Sunday, March 25, 2012
Luv Saving Money: Mediterranean Snacks, a healthier way to snack: Re...
Luv Saving Money: Mediterranean Snacks, a healthier way to snack: Re...: Mediterranean Snacks was founded in 2005. Their mission? "Innovation To produce great tasting, nutritionally superior snacks" Their snack...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Simple Tips to Get Started on a Journey to Better Health
As I get closer to my health and fitness goals people that I know have become more interested in what I have been doing. Based on the comments that some have made when inquiring about my success, I have come to the conclusion that their new found interest in my success is based on the fact that I have been able to lose weight and keep it off for an extended period of time, 7 and a half months so far.
Recently a close friend of mine who has been struggling with getting back into shape over the past few years have asked for my advice. So I sent an e-mail with a few tips and one rule to help get started. These 9 tips and one rule are the core of what I believe will lead to better health and better fitness because they are the starting points and building blocks for making continued better choices. This is the approach I took. Many diets have people making drastic changes to their daily life and/or eating habits which is why most fail after just a few weeks or months. It is my belief that adopting a healthy lifestyle that one can sustain over a long period of time must start small, but making progressively better choices.
When I e-mailed my friend my advice to him was to start by applying any of the tips he could immediately without completely disrupting his current lifestyle. Then add the others as you feel comfortable.
As I have said, this is a very close friend of mine so I'm well aware of his health needs and important medical history. Some of the following tips may be beneficial to you, however take them with a grain of salt and what you know your own needs or health concerns are and NEVER EVER begin a diet or fitness regime without consulting with your doctor. With that being said, the following is the tips I gave him... I tweeked them a little specifically for this post.
Like Myself, my friend has hypothyroisim. Which, any of you who also have this know, makes losing weight even more diffcult. Which is why it is very important to take the medication correctly. Some of the tips are also geared specifically to try to fit into his currently lifestyle.
TIP#1: Take Thyroid medicine AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP
I keep my thyroid medication in the bathroom. The first thing I do in the moring is go to the bathroom, strip down, and weigh myself, then take my thyroid medicine before I do anything else for the day. I would really like you to try to do this. Try moving you medicine to the bathroom and keep a cup in there for the express purpose of taking the medication after you go to the bathroom and before you do anything else you take your medicine. This will help the medication work better AND it will help you eat sooner in the day without affecting you medication. Also, if it is in the bathroom where the only thing available to you is to drink is water you'll be sure to take it with water instead of something else.
RULE #1: Only weigh yourself once a week, first thing in the morning after you've gone to the bathroom, then take your thyroid medicine. So, I want you to weigh yourself tomorrow (Monday) morning, after you've gone to the bathroom. And not weigh yourself again until next Monday morning after you've gone to the bathroom. You will drive yourself insane if you weigh yourself every day or more often. Weight fluctuates throughout the day and throughout the week based on what you've eaten, how much sleep you've gotten, etc. So, once a week, first thing the the morning is the only weight to keep it consistant!
TIP #2: Eating Throughout the Day
You should try to eat at least 4 times a day ideally 5-6 times a day, this is a combination of full meals and small snacks just to keep putting calories into you body for you body to continually metabolize. Once your body gets used to the idea that there will always be more food coming in it won't store as much as fat it will pull its energy from the food coming in. Try to set up an eating plan that is realistic to your day. Break down your calorie goal so that you know how many calories you should eat at each meal eat day. Try to adjust your calories per meal to something you think you might realistically be able to pull off based on your day and your food options. But don't fret, if you go over your calorie goal for a specific meal on any given day, the same number of calories less throughout the rest of your day.
TIP# 3: Make Better Choices
I know this tip can come off sounding a little like a lecture if it's read the wrong way, but it's not at all, it's actually making things a little easier for you. Making this "diet" a lifestyle change isn't about going all or nothing it's about making each food choice better than your last. This will eventually be how you can still eat the things you enjoy the most without feeling hungry all day. If you go out to eat somewhere most places will have some kind of healthy options especially chain restaurants like Applebees, Chilis, Denny's things like that. Try to look for those and select an appropriate meal based on calories only for right now. Once you get used to this and start losing weight and keeping it off then start looking at other nutrients to fine tune what your eating. If there isn't these types of choices on a menu the try to looke for baked, grilled, or broiled options rather than fried and breaded food. Just a little hint, you can eat WAY more veggies and fruit for the same number of calories than you can of carbs or fatty foods. This will help you stay under your calorie goal without feeling hungry all day.
