Healthy Living in Austin, Texas

This blogpost is mostly for women, sorry guys! I stumbled upon a really interesting article today called “4 Things Women Should be Doing in Their Fitness Training–But Aren’t” and it immediately piqued my interest. My time spent at the gym is precious and I want to be sure I am making the most of it! These were some really good tips the article gave, so I decided to share them…

1. High-intensity training- Ok, we are all guilty of it….you know, that tired feeling you get while at the gym. It doesn’t matter if it is super early in the morning, or later in the evening, I always seem to be a little tired. It’s times like these when the elliptical looks so enticing! Gliding along for 40 minutes to an hour, working up an ok sweat but not really feeling like you are dying. Resist the temptation! It is important for us to make sure we are really working our bodies out at a high intensity, or it isn’t worth it. Here is what the article had to say about it: “High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is typically a 10- to 20-minute workout that alternates short, intense bursts of activity with moderate-exertion recovery periods. “High-intensity interval training  is the best way to improve your overall fitness, burn fat, and stimulate your hormones for a stronger body,” says Benn.”
2. Heavier lifting- I have always been under the impression that lower weight, more reps burned the most fat. Not according to this article. It says that we should up the weight to burn more fat. Here is what the article has to say about it: “doing fewer reps with more weight—say, 8 reps per set with a 15-pound dumbbell, instead of 15 reps with an 8-pound one—will burn more fat, he says. Lifting heavier will also increase your strength and muscle definition.”
3. Upper-body workouts- Sure, most of us gain weight in our hips and thighs, but the article points out that it is important to workout our upper bodies as well. Here is what the article says about it: “you can’t spot-reduce fat, and sticking with what’s easy can stunt your progress, says Benn.”
4. Training with a barbell- It is important to use these every now and then because the bar forces you to get your body in sync. You can use the barbell for both upper body and lower body exercises.

Sometimes it seems that you are doing everything right. Choosing the salad for lunch, low-fat versions of everything, yet the pounds still aren’t coming off. There are a few secret foods that are designed to help us lose weight that could actually be having the opposite effect. A lot of the time, the problem can be traced back to portion control. I found this list on Yahoo Health today and I wanted to share it with my readers.

1. Pre-measured packages – We have all tried buying the “100 calorie packages” the help keep our portion control in check. As it turns out, these may not be the best tool to fight off weight loss. They have made them for all types of foods ranging from Almonds, to Cheez-its, to Chip Ahoy cookies. It has been reported that these packages may actually do more harm than good because consumers eat a package, and don’t feel full causing them reach for another package. Researchers say a trick to combatting this is leaving the empty package in plain sight. If you are able to see how much you have already eaten, you will be less likely to eat another package.
2. “Diet” snacks – Just because a snack boasts “sugar-free” or “fat-free” on the package does not mean that it is low-calorie. In fact, a reduced-fat product may have just a few fewer calories than the real thing. It is also common for people who are eating these reduced-fat snacks to eat twice as much as they would if they were eating a regular version. It is more sensible to go for the regular version and limit your calorie intake.
3. Liquid Calories – High calorie drinks are another secret source of extra calories and fat. A simple sweetener addition can add up to 150 extra calories to your tea or coffee drink. Substituting this sweetener for a zero-calorie alternative such as Splenda can cut these extras out.
4. Super-snacks – While eating multiple small meals during the day can be an effective way to lose weight, it can be easy to accidentally take in too many calories while using this form of weight-loss. You should limit yourself to two snacks per day of about 150 calories or less each. A good rule-of-thumb is to consider any energy bar over 200 calories a meal instead of a snack.
5. Rich proteins – It is important to stick with lean proteins such as turkey, chicken, fish, and beans because they usually have about half as many calories and a considerable amount less saturated fat.
6. Fat-free salad dressings – These can be bad for you because often the fat is replaced with sugar, leaving the dressing loaded with calories. It is smartest to use small amounts of oil-based salad dressings to get the good-for-you fats instead of the saturated fats that come with creamy dressings.
7. Baked Potato Chips- While baked chips are better for you than regular chips, they are still high in calories, low in nutrients, and low in fiber making them terrible at filling you up. Popcorn is a good alternative that will also fill you up and give you fiber.

Hopefully these seven tips and trick will help you reach your goal of healthy living. If you would like more information on these foods, read the full article here.