Motivation Station

I've had a few people request some tips for staying motivated during weight loss. I certainly know how easy it is to derail off the fitness train (wow, Mina, cheesy...). It's difficult to plan your meals, to fit your workouts into the day, and to sleep long enough each night. Health isn't all that easy in this day and age. It can be expensive and demanding. Here is one thing you can do to keep you on the right track and keep you motivated during those difficult times.

Create a motivation board or wall where you put up a few things that will keep you inspired to live better.

1. Whomever your favorite fitness celebrity or guru is, place a picture of them up. By no means am I saying to idolize someone, but if you want to lose the weight and get healthier, put a picture up to inspire you. I personally love Jillian Michaels. I think she is a very empowering, influential, and knowledgeable resource. I find that I relate to her quite a bit and thus I would probably add her to my board.
2. Write your goal weight or goal bmi on the board. For every pound you lose, add a check or star next to it. When you are feeling discouraged, look at the amount of checks and stars you have and see how far you have come.
3. Write the words of aspects you want to achieve with your health. "Strong"  "Agile" "Fast"  being a few that may come to mind.
4. Place specific goals that you have for yourself such as being able to run a mile in 8 minutes, bench pressing 100 lbs, doing 30 push ups without stopping... etc. Make sure they are specific! When you achieve them, place another star next to them.

Now obviously this won't work with everyone, but go ahead and try it. Having the reminder in front of you everyday will help you to succeed. Good luck!!


Health tip: When you go to the gym, make the workout count. Get your heart rate really up there because the after burn effect will burn a larger amount of calories. 

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamuffins

I made these for the first time last week and I am already obsessed. They are the perfect breakfast, snack, and dessert. I treat them like cake. I made around 14 and all but 3 were eaten that day by my family. I froze the other few. I highly suggest making them and freezing the rest for when you want more. Anywho- here is the recipe for my favorite Apple Cinnamon Muffins....

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

• ½ cup rolled oats

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ½ cup raw sugar

• ¼ cup brown sugar

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground ginger

• a dash of nutmeg

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1 cup apple, diced

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup  (can substitute some for honey)  

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease muffin tin or spray paper liners to prevent sticking and set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices together until well combined. 

3. Add applesauce, sugars and maple, then stir until almost combined. add apples, stirring until just combined. 

4. Spoon into muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle additional oats and brown sugar over top if desired. (Bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.) 

I added a bit more cinnamon than it called for, but I really like the spice factor. As far as calories and stuff go- you're looking at about 125 calories per muffin. Omnomnom. 

Health Tip: Take days off of exercise. Exercising around 4-5 times a week for an hour a day is great. Take a day off to let your muscles rebuild and repair themselves. 

Green Drink #1

I personally love smoothies. They rock my world. If you do them right, they can have tons and tons of health benefits as well. Usually I end up just throwing whatever I want in the blender and making different concoctions but I tried to actually make an actual recipe for you all. Thus, here is my first recipe for a wonderful tasty green drink that I adapted from Mary's advice. To be honest, this is an estimate, I just throw it in until it looks really green. I use frozen spinach, but fresh works too.

Ingredients: 

• 6 oz spinach (about 4 cups) 
• 8 oz apple juice (sugarless if possible) 
• 1/2 cup frozen grapes 
• 1 frozen apple (sliced) 
•  Juice from 2 small limes 
• Mint (this is probably the most important ingredient- it makes it so refreshing) 

 Directions: 
1. Put the apple juice and frozen spinach in blender and mix until thoroughly blended.
2. Add the apple slices, grapes, and lime and blend until thoroughly blended.
3. Chop the mint (make sure it's washed) and add and blend until it is minty enough for your taste.

 Splitting the ingredients in the blender as these directions did, allows for not as big of a strain on your blender and will make the drink more smooth. Feel free to add ice if you want it more cold. You're looking at around 200 calories depending on what apple juices you use etc. The benefits of the spinach and apples are just too good to pass up, not to mention how great it tastes. Enjoy!

