Step outside of your comfort zone!

I've had quite a few posts lately about nutrition and food so I thought I'd add one in about exercise. My philosophy on exercise is doing something you like and make it fun. I'm all about the lifelong fitness. If you do something you hate eventually you'll burn out and stop doing it. I for example hate the elliptical machine for some reason. I've tried doing it several times but I usually stop after about 5 minutes. I love running, but after running a marathon last year I've had to find ways to trick myself into doing it. Right now I'm really liking just taking long walks with Gunner and hiking when I can.

So here are a list of ideas to mix up the routine:

• go swimming
• play frisbee
• sign up for 5K
• if your feeling like a challenge go for a triathlon
• sign up for yoga classes
• go to a cycling or kickboxing class
• get some videos...Billy Blanks anyone? (Taebo creator for those who don't know)
• switch your workouts to morning instead of evening or vice versa to mix it up
• get out in the yard and garden, mow the yard, or plant some flowers
• add some intervals into your workout
• play with the kids
• go to the park
• plan a sports date night

Also remember that it's good to mix up your routine and make the body have to use different muscles. Hope this gave you some ideas of ways to make exercise fun and keep you moving. Let me know what things you end up venturing into too. I'd love to share with the other bloggers out there.

6 Tips for Dining Out

Food is relatively cheap in this country, and as a result portions are often overly large, especially in fast-food restaurants. But if you're smart about what you order, you can get a healthy meal (including dessert) when eating out. Here are some guidelines:

• Avoid fried foods. Frying adds more fat to a food than broiling, baking, or sautéing. Restaurant fryers often use hydrogenated oils, a source of harmful trans fat.
• Avoid dishes prepared with gravy and heavy sauces. Because gravy is often made with fatty pan drippings from meat, it is relatively high in saturated fat. Many sauces are made with cream, which is also high in saturated fat.
• Ask the waiter how large the entrées are. If they're bigger than the meals you usually eat, consider ordering an appetizer instead or sharing an entrée with someone else. And you don't have to eat everything on your plate. Take home your leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.
• Find out how dishes are prepared. Ask whether a meal you're interested in is made with butter or animal fat. If it is, consider asking that the dish be prepared with olive oil instead, or that it be baked, steamed, or sautéed with less fat. Steer clear of meals that are prepared with a lot of cheese or cream.
• Eat a light, healthy snack. Munch on a piece of fruit or some carrots before going out. That way, you won't be so ravenous when you arrive at the restaurant that you'll gorge on the bread served at the table (which will probably be white bread and, therefore, have a high glycemic load).
• Share desserts. If you want a sweet dessert, consider sharing it with others at your table. You'll get the full taste, but just a fraction of the calories, sugar, and bad fats.

The All-or-Nothing Mindset

Have you ever filled up on your favorite foods the day before a diet? Or slipped off your diet and then figured the damage is done, so why not go for broke? If so, you've fallen victim to the all-or-nothing mentality, and research shows that people who think this way are more likely to overeat when they believe they've blown their diets (and then they feel like this angry dieting piggy.)

Changing this mindset and adopting a more moderate approach can help you achieve lasting weight loss. Nobody can be good all the time and if you expect that from yourself, you really are setting yourself up for failure, because there are occasions when you want to eat whatever you feel like, and there are times you need treats.

Here are a few solutions:

• Think differently. Changing your eating habits takes time and practice. Pick a catchphrase to focus on when the going gets tough such as
  
• "Progress not perfection"
  
• "I deserve to eat healthfully"
  
• "Every day is an opportunity to eat better"
  
• "Every little step adds up"
• "How will I feel after I eat that..."
  
• Include your favorite foods. Instead of being "on" a diet or "off" it, shoot for eating nutritiously in a way you enjoy and can continue to do. If you deprive yourself of your favorite foods, you'll be miserable and more likely to binge or abandon your healthy eating plan. (Myself for example I have to have ice cream and brownies in my food plan or I'll go crazy.)
  
• Change your dietary focus. Expand your diet to include a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. Make a conscious effort to eat produce, and you'll naturally wind up consuming fewer calories. Aim for a minimum of five servings a day.
• Honor your hunger. Break the diet mindset that says that feeling hungry is a good sign. Go too long without eating, and you'll feel tired and cranky and more likely to overeat when you finally do eat. Feed your body on a regular schedule.
• Stay on track. Slipping off your diet doesn't mean your weight loss efforts have been sunk. Even if you had two donuts for breakfast, you can still opt for a light lunch and dinner. By not letting minor setbacks derail you, you'll help ensure that your healthier habits have a lasting effect.
• Lastly, get rid of the mindset that there are good foods and bad foods. You can eat everything within moderation. It's just when we overindulge and consume too much of one thing that we end up feeling guilty.
  

