One of my clients once said to me that trying to get that last pesky 5 lbs. off is like trying to sit on a ball underneath the water in the swimming pool—you have to constantly adjust to keep the ball underneath you and the minute you get too comfortable it slips right out from underneath you! It seems like so much of the information about weight loss that’s been written is for people that need to lose drastic amounts of weight- but what about those of us that are just trying to sit on that pesky 5-pound ball. No matter where we are on our fitness journey, making our health a priority can be challenging with our busy lifestyles making it all too easy to give up on our routine or just get stuck in a rut! Here are some tricks to keep in interesting:
Keep it fresh:
Keep your body guessing- changing your workout regularly will not only shock your body (in a good way) but help to avoid metal fatigue and boredom to keep you interested in your workouts. If you’re a “gym person,” learn new variations to old exercises or add a cardio interval between sets.
Check out new workouts- If you’re a class person, do some research on the internet. Fitness is like fashion- there is always a new trend on the horizon and you may discover a new workout that fit you perfectly.
Sign-up for a novel sporting event: Trying something totally new is a great way to spark a new passion and to give that metabolism a little push. If you’re a runner, sign up for a bike ride. Cyclists, how about a 5-K? Make sure you check out how to train for the event you’ve chosen and find some friends you can convince to train with you!
Speaking of those last 5-lbs:
Here’s an easy secret to burn some quick fat: early morning cardio on an empty stomach.. Listen up though, because I have some very specific instructions. The cardio must be LOW end (i.e. heart rates about 120 beats/minute).. this means a medium/quick walk (no, not a run). Wake-up, roll out of bed, put your shoes on and hit the road- when your body is depleted in carbohydrate (as it is first thing in the morning), working at a low intensity will get that stored fat to mobilize to fuel your walk. Working at a high intensity on an empty stomach will only cause you to burn muscle mass and slow that metabolism, so if you go to an AM boot camp or spin class, food is a must!
That doesn’t mean you should replace all your higher-intensity cardio all together, just add a few AM walks to your routine and see the results for yourself!
Try for 30minutes – 1hour, 4 days a week. Make sure to eat a healthy breakfast immediately upon completion to get that metabolism running.
Yesterday on my 2 mile run home from the gym, my legs wanted to give out after all I had put them through before 9am: a two mile jog to the gym and then I super-set my back exercises with squats (holding 17lbs in each hand). So needless to say my twigs were ready to rest.
Just as I wanted to give in, an Echosuite* song came on and I somehow I pushed harder, ran faster.
Funny how one song just speaks to you to get you through a moment. And not only do you get through it, but you somehow get stronger.
It seems to be a reminder that most of the time it is a mental game we play with ourselves – we really aren’t physically limited to do almost anything.
This song is called “Break Me Down” which really calls for surrender, but it had the opposite effect on me. Maybe it will for you too. Or maybe giving in is the difficult thing you need to let go and do for yourself.
I could talk this one in circles. Bottom line: let music be your guide sometimes. You don’t have to control everything. And when you want to give in, reach out for external sources of strength, whatever that is for you.
(*what a blast from the past. The whole album is fantastic, btw. Check it out on iTunes.)
Holiday is over, so it’s time to work off it all off.
Unmotivated?
A reader sent me this video because it inspired her to get moving. Maybe it will work for you!
“I find that the hardest part about running isn’t the actual running itself, but it’s motivating yourself to actually put on your effin’ shoes and get going out the door.
Tonight I was struggling for some inspiration and found this video.
It wiped all the excuses from my brain/mouth and I was out the door for my run. I had a faster time tonight than I have in a while.” — Reader
Oh hell yes! You can’t even see the top in this pic. And we did it 4 times!
Today I did my workout at The Baldwin Hills Park in Culver Ciry. These stairs are killer! My friend Tony (the grill master from Sunday) took me to spice up my cardio.
It provides tips on fitness, food, beauty products (usually not makeup), and healthy restaurants. I like it so much I subscribe to three: Everywhere, LA, and NYC.
I believe a reader turned me on to it, and now I’m passing it on to you. Use it as a little morning motivation to stay in a healthy mindset throughout the day.
Readers are always asking me for tips on working out if they can’t go to the gym. Well, here’s one of the best referrals I can give you.
One of NY’s famed toning studios, made famous by Kelly Ripa’s ripped arms and abs, now has a DVD collection!
There aren’t many workouts that will leave me sore, but these pilates, ballet, and calisthenic tiny movement have me cringing with every move for several days. In other words, this shit works!
The girls at Vital Juice have taken both the classes in person and from the DVD. Here’s what they had to say:
After 30 seconds of an intense abs series, we wanted to cry and give up. Luckily, DVD instructor and Physique 57 founder Tanya Becker’s good-humored quips made us laugh—and kept us going.
And even though our arms and abs were sore the next day, we couldn’t wait to do it all over again.
Apparently instructor Tanya (“the” teacher to have in NYC and the Hamptons) is on the videos so your home experience is just like the studio.
A few weeks ago, I got a question from awesome reader Emily:
I had a horrible weekend of eating… I woke up this morning with a stomach ache, a sense of disappointment over my nutrition-less choices and a overwhelming desire to clean-up my act. Do you have any tips on how to make amends for a weekend of binge eating? Should I juice for a day or two? Turn to fruits/veggies or would lean protein be better? Perhaps, I should just stop eating all-together? What is best practice for undoing a weekend of food-sin?