TIP#4: Makeing Room on Your Plate for More Fruits & Veggies
To help you be able to eat a larger quantity of food try to fill half of your plate with veggies or fruit, preferably veggies because they have less sugar and less calories. 1/4 of your plate should be protien (a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards) and the other 1/4 can be carbs or dairy look for whole grain or whole wheat options) Another good idea is to eat a salad before your meal that way it will fill you up and you wont want to eat as much of the other stuff.
TIP #5: Find the Nutritional Values on Websites
Most major food chains have a nutritional information link on their webpages so you can find out exactly how many calories you are eating when you're eating their food. You can even ask for a nutrition pamplet from McDonalds and they will give you a hard copy. This will help you make better food choices when you are pressed for time and just want to swing by McDonalds or some other fast food restaurant for dinner instead of making your own. I do this a lot especially if I find conflicting information on MyFitnesPal about the number of calories in a particular food product. It would probably help you out too to download the MyFitnessPal app on your phone so you can accurately track your calories at each meal instead of trying to remember everything at the end of the day.
TIP #6: Drink More Water
If there was ever a magic weight loss potion water is it. I can't exactly explain it. Water does have many benefits though. It cleanses your system including your liver, kidneys and digestive track which makes it work better and makes you feel better. It keeps you hydrated which also helps keep your metabolizism at its best. And probably the simplest reason why it helps with weight loss is that it is a pure zero calorie beverage that takes up space in your stomache. Try to drink at least 8 oz of water before each meal. You're goal is to drink 8 - 8oz cups of water throughout the day. You'll have to go to the bathroom more at first but once your body gets used to being hydrated you won't have to go as often. And believe it or not drinking more water actually helps flush out your systems which helps you avoid becoming bloated or retaining water. Combonated beverages and alcohol, especially beer are notorius for bloating.
TIP #7: Stock up on Healthy Foods in your Apartment
Keep Raw meat in your freezer so you can just thaw it out and cook it every day.
Keep at least a weeks worth of Canned or Frozen veggies in your apartment in case your fresh veggies go bad or you dont have time to stop and pick some up
Keep at least a weeks worth of canned of frozen fruit in your apparment for the same reason you keep the veggies. This way when you're feeling hungry and you want to snack you'll have healthy low calorie snacks to choose from.
You may even eant to keep some frozen dinners like Healthy Choice Meals in you freezer too just to make it a little easier to know you're getting a healthier meal.
TIP# 8: SLEEP!!!
Sleep is important attempt to get 8 hours a sleep a night and definitely no less than 6. Sleep resets the body and gives it time to rest, heal, and repair the damage done throughout the day. It also plays a major role in keeping your metabolism at it's best. If you get too little sleep it throws off the chemical balance in your body which in tern throws off your metabolism.
TIP# 9: Workout as Often as Possible
Try for at least 3 days a week, but defnitely not less than once a week. This is basically every other day. Exercise boosts your metabolism and you burn calories during the workout and during what some call the after burn. By working out three days a week you keep it boosted because as the afterburn wears down over 24 hours your boost it back up again with your next workout. There are only 3 reasons you should ever skip a planned workout 1) You are hurt/injured, even then depending on the injury you might still be able to workout the uninjured parts of your body. Typical muscle soreness from the previous days workout does not fall under this category. 2) You are seriously sick. I mean throwing up running to the bathroom to avoid pooping yourself kind of sick. When you are that kind of sick you need to rest more than you need to workout. If you just have a headach or stuff nose of just some kind of feeling lousy sickness try to workout out any way, I like to pretend that I sweat the sickness out when I do this and you may find yourself feeling better after the workout. 3) You need sleep. As much as you need to workout, you need sleep even more. getting that metabolism boost from a workout won't help you if you're body chemistry is all jacked up from not sleeping enough. Nor will you build the muscle you just attempted to put on if your body does not have time to sleep and repair the muscle you worked.
Recently a close friend of mine who has been struggling with getting back into shape over the past few years have asked for my advice. So I sent an e-mail with a few tips and one rule to help get started. These 9 tips and one rule are the core of what I believe will lead to better health and better fitness because they are the starting points and building blocks for making continued better choices. This is the approach I took. Many diets have people making drastic changes to their daily life and/or eating habits which is why most fail after just a few weeks or months. It is my belief that adopting a healthy lifestyle that one can sustain over a long period of time must start small, but making progressively better choices.
When I e-mailed my friend my advice to him was to start by applying any of the tips he could immediately without completely disrupting his current lifestyle. Then add the others as you feel comfortable.
