Lets face it - most people start a workout program because they want to lower their body fat percentage. There are countless diet and exercise programs out there, many of them contradicting the other. All of them promise certain weight loss, and few of them deliver the goods.
This weekend, I read a really good, straightforward article which explains some of the most effective ways to cut body fat. I'm not a bodybuilder, and I'm not aiming for 10-15% body fat. I just want to lose a few more body fat percentage points to achieve the look I want.
This article really cuts to the basics of what a good fitness and eating program aimed at fat burning should include, and applies to anyone looking to get in shape Even though it's a bodybuilding website, the article is written in a way that applies to everyone, whether they have 5, 50 or even 100 pounds to lose:
Bodybuilding.com fat loss article
Some of the highlights of the article include:
1) The use of moderate aerobic exercise, which increases in intensity as fat loss occurs. High intensity interval training should be used by intermediate to advanced exercisers to speed fat loss. Insanity, anyone?
2) Cutting out saturated fats from your diet (fats that solidify at room temperature) - but keep the omega-3 and -6 fats which can enhance your metabolism.
3) Cutting out bad carbs - but keep the good ones! You don't want to go carbo-crazy, but you need some carbs to fuel your body. Foods like brown rice, beans and oats are great for you - and don't forget to eat enough fiber!
4) Drinking a lot of water
5) Incorporating weight or resistance training (which starts during T25 Beta)
There's a lot more info in the article, and I highly recommend it, since it highlights a lot of what I believe in, and I think it's very consistent with the T25 program that I'm currently doing. Tomorrow evening I'm planning to put together a list of foods that contain healthy fats and good carbs - I'm looking for some inspiration in my kitchen, and that seems like a good place to start.
Laura
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Creating accountability to ensure success
Each New Year's, millions of people across America resolve to start working out, get in shape, join a gym, lose weight, eat healthier foods, or some combination of the above. Most of them fail. Part of the reason for this is that most people try to go it alone, rather than finding support they need other people to help get them through.
Of course, the first thing a person needs to have before starting a fitness program is inner motivation. You can't do it for someone else - it sounds like a cliche, but you really have to do it for yourself.
However, as this brief article on the Mayo Clinic website notes, a support group of like-minded people can also offer accountability, which can be a strong motivation to stick to weight-loss and fitness goals.
When I first started Insanity in March, I didn't know what an accountability group was. I didn't think about whether I needed support. I decided to order the program on a whim, so I figured I would just do my best to keep up with the schedule (which was daunting, to say the least). I planned to jump from essentially no daily exercise to 40-60 minute workouts, 6 days a week. It was probably a recipe for failure, but I was lucky - I found a range of support, both on-line and among friends, which helped me stay motivated to finish.
Initially, I started reading some of the Insanity threads on the Beachbody message boards until I found one that suited me. The thread's leader was a really positive guy who'd had lots of success with the program, and other members offered encouragement and solid advice. Having a place to post what I accomplished each day (even if I had a bad workout or missed one altogether) kept my mind focused on moving forward through the program. Plus, having a community of people who were facing the same challenges helped motivate me to finish the entire program. Twice!
Even more importantly, some of my friends in Brussels started doing Insanity with me. Nobody else was doing the entire program, but at least 3 or 4 days a week I had someone else in the room with me, suffering through the same pain. Not only was it a great bonding experience, but knowing that others were planning to exercise with me kept me on track. I can't thank my friends enough for all of their support.
Now, with the upcoming move to England, I know I won't have a group of friends ready and willing to share in my suffering. At times I'm worried that I won't stick with my new-found dedication to fitness, and that I'll go back to my old ways. However, I've recently started my own on-line Focus T25 accountability group on the Beachbody website. I'm hoping for two things - that I can create a small community of my own to help hold me accountable, and that the community I create can provide support to other people, giving them a place to be held accountable as well. Even though we're all ultimately responsible for our own fitness success, it sure does help to have people supporting you during the tough times.
