Setbacks

Living The Fit Life is hard. Being an athlete, a workout enthusiast, or on a diet is hard. It’s not easy pushing your body to its limits. It’s not easy waking up early to get a run in before work or a weight-lifting session done in between classes. But we do it because we want to; it’s almost like we have to. Because there is something about sweat and hard work that fuels us.

We sometimes complain about how our body is tired or how we don’t want to push anymore. But when we are forced to give our body a break due to an injury or even a minor tweak, this time off makes us realize that there is nothing more we want to do than that one thing. That one practice, that one weight workout, that one run, that thing we were just complaining about.
Setbacks happen. They are normal. Everyone experiences them. Injuries, muscle spasms, weakness, feeling burned out… it’s natural for us to feel these, but it’s how we handle these situations that matter. Understand that setbacks will happen. You may have already experienced one or in the midst of one now, but don’t allow yourself to hold onto it. Let yourself, your body, recover – physically, mentally or emotionally, then get back on track. You are working towards something and you will get there because you want to. Nothing is strong enough to stoThink about your goals. Imagine your end result – your weight loss, your new time, your new height – and hold on to that. Don’t lose sight of what you want. Don’t let this minor setback be more than it is.
Up you. Don’t let it. “One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.” – Napoleon Hill

Living The Fit Life may be hard, but it is so damn worth it. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.

The Three Letter Word

Fat. One word that many people think and obsess about. One word that encourages negative thoughts and discourages positive behavior. But the reality is, if you aren’t happy with the way you look, and more importantly the way you feel, change your perspective on that three-letter word and use it as motivation instead.

Before starting any weight loss program or changing the way you eat, it is important to know how much extra body fat you have. While underwater weighing, skinfold testing and bioelectrical impedence are some of the most accurate ways to test body fat percentage, these are not easily accessible to the average Joe. To address this bump in the road, Harvard Health Publications released an article that explains a few easy ways to know if you’re overweight. Read through these, do some of your own research, and try them out before you begin setting your goals.

Body Mass Index (BMI) BMI is calculated by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of your height

BMI Chart seen above

in meters. It is easy to search “BMI calculator” online and just type in your measurements in pounds and inches. Although this method does not take into account the fat tissue from bones and muscle, it is a fairly accurate measurement of fat tissue and gives one an idea of how much weight they need to lose to be healthy. Once your number is calculated, compare it to this chart:

Underweight = <18.5 Normal weight = 18.5–24.9 Overweight = 25–29.9 Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) Even though waist measurement only takes into account the fat on your stomach, this is the most important fat to know about. The fat in the mid-section of your body is what surrounds your organs. Too much fat bordering your organs is a great risk for disease, including Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease.

Waist to Hip Ratio

By comparing your waist circumference to your hip circumference, you can personalize these measurements to your body. Once you have taken the two measurements (waist: middle of belly button and around; hip: greatest point around - usually mid gluts) complete this simple equation: waist circumference divided by hip circumference. A small waist combined with large hips yields a lesser number than a large waist combined with small hips. For women, the risk for disease begins at 0.85, while for men it is usually around 0.90. The smaller the number, the lower the risk. But you don’t have to stop at measuring your waist. Measure your thighs, gluts, arms and chest and save these measurements to compare with the lower numbers you will see once you start working towards your goal!

Remember, there are more scientific ways to measure body fat and if you or your gym has access to these, by all means use them! Otherwise, this is a great way to begin your movement toward a healthy body. We all have to start somewhere!

A Healthy Diet

As important as daily exercise is, it will never get us anywhere if we make bad food choices. It is absolutely crazy to think how food can be this amazing form of medicine, yet at the same time it can be the very thing that poisons us. Studies have shown that a healthy diet is KEY to physical and mental well being, as well as for looking good too!

First I want to talk about negative calorie foods. These are foods that take so many calories to digest, they actually burn more calories while being digested. It is still a bit controversial, but either way these are just about the healthiest foods you can have.

So I challenge you, add 10 of these to your next shopping list, and try to have at least one of these every meal. Vegetables are filled with antioxidants that help us stay healthy, while fruits help us fill us up so we are less likely to have unhealthy snacking later.