As I have said, this is a very close friend of mine so I'm well aware of his health needs and important medical history. Some of the following tips may be beneficial to you, however take them with a grain of salt and what you know your own needs or health concerns are and NEVER EVER begin a diet or fitness regime without consulting with your doctor. With that being said, the following is the tips I gave him... I tweeked them a little specifically for this post.
Like Myself, my friend has hypothyroisim. Which, any of you who also have this know, makes losing weight even more diffcult. Which is why it is very important to take the medication correctly. Some of the tips are also geared specifically to try to fit into his currently lifestyle.
TIP#1: Take Thyroid medicine AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP
I keep my thyroid medication in the bathroom. The first thing I do in the moring is go to the bathroom, strip down, and weigh myself, then take my thyroid medicine before I do anything else for the day. I would really like you to try to do this. Try moving you medicine to the bathroom and keep a cup in there for the express purpose of taking the medication after you go to the bathroom and before you do anything else you take your medicine. This will help the medication work better AND it will help you eat sooner in the day without affecting you medication. Also, if it is in the bathroom where the only thing available to you is to drink is water you'll be sure to take it with water instead of something else.
RULE #1: Only weigh yourself once a week, first thing in the morning after you've gone to the bathroom, then take your thyroid medicine. So, I want you to weigh yourself tomorrow (Monday) morning, after you've gone to the bathroom. And not weigh yourself again until next Monday morning after you've gone to the bathroom. You will drive yourself insane if you weigh yourself every day or more often. Weight fluctuates throughout the day and throughout the week based on what you've eaten, how much sleep you've gotten, etc. So, once a week, first thing the the morning is the only weight to keep it consistant!
TIP #2: Eating Throughout the Day
You should try to eat at least 4 times a day ideally 5-6 times a day, this is a combination of full meals and small snacks just to keep putting calories into you body for you body to continually metabolize. Once your body gets used to the idea that there will always be more food coming in it won't store as much as fat it will pull its energy from the food coming in. Try to set up an eating plan that is realistic to your day. Break down your calorie goal so that you know how many calories you should eat at each meal eat day. Try to adjust your calories per meal to something you think you might realistically be able to pull off based on your day and your food options. But don't fret, if you go over your calorie goal for a specific meal on any given day, the same number of calories less throughout the rest of your day.
TIP# 3: Make Better Choices
I know this tip can come off sounding a little like a lecture if it's read the wrong way, but it's not at all, it's actually making things a little easier for you. Making this "diet" a lifestyle change isn't about going all or nothing it's about making each food choice better than your last. This will eventually be how you can still eat the things you enjoy the most without feeling hungry all day. If you go out to eat somewhere most places will have some kind of healthy options especially chain restaurants like Applebees, Chilis, Denny's things like that. Try to look for those and select an appropriate meal based on calories only for right now. Once you get used to this and start losing weight and keeping it off then start looking at other nutrients to fine tune what your eating. If there isn't these types of choices on a menu the try to looke for baked, grilled, or broiled options rather than fried and breaded food. Just a little hint, you can eat WAY more veggies and fruit for the same number of calories than you can of carbs or fatty foods. This will help you stay under your calorie goal without feeling hungry all day.
TIP#4: Makeing Room on Your Plate for More Fruits & Veggies
To help you be able to eat a larger quantity of food try to fill half of your plate with veggies or fruit, preferably veggies because they have less sugar and less calories. 1/4 of your plate should be protien (a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards) and the other 1/4 can be carbs or dairy look for whole grain or whole wheat options) Another good idea is to eat a salad before your meal that way it will fill you up and you wont want to eat as much of the other stuff.
TIP #5: Find the Nutritional Values on Websites
Most major food chains have a nutritional information link on their webpages so you can find out exactly how many calories you are eating when you're eating their food. You can even ask for a nutrition pamplet from McDonalds and they will give you a hard copy. This will help you make better food choices when you are pressed for time and just want to swing by McDonalds or some other fast food restaurant for dinner instead of making your own. I do this a lot especially if I find conflicting information on MyFitnesPal about the number of calories in a particular food product. It would probably help you out too to download the MyFitnessPal app on your phone so you can accurately track your calories at each meal instead of trying to remember everything at the end of the day.
