Suggestions For Packing “Health” Into Your Vacation

As I think about my upcoming vacation to Aruba I am wondering what I should pack to ensure that I have what I need for quick workouts and healthy eats.  This thought inspired me to write a blog post offering suggestions on what to pack in order to make sure to stay on track with your healthy lifestyle goals.  Below is a list of my recommendations.  Enjoy your healthy active vacation session!!

1.  Research the area that you are staying to make sure that there is a health food store or at least a grocery store close by so that I can purchase fresh fruit and veggies, bottled water, and hard boiled eggs.

2.  Request that your hotel room have a small refrigerator and/or microwave.  This way you can keep fresh fruits and veggies cold and cook a quick breakfast oatmeal.

3. Pack a few utensils for cutting and/or cooking in your room.

4.  Pack healthy snacks such as protein powder, protein bars, nuts, seeds, oatmeal.

5.  Pack your daily vitamins.

6.  Pack a water bottle this way you can just keep refilling if you are out and about and don’t want to be lugging numerous bottles of water with you.

7. Pack exercise clothing such as shorts, tank tops or t-shirts, tennis shoes and baseball cap.

8. Pack a jump rope for quick cardio blasting workouts

9. Pack a “tabata timer” or download the app to your iphone or ipad.  This timer is usually set at 20 seconds of “work” and 10 seconds or “rest” for 8 rounds. 

10.  Pack a collaspable cooler for days when you might be out and about and perhaps not close to “healthy food options”.

11.  Pack your ipod and headphones – download some fresh new tunes to keep you motivated.  Then those songs will remind you of vacation long after you get home!

12.  Pack some fitness magazines for quick reading by the pool.  This is a great way to learn new tips and tricks from experts.

13.  Write up ahead of time a few quick workouts to do in your room or in the hotel fitness center.  These can be 3 or 4 different body weight exercises that you can do with the “tabata” timer mentioned above. Exercises could be jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jump rope, squats, push ups, crunches, burpees, you get the picture.

14.  Plan some active things to do while on vacation such as walks on the beach, early morning runs, hiking, biking.

One Week = Major Fat Burning Workout Routine

Here it is…..a workout is designed to burn excess fat off your body in one week!  commit to keeping your diet clean and follow this workout plan for one week.  These workouts will need to be done in a place that has a cable unit and weight machines.  Adjust your weights as you go..form is everything.  If your form gets sloppy decrease your weight and keep moving. In each of these workouts you will alternate between two exercises without resting and follow with a cardio exercise.   Are you committed?  6 straight days of 2 a day workouts and 1 day of rest and stretching.  Eat clean foods and drink lots of water.  You can do anything for 7 days….right? 

Sunday Morning- go for a one hour bike ride or walk.  This exercise should be at a moderate pace.  You should be able to talk or sing along to your favorite song. Get psyched up for the coming week.

Monday Morning

BEFORE BREAKFAST- 30 minutes of cardio.  Use home cardio equipment, gym equipment or jog outside. 

Monday afternoon do the following workout:  jump rope for 60 seconds, then alternate between 10 repetitions of superman/push-ups (supermans are when you lie on your tummy and lift arms and legs up as high as you can hold for a beat and back down and right into a push up.) and 10 repetitions of seated cable rows for 8 rounds, follow that with jump rope for 60 seconds, then alternate between 10 repetitions of cable fly and 10 repetitions of cable lat pulldown for 8 rounds, follow that with jump rope for 60 seconds.  Remember to stretch and drink lots of water.

Tuesday Morning

BEFORE BREAKFAST 30 minutes of cardio. Use home cardio equipment, gym equipment or jog outside.

Tuesday Afternoon Do 30 minutes of cardio – either use a cardio machine such as a treadmill or stationary bike or take a cardio class such as Zumba, Spinning, or Step

Wednesday Morning

BEFORE BREAKFAST 30 minutes of cardio. Use home cardio equipment, gym equipment or jog outside.

Wednesday Afternoon do the following workout:  do 50 mountain climbers, then alternate between 12 repetitions of leg extension machine and 12 repetitions of leg curl machine for 8 rounds, then do 50 mountain climbers.  Alternate between 12 repetitions of leg press machine and 12 repetitions of full sit ups for 8 rounds, then do 50 mountain climbers. Alternate between 12 repetitions of hanging leg raises or leg raises on the floor and 12 repetitions of oblique crunches on each side for 8 rounds, then do 50 mountain climbers.

Thursday Morning

BEFORE BREAKFAST 30 minutes of cardio. Use home cardio equipment, gym equipment or jog outside.

