The Reality of Health and Weight Loss

Jump into summer fitness! 

I’ll be starting the 30 Day Youtube Workout Calendar I created on Monday, May 13th— you should too!

Benefits of the program:

1. It’s totally free!

You can work out in your own home for free. No gym membership required!

2. Effective workouts in less time

This workout calendar uses several different types of workouts proven to speed up your metabolism and turn on your fat burning capacities. Here they are:

• Circuit and high intensity interval training 3x/week. If you want to lose fat, interval and circuit training are the way to go. Both circuit and interval training keep burning calories even after the initial workout is over, and they’re the best fat burners.
• Strength training twice a week. Read my article about why strength training is critical not just for fitness but also for weight loss.
• Flexibility training once a week. Get long, lean muscles, and protect yourself from injury. Near the end of the program, these flexibility workouts will add in a strength component to help you tone up.

3. Increase in intensity

If you don’t train hard, you won’t see results. That’s why I designed this program to increase the intensity of the workouts as the weeks went on.

4. Moral support

You guys, I’ll be doing this with you. I’ll be sweating and pushing myself and working through each day alongside you like the Jiminy Cricket of personal trainers but on Tumblr. I’ll be sharing recipes and swapping lame metaphors and awkward jokes with you as we work through this program together.

I also have an additional list of easier and more difficult workouts so you guys can customize the intensity of the program.

Even if you miss the start date, you can always visit this tag on my blog or the start page to see all the posts and you can join me whenever you have the chance :)

START DATE: Monday, May 13th

Let’s get working!!

Healthy Eating: How to Read a Food Label

If you’ve been using those 2lb pink dumbbells, you’re not doing yourself any good. You’re just wearing out your muscles instead of actually building them.

Remember, words like “toning” and “sculpting” all mean the same thing: building more muscle mass! And more muscle mass = more calories burned while you’re doing nothing at all. And in order to do this, you have to keep increasing the heaviness of your hand weights. 

At the beginning of my training, I was using 8lb weights for bicep/tricep curls and the rest of my exercises. Now I’m almost at 15lbs!

Remember the Fitblrs mantra: eat clean, train mean, and lift heavy weights!

photo by LyndaSanchez

A new study reveals that couples who work out together are more likely to have a harmonious relationship.

Source

photo by lululemon athletica

You don’t need a fancy gym membership to get into shape!

Here are 3 ways to get fit at home:

1. Start a DVD fitness program. My favorite? The 30 Day Shred!
2. Invest in a yoga mat. You can do yoga anywhere, anytime. Here’s a youtube routine to get you started!
3. Turn cleaning into a cardio routine. Blast your favorite song and integrate kickboxing, lunges, and dancing into your house cleaning routine!

photo by lululemon athletica

WHY EATING A GOOD BREAKFAST = WEIGHT LOSS

A study run by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that if you eat big dinners, you’re more likely to gain weight. 

Here’s the details about the study: 

“For the first four weeks of the study, all 420 participants lost weight around the same rate. Beginning at about week five, the dieters who ate their main meal after 3 p.m. had more or less plateaued in their weight loss. By the time the study finished, they lost 22 percent less weight than dieters who ate more earlier in the day. The dieter’s diet, amount of sleep, appetite and hunger hormone levels were all held constant.  

Eating later in the day may throw off our circadian rhythms (our internal clock), which could affect our metabolism, researchers suggest. Skipping breakfast can lead to overeating later and doesn’t give your metabolism the boost it needs in the morning.”

My breakfast most mornings?

• 1/2 a grapefruit
• 1 smoothie 
• 1 small bowl of bran flakes w/ soy milk
• 2 cups of mixed fruit
• 1 cup of tea (Tazo passion is a favorite!)
• Scrambled eggs
• A spinach croissant

I’ve definitely found a change in my energy levels through eating larger breakfasts and small dinners. 

Get this metabolism booster working for you and start your morning off right :)

It’s easier to give into cravings if you don’t have healthy food on hand. 

So here are 3 Easy-to-Prepare Healthy Meals:

1. Breakfast Parfait:

Approx. 300 calories.

2. Italian Tuna Bowl:

1. 3 oz can of chunk light tuna (drained)
2. 1/4 cup chopped red onion
3. 1/4 cup chopped green onion
4. 3 tbsp olive oil based dressing 

Approx. 400 calories

3. Veggie Burger:

• Veggie burger patty (my personal favorites include any veggie patty from Morningstar farms!)
• Whole grain patty
• 3 large romaine leaves
• 1/2 tomato
• Sliced onion
• 1/4 cup sliced avocado **Metabolism Booster**

Approx. 300 calories

photo credit

Visit RealityofYou.com for more weight loss and health articles!

Diet books and magazine articles that advertise losing weight quickly, easily, and permanently are misguiding. Get rid of them. Dieting is not the answer— making healthy choices and changing your habits for the better is the only way to go!

Drink water!