25 Fast, New Fat-Burners!

First of all, I have to apologize for my lack of posts lately. It's been a very busy month for me with my preparing for my bootcamp class amoungst many other things. Unfortantely, it's not going to slow down these next few months, but I promise to make more of an effort to update this blog more regulary. Remember, if you have any ideas or questions that could possibly go on this blog, please send them to me!!!

Here's 25 small tricks to crank your calorie-blasting way up!!!

1. Linger in the dairy aisle. Women burn more fat and calories when they ate 1,000 to 1,400 milligrams of calcium per day. That's three to four servings of dairy.


2. Break a sweat in bursts. If you can't get an hour/day of exercise, try doing two 30-min workouts. Some studies have even shown that this method can actually burn more fat than exercising 60 continuous mintues. And it helps for those with tight schedules, kids, and whatever else keeps you from fitting in exercise.

3. Eat more meat...and eggs and beans. In a recent study, people who got 40% of their daily calories from protein lost significantly more body fat than those whose diets had only 15 % protein, even though they consumed the same number of calories.


4. Start hard, finish easy. Studies have shown that cyclists who ramped up the intensity during the first half of their workout and slowed down during the second half torched about 23% more fat than those who moved from low to high intensity. Same goes with any other kind of exercise.

5. Start with whole grain. People who down whole-grain cereal first thing in the morning burn more fat during the day and during exercise than those who eat more-quickly-digested fare, like a bagel.


6. Don't hang on for dear life. If you cling to the handrails of your stepper or elliptical, you put less stress on your larger, more powerful lower body muscles-and burn fewer calories. If needed, grip loosely for balance only.

7. Walk with Nordic poles. You'll increase your calorie-burn by 20%-plus, it'll feel less taxing.


8. Interval train. Studies have shown that women who did 20 minutes of intervals on a bike torched three times as much fat as those who stayed at one pace for 40 minutes.

9. Crank it up. Vigorous aerobic exercise for 40 minutes makes your body burn calories at a higher rate for nearly a full day afterward.

10. Pump iron. Resistance training increases your resting metabolic rate by about 7%, so you'll burn more calories throughout the day, even while sitting on your butt.


11. Two words: circuit train. My personal favorite and tried-and-true method for losing body fat. Instead of resting for 60 sec between weight-lifting sets, move straight from one exercise to another to keep your heart rate up and maximize calorie burn. Even better, combine multiple muscles into one exercise thereby maximizing time as well (I call this power circuit training).

12. Drink green tea. Testers who downed a green tea supplement boosted their metabolism by 4%, compared with those consuming a caffeine supplement or placebo.


13. Use more olive oil. People who ate a diet high in monounsaturated fats burned mroe fat over 4 weeks than they did on a diet high in saturated fats, one study found.

14. Strength train last. You'll obliterate more calories if you lift weights after cardio (not before).

15. Go for yogurt. People who included yogurt in their diet plan ditched 22% more weight and 61% more body fat than those who simply trimmed calories. My personal fave-yogurt parfait. Layer low or non-fat PLAIN yogurt with mixed berries (I buy the frozen kind) and granola in a tall glass (and then add another layer). Scrumptous, filling, and a great meal and way to ante up the calcium, not to mention the vitamins and mineral from the fruit too (without all the sugar).


16. Bring your I-Pod. Exercisers who listened to music lost more weight and body fat-and worked out more consistently-than those who didn't.


17. ...and adjust your playlist. Throw some fast-faced songs into your musci mix. You'll work out harder and faster, burning more calories and fat. Plus, it'll feel easier!

18. Wolf some protein. A calorie is a calorie, but your body burns about 25-30% of them while digesting 100 calories of protein versus only 7 of them while digesting 100 calories of simple carbs.

19. Think uphill. Forget flat treadmill walking, crank up the incline and you'll jack up the calories burned.


20. Fidget. Sounds silly, but people who jiggle their legs, talk with their hands, and incorporate small movements into their day can burn as much as 350 extra calories daily.