Thursday Afternoon Do 30 minutes of cardio – either use a cardio machine such as a treadmill or stationary bike or take a cardio class such as Zumba, Spinning, or Step

Friday Morning

BEFORE BREAKFAST 30 minutes of cardio. Use home cardio equipment, gym equipment or jog outside.

Friday Afternoon do the following workout:  do 10 burpees, alternate between 10 repetitions of dumbbell curl and 10 repetitions of dumbbell shoulder press for 10 rounds, then do 10 burpees.   Alternate between 10 repetitions of bent dumbbell lateral raise and 10 repetitions of dumbbell tricep kickback for 10 rounds, then do 10 burpees.

Saturday is a day of rest and stretching all areas of the body.  Stretch for one hour.  Holding each stretch for 30 seconds each.

Good Posture Hygene

I read somewhere that you should check your posture by looking at yourself standing to one side in the mirror.  If your shoulders are pointing towards 1:00 you have some work to do.  I decided to check myself out and holy crap…..1:00.  I knew I had lots of work to do.  When I was kid it was fun to sit way down in my seat because it made my teacher crazy.  As an adult I work at a desk several hours a day.  It was no wonder I saw 1:00 when I looked in the mirror.

My posture is still a work-in-progress and probably will be for quite some time to come.  I refuse to allow myself to look like a humpback granny.  I intend to live a very long productive life with good posture and it begins by being conscious of it every day.  Why work on your posture you may ask…..why not?  Good posture makes you look tall, slim, and confident.  Who doesn’t want that?

I have put together some ways to improve your posture below.  Read and incorporate these changes in your life.  By the way……sit up straight while you read this.  Get that butt back in your chair and don’t lean forward over your desk…..pull that laptop a little closer to the edge of the desk. 

Look at this guys back……hump! 

Posture for Sitting: 

use a firm chair with a high back

put your hips as far back as they will go

put a pillow or lumbar support pillow behind you if your hips don’t go all the way back

knees should be at hip level or a little lower

your desk should be at elbow height

don’t lean forward over your desk and keep shoulders straight

tilt the computer screen up so you are not forced to look down

keep your feet flat on the floor

don’t sit for long periods of time, get up and move around a little bit each hour

Posture for Standing:

stand up straight with ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles making a straight line.

stand with weight evenly distributed and shift your weight often for a break

your weight should be on the balls of your feet and not the heels

keep your feet about shoulder width apart

Posture for Driving:

sit up straight with hips as far back as possible in the seat

use the seat lumbar support or place a lumbar support pillow behind you

elbows should be slightly bent as you grip the steering wheel

stop to stretch every few hours

Posture for Sleeping:

sleep on a firm mattress

back sleepers use a pillow under your knees

side sleepers use a pillow between your knees

make sure your pillow keeps your head aligned with the rest of your body

Concluding thoughts: Keep your head up and eyes looking forward….don’t drop your head because that puts an abnormal strain on your cervical spine and after a while your body will adapt to that posture and curl your cervical spine forward and guess what? ……Hump!  Just for fun take your new found knowledge and go to the mall and notice all those people with poor posture hygene!

7 Rules of Eating Healthy

Along with regular exercise; 3 resistance training sessions and 5 cardiovascular per week, follow the 7 rules of healthy eating to obtain and maintain a healthy body.

 Rule #1 Begin each day with a plan.  Plan what you are going to eat for each meal.

Rule #2 Eat every 3 to 4 hours.

Rule #3 Eat protein with every meal.

Rule #4 Do not eat fruits after lunch.

Rule #5 Eat veggies with every meal.

Rule #6 Eat sugary sweet treats or breads ONLY after exercise and in moderation.

Rule #7 Eat Healthy Fats every day.

Tackling the Treadmill e-book IS HERE!

It’s a new year and with a new year there is new-found motivation to finally get those pounds off for good!  I know that this time of year (blah….Winter) it is difficult to go for a walk or a jog outside which leaves the only other option…..the boring treadmill.  If you are like me I am not especially fond of staring out the window of the gym at snow and slush feeling like a hamster on a wheel.

Today! ….I am so excited to introduce you to my new e-book titled “tackling the treadmill” an e-book with many different exciting, challenging, bordom-busting treadmill workouts designed for all fitness levels.  I have also put a couple workouts for the stepper and the elliptical in there too just for a little added spice! 