First of all, don’t worry!
Weekends like this happen to the best of us. Even if you’ve been eating healthy for ages, falling off the wagon at some point is inevitable. Nobody has perfect willpower! They say that willpower is like a muscle that can get fatigued after frequent use, so it’s bound to weaken at some point. When it does, follow the DOs and DON’Ts of getting back on the wagon after a weekend (or week!) of disastrous eating:
Not only is that unproductive, it’s COUNTER-productive. Making yourself feel bad is never the road to anything helpful. Know that this happens to everyone and a few days of less-than-great eating is NOT going to make or break your health or your body. It’s what you do consistently (about 80% of the time) that counts in the long run.
DON’T starve yourself.
That will just keep you firmly on the rollercoaster of binging and then trying to compensate by not eating the proper amount. Eat a normal amount of calories when you’re ready to get back on track. I like to apply the saying, “If you splurge one day, spend wisely the next.” It applies just as much to diet as it does to finances. It doesn’t mean don’t spend anything at all, it just means spend smarter.
DON’T slash all your tires.
In one of her podcasts, Jillian Michaels (trainer from Biggest Loser) talks about how it’s common for people to eat one cookie and then think, “Well, I’ve already messed up, might as well eat the whole box.” She points out that’s basically equivalent to getting a flat tire and thinking, “Well, I already have one flat tire, might as well slash them all.” If you go overboard for a meal, or a day, or a week, you can stop at ANY TIME. You don’t need to wait until tomorrow, or Monday, or next month.
DO eat cleanly.
When I talk about clean eating, that just means eating as much unprocessed food as possible. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, etc. The closer the food is to its natural state, the better! I find that after a couple days of overdoing it, eating a ton of raw fruits and veggies helps my system get back on track (though I wouldn’t suggest eating those foods exclusively). Raw produce has tons of nutrients and fiber, which can help move all that salty, bad-fatty, and sugary stuff out.
DO move.
There’s nothing like getting sweaty to get over a food hangover! Don’t overdo it in the gym, but do stick to your normal exercise regime, even though you might be feeling extra sluggish. The day after a weekend of indulgence, I like to do a longer period of steady exercise rather than a shorter, more-intense session, but really, it’s whatever feels good to you.
DO hydrate.
Being low on fluids will only make you feel worse. Try to counteract the bloat you may be feeling with plenty of H2O (and definitely avoid any heavy or caloric drinks!).
Recently, reader Meghan emailed me about a problem she’s having. In an effort to jump-start her weight loss efforts, she started running regularly for the first time (congrats, Meghan!). She says she’s now training for her first half marathon (me too!).
But she’s running into a problem common for people training for longer races: she hasn’t lost any weight and is “mind-numbingly hungry” all the time. Meghan says it’s gotten to the point where it’s distracting and often makes her light-headed.
I can definitely empathize. When I first started training for my half, I had a very similar problem. I felt like my stomach was always empty, no matter how much I ate. The tricky part about eating when training for a race is that there’s a very fine line between under-fueling, which can lead to fatigue and injury, and over-fueling, which can lead to sluggishness and weight gain. Here’s how to walk the line:
Remember that carbs are important, but so are protein and fat.
Carbs are necessary for energy, but healthy fats, like the kind found in nuts, avocados, and plant oils, are necessary to fight hunger. Try decreasing your carbs slightly and adding more healthy fats and proteins into your diet.
When you do eat carbs, make sure they have some fiber (but not right before a run!).
You don’t want too much fiber before a run or race, but in general, your carbs should be whole grain and contain a good amount of fiber (I shoot for about four grams per serving of whatever it is).
Stay hydrated, but don’t drink your calories.
The only time you ever need liquid calories is before, during, or after intense exercise lasting more than 60 minutes. If you’re drinking lots of sports drinks, you’re consuming a lot of calories, but probably not going to feel very full. I usually have about 10 oz. of coconut water before a longer run (aprx. 60 calories) as well as a decent-sized snack, but after the run, it’s all about the solid food and water, water, water.
Eat smaller 300-500 calorie meals throughout the day.
I said this in my last post, but it can really help keep hunger at bay. If you’re taking in 1,800 calories a day, that means you should be eating a full six times during the day! It’s hard to be hungry when you’re eating every two to three hours.
Eat within 15 minutes of a run, regardless of hunger.
“Rebound hunger” is a common problem for athletes. The idea of food can be unappetizing right after training, but hunger grows exponentially for every hour you wait to eat. Eat something with carbs and protein, like a recovery smoothie or handful of dried fruit and nuts, within 15 minutes of completing a workout to avoid feeling ravenous later.
Remember that it doesn’t take much to make up for the calories you burned running.
We burn about 100 calories for every mile we run. That means during a five mile run, we burn about 500 calories. You can easily eat a 500 calorie sandwich that cancels out that burn. You’ll still be at a deficit for the day, but my point is, your body doesn’t need a ton of extra calories when you’re training (mostly just right before and right after a run).
Keep cross-training!
I can’t emphasize this enough. While training for my half, I’m continuing to strength train and do other cardio workouts, keeping my running to 3-4 days per week. The strength training and other workouts don’t affect my hunger in quite the same that running does.
Know that your body will adjust its hunger levels over time.
When I first started training, I felt ravenously hungry all the time. Now that my body has adjusted to the schedule, I can do a long run and not get the same hunger pangs later in the day. I found it takes about four to eight weeks for your body to get used to the new type of physical exertion.