TIP #6: Drink More Water
If there was ever a magic weight loss potion water is it. I can't exactly explain it. Water does have many benefits though. It cleanses your system including your liver, kidneys and digestive track which makes it work better and makes you feel better. It keeps you hydrated which also helps keep your metabolizism at its best. And probably the simplest reason why it helps with weight loss is that it is a pure zero calorie beverage that takes up space in your stomache. Try to drink at least 8 oz of water before each meal. You're goal is to drink 8 - 8oz cups of water throughout the day. You'll have to go to the bathroom more at first but once your body gets used to being hydrated you won't have to go as often. And believe it or not drinking more water actually helps flush out your systems which helps you avoid becoming bloated or retaining water. Combonated beverages and alcohol, especially beer are notorius for bloating.
TIP #7: Stock up on Healthy Foods in your Apartment
Keep Raw meat in your freezer so you can just thaw it out and cook it every day.
Keep at least a weeks worth of Canned or Frozen veggies in your apartment in case your fresh veggies go bad or you dont have time to stop and pick some up
Keep at least a weeks worth of canned of frozen fruit in your apparment for the same reason you keep the veggies. This way when you're feeling hungry and you want to snack you'll have healthy low calorie snacks to choose from.
You may even eant to keep some frozen dinners like Healthy Choice Meals in you freezer too just to make it a little easier to know you're getting a healthier meal.
TIP# 8: SLEEP!!!
Sleep is important attempt to get 8 hours a sleep a night and definitely no less than 6. Sleep resets the body and gives it time to rest, heal, and repair the damage done throughout the day. It also plays a major role in keeping your metabolism at it's best. If you get too little sleep it throws off the chemical balance in your body which in tern throws off your metabolism.
TIP# 9: Workout as Often as Possible
Try for at least 3 days a week, but defnitely not less than once a week. This is basically every other day. Exercise boosts your metabolism and you burn calories during the workout and during what some call the after burn. By working out three days a week you keep it boosted because as the afterburn wears down over 24 hours your boost it back up again with your next workout. There are only 3 reasons you should ever skip a planned workout 1) You are hurt/injured, even then depending on the injury you might still be able to workout the uninjured parts of your body. Typical muscle soreness from the previous days workout does not fall under this category. 2) You are seriously sick. I mean throwing up running to the bathroom to avoid pooping yourself kind of sick. When you are that kind of sick you need to rest more than you need to workout. If you just have a headach or stuff nose of just some kind of feeling lousy sickness try to workout out any way, I like to pretend that I sweat the sickness out when I do this and you may find yourself feeling better after the workout. 3) You need sleep. As much as you need to workout, you need sleep even more. getting that metabolism boost from a workout won't help you if you're body chemistry is all jacked up from not sleeping enough. Nor will you build the muscle you just attempted to put on if your body does not have time to sleep and repair the muscle you worked.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
SlimKicker Review: After One Week
I was invited to try out this site to help with my health, fitness, and weight loss goals. The first thing I noticed about this site is the immediate walk through of the site. That is very helpful for any website. If you're looking for a way to keep your health and fitness routine fresh, this is the way to do it! SlimKicker.com presents you with a multitude of health and fitness challenges for you to incorporate into your daily routine!
After the brief walk through I took the time to browse around the site myself. I wanted to see how it tracked everything. Then of course I was interested in the types of challenges it offered since that seemed to be the main concept of the site in general. Some of the challenges were the types of things I like to see when it comes to encouraging people to make better choices and ease them into a better lifestyle for their health and fitness. Simple challenges like move during commercials, do 10 wall squats a day, replace juice with tea for a week, eat a salad a day,..etc.
However, some of the challenges go entirely against my personal health and fitness beliefs such as the "No Snacks after Dinner" Challenge. It is common knowledge in the weight loss world that to keep you metabolism boosted throughout the day it it best to eat small meals around the clock, which for many include Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks in between. I personally eat 5 - 6 times a day a small snack in the morning, Breakfast, Lunch, and After Noon Snack, Dinner, and Late Night Snack. To eliminate a snack after dinner would have my body going more than 12 hours without food if you include 8 hours of sleep. I would wake up in the morning hungrier than I normal which would cause me to overeat throughout the rest of the day or feel hungry all day. Not to mention drop my blood glucose levels and basically it would just be a train wreck from there, but I guess that's the other great part about this site. You don't have to accept any challenge you don't want to or don't agree with and still do well.
I wasn't a fan of the "Eat Like a Caveman" challenge at first either because it's based and a strict diet that is in my personal opinion is unrealistic for today's busy families. However, after I read the challenge I warmed up to it a little more because it was only asking you to do it for week and only for one meal a day. Which is pretty attainable, even over a long period of time.