Why lift weights?

I get asked this question a lot. And there is a misconception that lifting weights is only for men. Everyone (men, women, young, and old) can benefit from a weight training program. Especially if you want to lose fat and change your body one of the most important things you can do is lift weights. Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your body looks, weight training wins hands down. If you've hesitated to start a strength training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights can:

• Help raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn all day long.
• Strengthen bones, especially important for women in preventing osteoporosis
  
• Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance
• Help you avoid injuries
• Increase your confidence and self-esteem
• Improve coordination and balance

There are all sorts of programs, machines, and routines so just start doing something. Ideally at least twice a week. If you don't have a gym membership you are not out of luck. Some of the best exercises you can do are push ups, sit ups, lunges, and squats.

Try this healthy treat...

I'm the biggest ice cream lover out there and I'm constantly on the look out for a healthy snack that will satisfy my sweet tooth after a meal (besides ice cream.) I think I might have found a good one. It's not super creative, but it's really good. I used low fat vanilla yogurt, frozen raspberries, and a little granola. Layer to your desire and then eat up. I was thinking this would also be good to do with low fat chocolate pudding and cool whip. I will do that next time. Thought I'd pass this along and I will keep you updated as I discover more options as the summer continues.

Just get moving...

Did you know that when sitting at a desk typing and doing general office duties you burn on average 112 calories a hour? Compare this to taking a walk at 3.5 mph on a level surface which burns 258 calories per hour. (These figures are based on a 150 pound person. The calories burned will vary depending on a person's weight. The more you weigh the more you'll burn...)

Oftentimes we feel that to be healthy and especially to lose weight we have to do intense vigorous exercise for hours on end. I have really GREAT news! Just get moving. Do anything. I enjoy getting outside because there are so many things you can do jog, walk, bike, garden, hike, fly a kite, throw a frisbee, walk your dog, mow the lawn, fish, ski, etc. Are we getting the point yet?

A study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention found that more than one-third of U.S. adults-over 72 million people-were obese in 2005-2006. This includes 33.3 percent of men and 35.3 percent of women. I believe there are lots of things contributing to this overwhelming number of people who are obese but inactivity in my opinion is one of the number one contributing factors.

We live in a fast paced society. We drive everywhere even if where we are going is just half a mile away. Most of us have office/desk jobs where we are sitting in front of a computer screen all day and when we get home the last thing we want to do is go to the gym. Fast food is everywhere and quick processed food is what we turn to when we do cook because it is quick and easy. These are just a few of the changes in the last 30-40 years, but what we need to do is recognize them because I'm sure things are going to continue in this same direction into the future.

I WANT TO ISSUE A CHALLENGE. Make a few small changes in your life and they will impact your lifestyle and health in a big way as they add up. You can't change your job and sometimes you might have to head to Wendy's, but you can be as active as possible and cut back on eating so much. Park you car farther away from the entrance at the grocery store or mall, use stairs instead of the elevator, take breaks at work and walk up and down the hall a few times or take a walk during your lunch break, add more fruits and veggies into your diet, cut out soda, or just say no to super sizing your meal.

There are lots of temptations and things that make it hard for us at times to be active, but I also know there are lots of simple changes we can implement into our lives until they become second nature.

Check the website below to find other activities and the calories burned per hour:
http://www.calorie-count.com/

I hope you enjoy...

I'm starting this blog to help anyone who's interested in becoming more healthy. I want for everyone to feel their best and I thought this would be a great way to educate and help get some of the good information out there. There are so many myths, fad diets, the latest workouts, and the pressure to be thin these days that I wanted a platform to voice my insights and help teach others some of the things that I've learned.

I received my degree in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Fitness and Wellness at Brigham Young University. I also have a personal training certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine as well as 2 plus years of personal training experience. I have always had a love for sports, nutrition, fitness, and health since I was a little girl. I enjoy doing anything outside, I played basketball and swam all growing up, and the last few years I've been more into lifting weights and running. I've ran lots of 5K's, 10K's, one half and full marathon, and I'm training for my next marathon in September. I also want to get back into ballet dancing and yoga.

So here it is...I hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them. I will also try and provide references and tools to back up my findings to help you learn more about the topics I cover if you are interested in learning more on your own.