Health Tip: When browsing a menu at a restaurant, avoid anything 'fried'. That usually means it will be cooked in hydrogenated oils and basically- not GOOD! Go for 'grilled' or 'baked' items. 

Summer Swim Workout

Wow, way to go, scumbag blog. I already spent 45 minutes making this post and then it messed up the html and deleted it, so here it goes again.

Summer time is here which means working out in the pool is both convenient and fun to do. The best part about working out in the pool is that it doesn't always feel like such a chore- it's fun. 

1. K Tread- Slightly more difficult than treading water. In the deep end, tread water as you cup your hands and make small circles to keep yourself afloat. Lift your right leg in front of you while you keep your left leg below you. Continue treading and switch legs after 10 seconds. Repeat as desired. 

2. Wake Kicks- Grab the side of the pool and begin kicking powerfully with your legs together like a dolphin. Kick for 30 seconds (or until you feel the burn). Switch between dolphin kick and freestyle (scissor) kicks. Doing this underwater adds resistance and will help tone your legs. 

3. Swim Laps!! I find that swimming laps is not only beneficial to my physical health but also allows me my daily thinking time. If you find that it is simply too boring to do without a little extra help you might think about investing in an underwater iPod pouch and waterproof headphones. You can find some cheaper versions for around $50 that work pretty well. I also recommend getting fins if you find that you enjoy swimming- fins allow for more resistance on your feet and will help tone your legs. 

Example Lap Workout for me: I will usually repeat sets or add distance for a longer workout. 

200 meter warmup freestyle

300 meter freestyle moderate speed

100 meter dolphin kick sprint with fins

50 meter butterfly sprint with fins

100 meter freestyle kick

100 meter freestyle sprint with fins

300 meter freestyle moderate speed

200 meter freestyle cooldown. 

total meters: 1,350 meters    

Health Tip: Be constantly hydrating while exercising- especially while swimming. You don't realize how much water you are losing because you're in the pool. 

Find the cause....

There is a huge psychology that goes along with losing weight. Staying motivated can be extremely difficult.  Usually that is because excessive weight gain is almost always a symptom of some greater life issue. For example, feelings of neglect, pain, rejection, and hurt are all possible causes for turning to food as a cure-all and binging. A key element for losing weight and keeping it off in the end is find the cause for your overeating.

You have got to look inside yourself and try to find out why you are reaching for the candybars at the convenience store, even if you are aware that they are not doing anything good for your health. Saying 'they taste good' is not the answer. There is another reason why you are allowing yourself to do it. For me, I've grown up with a stick skinny older sister my entire life. She could always eat anything she wanted and always remained thin. I used to overeat  because it would comfort me when I felt bad about myself. Obviously that was the wrong way to go, seeing as eating would only have the opposite effect of what I was angry about, but nevertheless that was one of my causes for overeating.

If you have deep emotional issues from your past or have been abused either physically or emotionally. I  suggest taking up a couple sessions with a therapist to find out why you are overeating. Therapists are not always the cliche shrinks that you see in TV and may be able to help you find the deep underlying issues.

All that said, if you can find the reason why you're overeating and allowing yourself to gain weight, you can take time to mend the issues. If you put closure on those problems you'll be more likely to be able to stay motivated in your weight loss process. So take the time to pause and think about why you're binge eating and you'll be much more successful in your quest for a better you.

Health Tip: Get enough sleep! I can't express how important getting 7-9 hours of sleep can be for your body. It allows the vital organs to rest and adjusts the hormone levels of your body. Studies have shown that lack of sleep can been a cause for obesity because the hormone leptin (an appetite hormone) is insufficient when you don't get enough rest. So get in those hours!

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Got a new recipe for you all after going over to my friend Mary's home. She's a part-time Vegan who is a health buff like me.

