Your Best Body Ever

9 Oct 2009

Spot reducing…and why it doesn’t work.

One of the most common questions I get from my clients at the Diversified Health and Fitness gyms is how to tone certain areas of the body. Most people have these spots – for women, it’s usually their thighs, butt, or abs. Men are usually focused on their “spare tire” region too. It can be frustrating to see these areas gain weight as we get older and are less active. Often, these “trouble spots” are the main motivation for people to get themselves in shape. But no matter how hard you try to weight lift and do cardio, can we really do anything about these areas?

Fat and muscle are two different kinds of tissue. So “fat doesn’t turn into muscle”, as I sometimes here when I train. Nor does it help to lift weight and then expect to see results when you have a layer of fat still lying over your newly stronger muscles. To really see a result in that area, you need to combine weight lifting with a lower calorie diet and cardio to burn off the extra pounds. I can’t tell you how many people I have with super strong abs but no six pack!

Spot reducing is also futile for another reason, primarily because you’re fighting your own genetics. If your genetics dictate that your butt is supposed to be pear shaped, there’s only so much you can do to change that. Your body also doesn’t know you’re trying to reduce a certain area, so when you do cardio and lose weight, your body may lose that weight in your belly instead of your butt. It simply depends on your personal genetics, and those are impossible to fight.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get into the gym though and start hitting the cardio machines! Even if you’re not seeing the results you’d like in your given trouble spots, over time you may see an improvement in that area as your body loses fat everywhere.

Hey, it would be great if we all looked like supermodels. But realistically, their body types aren’t what most people are going to look like. So even if you’re not satisfied with that little extra weight around your belly, it’s time to start accepting your body for the way it is and work out to lose fat and become healthy. Nobody, not even models, have “perfect bodies”, and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to get there.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

30 Sep 2009

Whole grains you may have not known about…

Let’s face it; it’s not easy to eat right all the time. We’re constantly rushed, on the go, and it’s hard to find healthy options while eating out or at fast food places. However, one way you can boost your healthy eating is by choosing whole grain products, whether or not you’re at home or not. Whole grain bread and other products are widely available everywhere, so you really have no excuses!

Whole grains are different than their unrefined counterparts. White bread, white rice, and other carbohydrates become unrefined when they are processed and the grain is stripped of its outer nutritious covering. This process makes these far less nutritious, and some say detrimental, for our health. Whole grains include vitamin E, iron, manganese, and zinc, and consuming them is vital to your diet.

Lest you think that the only whole grains you can find are wheat bread – think again! There are several varieties of whole grains that can be included in your daily diet for some delicious meals. Some, you may not have even heard about yet. Following is a list of some of the great options you can choose from.

Farro – Consistently used in Italian cooking, this grain is low-fat and low-cal, with a texture similar to rice. It’s a great alternative to Arborio rice, which is used in risotto, and other side dishes. You could also throw it into tossed salads or make a delicious summer salad with some grilled veggies and dressing.

Quinoa – One of my favorite alternative grains, quinoa is versatile and packed with nutrition. It’s high in fiber and protein, has a great crunchy texture, and is super easy to make. It’s pretty mild and can be used in so many dishes. I often make a casserole out of it with some sautéed veggies and some low fat feta cheese. Yum!

Millet – Another lovely choice, millet is gaining popularity in this country as a staple grain once more. It’s small and crunchy, and has more protein in it than brown rice and contains no gluten, so it’s great if you’re gluten free or have wheat allergies. It can beef up some of your dishes, such as soups or meatloaf, but is also great stuffed into zucchini with tomatoes, olives, and some low fat mozzarella.

Barley – A great addition to soups and stews, this is grain can help you lower your cholesterol and also contains the antioxidant selenium. If you can find pearl barley, this is a better option, as hulled barley loses its nutrition when processed. Try it as another alternative to Arborio rice, as it will absorb the broth and retain its crunchiness.

