How to avoid Halloween candy nightmares

It's one of the scariest times of year...no, not because of the ghosts and the goblins...because of the Twix and the Reese's peanut butter cups, of course! Yes, it's nearly Halloween, and where there's Halloween, there's candy. And where there's candy, there's (usually) a tendency to overindulge. Last year, I was sucked into the vortex that is created by having my favorite candy in the house. I was tempted again at Easter (see "Escaping from a cycle of bad eating"). This year I'm determined to avoid it, and I'm going to share five strategies I am going to use, in hopes that they will help you do the same.

1. Limit it. Look, I get it. Your favorite candy is in the house, and you feel like you've worked hard enough to "earn it." And everything is fine, in moderation. So set reasonable limits. For example, allow yourself to have one piece of your favorite candy during each of the next three weeks. After that, we're close to Thanksgiving (and desserts), so it's best to pick just three pieces and move on to #2.


2. Purge it. If it was a particularly light year for trick-or-treaters, you might have candy leftover from your handouts. This can be a dangerous thing, especially if you, like many people, buy your favorite candy to distribute. So get rid of it. Throw it out, take it to work, do whatever you want. Just don't keep it in the house.


3. Trade it. If you have kids, throwing out the candy gets more complicated. Once they're old enough to understand what's happening, in fact, you might as well forget it! One strategy that worked for us was to trade candy for something else they like. I've used money ($0.25 per piece of candy), and my kids like to have something to put in their piggy banks, so this works great for us. Some of my friends let their kids pick a small number of candies (1-2 per year of age) and then trade the rest for a toy, an ice cream outing, or a fun activity like going to the movies or bowling. Plus, if your kids know exactly how many pieces of candy they have left, you will not be tempted to eat a piece and incur their wrath!


4. Limit it (again). This time, the limits are for the OTHER people in your house. It's easy to get into the candy when everyone else it eating it all of the time. In our house we have a two-treat limit per day. My kids usually have a treat at lunch, and then one more treat at home, either after school or after dinner. Halloween candy counts, so if they're only eating one piece a day in my presence, I can handle that.


5. Hide it. Those three pieces of your favorite candy you held on to (in #1)? Don't leave them in a bowl on the counter. Just seeing them will make you more likely to eat, even if it's not the candy. Instead, hide them in a brown paper bag on the top shelf of a pantry or cabinet. When it's your scheduled treat day, you'll be able to find them, but the rest of the week, you won't have to look at them and salivate.

Since Halloween is just a day away, I'll leave you with just one parting thought. When you're sorting through the candy, if you find yourself tempted to set aside the "healthy" treats for yourself, STOP. Don't kid yourself. Peppermint patties are lowfat. Reese's peanut butter cups are trans-fat free. Dark chocolate has antioxidants. Guess what? That doesn't mean you get a free pass to eat them all day long. I've already said you can eat them IN MODERATION. But don't eat a piece of candy because you think it's better for you than something else. Eat the one you like best on your scheduled day and move on. Don't be fooled by good marketing.

Hope you have a happy (and healthy) Halloween!

Redefine yourself

One of the challenges of transforming your body and life is that it takes some time for your mental image and perception of yourself to catch up with your physical reality. Just like it took looking at myself in a picture, instead of in the mirror, to see how fat and out of shape I'd become, it's taking time for me to see myself positively in the mirror now that I'm fit. Likewise, it's taking time for me to think of myself positively.

I still find myself in front of the mirror, turning and spinning, pushing on my belly and wondering if it should be flatter, and wishing I could see some more muscle definition in my legs. When I see other people who work out, I can appreciate the positive changes in their bodies, but it's hard for me to notice it in my own. Even when I'm achieving a new personal record on an exercise, I wonder whether that's actually a "good number," even if it's a good number for me. I think women, especially, can be so hard on ourselves in this way.

I was reminded of this the other evening. My daughter was sick, and I'd taken her in to be seen by a doctor. As the nurse checked her pulse, I asked what the normal range was for a child her age. The nurse answered, "well it's a bit elevated because of her fever." I agreed that would be the case and then said, "but what's the normal range? I mean, my resting heart rate is around 62." The nurse looked at me and said, "well, you're athletic."

Me? Athletic? Let me assure you that no one has ever referred to me as athletic in my entire life. I'm the girl who played right field in little league and batted 9th, because I could do the least amount of damage that way. I'm the one who was always picked last for teams, and who never played field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, or soccer. I'm the girl who took weightlifting two out of every four marking periods in gym, because I would not be expected to run and no one would hit me on the head with a basketball.

So while I was pleased by her offhand comment, I was also confused. Was she right? WAS I now athletic? It had never occurred to me to think of myself this way. But at the same time, perhaps she was had a point. After all, doesn't it take an athletic woman to do four chin-ups, two sets of thirty push-ups, and complete 170 16kg kettlebell swings in five minutes?

I thought I'd share this experience as a good reminder that as we change our lives, people who have never met us will perceive us differently than the way we see ourselves. And that should be a clue that we HAVE changed, and old labels may no longer apply. So as you change your body, your health, and your life, don't forget to redefine the kind of person you are, and what things are important to you.

Athletic? Let me look in this mirror a little longer and maybe...just maybe...I'll be able to see myself that way too.

Set a good example

So clearly, I'm a mom. And as a parent, I want my kids to grow up enjoying exercise and having a healthy relationship with food. It's a constant struggle to find the balance and decide how I should react when the kids want to binge on snacks instead of eating healthy food. What I've learned is that the best way to help your kids adopt healthy behaviors is by setting a good example.

If you're enthusiastic about eating healthy foods, they'll notice. If your eyes only light up for that triple-chocolate cake, they'll notice that too. If you stand at the pantry eating cookies from the bag, believe me, that will be perceived as normal behavior.