Of course, the first thing a person needs to have before starting a fitness program is inner motivation. You can't do it for someone else - it sounds like a cliche, but you really have to do it for yourself.
However, as this brief article on the Mayo Clinic website notes, a support group of like-minded people can also offer accountability, which can be a strong motivation to stick to weight-loss and fitness goals.
When I first started Insanity in March, I didn't know what an accountability group was. I didn't think about whether I needed support. I decided to order the program on a whim, so I figured I would just do my best to keep up with the schedule (which was daunting, to say the least). I planned to jump from essentially no daily exercise to 40-60 minute workouts, 6 days a week. It was probably a recipe for failure, but I was lucky - I found a range of support, both on-line and among friends, which helped me stay motivated to finish.
Initially, I started reading some of the Insanity threads on the Beachbody message boards until I found one that suited me. The thread's leader was a really positive guy who'd had lots of success with the program, and other members offered encouragement and solid advice. Having a place to post what I accomplished each day (even if I had a bad workout or missed one altogether) kept my mind focused on moving forward through the program. Plus, having a community of people who were facing the same challenges helped motivate me to finish the entire program. Twice!
Even more importantly, some of my friends in Brussels started doing Insanity with me. Nobody else was doing the entire program, but at least 3 or 4 days a week I had someone else in the room with me, suffering through the same pain. Not only was it a great bonding experience, but knowing that others were planning to exercise with me kept me on track. I can't thank my friends enough for all of their support.
Now, with the upcoming move to England, I know I won't have a group of friends ready and willing to share in my suffering. At times I'm worried that I won't stick with my new-found dedication to fitness, and that I'll go back to my old ways. However, I've recently started my own on-line Focus T25 accountability group on the Beachbody website. I'm hoping for two things - that I can create a small community of my own to help hold me accountable, and that the community I create can provide support to other people, giving them a place to be held accountable as well. Even though we're all ultimately responsible for our own fitness success, it sure does help to have people supporting you during the tough times.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Counting calories - Where to start?
I first want to say that I do not religiously count calories. I do not track every bite I take in myfitnesspal.com or any other calorie tracking program. However, over the past six months I've taken a much greater interest in the number of calories in my food, along with the amount of fat, carbs, proteins, vitamins and other content. While I refuse to obsess over the caloric content of every bit of food that crosses my lips, I think it's useful to know how many calories I should consume to maintain, and how many I should consume to lose. I'm currently trying to maintain my weight (over the summer), but come fall I want to lose the last 3-5 pounds, so I'll need to be more careful.
So, to figure out my baseline, I've used
the Harris Benedict-Equation, which determines a target caloric intake based on
your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The Insanity program uses a calculator based on this. BMR is basically the number of calories
your body needs to stay alive and healthy. Once the BMR is calculated, you add
an "allowance" for physical activity to determine the number of
calories you should consume to maintain your current weight. From this number,
determine a healthy caloric deficit based on your weight loss goals (this will
vary greatly from person to person; you may want to chat with your doctor to
determine the right level for you).
As a rough estimate, healthy weight loss is approximately 1-2
pounds a week, requiring a caloric deficit of around 3,500 calories to lose one
pound. So, a deficit of 500 calories a day is probably a reasonable target if
you're trying to lose weight. Like I've said in the past, I'm entirely opposed to diets. For me, it's all about
eating healthy food in the right amounts, and permanently changing your approach to food.
THE HARRIS-BENEDICT EQUATION:
1. Calculate your BMR:
Women: BMR =
655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in
years )
Men: BMR = 66
+ ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in
years )
2. Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as
follows:
Sedentary
(little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2
Lightly
active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375
Moderately
active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55
Very active
(hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725
Extra
active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): BMR x 1.9
NOTE: For Insanity, most people choose to apply "Very
Active" or "Extra Active". I think that for T25,
"Moderately Active" is probably more accurate (though if you do other
physical activity during the day, that will bump you to a higher category).
