Importance of water

"Water is the only drink for a wise man." -- Henry David Thoreau

Especially when you're exercising!! Water fuels the cells of your muscles to break down and build up properly. To determine how much water you need to rehydrate, weigh yourself before you begin your workout. As soon as you've finished exercising, weigh yourself again. You'll notice you've lost a few pounds. Start drinking water and continue to weigh yourself until you're back at your original weight. This ensures you've got the minimum amount of water for your body to recuperate. Continue to drink your 64+ ounces throughout the day.

Although it's nice to see that you've already lost a few pounds after your hard work, in reality you're starving your muscles of what is going to help them. In the long run it's more important to rehydrate than feel like you've instantly lost a couple pounds.

Calories are not the enemy

Most people think when trying to lose weight one must cut calories. This is true, but only to a certain point.

Drastic cutting of calories will encourage your body to lose lean body mass (LBM) -- which include your muscles, bones -- anything but fat. This is not good!!! You need your LBM to stay intact so your body works properly. Calories are the fuel that allow your body to function. Calories give your body the protein, carbohydrates and fats it needs to energize your muscles.

Remember that muscle directly effects your metabolism. If you increase your muscle (the strength/size) you increase your metabolism. The opposite is true as well; you decrease your muscle, you decrease your metabolism. (Again - this is not good!!!)

My suggestion mirrors some other personal trainers' suggestions; when you exercise (especially weight train), you need to eat more afterwards. You need to provide fuel to your muscles so they can repair themselves and build strength more efficiently.

One idea is to find out how many calories you need per day to achieve your desired weight (or maintain your current weight) and then add back either a portion of or all of the calories you've burned during that exercise session.

So for example, if you burn 300 calories on the treadmill during your workout, you should add at least 100-200 calories back into your diet (if not all 300). How does this help you lose weight? I swear I'm not crazy. By adding in those calories you are giving your body the energy it needs to continue to repair your muscles stronger, and those muscles continue to burn fat. Again, this is especially true after you've lifted weights. Your muscles crave those nutrients to help build themselves back up again. I'd suggest a protein snack or shake within 30 minutes of finishing your weight training.

You can take my word for it and try this, or you can ignore me. I get tons of weird looks when I tell people my opinion/thoughts about this. But I've seen people follow my advice and drop weight, and I've seen people ignore my advice (which really is fine; it doesn't hurt my feelings) and their body holds on to those last 15 pounds despite their constant efforts at the gym.

Keep in mind how tired you are after a workout. Would you want to workout again, right away, without any rest? That's how your muscles feel afterwards. Not only did you tear their little fibers apart when you lifted weights, but now they have to find the energy to repair themselves to be stronger than they were before. Give them an extra push by feeding them more calories, and they'll work more efficiently for you (increasing your metabolism).

Recipe time

The food you consume has SO MUCH to do with your overall health (or weight loss).

This recipe is from Weight Watchers:

Stir-Fried Chicken with Broccoli, Red Peppers and Cashews

Ingredients

• 2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
• 1 tsp sesame oil, divided
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ginger root, finely chopped
• 3 small garlic clove(s), finely chopped
• 1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large sweet red pepper(s), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cup broccoli, florets
• 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 20 items cashews, roasted, unsalted, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil, ginger and garlic; cook 15 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry until starting to brown, about 3 to 4 minutes; remove to a plate.
  
  
• Add remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil, pepper and broccoli to same skillet; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add chicken back to skillet, pour in soy sauce and cook, stirring, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes more; toss with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Sprinkle on cashews and serve. Yields about 1 3/4 cup per serving.

Notes

• We chopped the nuts so we could cut back on the total amount used but still sprinkle a lot on the dish.

If you're not seeing results...

THEN DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

I'll say it again. If you want to see different results, take different actions. This applies to anything in life -- results from your workout, results from your job, results as a parent, results as a student, etc.

If you've tried everything you can think of to change your results and there's only little to no change, it's time to consult a family member, a friend, a professional; someone else to give you a different perspective or idea.

Calorie Counter

There's a website that'll help with your calorie counting called The Daily Plate. It'll count your calories FOR FREE!! I'll also put this link in the "Sites for You" section the right hand side of this blog for future reference.

Happy counting!

"I really want to lose weight right here."

