Add this to your fitness toolbox - interval training

Looking for something to add to your workout routine? Try interval training. You can use it with walking, running, elliptical machines, stair stepping, swimming, biking, dancing – almost any cardiovascular exercise.

Interval training combines short, high intensity bursts of exercise with slower, recovery periods. This cycle of high and low intensity is repeated several times in one exercise session.

How do you do it?

1. Maintain a pace that you feel challenges you but does not exhaust you for a period of 1-4 minutes. On a 1-10 intensity scale, think 6. You can talk but it requires a bit of work to carry on a conversation.
2. Then for 15-60 seconds (you choose, start lower and increase as you feel comfortable), ramp up your speed to an 8 on a 10 scale. You should not be able to talk. I personally do not ever aim for a 10 as that drains my energy level quickly and I cannot keep up the intervals for as long.
3. Repeat.

Benefits:

• Fat stores are used for energy
• It burns more calories than a long, slow endurance exercise at one pace.
• It improves heart and lung functioning.
• It increases your endurance.

I love using intervals in my fitness “toolbox”. Adding this into a mix videos, classes, hill work, recumbent biking, long distance walking, rowing, lifting weights, doing body weight exercises and walking stairs helps to keep me from getting bored with any one of the activities. I also try to mix things up so that I do not repeat activities within the same week.

New way to shave - check it out!

I tried THIS thinking it would not be majorly impressive.  However, it is awesome!  My legs are super soft.  More than they have been in a long time.  Amy of New Nostalgia has all kinds of natural health, beauty and nutrition stuff on her website too.  I just mixed up 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and 1 packet of regular sugar.  I will mix up a big batch once I am not living in a hotel!

I have been using coconut oil on my skin instead of lotion and also using using this scrub on my face.  I love to put coconut oil on my feet with socks at bedtime.  Such an amazing multipurpose item!

This is a great list with 50 uses for coconut oil.

My Top 10 Rules for Healthy Living

A reader asked me for a list of “rules” to follow.  That sounds easy, right!?  Do as I say…If I could only learn to stick to my own rules a little bit more.

1.  Pay more attention to your body fat more than your weight in pounds.  Invest in a scale that can track body fat.  I am happy with this one from Amazon.com.

2.  Drink a huge amount of water.  You should be annoyed that you have to pee all of the time.  That means you are drinking enough water.  If you need to, add lemon, Mio, Crystal Light, brew it into tea…go ahead!  It is still better than not drinking enough water.

3.  Eat huge amounts of fiber.  You should have at least one bowel movement a day, every day of the week.  If you are not doing that, you need more fiber.  And you can get it from supplements so no excuses.

4.  Avoid drinks with calories UNLESS those calories are largely protein-based.  My favorite example of this exception is Muscle Milk Light 100 calorie shakes.  No frappes, milk shakes, juice etc. 

5.  Try to eat 5-6 small meals a day.  The first one should be high in protein.  Six 250-calorie meals throughout the day will seem more filling than three 500-calorie meals.

6.  Learn about which carbohydrates to eat and when to eat them.  The whole concept of no or low-carb is so misleading.  You want to eliminate refined grains and sugar, not all carbohydrates!  To eliminate all carbs would mean that you are avoiding fruits and vegetables and other things essential to balanced and healthy living.  I do think it is ideal to limit high-glycemic carbohydrate based foods in your diet.  If you want to eat them (HGC), eat them early in the day.  Pick a cut-off time, maybe two pm.  Aim for eating high-glycemic carbs (fruits and anything grain based) before 2pm, and feel free to eat low-glycemic carbs (vegetables) anytime before or after 2pm.

7.  Train with weights.  They will not bulk you up or make you look un-feminine.  Weight training will help your metabolism much more than time spent running or walking.  Cardio effects our metabolism for a few hours after a workout.  Weight lifting can elevate your metabolism for more than two days!

