SELF magazine - March 2011
Healthy meal plan:
- Egg whites & oatmeal for breakfast
- A salad with protein for lunch
- Fish with veggies for dinner
- I could probably do this, but it would get boring after a while. I would have to mix it up with other things.
Morning exercise:
- Trim down faster by exercising before breakfast. Exercise on an empty stomach in the morning improves glucose tolerance, which spurs your body to shed fat. -- When I've been doing my "home exercises", I've been trying this!
Goals:
- Set personal workout goals each month. - I like this idea! I need to do this!
Endurance exercise:
- Lengthy low-intenstity cardio helps slow aging by protecting muscle stem cells. - Do five 60-minute runs or bike rides weekly for rejufenating rewards. - Whew!!! 60 minutes is a LONG time! I KNOW for a fact that I can't run for that long, but I might be able to bike ride it.
Jillian Michaels answers questions: --- Jillian is my "Fitness Idol"!
Q: What type of cardio is the best for burning calories? And how often should I be doing it?
A: A high-intensity interval training is a top torcher. Great choices are: running, biking, or something else. Intervals (alternating short bursts of intense activity with short slower periods of recovery) allow your body to zap more calories during a session. Jog at an easy pace or walk briskly. -- I like the idea of the short intervals of going faster. I may try this the next time I go walking or on the treadmill.
Q: Can you actually lose weight by doing yoga? If so, how should yoga fit into a cardio & strength regimen?
A: Yes, you can pose your way slim, as long as you are watching your calorie intake, too. A vigorous form of yoga, like Vinyasa (power yoga), which can burn more than 400 calories per hour, is recommended. Doing yoga twice a week mixed in with five cardio-and-strength sessions, ranging from 30 to 60 mins, per week. -- Yoga is one thing that I am not doing. Not on purpose, of course. I just haven't found the time to do it. I have done it on my Wii Fit, tho.
Q: Is there such a things as doing too much cardio in a single day?
A: Yes. You shouldn't clock more than 60 mins of high-intensity or two hours of low-intensity cardio daily unless you are on a sports team or training for a marathon. Your body needs a chance to rest & recover. The quality of cardio is more important than the quanity. -- Wow! I will have to work up to 60 mins of cardio!!
Q: How often, and for how long each session, should I be training my abs?
A: Because your abdominals are stabilizing muscles, they're involved in nearly every move we make. So it's fine to train them frequently---I recommend devoting about 5 mins a day to managing your middle. But, you'll get the most belly bang for your buck if you target a different ab muscle group each day. Here's a quick tutorial: The abdominals are made up of 3 main muscle groups--the rectus abdominals, the obliques and the transverse abdominals. --- I LOVE this bit of information!!
Jillian recommends this weekly schedule:
Monday - do crunches for the rectus abdominis
Tuesday - do seated ball twists, working on your obliques
Wednesday - do planks for the transverse abdominis
Thursday - repeat Monday's workout
Friday - repeat Tuesday's workout
Saturday - repeat Wednesday's workout
Before our camping trip AND before I got sick... I had started following this schedule. I love it!!
Q: When I work on my abs, I never feel it in the lower portion, where I need it most. What am I doing wrong?
A: You are probably relying on exercises, like a traditional sit-up or crunch, that target mostly the upper part of your abs. To tone the lower part of your abs, try leg raises or reverse crunches. -- More great AB info! I like both of these exercises! I need to add them to the schedule above!
Q: How can I tone my arms without adding too much bulky muscle?
A: It's very difficult for women to gain muscle mass because we don't have the same amount of testosterone as men do.You have to eat a lot of calories to build muscle mass. My two favorite arm moves: triceps dips and push-ups. -- I am not too worried about "bulking up". LOL! I'll do what I can to exercise my arms, but I won't go crazy with it!
Q: I've been cutting calories and exercising daily, but I'm losing only 1 pound a week. How can I speed it up?