Have you ever said that while pointing to a certain region (or plural) of your body? I'm sorry to tell you, but Spot Training -- or losing weight in a specific part of your body -- doesn't happen. Usually the body rids itself of fat where it was most recently gained. Or, your body rids itself of fat wherever it decides. You personally don't have control of that. Yes, of course you can train specific parts of your body, but that does not increase the likelihood of the fat going away any faster.

If you've been lifting weights (strength training) then yes, your muscles are getting stronger and shapelier even though you can't see this due to the fat covering them. Think of it like this: cardio burns the fat that is hiding your trained, sculpted muscle. Be patient and continue your cardio and weight training. After some time and hard training, then you can point to that region and say, "I lost weight right here."

Best time for a workout?

A question was posted asking:
"Is there a 'best' time of day to exercise (morning, night, afternoon)?"

You can find all sorts of science to support whatever you want this answer to be. IMO, the best time to exercise is when you can get a great workout in your schedule.

Some people can't/won't exercise at night because the extra energy will keep them up at night. Sleep is an important benefactor to helping you lose weight and build muscle. (However, I do know plenty of people who can workout at night and it helps them sleep better. Every body is different.)

Other people can't/won't exercise in the afternoon due to work, carpooling kids around, etc.

Then there are those who can't/won't exercise in the mornings because they have a hard time getting out of bed or have to go to work super early.

Pick a time that's best for you. My preference is in the morning, but that's because my kids are very self-entertained, if not asleep, at that time. That's when I can get a hard workout with very little interruptions, and I have the rest of the day to utilize that extra surge of energy I get from exercise.

Just make sure when you do exercise, you get plenty of water before and after your workout. If you can drink water during your workout, that's very beneficial as well!

Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

Remember in secondary school (jr or sr high) science class learning about weight and mass? Whether on Earth or in space an object's mass is always the same, but its weight varies due to gravity?

Same applies here. There's a common misconception that "muscle weighs more than fat." Think about it -- 5 pounds of ice cream weighs the same as 5 pounds of lead. The difference, however, is the amount of ice cream it takes to make 5 pounds, and the size of lead it takes to make 5 pounds.

I found this picture to explain it a little better:




I think what people mean by "muscle weighs more than fat" is you can pack more muscle in the same space as you can fat, thus making the total amount of muscle in that space weigh more than the amount of fat in that space. Make sense? So tell your friends; muscle does not weigh more than fat. It's a law of science. :)

Full-body weight lifting program

If your exercise plan includes lifting weights three times a week, here's a great workout that's effective on your time and your muscles (don't forget it's 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down):

Push-ups (works chest)
Do as many push-ups as you can, positioned either on your toes or on your knees.

Squats and Rows (works glutes and upper back)
Stand with feet hip-width apart, heavy weights in each hand, palms facing behind you. As you squat down (keep your knees over your ankles and don't go deeper than 90 degrees), bring your fists to your armpits while squeezing your shoulder blades around your spine. Pretend you're trying to get your shoulder blades to touch each other. Release the weights to your side as you stand straight. (3 sets of 10 reps)

Lunges and Curls (works hamstrings, quads, and biceps)
Stand with feet together, heavy weights in each hand. Lunge forward with your right foot (keep your knee over your ankle and at a 90 degree angle). Your left knee should be just above the floor. When lunging down, curl your biceps by bringing your weights to your shoulders. Release your bicep curl as you bring your right foot back to your left foot. Now, step with your right foot backwards and do a backwards lunge as you complete another bicep curl. Return to starting position. 1 rep will include both a front and backwards lunge. (3 sets of 5 reps for each leg)

Plies and Extensions (works glutes, calves, and triceps)
Stand in a very wide stance plie position, toes pointed out, with a little squat. Your elbows are bent and next to your ears, medium weights in your hands, palms facing each other. Extend your weights above your head as you stand on your tiptoes. Return to starting position. (3 sets of 12 reps)

Push-ups (works chest)
Finish this workout with what you started. Take the number of push-ups you did the first time and add at least 3; complete that many push-ups, and then you're done for the day!

An easy way to lose 5 pounds

I lost 5 whole pounds yesterday -- that's right, in one day! Can you believe it??? I had the worse case of the flu I think I've ever experienced in my life.

As "exciting" as it was to see a lower weight on the scale, I don't know that I'd necessarily volunteer to have the flu to lose weight, ever. In reality, that weight loss isn't technically valid. It's mostly water weight, and I'll naturally gain it back over the next week as my body recovers and I can keep foods and fluids down. I can't wait to get my energy and strength back!