Do you struggle trying to squeeze in a workout? To that end, is exercise one of the first things to go when your schedule gets overloaded? Here's the thing: it shouldn't. Exercise really is one of, if not the, easiest thing on your to-do list you can accomplish.
Dubious? Do you have 30 minutes to spare? Of course you do. Then you have time to exercise.
Exercise should be non-negotiable. The benefits of working out extend far beyond anything relating to weight loss. It gives you more energy, improves you mood, helps you think better, reduces cholesterol and improves your posture. That's the tip of the iceberg. The UK's Academy of Medical Royal Colleges published a report in 2015 calling exercise the "miracle cure".
Have you ever suffered from decision fatigue trying to find an online workout to stream? The struggle is real. From pilates and PiYo to HIIT and BBG, there is an endless supply of choices.
That's a good thing...and a bad thing.
It's great in that you can, literally, do any workout anywhere in the world. It's a negative when you try to consider all the options you can choose from. You might be 15 minutes into an online workout before you realize it's too hard, not hard enough or a complete waste of your time.
What if I told you that you in just 30 minutes from right now you could feel better, think more clearly and improve your health. Does such a magic bullet exist?
Yes. It's called exercise. If you go for a 30-minute walk, right now, I guarantee you will feel better. Simple as that.
Not only is it good for you physically but it also helps your brain. Ever notice how your best ideas seem to come to you when you're going for a walk? There's something to it. It also boosts your memory, improves your concentrations and slows cognitive decline.
I spent 15 minutes on the phone last week with my BFF talking her off the Diet Coke ledge. She is trying to cut back on soda in 2016 and says going off of it is about to kill her. She is having caffeine withdrawals, she misses that wonderful Diet Coke fizz and gets bored with water.
I feel her pain. I was a soda addict in the 90's and early 2000's. When I worked for the Dallas Cowboys we had free sodas all throughout Valley Ranch. I would drink two or three Diet Dr. Peppers and a Diet Mountain Dew every day. The whole 'diet' thing didn't do squat for me. I was still fat.
I am not gonna lie. My favorite drink, to this day, is a Cherry Diet Coke from JD's Chippery in Dallas. There is something special about that cherry syrup they use. I could drink one every day but you, me and everyone in between knows that a daily soda habit isn't good for you. To that end, I limit my consumption to one delicious drink a week.
There is no disputing the fact that water is the best beverage out there. I love water but sometimes we all just get tired of it. Whether we're stuck at work and need something for that 3pm break or simply want a more interesting alternative to drink when we're running errands, water all day every day can become monotonous and, in turn, has us craving a Coke. Fortunately, there are some awesome low-calorie or no-calorie beverages you can drink in place of water and soda without damaging your waistline.
Is one of your goals in 2016 to exercise more? You don't need to spend a ton of cash on a gym. While I love the options a gym provides, when you're in a pinch a quick, equipment-free workout can really kick your butt.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday planned. We were in Paris last year for Thanksgiving (a few pics here). I have spent countless Thanksgivings covering Cowboys games (their spread is fabulous, btw). We'll be home this year spending it with the family. Thanksgiving tends to kick off the holiday eating season. If you're not careful, you can pack on a few pounds during the final six weeks of the year. To avoid doing that, here are a few diet strategies that can help you survive and enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner without wrecking your healthy eating plan. RELATED: 5 Tips To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
Foam rollers are absolute gamechangers. They're fitness accessories that hurt so good. They help you exercise better, ease aches and boost your energy. With the right foam roller you can target a variety of pains. I use them primarily for my back and IT band.
Watch this video for three simple exercises I do almost every day. I own this foam roller and perform these exercises at night before I go to bed or at the gym.
With Memorial Day behind us, summer has unofficially started. Pools are open which, in turn, means bathing suit season is here.
Are you ready? Me? Sorta.
Innergy Fitness owner, trainer and nutrition expert Stephanie Hanson recently shared a few secrets with me to help us feel better during the summer months. You know the routine: we're wearing tank tops, shorts and bathing suits. We want to feel good about doing that. Stephanie's tips can help. They don't require any crazy weight loss regime, diet pills or ridiculous exercise program. They're along the lines of the smart, simple strategies that I have been preaching for years.
