SW: 118 [1/10/12]
CW: 119.5 [1/13/12]
GOALS: GW2: 117 GW3: 114 GW4: 110 GW5: 107 GW6: 105 GW7: 103 UGW: HEALTHY & FIT**
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"You're closer to your goal then you were yesterday"
Apples are a rich source of antioxidants. They help reduce cholesterol. They help regulate bowel movements. They reduce the risk of cancer. They have a high water content 85%. They are a natural appetite suppresant.
Diet Health FAQ: Food Cravings, Motivation, My Routines, Groceries etc
Why should I exercise?
Increased physical activity can lead to a longer life and improved health. Exercise helps prevent heart disease and many other health problems. Exercise builds strength, gives you more energy and can help you reduce stress. It is also a good way to curb your appetite and burn calories.
Who should exercise?
Increased physical activity can benefit almost everyone. Most people can begin gradual, moderate exercise on their own. If you think there is a reason you may not be able to exercise safely, talk with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program. In particular, your doctor needs to know if you have heart trouble, high blood pressure or arthritis, or if you often feel dizzy or have chest pains.
What kind of exercise should I do?
Exercises that increase your heart rate and move large muscles (such as the muscles in your legs and arms) are best. Choose an activity that you enjoy and that you can start slowly and increase gradually as you become used to it. Walking is very popular and does not require special equipment. Other good exercises include swimming, biking, jogging and dancing. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking instead of driving may also be a good way to start being more active.
How long should I exercise?
Start off exercising 3 or more times a week for 20 minutes or more, and work up to at least 30 minutes, 4 to 6 times a week. This can include several short bouts of activity in a day. Exercising during a lunch break or on your way to do errands may help you add physical activity to a busy schedule. Exercising with a friend or a family member can help make it fun, and having a partner to encourage you can help you stick to it.
Is there anything I should do before and after I exercise?
You should start an exercise session with a gradual warm-up period. During this time (about 5 to 10 minutes), you should slowly stretch your muscles first, and then gradually increase your level of activity. For example, begin walking slowly and then pick up the pace.
After you are finished exercising, cool down for about 5 to 10 minutes. Again, stretch your muscles and let your heart rate slow down gradually. You can use the same stretches as in the warm-up period.
A number of warm-up and cool-down stretching exercises for your legs are shown at the end of this handout. If you are going to exercise your upper body, be sure to use stretching exercises for your arms, shoulders, chest and back.
How hard do I have to exercise?
Even small amounts of exercise are better than none at all. Start with an activity you can do comfortably. As you become more used to exercising, try to keep your heart rate at about 60% to 85% of your “maximum heart rate.”
To figure out your target heart rate, subtract your age (in years) from 220. This is your maximum heart rate. Now, to calculate your target heart rate, multiply that number by 0.60 or 0.85.
For example, if you are 40 years of age, you would subtract 40 from 220, which would give you a maximum heart rate of 180 (220 - 40 = 180). Then you would multiply this number by either 0.60 or 0.85, which would give you 108 or 153 (180 x 0.60=108 and 180 x 0.85=153).
When you first start your exercise program, you may want to use the lower number (180 x 0.60=108) to calculate your target heart rate. Then, as your conditioning gradually increases, you may want to use the higher number (180 x 0.85=153) to calculate your target heart rate. Check your pulse by gently resting 2 fingers on the side of your neck and counting the beats for 1 minute. Use a watch with a second hand to time the minute.
How do I avoid injuring myself?
The safest way to keep from injuring yourself during exercise is to avoid trying to do too much too soon. Start with an activity that is fairly easy for you, such as walking. Do it for a few minutes a day or several times a day. Then slowly increase the time and level of activity. For example, increase how fast you walk over several weeks. If you feel tired or sore, ease up somewhat on the level of exercise, or take a day off to rest. Try not to give up entirely even if you don’t feel great right away! Talk with your doctor if you have questions or think you have injured yourself seriously.
What about strength training?