Ever since I started making healthy changes in my life, I've seen a change in my kids as well. Don't get me wrong, we still struggle over the typical "kid diet" issues, and my kids absolutely enjoy their treats. But they've been much more interested in physical activity, and talk much more frequently about eating "growing foods." Lately, my daughter has even taken to doing ten push-ups each morning and evening. And both my kids have tried picking up my kettlebells. Even more shocking...my 35lb 3-year old actually managed to lift my 20lb kettlebell off the ground! Talk about strong!

One of the best ways to get an insight into what your children are learning from your example is to ask them about healthy living. I asked some of my friends to talk to their kids about what people need to do to stay healthy and see what they had to say. Here's a few excerpts:

Julie's Son: Try different foods and blow your nose.

Skyler: Wash my hands, take your medicine, rest and stay at home.

Sally: Eat healthy foods. Chicken is the healthiest. And get lots of rest, exercise and if you are allergic to an animal don't get that animal for a pet.

Alexa: It's important to eat broccoli.
Kane (her brother): It's more important to eat chicken.
Alexa: No, broccoli is more important!

Garrett: You must eat your greens, lift weights (60 - 400 lbs), and watch your muscles get big w/the veins sticking out.

And of course, I had to interview my own kids. Here's a video with some of their comments...forgive my sloppy editing. I clearly need more practice!



So what does all this tell us? Kids pay quite a lot of attention to what we do, even when we think they don't notice. That's just another reason to pay attention to the example that you are setting for your children. What are you teaching them about what you value? When it's a beautiful day outside, do you go for a run, a bike ride, or play baseball with your friends? Or do you sit inside and play Wii Sports?

If that gives you some motivation to take a step back and evaluate your behavior, then great! Think twice before you finish your kids meals, or eat cookies while standing in front of the pantry, or spend the weekend on the couch watching TV. Not only will you be healthier, but you'll raise kids with healthier behaviors and attitudes as well.

It's okay to indulge (a little)

Guilt. It's what drives so many of us to attempt to follow militant diets, or spend hours doing cardio exercise, trying to reach a calorie burn that matches whatever it is we ended up eating to cheat on that same militant diet.

While I certainly won't deny that nutrition is a critical element of both a plan to lose weight and transform your body, staying on a too-strict plan without any of the foods you truly enjoy is a plan that is destined to fail you.

Eventually, you will rebel, and a bag of Oreos or a large meatlovers pizza later, you'll wonder how in the world you ended up here!

So how do you find some balance in your nutritional plan? There are a number of approaches you can take, but all of them allow for some indulgence (please, just do ONE of these!):

• Declare one meal per week your "cheat meal." For those who crave fatty or high carb foods, this can be the meal where you eat at your favorite restaurant and order your favorite meal, even if it's fettuccine alfredo with bread on the side and a glass of wine! (Cheat meals shouldn't last all day -- or all weekend!)
  
• Enjoy one special treat each week. If you have a sweet tooth, this can be a great way to enjoy that ice cream (or in my case, chocolate brownie) treat you enjoy looking forward to.
• Indulge in a very small treat each day. This should be less than one full serving of a treat. Some examples might be a dark chocolate square, a mini cookie, or a small wedge of brie. Make sure you include these calories in your daily totals.
  

If you're eating on plan the rest of the week, these small indulgences won't mean a thing in the grand scheme of your nutritional plan. Since you can look forward to honoring your cravings, they won't grow out of control, leading to cheating and the inevitable guilt that follows.

Remember that, regardless of the nutritional plan you follow, torturing yourself towards 100% compliance will undoubtedly lead to either a miserable, deprived existence, or (more likely) cheating. So make a nutritional plan that includes a plan for indulgence while maintaining about 90% overall compliance on a weekly basis. You'll be happier, and it will be easier to stay on plan because you won't feel so deprived.

The importance of sleep

When you have a hectic schedule like I do, with a full-time job, two kids (and their activities), and a husband, trying to keep up with an exercise program and plan meals can be difficult to manage. The one thing that always seems to be sacrificed for me is sleep. I've been recently reading about the importance of sleep and its effects on weight loss, muscle building, and health.

I've always been a night owl. I'm not a morning person and tend to get bursts of energy late at night that allow me to stay up late and even be very productive in the wee hours of the night. I'm trying to get more sleep, but it's a constant struggle for me. It's a learning process for me, and I'm trying to get better. But there are still plenty of nights where I sleep 5 hours. So take this post as a "do as I say, not as I do."

There's a common perception that the "right amount" of sleep is eight hours per night, but of course, the amount of sleep varies from person to person. So let's start first by talking about the right amount of sleep for good health. A research study conducted by Boston University School of Medicine found that study participants that reported sleeping less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours a day had an increased incidence of diabetes, compared to those who slept 7-8 hours per day. So getting adequate sleep helps keep you healthy.

With regards to weight loss, sleep deprivation can be a big problem. People who are sleep deprived tend to eat more, and choose high calorie sweets and starchy or salty foods. I'm sure you've heard of the late night munchies, or maybe even succumbed to them. So if you must stay up late, plan a filling healthy snack, like scrambled eggs.

If you're trying to build muscle, sleep is even more important. Weight training breaks down your muscles. Your body needs regular periods of sleep and rest in order to recover. While you sleep, your muscles are responding to your workout, repairing themselves, growing, and getting stronger. Stay sleep deprived, and you'll find that no matter how hard you work, you won't get the strength gains you should.

Since everyone is different, you'll need to determine how much sleep you need. One way to do it is to spend several days sleeping as much as you want or your body feels like you need. This will allow you to make up any "sleep debt" you've accumulated from repeated lack of sleep. Once you've done this, then you should be able to find your sleep has stabilized and you naturally sleep approximately the same number of hours per night. That should be the amount your body naturally needs. Try to plan your schedule so that you get this amount of sleep on a regular basis.