One thing that has worked great for me, is to when possible, eat a piece of fruit before every meal.

I always  eat breakfast, and like to start the day off with an apple, orange, or a piece of pineapple. I then continue a balanced breakfast mixing the rest of carbs and protein depending on what level of activity I am going to have.

For example, if I am going to be staying around the house studying or working, I'll usually have some lean meat (turkey or chicken) for protein, a cup of coffee, and call it quits. (I then will have another piece of fruit halfway before lunch).

On the other hand, if I am going straight into a workout, or if I know I will not eat for many hours, I will make sure to up my carbs (whole grain toast or whole grain granola), a piece of fruit that will fill me up (apple or banana!) some lean meat, and of course, my coffee. :)

Lunch and dinner, contain as many vegetables when possible, as I LOVE getting creative making my own salads. I have protein at every meal (lean meat, beans, nuts, seeds), as well as carbs, and fats.

Some healthy choices from the Pyramid

The problem with a lot of our diets is we have mainly carbs and fats, and very little protein. Around 50% of our calories should come from carbs (fruits, vegetables, whole grains), while 15% should be from fat (oils, avocado, fish, etc.) , and 35% protein. Next time you get a plate of food, just imagine these portions.

But remember, GOOD carbs are fruits, vegetables and whole grains....not white bread and cookies. Although balance, is key. :)

So, I challenge you to TWO challenges!
1. Fill up that shopping cart with 10 negative calorie foods and try to have one of those at every meal!
2. For 7 days, try having whole grains instead of processed bread. You'll be amazed how much better you feel!

More to come, I hope you enjoyed this beginning segment of Nutrition 101. :)

Track Leg Workout

Study Materials for my Certification with NASM

This week I began my training to be a certified personal trainer, so I thought in spirit of that I would tone a certain part of your body.
post some of my favorite workouts! As great as it is to go for a run, play a sport, or take a class at the gym, it's important to vary your workouts...especially if you want to

Not everyone has a gym membership, and some days we'd rather workout outside or simply don't have time to drive to a gym. I've created some workouts where you can rely solely on your body weight.

The first workout, combines cardio with legs. It is designed for a football field (to use the yard lines), but of course I encourage you to modify them and add your own twist! The numbers indicate what yard you do the stated exercise until, and then you jog back to the end zone.

Rest if needed between exercises, but try to do as many as you can in a row!

A few explanations:
Jump- jump as far as you can, walk two steps, repeat.

Kareoke/side step- one way there, switch for the way back.

I always do this after a warm up run, which can be anywhere from 1-3 miles depending on how far you normally run. It's great to already be sweating, but you don't want to be so exhausted when you start.

Other workouts coming soon!

Workout Playlist!

Every Monday I try to create a fun workout playlist that gets me motivated to start my workouts for the week! I usually like to mix up the genres, as well as throw in some old music. Remixes are great because they usually have a higher BPM which gets us working harder!

Here's my playlist for this week:

1. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody- Fergie Ft. Q-Tip and Goonrock
2. Bonfire- Knife Party
3. ET Feels Starry Eyed- Kap Slap
4. Spaceman I Used to Know- Kap Slap Bootleg
5. Here's to Never Growing Up- Avril Lavigne
6. Turn it Up- Ciara Ft. User
7. 4 am- Scooter
8. Angel with a Shotgun- The Cab
9. Cruise (Remix)- Florida Georgia Line Ft. Nelly
10. Sexin on the Dancefloor- Cash Cash
11. My Songs Know What You Did in The Dark- Fall Out Boy
12. Louder- DJ Fresh
13. Wings- Little Mix
14. Crank That- Zeds Dead and Omar
15. Cinema (Skrillex Remix)
16. Price Tag (Ft B.O.B)- Jessie J

Summer Goals

"Don't give up what you want most, for what you want right now."

As summer is just beginning, I found it appropriate to stress the importance of goals. The importance of not only short term goals, but perseverance for long term goals. Setting goals is what motivates me to not only continue my workouts, but to push myself to be faster and stronger. As important as getting in shape is, it's important for us to evaluate three things...