Even when I was fat, I loved to exercise. A good workout produces chemicals, called endorphins, that make you feel better.
If you absolutely dread the thought of exercise, there are some tricks to help you learn to love it more.
Listen to a book or podcast on your iPod while walking or running. They key is to allow yourself to listen to them ONLY while working out; not in the car, at home or at the nail salon. This will get you excited about your workouts. A long power walk while listening to a book becomes an indulgent retreat. Listening to Stieg Larsson's Dragon Tattoo trilogy had me pushing my hour-long power walks to 90 minutes or two hours when I was trying to lose the baby weight. A good story makes time fly.
If you're at the gym, download some favorite TV shows or movies on your iPad. Sign up for Amazon Prime and watch whatever you like (assuming your gym has WiFi) while doing your cardio. Currently, I am catching up on season 2 of the The Americans on Amazon Primewhen I do my cardio workouts.This is an easy way to, again, enjoy every minute of your workout.
Think of it as an indulgence. Just like a massage, facial or visit to the nail salon, exercise is a brief moment during the day when you focus solely on yourself. You're not folding laundry, running errands or doing office work. You're doing something for you. And it's awesome.
Focus on how good you will feel AFTER your workout. This takes some energy but it works. When you're dreading that trip to the gym or power walk, remind yourself that you will feel a million times better after your workout. This simple act has gotten me out the door. And the thing is, it's not hooey. You really will feel a million times better after your workout.
Get The Real Skinny
So I wrote an ebook: "The 10 Easiest Diet Tips: Simple Secrets To Help You Lose Weight And Maintain Your Weight Loss For Good".
There is no food combining, disgusting diet powders or whacky MLM scheme involved in this book. It's simply a list of the easiest diet tips that can help you reach your goals whether you want to lose five pounds or 50.
It's yours free when you sign up for The Real Skinny, our digest of diet and fitness updates designed for people who have real lives in the real world. No trainers or personal chefs required (not that there's anything wrong with that).
Learn how I lost 55 pounds and kept it off for more than a decade!
80% of my friends, girls AND guys, are on diets at any given time. They hate them. They stress over losing weight. They're miserable. They're making their spouses and significant others miserable, too.
Dieting doesn't have to be hard. Really.
By implementing simple changes, like the two-bite rule, you can save calories which will help you lose weight and maintain your weight loss for good. These tricks are designed for the long haul, not losing 10 pounds in a week. They're ridiculously easy tricks you can do the rest of your life without going crazy.
How do I know? I use one or two of them every day. They helped me lose more than 55 pounds and keep them off for more than a decade.
Learn The Secrets To Effortless Weight Loss & Maintenance
So I wrote an ebook: "The 10 Easiest Diet Tips: Simple Secrets To Help You Lose Weight And Maintain Your Weight Loss For Good".
There is no food combining, disgusting diet powders or whacky MLM scheme involved in this book. It's simply a list of the easiest diet tips that can help you reach your goals whether you want to lose five pounds or 50.
It's yours free when you sign up for The Real Skinny, our digest of diet and fitness updates designed for people who have real lives in the real world. No trainers or personal chefs required (not that there's anything wrong with that).
The Nike Training Club Appis the nuts. It's a booty kick and personal trainer all rolled into one downloadable package of workout brilliance.
A hair dresser introduced me to it when she told me she simply exercised at home. She had a phenomenal figure and was around 40. I took her advice and downloaded the app with extremely low expectations.
The third week of January is critical when it comes to New Year's resolutions. It is the week most of them die, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gym attendance declines, that commitment to eat better weakens, you know the routine.
The thing is, three weeks is barely enough time to give a resolution a chance to stick. A 2009 study by University College London found it takes about 66 days to develop a habit (Tweet this).
How can you stay committed to reaching your 2015 goals?
