Week one is over

Well, our first workout is over with. It took me about 8-9 minutes (a night) to do. (I did two reps for each. Which means I watched the video through twice and then went back and did two more reps of the "seesaw" and "reverse wood chop" for my other side). It didn't get me panting but it did give my muscles a wake up. Perfect for our starter wouldn't you agree? Hopefully, in the future, our starter workout will become the "warm up".Oh, and if you were wondering why I didn't add stretches for a "warm up" is because we weren't doing anything that really required a "warm up". Actually, anything that doesn't strain the body too much can be considered a "warm up". Besides, we'll get into stretches later.

Yesterday I went out and bought a fitness ball. (10-30 dollars at Dicks sporting goods. Mine cost $11) The size you get has to do with your height( 4’11-5’3 should get 55cm, 5’4-5’10 should get 65cm, and 5’11 or taller should get 75cm) I have been finding a lot of great exercises using the fitness ball. But because those aren’t something everyone has lying around the house I won't post any fitness ball exercises until next week. Oh, and while your at it, pick up some weights while your at it. (A.K.A Dumbbells or hexes. The plain metal ones aren’t that expensive) But as long as you have easy to hold items that weigh the same as the weights you need, you’ll be fine.

Until then I leave you with this video I found on youtube.(again, three times a week)
“5 minute Lower Body exercise routine with Dr. Tim”

How often do you sleep?

If you’re not getting enough sleep you have a higher risk of obesity.
Even though we burn more calories when we’re awake we also eat more. So it kinda counters itself. Lack of sleep also raises levels of grehlin, a hormone that makes you want to eat.
Losing sleep alters your metabolism in a way that helps you gain weight. Not only that, but not getting enough sleep makes it harder for a person to lose weight.

“Researchers from the University of Chicago Sleep Lab found that too little sleep over just a few consecutive days caused an increase in the appetite-stimulating hormones in the body and caused volunteers to crave more food.”-- the.honoluluadvertiser.com


Some ways to fight this problem:
1)Have your last meal 2 hours before going to bed. But don’t go to bed hungry. (If you’re doing the 3-4 hour plan then this should work out perfectly for you)

2)Exercise regularly (heh, what a coincidence). Don’t work out before bed. (if you do your exercises at night. Make sure its at least 2 hours before going to bed)

3)Don't have caffeine or alcohol close to bedtime. (We’re supposed to be cutting back on those anyway. Have some water or warm milk (with honey if you want) instead.)

4)Don't smoke. Nicotine can interfere with sleep. (And its bad for your lungs, teeth, and makes aerobic exercises a major chore.)

5)(one of my biggest problems) If you can’t fall a sleep and your not tired at all, get out of bed and go into another room. Do something relaxing for about 30 minutes or until sleepy.

And finally, get at least 7 hours of sleep a day/night. Anything less then that and your chances of obesity increase.

Healthy recipes: Breakfast Omelet

A quick and easy breakfast:
2 large eggs
beaten 1/4 cup (1 ounce) cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt (optional)
Pepper (optional)
Chopped red bell pepper(optional)
Chopped fresh parsley(optional)

Spray 10-inch skillet with no-stick cooking spray; heat skillet over medium heat. Pour beaten eggs into skillet; cook 30 seconds; sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. Lift edge of eggs and pull toward the center while lifting pan to allow uncooked egg to cover pan; repeat as needed until mixture is set (2 to 3 minutes).
Sprinkle cheese over half of omelet; gently flip 1 side of omelet over filling. Carefully slide omelet onto serving plate. Sprinkle with chopped red pepper and parsley, if desired.
Makes one serving

Fab Abs

A few last words before we begin out workout. First: You should workout at least three times a week. And you should change your workout at least once every week. Simply because after a while your body gets used to the workout if you do it often enough. And you wont get the benefits you once were from it. So alternate between 2 or more workouts to keep your body in shape.
Second: These workouts can be used for boys or girls. Only a couple have a slight variation between a few of them. Don't worry, I'll make it clear what they are.

Ok. How about we start out with an Ab workout? Abs seem to be one of the biggest problem areas for a lot of people. I found this video on Self.com(best part, no crunches!). It looks good, so it will be our first week. The video suggests doing this for only three days a week along with your regular routine. Well since I don't have a routine yet, I'll just use this to ease into the workout progress. It only shows each move for one rep(however long it shows the move for. For example it shows the side reach(left) 4 times. That is one rep for the left. Another 4 times on the right is another rep. Another 4 times on the left again, is 2 reps for the left). The video is about 3 minutes long and silent. So I suggest listening to some music.
I'm going to start with 2 reps for each exercise.

Things needed for this workout: A 3-10 pound weight. I'm starting with a three pound. If you don't happen to have any weights you can use packaged food. Packaged food usually tells you how much it ways on the box/bag. If possible use frozen packaged food to avoid the temptation of eating it.
Body parts worked: Abs, shoulders, butt, thighs, and obliques.

Quick Tip: How Often You Should Eat

After about 3 hours of not eating the body goes into something called "starvation mode". This is where the body starts taking any nutrition it can find and turns it into fat. So even when you eat your body will turn a lot of whatever you have just taken in into fat. So instead of eating 3 meals a day, try eating a small(no bigger then your fist) snack/meal every 3-4 hours. This will help speed up your metabolism. And let your body know that you will be giving it food regularly. So it wont have a need to store anything as fat.
But if your at work or school just count back 3-4 hours from your lunch, that's the time to have breakfast. But if you have a 4-5 hour time before your able to eat again, pack a little snack and eat it about halfway through.

