Archive for February, 2010

Did you know that water can help you lose weight?  That’s right – good old H2O!

We all know that water is essential to life.  Our bodies are 70% water and water makes up a huge 85% of our brains!  Becoming even slightly dehydrated can lead to fatigue, weakness, headaches, and even disorientation at extreme levels.

So how does water help you lose weight?  When you are properly hydrated, your energy level is higher so you burn more calories.

Water makes you feel full so you aren’t as tempted to pop a quick snack into your mouth.  Try drinking a whole glass of water 30 minutes before a meal and it could help keep you from overeating.

According to Rob Poulos  (The Fat Burning Furnace) drinking cold water helps you burn more fat because your body has to use about 1 calorie per ounce of cold water to warm the water to body temperature.  That’s an extra 448 calories per week just from drinking the minimum  8 cups of (cold) water per day.  Imagine if you drank more than that!

Mireille Guiliano, author of one of my favorite books, French Women Don’t Get Fat, points out that, because most Americans don’t drink enough water, our bodies must depend on water from the food we consume.  For this reason, our brains sometimes think that we’re hungry when we’re actually thirsty!  Try drinking a glass of water the next time you think you need a snack.

She also recommends drinking a whole glass of water before going to bed so you won’t become so dehydrated during sleep, and another first thing in the morning – even before your 1^st cup of coffee!

Remember that caffeine stimulates your body to eliminate water more quickly so, even though coffee, tea, and soda are largely water, you won’t get as much benefit from them as you will from straight water.  If your water needs a flavor boost, try adding lemon or lime juice.

If you need more motivation to get fit and healthy, how about your bank account?  Here are 5 things you can do to save money while improving your fitness!

1. Decrease your alcohol intake. I love wine with dinner but if I have 2 glasses every evening, you can practically watch my waistline inflate!   Cut back to 1 glass per evening and you’ll not only cut your calorie intake but you’ll only need to buy half as many bottles of wine!
2. Cook meals at home. Home-cooked meals are generally healthier, allow you to control your portion size, and cost less than eating out.
3. Exercise (part 1) Exercise releases endorphins (feel-good chemicals) into your body.  This could lower the possibility that you’ll need to spend money on antidepressants.
4. Exercise (part 2) Women over a certain age (you know who you are!)  tend to gain pounds and inches annually.  Keep up your regular regimen of aerobics and strength training and you won’t have to continually be buying new, larger clothing every year!
5. Stop smoking. In this day and age when everyone knows the dangers of smoking I shouldn’t even have to mention it!  But if endangering yourself and those around you is not enough motivation, just think about how much money you’ll save by quitting.

Monday Motivation

I love this quote from Vince Lombardi:

” The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay     for  success.  I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”

Have you ever really accomplished something, met a deadline, or achieved a goal without working for it?  We won’t ever meet our fitness or weight loss goals by just thinking about them.  The time for planning is over; start taking small steps, one right after the other, and you will get to where you want to be!

Here’s a video of what one woman, Kim, uses to motivate herself to keep working hard.

Can strength training actually reverse the aging  process?  Aging is related to the loss of muscular strength as well as muscle mass.

Research has shown that this muscle loss is due to a combination of factors including inactivity and lower levels of antioxidants.  The good news is that research also shows that strength training can increase antioxidant enzyme activity thus helping to reverse the aging process at a deeper level than merely cosmetic.

Aerobic activity is great for conditioning your heart and lungs but it does not build muscle.  No matter how much time you spend on aerobics, after the age of 40 your body begins to lose more and more muscle mass, which leads to aging.

To reverse this aging process you must not only keep your muscles strong but build more muscle to make up for what you are losing each year.

Strength training is not a synonym for body building.  You can build muscle without bulking up by selecting the type of workout you do.  Using more repetitions of lighter weights will build toned but not bulky muscles.

There are even some strength training exercises you can do using just your own body weight.  Try these:

• Standing push-ups: Put your hands on the edge of the kitchen counter shoulder width apart.  Lower your chest slowly to the counter, then push back up.
• Squats: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.  Bend your knees and lower your body as though you were going to sit on a chair, then raise back up.  You can hold on to a bar height counter for stability if needed.

Ask your doctor or a fitness trainer for advice on designing your workout.  But do it today – it’s never too late to start strength training but you can’t reap the benefits until you start!

Are you a work at home mom?  Do you have a room in your house that serves as your home office, or even just a dedicated corner of another room?  Then no more excuses – you have plenty of room to exercise!

If you hate the “E” word, you’re not alone.  Everyone knows that exercise keeps your body and mind healthy but the majority of people would rather not be bothered by actually DOING it.  However, it is essential that you keep moving throughout your lifetime.  Remember the old saying, “use it or lose it!”

You probably chose to be a work at home mom because you could be your own boss while being available to your family.  But working at home requires hours spent sitting in a chair.  Do you fault others for being couch potatoes?  Well you could be on your way to becoming a chair spud! Have you checked out your bootie in the “rear view” mirror lately?!

Does the following scenes sound familiar?  You’ve been working at your computer for a couple of hours and you realize you’ve read the same paragraph 3 times but still don’t know what it says.  Or you’ve been trying to compose an email but can’t think of a thing to write.  Those are not signs that you need a nap.  Nope, it’s time for the “E” word!  Get up and move!

You don’t need to go to a gym or even to another room in your house.  You don’t need lots of equipment.  Actually, you carry some of the best equipment with you all the time: your own body weight.  And any excess body weight you’re tired of carrying around serves as motivation to get moving!

I have found an online site that is a great fitness resource for work at home moms – and dads!  It is called Fat Loss Quickie. (I love that name!)  The man who developed this program, Scott Tousignant, is a certified personal trainer who runs an online business from the home he shares with his wife and two children.  He knows first hand what the work at home parent lifestyle is all about.

Scott understands that working at home doesn’t mean working every single minute.  Sometimes you just need a break but you can’t afford to be away from your desk for hours at a time.  Fat Loss Quickie. provides cardio activities to keep your heart and lungs healthy, and strength training workouts to build muscle and burn fat.  But the best thing is each routine only takes 10 minutes!  The man is a genius!

When you feel sluggish or foggy, rather than reaching for a snack or your pillow, try a 10 or 20-minute exercise break.  You’ll return to your work and your family feeling energized!

Why exercise?  We all know that we should be exercising regularly yet the advertisements we see on TV for giant televisions and video games encourage a sedentary lifestyle.  Take a look at these  Thai commercials promoting fitness.  They’re short, to the point, and hilarious!