8.  Stagger your caloric intake every day.  An example would be following a pattern like this:

Mon:  1,300 calories

Tue:  1,700 calories

Wed:  1,200 calories

Thu:  1,600 calories

Fri:  1,300 calories

Why?  It confuses our metabolism.  Our metabolism always strives for efficiency and balance.  Our body tries to become more efficient with less energy.  By always adjusting the amount of energy (calories) you input, it keeps your body guessing.

9.  Consider a cheat day.  Try to eat as healthy as possible six days a week.  If you really want something, write it down on your cheat day list.  On your cheat day, enjoy as much as you want for a meal or two, not a full 24 hours!  Many people find that eating such indulgent, fatty and heavy foods will actually make you feel blah.  It can make you realize that you feel better eating healthy.  Or it can be enough to control your urges for junk for another six days. 

10.  Add vegetables to every meal if possible.  Pile them on your sandwich, add a bunch of chopped up veggies to your macaroni salad, and add them to your breakfast omelet.  Adding low-calorie veggies to every meal will bulk up the meal’s volume without changing the total calories.  It will also leave you satisfied for a longer period of time.

As with everything, pick and choose what works for YOU.  Find a few new strategies to add to your healthy “tool box” and try to experiment with them in your daily routine.

10 Favorite Portable Snacks

I was asked to list some of my favorite portable snacks.  Below are 10 things that I eat on a regular basis.

1) carrots
2) hummus and pita chips
3) hard boiled eggs (I admit to hating the taste of yolks and trash them)
4) atkins snack bars (only the ones under 140 cals)
5) 100 calorie muscle milk light drinks
6) a fuji apple
7) a banana
8) 100 calorie cocoa almond packs
9) Nut-thins rice crackers (almond and pecan)
10) Stonewall vegetarian jerquee packs

AND... one bonus snack that is not so portable but one of my current faves:  Fiber one cottage cheese (80 cal/serving and 20% of daily fiber) + a serving of no sugar added canned peaches (30 cals).

Thinking of going gluten or dairy free?

Question from a reader: What do you think of going gluten-free without knowing if you have sensitivities? What about dairy free?  I might want to try one or both, at least for a little while and decide if it helps. 

My answer: I think many anyone with chronic inflammation or any other illness/injury (beyond a few weeks) would definitely benefit from trying to eliminate different things from their diet.

Gluten (GF) and dairy (DF) are great things to begin with.

There are many differing opinions on how to best go about it.

Eliminate both at once VS. Eliminate one thing at a time

·         Some people claim that you can not get your body to a “clean” state if you do not eliminate ALL inflammatory foods at once.

·         Others say that you will never really know exactly what is bothering you if you eliminate multiple things at once.  I tend to fall into this camp.  Think back to the scientific method.  You can never test more than one variable at a time.

·         It can also be difficult to eliminate multiple things at once because you can feel totally deprived.

How long does it take to notice a difference?

·         For dairy, you will notice changes pretty quickly.  Within a week in many cases.

·         For gluten, it takes much longer.  Some people will feel some changes within a week or two but it takes 4-6 weeks (on average) to feel anything substantial.

Real food VS.  Substitutes

·         Some people on GF or DF diets try to focus on eating more whole foods, meat, vegetables, fruits or nuts, and try to avoid substitute foods.

·         Others do best by bringing in substitute foods like GF bread, GF pasta, DF cheese & milk.  I personally think it helps you feel a little less deprived to follow this route.

A different kind of challenge

The best way to figure out if you have a gluten or dairy sensitivity is to remove one or both foods for a specified time period.  That time period should be until you feel a sense of relief of some-to-most of your symptoms or issues.  A challenge can then be performed.  You consume something that contains a moderate amount of gluten (or dairy BUT not at the same time) and watch your body for the next 12 to 24 hours for your old signs or symptoms to return.

Other things to consider

·         If you want to be serious about an elimination diet, do your research!  Give yourself a few days to read as much as you can BEFORE you make any changes.

·         There are hidden traces of dairy and gluten in many things that you would never even think to check.  Make sure that you consider this before starting. 

Hidden gluten

Hidden dairy

Let me know if you have any questions.  I am not currently DF or GF but have tried both before.