Measurements

Now that we're starting to change our eating habits we should also start getting ready to exercise. The only preparation is getting yourself pumped and, if you want to keep track of your progress, take measurements.

First I want to say DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF! That is where many people seem to go wrong. The weigh themselves and, when they go to check their progress, they don't see much or any improvement. So they tend to get discouraged and quit or go off their plan and overwork/starve themselves.

See, muscle weighs more then fat and as your lose fat you gain muscle, so you wont see much weight difference, or maybe a slight increase.

So instead measure your fat percentage. The best way to do this is go to your doctor or a gym. Both should have a special device for measure fat percentage. (Note: Don't go to an online site to have this done. They don't take in account for your age, sex, height and so on.)

Another thing you may want to do is take your measurements. See the diagram below: (if you are having trouble viewing the diagram click here)

You can also measure your arms and thighs if you want. For the arms measure a couple inches below the top of the shoulder. And for thighs measure about 3-4 inches below the crotch.
(Note: Don't check your progress to frequently. Once or twice a month at most. Or you can wait a few months, the longer you wait in between measuring the bigger difference you'll see.)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! One of the most hypocritical holidays! But its a holiday none-the-less.
So, even though it will be tempting with all the delicious food, remember these words: Proportions! Full! Eat slowly!
Take small proportions, nothing much bigger then your fist if you can. Take a drink after every bite or so. And you're with your family and friends! So instead of stuffing you face take it slow. Your not in an eating contest. Talk with people, this will slow down your eating.
And actually chew your food. Don't just chew twice and swallow. The better chewed your food is the more you can eat. And the slower you eat will give your stomach a chance to figure out when its full. Which will save you from that after meal stomach ache.
And remember whatever you don't finish you can eat later! Ah, glorious leftovers. Don't heat them in the microwave, if you absolutely must eat them warm, use the oven.

Cutting The Coke

A few years ago a study was done. The question: "Does drinking coke have an affect on weight gain?" The answer: "Yes, especially in women." O.o. I know what your thinking. I'm thinking the same thing. "NO! NOT MY COKE! What else will I drink? Diet coke has such a gross after taste"
Well good. Cause diet coke also makes you gain weight. I know, I know. It says "Diet" in the name, but since when has honesty been an important factor in money making?
Not only does it help you gain weight (and who wants help with that?) but it also weakens your teeth and bones.


If you were raised on coke like me, this will probably be one of our most difficult challenges to defeat. Especially when coke is practically one of the only drinks my parents buy. But we can do it!

1% milk, teas, and even flavored water if you really need a taste to your dink. But dont forget to check the health box on some of those waters and teas. Or just plain water. But buy a filter (for the water) of some kind. Some public water supplies have pharmaceuticals in them.



I'm sorry I couldn't find the study. But I remember reading about it in a sience journal (my teacher made us read them every week for class).

Healthy recipes: Cold wrap

One of the first steps in a better body is better eating! So the first thing I've tried is something of an old favorite (and probably one of the only healthy things I've ever eaten) the Cold Wrap.
Basically you just take a wrap (or tortilla..same thing) add some chopped lettuce, carrots, cheese, maybe some dressing, green peppers, baby spinach leaves, diced tomatoes, or whatever else you want. Now you can stop at that and have a veggie wrap, or you can add some meat.
Buffalo chicken is my favorite. But grilled chicken and some diced ham is good too. (NOTE: this is a cold wrap...so meat must also be cold...I'm not so sure how it would taste hot, but you can try it.)
And with Thanksgiving tomorrow you'll have plenty more leftovers to try on the wrap.

I am so not fat!

And I'm not. By some standards. But by some others standards I am. By mine, I am....sorta. A country obsessed with size 3s ironically is the overweight country. Full of eating disorders(Anorexia,Bulimia, and Binge eating) and high standards on how women should look. With so much pressure on how one should look its almost no surprise that someone would have an eating disorder. But then again, with all this, shouldn't we be an underweight country?

Compulsive eating (if not it should be) is another eating disorder. Just like drugs and alcohol, eating can be addictive. And all three of these have health risks and all can ruin your life in one way or another. Now I'm not saying quit eating. Just make sure you don't lose your control over it.

"Be fat and happy, or lose weight". Mostly referrers to everyone who complained about their weight but didn't do anything about it. And now I see how easily people can take that into different meanings. A thin person could hear that and, thinking they're fat, decide to become anorexic. Or an overweight person could hear that and decide to become bulimic.
Just because eating disorders may be fast acting doesn't mean they should be done at all.

My friend was a size 9. That's not fat. But it is pretty far from a size 3. People at her school called her fat and it really hurt her. So much so that she became bulimic. A month or two later I saw her at my little brothers birthday party. I couldn't believe it! She looked like something out of Tim Burton's "Nightmare before Christmas" movie! She was Jack the pumpkin king skinny. And had dark circles around her eyes and her teeth where yellowish. And even though i couldn't see it, I was sure her organs were ready to give out.

Well I too think of my body as way less then perfect, but instead I'm going to try a different approach. I call it: "Put down the cheez itz and exercise". (Betcha can't guess my favorite junk food!)