'Tis the season to EAT!

Well, the holidays are getting near. And I know in my life during the holidays, I am inundated with food! There seems to be goodies hanging around everyday. I try to keep them out of my house, but I am surrounded at work and parties and my self control usually goes down the drain! So, this year I am not going to worry about what I eat, but how MUCH I eat!

 

Portion control is a huge component of living a healthy life. What are proper portions? According to the USDA Food Pyramid:

• A serving of meat is about two or three ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards. Serving sizes for other proteins would be two tablespoons of nut butters, two eggs, and one third cup of dry beans.  
• A serving of bread is equal to one slice of white or whole grain bread, one ounce of prepared cereal, or just one half cup of pasta, or rice.  
• A serving of fruit or vegetable is equal to one piece, one half a cup of chopped fruit or vegetable, or three-fourths cup of 100% juice. 
• A serving of dairy is equal to one cup of milk or one and one half ounces of cheese.

 

Here is a (fuzzy, sorry!) diagram of portion sizes to keep in mind if you don't know the amount of ounces. As stated above, the measurements are equal to one serving: 

• 1 serving of meat is 3-4 oz. and should be about the size of a deck of cards, or the palm of your hand.  
• 1 cup should be used for carbs such as cooked rice, cooked pasta and ice cream. It is about the size of a tennis ball. 
• 1 serving of cheese is the size of 1 domino (oops... I may eat more cheese than that!)
• 1 medium piece of fruit is the size of a baseball.
• 1 serving (1 tsp.) of fats like butter, or margarine is the size of 1 die.
• 1 small baked potato is about the size of a computer mouse.
• 1 cup of beverage is equal to the size of a woman's fist.
• 2 Tbs. of fats like Peanut Butter, jam, or salad dressing is the size of a golf ball.
• 1 oz. of chocolate is the size of package of dental floss. 

Now think about your portions. Most of us have much larger servings than the recommended amount! And restaurant portions are probably 3-4 servings! So, when you are surrounded by all the goodies this holiday season, use portion control! Don't eat 10 cookies, just eat 1. Try small tastes, not big plates full. That way there is no deprivation! Unless you know you have no self control when it comes to certain things (*cough* - cheesecake..) then you may just have to say no! Check out this link to get more helpful information!   http://nutritiondata.self.com/

 

Turn up the Intensity!

So... tell me the truth. Have you been treating your body and mind right by working out? Come on.. don't lie.. Good job! I knew you have. Just testing you. I know I have been super busy lately, have you? Today we are going to talk about using your precious time wisely and getting a little more out of your daily workout. When you are doing your workout how long is it taking you? Shouldn't be more than one hour max! Are you sweating and out of breath? Have a hard time talking to you workout buddy? Or are you on the treadmill, watching TV or reading a book or magazine? Yes. I am talking to you! If low intensity is what is going on most days, take that workout schedule and throw it in the trash! Starting now, you are going to turn up the intensity! It will make your workouts shorter and burn more calories overall! Ready? Let's get going....

Three tips for getting the most out of your sweat sessions:

1. Rest Less. Say you are doing chest presses, do your set and rest and talk to a friend for a bit then come back for the other set. You are WASTING time! Keep up the intensity by only resting 30-60 seconds between your sets if you need a break. Otherwise, rest your muscle group you just used (this case is chest) and do some jumping jacks or lunges or squats that focuses on a whole different muscle group. This keeps your intensity and heart rate elevated which blasts more fat calories! Plus, you will finish your workout much faster than you would with all that rest!!

2. Ramp up your resistance and cardio intensity. Ask yourself (and be truthful) if you're working out at a correct intensity to get the most benefit from your workout. Not sure if you are giving it 100%? For cardio, you can use an RPE scale. RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion and is rated 1-10 with 1 being so easy and 10 being very hard. Here is a chart for you to look at:

When you are doing interval workouts, you should have your high intensity at a 8,9, or 10 for a short amount of time, then for the "rest" part of the interval be around a 1,2, or 3. (more on interval training coming soon!) If you are out for a run or walk and are doing what is known as steady state cardio, your intensity should be around a 5 or 6. While doing resistance training your last reps should be hard! Say you are doing 12 reps of bicep curls. It should be getting very difficult toward the last 3 reps. You can still do them with good form, but if you can go over the 12 reps, then you weren't lifting hard enough! Your body tends to be lazy unless you really push it!

