Holiday Hold 'Em!

With Halloween behind us and Thanksgiving less than 3 weeks away we are fast approaching the "Holiday Zone," the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years in which many of us become immersed in all sorts of overindulgence; a period in which the average American gains between 2 and 8 lbs of fat! Yes, some of this gain will be temporary and will be lost when the partying stops, but more than half of those who gain will hold onto at least 1-2 lbs of this fat, adding it permanently to their "bottom" line. Fast forward a few years, and we're no longer rockin' it...but more like stockin' it...not a pretty picture.

This year let's ring in the holidays with a strong plan of attack. Tis' the season to break the vicious cycle and put a hold on the yearly pile up. It will take a well formulated plan that allows for the joys of the season, while holding holiday fat gain at bay.

Approaching the holidays with organization and preparation is the key ingredient to holiday survival. We make lists and mark our calendars for parties, gift giving, home decorations, holiday groceries and so on. Why not use these same organizational skills and create lists and calendars with specific fitness and nutrition goals to be achieved each week to keep us in holiday fat burning zone! Our goal is to keep our body composition the same through the Holiday Zone!

So grab a calendar and start marking it IN PEN with the following challenges:

1) Designate 4 days of each week that you will make it to the gym and participate in a class or work on your own personal strength training plan. For each party that is scheduled for that same week you must stay at least 10 minutes after and do extra intervals of ropes or kettlebell swings. These extra minutes of work will add up to help boost your metabolism and keep you in the holiday fat burning zone.

2) Keep track of what you eat in a food log. Remember to save your splurges for the things that you most look forward to during the holidays. Plan for these splurges on your calendar. If Mom's rum balls are a must, or you can't survive without a mug of  warm wassail then you need to account for them on the day you will be splurging. The only splurges you are allowed are the ones you have planned for on your calendar. If you thoughtfully plan out your splurges you will be much more apt to stick to the plan.

3) Stay hydrated. Keep track of your water intake as well. Make sure you get enough to flush any extra holiday toxins out of your system.

4) Get 8 hours of sleep every night.  All the extra parties, shopping and decorating tend to cut into our shut eye. Mark your bedtime and what time you will get up in the morning on the calendar and stick to it! A favorite strategy of mine also includes the power nap. A short 20-30 minute power nap in the afternoon can work wonders for your energy levels! If you feel you are getting run down make sure to mark in a few power naps a week to keep you energized and in the holiday fat burning zone.

5) Manage Holiday Stress. We all know how stressful the holidays can be. Stress can promote the release of hormones that cause our bodies to store fat. To help relieve stress, mark in an activity weekly that will help calm your nerves. Perhaps a massage, warm bath, meditation...or a visit to the gym to foam roll, stretch and decompress!

6) Enlist a holiday accountability partner. Share your calendars with each other the week before Thanksgiving. Your workouts, splurges, water intake, sleep hours and relaxation techniques should be pre-planned and clearly marked in pen. Through the next 6 weeks check in with each other twice a week and, most importantly, hold each other accountable!

Keep the goal in mind, to maintain your body composition throughout the Holiday Zone! You WILL succeed, so plan a celebration in January...a day at the spa perhaps? And mark it on the calendar in pen!

Your coach,

Cecily

Baby Steps

When forming new habits it’s all about taking small steps, one at time. Most babies don’t walk clear across the room the first time they try, but instead they take a step or two, experience a little success and then add a few more steps with each new attempt. Before long they’ve grooved the new pattern and life for them (and you) will never be the same.

When people ask me about fat-loss and particularly what foods to eliminate, I try to premise my response with this “baby steps” analogy. In my experience, when we try and change too many things, or take too many new steps at once, we often fall. Most people have better success creating new health habits if they change one thing every two to three weeks, before attempting another new change.

Just like a baby we need to have success in our steps before we can continue down the path, so make sure your first attempts at creating change are ones you feel confident you can handle.

So, lets say your favorite food is pasta, we would not even talk about pasta at first.

Maybe instead you have been thinking of giving up milk. You don’t really drink full glasses of milk anymore and you would only really miss it in your coffee, so lets replace it with coconut milk or almond milk and see how that goes for a few weeks. 

When you have success with that change we might go ahead and try replacing white potatoes with sweet potatoes, or instead off eliminating a particular food, we add in more veggies for a few weeks.

Eventually after a few months of creating these new fat-loss lifestyle habits we would attempt replacing pasta with spaghetti squash or some of the other “paleo” type pastas that are on the market. By this point you will be seeing the small changes add up to big differences in your body composition and those earlier successes will drive your future success!

Your Coach,

Cecily

Get Greedy with YOUR Time!

Taking Time.

Are you tired and stressed out? Do you spend your time driving your kids from this extra curricular activity to that? Have you over extended yourself at work or volunteered for one too many events this season?  Do you look in the mirror and wonder, “what the heck happened?” Yes, yes, yes and yes?

Do you want to feel sexy in (and out) of your clothes again and at the same time improve your chances of a living a long and happier life? More yesses?