Bulgur – Chances are you’ve had bulgur if you’ve ever tried tabbouleh, a popular Middle Eastern dish. Bulgur is one of the first grains to be used by humans for consumption. It’s rich in folate, B vitamins, and fiber. To make tabbouleh, combine cooked bulgur with olive oil, tomatoes, a little garlic, scallions, parsley, and lemon juice and refrigerate for a few hours to combine the flavors. Sometimes I’ll add some kalamata olives, chick peas, feta cheese, cucumbers, or a jar of artichoke hearts packed in water to the recipe. Delicious!

You can find most of these delicious grains at your supermarket, generally in the organic or health food sections, or at specialty health food stores like Whole Foods. Give them a shot, you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

12 Sep 2009

“Read labels on muffins. A bran muffin may not even contain whole-wheat flour, and may have excessive amounts of eggs, butter, and oil, as well as sugar, honey, and other sweeteners. Some have more than 20 grams of fat - as much as a Big Mac - and more than 500 calories.”
— University of California, Berkeley. 365 Tips for Better Health.

9 Sep 2009

“If you eat lots of margarine and other processed foods containing hydrogenated fats, cut back. When the fat in food is hydrogenated, some of it becomes “trans” fats, which may increase the risk of heart disease just like the saturated fat in butter.”
— University of California, Berkeley. 365 Tips for Better Health.
Tags: nutrition. health.

4 Sep 2009

Stopping post workout binges

You may have recently read in TIME magazine an article about how exercise increases your appetite, and you’re more likely to over compensate post workout because of this. While I have many issues with that article in general, which I won’t touch on here, I thought we’d discuss how you can stave off post workout hunger.

Truthfully, most exercise shouldn’t increase your appetite substantially. You may feel completely ravenous after a long or intense workout, but those feelings tend to be short and should not be catered to. If you do, you won’t see any budge on your scale. Obviously, if you go to spin class for a half hour and then stop by Starbucks on the way home for a whipped cream topped Mocha Frappucino and a brownie, you’re just consuming the calories you burned, and then some. So how do you ward off the growling in your tummy and feelings of famine?

1. Eat more intuitively, conscientiously, intelligently. Only eat until you’re not hungry, not until you feel you’re stuffed. Experts say you should eat until you feel about 80% full. Eat more deliberately – really savor your food, chew slowly, enjoy it. This also helps us to stay lean. For most people, the hormones that kick in to let your brain know that your stomach is full don’t start working for about a full 20 minutes after you start eating. And you can put away a lot of food in that time if you’re not careful.

2. Make a really concerted effort to eat healthfully and mindfully after your workout. Try to eat within 20 minutes, and eat something with protein and carbs. Liquid shakes work well, but other choices for solid meals include turkey on whole wheat bread, or grilled fish with brown rice and veggies. If that’s too much to tote along, there are also some excellent sports bars that can fit the bill. This should also be planned before you’re going to the gym, so you’re not likely to stop at your local McDonald’s on the way home.

3. Eat before you workout. This is something I always do, even if I’m not overly hungry. About 30 minutes pre workout, help yourself to a small nutritious snack of some protein and carbs, no more than 200 calories. In addition to warding off hunger, this can also give you a nice boost as you’re exercising.

4.Eat enough protein. Protein is important for muscle recovery, but it’s also very satiating. Keep you intake at around 1g per pound of body weight per day.

5. Be aware of your diet throughout the day. Your calorie intake on a daily basis is what ends up mattering the most for effective weight loss. Write down what you eat in a journal, and tally up the calories as best you can. So after your workout, you can figure out if you can help yourself to a slice of veggie pizza, or if you should stick with that lower calorie veggie burger instead.

Eating healthfully is truly not that difficult, as I’ve said before. The more you recognize food as a tool in your success, the more effective you will be at losing weight and keeping it off. I tell this to my clients at my gyms all the time, and it’s starting to sink in, I think!

