Mistakes to Avoid

If you want to get in shape here are some things to avoid. Don't start without a plan. This can slow your progress or even get you hurt. Include stretching after you workout when your warm not before when your cold. Don't do too many sets or exercises. Start slowly and gradually increase your intensity. Push yourself hard enough to get results. Don't baby yourself. They call it progressive resistance for a reason. Vary the routine or you will never make progress. Doing the same thing for more than a month will kill one's momentum. Do complete workouts. Doing cardio alone won't develop fat burning muscles and doing quad muscles without hamstrings will create back problems. Make sure you're balanced. Be sure to maintain focus. If you move from exercise to exercise you can get done in 30 mins. If you get distracted you can talk for 30 mins. Don't drink too many sports drinks. They contain a high amount of cals. and can add unwanted lbs. Be active even when you're not working out. Even if you workout you still need to increase activity to lose weight. Shoot for 3-5 times per week to do something. Plan a balanced diet for the week on Sunday. Include lean protein and water based carbs. If you plan in advance you can often eliminate impulse eating.

Increase Your Metabolism

If you want to lose weight or just have more energy here are some helpful tips. Don't skip breakfast. Also have several small meals 3-4 hours apart. Have high protein foods like turkey, chicken and fish. Always have high energy foods like fruits and veggies. Avoid sugar and refined carbs. They slow down your system and promote fat storage. Drink more water. This helps flush out toxins and waste products and if you drink enough it will beat even coffee or tea. Do strength training at least 2 times a week. Muscle burns more calories than fat and raises you metabolism 30-50 calories per lb of muscle you add. Cardiovascular exercise like walking can increase you metabolism for up to 3 hours even after your done. Try a walk after dinner and make it a habit, you'll be glad you did.

"No Pain No Gain."

The biggest myth in fitness is "No Pain No Gain."

You don't have to kill yourself and you don't have to hate the process. What you do need to do is to move. Most of my clients have come to me for the past 20 years, pretty much wanting the same thing. People usually just want to lose a few lbs. (or several lbs.) and to tone up. The same rules apply if you are a couch potato or an elite athlete. You need to do more than you're doing or change what you ARE doing.

The majority of men and women who come to me want to take off the weight that the past few years has added. They want to look more like they did in their 20's now that they're in their 40's and up.

The good news is, the less you're doing now the easier it is to get to the next level of improvement. Start slow and remember you didn't get this way overnight. Walking is a good place to begin and many body parts can be toned even without weights or machines. One more important tip, it's not how much you lift but how well you lift. Use good form and never worry about how big the weights are!

Burn That Stubborn Fat

If you burn more calories than you take in, you'll lose weight. It really boils down to simple math. There are however some tricks to help you burn that hard to lose fat that we all hate and want to lose. The first thing to do is replace starchy carbs. (breads, pastas and white rice etc.) with water based carbs. (veggies and most fruits). Fruits and especially veggies are fast burning carbs. that provide us with energy. This helps us move more and burn more calories. Starch is slow burning and the excess is stored as fat. Have at least 10 servings per day and see the difference. A tip you'll like is drink 16 glasses of water a day. 8 is fine for general health but if you want to lose fat, increase the water. You'll flush out toxins, supercharge your cells, increase your metabolism and make it hard for fat to stick to your body. Additional benefits include increased energy and concentration. Who doesn't want more energy! Drink filtered or boiled water versus tap however. The final tip is, go longer when doing cardio. Your body doesn't start to use fat as an energy source until 20 mins. into your workout. (target heart zone). Most people stop right when they start burning fat. Use a heart rate monitor during your workout and keep it over 65% of your maximum heart rate. If you have time to do weights separately, start with weight and then fallow it with cardio. You'll increase your metabolism up to 200 % and burn more calories even while you sleep.

Watch What You Drink

Many people I work with tell me that they eat right and still can't lose weight. It may be hidden calories, sometimes portion size, most times its bad choices they think are OK. One of the easiest things to fix is what you drink.
Let's start with coffee. Fix it at home and add cream and sugar-150 or more calories. Have a few cups and that make a good eating day a push at best. Go to Starbucks and get a fancy cup and you may be adding 400-600 extra calories. A great example is Vitamin Water- more calories than a beer or a glass of wine. Take sport drinks and its pretty much the same thing. Sodas have 10-12 tsps. of sugar and diet sodas can also trick the body into releasing extra insulin (the fat hormone) into the body. Ensure (Doctor recommended) has 6 grams of fat and only 9 grams of protein. Many fruit juices have corn syrup and sugar, so have 100% real fruit juice. If you're serious have a 1/2 glass of fruit juice and the other 1/2 sparkling water. Then there's alcohol. 80 proof is 80 calories and oz. A shot (baby drink) is 120 calories just for the booze. Add the mixer, make it strong and its 400 calories. Try a light beer 75-100 cals. or wine with some seltzer. Drink only WATER for a week and 99% of you will lose weight. I guarantee you'll feel better!