Quiches- a great breakfast/lunch/dinner food that tends to be loaded in calories. This, however, is a recipe for a very tasty crustless spinach quiche that is low in calories.
Ingredients:

• 5-6 eggs
• 1 clove of garlic (diced) 
• 1 Cup Cheese (can be Cheddar/Feta/Mozzarella, depending on what you like) 
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 10 oz. diced spinach (about 6 cups of leaves, uncooked) 
• 1 tb olive oil 
• 3 tb pine nuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crack the 5 or 6 eggs into a bowl and whisk briskly. Add 1 cup cheese. 

2. Pour 1 tb of olive oil into a skillet and brown the pine nuts for about 2 minutes. Add the diced garlic and mix for 1-2 minutes. 

3. Place the tomatoes, onions, and spinach to the pan. Stir for about 3 minutes. 

4. Scoop the mixture of vegetables and pine nuts into a pie pan (or probably even a cake pan works). 

5. Pour the eggs and cheese into the pan and mix the vegetables around so that they are evenly spread with the eggs. 

6. Place the pan in the oven at 350 and leave for about 20-25 minutes. 

I'm a pretty big fan of eggs so I found this recipe to be delicious. Feel free to add different vegetables according to what you like. If you slice this into 6 servings you're looking at approximately 210 calories, 190 mg sodium, 11g protein, 13g fat (mostly good fats) per serving. It'd be great to have with a fruit salad for breakfast- perfect meal. Enjoy!

Health Tip: Too busy to make healthy meals all the time? Make them when you have time and stick them in the freezer for those busy nights. I usually spend Sunday afternoons cooking up and planning my meals for the week. By planning ahead you'll be less likely to run through the drive-through for a calorie packed value meal. 

Ask Mina: Spot Toning

"I decided to start an "Ask Mina" section of the blog to help the viewers (however few and far between they may be). You can send and email to fitnesswit@gmail.com and I will try and answer as best I can. 

I recently had a friend of mine message me and ask the following question: 

"I have never had much booty. Can I build up my backside (brazilian butt lift?) or am I doomed to be a butt-less wonder?" 

From what I know about toning up areas of the body to get them looking a certain way- here's my understanding: Females, due to the chemical hormones we have, store fats in various areas. The more testosterone we have, the more likely it is for fat deposits to sit on the stomach- hence why men tend to get the so called 'beer belly'. Women tend to store it in all sorts of places including the arms, thighs and buttox. Depending on your estrogen/testosterone balance, your body might not store a large portion of its fats in the butt. By no means is that unhealthy- it's just your body's balance. 

Site specific body toning such as getting a larger butt or slimming down the arm flab isn't quite as easy as people say it is. Can it be done? To a certain extent... In your case, to add fat specifically to the butt is rather difficult because the hormones in the body control where everything goes. What you can control are the exercises you do. To firm up the butt, I recommend a couple of the following exercises-

1. Dumbbell Bent-Knee Deadlift

          Grab a pair of 10-15 pound weights and place them in front of you. Place you feet shoulder length apart and bend to pick the weights up. Slowly grab the weights and stand again, using your legs and glutes to stand.  Be careful not to arch your back.

2. Walking Lunges

     Begin walking by placing you right left about 3 feet in front of you bend your legs and lower the body. For an added challenge, add weights to each hand. Make sure not to bend the knees over the ankle and don't lock the knees. 

3. Dumbbell Squats

     Stand with your legs shoulder length apart. Grasp some 7-10 lb weights in each hand and lower your body until your knees reach 90 degrees. Make sure not to arch your back. 

Feel free to you-tube some examples of these exercises in-case you're still confused. 

The bottom line- your body might refuse to deposit fats in the butt and thus you may not end up with a 'Brazillian booty' but these should help to tone up and firm up the butt. Good luck! 

Health Tip: Doing high intensity workouts create an after burn effect that allows you to burn even more calories throughout the day. Going for a jog in the morning and mixing in some weight training will keep your metabolism up to speed throughout the day.  

My Formula for Weight loss

Fad diets are all the rage but here is the basic truth: A lot of them are dangerous and ineffective.
Even if they do shed a few pounds the chances are that you will gain it right back. I'll make a more detailed post about fad diets later and their various effects but for now let me just tell you: The most effective, longest lasting, and in my opinion, the healthiest method of weight loss is the age old formula- Move More, Eat Less.