This e-book is designed so that you can download it to your electronic device of choice or simply print out a copy and take it to the gym.  Each workout is designed to give you that push and motivation you need when doing your cardio.  There is a suggested starting pace for each workout with a column for you to write in your pace which allows you to track your progress and improve on your pace each time you do the workout!  You will also find some suggested playlists and positive affirmations to “program” your thoughts to help you BE SUCCESSFUL!

I am so excited for you to have this valuable tool that WILL bring you positive results to your health and wellness goals for 2012 and beyond!  Download your copy today.  Simple click on the e-book tab at the top of this screen and click on the determined indeed secure store link and follow the purchasing instructions. 

I appreciate your business!!  Have a wonderful Happy Healthy New Year!!

B6 Vitamin Poisoning

I know what you are thinking….how can someone get poisoned by vitamins?  Well, I am living proof that you can.  I was recently diagnosed with a B6 Vitamin Toxicity.  Yep….too much of a good thing can be bad for you.  I have been taking vitamin supplements for the past 4 or 5 years.  As I learned about new supplements that would enhance my training I just added them to the regimen.  Only recently I discovered that many of these supplements had B6 in them.   I also discovered that B6 has other names such as Pyridoxine, Aminoxin, and Pyri-500.

I started to develop pain and swelling in my hands mostly but some in my feet.  The skin of my hands hurts so bad that it is painful to touch things, especially things with fairly sharp corners (dresser drawers, light switches, etc.)  The pain is worse in the morning and hinders my ability to tie by shoes, put my hair back in a ponytail, open jars, wash dishes, or empty the dishwasher. 

At first I didn’t know what was wrong with me.  My finger tips would turn white and numb and my palms would tingle.  I underwent a battery of tests:  Reynaud’s disease tests, vascular ultrasound exams of my arms, electromyelograms (needles stuck into muscle for readings), and nerve conduction tests.  All tests were normal but I knew I wasn’t crazy and that something was definitely not right.  Finally I made an appointment with a neurologist who said that there was nothing wrong with my neurologically and that I was specimen of perfect health.  While it is nice be called a perfect specimen of health, I was persistent about something not feeling right and described again in greater detail the symptoms I was having and he said that my symptoms sounded like a B6 Poisoning.  At that, a little light bulb went off in my head and I thought…”yeah, that’s totally possible”.  I asked my family doctor to order vitamin level blood work and sure enough the results came back positive for a B6 toxicity.  I was elated to finally have an answer.  I had been so worried that I had some life long debilitating disease that would end my newly found active lifestyle.  With this answer I knew it was time to educate myself and others about this condition.

I’m writing this post in hopes to reach others who take lots of supplements thinking that they are doing a good thing for themselves.  I don’t want you to make the same mistake as I did.  This is a very painful condition.  The only treatment is stopping all supplements and waiting it out.  I pray that it will pass quickly. 

Hypervitaminosis (the medical name for vitamin toxicity) occurs when a person develops symptoms or side effects from taking massive doses of vitamins.  This condition is becoming more common because people are treating themselves for minor illnesses with large doses of vitamins.

There are two types of vitamins.  Fat soluble which are dissolved in oil or fat.  These vitamins have a higher potential of becoming toxic since they hang around longer in the body and are stored in the liver and fatty tissues.  Fat soluble vitamins are vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, and vitamin K.

Water soluble vitamins are dissolved in water and excreted relatively quickly from the body.  Water soluble vitamins are vitamin C and all vitamin B’s.  Now I know what you are thinking why would I get toxic on a water soluble vitamin.  I wondered the same thing.  Water soluble vitamins can become toxic if you take more than the recommended daily amounts for a long period of time.  As I mentioned earlier I had been supplementing with B vitamins for 4 or 5 years.

Vitamins are needed by the body in small doses for growth, reproduction and general health maintenance.  These small doses can by obtained by eating a clean well-balanced diet.  If you are going to supplement do it with caution or get an opinion from your doctor.  As for me….I don’t think I’ll be taking much of anything anymore.  I think I’ll stick with fresh vegetables and fruits and call it a day.

Stuck In Traffic? – Try This “In-Car” Workout

I remember the days of sitting in traffic and thinking what a waste of my time it was.  One can only listen to so many books on tape and learn so many different languages…am I right?  I got to thinking of how I could incorporate movement of my body while I was in a seated positon and came up with the following “in car” workout.  Please keep your eyes on the road and only take your hands off the steering wheel when you are completely stopped.  Let’s use common sense! 

I have done this and found that the numbness in my feet and kinks in my back go away!

Perform 3 sets of 15.  Hold each “squeeze” for a few seconds release and repeat. 