1. What exactly is it that we are trying to accomplish? 

2. What diet plan are you going to stick to, and why?

3. What is your workout routine, and why?

I've always found it best to write these things down, that way I am accountable. 

1. For myself specifically, I need to do much more high intensity and interval training this summer. With my marathon training I've gotten so use to tuning out on these 90 minute runs, that my body doesn't even have to work hard anymore to maintain a steady pace. Because of all my running I have strong legs, but want to build up my core as well as my arm strength. 

Panera: Always a healthy choice when eating out :)

2. I've experimented with different diets over the past few years to see the negative and positive affects of them as I find it interesting to see how different my body feels based on what I eat. I recently tried going Vegan for 3 weeks, and would suggest everyone tries it just because it does encourage you to eat out less. A negative I experienced was replacing the protein for carbs, therefore actually having a diet higher in carbohydrates than I am used to. My diet plan for the summer is to really kickstart my metabolism to get my body in the best shape possible, and I plan to do this by having a diet that consists mainly of fruits, vegetables and lean meats. I'll post more updates and recipes as it isn't any specific diet, just one that I believe will be cutting out the things my body doesn't actually need. 

3. And of course, the workout routine. 

I plan to do core/abs work 5 days a week, as that is what I am really focusing on. 

Arm workouts 3 days a week

Long runs only 2 days a week

and high intensity (sprint work) 5 days a week. 

I'll post some of my workouts soon, as it's important to mix things up and not overdo any kind of workout. Write these things down, and commit.

Here are some of my favorite workout tips to follow!

1. New playlists AT LEAST every 2 weeks. There is nothing better than allowing yourself to only listen to your new favorite song while working out. Ultimate motivator.

2. Make sure you are neither hungry nor full when you get to the gym, there's nothing like feeling sick your whole workout.

3. STRETCH, unless you'd rather not walk tomorrow.

4. Sweat is your new best friend. 

5. Have 2 or 3 ultimate pump up songs that you save for the time in your workout that you are most tired.

6. Challenge yourself. Pick one thing to "be better at" than your last workout. 

7. Stay motivated. Nothing worth having comes easy...remember that. No pain, no gain :)

First Post!!

You know, it's actually kinda funny. I was all excited about starting a blog, I create my profile, get this thing all set up, and now that it's time to actually begin writing, I don't even know where to start.... sound familiar??

Why is it that we get so jazzed up and excited about starting things, but once we are actually there...we don't always follow through? 

Ever bought a new workout DVD only to leave it still in the package? 

Ever bought a gym membership, used it twice and just haven't gotten around to going back?

Ever googled some new healthy diet with great sounding recipes only to decide ordering that pizza is much easier? And I mean it just tastes so good. 

I don't think lazy is the right word, I think we don't commit to these things because we are scared. Scared of failure. Scared it won't matter. Scared to try something new. I recently heard the quote, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?" A hell of a lot...that's for sure.

Well this blog is here to help you with that, it's here to help you realize that you WILL NOT fail, and that not only is a healthier you going to come, but a BANGING  body to go with it. 

3 years ago I started creating my own healthy diet as well as an exercise routine, and although there have been struggles along the way, my life has transformed for the better in so many ways. I crave healthy foods, I exercise to reduce my stress, and most importantly, I believe in myself. 

As a senior in high school I couldn't even run a mile without feeling like I was GOING to DIE. And today I have now completed two half marathons as well as a full marathon, which was 26.2 miles of learning "impossible is nothing". 

Most recent half marathon I ran in under 2 hours

So join me on this ride, try some of my recipes, put yourself through a few of my workouts, and if anything, print out one of these quotes and realize whether you think you can or can't, you're right. So might as well realize you sure as hell can do anything you set your mind to. All I'm asking, is you don't quit. Don't let this blog be yet another thing you quit on because you were scared. 

Nothing worth having comes easy, but lucky for us fitness junkies (which will soon be you too) we can have fun while we do it.

Welp, this seems like a good way to finish a first post. Stay tuned for recipes, workouts and how you too can live; The Fit Life.