27 Aug 2009

My Top 10 Eating Tips

Experts agree that one of the best ways to ensure a longer, healthier life is to eat well, keep your weight in check, and eat the right foods for your body. While it’s easy to give in to poor eating habits, it’s actually quite easy to eat healthfully, when you pare it down to a few rules. Following are my top 10 healthy eating tips.

1. Eat a variety of nutrient rich foods. Don’t be afraid to mix it up. You need nutrients from all kinds of fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy products, and lean meats. Your body needs over 40 kinds of nutrients and it’s impossible to get those all from one food.

2.Enjoy a lot of whole grains, veggies, and fruits. These are the items you should be eating the most of every day, and most Americans rarely get their daily allowance. Try to incorporate them in every meal and snack.

3. Maintain a healthy weight. Your target weight should consider all things – your age, gender, height, and heredity. Regular exercise is needed to maintain your ideal weight, as is eating properly. Being overweight causes more health issues in Americans than just about any other cause, so try as hard as you can to maintain your personal healthy weight. If you’re still struggling with it, a registered dietician and fitness professionals are available to help.

4. Eat moderate portions. When you keep your portion sizes reasonable, it’s easy to eat the foods that you like. It becomes a problem when you start piling them on your plate and eating more than you should. Pay attention to the nutrition labels on the sides of packages – often, a serving is less than what you think. Educating yourself about the caloric content in the foods you like and often eat is also a good decision. You may be surprised and how calorie laden some food actually is.

5. Eat regular meals. When you skip a meal, it can lead to insatiable hunger, and you’re more likely to overeat when you finally do sit down at a meal. It also becomes easier to forget good nutrition when you’re very hungry. Small snacks between meals can help to curb your appetite.

6.Reduce, but don’t eliminate, certain foods. Eating is one of the great pleasures in life. You’re more likely to stick to a diet and maintain a healthy weight if you still eat the foods you like, but cut back on them and eat in moderation. When we feel deprived of something, we’re more likely to want it and will abandon a healthy diet when we’re presented with it. Altering some of your higher fat foods can also help. For example, if you like fried chicken, try baking it instead. That way, you can still enjoy a food you like, but without the huge cost of the added calories.

7. Balance your food choices over time. When eating a meal that is high in fat or calories, or is low on veggies of fruits, make your next meal include those things to balance this out. All meals are not going to be perfect, but if you try to plan your meal choices accordingly, you’ll maintain a healthy diet.

8. Know your diet pitfalls. Most of us are not very aware of what we eat on a normal, daily basis. You can start by writing down in a food journal what you eat and observing over time. Then check your list against the rest of these tips, and make adjustments accordingly. You may find that you’re eating way too much fattening foods, or not getting in enough lean protein. Whatever the case, you now have a clearer picture of the items you need to eliminate or add more often.

9. Make changes gradually. You’re more likely to stick with a healthy diet when you alter things slowly and get used to them. For example, if you always drink full fat milk, start drinking 1 percent instead, and gradually introduce skim to your diet. You’re more likely to like skim when you’ve adjusted to the flavor of less fat in your milk.

10. Foods are not good or bad. It helps not to look at food that way. Most people like foods that are considered unhealthy for them, that’s normal. So don’t berate yourself for eating you favorite foods, just remember to eat moderate proportions.


So there they are…the top 10 eating habits to live by. Print this out if you can, and refer to it often. These, combined with regular exercise and trips to the gym, will help you maintain a healthy weight for you entire life. The more you ingrain these habits into your lifestyle, the more normal it becomes to do them naturally!

17 Jul 2009

Creating your fitness map.

Hi everyone, Nadia here. Today I’m going to talk about the components of fitness that I wrote about yesterday, and how we start going about integrating those into our fitness plans and routines. To fully understand how to do that, we all need to look at our body’s health history in depth, the things that are present in our lives now, and what we are capable of changing in the future.

This morning, I walked into the doors of Fitzone for Women, another club that I train at, and met with my first client of the day. Ella is a woman in her mid 40’s, with some significant health issues in her past, and is making the effort to get back into shape to live a healthier life. We sat down and talked about her health history, questions, concerns, goals, and how we were going to go about starting her journey into better fitness with regards to everything involved.