3. Finally, seek help from an experienced person, like a trainer or someone who really knows their stuff in the gym. I hate when I go to teach class and notice people sacrificing their time to be at the gym and not getting the most out of their workout or using improper form. If you are going to "work hard", make sure you are not hardly working!!



**And a side note.. research is showing it now takes an average of 8 weeks for a new habit, such as fitness, to stick! It the meantime, fake it till you make it!

Read this and liked it...

A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." ~Steve Prefontaine, American middle and long-distance runner

Fall Bootcamp is Monday!

6 week fall bootcamp starts Monday, September 20th!  Be there!!  Check out the bootcamp page for more information!

Who wants to be the Biggest Loser??

The Biggest Loser competition is back and about to start!  Ready to shed some pounds and make a lifestyle change?  And just think, you still have time to complete your 2010 resolutions!  Winners based on the largest percentage of weight loss, so it is OK for men and women, heavy & kinda heavy, etc..  to compete against each other and it is beneficial for all!

Dates:
Tuesday, September 7th - December 7th (12 weeks)

$50.00 Entry fee due at first weigh-in.  Singles competition, so you only have yourself to rely on!  MANDATORY weigh-in on Tuesday, September 7th at 6:30pm in the health room, which is above the H.S. gym.  Must weigh-in at the same time as everyone else for the 1st, mid, and final weigh-in, unless emergency! 

Must be an "all natural" weight loss.  No HCG diets or anything like that.  You are on your honor system, as I am not going to do a pregnancy test! :)   

Email me at: fsquaredfitness@gmail.com to sign-up!  Show up on Sept. 7th and weigh in!  Lets get healthy!!

Run for Ed. a Success!

The results are posted!  Thanks everyone for all your entries and help to make this run a success for our little town!  It helps the kids so much!  Also, thank you Penny Kipp, for bringing the very popular ice cream truck out!  The kids ran super fast not necessarily to win the race, but to get to the ice cream truck the fastest!  Next year get your friends, neighbors, and neighbors dogs out to join us!  See you next year, in May! **Results Link**

Running for $$

Just a little reminder, Join us Saturday, June 12 for The Run for Education. Information is available on the Run for Education page on the right side of this blog or just click here to download the registration form! Pre-register BEFORE June 1 and save money and guarantee a shirt if you are ordering one! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: fsquaredfitness@gmail.com .  All the proceeds go toward a scholarship fund awarded to 1 or 2 graduating seniors (depending on the amount raised).  I hope you and your family join us to help raise as much money as we can!

Run For Education - June 12

Finally!  The Run for Education information is here!  Click on the Run for Education page on the right or click here to get more information!  Pre-register BEFORE June 1 and save money!!  If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: fsquaredfitness@gmail.com .

Jamie Oliver - Food Revolution

If you have kids, are grandparents, aunts, uncles, or really anyone, that cares about our childrens future and cares about them learning to eat right then read on.  We need try to change the future statistics of America, therefore, you NEED to read about Jamie Oliver "The Naked Chef" and the Food Revolution he is trying to spread across America.  He cares and we should too!  It is amazing the government regulations that are imposed on our public schools food programs!  We need to let them know it is not acceptable to feed our kids this junk on a regular basis! 

http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution

Let me know what you think.  If you agree, spread the word!  Get it out there!  Also, on Fridays on ABC, He has a TV show that opens your eyes!

Are you paying attention to what you are eating??

So, you are taking the time out of you busy life to work out to lose some weight.  Good job!  But, are you sabotaging all your progress by NOT paying attention to what and how much you are eating?  I know you may hate the me telling you this, but if you are trying to lose weight, I mean like 100% trying to shed fat, you NEED to keep a food journal.  I can almost guarantee you are eating too much, the wrong things, or maybe even too little.