Most kinds of exercise will help both your heart and your other muscles. Resistance training is exercise that develops the strength and endurance of large muscle groups. Weight lifting is an example of this type of exercise. Exercise machines can also provide resistance training. Your doctor or a trainer at a gym can give you more information about exercising safely with weights or machines.
Warm-up and cool-down stretches
Disclaimer: The drawings and animations of exercises displayed below are provided only to illustrate the exercises …Read More
Calf Stretch
Face a wall, standing about 2 feet away from it. Keeping your heels flat and your back straight, lean forward slowly and press your hands and forehead to the wall. You should feel stretching in the area above your heels (this area is shaded in the picture). Hold the stretch for 20 seconds and then relax. Repeat.
AnimateQuad Stretch
Face a wall, standing about 1 foot away from it. Support yourself by placing your right hand against the wall. Raise your right leg behind you and grab your foot with your left hand. Gently pull your heel up toward your buttock, stretching the muscles in the front of your right leg for 20 seconds. Repeat the stretch with your left leg.
Groin Stretch
Squat down and put both hands on the floor in front of you. Stretch your left leg straight out behind you. Keep your right foot flat on the floor and lean forward with your chest into your right knee, then gradually shift weight back to your left leg, keeping it as straight as possible. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds. Repeat the stretch with your right leg behind you.
Hamstring Stretch
Lie down with your back flat on the floor and both knees bent. Your feet should be flat on the floor, about 6 inches apart. Bend your right knee up to your chest and grab your right thigh with both hands behind your knee. Gradually straighten your right leg, feeling gentle stretching in the back of your leg. Hold the stretch for 20 seconds. Repeat the stretch with your left leg.
11 Foods to Avoid for a Flat Stomach
If you want to make sure you are burning stomach fat — make sure you are staying away from these 11 foods. Instead of making your waist smaller — these foods will only expand your waistline even further.
Candy
For most of us this one can be hard to avoid — but snacking on candy won’t help you get a flat stomach. They taste delicious and can give you a quick pick me up — but you will just as quickly crash and burn while you add more inches to your waist.
White flour
White flour is highly processed — which means lacking in nutritional value. This type of flour – also known as enriched wheat flour – has lost any nutritional value during processing and can actually cause more health problems if too readily consumed.
Soda
Yes soda is tasty and it quenches your thirst — however its full of sugar and dies that aren’t any good for you. Cutting out soda from your daily liquid intake can save you TONS of calories, making a flat stomach even MORE possible.
Potato chips
Oh who doesn’t love chips!? But the only reason chips are tasty is because they are covered in unhealthy oils and fats — not to mention WAY too much sugar than any one person needs to eat.
Cheese
Adding cheese to a sandwich or a salad can make it taste THAT much better. However, adding that flavor to your meal is also adding fat to your diet. Cheese is full of fat that will help you gain weight instead of gain a flat stomach.
Cookies
This one might be a no brainer — but it might not be — there are cookies out there that say they have low calories — however these cookies are still filled with lots of sugar (to make them taste good).
Fatty meats
When trying to lose weight quickly its important to stay away from cuts of meat that are high in saturated fats. Avoid various cuts of meat such as beef, bologna, and pork that are high in fat and calories.
Whole milk
Drinking milk high in fat when trying to lose weight won’t help you lose any weight as it adds more fat to your diet as you are trying to lose fat.
Alcohol
Alcohol is full of empty calories. A 12 oz beer has 150 calories — calories that do nothing for you except send you to treadmill for a longer workout.
Chocolate
Yes, some forms of dark chocolate are good for your health (in moderation of course) however, if you are trying to lose stomach fat quickly chocolate should not be a part of your diet. Eating chocolate only adds additional calories and sugar that your body will turn into fat – requiring you to spend more time in the gym to burn it off.
Fried foods
When trying to lose weight its important to stay away from fried foods. Fried foods are full of saturated fats — some are made up of more than 50% fat! Avoiding fried foods – no matter how convenient they may be will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.
