The Reality of Health and Weight Loss

It’s no secret that high-tempo music can increase your endurance and help you burn calories.

Here’s some of my favorite workout songs that make workouts like a dance party.

(Singing along loudly required.)

Click on the links to buy the song for today’s workout!

1. Sexy And I Know It by LMFAO. Ridiculous? Maybe. 
2. We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe) by FUN. You know that feeling when you’re running slow-mo into the rising sun, drenched in sweat like the winner you are while some epic, uplifting song plays in the background? This is that epic, uplifting song.
3. Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. If this song doesn’t get you pumped for a workout, I don’t know what will!
4. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson. This song got me through my half marathon. It’s a pep-talk ensconced in Clarkson’s signature poppish style.
5. Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO. Yes, I know. Cliched? Overplayed? Absolutely. I regret nothing!!

Total time of this playlist: 18.04 minutes.

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Is a low-carb diet really the answer for weight loss?

What about exercise level? How does that factor in?

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CARBOHYDRATES

My half-marathon training is at full intensity, and I ate a whole frozen Amy’s organic mushroom pizza before my 9 mile run today. So, naturally, I have a vested interest in carbohydrates after my “I CAN’T BELIEVE I ATE THE WHOLE THING” moment. Seriously, I can’t believe it. I hate mushrooms. And pizza, usually.

Carbohydrate facts:

• If you’re training for a race and running upwards of 15 miles a week, you’re going to need to eat more carbs and more calories. Check out this AWESOME guide about  CARBS FOR RUNNERS from Runner’s World Magazine. Cutting carbs during your training will NEGATIVELY affect your performance.
• Where are carbohydrates found? Pizza, bread, fruits, veggies, rice, milk, cookies — all the good stuff. Read this guide from Harvard Health. It has a ton of great information.
• Will a low-carb diet help me lose weight? Short answer: yes, if you eat the right amount of calories and don’t consume too much animal fat and protein. Fruits and veggies are important, everybody! Put more plants in your face! Long answer: check out this article by the Mayo Clinic. Basically, making healthy choices will always yield favorable results, but there has been some evidence that low-carb diets have lasting long-term effects. 

Tools:

Use this calculator to help you figure out how many carbs you should be eating a day. It’s the only one I’ve been able to find thus far, so use it with a grain of salt. Above all, make healthy choices, guys!

• Ever wondered how junk food is like heroin?
• Want to know if exercising will help you feel less tired?
• Does fasting work?
• What is starvation mode? How does it prevent weight loss?
• Is coffee healthy?
• Just want to hear silly banter about canoe slaloming and suffer through my Back to the Future references?

Go to my “ANSWERED QUESTIONS” page! All of the best, most relevant answers to your burning fitness, health, and weight loss questions.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from people asking whether or not diets like the “Lemonade Diet/Master Cleanse” are a good idea.

Is swimming in a tank of Great White Sharks with no protective gear whilst holding a bloody piece of meat a good idea?

Exactly.

WHY DIETS DON’T WORK

• Diets are misleading.

What the diets tell you: “Hey! Lose like 20 pounds in one week by only drinking lemonade! Just starve to rid your body of toxins and lose fat just like Beyonce!”

What the experts say:

“Lean muscle and fluids are the first to go on starvation diets, not belly fat,” Johnson says. “And the problem is that when you lose muscle mass, you turn down your metabolism, so it is counterproductive when you return to normal eating because you will need fewer calories.”

• Diets have a start and end date. Once you return to your old habits, the weight returns as well. Your weight will fluctuate like a yo-yo.
• Diets are dangerous. They promote an unhealthy relationship with food.

“Whenever you follow an extremely restrictive diet plan, it is usually followed by an extreme binge,” Johnson says.

Her advice: Forget fasting and detoxing. She says there is nothing magical about these kinds of plans, they don’t work long-term, and they ultimately perpetuate an unhealthy relationship with food.

When a special occasion calls for slimming down quickly, get more aerobic exercise and trim calories with a healthy, well-balanced diet plan. Quick weight loss doesn’t last. In most cases, the lost weight returns along with a few added pounds.

If you choose to follow this plan, be sure to only do it for a few days — and consult your doctor beforehand.

You wouldn’t voluntarily do something you know is wrong, yet so many people think that these tempting diets are the right answer to lose weight. For some people, their unhealthy relationship with food leads to eating disorders and weight-related self-esteem issues.

Spread the word! Reblog this. We can promote healthy habits and stop people from swimming with sharks. That’s just silly.

Trying to lose a certain amount of weight for Halloween/Prom/summer/graduation/spontaneous dance-off?

Here’s an awesome calculator to help you out! It gives you a rough estimate about how much you should weigh by when depending on how many calories you eat, your activity level, and your height/weight and all that jazz.

A Few Super-Important Notes:

• According to this calendar, I can lose seven pounds by next week. Can I? Sure. But should I? No, probably not. Weight loss is best done gradually. Tools like this are great to help you figure out how many calories you should eat a day (like I probably should increase my intake a bit more because of my new, demanding training schedule) and help plan your goals around specific events in your life.
• Goal setting is important, and although tools like this can help keep you motivated, remember that the weight on the scale isn’t always the best indicator of progress for everyone! The scale fluctuates- almost on a whim sometimes- and we can’t pin our hopes and dreams on that number. But if your goal is to lose twenty pounds by summer, tools like this can help get you started.

Good luck!