the wayside when you have a family and job to take care of.  Here's some advice on how to make sure fitness is always a part of your life.

One of the most reliable ways to stay on track is to get a personal trainer.  A personal trainer can help you schedule your workout plan, offer general exercise advice, and help you design
a diet. All this information will help you make progress much faster, which will make you more motivated to keep working.   Statistics show that people who work with a personal trainer are
much more likely to reach their workout goals than those who try to go it alone.

You should also get a training partner who is as reliable as you are.  Tell him or the specific time and place you would like to work out every week.  That way, you are more likely to actually go the gym, because if you try to flake out you are not just letting yourself down, you are letting your partner down, too.

Organically Yours

You too can make smarter choices in the food you buy.
Organically grown foods have been increasing in popularity as people are choosing to live a smarter and healthier lifestyle.  Organic farmers around the world are doing their part in preserving the quality of our ecosystem and to improve our health by growing food the way nature intended. Organically grown food gives us a naturally healthy and purely delicious
food that is completely free of harmful chemicals and pesticides. Most foods contain a high level of pesticides that can be more harmful that organically grown foods.

1. The Five Reasons

- Organic foods are free of additives and preservatives and
therefore taste more delicious and pure.

- Buying organic foods helps to reduce the dependence on all
the non-renewable resources.

- The organic food industry promotes healthy farmland and
supports those small family owned farms that produce the
organic food.

- Growing organic foods help to keep chemicals out of the water
supplies and help protect the farmers and other workers from
having contact with harmful chemicals and pesticides.

- Organically grown food is exceedingly safe for children
because it is free from harmful pesticides.

WebFit Tip Thanksgiving

Although it's not Friday, here's an easy tip for Thanksgiving.

A holiday meal like Thanksgiving dinner can easily top 2,500 calories - that's probably more than you need in a whole day. You might be able to get away with eating one meal like that over the holidays, but once you add more dinners and holiday parties, your diet can get out of control pretty quickly. It is no wonder many people start to gain weight this time of year.

This year pay attention to your plate

• Imagine your plate divided into thirds
• Use the 1st third for white meat turkey, no skin
• Use the 2nd third for salad and low-fat vegetables.
• Finally, the last 3rd is for all the starches (sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce)

Have a great Thanksgiving!

WebFit Tip November 16, 2007

Make sure that the turkey is the only thing getting stuffed this Year!

Thanksgiving is the second food based holiday of the season. The average American gains 5-10 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s.

If you haven't started a fitness program yet, why wait? Why not give yourself the gift of a fit, trim body this year? You can have a good time this holiday season without finding yourself 10 pounds heavier in January.

So, here is the holiday fitness tip: Avoid the "All or nothing" mentality. Let's face it, no one's perfect. Chances are, there will be a time or two when you go overboard. Don't let this lead into an "I already blew it" binge that lasts until January 1st. No one or two days is going to make or break your fat loss efforts. The key is to get right back on track the next day and consider adding some extra cardio in to work off the extra calories.

How Important Is Nutrition?

Since the beginning of times, human beings have known that we are what we eat.   Our ancestors were fully aware of the simple fact that eating well today means being stronger tomorrow.

As we all know, science has evolved since those old days, and today we know that a good nutrition is not just what we eat, but it’s also how much we eat and when we eat it.   This means that a good nutrition not only consists on carefully deciding what to eat, but also know what amount of each kind of food we may eat to fulfill our body needs without accumulating an excess of nutrients.

For this reason, it is a good thing to get advice from a professional nutrition expert. As an expert, he knows the right plan to follow in order to achieve a perfect nutrition.

What we eat is so important that many specialists will require you to have some tests prior to recommending you a specific diet; as every person is different, it makes sense to design a
diet plan that is unique and personal for each one.

A Great Body With Aerobic Exercise

Our hearts are in it when we say we want the ultimate body and
we really plan to work hard for it.  But motivation is one thing and proper execution is another.  Most people trying for that “great body” are not approaching their workout the right way.   Instead of focusing on an intense cardiovascular workout, many will spend just a few minutes warming up before going on to what they consider the “real workout” – the process of lifting weights.  This is entirely the wrong approach to working out and needs to be reconsidered as a viable way of staying healthy, losing weight and staying fit.

Most experts in fitness will tell you that the important work of staying fit lies in the aerobic portion of your work out.  The weight lifting portion may make your muscles bigger but the actual calories burned and the cardiovascular benefits are minimal.  Regular exercise or a type of exercise known as endurance strength training allow you to build muscle strength and physical endurance – things you really want out of your workout.  Flexibility is also an important part of fitness; when you choose to work out with weights but don’t add plenty of
regular exercise, you may actually do yourself some bodily harm.   This means that looking good and staying fit involves the primary use of aerobic exercise with the addition of weight
lifting only after your fitness level is already high.