I was also skeptical of the fact the challenges only last week with the thought that it kind of contradicts the idea that Health and Fitness is a lifestyle change, but after accepting a few of the challenges, I've come to see the benefit of these challenges. The challenges introduce you to a healthy habit that in order to complete the challenge you actually have to think about in your daily life and find a way to fit them in. After doing it for a week it becomes a habit that you can continue with it. For instance I accepted the "Replace Soda challenge". I usually drink, milk, juice, and water throughout the day, but have gotten in the habit of drinking a diet soda with my dinner every night. This challenge had me thinking about what else I could have instead of just reach for that can of soda. After doing it for a week, I find myself automatically going for ice water or Crystal light instead!
All of the challenges that I perused were all well written and explained not only the challenge, but the benefits of the challenge, which is good because I'm one of those people that like to know why I'm doing what I'm doing and how it's actually going to help me.
Another great thing about this website is that you can get e-mail notifications about the latest challenges. I recently received a notification about a Giveaway challenge that's fun and easy. The challenge this week is to do 1 Body Weight Exercise a day for 5 minutes A Day! There's a $50 Nike Gift Card at stake which would be an awesome reward if I actually won it, but I'm just looking forward to incorporating some of the Body Weight Exercises into my daily routine! The e-mail I received broke down 6 body weight exercises to try. So, I got started right away!
You can enter your food items on this website just like many other calorie counting websites and earn points for it. With each entry you receive points as well as a little healthy eating tip associated with the type of food you entered. I have to admit, some of these tips were new to me and had me thinking about it throughout the day. Just another way SlimKicker offers you ideas on how to improve your health and fitness.
This is just my initial impression about this website. The longer I work with it the more excited about it I become. I will post another full review after about a month if you want to find out more about it.
After the brief walk through I took the time to browse around the site myself. I wanted to see how it tracked everything. Then of course I was interested in the types of challenges it offered since that seemed to be the main concept of the site in general. Some of the challenges were the types of things I like to see when it comes to encouraging people to make better choices and ease them into a better lifestyle for their health and fitness. Simple challenges like move during commercials, do 10 wall squats a day, replace juice with tea for a week, eat a salad a day,..etc.
However, some of the challenges go entirely against my personal health and fitness beliefs such as the "No Snacks after Dinner" Challenge. It is common knowledge in the weight loss world that to keep you metabolism boosted throughout the day it it best to eat small meals around the clock, which for many include Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks in between. I personally eat 5 - 6 times a day a small snack in the morning, Breakfast, Lunch, and After Noon Snack, Dinner, and Late Night Snack. To eliminate a snack after dinner would have my body going more than 12 hours without food if you include 8 hours of sleep. I would wake up in the morning hungrier than I normal which would cause me to overeat throughout the rest of the day or feel hungry all day. Not to mention drop my blood glucose levels and basically it would just be a train wreck from there, but I guess that's the other great part about this site. You don't have to accept any challenge you don't want to or don't agree with and still do well.
I wasn't a fan of the "Eat Like a Caveman" challenge at first either because it's based and a strict diet that is in my personal opinion is unrealistic for today's busy families. However, after I read the challenge I warmed up to it a little more because it was only asking you to do it for week and only for one meal a day. Which is pretty attainable, even over a long period of time.
I was also skeptical of the fact the challenges only last week with the thought that it kind of contradicts the idea that Health and Fitness is a lifestyle change, but after accepting a few of the challenges, I've come to see the benefit of these challenges. The challenges introduce you to a healthy habit that in order to complete the challenge you actually have to think about in your daily life and find a way to fit them in. After doing it for a week it becomes a habit that you can continue with it. For instance I accepted the "Replace Soda challenge". I usually drink, milk, juice, and water throughout the day, but have gotten in the habit of drinking a diet soda with my dinner every night. This challenge had me thinking about what else I could have instead of just reach for that can of soda. After doing it for a week, I find myself automatically going for ice water or Crystal light instead!
All of the challenges that I perused were all well written and explained not only the challenge, but the benefits of the challenge, which is good because I'm one of those people that like to know why I'm doing what I'm doing and how it's actually going to help me.
Another great thing about this website is that you can get e-mail notifications about the latest challenges. I recently received a notification about a Giveaway challenge that's fun and easy. The challenge this week is to do 1 Body Weight Exercise a day for 5 minutes A Day! There's a $50 Nike Gift Card at stake which would be an awesome reward if I actually won it, but I'm just looking forward to incorporating some of the Body Weight Exercises into my daily routine! The e-mail I received broke down 6 body weight exercises to try. So, I got started right away!