A recent study of 1,700 overweight men and women who participated in a six-month weight-loss program found that those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. (Participants also exercised, reduced caloric intake and ate low-fat dairy products plus an average of three servings of fruits and vegetables daily) 

Why do food journals work?

They help hold us accountable for what we are actually eating and raise our awareness of this food that is going into our mouth.  We can "lie" and tell ourselves that we dont know why we keep gaining weight, since we are eating good or how we hardly eat all day, but we forget all the little snacks we mindlessly grab.  Like finishing off the little bits of cookie left in the bag, or the handfull of M & M's that you grabbed when you went by a co-workers desk, or even all the tasting you did when you were cooking dinner.  You know what I mean right?  If we think about it, we do these things all the time.  Now, if we are journaling all that we eat, we can no longer try to tell ourselves that we don't snack that much...  It just makes us pay attention to what we are doing.  It is a lot harder to face the fact that we are eating way too much or eating a lot of junk, when it is right there, on paper, in front of us! 

Another important factor in food journaling is keeping track of your portion sizes.  If you keep track of your portion sizes you will start to learn what they look like better.  Then when you are out in a resturant, you can see that most dishes are around 3-4 portions!! 

Make your food journal work for you

Obsessing about how many carrots you ate is not the point of keeping the food journal!  Just let it work with you to make you more aware of what, when, and how much you are eating.  Make it easy to keep a journal.  Keep a piece of paper in your pocket and scribble down your information when you eat and put it in a notepad later.  Or, if it works better for you, keep track on your computer, or in a little notebook.  Make it work for you!  Don't make it hard or it wont work and you will lose interest and not continue. 

Now, since you are taking all this time to do this journal, make sure you review your notes every day.  See what your patterns are and make changes.  Give food journaling a try.  It has a lot of research that backs it up, proving how well it assists in weight loss efforts.  Good luck and keep working hard!

Wasteful Wednesday - 3/31

First off, I am sorry this post is late AND I missed last Wednesday!  Just flew right by me!  I am glad to report that last Wednesday, I was wasteful free!  But... this week I am not.  I had a hard week with produce.  Must be that time of the year because my produce has been starting to go bad FAST!  So this week it was basil, salad and tomatoes...  Darn it too, since tomato prices are getting up there!  And I do have to say, I am a bit of a salad snob, so if it starts to go bad and get little bits of slimy lettuce, it is gone!  Maybe some of you would have still eaten it but I couldn't do it!  And basil!  I love basil!  I just put it in the drawer and it got hidden by other stuff and I totally forgot about it until it was too late!  That makes me so mad!

On a different note, Amy Pavlock and I are teaching a "bootcamp" class Tuesday-Fridays for about 6 weeks and so far so good!  2 classes down and we have a lot of sore campers!  But they are enjoying it and say it is challenging, yet fun and motivating!  So that is good!  If you are interested, there still is time to join.  Just contact me and I can get you signed up.  There is a link on the blog telling you more about it or click here... 

Have a great day and a great weekend!  Get out and do something that raises your heart rate and makes you sweat!!  It is good for you! :)

Spring Bootcamp has arrived....and golf too!

Amy Pavlock and I, have teamed up to bring you a great fat blasting "Bootcamp" to get you in shape for summer fun!  Amy, is new to the area and has 10 years experience as a Mixed Martial Arts school owner and head instructor and holds National and World Championship titles.  She has also trained National Champion athletes.
We are making the bootcamp program available to you 4 days a week to help you achieve maximum results.  No more excuses!  So, get off your butt and check out the details.  Click the link on the right that says Co-Ed Spring Bootcamp to get all the information!  Email us if you have any questions or want to register! fsquaredfitness@gmail.com

ALSO, I am going to be running a Golf Conditioning Program on Wednesdays, starting March 31 for 4 weeks.  It is a great opportunity for you to get your body into a more flexible, functional golfing machine!  Click on the link on the right that says Golf Conditioning Program to learn more about the details.  Don't wait!  You will regret it after that first round of the season!