Shoulder shrugs- draw your shoulders up to your ears and then push them down as far as you can. Keep your back straight and hands on the wheel!

Shoulder Rolls- Roll your shoulders in a forward motion and then in a backward motion.

Seated punches- Bring on the “looks” from your fellow road warriors as you punch the empty air in front of you.  (might not be able to do this one if you are in a smart car!) and only do this when you are completely stopped.

Shoulder Blade Squeeze – Bend your elbows as if you have wings out at your side and draw your shoulders back and squeeze the shoulder blades together.  Again, please only do this one if you are completely stopped.

Knee Squeeze – Squeeze your knees together tightly and hold for a few seconds and release.  Concentrate on squeezing your inner thigh muscles and NOT pressing on the accelerator.

Abdominal “blow out” squeeze – Take a big breath and forcefully blow out all your air while sqeezing your abs as tight as possible.

Glute Press - flex or “tighten” your glutes, hold for a beat, and relax, repeat. 

Tricep Press – Press your palms against the steering wheel feeling the backs of your arms tighten and release. 

Have fun Determined Indeed Warriors!!

Brain Workout

Try this exercise:  Time yourself and try to improve each time.  Good Luck!

Say outloud the color that each word is printed in below.  Try not to read the word.

RED   

PURPLE       

 BLUE

YELLOW

ORANGE

RED

PURPLE

BLUE

PURPLE

ORANGE

GREEN

BLUE

YELLOW

GREEN

PURPLE

ORANGE

YELLOW

BLUE

RED

GREEN

Whew!  Hope you had fun!

Killer 6 Minute Workout

This is a great way to boost up your metabolism quickly.  In just 6 minutes perform 10 dumbbell squats (choose a moderate to heavy weight), then perform 25 kettlebell swings (make sure your back is flat, squeeze the glutes, and snap the hip forward when you come up), then perform 10 dumbbell burpees.  Keep repeating and try to get as many rounds as you can.  The next time you do this exercise try to beat your total!

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Menopausal Belly Fat

For me the thought of going through menopause is a scary thing.  I know its coming at me like a freight train so I might as well just accept it and do the “right” things to minimize it’s impact.  Recently, I stumbled across an article titled Menopause Belly.  My first thought was “what the hell is that?” and “I sure don’t want that to happen to me”.  I started reading up on the topic and found that as we age we lose muscle mass and take on more fat.  This is mostly due to the fact that our activity levels decline and we keep eating the way we always have.  This is yet another reason that diet and exercise is so very important.

I found out that us Gal’s have two types of belly fat- the stuff that sits under our belly skin and the stuff that surrounds our organs.  The stuff that surrounds our organs is called visceral fat and it can bring some serious chronic health conditions along with it.  Fortunately, diet and exercise takes care of both types of fat.  In order to check to see if you suffer from excess belly fat grab a tape measure and measure yourself.  Put the tape measure around your bare stomach just above the hip bone.  Make sure the tape is not pressing in on the skin and that the tape is level.  Don’t “suck it in” either.  You want an accurate reading.  If the measurement is 35 or more you have some work to do and the sooner you get started the better.

Another interesting fact about menopausal belly fat is that it’s accumulation might have something to do with a decline in estrogen and progesterone.  Our estrogen levels fall out of sync with our progesterone levels leaving our estrogen levels higher.  This imbalance can be treated by eating certain foods that will help eliminate the excess estrogen.  These foods are cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruits, insoluble fiber, and lignans.

Cruciferous vegetables:  Broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, spinach, celery, beet root, parsley root, Bok choy, chard, alfalfa sprouts, to name a few.

Citrus fruits: Grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes.

Insoluble fiber: is fiber that does not dissolve in water and includes such foods as whole grains, seeds, nuts, brown rice, carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, and cabbage.

Lignans:  These are a powerful antioxidant and phytoestrogens found in a variety of plants.  You can find lignans in flax seeds, rye, pumpkin seeds, soy beans, broccoli, and berries.  However, the most highest concentrations of lignans is found in flax.  Try adding a tablespoon of flax meal or flax oil to your morning oatmeal.

There are of course many different ways to treat menopause belly including hormone replacement.  I do offer a word of caution regarding synthetic hormones.  Research first bio-identical hormones before you start taking synthetic forms.  Above all ask your physician and get his/her advice on these options.

In the meantime.  If you feel like you have a little more jiggle in your middle try cutting back on your calories and increasing your daily exercise.  For me, I think I’ll make sure that I am getting more of the above foods into my daily diet and maintain my active lifestyle.