You can enter your food items on this website just like many other calorie counting websites and earn points for it. With each entry you receive points as well as a little healthy eating tip associated with the type of food you entered. I have to admit, some of these tips were new to me and had me thinking about it throughout the day. Just another way SlimKicker offers you ideas on how to improve your health and fitness.
This is just my initial impression about this website. The longer I work with it the more excited about it I become. I will post another full review after about a month if you want to find out more about it.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Health Rally Review
I have had a link for this Health and Fitness website under my Websites & Resources page on my blog for a few months now, as I was one of the testers for the Beta site, but now that it's up and running to the public I thought I'd take some time to promote it a little. Health Rally is website that truly has a unique twist on Health and Fitness websites. I'll start off by saying it can be used for every aspect of health. Whether you are trying lose weight, are training for a Marathon, or are trying to quit smoking or another unhealthy habit.
www.HealthRally.com
Like most health and fitness communities Health Rally prompts you to fill out a short profile. You can choose your reward, build your health team by inviting people you know to join your rally, as well as note your mood for the day along, and use a slide bar to adjust your progress so far.
I have been on my health, fitness, and weigh loss journey for 7 months now. I was introduced to Health Rally a few months after I got started. This was a great supplement to my health and fitness regime. While most Health, Fitness, and/or Weight Loss sites offer some sort of community to help encourage you and keep you motivated on your journey, Health Rally allows you to make that community more personal in that you can choose who sees your rally and who you want on your journey with you, (provided those who you invite to your rally accept your request.) I found this kind of support and encouragement more valuable than the random strangers on other sites because the people encouraging me in my rally were close friends and family who truly understood how hard I was working and what all I have been through
This was a great supplement to the calorie counting website I was using because it gave my journey are more private and personal touch. The great thing about it is that Health Rally sends out weekly e-mails to your Rally Team to remind them to keep you motivated which several members of my health team had mentioned that they really liked that because they wanted to be supportive, but would have probably forgotten about that particular mode of encouragement with all the other social media sights we are all mutually on. I have to admit that I first started out wondering if this was really going to be useful because all the people in my Rally were also my friends on Facebook and we could just encourage each other there, but what I found was that I enjoyed logging into my Rally and seeing all the motivation comments and support in place instead of getting lost amongst the multitude of posts on FB or Twitter.
Another unique aspect of Health Rally is the rewards. I have only recently come upon another site that incorporates a visual way to remind you or even encourage you to reward yourself for your progress. Basically, you choose the reward you wish to give yourself by the time you reach your goal. And select either a pre-made picture of that goal or you can make your own. Then you set a dollar amount. The people who support you in your rally can support you both verbally and financially through this website. They can pledge money toward your reward item to help offset the cost for you. The awesome thing about this is, if you don't reach your goal, the money gets credited back to the people who pledged it. So it pushes you in that way to complete your rally.
I can see this site being great for groups too. Especially if they want to raise money for a specific event or cause. This would also be a great way for group of people to have a private way of connecting and sharing their progress. I guess, I have to say, I really like the privacy aspect of it. Instead of having to form a "closed" group as on many other social media you already have your own private group and rally team. So, get a bunch of your closest, friends, family members, co-workers, or whomever and have them all sign up for a Health Rally account then invite one another to each others Health Rally and keep each other motivated!
www.HealthRally.com
Like most health and fitness communities Health Rally prompts you to fill out a short profile. You can choose your reward, build your health team by inviting people you know to join your rally, as well as note your mood for the day along, and use a slide bar to adjust your progress so far.
I have been on my health, fitness, and weigh loss journey for 7 months now. I was introduced to Health Rally a few months after I got started. This was a great supplement to my health and fitness regime. While most Health, Fitness, and/or Weight Loss sites offer some sort of community to help encourage you and keep you motivated on your journey, Health Rally allows you to make that community more personal in that you can choose who sees your rally and who you want on your journey with you, (provided those who you invite to your rally accept your request.) I found this kind of support and encouragement more valuable than the random strangers on other sites because the people encouraging me in my rally were close friends and family who truly understood how hard I was working and what all I have been through
This was a great supplement to the calorie counting website I was using because it gave my journey are more private and personal touch. The great thing about it is that Health Rally sends out weekly e-mails to your Rally Team to remind them to keep you motivated which several members of my health team had mentioned that they really liked that because they wanted to be supportive, but would have probably forgotten about that particular mode of encouragement with all the other social media sights we are all mutually on. I have to admit that I first started out wondering if this was really going to be useful because all the people in my Rally were also my friends on Facebook and we could just encourage each other there, but what I found was that I enjoyed logging into my Rally and seeing all the motivation comments and support in place instead of getting lost amongst the multitude of posts on FB or Twitter.