If you’re just starting out in a fitness program, it’s essential that you take the time to understand your body and history as well. Let’s say you have diabetes, an old knee injury, or a neck problem. Maybe you even feel a little hip pain, or shortness of breath. Our bodies are resilient, yes, but we all have things that we need to be aware of, no matter what stage of fitness we’re in. Otherwise, we risk making things worse instead of healthier – and that’s not our goal.

So, whether you’re working with a trainer or not, take the time to write down everything that may be of significance. If people have been inactive for a long time, a physical at their doctor’s office is mandatory. You should also write down your eating habits, and your current mental state. This is an important exercise in checking in with your entire body. That way, when you do start your fitness regimen, you can approach it more intelligently, not only for preventing injuries, but also for charting progress against your beginning state, and you’ll see gains in every component of fitness.

For Ella, we talked about her high blood pressure, her back problems, and her lack of flexibility. She would also like to be able to have better cardio endurance and go swimming more often. So I devised a program for her that involves swimming a few days a week for her cardio, weight lifting to make her back (and body) stronger, and yoga or stretching twice a week for her flexibility. We also talked about her eating habits, talked about a meal plan, and went over how her mood was, and what she was hoping to get out of a fitness program. She left our initial consultation with a plan and a lot of excitement!

Even if you don’t have a trainer helping you, or have been working out for some time now, take the time to do this. Most people don’t start out on a trip without a map, and your fitness journey is no different!

16 Jul 2009

The components of fitness.

One of the major principles of achieving your best body ever is understanding what constitutes your body’s optimal health. These aspects of fitness must be considered when you’re thinking of designing your workout plans and goals, and the strategy is to combine all of them. It is also important to remember that every one of these components is as necessary as the others.

1. Cardio respiratory endurance – The corner stone of every workout program, cardio exercise gets your heart pumping and your respiratory rate up. This is your fitness gateway to improving in all other aspects of physical fitness, and allows your heart to pump oxygen rich blood to your muscles for activity. Higher levels increase your overall endurance and ability to withstand fatigue. Examples are swimming, biking, walking, running, and cycling. On a daily basis, this allows us to have more energy, and tackle the physical activities of our daily lives.

2. Muscular Strength – This is defined as the maximum amount of strength that a given muscle can support in one single effort. Strength training importance lies in your muscles abilities to support your skeleton, and a higher amount of muscle mass will effectively burn more calories while the body is at rest.

3. Muscular Endurance – Often confused with muscular strength, endurance is different in that it defines how long your muscles are able to withstand strength in a given period of time. An example would be shoveling snow, or doing the crawl stroke while swimming. Developing muscular as well as cardiovascular endurance will allow your body to continue exercising longer, for higher calorie burning and health benefits.

4. Flexibility – Defined as your body’s ability to move the joints and through their full range of motion, it is often overlooked and is needed by everybody. Flexibility helps us get through the daily activities of our lives more easily. Yoga and stretching are great flexibility trainers.

5. Body Composition – Compares the ratio of fat to lean muscle in your body. Higher ratios indicate higher levels of fat, and will contribute to health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and injuries due to inactivity. Physical activity helps lower your body composition through weight management and fat loss.

6. Nutrition - Food’s chemical components are what we mandatorily consume on a daily basis. Understanding how much, how little, and which of those nutrients we need is the basis for optimum nutritional health. Food is fuel for our daily activities, and combining the right fuel with exercise is highly complementary.

7. Mental Health – How we view our bodies and our emotional well being has a big effect on our approach to exercise. Our minds and bodies are intricately connected, and when one suffers, they both do. Exercise can assist the brain in slowing the mind’s aging process, better emotional moods, chemical balancing, and increased neurological functioning.

These are the main building blocks of understanding overall health and fitness. Tomorrow, I’ll discuss looking at your personal health, these components, and how to combine them for your maximum workout strategy!