21. Stand when you take a call. It'll burn about 20% more calories than sitting.

22. Believe it. Take note of all your daily activities-taking the stairs, walking, holding kids, carrying groceries, etc and you're bound to do them more.


23. Add fish oil-and move. A recent study showed that people who took 6 grams of fish oil every day and exercised three times a week lost more fat than those who just took fish oil, or took sunflower oil.

24. Use your arms and legs. A workout that requires coordinating arm and leg movements, such as swimming or step aerobics, feels easier than one that uses only one major muscle group. That makes it more likely you'll do it again tomorrow-keeping the fat burning going.


25. Opt for a Wii. Playing active games on the Nintendo Wii (such as tennis and boxing) knocked out more calories than using the Xbox 360. Even better? Wii FIT.



Source: health.com

Fitness IQ Test Answered

1. C. Strength training. Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories you burn during the day at rest, meaning if you laid in bed all day, this is how many calories you would burn. For most women, this number is between 1200-1600 calories/day. (The best way to find this number is to get tested.) This is an average of course, and obviously will vary. The higher your muscle mass ratio, the higher your BMR is (which is a good thing!). The only way to increase this number is to add muscle. And the only exercise that can add muscle is strength or resistance training. For every 1 lb. of muscle added, add 50 calories to your BMR. That’s more calories you burn everyday doing NOTHING!!!

2. FALSE. A common misconception is that in order to burn fat, you need to stay within the lower range of your Target Heart Rate zone (THR). In fact, any heart rate WITHIN your THR will burn fat. Why? Because the THR is your “aerobic” zone, meaning your muscles are working in an oxygen-rich environment, which is conducive to burning fat. Anything below that range isn’t considered aerobic, and above that range is anaerobic, at which point you are utilizing lactic acid. While it is good to have spurts of intense, huffing and puffing intervals of anaerobic exercise, you don’t want to have an ENTIRE workout in the anaerobic zone. Basically, you want BOTH your heart rate and breathing to be elevated. Here’s how we will figure out YOUR THR.
Take 220-your age=age-adjusted maximal heart rate (220-31 (my age)=189)
Figure out 65% of that number (Multiply 189 X .65=123)-low end of THR
Figure out 85% of that number (Multiply 189 X .85=160)-high end of THR

3. B. How high your heart rate is. A little bit of a trick question. Notice I emphasized BEST. While the other answers can be an indication of how hard you’re working, nothing is better than knowing what your HR is. Why do you think this is the most effective way to know how hard you’re pushing yourself? Because sometimes going by our “Perceived Exertion” isn’t always accurate. How much we’re sweating, how hard we’re breathing, or how fatigued we feel don’t always tell us WHERE we are working along the THR. Just as talked about in the last question. If we don’t own a HR monitor (which I highly recommend buying one-they’re not expensive), we can perform this self-check every 5 min by finding our pulse on our wrist or neck, timing it for 10 sec and multiplying that number by 6.

4. FALSE. Here’s a BIG misconception. Women do not have near the levels of testosterone that men do to build muscle. We aren’t genetically programmed to do that and would have to take anabolic steroids to see any serious amount of muscle mass built. The reason many women feel they appear “bulky” from lifting weights is because they have an extra layer of fat over their muscle! Shed the fat, and what do you see? A lean, mean muscle machine!

5. FALSE. Another big myth. Many people believe that the energy boost you get from exercise is a double-edged sword. It’s a great pick-me-up in the morning, but if you work out at night, you may not sleep well. If this was gospel truth, morning people would rule the world! Fortunately for night owls, there is no one best time to exercise. It’s a matter of what you prefer. Fitting exercise into your daily routine is the main issue. Just remember to wait at least 2 hours after eating before working out. And no, working out is unlikely to keep you up at night. As long as you don’t exercise too close to bedtime, you will probably sleep better on the days you work out.