Another unique aspect of Health Rally is the rewards. I have only recently come upon another site that incorporates a visual way to remind you or even encourage you to reward yourself for your progress. Basically, you choose the reward you wish to give yourself by the time you reach your goal. And select either a pre-made picture of that goal or you can make your own. Then you set a dollar amount. The people who support you in your rally can support you both verbally and financially through this website. They can pledge money toward your reward item to help offset the cost for you. The awesome thing about this is, if you don't reach your goal, the money gets credited back to the people who pledged it. So it pushes you in that way to complete your rally.
I can see this site being great for groups too. Especially if they want to raise money for a specific event or cause. This would also be a great way for group of people to have a private way of connecting and sharing their progress. I guess, I have to say, I really like the privacy aspect of it. Instead of having to form a "closed" group as on many other social media you already have your own private group and rally team. So, get a bunch of your closest, friends, family members, co-workers, or whomever and have them all sign up for a Health Rally account then invite one another to each others Health Rally and keep each other motivated!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Progress Update - 7 months and 33 pounds of Success!
It's about that time again. It's been three months since my last update and seven months since I started my weight loss journey. I know I am always skeptical of the pictures they show on infomercials and advertisements that show people when they start looking all unhappy wearing frumpy looking clothes and the after picture shows them smiling wearing black slimming clothes. So, I took this progress pic in the same clothes I was wearing when I was 172.5 pounds so you can have a better comparison.
Before Picture Stats:
weight: 172.5 lbs
Measurements: The tape measure I was using only went up to 40 inches...
Bust with sports bra on: about 41 inches
Waist: 40 inches
Hips: ?? the tape measure I was using only went up to 40 inches! How embarrassing is that?
Thigh: 22 inches
Progress Picture Stats:---------------------->
weight: 142 lbs
Bust with sports bra on: about 38 inches
Chest: 36 inches
Waist: 34 inches
Hips: 38 inches
Thigh: 20 inches
Right Bicep: 12 inches
(on and by the way ladies, this pic was taking during "that time of the month" so these are measurements and weight while being bloated and all the fun stuff that comes along with that)
Before Picture Stats:weight: 172.5 lbs
Measurements: The tape measure I was using only went up to 40 inches...
Bust with sports bra on: about 41 inches
Waist: 40 inches
Hips: ?? the tape measure I was using only went up to 40 inches! How embarrassing is that?
Thigh: 22 inches
weight: 142 lbs
Bust with sports bra on: about 38 inches
Chest: 36 inches
Waist: 34 inches
Hips: 38 inches
Thigh: 20 inches
Right Bicep: 12 inches
(on and by the way ladies, this pic was taking during "that time of the month" so these are measurements and weight while being bloated and all the fun stuff that comes along with that)
I've lost 30.5 pounds between pictures, but 33 pounds since the beginning of my weigh loss journey. My weight has fluctuated here and the because of getting sick, which I have to admit only happened twice this year, and allowing myself to enjoy delicious food experiences and birthdays. Another benefit of eating right and exercising is the boosted immune system. When you consider I'm a full time Pre-K teacher and I have a toddler of my own, only getting sick twice this year is pretty good.
I have to admit that one of the things that has allowed me to experience so much success is that I don't have the pressure of having to reach a certain goal for a momentous occasion. I'm just losing weight and working out because I want to better my health and fitness. So, I'm not stressing out about trying to fit into a wedding dress by a certain date, or looking good in a bathing suit for the family vacation. So, on the occasion that I have allowed myself to exceed my calorie goal and gain a few pounds it was that much easier not to let it discourage me. This same concept is also why I think I have been able to keep losing weight and stay on track for the most part, because I do allow myself to enjoy experiences with food. And since I have no end date there isn't that "well I made it, time to go back to doing what I was doing." feeling. It has become a lifestyle.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Muscle Weighs More than Fat: Why this is Both a Myth and a Fact.