A: A pound a week is GREAT! But, you can lose up to 2 pounds a week if you make additional changes: Cut back -- or totally eliminate -- processed foods. Also, limit alcohol to one drink a day, or quit altogether. (Studies show it may promote fat storage.) Get 8 hours of sleep a night. --- Ahhh.. processed foods. Something that is so very hard for me to give up! I have cut back, tho. And as far as alcohol goes.... I do love it and I have cut back on it, but I won't give it up. **Smile**
Smart Eating:
Breakfast - A morning meal may rev metabolism; plus, it helps make less of an enzyme that raises cholesterol. -- I have always been a breakfast eater, thankfully.
Caffeine - A half cup of either coffee or tea a day can slash your risk for glioma, a type of brain cancer, by up to 34%. The caffeine and antioxidants may prevent tumor growth. - I just recently - within' the last couple of years - started drinking coffee and I definitely do NOT like regular tea - BLECH! - but I have started drinking Green Tea and I am liking it very much!
Hummus - Swap a tablespoon of mayo for protein-packed hummus in egg or tuna salad to save about 70 calories. -- Since I have started to eat more healhty, I rarely eat mayo. I like this idea about the hummus, too! I love hummus!
Black raspberries - The berries are a top source of waist-trimming and blood-sugar-stablizing fiber. Eat them as fruit, not as fruit smoothies. -- I'm not a big fan of black raspberries.
Sleep:
Snoozing less than 6 hours nightly spikes inflammatory hormones and hurts blood vessel function, possibly upping your risk for heart disease and stroke. Aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. -- I usually get between 7 & 8 hours of sleep a night, so I'm good!
Belly Fat:
Extra belly fat may weaken bones. Tummy bulge is associated with lower bone-mineral density in women, possibly due to hormones fat cells secrete. Manage your middle with a half hour of cardio daily. -- This is my major problem!! Gotta' get rid of it!! HATE IT!!! -- I think I can do a half hour of cardio a day. I pretty much do that now.
Great Quote:
The best "investment" you can make is in you. -- Blake Miller, writer for SELF Magazine
Heart-rate-monitor:
Invest in a product that will help you slim down. To burn fat, you need a high-intensity workout. Aim to exercise at 85% of your maximum heart rate. -- To figure out what yours is... Subtract your age from 220 and multiply it by 0.85. Mine should be 178!! YIKES!! -- The monitor helps you reach the sweet spot while you sweat. -- I wish my pedometer measured my heart-rate. I need to invest in one of these. I used to have one, but it quit working.
Massage:
Swedish massage therapy lowers stress hormones. --- I could do this! **Smile**
New Sneakers:
Invest in an item that supports and protects joints. --- I think I need some new ones.
A bicycle:
Riding a bike regularly adds 3 to 14 more months to your life expectancy. -- YAY! I'm good on this one!
Breakfast:
If you wake up starving, that is a good thing! That means that you did not overeat the previous night! Fuel up with a filling combo of fat, protein and fiber-rich carbs... such as... an egg and a slice of reduced-fat cheese on a whole-grain English muffin, plus a small piece of fruit. --- I got excited when I read this! I eat this EXACT breakfast almost every day!!
Exercise:
Want to flatten your abs? -- Turn that classic cardio fave the elliptical machine into a middle whittler by ditching the handlebars and contracting your core. OR shimmy your way to six-pack success with the ab-engaging hula hoop. -- I like the elliptical idea!! I could do that! AND... I am really good at hula-hooping on the Wii!
Want to firm your butt & thighs? -- Pedal your way to a better bottom half with Spinning. You'll erase 400 calories per 60 minute class and zero in on the muscles in your legs and butt. OR go hiking on a rocky terrain. This provides natural resistance training that quickly trims your lower body; plus it sizzles 480 calories per hour. -- I have never tried a Spinning class. My gym offers one, but the membership that I have does not include it. I LOVE to go hiking, but don't get to do it near enough.
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