6. E. All of the above. While many think running is the best way to lose weight, this isn’t necessarily true. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you do. Of course, different exercises might burn more calories than others, but it’s all about intensity here. It might not take much to get your HR elevated up running, but maybe biking it takes a little more effort? Well, then work intervals into your routine-short bursts of speed, hills, or an increase in resistance to get that HR up! Just remember, it’s all about intensity, duration, and frequency. And the bottom line is, you have to ENJOY IT! If you’re not a runner and hate doing it, then why force yourself to do something you dread? It’s best to find activities we prefer, so we can stick to them and maintain healthy lifestyle habits!

7. FALSE. This is a big misconception and something I hear a lot, especially from women over 30! “It just seems like it’s so much harder to lose the weight now!” We’ve all heard or thought this before, right? So, why isn’t this true? The solution is going back to increasing our metabolisms, our BMR’s. While it is true that we start to lose muscle after age 30, that doesn’t mean we can’t stop it or reverse the effects of this! If we add a little muscle mass by strength training (which will also be good for our bones as we age!), continue exercising, and watch we eat, then we are not DOOMED and we can look younger and FABULOUS!

8. FALSE. You might not want to hear this, but you could do all the crunches and stomach exercises EVERYDAY and not see any results. While these exercises are great to strengthen and tone our abdominal exercises, they can’t get rid of the fat. To burn fat and flatten your belly, you need to burn more calories. Once you’ve gotten rid of the fat, your washboard abs will become more visible.

9. D. Any of the above can get results. Another trick question! We hear so many different answers to this one, don’t we? This can be very confusing to those trying to lose weight! How much effort do we really need to put in to see results? The answer is anything! Now, while devoting 2 hrs a day 5-6 days a week might deliver results FASTER, it doesn’t mean that’s what is required to lose weight. The key is consistency and the bottom line is CALORIES IN VS. CALORIES OUT. If we can’t or don’t want to devote too much time to exercise, then just focus more on the nutrition (which is 80% of it anyways). I’ve had clients before that did the minimum (3 days a week) and still lost lots of weight, mostly because of their eating habits!

10. TRUE. While this is actually true, it’s also only temporary. Just keep at it and periodically (every 2 to 3 weeks) “up the ante” by changing the frequency, duration, intensity, even type of exercise you’re doing. You should continue to see results if you continue to challenge yourself.

11. FALSE. Not necessarily. You should be working at your predetermined THR. If you exercise too hard and fast, you may be burning fewer calories than in less intense, aerobic workouts. This goes back to when we talked about our THR or aerobic zone, and the anaerobic zone. Again, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ever go outside and above our aerobic zone, but that we should keep those bursts of high-intensity exercise limited to a few intervals in each workout. (And it’s also good to go into this anaerobic zone because this is how we increase our heart rate zone and capacity to utilize oxygen!)

12. FALSE. Unfortunately, there's no way to “spot reduce” certain areas. Yes, it’s beneficial to do exercises that target our problem areas, but we should be doing compound exercises that utilize more than those exercises so we can increase our heart rate and burn more calories (and maximize our time!). And going back to the question about getting a 6-pack, it’s all about getting rid of the overlying fat, so we can see those muscles!

Test your Fitness IQ

Take this test. The answers and explanations will be given in a few days! Good luck!


1. You can increase your metabolism, Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) by:
A. Running
B. Biking
C. Strength training
D. Any form of exercise


2. TRUE or FALSE If you want to burn fat, it is best to stay in the “fat-burning zone” of your Target Heart Rate (the lower end of your THR) and not the “cardio zone” (the higher end of your THR).

3. The best way to know how hard you are pushing yourself during exercise is by:
A. How tired or sore you are
B. How high your heart rate is
C. How much you’re sweating
D. How hard you’re breathing
E. All of the above


4. TRUE or FALSE Lifting HEAVY weights (strength training) frequently can cause women to get “bulky” and build too much muscle mass.