Wasteful Wednesday - Happy St. Patricks day!

Happy St. Paddy's day!  Fitting as this Wasteful Wednesday has a lot of green items!  I don't have a picture, as my husband was being very nice and cleaning the kitchen after dinner last night and threw away my items to document!!  But I can tell you I am not very happy about this week..  We wasted way to much!  I somehow let 2 Green peppers get moldy and soggy (I did get to salvage about half of them, but the rest of it was too gross!), Parsley that my dear hubby got instead of cilantro, Dill which I was going to use for greek night and totally forgot to use it.., about 1/2 head of a small cabbage, 1 cucumber, and about 2 cups of 2% milk.. Darn thoes expiration dates!  I have found that lately my produce is not lasting long at all!  Maybe I just buy things that are ripe right then, but things that last a long time usually, have ended up going bad fast! *note - Green peppers and Cucumber...*  So I am going to work really hard this week to not let that happen again!!  Since I have been paying attention more to my waste, it actually makes me sick to have to throw out all this stuff!  Arghhh.. Anyway, enjoy your St. Patrick's Day and drink a green beer for me!

Golf Conditioning Program... No Go...

Well darn, I didn't get enough sign-ups for the Golf Conditioning program so I will have to cancel it.  Sorry to the couple of people that did sign up.  There may be something I am going to do once a week, but I am still working on the schedule.  I will post something if it is a go.
Keep your eye on the blog for more info about the Run for Education!  It is approaching soon.  I am changing the date to June 12th this year.  There was just way too many other things going on during the May date that we have had the run for the last few years.  I am working on the information, so it will all be posted soon..  Also, I would like some feedback on shirts this year.. Do you still want the option for long sleeved shirts, or are you over loaded with them?  What else would you like to see?  Short Sleeved?  Shorts? Bags? Hats? Beenies?  etc.. Give me your opinion! 

Wasteful Wednesday - 3/10

I know I am late with my posting.. but I remembered!  I am so glad I decided to start Wasteful Wednesday.  I have been so much better at paying attention to what I have in my refrigerator and using all I can.  For example, the other day I had some grapes that were going bad and before, I would have easily thrown them in the trash.  Instead, I made a grape/banana smoothie and it was great!  Couldn't even tell they were getting wrinkly!  Also, I currently have some very brown bananas...  I am going to make banana bread tomorrow! Yum.  So today's waste includes a very small amount of Cesar Salad dressing, a small amount of stuffing mix, a moldy half of a tomato ( I actually used the other half that wasn't moldy!!  If you know me at all, you would know that before I would have never used it!  Mold grosses me out.  My grandfather would be so proud!!)  And the worst of it all is a bag of whole wheat rolls that I made..  I just can't get it through my head that I cannot make bread!  For whatever reason, every time I try to make rolls, or bread, it turns out bad!  These rolls tasted like dense flower.. Anyway, I knew they were bad when Brian and my exchange student, Kyle (who eats EVERYTHING), didn't even have more than the ones when we tried them...  So, they are going.  But, that is it.  Much better than the first time for sure!! 

How about you?  Have you been keeping an eye on your food waste?  Have you been making a point of eating your left-over's and keeping track about what you have in your produce drawer?  Oooohh.. that reminds me, I have some green pepper that NEEDS to be used tomorrow.. 

Feel free to email me at fsquaredfitness@gmail.com and tell me about your improvements in food waste!

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi

I just got an email with this video link attached to it. I love Jamie Oliver, (also known as the Naked Chef) so I decided to watch it. I am so glad I did as it was very inspiring. If you have children, are grandparents, aunts, uncles or family of any sort, or just love children, you need to take 20 minutes to watch this video. But, then WE NEED to respond. As adults, it is our responsibility to teach our kids; our future, the proper way to stay alive. Because if we don't, the next generation is going to be way worse off than the generation we are in now.

As Gandhi said: "You need to be the change you wish to see in the world".

Wasteful Wednesday..oops...