Jolly Good Nutrition
I decided to add this page as a natural progression from the roller derby and fitness stuff that I already put in my blog.
It’s all well and good doing exercise and trying to get fitter and stronger, but if you don’t give your body the correct fuel then you are missing a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to making your body as efficient as it can be.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a complete foody - I love to cook, I LOVE eating pudding and if there is a piece of cake or biscuit on offer with my cup of tea then (more often than not) I’m damn well going to take it.
And I don’t worry about this in the slightest. But this is because I think about what goes into my body the rest of the time.
I’m going to use this page to look at how to build a healthy and balanced base for day to day nutrition (please note that I did not say ‘diet’), examine the different types of nutrition, and look at nutrition with regards to pre and post workout requirements.
This is going to take a little while to build up but I will be adding things regularly so keep checking in. Also, any nutrition stuff that goes in my blog will either be added to this page, or a link provided.
DAILY NUTRITION
The first point, which is the simplest, is to eat REAL FOOD. Make meals from natural ingredients - try not to use packet or pre-cooked stuff if you can help it, and if you don’t like cooking then just choose stuff that you can eat raw.
I am a big fan of carrots, celery, peppers, bean-sprouts, onions, spinach and rocket. Also, if you want easy additions for protein and energy, tinned beans and pulses are a great (and tasty) way to dress up any raw foods. I’ll be honest, my daily lunch times are generally comprised of a ‘mix and match’ of these ingredients, often with the addition of plain grilled chicken breast, tinned tuna chunks or sardines.
Now obviously the tinned stuff isn’t going to be as good for you as the fresh stuff, but most people are on some kind of budget (especially derby girls as most of their money goes on that!) and I want to be realistic with this.
As for evening meals and weekends, again, stick to real, unprocessed food and you should be pretty much fine. I will add links to recipes and tips to this section as and when I find them.
NUTRITION TYPES AND REQUIREMENTS
So we all know that when we look at a food label we can see the nutritional breakdown of that food and reference to the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) or GDA (Guideline Daily Amount). Well this is where I am going to break all those bits down and (try to) explain why each one is important and what we should be looking for in our food.
The basic nutrition groups are:
- Water - it is vital to stay properly hydrated as it comprises approximately 60% of the human body
- Fibre - indigestible material which is vital for the proper functioning of the digestive system
- Proteins - for muscle growth and tissue repair
- Carbohydrates - primary energy source
- Fats - source of energy and needed by the body to process certain vitamins
- Minerals - various minerals that are important for various functions of the body
- Vitamins - important for various chemical processes in the body
This is a work in progress that currently only exists in note form so please bare with me - I will be adding more VERY soon.
In the mean time, below are some useful resources, should you wish to do your own reading around.
USEFUL ARTICLES
Guide to Pre and Post Workout Meal Planning
Breakdown of nutrition types and needs
USEFUL WEBSITES
Gatorade Sports Science Institute - especially the sections on hydration and sports nutrition
PowerBar: Sports Nutrition and Training - lots of articles and resources
These six key steps will help you attain your goal weight and whittle down your waist forever – at least, they’ve done so for 70% of the people I coach who email me and my team daily. And you’ll stay healthy, too.
1. Have food with a little fat in it 30 minutes before your meal. Eat 70…
*Just make sure you don’t eat cashews with a grain, because the grain will attract most of the minerals (the metals) and they will not be absorbed into your system.
-My 2 cents on the matter
(via andthisisloveblog)
Recently, researchers identified a group of phytochemicals in apple peels that protect against 3 different cancers (colon, breast and liver). There is also a chemical in apple peels called Ursolic Acid which helps to keep blood pressure under control. Researchers have also suggested apples can aid in muscle gains and weight loss! Apples are a good fruit to buy organic, as the skin is thin and should be consumed to maximize its health benefits!
(On the rare occasion that I do eat fruit, I have an apple… they are very filling and taste great!)