5. TRUE or FALSE The best time to work out is early in the morning.

6. The best exercise for losing weight is:
A. Running
B. Biking
C. Eliptical/Cross-trainer
D. Strength training
E. All of the above


7. TRUE or FALSE As you age, you lode muscle and gain fat, thereby decreasing your metabolism, no matter what you do.


8. TRUE or FALSE To get ripped abs or a “6-pack”, you should do crunches every day.

9. How much exercise time is needed to lose weight, improve cardiovascular endurance and function, and see results?
A. 3 days a week for 30 min/session
B. 5-6 days a week for 2 hrs/session
C. 3-5 days a week for 60 min/session
D. Any of the above can get results


10. TRUE or FALSE Eventually, your weight and fitness level will plateau.


11. TRUE or FALSE The more intense your work out, the more fat you burn.

12. TRUE or FALSE To get rid of the “arm jiggle”, the “saddle-bags”, the “love-handles”, or the “inner thigh fat”, you must do specific exercises to target those muscle groups/areas in order for them to go away .

The best $40 investment

I can't say enough about why everyone that exercises should buy one of these...




Why, you might ask? Most people don't know how hard they're working AND don't work out hard enough. Sure, you can go by Perceived Exertion (how you're feeling, breathing, sweating, etc), but if you really want to know where you're at, where you should be, BUY ONE OF THESE! They will even beep to remind you you're not in your heart rate range (if it's too high or too low)! It will make you more aware of how hard you're working (or NOT working), and will be a good starting point for your fitness level.

SO, what are you waiting for??? BUY ONE at your local sporting good store, Costco, Target, or Walmart!

Wanna burn 500 calories???

THE BIGGEST CALORIE-BURNING EXERCISES:
Calories burned per hour*
Based on a 160-pound person

986 calories burned: Running at 8mph
913 calories burned: Rollerblading
730 calories burned: Tae Kwon Do
730 calories burned: Jump rope
657 calories burned: Stair treadmill
584 calories burned: Jogging at 5mph, cycling at 18mph
511 calories burned: Backpacking, hiking uphill
511 calories burned: Racquetball. mountain biking
511 calories burned: Cross-country skiing, indoor cycling class
511 calories burned: High-impact aerobics, high intensity weight/circuit training
* Values from the Mayo Clinic Exercise for Weight Loss chart

Of course, these values are estimates, and actual calorie expenditure will not be the same for everyone. Your mileage may vary (so to speak) depending on many factors, such as the intensity of your workout, your weight (and more importantly body fat %) and your current fitness level.

Are you exercising hard enough? Part 2

In the last post, I wrote about how important it is to monitor heart rate during exercise to determine how strenuous we are working. In this post, I will focus on how much exercise we really need to maintain our fitness, increase our cardiovascular endurance/strength, to increase lean muscle and tone, and to lose body fat. There are a lot of different theories out there, some true and some false, and hopefully this article will sift through some of the confusion out there.

1. How often do I need to exercise to lose weight?
You might not want to hear this (for those out there that despise exercise or think they don't have time), but for weight loss goals, you really need to do 5 days/week for an hour to see maximum benefits and results. Ideally, moderate to intense exercise (heart rate between 65-85% max) to burn the most amount of calories as well. Combine this with a good diet, and you should be on your way to losing 1-2 lbs/week (which is the safest and best rate. More 1-2 lbs/week, you're most likely not just losing fat, you're losing water and muscle mass.)

2. What kind of exercise is best for losing weight?
Ideally, 3 of the 5 days/week should be strictly cardiovascular such as jogging, cycling, swimming, some kind of cardio machine (just watch the heart rate). To really see results and challenge your body, you should do intervals in those workouts. That will change it up, keep you heart rate up, and keep the muscles second guessing which is always more efficient when it comes to burning calories. The other 2 days/week you should do some kind of strength training workout that focuses on the TOTAL body, combining muscles together in exercises to make it more efficient and keep the heart rate up (i.e. lunges with dumbbell curls or shoulder presses). I strongly believe the best strength training workouts for burning fat are circuit workouts (no breaks), high reps, and as stated above, as many muscle groups together/exercise as possible. These type of workouts will yield a high calorie expenditure, even after you're done working out. Also, change up your routine every week to keep the body working hard. You will see MAJOR results from doing a combination of these two things (cardio and strength training) and on track to hitting your goals.