3. Your final number is the approximate number of calories
you need each day to maintain your weight. For weight loss, determine the mild
to moderate caloric deficit that is right for you.
So in my case:
Female, 148 pounds, 70 inches, age 42: 655 + (4.35 x 148) +
(4.7 x 70) - (4.7 x 42)= 1429
Multiply 1429 x 1.55 (moderately active) = 2,215 calories a
day to maintain my weight. With this information, I will probably aim for 1,900
over the summer, since I'm basically maintaining until fall (though dropping a
pound or two wouldn't be unwelcome!)
Monday, August 5, 2013
Quality over Quantity - Paying Attention to Form
When I was doing Insanity, often I was trying to pace myself to some degree, making sure that I could get through the whole thing without bonking. This summer, I'm doing a new program called Focus T25. It's designed by the same trainer (Shaun T) as Insanity, but it's a very different approach. First of all, the workouts are 25 minutes long, compared with 40 minutes - 1 hour for Insanity. There are no breaks - the idea is to push through the entire workout, using proper form to most effectively work out the various muscle groups. It's not as intense as Insanity, but I'm still seeing good results (down 5 more inches overall during the first four weeks).
In T25, Shaun T repeatedly makes the point that you should use the fullest possible range of motion when doing the exercises. He talks about this during one of the push-up sets, asking you to get your chest to the floor to the best possible results.
For me, the "fullest range of motion" concept is the key to T25. Its true that the workouts are shorter and less "intense" than Insanity, but if you push through every move with correct form, you will get a good burn and see real improvements in muscle tone.
Take squats, for example. Shaun T clearly loves doing squats, since there's all kinds of them in T25. It's easy to cheat when doing them, by dropping just half way down and leaning into your toes. But do them right every time - back straight, weight in your heels, knees behind the toes, dropping into it so your thighs are as close to perpendicular to the floor as possible - and they will burn and fatigue your quads (in a good way). When you come up, squeeze the gluteus muscles and bring your buttocks back under your hips. You'll be sure to see results.
So, regardless of which kind of fitness program you are doing, always mind your form and technique. Even if you wind up doing fewer reps, you'll most likely see greater benefits from your program if you commit to practicing proper form!
Laura
In T25, Shaun T repeatedly makes the point that you should use the fullest possible range of motion when doing the exercises. He talks about this during one of the push-up sets, asking you to get your chest to the floor to the best possible results.
For me, the "fullest range of motion" concept is the key to T25. Its true that the workouts are shorter and less "intense" than Insanity, but if you push through every move with correct form, you will get a good burn and see real improvements in muscle tone.
Take squats, for example. Shaun T clearly loves doing squats, since there's all kinds of them in T25. It's easy to cheat when doing them, by dropping just half way down and leaning into your toes. But do them right every time - back straight, weight in your heels, knees behind the toes, dropping into it so your thighs are as close to perpendicular to the floor as possible - and they will burn and fatigue your quads (in a good way). When you come up, squeeze the gluteus muscles and bring your buttocks back under your hips. You'll be sure to see results.
So, regardless of which kind of fitness program you are doing, always mind your form and technique. Even if you wind up doing fewer reps, you'll most likely see greater benefits from your program if you commit to practicing proper form!
Laura
Sunday, August 4, 2013
How not to eat right...
I haven't written about healthy eating and nutrition on this blog. I will at some point in the future, when I'm actually eating healthy. Right now, I'm on summer vacation ... enough said.
When I started Insanity back in March, I spent a lot of time looking at what (and how much) I was eating. I was absolutely floored by the number of calories that were crossing my lips, so I cut back my food intake significantly. I didn't diet - I don't believe in diets because that word implies a temporary solution, as if you could later go back to your old ways and all will be well. But I put a lot of thought into what I eat, adding in what is healthy and eliminating what is not. I also learned a great deal about which foods pack a ton of fat and calories.All in all, I've developed a healthy approach to eating and food selection.