Other good advice about sleep is to keep your sleep environment free from distractions. Don't use the computer or watch TV in the same place where you sleep. It's also good to limit "screen time" right before bed. That includes computers and TV.

So as challenging as it can be, make a commitment to yourself to get more sleep tonight, and tomorrow night. It's good for your health, and you might just see some gains in your weight loss or muscle-building efforts! Good night, and sleep well!

What is the best form of exercise?

People spend an amazing amount of time trying to find the best exercise. A google search on the words retrieves millions of articles on the subject, and there are nearly 20,000 books on exercise! People search through dozens of these resources looking for answers. They'll look for the best exercise for weight loss, muscle growth, whittling their waist, or whatever their current goal is at the time. Then they'll spend hours each week sweating away at whatever exercise is the recommended one of the era, even if they hate it the entire time. It's a recipe for failure. If you're going to stick with an exercise program for the long-term, it has to be fun and something you enjoy.

So when you're answering the question "what is the best form of exercise," the best answer I can give is "the one you'll do regularly."

Love running? Fantastic! Plan distance runs, high intensity interval sprints, and hill runs to hit different body parts and increase your ability. Hate it? Don't do it! There are so many wonderful alternatives, and even though most people want to do some "cardio," running is not the only way to do it!

What about weight lifting? Enjoy pumping iron? Wonderful! Find yourself an olympic barbell and lift away! Hate lifting weights? No problem! Once again, there are lots of alternatives to a traditional weight workout, and hefting dumbbells or barbells is not the only way to do resistance training.

When you've found something you really enjoy, you'll know it, because the next time you don't feel like exercising, and force yourself to do it anyway, you'll feel energized and excited about 5 minutes in, rather than feeling bored and forcing yourself through the entire workout.

So here's a list of FUN and sometime unconventional exercises that can be used for cardio and/or resistance training. If something sounds interesting, give it a try! It's certainly better than trudging through another hour on the stairmaster!

• Kettlebells - Gaining in popularity in the past year, kettlebells are a way to get resistance training and cardio in a single workout, with just one weight! You swing, lift, and hold the kettlebell while doing moves like squats and lunges. It's challenging and many women who try it are surprised at how much they enjoy it, especially relative to traditional weight lifting. I will say that I recommend trained instruction - I train with an RKC certified instructor. Want more information on kettlebells? Check out Dragon Door and read up on Kettlebells at Charm City Kettlebells, which is a blog/site run by a fantastic RKC certified instructor, Sandy Sommer.
  
• Dance - While there are lots of fun dancing options for exercise, another hot trend is ZUMBA! In these instructor-led group sessions, you dance to fantastic Latin music. The movements are structured to give participants an amazing cardio interval workout, and the classes are amazingly fun and filled with energy. Find a class here: http://www.zumba.com/us/
• Group Weight Lifting - Great for people who like lifting weights but are intimidated by the "weight room," Group Power classes put weight-lifting into the relative safety of an instructor-led group exercise class. You get all of your resistance training for the day in a one-hour class, set to music, with an exercise routine that's been predetermined by your instructor. As you get stronger, you add more weight. Need a light day? Use less weight. It's up to you. More on group power here: http://www.quantumfitness.ca/programs/power.asp
• Play Like a Kid - Remember hanging from the monkey bars, jumping rope, and hula hooping? Well back when you were a kid, you did them because they were fun, but did you realize they are all great exercise as well? Plus, they're inexpensive, you can do them at home, and you can even have fun getting the kids involved! Jumping/skipping rope and hula hooping are great cardio workouts. Next time you take the kids to the park try using the monkey bars and you'll add some resistance training.
• Play Like a Grown-up - Made popular first in Southern California, Pole Dancing Exercise classes are springing up all over the country! Pole dancing can help strengthen your core, giving the benefits of resistance training, while an intense dancing session can also give a great cardio workout. For your comfort, classes should be women only, and there should be a beginners class for those who are new to the concept.
  

So these are just a few fun ideas that will take you out of your current bored, tedious exercises and give you something new and fun, that will hopefully keep you engaged for years to come. Which of them is the best form of exercise? Only you can answer that question!

What NOT to do in the gym

There are a few things I've learned NOT to do over the past year. These are common fitness mistakes that either waste your time, or cause your workout to be less efficient. Some of these are mistakes I made, others I was fortunate enough to learn not do before I made them. But they are all thing I see other people doing in the gym, just about every time I'm there. So here's a quick list of things I've learned to avoid -- and now you can too.

1. Holding onto the treadmill

I'll be the first to admit, this was a major vice of mine. I would be running at 8.5 mph at a 5% incline, but hanging onto the handle at the front as if my life depended on it! Why is this a no-no? Holding onto the treadmill lightens your body weight and changes your gait. You're no longer walking or running in the traditional sense. Furthermore, holding on will cause you to compromise your posture, putting your lower back at risk. For some of you, the most important point might be that if you hold on, the calorie burn the treadmill estimates for you will be far greater than your true calorie burn.

How do you fix it? Lower the incline to 2-3% (the amount of incline needed to make treadmill walking/running equivalent to outdoor walking/running) and SLOW DOWN, for goodness sakes! Once I decided I needed to go hands-off, I found I needed to lower my sprinting speed to around 7 mph. Although this was much slower than I had been doing before, it was a genuine run for me, and I got a great workout. Now that I've progressed, I can actually run at 8.5 mph, hands off. I would have never gotten there if I kept cheating my workouts with my death grip on the front bar.