3. What about yoga and pilates? Are these workouts good for losing weight?
Yoga and pilates are GREAT exercises for strengthening the core and promoting lean muscle mass, improving balance and range of motion, and for the mind-body benefits. The only problem with these kind of workouts is that they are not the most efficient at burning the maximum amount of calories. If you only have an hour/day to exercise, I wouldn't choose these types of workouts ALONE to do if weight loss is your primary goal. Yoga and pilates are best when doing it in conjuction with the cardio and strength training. Again, keep in mind that I'm specifically talking about WEIGHT LOSS here. Don't think they aren't great workouts, because they are, just remember that you won't burn as many calories doing them, and at the end of day, it's all about calories in vs. calories out.

4. How much rest do I need in between strength training workouts?
The answer is simple-1 to 2 days. For example, strength train Monday and then again Wednesday or Thursday. You really don't need a third day if you're working out hard and efficiently (which is where a Personal Trainer comes in handy for most).

5. How often do I need to workout to maintain my weight or fitness level?
Most people can get away with 3 days/week of an hour/day, but it's always good to get some kind of exercise even if it's taking a light walk with your kids to keep moving.

Hopefully this has dispelled some of the fiction out there, nowadays you'll see commercials for "5 min a Day" and let me tell you, that is never enough! I know you wish it was, but seriously, do you really think that 5 min/day is enough to lose weight, tone your muscles, let alone, improve your general fitness level? Hard work yields results. Plain and simple.

Are you exercising hard enough? Part 1

It's human nature to not push ourselves physically as much as we probably should or could, right? I would say 90% of people don't push themselves enough when they work-out. Lazy, maybe? Distracted by the TV or our I-Pod (or even kids!), possibly? Too tired or it's too hard, very likely. Most of us just don't have the will-power to really hurt ourselves! Seriously though, don't you hate it when you're working hard at losing weight, getting ready for the swimsuit season, going on a cruise and it's just not happening? Ever wondered why? I think most of us have experienced this at some point in our lives.

There are several factors, of course, that play into achieving results, but I want to talk specifically about our exercise routines and heart rate. First, you should always be aware of your heart rate. There is a simple equation below that you can do to figure out your target heart rate zone, which you should CONSTANTLY monitor while exercising. Oh, and I STRONGLY believe a heart rate monitor is the best investment you will make! Here it is:

Take 220-your age=maximum heart rate (this figure is actually your anaerobic max). Now take that number, and figure out what 65% and 85% of that number is. That is your ideal heart rate zone for burning fat and calories. Technically, the range actually goes down to 55%, but for most people this isn't even working up to a sweat. Here's an example:

220-30 (my age)=190
190x.65=123
190x.85=161
My target zone=123-161 bpm

Keep in mind that if you are extremely fit this might not be totally accurate. As you get more fit, you can push that high range out before you get "anaerobic". In comparison, the low range number might be too low as well. At this point, you can go by the "Perceived Exertion Scale", which means going by how you feel. On a scale of 1 to 10, a 10 is anaerobic meaning you're breathing so heavy that you can only maintain that pace for a short time, say 30-60 sec. A 9 on the scale, would be pushing that threshold, you're breathing heavy, but you're able to maintain that pace for a longer time, and also, talking is extremely hard and forced. Carrying a conversation at this point is difficult. So, an 8-9 should be at the high end of your target zone. If you're not breathing heavy, you're carrying a conversation fairly easy, you would be at a 5 or so, and this is ok for short periods of time, (but it's time to kick it up a notch). Staying between a 6-9 is ideal and you'll burn the most amount of calories in this range.

Hope this helps all those that are confused about heart rates and how hard they should be exercising! Stay tuned for Part 2...