Now, up to this past week I've been diligently applying this new approach. I plan accordingly if I occasionally want to treat myself, and it's gone very well. But now we're at the river. I'm eating a healthy breakfast and lunch, but then I have a beer (or two) in the afternoon, a bit of wine in the evening, then pulled pork, mac and cheese, crab dip (all homemade, of course!), and it's all really good. Basically, in the evenings I fall off the rails.
I've debated whether to feel guilty about this, and I've decided not to bother. I could choose to forego these things, but instead I've chosen to relax and enjoy. Instead of guilt, I realized that I've been maintaining my exercise program like a champ (Focus T25! I really like it), that we'll be here for less than two weeks, and that I'm staying active. Before I know it, summer will be over, then we will head off to the UK, and I will get myself back on track immediately. Untill that time, I'm going to enjoy my Northern Neck cuisine.
To justify all of this, I have a theory. It has absolutely no basis in scientific fact, but here it is: I've been at a plateau with my weight since early June. I only have 4-5 pounds to go, but they must enjoy my company. So, according to my theory, so long as I don't completely overdo, a few weeks of eating less than healthy foods (and in somewhat higher quantities) will prime my body to drop the additional weight once I restart my eating plan. Of course, this won't work if I pack on 10 pounds over the next two weeks, but so far I think I'm ok.
Come September, I promise to report back on whether this "theory" shows any promise... I hope so, because I really don't want to give up my crab dip altogether.
Happy summer!
When I started Insanity back in March, I spent a lot of time looking at what (and how much) I was eating. I was absolutely floored by the number of calories that were crossing my lips, so I cut back my food intake significantly. I didn't diet - I don't believe in diets because that word implies a temporary solution, as if you could later go back to your old ways and all will be well. But I put a lot of thought into what I eat, adding in what is healthy and eliminating what is not. I also learned a great deal about which foods pack a ton of fat and calories.All in all, I've developed a healthy approach to eating and food selection.
Now, up to this past week I've been diligently applying this new approach. I plan accordingly if I occasionally want to treat myself, and it's gone very well. But now we're at the river. I'm eating a healthy breakfast and lunch, but then I have a beer (or two) in the afternoon, a bit of wine in the evening, then pulled pork, mac and cheese, crab dip (all homemade, of course!), and it's all really good. Basically, in the evenings I fall off the rails.
I've debated whether to feel guilty about this, and I've decided not to bother. I could choose to forego these things, but instead I've chosen to relax and enjoy. Instead of guilt, I realized that I've been maintaining my exercise program like a champ (Focus T25! I really like it), that we'll be here for less than two weeks, and that I'm staying active. Before I know it, summer will be over, then we will head off to the UK, and I will get myself back on track immediately. Untill that time, I'm going to enjoy my Northern Neck cuisine.
To justify all of this, I have a theory. It has absolutely no basis in scientific fact, but here it is: I've been at a plateau with my weight since early June. I only have 4-5 pounds to go, but they must enjoy my company. So, according to my theory, so long as I don't completely overdo, a few weeks of eating less than healthy foods (and in somewhat higher quantities) will prime my body to drop the additional weight once I restart my eating plan. Of course, this won't work if I pack on 10 pounds over the next two weeks, but so far I think I'm ok.
Come September, I promise to report back on whether this "theory" shows any promise... I hope so, because I really don't want to give up my crab dip altogether.
Happy summer!
Enjoying the Great Outdoors
After getting myself back into shape this year, one thing I didn't expect was how much more fun I would have outside this summer. I love being outdoors, and this August has been spectacular for our holiday. Unlike many years, the temperature has been great, in the upper 80s every day, which is ideal for enjoying the water.
A couple of days ago, the kids and I took a big kayak and a paddleboard to a small beach up the creek. My daughter and I paddled the kayak, with the boys on the board. On the way back, we switched and I wound up on the paddleboard all the way home. If you've never ridden a paddleboard, it's great fun - standing above the water while rowing along gives a whole different perspective! It's also a fantastic workout - it improves balance, works the upper arms and shoulders and engages the core the entire time. If you have a chance, definitely give it a try!