2. Wasting hours on sit-ups and other ab exercises

I'm a little bit guilty here. I didn't spend hours on sit-ups, but at the beginning of my fitness journey, I was overly focused on stability ball crunches. Why is this a problem? Well, most people spend time on sit-ups and ab exercises because they want a trimmer midsection or six-pack abs. But unless their body fat is very low, meaning they're already quite trim, an ab-specific workout is essentially a waste of time. It may strengthen your abdominals, but will not whittle your waist. As I've said before, the secret to great abs is tied more to what and how you eat than when and how you exercise. And all of those sit-ups and crunches put too much strain on your back!

So instead of spending all that time doing an ab workout, eat at a calorie deficit. Then, when you're at the gym, focus at least some of your time on full body exercises like squats, overhead squats, or deadlifts, as well as high intensity interval training (HIIT). The full body exercises will engage your abs when you stabilize your body as part of the exercises. Plus, they'll burn many more calories than would have been burned working the abs alone. The HIIT will help you bust out some fat loss, turning your body into a fat burning machine long after your workout, thanks to the magic of EPOC (excess postexercise oxygen consumption). And, if you have some extra time and want to throw in 5-10 minute of targeted ab work at the end of your workout, feel free. Craig Ballantyne's 6-minute abs workout (find it here, under abdominal workouts) is one great way to do a quick, targeted ab workout that doesn't strain your back, and doesn't waste your time - it's only 6 minutes!

3. Shortening your range of motion because the weights are too heavy

I think even the most seasoned fitness buff can occasionally get trapped by this one. We end up thinking we can handle more weight than we truly can, and the form suffers as a result. I admit I'm a people watcher, and I've seen people do this who should know better! For instance, there's a guy at my gym who is a fitness competitor. He likes to throw lots of 45-pound plates on when he's doing squats, but then he barely even goes down far enough to get his thighs parallel to the ground. Meanwhile, there's another guy who squats about 100 pounds less, but goes completely down to the ground and back up. Now THAT's impressive!

Thanks to some good advice from a friend who is an Olympic powerlifter, I got to a point in my squats where I stopped increasing my weight, and instead increased my range of motion. This small tweak helped engage not just my quadriceps, but also ensured I was engaging my hamstrings and glutes as well.


That's my list, but before I close I have to share one from my dear husband's (DH) list:


4. Spend more time chatting or using your cellphone than you spend working out

You've seen them, and so have I. There's the girl texting while on the stairmaster. The guy talking on his cellphone with one arm while doing lateral raises with the other. And then, there's the group of three guys who spent so much time chatting, that by the time they finished their three sets (each) of split squats, I was done with my entire workout!

I'm not saying you shouldn't ever take a call, text, or talk to other people in the gym. But just be aware that when you spend time doing these things, you are lowering the effectiveness of your workout. Why? Well, there are two possible reasons:

• If you're talking or texting WHILE you work out, chances are that you're not paying as much attention to good form, or you are not pushing yourself very hard.


• If you're talking in between sets, you are likely taking longer rests than you had originally planned. If you're trying to have a workout that gives you a fat-burning effect, you should target 30-60 seconds of rest between sets. That's about enough time to say hello to your fellow gymrats and catch your breath. If you're trying to have a workout that builds muscle, you should target 2-5 minutes of rest between sets (women generally need less, men generally need more). If you get into a conversation with someone, it's really easy for 3 minutes to stretch to 8 or even 10.

So yes, DH is right. This is yet another common gym mistake that reduces workout efficiency and/or wastes your time.

What mistakes do you see people making in the gym, or what mistakes have you corrected in your own workouts? I'd love to hear your perspective!

Resistance Isn't Futile

Many women (and even some men) that I know have figured out how to lose weight by eating healthy. They might be using Weight Watchers, or a program like Jenny Craig, or maybe they're just being successful counting calories. But once they lose the weight, then the really difficult part starts: How do they keep it from coming back?

Well, first, let's look at how things change during weight loss. Using a general formula (the Harris-Benedict formula), we can estimate that if a 30 year-old woman is 5'6" tall, exercises 3 times per week, and starts off weighing 200 pounds, she needs to eat about 2150 calories per day to maintain her weight and 1650 calories per day to lose weight. Once she hits her goal weight of 135 pounds, she now needs to eat about 2175 calories per day to maintain her new weight.

Okay, that's a general formula. But let's consider two scenarios:

In the first scenario, our friend started off with 46% body fat. She lost weight and reduced her body fat percentage through dieting and cardio, but is still "skinny fat," meaning that she's slim but has a high percentage of body fat - say 30%. Well, if we consider lean body mass (using the Katch McArdle formula) instead of just total weight, our calculations change. After making the adjustment, she should only be eating 2000 calories per day to maintain her weight. If she's using the more general calculation above, she'll be eating 175 calories a day too much. That leaves her gaining more than a pound per month!

In the second scenario, our friend again started off with 46% body fat. But this time, she lost weight and significantly reduced her body fat percentage using a combination of dieting and exercise - both resistance training and cardio. So now she's slim AND she's maintained some of her muscle mass so her body fat percentage is just 20%. When we consider her lean body mass, she can eat 2200 calories per day to maintain her weight. So she can enjoy an extra 200 calories per day, compared to the first scenario, without watching that hard lost weight creep back on. Isn't that the kind of advantage you'd like to enjoy?

So how can you apply this knowledge for yourself? If you're one of the (many) women who loves your cardio, aerobics classes, and the like, but runs FAR away from the weight room, it's time to take a second look. It's important to maintain your muscle mass while you lose weight so that it won't be as easy for the weight to come back when you stop dieting. Resistance training, also called weight training, is an essential part of a successful weight loss plan.

And resistance training doesn't have to use weights. The important point is to stress and challenge your muscles, so that they respond by growing. You can do this with bodyweight exercises OR with weights, as long as you keep your workouts challenging. In fact, you can get a complete bodyweight resistance training workout for free by signing up for my email list (on the right).

