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Working Out on the Holidays

                                   

Merry Christmas everyone!! 

The holidays have made their way around and I wonder how many people are thinking about still getting their workout in, even on Christmas?? While most people are thinking about nothing but food, there still should be no reason to not treat it like any other day. You can still find ways to get your exercise in for the day. 

Most importantly, you have to have planned it. It is good to stick to the schedule if you have one. It can be so tempting to get off track so the best thing you can do is get it done first thing in the morning.

Alarm buzzer goes off. Don't hit snooze, get up and get to it!

Since there may be a lot going in your household, walk and move around as much as you can. Try to do any and every activity that involves burning calories and make sure to drink your water.

PLEASE don't overdo your amounts of servings! This is important to not get yourself so stuffed that you're uncomfortable. It can be tempting but eat several times during the day. Once again, include water before you eat to help you not overeat.

It would even be fun to organize some types of game that you and your family can play. Remember, it will be so tempting to sit still after you've eaten and got full, but don't give in! 

Just follow these tips and you'll be set. Enjoy the holidays!! 

Merry Christmas!



-Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

How To Lose Weight In A Week

                                             

Most people want to lose weight as fast as possible. While there is no super sonic way to lose weight, there are a few things you can do to help you get a jump start and start to see some results pretty fast. No matter what "quick fix" you try to do, you should make lifestyle changes to see ongoing and constant results. The three things that center around being healthy and maintaining are: diet, exercise, and adequate sleep. Without these things, you are pretty much setting yourself up for failure. There are no magic pills, no fad diets, or potions that beat the most natural and long lasting remedies of eating right and working out! So here are a few tips to get you started on your way.

• Take out absolutely everything in your diet that is not water. Drink, think, and sleep water. (Even drinking water before you eat will help suppress hunger and prevent you from overeating.)
• EAT BREAKFAST. Most people don't realize how skipping breakfast can do harm to your body and leave you with minimal energy for the rest of the day.
• Consume plenty of protein such as chicken breasts, eggs, fish, and nuts.
• Exercise for 1 hour everyday. Add in cardio and interval training.
• If you don't usually get much sleep, try sleeping for at LEAST 7 hours.
• Try to aim for walking 5,000 steps everyday.
• Get all the motivation you can because exercising and eating right with others can help keep you accountable and make the transition that much easier.

If motivation, meal planning, and accountability are a things that will enable you to get on the ball with your transformation, please visit beachbodycoach.com/ashleyrobinson and let's chat! 

-Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

Reasons Why Your Diet Isn't Working

                                     


Some people tend to do all the right things when it comes to weight loss. They exercise, seemingly make healthy food choices, but something is still missing. The weight seems to be at a standstill.

Well there are a few reasons why what you're doing may not be working. Read below.

1) You have to make sure you don't do too much of a certain thing. For example, over working yourself can do harm to your body. You have to give yourself rest days so your muscles can work. When eating, it is OK to have a cheat meal every now and then during the week so you don't completely undercut yourself.

2) Chronic hunger is a big issue. Feeling hungry right after you just ate, will indicate to you that you aren't full, which will cause you to keep eating until you have no more room. Now you have caused your stomach to be overstuffed, which is not a comfortable feeling.

3) You have to realize that resentful, emotional, and deprivation eating can really ruin things. But if you just allow yourself a "not so harmful" snack every now and then (fruits, nuts, Shakeology, etc) without feeling so guilty, then you'll have a better chance at maintaining. You will easily avoid the weight roller coaster.

4) Stop worrying about when people tell you that you don't need to lose weight or you look fine. When you let the influence of others get to you, you may end up losing focus on reaching your weight loss goals. STAY FOCUSED! 

5) You are working out and then eating a super huge meal overdone with calories, fat, and sodium. I run into so many people who for some reason do such a great workout and then ruin it with a bad meal afterwards. Your health is 30% exercise and 70% diet. That should tell you something. Be careful when choosing your post workout meals. 

-Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

The Worst Holiday Foods to Eat

                                 
                               


The holidays are such a great time of the year to enjoy time with your family and eat scrumptious foods. Because we're in the moment, we may not realize that some of these snacks and appetizers may not be the healthiest thing to indulge in. Check out some of the foods that can have a big impact on your diet.

1) Nuts are definitely good for you, but can be packed with calories and salt. They're a good choice of a snack to keep you full but you have to make sure you eat them in proportion.

2) Soups that are cream based aren't the best way to go. They are filled with an unbelievabe amount of sodium and average about 160 calories per serving. Choose the clear soups like vegetable and broth.

3) Pigs in a blanket, an extremely popular appetizer, are easy and quick to make. The sad news is that just one gets you 200 calories! Try your best to limit how many you eat.

4) Vegetable egg rolls seem like a good choice but they aren't all that healthy. They are soaked in oil, sauce, and then deep fried. Avoid those if you can.

5) Spinach dip with chips is another popular dish. However, when you add in the cream cheese and sour cream AND the fried tortilla chips, you're already loaded with calories.

Some of these appetizers and snacks seem so innocent, but after all the extra stuff is put in, here come loads of calories, fat, and sodium. Make sure to enjoy the holidays with glee, but watch your food proportion and avoid seconds and thirds if you can.


-Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

Workout Myths Debunked

                               



Your workout buddy, a friend, a coach, heck even a personal trainer, there are some "tips" given about the most efficient workouts and they're not always right. Some of them may be keeping you from getting the most out of your workout. Here are a few tips from fitness experts to keep you away from the exercise traps out there. 

1. "Ab machines" or doing hundreds of reps of crunches will zap your belly fat. Sitting on the floor doing hundreds of crunches or using one of those gimmicky ab machines is certainly not going to get you a ripped 6 pack. You're going to have to use variety in your workouts, especially cardio and strength training exercises. The key is to decrease the amount of overall body fat. 
2. Swimming is a great way to lose weight. I know this from experience. Swimming ALWAYS makes me hungry afterwards and I could eat a whole cow. You would have to swim for hours a day to actually see weight loss results.
3. If you're not drenching in sweat, you're not working hard enough. Sweat is just your body's way of cooling itself and everyone's sweat glands are different. I personally sweat like the sun is directly on me but my mom barely sweats at all and we both work hard.
4. Work through the pain. Everyone knows the slogan, "No pain, no gain." However, if you're hurting while you are working out, that is not a good sign. It's okay if you are sore after your workouts, but during your workouts, stop and rest if you feel pain. 
5. Running on the treadmill is better than running on asphalt. The two show the same results. The best way to keep less stress off of your knees and joints is to vary it up. Try an elliptical machine or a stationary bike to help your knees in the long run. 

-Stay Healthy, Stay Happy

Stay Fit for Thanksgiving

                                       


Thanksgiving will be here in less than 24 hours! I can't wait to dig in and feast all day long! However, even though I plan to indulge like crazy, it doesn't mean I can't still be cautious to make sure I don't tip over the scale and ruin my diet. When the holidays roll around, you have to make you keep yourself in check and still get some kind of physical activity and don't give your food time to stick. Check out a few ways to ensure you don't go overboard.


* A simple way to get some physical activity in is to take a mile walk before and after dinner. Piece of cake!

* Make sure to still eat breakfast! Don't wait until feast hours until you fill your stomach up with food.

* You can have most of these foods all year long, so pass up on the seconds and thirds.

* PORTION OFF YOUR FOOD! Get a little of everything and don't overdo it!

* Alcohol calories can add up quickly, so go easy.

* Be sure to savor every bite. Don't rush through your meal.

* Think about weigh maintenance instead of weight loss, that way you'll be more likely to make better decisions.

Follow these tips and once the feast is over and it's back to reality, you will have kept your weight in check! 

                                   

-Stay Healthy, Stay Happy