Then yesterday, I took a kayak out by myself and headed up to the end of the creek. Now, I really like birdwatching, even though I don't get out to do it that often. I wound up spotting most of my favorite birds around here - a bald eagle, great blue herons, green herons, osprey and a kingfisher - like seeing the "big five" on a mini bird safari along the creek.
Today I'm going to embrace the day, being thankful for having the energy and stamina to enjoy myself with my family! I'm not sure what it will bring (but I suspect it may involve a kayak)...
A couple of days ago, the kids and I took a big kayak and a paddleboard to a small beach up the creek. My daughter and I paddled the kayak, with the boys on the board. On the way back, we switched and I wound up on the paddleboard all the way home. If you've never ridden a paddleboard, it's great fun - standing above the water while rowing along gives a whole different perspective! It's also a fantastic workout - it improves balance, works the upper arms and shoulders and engages the core the entire time. If you have a chance, definitely give it a try!
Then yesterday, I took a kayak out by myself and headed up to the end of the creek. Now, I really like birdwatching, even though I don't get out to do it that often. I wound up spotting most of my favorite birds around here - a bald eagle, great blue herons, green herons, osprey and a kingfisher - like seeing the "big five" on a mini bird safari along the creek.
Today I'm going to embrace the day, being thankful for having the energy and stamina to enjoy myself with my family! I'm not sure what it will bring (but I suspect it may involve a kayak)...
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Don't forget to rest!
I'm currently in the middle of a Beachbody program called Focus T25, which calls for 25 minute workouts 4 days a week, plus a double workout (50 minutes) on Fridays. Sunday is reserved for stretching, but Saturday is reserved for rest.
I'm really glad to have a rest day today. We've had a long week of moving furniture and boxes, and my shoulders are sore! I've kept up with my fitness schedule this week and haven't missed a workout, but I'm going to embrace this day.
Rest days are an essential part of a fitness program. Even elite athletes schedule easy days into their overall training plan. During the week, you work your muscles hard, causing microscopic damage to your muscle fibers. This is a good thing, because as the muscle recovers, it rebuilds itself stronger than it was before. This is how we gain strength and tone.
If you don't give the muscles a chance to rest, this can lead to fatigue and overtraining, which can compromise your overall fitness program. If you're new to working out, take the day off on your scheduled rest days (except for walking or other low impact activity). If you've been regularly working out for a while, it's fine to do an easy run or another activity that you enjoy, but be sure to give those muscles a rest. You've earned it!
So no T25 for me today - I'm planning a nice easy kayak trip with the kids! Tomorrow I'll enjoy a stretching/yoga session (which will hopefully get rid of any remaining soreness). Then Monday morning, back to the program...
I'm really glad to have a rest day today. We've had a long week of moving furniture and boxes, and my shoulders are sore! I've kept up with my fitness schedule this week and haven't missed a workout, but I'm going to embrace this day.
Rest days are an essential part of a fitness program. Even elite athletes schedule easy days into their overall training plan. During the week, you work your muscles hard, causing microscopic damage to your muscle fibers. This is a good thing, because as the muscle recovers, it rebuilds itself stronger than it was before. This is how we gain strength and tone.
If you don't give the muscles a chance to rest, this can lead to fatigue and overtraining, which can compromise your overall fitness program. If you're new to working out, take the day off on your scheduled rest days (except for walking or other low impact activity). If you've been regularly working out for a while, it's fine to do an easy run or another activity that you enjoy, but be sure to give those muscles a rest. You've earned it!
So no T25 for me today - I'm planning a nice easy kayak trip with the kids! Tomorrow I'll enjoy a stretching/yoga session (which will hopefully get rid of any remaining soreness). Then Monday morning, back to the program...
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