Weight loss really just comes down to basic math. To shed pounds you need to cut back your calories and create something known as a 'calorie deficit'. A calorie deficit means that you are burning more than you are taking in. To burn one pound of fat, you must burn approximately 3,500 calories. For example, if you are looking to lose 10 pounds to get to your goal weight, you would need to burn 35,000 calories over the course of a few months.


Months?! I say months because if you are at a healthy weight and are looking to lose a few excess pounds  (5-20 lbs) to look a bit slimmer or drop a size in clothing you should not have a calories deficit of more that 900 calories per day. This is because anything more than about 900 calories will slow down your body and put you into a lower metabolic rate. For who want to lose even less than 5 lbs, the deficit should be right around 500 calories. If you are more than 25 lbs overweight you can allow for a larger calorie deficit because your body will be willing to get rid of it.

So calorie deficits are the way to lose but where exercise comes into play is- exercise allows you to create larger calorie deficits. For example in the image below, the girl ran for 45 minutes at a speed which burned 500 calories for the workout. If she consumed 2,000 calories that day and normally burns 2,000 calories as her metabolic rate there will be a deficit of 500 calories to go towards weight loss.

Now you know the basics. To be successful you have to monitor calories you eat and calories you're burning. If you do not count calories, there is a huge chance that you'll be eating more than you think you are and will have a very slow, and very disappointing weight loss experience.  

Health Tip: Use Livestrong.com to track your calories. Using the program MyPlate makes it easy to set your calorie goal and track the foods you have eaten as well as your workout calories burned. There are tons of fitness articles and nutrition tips on there as well. It's free!!- no excuses, use it. 

Enjoy what you do...

As my first post about exercise I thought I would do it on the one principal that is vital for maintaining a fit lifestyle for the rest of your life. Let's face it- if you think that exercise is a brutal pain, you're never going to do it. The key here is to find something that you enjoy doing- whatever that may be. Below is a list of a plethora of ideas of ways you can get active-

• Go out for a jog- a lot of people find running to be really enjoyable. For me, it clears my head and releases plenty of endorphins which make for a much happier day. A 30 minute run can burn around 250-400 calories. If you're starting out as a new runner- it will get better with time. Start walking and pick up the speed as you can. 
• Go play some basketball, soccer, football, tennis etc.- There is a reason that so many people do sports in high school- they are fun! You get to play around with friends and receive the lovely health benefits of good clean exercise. Get a group of people together are get out there.
• Get in the pool- It's summer time, so go enjoy it. Do some water aerobic exercises or swim some laps. 
• Get on a bike- We hear it all the time- shed calories, not oil. Bikes are great transport and personally, I find it pretty exhilarating speeding down the street at 20 miles an hour during a workout. Bikes provide some great calorie burning fun. 
• Get to the gym- Yup, it's the age old image of fitness but it's a perfectly great way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Jumping on the elliptical, stair master, rower, or even the treadmill are all ways to burn   the calories. 
• Aerobics classes- Join an aerobics group, such as a step class or spinning course. I've recently gotten into a super fun workout called Zumba which most gyms and community centers now have. It's a latin based aerobics dance class that shakes and sweats the calories away. Try it a few times- you might love it. 
• Exercise Videos- There are more fitness dvds than I can count. One that I really like is p90x. It kicks your butt and you certainly feel the burn. 
• Play Xbox and Wii- Really, Mina? Video games? Actually, there are tons and tons of games now for the Wii that burn plenty of calories. My favorite is Just Dance because it gets you moving and is enjoyable with friends. Xbox Kinect also has quite a few games that are great for exercise. 

At the end of the day, it would take me hours to list all the things you can do for regular exercise. You have to be willing to try a few things and find what you like. A very important thing for weight loss in particular is  is to change up your routine to target different muscles. So mix it up, find what you like, and get out there. 