To get the biggest benefit from a resistance training workout, you should focus on large movements that work multiple muscle groups. That means you should not consider bicep curls and tricep kickbacks with 5 pound hand weights as your "resistance training" workout. Some of the best exercises are those that work your lower body. That includes squats, lunges, and deadlifts. All three of these exercises can be done both with weight and without, and each uses multiple muscles so you're working efficiently AND buring calories. Kettlebell swings are another great way to work the muscles in your lower body. For your upper body, focus on various types of push-ups, work on doing your first chin-up, and doing either inverted bodyweight rows, or bent-over dumbbell rows with weights. Want to work abs? Check out my popular article about how to get great abs.

If you are an exercise class junkie, never fear! You can get resistance training in a class setting. Many gyms now offer group weightlifting classes with an aerobics feel, but using barbells and weight plates to add resistance. There are also "boot camp" type classes that use bodyweight exercises to coach participants through resistance training workouts that can be done anywhere, without any equipment!

Still feel lost? Find a good personal trainer and ask them to design and help you learn a resistance training plan that you can do without having to use exercise machines, and will give you a good basic workout. Specifically mention the exercises I listed above, so they understand you want a serious workout and not 20 minutes of lifting tiny pink dumbbells over your head.

And feel free to ask me, too, if you need ideas on how to get over your fear of resistance training. Remember, resistance ISN'T futile!

7-Minute Weight Loss Circuit

I recently read a summary of a very interesting study regarding energy level and quality of life in women. In the study, healthy sedentary women (average age around 57) were put into one of four groups. Three groups did exercise at varying levels of intensity, from light exercise (The amount of time spent exercising ranged from just over one hour weekly in the light intensity group to three hours weekly in the high intensity group.) The fourth group was a control group - they didn't begin an exercise program.

The result? While the groups doing more exercise lost the most weight, all three exercising groups showed marked increases in vitality, and reported improved quality of life in mental, social, and physical respects. What can we learn from this? You don't need a long intense gym workout to gain the psychological benefits of exercise. And when it comes to mood and staying on track with your weight loss plans, even a short, light workout may be all it takes to keep your momentum up.

As I've mentioned before, missing one workout can often lead to two or three missed workouts, and it can be difficult to stay on track. But if you are pressed for time, having a short workout that you can do at home may be what it takes to help you make it to the gym the next day.

With that in mind, I wanted to share a short weight loss circuit designed by Craig Ballantyne, the author of Turbulence Training and a frequent contributor to Men's Health Magazine.

7-Minute Weight Loss Circuit

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

One thing we have to lose from our workout mindsets is the idea of this "60-minute workout". Forget about spending that much time in the gym. Instead, choose better exercises that are more efficient. This will allow you to get your workout done faster, eliminating the "no time" workout excuse.

To do so, you need to eliminate irrelevant exercises. I know you want to do an exercise for shoulders, and one for arms, and one for abs, and one for this and that. But before you do, ask yourself, will these really get me to my goal, or have I just been convinced by bodybuilding magazines that I need 40 sets per workout to get results?

Now, taking those lessons, we can then create some pretty incredible bodyweight workouts as well. And these bodyweight workouts can get finished fast!

In fact, here is a 7-minute bodyweight circuit that can help you lose weight, burn calories, and blast your metabolism. You don't need machines or weights. You can do this anywhere!

Bodyweight squat (10-20 reps)
Pushup (10-20 reps) - do it on your knees if you must
Reverse Lunge (10 reps per leg)
Plank (30 second hold)
Close-grip Pushup (10-20 reps)
Side Plank (20 second hold per side)
Mountain Climber (10 reps per side)

Do this with no rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute at the end of the 7-minute circuit and repeat up to 3 times.

If you are a beginner, do fewer reps and take longer rests.

It's a tough, tough bodyweight circuit, especially the combination of two exercises late in the circuit. This combo literally exhausted me to my knees...twice...before I was able to finish the circuit.You can do the circuit up to 3 times.

Another weapon in your fat loss arsenal. Now you'll know how to train efficiently and eat effectively for fat loss.

Don't wait any longer to get started! Get all of these bodyweight exercises, and more, in the Turbulence Training workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home. No more annoying drives to the gym, waiting in line for machines in an uncomfortable environment, or being intimidated by the super-buff gym bunnies. Lose fat, get fit, and workout your way - at home with only a bench, a ball, and dumbbells.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com.

Motivation: Figure out what works for you

I've been talking to a lot of my friends over the past few days, and more often than not, the conversation takes a turn to fitness. I wanted to do a brief post, just to talk about some of the motivational strategies that have worked for them (and for me). The point is that this is a menu. Know yourself, and choose from the menu the things that will work to help motivate you.

• Get inspired! Whether its a picture of a fit celebrity (Jessica Biel, whose picture I posted earlier this week, is my inspiration), or maybe just a picture of yourself from years ago, a visual of your goal can help keep you on track. Hang it somewhere visible, like on your mirror, in the pantry, or on the fridge. Another idea is to have a personalized goal picture created for you at a site like weightview.
• Challenge yourself. Remember my neighbor who helped get me started with my fitness plan? Well, C., as we'll call her, had her baby back in February, and as soon as she was "cleared" for workouts by her doctor, she started a very aggressive and challenging program called P90x. While some people might get demotivated by such an intense and challenging program, C. knows that a challenge will make her fight back to prove she can't be beat! Maybe a challenging program, or a contest-based challenge like a Biggest Loser contest or body transformation contest (like the Turbulence Training Contest I entered) will keep you engaged and motivated. I should share that C. is doing great - not quite at her goals yet, but already fitting back into her size 8 clothes! YOU GO GIRL!
  