So yesterday was Wednesday, and I forgot to post Wasteful Wednesday! Sorry! But I am happy to report the only thing wasted was about 2 Tablespoons of tunafish. Why I didn't just put in on my sandwich when I was making it, I have no idea... Sometimes I worry about myself.. :)

I recieved an email this morning that I thought would be of interest to some of you. Do you ever wonder what you can eat for snacks, since you are supposed to me eating 5-6 time a day (3 smaller meals and 2-3 snacks) to keep that metabolism of yours burning? Well, this email will help answer some of these questions. It is at: http://dustinmaherfitness.com/2009/04/24/21-healthy-snacks/

Did you clean out your fridge? What, if anything, did you waste? Email me at fsquaredfitness@gmail.com and let me know!

5 Foods to eat everyday...

Hi everyone! I was just checking my email this morning and on the home page of Yahoo, there was an article I wanted to share. It is "5 foods you should eat everyday". http://shine.yahoo.com/event/makeover/the-5-foods-you-should-eat-every-day-710199/

So, your new goal (along with drinking more water), should be trying to get some, if not all 5 of these foods in each day! Try it, see how it goes!

Just so you know, and I don't get in trouble for copyright violation.. I did NOT write the following. it is an excerpt from the link above..

1. Leafy Greens
Medical experts call them one of nature's miracle foods. Leafy greens like Swiss Chard and Kale are high in nutrients like Folate and Vitamins A and C that can lower your risk of cancer. Just one cup of dark, leafy greens a day could also prevent diabetes and high blood pressure.

2. Nuts
Many nutritionist recommend nuts like almonds, cashews and walnuts because they're high in natural fiber. Fiber slows your digestive process, keeping hunger and unhealthy mid-afternoon snacks at bay. Goodbye vending machine runs!

3. Onions
Studies show that consuming onions on a regular basis may reduce symptoms of asthma and the risk of developing stomach cancer. Add them to soups and stir-fry, and just remember -- the stronger the onion, the greater the health benefit.

4. Whole grains
Refined grains, like white rice and pasta, have lost 90% of their nutritional value through the refining process. As if that weren't enough to choose whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, and whole oats, a recent study showed that a diet rich in whole grains actually flattens your belly by reducing fat storage in your lower abdominal region.

5. Yogurt
Making yogurt part of your daily eating routine can improve your digestion -- if you're buying the right stuff. Check that the label lists "active cultures" to make sure you're getting healthy probiotics, and pick a yogurt rich in Vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis.

This is me writing this part though: make sure you watch the sugar level of yogurt! Some of the yogurts are almost all sugar! Sure, you think you are doing a good thing for yourself by eating it, but if it is mainly sugar, it is not worth it!!

Wasteful Wednesday - Not too bad...

So, remember my earlier post last week sometime about how I cleaned my fridge out and realized the ridiculous amount of food we waste! Well, I am going to try to do that every Wednesday and am calling it: Wasteful Wednesday. I will try to remember to clean out my fridge/freezer/pantry and take a picture of the items I have to get rid of. Hopefully it will go down to nothing eventually! At least that is my goal! So this week, I have the following picture. MUCH better than the previous post, but still too much! I don't know if I forget I have these things in there or what, but I would have totally eaten it if I would have paid more attention! It is about 1/2 of a 1/2 gallon of 2% milk, some oatmeal I pre-cook to eat for breakfasts, a little bit of Madison's food that she didn't eat all of and a lonely jalapeno.. And I do have to confess, I did throw out a little bag of shredded coconut earlier this week. It was like a rock! So, off to get groceries for the week. I have actually planned out my menu for 7 days and am only getting what groceries I need for the meals and a few staples. We will see how it goes!

Clean out your fridge/freezer/pantry and see what you had to throw away... Even better take a picture and email it to me and we can add it to the blog! See if we can change the amout of waste we have! I look forward to seeing what you have. fsquaredfitness@gmail.com

"You can't out exercise a poor diet"

So I am doing some research about golf conditioning, (which I am in the process of putting a program together...) and I was off topic for a minute and saw this great quote from a lady named Nancy. She said "You can't out exercise a poor diet". I love it! It is so true. Are you working hard, but not really paying attention (or knowingly ignoring) to what you are putting in your mouth? Are you thinking you are eating decent, but really, if you wrote it all down, it wouldn't be so great? This is something to think about if you really want to see the results you are working so hard to get!