Health Tip- Cabbage! Been said to reduce risks of cancer, heart disease, and intestinal issues. It also contains vitamins A and C so go grab some cabbage and integrate it into your dinners. 

Cheesy Chicken Patty & Sauteed Veggies

This is one of the simplest, easiest, and rather healthy meals that I make- hence why I'm starting the recipes off with this. It has around 20g of protein per serving, give or take a few depending on what vegetables you use. I like to eat it for lunch because it will keep you feeling fuller for longer and because of the high protein, it's loaded with energy to keep you going throughout the day. I introduce- the Cheesy Chicken Patty and Sauteed Veggies.

Just as a note- I didn't take these pics, I took them from a different site. I'll change them with my own pictures of this recipe as soon as I make it again.

Recipe to make one serving (obviously just double, triple, etc for more servings).

Ingredients:

4 oz ground chicken

1 oz low fat cheddar or mozzarella cheese  (grated)

1/4 of a medium tomato, diced

1 cup sugar snap peas

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix ground chicken with the grated cheese and diced tomatoes.  (Mixing it with your hand, although slightly gross, makes the mix more evenly spread- if not, a fork is fine!)

2. Form the mixed chicken into a patty and place into skillet or on grill. (The thinner the patty, the quicker it cooks).

3. Flip the patty once you see the pinkness of the chicken start to turn white. Continue to flip ever 30-45 seconds for about 6-7 minutes. If you're still unsure about whether or not it is cooked through, slice open the patty- If you see pink, it's not done.

4. To make the sauteed veggies, cut the cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas in half and then place them in the skillet to cook. I usually just place them in the same skillet the patty is cooking in because they are flavored by the juices of the chicken and cheese. Continue to lightly stir the veggies until they become dark around parts of the edges.

Your meal is done! You can add a bit of lemon juice to the vegetables if you wish and some salt and pepper for even more flavor. For the above recipe, the calorie count is approximately 300 calories so it is great for a light lunch if you're trying to lose weight. Feel free to adjust it as well- add onion and peppers to the patty, mix up the veggies with squash, zucchini, and bell peppers. For those of you not looking to lose weight and needing something more, feel free to drink a low calorie smoothie with it or add my cauliflower mashed potatoes. Let me know if you try this and like it- or even if you hate it!

Health tip- Drink a lot of water! It keeps you hydrated which has benefits for your skin, and nearly every bodily function. Carry a bottle of water with you to keep drinking it throughout the day.

Time to Get Real

The jokes about overweight Americans across the nation are increasing along with their pant sizes. The CDC states that the obesity rate in the United States has risen to a jaw dropping 35.7% amongst adults and 17% among children. An estimated 23.6 million people, 15%, of US citizens have diabetes. The risk for heart disease and cancers are on the rise. It's insane, it's frightening, and it's suicidal to ignore.

What's the deal, America?! Get real... sitting on the couch and simply watching the Biggest Loser isn't going to shed the pounds. It's time to own up to our cruddy and unhealthy lifestyles and start making better choices to not only live longer, but live better. The  3 for $0.99 tacos from Taco Bell aren't worth it in the long run when you're suffering from so many health problems that you spend $200 dollars a month on medications.

Okay so maybe you're reading this and you're not overweight- sure, good for you. But that doesn't necessarily mean that you're any better off than any of the others out there. The same health risks apply to skinny minnies who are downing twinkies by the dozen. I promise that the benefits of eating healthier are far worth missing out on the 2 minute euphoria of the 3 donuts you shovel in.

I'm not saying I'm perfect; I still treat myself every now and again but this blog is for both me and you to motivate ourselves to exercise more, eat healthier, and live better. I'll put up recipes that I've found and use often, post workout ideas and methods, fitness tips, and nutrition info that you can use to start the path to a healthier lifestyle. As I start my major in college I'll add information that I learn along the way as well. So let's buck up and be better, with fitness as our witness.

Health Tip: Create an upbeat playlist for when you are working out. If you're a music lover like I am, it makes it so much easier to pump through an intense routine.