Stay Focused. Being focused on a goal can help you reach it. How do you do that? Read blogs, websites, magazines and news articles about the particular area in which you're interesting in improving. Want to get in better shape? Read Shapeor Women's Health. Want to cook healthier meals? Make Eating Wellpart of your regular reading. Shameless plug: sign up for The Real Skinny, a digest of diet and fitness tips for the real world, like this one. Or check out my blog every Monday for News To Help You Have A Healthier Week. Reading about it, helps you think about it and keep those goals present in your mind.
Be Specific. Don't be vague in your goals. For example: "I will wake up by 6am five days a week" is one of my goals for 2015. That's a better and more specific goal than "I will wake up earlier this year". In fact, according to experts, being specific about when, where and how you will take action can set you up for success.
Be Realistic. You probably won't lose 25 pounds in one month. Five pounds? That's doable. Don't set goals that are completely unattainable. Take it a step further and create that specific action plan (see above) for you to achieve this.
So if you do abandon your 2015 goals this week. Don't stress it. You can always start again next week.
How You Doin'?
How are you doing with your 2015 goals? Are they too tough to attain or are you rolling along? Please share in the comments section.
Me? I am struggling with the wake up at 6am thing. I am getting up about 6:30am which is at least a step in the right direction.
I hope you had a great weekend. Full disclosure: I have been dieting like a mad bitch for a photo shoot today. The nice thing about the diet (which I will detail in an upcoming post) is that I really haven't craved anything. I have been a bit of recluse, though, and avoided going out to dinner all week. I am a night eater and didn't want to be tempted.
Here are a few things that caught my eye. Hope they help you have a healthier week!
Fasting 12 hours a day can help you lose weight. I try to do this most days of the week (think 5) and it is so much easier than you would think. Eat dinner before 7pm, have breakfast after 7am. That tends to be the most manageable window in the real world. If you need to eat a bit later, try to do it before 8pm and eat your breakfast after 8am.
Dr. Oz has a new diet plan: the Total 10 Rapid Weight Loss Plan. On it you ditch coffee for hot lemon water (the bitterness of the lemon stimulates bile flow which helps emulsify and remove fat-soluble toxins, according to Dr. Oz - Tweet this), eat protein in the morning (smart!) and two healthy snacks a day are allowed (think kale chips, lentils and almond butter quinoa balls).
Make 2015 the year you make it happen. Whatever your "IT" is.
For many of my friends and family, gaining control of their weight and overall health is a priority. For me, staying the course is the goal but that's never easy. I am a recovering a fat girl and and am always a Golden Corral buffet away from my orca phase.
The thing is, whether you're at your ideal weight or fitness level or still trying to get there, your health should be one of your top priorities. If you do not have a healthy body and spirit, nothing else matters (Tweet this). Simply put:
If you don't have your health, you don't have anything.
We know that resolutions, many times, fail. I prefer not to think in terms of resolutions for a new year but in goals. It's scientifically proven that writing down goals helps you achieve them.
Be Realistic
Don't put too much pressure on yourself. We're all human. There will be days that we eat too much candy or miss a workout. We will yell at people we love and feel fat. We WILL get off track. The key is to jump right back on when we do get off track. Little missteps are a part of life. It's how we rebound from them that help define us.
Get Easy Diet & Fitness Tips In 2015
Looking for extra motivation this year? Sign up for The Real Skinny. You will receive smart, practical advice that you can use in the real world (like THIS ONE) to help you reach your diet and fitness goals.
Share Your Goals
Please share some of your 2015 goals in the comments section. I would love to learn what you have in store this year. Check back on Monday. I will share my 2015 goals worksheet.
Performing lower abdominal work on the Reformer at The Pilates Barre, Devonshire
If you're looking to tone and tighten in 2015, there are a slew of workouts to help you do that. I am a fan of pilates workouts but, to be candid, they can sometimes be too easy or routine.
There is nothing easy about The Pilates Barre's 50 minute Pilates Body class, one of the five classes the studio offers.