Lower Body Blast

Ready for a lower body workout that will test your muscles? Remember, the majority of your large muscles are located in your lower body and working them really burns some major calories! Plus, working these muscles in a functional way, will help you in daily activities like squatting to pick something heavy up, any lifting and twisting action, pulling weeds (hello hamstrings!), even just getting out of a chair. So lets get going!

AFTER WARMING UP (see warm-up post):


1. Wall Squat - 12-15 reps - 2 sets --- Grab a large Swiss ball, (also known as an exercise ball, stability ball, etc.) and place it between you and a sturdy wall. Place it on the lower part of your back. Feet shoulder width apart, hands straight out in front of you, or if you want a little bit more of a workout, grab some dumbbells and hold them to your side. Make sure the dumbbells are on the heavier side like 10 lbs or more. Squat down making sure your knees are not over your toes, with weight on your heels of your feet.



2. Standing Calf Raises - 20 reps- 2 sets --- Grab a set of heavier dumbbells and stand tall. If you have a platform that you can stand on and let your heels hang off of that would be even better to use. Raise up onto your toes as far as you can go and lower down as far as you can off the platform edge or if you are on the ground, back to the ground. Continue to lift and lower and you will feel a burn in your calves!



3. Alternating Legs, Reverse Lunge - 15 each leg - 2 sets --- Stand with feet together and take one step backward with one of your legs and drop down into a lunge. Make sure your front knee is over your ankle and not your toes. You should feel your muscles in your front leg working. Your back leg is there just so you don't fall over! Use the front leg to stand up and bring that back leg back into standing position. Reverse legs and repeat on the other side.

4. Hamstring Roll Outs - 12-15 reps - 2 sets --- Grab a stability ball and lie on your back on a mat. Make sure the ball is also on the mat so it doesn't slip out from under you. Place the stability ball under your heels (heels on the top of the stability ball with legs stretched out). Lift your pelvis off the floor and hold up. Tighten your hamstrings, and roll the ball toward your butt. Roll back out without lowering your hips. Continue to do this for 12-15 reps.

5. Adductor Squeeze - 15 reps with hold - 2 sets --- Keep that stability ball! Lying on your back, put the stability ball between your legs between your knees and ankles and squeeze to hold in place. Lift your legs up trying to keep your legs as straight as you can. Squeeze the ball and release. Don't let the ball drop!! Repeat for 15 reps, and after 15 hold in a squeeze for 10 seconds.

Remember, this is not a full body workout, just a short lower routine. In a different post, I will add some upper body exercises that we can add to these to make it a full body workout. And there are a bazillion different exercises you can do if you are focusing on lower body... Do some research on the links I provided on the home page (ACE, IDEA, Oxygen, etc.). They are loaded with information and details on how to do the moves properly! Now get going!!

Warm-up that body!

Make sure and do a warm-up first! We have to get the blood flowing to these lower body muscles and get them warm so you don't pull anything. Some examples of a warm-up are:

*Controlled high-knees ~ 30 seconds
-Like you are in a high knee march. This warms up the hip flexors, core, knees.
*Controlled heels to butt, also known as butt kickers ~ 30 seconds
-Try to hit your heels to your butt area with out stressing your knee. Warms up your hamstrings, and quads.
*Jumping Jacks or Modified Jacks (dont jump off floor and one leg "jacks" at a time)
- Full body warm-up
*Repeat above for a total of two times. Then do a little bit of dynamic stretching:

-Roll upper body down to touch toes and roll back up into a back bend. Repeat a few times.
-Stand tall with feet a bit wider than shoulder width. Slowly lunge to one side and then the other. This is a fluid, controlled movement. Repeat 3 or 4 times and feel the stretch down the inside of your legs. Hold to one side and stretch, and move to the other side. and hold.
-Stop in the middle roll up slowly again to standing position.