• Engage a pro. This isn't for everyone, but for some people who feel overwhelmed by all of the information or options available to them at the gym, working one-on-one or in a small group setting with a personal trainer or coach can be just what they needed. As they gain confidence, they may be able to branch out on their own more often.
• Be accountable. Telling people your goals can make it harder to stop pursuing them. Another neighbor, (we'll call her "L."), just told her friends that she is joining the local gym. She knows that we'll ask her about it, and that accountability will help her follow through. So tell people about your goals and your plans, and encourage them to check in with you to find out how it's going. Even better is to have a specific friend commit to following the same program, so that you can support and keep each other accountable.
• Focus on your goals. Think about what you want out of life, and how a slimmer, more fit body will help you get it. Then write down your top 5 benefits of success on an index card. Make copies, and put them everywhere you might need them: in your purse, on your mirror, or at your desk at work. Pull them out and read them when you are tempted to venture off-plan.
• Focus on the negatives. Sometimes, the scare that comes from our poor health can be what kicks us in the butt and gets us moving again. Maybe, like my DH, one of your parents died at a relatively young age because of poor health. Maybe it's your own health -- you've had a heart attack or stroke scare. Either way, focusing on what you don't want to become can often be what it takes to turn it around for people. So again, write it down, and put it somewhere you will see it and be reminded what you're doing and why!
• Reward success. Although it's important not to sabotage your success with unhealthy food-based rewards, rewards can be a great motivator! Perhaps you'll get a pedicure after you lose 10 lbs. Or it could be that you only get your weekly "cheat" of an ice cream cone if you made all your workouts and ate on-plan during the week. It could even be a trip to the beach where you can show off your new beach-ready body when you meet your final goals! The trick is to choose a variety of goals, both short- and long-term, and a variety of rewards that will keep you engaged.

I hope you found something on this "menu of motivation" that will help keep you on plan. Is there something that motivates you that I didn't mention? Let me know in the comments!

Dealing with a setback

I've spent the last few days getting over a cold, and it reminded me how easy it can be to get off track. Maybe, like me, it's a cold that sidelines you from your workouts, or maybe it's a disruption to your schedule. Maybe it's even a setback on the scale, or a few days of eating off plan.

A few days can stretch to a week, and then two weeks. Suddenly you find yourself looking in the mirror and feeling pudgy and unmotivated. So now what?

Well, sometimes, it's not as hard as it seems to find your way back. You don't have to dive all the way back into your normal routine to do it. Just small steps can be enough to build momentum in the right direction, and get you back into your routine.

So let's talk about some strategies to get you out of that funk.

1. Get moving. Maybe you can't make it to the gym or don't have time for a full workout. Drop to the floor and bang out a few sets of 10-20 push-ups, do some jumping jacks, 10-20 bodyweight squats, and a 30 second plank. It's quick, so if you feel good, rest a minute and repeat. Just getting moving, even doing a little mini-workout like this, will raise your endorphins and get you out of feeling lazy, making you more likely to return to your regular workouts the next day.
2. Take a break from the scale. Weighing yourself multiple times a day or even every single day can be demoralizing. Most of the rise and fall in your weight over short periods of time is based on hydration. Take at least one week's break from the scale and focus instead on how you feel and how your clothes fit.
3. Eat healthy for a day. Just one day of going without the snacks, fatty foods, and treats that led to a downward spiral can help you start a positive cycle. One day can stretch into two, then three...you get the idea.
4. Do something fun. Sometimes you can lose your motivation because you've been TOO intense, working too hard without ever getting a break. Take a day and do something fun. Maybe it's a fun activity, like going for a bike ride with your family. Maybe it's something like getting a new haircut, or a pedicure. Taking a day to relax and have a little fun may leave you recharged and ready to jump back into your exercise routine.

As for me, I missed my normal gym workout on Monday to stay home and rest, since I wasn't feeling well. To make matters worse, I didn't feel like cooking something healthy. I was tempted to order out, but then ended up eating some butternut squash soup I had in the cabinet. I rested on the couch for a while, and then decided to get up and just do a set of push-ups. After 20 push-ups, I had a bit more energy and did some sumo squats. Then it was side planks and regular planks. By this point, I actually felt pretty good, so I grabbed my kettlebell and did some weighted lunges and cleans. All in all, I spent about 12-15 minutes being active, instead of my normal 60 minute workout, but I went to bed feeling much better emotionally about what I had done.

On Tuesday night, I was still feeling a bit off, but after my mini-workout the night before, I managed to build up the momentum to make it to the gym. After my workout was complete, I felt really great - not tired or sick at all.

So the next time you've fallen out of your routine because you're sick, or maybe a bit depressed, try some of my suggestions and see if they can get you back on track. Do you have any additional strategies? If so, please post them in the comments!

Escaping from a cycle of bad eating

So, it's been a few days since Easter, and I don't know about you, but I've indulged in the candy a few times too many! Did you know that Easter and Halloween are two of the biggest holidays for candy sales and consumption? And if you have kids, it's hard to do a complete moratorium, since even if you don't get them any candy, they're likely to end up with some from school or local egg hunts. This time of year I'm almost jealous of my Jewish friends celebrating passover. I would be much less tempted by Matzo than I am by those darned peanut butter eggs!

For me, each piece of candy I eat seems to open the door towards eating more. It's as if my mind has said, "well, clearly it's okay to eat some of this." So while I might start on day one with just one mini twix, by day two I've had a mini twix and a mini reese's peanut butter cup, and by day three I'm wondering if my kids will notice if I eat both of their peanut butter eggs! (Answer: Yes, they will. Not that I've done it. Yet. Some things, a mom just knows!)