After an indulgent trip to Paris where, as usual, I lost weight living on cheese, chocolate and wine (granted I did walk about eight miles a day and eat small portions) it was time to return to the gym. I had done some light weightlifting on my own but nothing too regimented. This past Saturday I took one of exhale's Core Fusion Barre Basic classes, my 56th of the year but first in a few weeks. I felt like I was taking it for the very first time.
Core Fusion Barre Basic may sound like an easier version of an Open class. That couldn't be further from the truth. The movements are targeted, tiny and effective. Each time I take one of these classes, it is challenging. I was sore the next day, in a good way. In fact after Saturday's class, I am still sore on Monday.
Core Fusion Barre Basic Movements
In Core Fusion Barre Basic, you will do movements for both the upper and lower body with an emphasis on glutes and thighs. You will use a combination of light weights as well as your own body weight.
After a three to five minute warmup, you will spend about seven to 10 minutes doing a variety of weighted movements for your arms, shoulders and back with a quick set of pushups thrown in. The movements are rapid and deliver a good burn, despite the light weight.
Lower body movements for Core Fusion Basic
You will focus on your lower body for the next 30 minutes. You will spend roughly 15 minutes on your thighs and 15 minutes on your bootie. You will do plié squats, leg lefts and circles on a ballet bar and, sometimes, on a floor mat. The movements are tough and ALWAYS make my legs shake.
For the last 15 minutes, you will focus on your abs after a quick set of bar pullups. The ab work combines rollups, planks, leg lifts and extensions. For me, the ab work rarely burns in class but I usually feel it the next day.
You always finish with a good stretch, something I love. I could spend an extra 15 minutes stretching at the end of class. I feel like that's something I always need.
There is not a heart-pumping cardiovascular component to this 60-minute class like there is in exhale's Core Fusion Cardio Barre class (read my review HERE). Taking that into account, I rarely feel like I need to do cardio on days when I do a Core Fusion Barre Basic class. I consider it "enough" of a workout.
The Gear
You can wear pretty much anything to Core Fusion classes. I recommend yoga pants/leggings simply because shorts tend you leave you a little, um, exposed. Grip socks are mandatory to keep you from slipping on the wooden floor.
The Takeaway
exhale's Core Fusion classes are never routine. The class size is small enough that the instructor can deliver individual attention to you. Sometimes you love it because it helps you perform a movement properly. Most times, candidly, I hate it because it makes the movement infinitely more difficult. That's what you want, though, because these classes deliver results. The movements target those tiny muscles which truly give your body a lift in the areas that need it.
Core Fusion classes are always a challenge, no matter how experienced you are with this type of exercise. That's a good thing.
Yoga pants are like a push-up bra for your butt. The right pair lifts your booty and makes you feel like you've squatted your way to a tighter tush. When you feel fat slip on a pair of Nike's Legend Slim yoga pants and you have an instant outfit that fits perfectly. And makes you look skinny, too!
There are multitude of reasons yoga pants are the perfect piece of clothing:
They're the ideal travel outfit.
They give us that "just from the gym" look. I'm an athlete, damnit!
You can wear them anywhere.
You can eat as much as you want and still fit in them. I can't tell you how many times I have worn them to a boozy brunch featuring mimosas, bloodies and a basket of bread.
BAM. There's the rub. Or the muffin top.
Yoga pants are making us fat.
Those elastic leggings adjust as you do. It's hard to tell if you've gained a pound or twelve because day after day when you slip on your Lululemons, they fit like a glove, one that's slowly getting tighter to the point of becoming see-through.
In my former life when I lived in tight dresses every day for TV purposes, I could tell if I had packed on a few pounds. That Burberry beauty doesn't lie. If I had an indulgent weekend, I felt it on Monday.
But yoga pants, they're like that bitchy girl from high school, the one who lied and said you looked great when you really had Cheetohs cheese dust all over your face.
Actually workout. Yoga pants are awesome if you actually exercise in them. And if you do hit the gym, don't eat Tex-Mex and drink three Mambo Taxis while wearing them afterwards. Trust me. One bowl of queso turns to four in snap.