What if I told you it’s easy…you just need to take the time. Take the time for what? Take the time for YOU! Put your needs first. But how? There are only so many hours in a day? Exactly …there are so many hours in the day…24…take back one of them for you. Nobody else is going to give it to you; you have to take it. If this means one less activity for your kids, then so be it (believe me, they will survive) If it means you can’t take on that extra project for your boss or volunteer for lunch duty this year …so sorry, but it may make the difference that will change your life. Giving away your time, without making time for yourself is a recipe for disaster. Get greedy with your time. Time is a precious commodity and one that you can never get back, so be very particular about who you give it to and how you spend it.

Take that hour and put it to good use. Get your sexy, healthy, younger self back!  Get your butt to RealFit Gym and be ready to have fun and we will do the rest. It’s easy…JUST TAKE THE TIME! We value your time, you should too!

And remember….If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy J

Your Coach,

Cecily

Jane Fonda and the Afterburn!

Go for the Afterburn!

I’ll never forget Jane Fonda’s encouraging words, “go for the burn” while lying on my living room floor trying to squeeze out just one more leg lift! I exercised religiously to The Jane Fonda Workout in the early 1980’s. I ‘fondly’ remember wearing a matching striped leotard and cozy leg warmers trying to mirror the amazing woman smiling down at me as I went for the burn!

Those days are long gone, and workouts have evolved but some of her signature moves (clamshells anyone?) still remain in the muscle activation and corrective portions of our programming today!

That’s about where the similarities end though. In the power and resistance portions of our programs we progress to whole body multi-joint movements such as kettlebell swings and barbell clean & jerks to illicit a different response…. Afterburn!  After a session of high intensitiy resistance training in which all the large muscle groups are recruited, we not only burn calories at a higher rate while exercising but we continue to expend calories at increased rates after our training session is done!

Afterburn, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), as it is referred to in exercise science, is a term that refers to the increase in oxygen uptake during the recovery period following exercise.  In order for the body to recover from the disruption brought on by high intensity interval and resistance type sessions, and restore homeostasis, it must sustain elevated levels of metabolic processes for a period time. EPOC accounts for some restorative physiological processes such as restoration of muscle glycogen and muscle repair.

Some studies have found that the Afterburn component of EPOC can have elevated effects on the resting metabolism for up to 48 hours following high intensity bouts of resistance exercise. In other words, give it your all in the gym today and continue to reap the benefits while sitting at work or watching the kids’ soccer game tomorrow afternoon. And NO…this is not an excuse to skip tomorrow’s training session! Think of it this way; today’s Afterburn piled on top of yesterdays Afterburn and so on and so on….turn you into a fat burning machine! Remember, everything you do each day gets you closer to achieving that big goal!

Go for the burn today and reap the benefits of Afterburn tomorrow!

Your Coach,

Cecily

Is Happy Hour Sabotaging your Fitness Hour?

Probably not,  IF (and that's a big IF) you are keeping happy hour to once or twice a week. One or two glasses of wine per week will probably not make a difference at our waistlines, but let's get 'Real'....how many of us are holding at one glass of wine once a week? 

You know the scenario... You've just uncorked a chilled bottle of Clois DuBois;  your husband doesn't like Chardonnay, and it will go bad if not finished in a day or two, sooo... half a bottle a night for 2 nights and problem solved. I'll be the first to admit it, I love a glass of wine while cooking dinner and maybe another while eating dinner. I'm not talking about excessive amounts of alcohol here, but even low to moderate amounts (1 or 2 glasses nightly) can slow metabolism and our ability to burn fat! Add the excess empty calories dumped into our system (not to mention the toxins) and we have a good chance of sabotaging all our hard work at the gym.

Moderate amounts of alcohol can also interfere with sleep patterns , making muscle regeneration particularly challenging. We need good, sound sleep to effectively recover from our workouts.

I don't want to get preachy here, I love the "It's 5 o'clock somewhere" happy hour motto too. Instead I would like to share some of the challenge based  solutions that I use to keep my self tuned up and reaping in all the benefits of my workouts.

Consider a 30 day alcohol free challenge. 

This one is my favorite. I do this on and off throughout the year, planning the months strategically throughout the year so that I can attend weddings and celebrations and enjoy a glass of wine or two! During my challenge months I substitute my glass of wine with a glass of kombucha or sparkling water in a wine glass! I always feel fabulous after these challenges and it shows in the way my skin looks and my clothes fit. I just got done with one last week and am planning another one Sept 15th-Oct15th.

Take 6 months off from all adult beverages.

This plan takes a little more discipline but you will see big changes: after 3-4 weeks the fat begins to melt off!I did this in 2011.... No wine from Jan 1 thru July 1.  Allow one exception on this plan. On my 50th birthday my husband and I enjoyed a beautiful bottle of French wine together!

Don't cocktail at home.

This one works well if you attend a lot of social events. And it goes without saying... No driving on those special nights out!  So pick a challenge plan and give it a go! it may not seem like it now, but it can be  satisfying to challenge yourself by giving up favorites for a predetermined amount of time. It's empowering to know that YOU are in control!

And remember when you do enjoy "happy hour" moderation is the answer to long term success. 

Hope this helps..... and as always let me know how it goes! 

Your coach,

Cecily