Just Google "How much does muscle weigh?" or "Does muscle weigh more than fat?" and you'll come up with a plethora of websites that call the belief that muscles weighs more than fat a myth. Even more so you'll find websites that compare the pound of muscle and a pound of fat to a pound of feathers and a pound of bricks, saying a pound is a pound regardless of what it is, which is true. However, that's not really what we're asking when we are trying to figure out if the lack of weight loss or even at times weight gain was caused by the fact that we have put on muscle rather than, or in addition to burning or not burning fat.
This is why: If you would take the same volume of fat. Let's say one milliliter of muscle and one milliliter of fat and put them both on a scale, the side of the scale that has the milliliter of muscle on it would be the side that dips down, because muscle has more mass than fat. It has more density because it is packed more tightly than fat cells.
So, it is possible to build a small amount of muscle and have it show up on the scale as not losing weight or even gaining weight if the amount fat that was burned during the muscle building process was the same volume or less than the volume muscle you gained.
The reason I chose milliliters for my example is because the only websites I could find that talk about the actual weights of muscle and fat identify muscle as having a mass of 1.06g/ml (that's grams per milliliter) and fat as having a mass of 0.9g/ml which is actually its mass, not its weight, but when we step on the scale the two seem almost interchangeable. So one liter of muscle weighs about 1.06 kg and one liter of fat weighs about 0.9kg. For those of us who still use the Empirical system of measurements you would multiply 1.06 x 2.20462262 to get how many pounds that is. 1.06kg is about 2.3369 pounds. and 0.9kg is about 1.98 pounds. Which is a difference of a little more than a third of a pound. Which is why we and other well meaning friends and family try to comfort ourselves when we have worked our butts off (sometimes literally) trying lose weight, only to step on the scale to see it hasn't budged, but saying, "just remember, muscle weighs more than fat."
So yes, to all you neigh-Sayers out there, a pound of fat and a pound of muscle both do weigh a pound, but the chances are, when you don't see a difference in the scale after working out and dieting it is probably because you did not burn the volume of fat needed to exceed the weight of the volume of muscle you put on and THAT dear friends is why we say "muscle weighs more than fat."
This is also why many weight loss programs encourage you to measure different parts of your body along with stepping on the scale weekly. I have stayed around 143 lbs for the past several weeks, partially because I let myself stray outside of my calorie goal for a two weekends in a row due to special occasions and partially because I've been lifting and doing more strength training than cardio work lately, but I have lost an inch around my waist which shows that I must have burned some fat.
So, don't get discouraged if you don't see the scale budge. Keep fighting the good fight and you'll keep looking and feeling better!
This is why: If you would take the same volume of fat. Let's say one milliliter of muscle and one milliliter of fat and put them both on a scale, the side of the scale that has the milliliter of muscle on it would be the side that dips down, because muscle has more mass than fat. It has more density because it is packed more tightly than fat cells.
So, it is possible to build a small amount of muscle and have it show up on the scale as not losing weight or even gaining weight if the amount fat that was burned during the muscle building process was the same volume or less than the volume muscle you gained.
The reason I chose milliliters for my example is because the only websites I could find that talk about the actual weights of muscle and fat identify muscle as having a mass of 1.06g/ml (that's grams per milliliter) and fat as having a mass of 0.9g/ml which is actually its mass, not its weight, but when we step on the scale the two seem almost interchangeable. So one liter of muscle weighs about 1.06 kg and one liter of fat weighs about 0.9kg. For those of us who still use the Empirical system of measurements you would multiply 1.06 x 2.20462262 to get how many pounds that is. 1.06kg is about 2.3369 pounds. and 0.9kg is about 1.98 pounds. Which is a difference of a little more than a third of a pound. Which is why we and other well meaning friends and family try to comfort ourselves when we have worked our butts off (sometimes literally) trying lose weight, only to step on the scale to see it hasn't budged, but saying, "just remember, muscle weighs more than fat."
So yes, to all you neigh-Sayers out there, a pound of fat and a pound of muscle both do weigh a pound, but the chances are, when you don't see a difference in the scale after working out and dieting it is probably because you did not burn the volume of fat needed to exceed the weight of the volume of muscle you put on and THAT dear friends is why we say "muscle weighs more than fat."
This is also why many weight loss programs encourage you to measure different parts of your body along with stepping on the scale weekly. I have stayed around 143 lbs for the past several weeks, partially because I let myself stray outside of my calorie goal for a two weekends in a row due to special occasions and partially because I've been lifting and doing more strength training than cardio work lately, but I have lost an inch around my waist which shows that I must have burned some fat.
So, don't get discouraged if you don't see the scale budge. Keep fighting the good fight and you'll keep looking and feeling better!
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