Tight jeans. Really. If you're feeling fat or wondering if you have let the scale slide a bit too far, spend a day in your tightest pair of jeans or a form fitting dress. There's nothing like a muffin top spilling over the waistband or that "Holy crap, am I going to rip this seam?" feeling to help you get your diet back on track.
Never take off your Spanx workout pants. Yes, these gifts from the Spanx Goddess exist.
Be honest, have your yoga pants sabotaged you? Do you have another solution? PLEASE share it with me in the comments sections. I'm all ears.
Namaste.
Get The Real Skinny
Want more diet and fitness news? Click HERE to sign up for my weekly newsletter or just fill in the information in the box below. You will get an email, generally on Wednesday, full of simple diet and fitness tips like this one.
Whether it's aerobic exercise, yoga or weight lifting workouts, exercising for as little as 30 minutes a day will change your life. Weight loss aside, exercise makes you feel better, look better and improves your health. You could consider is medicinal.
I promise.
All it takes is 30 minutes most days of the week. That's it. Really. In the time it takes you to watch half of "The Bachelor" or an old episode of "Sex and The City" you can squeeze in a workout and save your life.
If you're a relatively healthy adult, there is no excuse.
You can greatly improve your health with the 30-minutes a day mantra. Gretchen Reynolds reiterated this in the New York Times Magazine in a Q & A titled Double the Workout, Double the Benefits?
In a notable study from 2011,
people of all ages who exercised very moderately, for about 15 minutes a
day, or approximately half of your current regimen, reduced their risk
of dying prematurely by about 14 percent, or the equivalent of three
additional years of life. Those whose workouts were twice as long — like
yours, 30 minutes per day — saw an additional drop in the risk of
premature death, but only by 4 percent. Using that data, other
scientists have estimated that people who go really big with their
workouts, increasing their exercise time from 50 minutes per day to 120
minutes per day — a 140 percent increase — achieve only about a 5
percent added decrease in their risk of dying too young. Exercise beyond a certain level may even be counterproductive. When
researchers tracked 52,000 adults for 15 years, those who ran 5 to 20
miles a week at a fairly pokey pace of about 9 to 10 minutes a mile
received the optimal mortality benefits, the study authors write. The
fastest runners and those who completed the most miles every week did
not live significantly longer, on average, than people who didn’t run at
all.
Yes, You HAVE the Time to Exercise 30 Minutes a Day!
Every day, I meet women and men every who ask me how I squeeze in my workouts. I have made it clear that exercise is my "non-negotiable". I don't give those up. I get at least five workouts in a week.
But here's the thing: they aren't always ball-busting, go-all-out-affairs. Some days it's a brisk walk, a treadmill run, yoga, pilates, hula hooping or a quick weight workout.
Recently, I was in a time crunch, so I walked 10 minutes to the park with my daughter and the dog. While she was playing, I jumped rope for about 20 minutes, on and off, and walked back home. That was a quick workout that also allowed me to spend time with the kid. She had fun watching me jump rope, as well.
The majority of us aren't professional athletes, models or actors. We don't need to "look a certain way" for the cameras or be able to dunk a basketball. But we DO need our bodies to work for us in every day life: lifting the kids, moving furniture, running up stairs, even getting in and out of chairs.
A simple 30-minute session of exercise will get the blood flowing, stretch and strengthen your muscles and make you feel better mentally, too.
Want more diet and fitness news? Click HERE to sign up for my weekly newsletter or just fill in the information in the box below. You will get an email, generally on Wednesday, full of simple diet and fitness tips like this one.
After an indulgent trip to California, I am all about trying to burn some extra heft. While no amount of exercise will make up for a terrible diet, you can maximize your workouts so that you burn fat faster most fat possible in the time you have allotted to exercise.
What's interesting is that you don't have to kill yourself. Turns out, exercising at a perceived exertion rate of 5-7, on a scale of 1-10, is the prime fat burning zone. (Tweet this).
.JPG "Why Yoga Pants Make Us Fat | TheGinaMiller.com")