I went through this same thing at Halloween, and after a week of what felt like a downward spiral, I decided to take matters into my own hands and get back to healthy eating. Now it's time for me to do the same thing, and I'll share some strategies so that those of you suffering can find a way out as well!

1. Throw it out. Okay, this technique is easiest for those without kids, or with very young kids. Basically, a week after the holiday, you just throw it all away. Put it in a bag in the outside trash. You can keep one piece for each year of each child's age if you'd like. Trust me, they'll know how many you have, and you won't be able to sneak any!
2. Out of sight, out of mind. Instead of leaving the candy out in a dish or in their easter basket, put it all into a brown paper bag, and put it on the top shelf of the pantry. Get it down when your kids ask for a treat. Without having it under your nose, it will be easier to get through your day without eating any. And, your kids may even start to forget how much they have, which means you can strategically follow strategy #1, with just a few pieces at at time, over the next few weeks.
3. Buy it. From your kids, that is. Last Halloween, I told my kids I'd give them $0.25 for each piece of candy. $18 later, I had a nice full bag, and they each had a few pieces of just their very favorite candies. I took my bag to work, where the candy disappeared in less than a day. It was one of the best investments I ever made! And the upside was that my kids weren't upset about losing their candy.
4. Have a piece of fruit. When you are considering eating a piece of candy or chocolate, crush that sugar craving by having a nice fresh and juicy piece of fruit. Really sweet fruit like pineapple or mango is often best. The fiber in the fruit helps make you feel full, and the sugar will help get you over the craving.
5. Write it down. If you aren't journaling your food yet, now is the time to start. Sure, there may not be an easy way to determine the calories in one mini M&M, but if you eat one, WRITE IT DOWN! You may think twice about eating it next time. Jillian Michaels has also suggested writing down how you're feeling when you eat unhealthy foods. This can help you determine if your eating is emotionally based.
6. Make it just one day. For one day, put a moratorium on candy. No matter how tempted you are, just think to yourself, "I'm not eating any candy today," and move on. Once you've proven to yourself that you can make it through a day without candy, you may find it easier to decide to pass on it the next day.

As for me, this is my confession time. So here we go!

On April 11, I ate a mini twix, mini reese's peanut butter cup, mini dark chocolate bar, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.

On April 12, I ate three chocolate chip cookies, a mini twix, and half a glazed donut.

On April 13, I ate a mini reese's peanut butter cup, 2 wintergreen lifesavers, and 3 cups of popcorn (which I ate while trying to keep myself from eating the peanut butter eggs)!

That's where it stopped. After reviewing what I had documented (using strategy #5) for the previous three days, I was upset with myself for my apparent lack of control. I decided I wasn't having any more of my kid's candy. So I implemented strategy #2, and when I had a craving, had a nice plum (strategy #4).

Fortunately, I got control before I developed a habit of poor eating. I hope these techniques help you do the same!

(And thank goodness we now have over six months until Halloween!)

Success Strategy #4: Eliminate ALL sodas (even diet)

As an adult, I was a generally healthy person, but I did have a few vices. I remember when I was a freshman in college, I took a health course, and our professor challenged us to make one improvement in our health. I went to her and asked for some help trying to figure out what I should do. She had suggested quitting smoking (not a smoker), stopping alcohol consumption (not a drinker), or beginning an exercise program (I was lifting 4x per week and on the dance team which had me rehearsing 3x per week). Here I was thinking there wasn't anything I could do to make a meaningful change in my health.

I sat down with her and it took her exactly three minutes to find what my change was going to be. All she had to do was ask me about what I eat and drink. That's when she discovered I was such a soda addict that I actually had Sprite with breakfast (Coke with lunch and dinner, but Sprite seemed more appropriate for breakfast, somehow!). She challenged me to give up soda. And I did! But once the class was over, I added it right back without missing a beat. My biggest vice was Coke slushee (slurpees...whatever they are called where you live), and there were many times where a study session would be interrupted by a "Coke Slushee run."

I gave up soda again when I was pregnant the first time after being advised to do so by my OB/GYN. I still remember saying, "well is diet soda okay?" She gave me the MOST disapproving look and said, "it isn't about the calories. You need to be taking in things with nutritional value." Okay then! But yes, one of the first things I asked for after delivery was a 20oz regular Coke. So once again, it was only temporary.

This time I didn't give it up for a class, or for a pregnancy. I gave it up for me. For my health. And I gave it up for good. ALL of it. Even diet soda.

When I am on different fitness sites, I see a lot of people talking about their soda addictions and how they are switching to diet soda. Now I'm not going to tout the dangers of aspartame to steer you away from diet soda or crystal light or whatever your vice might be. There's lots of conflicting information on the web and you certainly can form your own opinion on that. But here's the thing. If you are drinking a diet drink, you're cutting calories, but you're still maintaining your addiction to a nutritionally empty drink, instead of normalizing the act of drinking plain water. And if you're like me, drinking something sweet (whether it's sweet because of sugar or sugar substitutes) makes me crave more sugar and other carbs.

So hear it from me, a recovering soda addict (Hi. I'm Liz. It has been 5 months since my last Coke Slushee). Diet sodas and other diet drinks are just a nutritionally empty way to maintain your soda addiction. So cut back, go cold turkey, whatever works for you. But don't kid yourself that switching to diet drinks is healthy. Go ahead, say it, "But I don't like water." Yeah, neither did I. But just like anything else, once you expose yourself to it enough, you make it normal and find that you can drink it AND enjoy it.

Is it a coincidence that major changes in my body composition followed my all-out ban on soda? Maybe. Try it, and see if you experience the same kind of happy coincidence.

Success Strategy #3: Keep your body guessing

Ever fallen into a rut? You know, when you find yourself doing the same thing over and over again? Well when it comes to fitness, this is a VERY BAD THING.