Wasteful

OMG. I am actually embarrassed to do this post, but I think it is important in recognizing what we, as families, waste in just food! Especially in this time of the devastation in Haiti and around the world. I subscribe to a website, The Frugal Girl, www.thefrugalgirl.com and once a week, she takes a photo and posts it of what her family wastes for food. There is hardly anything! But to her it is alot. So, I decided to clean out my fridge today and this is what we have wasted. Disgusting! Take a minute to evaluate what you and your family wastes, and think about what you need to do to make it less. Maybe, make smaller portions, (hey, isn't that one of the keys to losing weight??), maybe freeze some of it for later. Anyway, think about it! Feel free to take pictures and post them on my facebook group, f squared fitness, or email them to me at: fsquaredfitness@gmail.com and I can post them for you. On a good note... Happy Valentines Day!

Interesting Nutrition information

“Losing weight is 20% exercise and 80% proper eating” – Robert Kennedy, Publisher Oxygen Magazine

**Calorie = Kcal = unit of energy (measurment)**

Calories are not our enemies! However, you have to burn more than you take in to lose weight! 3,500 calories = 1 lb. of fat. So, to lose 1 lb. you have to burn 3,500 calories. DON’T get frustrated! It can be done! Safe and long lasting weight loss is losing 1-2 lbs per week. (NOT 20 OR SO LIKE ON THE BIGGEST LOSER!) so if you burn or save 500 calories/day for 7 days = 1 lb. 500 Calories in not very much… It is like 1 snickers, and one Pepsi in a bottle. Or sometimes a Grande Mocha Frap from your favorite coffee shop! So, easy right? Just don’t eat. Or if you “only eat one or two meals a day”… then you are also making it harder to lose weight. Why? Read on:

Your body is a furnace and needs fuel to keep it going. If you don’t eat enough “fuel” then the fire (energy) will go out. Sounds Cliché but it is true. Experts agree, despite my wrestling diet minded father, that we eat5 - 6 mini meals per day. Now I say MINI meals… For example, breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and if necessary, snack. What it does is starts and keeps your metabolism running all day. When you don’t eat enough, and start to make your body hungry, your body goes into starvation mode, and hangs on to every last calorie it can! It isn’t going to starve to death!!

Now, keep in mind Women that are trying to lose weight should try to keep their calorie intake between 1200 – 1600 calories. If you are very active, you can up it to 1800 – 2000 calories to keep your energy going with your major workouts. So, you have to split up 1600 calories between 5-6 meals. Make sure to keep snacks around 100 calories, and have a bit of protein, carbohydrate, and good fat in each meal and snack.

One thing I do listen to my father on, (ok and maybe it is proven too, but I don’t let him know that it isn’t his idea), is cutting your portions in half will make a dramatic difference! We as a society, eat WAY to much in our portions! Just think, by cutting your portion in half, you save so many calories and probably make it way closer to the proper serving size!

New blog spot for F Squared Fitness! Yippee!

So, instead of a website, I chose a blog. Not that I have a clue how to run a blog, but I can give it a shot! So this blogspot will be the new home of F Squared Fitness. Why the heck the name F Squared? Because I believe Fitness and Function are so important in living a rewarding life (hence f to the power of 2). Now, I am obviously not talking about fitness to the extreme, (have you seen me lately?) but a healthy functional life. Being able to do everyday things in your life without getting injured and frankly, out of breath! You all know what I mean. Aren't there just some days where walking up stairs, or lifting kids makes you out of breath! So, here on this site, we will focus on tidbits of fitness related information that I think is important, and also will keep you informed of my different classes I will be offering. And I promise there will be more as I get more time! (More time? What is that!)

Right now, I am in the beginning of an entry level fitness class. Which I have to say is going well! (Good job ladies!) And soon I may be adding a "get ready for golf season" class and of course in the spring, Bootcamp! Yae! And hopefully more fun stuff!

Feel Free to email me at fsquaredfitness@gmail.com anytime if you have any questions, comments, or complaints!