When my quest for fitness began, I couldn't run a mile. So my neighbor and I went out and walked for 3 minutes, and then ran for 1, over a course of about 2.5 miles (from our doors to the stop sign at the main road and back). As the weeks wore on, we shortened how long we walked, and increased how long we ran. I was getting great results the whole time! About 6 weeks into our plan, I joined a running club, and went for my first run with them. You could choose 2.5 miles or 5 miles. I decided to try 2.5 miles and just see how far I could run without stopping. Well, it took me 28 minutes but I did it!

But here's where it got complicated. The distance of our morning run was around 2.5 miles. Now that I could run 2.5 miles without stopping, it was going to be difficult to change things up enough to continue my progress. If I added distance, it would increase the amount of time I spent exercising each morning, making it harder for me to get the kids ready and get to work on time. So as much as I wanted to keep changing it up, I fell into a rut. I ran 2.5 miles every morning, did the same tired stability ball workout three times a week, and...sure enough...hit a weight loss plateau. Frankly, I just couldn't think up new routines to do.

So when I was looking for new workout routines, Susan from Catapult Fitness Blog recommended I try Turbulence Training. I'll talk more about my success with these workouts in the future but the key point for this post is that each workout plan lasted about 4 weeks. So with dozens of workouts in hand, it was easy to change what I was doing every month and keep my body guessing. It got me over my plateau last September, and continues to help me see results today.

No matter what workout strategy you use, DON'T fall into a rut. If you have a personal trainer write your routines for you, it will be worth the time and money to go back to them periodically (monthly or every two months) and get a new program. If you're using a routine you purchased or found on-line, remember to increase your weights or intensity each week, and when you have mastered the routine...move on to a new one.

Just a final note -- we all have favorite exercises, the ones that make us feel strong or accomplished or just overall fantastic. Maybe your favorite exercise in the gym in bench press. Well, you might be surprised how much your bench improves if you take a break from it for a month and do incline chest press, push-ups, or floor press instead. So look for new ways to work the same muscles, new routines to challenge yourself, and learn to love a new way to work the same old muscles.

Success Strategy #2: Cut calories

I was watching Biggest Loser last night (on demand - I work out Tuesday nights so I never get to watch it live), and one of the questions asked of the contestants was whether it was better to cut fat or cut calories. The answer was...cut calories! And it's so true.

Now there's a new study that cutting calories matters more than what style of diet you follow (low-fat, low-carb, etc.). Read about the study here: Study Finds Calories Count More. In fact, the key really is to find a diet that works for you, that you can stick to, and that creates a calorie deficit.

Two gurus I follow didn't need this study to know this is true. The first, Michael Pollan, is a writer for the NYT and author of some fantastic books like "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food." Pollan points out that Americans have been advised to eat more low fat foods, more fruits, and more vegetables. In fact, he thinks it would have been better advice to tell people to eat LESS meat and animal fats. Because what happened? Well people took the same diet they had all along, and ADDED low fat foods to it. So while they lowered their fat intake as a percentage of their total calories, they also added calories. And so they gained weight.

The other guru, professional trainer and Men's Health contributor Craig Ballantyne, has the mantra, "You can't out-train a bad diet." Boy do I wish someone had given me this advice early on. I can't ennumerate how many times I justified ordering a cheesesteak and french fries by thinking about how I'd stuck to my workout plan for the week. And guess what? It didn't matter how hard I worked...my calorie intake always got in the way.

So when I started SERIOUSLY trying to lose weight, the simple fact is that diet was a huge help. I cut an average of 500 calories per day from my weekly intake. At the beginning, I did this by having a "diet shake" for breakfast, soup and salad for lunch, and a sensible dinner. Lots of people are successful this way, and I was too. I lost ten pounds in two months, going from 135 to 125. Clearly, cutting calories works. If you are having trouble getting motivated to exercise, or feel like your exercises aren't intense enough to lose weight, or maybe are struggling with injury, DON'T WORRY. Sure exercise will help your progress, but diet will help even more. So create a reasonable calorie deficit that won't leave you starving (and cheating). Ladies, that means don't go below 1200 calories per day, on average.

Start with diet, get that down, and then move on to exercise to increase the speed with which you get results, and improve your overall health.

I feel compelled to say that I don't have diet shakes, salads and soups every day now. In fact, I lost the last 10 pounds after making some more changes to my diet later that worked even better for me than my initial approach. I'll talk about them in a future post.

Success Strategy #1: Accountability

I started my fitness and health quest on June 15, 2008. The first success strategy I used was accountability.

I found a friend (my neighbor) who was also interested in exercising, and made a commitment to go running with her every morning before work. I knew that she'd be getting up early and waiting for me outside our houses, so I was less likely to hit snooze and go back to bed. I didn't want to stand her up!

At work, I told a few people what I was doing, and a few of us created a mini-contest. Rather than having a "Biggest Loser" contest, which doesn't work well for people with different fitness goals, we each documented the goals we wanted to achieve by a target date. Our target date was August 15, 2008, and my goal was to weigh 125 pounds by that date. Someone else in the group wanted to lose 1" from their waist. Another person wanted to gain 5 pounds of muscle.

We checked in with each other on a regular basis. Knowing that these people I saw every day at work for going to say, "hey, did you do your run this morning?" or "how are you doing on your goals" was great motivation to make sure the answer was one I would be proud of.

Although I didn't meet my goal by my target date (weighed in at 126 on 8/15, and it took until 8/20 to reach my goal), I stayed on track.

If you're starting out:
Set a SPECIFIC GOAL against which you will be held accountable
TELL someone about your goal
SCHEDULE your exercises
Find a FRIEND who expects you to exercise on your schedule

These tips helped me. I hope they help you too!