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| MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR GYM EQUIPMENT; how to best utilize what you have.
I didn't just google and look for random exercises to give you guys, I wouldn't do that to you. EVERY SINGLE EXERCISE I POST HERE IS ONE I'VE DONE, LIKED, AND GOTTEN RESULTS FROM.
Make sure you're doing at least 5-15 minutes of cardio before or even after any of these workouts, if you have no equipment, try marching in place, or walking up and down your stairs, or do a few knee lifts (an even number on each side).
STABILITY BALL
Stability Ball Squat. I used to use these at the gym, and my absolute favorite stability ball exercise is the Stability Ball Squat. I'm Italian, I'm naturally very hourglass shaped, with bigger than normal hips/thighs/butt, so it's very, very important to me to keep those particular areas very toned and as fat free as possible.
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Place an exercise ball between the wall and the curve of your lower back.
- Bend your knees and lower 5 to 10 inches, keeping your shoulders level and your hips square. Hold this position for 3 seconds and then stand back up.
- Start with three sets of 8 reps; work your way up to 15, then 20.
Overhead Squat. Again, its very important to work out your thighs & glutes. Don't you want to wear tiny shorts and look perfect?
- Grab an exercise ball and stand with your legs hip-width apart. Raise the ball over your head, your arms extended fully and close to your ears.
- Now squat down, keeping the weight in your heels and your arms extended. Hold the squat for one count, then come back up.
- Do 12-15 per set. I always recommend 3 sets, but if you can only do two, do what you can.
Pelvic Tilt on the Ball - This works your abs and the nearly impossible to target Gluteus Medius (check out the muscle map linked on the right under 'useful links;' the muscle that the controls the uppermost portion of your butt AND your lovehandle area). I found a picture for this one ladies.
- Lie at an incline position on the ball with the hips down, head supported by the hands and feeling a stretch in the abs.
- Without rolling on the ball, squeeze the hips up then lower and repeat for 15 reps.
DUMBBELLS
Single Arm Dumbbell Pull
- Begin with your knees slightly bent, with one hand on a chair or bench for added stability. Grasp a dumbbell in one hand, and fully extend your arms toward the floor, and make sure you keep your upper body almost parallel to the floor. Look down to assure optimum neck alignment, pull your belly button into your spine, keep your body stable throughout the exercise.
- Pull the dumbbell up to where your elbow just passes your body. Your arm will form a 90-degree angle at the top of the motion.
- Extend the dumbbell back down to the starting position.
- Do three sets of 15 or 20; whatever you feel comfortable with!
Tricep Dips.
-Sit on a chair, feet flat on the floor arms above your head. The line from your shoulder to your elbow should be going straight toward the ceiling, and your forearm should be bent 90 degrees with your hands (and dumbbell) behind you. Lower the dumbbell as far as you can, moving ONLY your forearms (keep elbows towards the sky), now press your arms together and raise the dumbbell towards the ceiling, keeping your upperarms straight.
- I do three sets of twenty everyday. Do two sets of 15 if you're a beginner.
NO EQUIPMENT;
Push-ups - pretty self explanatory, everyone knows how to do a pushup. This simple exercise targets SO many of your upper body muscles, they're definitely worth adding to any exercise routine.
Leg Lifts - It's so hard to find a good exercise that targets the lower portion of your abs and the lowest portion of your obliques; but these DO! (plus you also feel a little burn in your lovehandle area).
Lay flat on your back; hands underneath your butt. Lift your legs two inches off the ground. Now, SLOWLY, keeping your legs straight and using your lower abs, raise your legs just past 90 degrees, and slowly lower them; but never let them touch the ground.
I started out doing 3 sets of 20, and have worked up to 4 sets of 25.
Q: Hey, how about exercises for the lazy ass people? I hate exercises and have tried it all, pilates, jogging, everything and i just hate it. Maybe some real good exercise that not too hard and can show results real fast.
A: I really wish there were such a thing; an really easy but good exercise that shows super fast results.. but there are things that people who hate to exercise can do, you just have to find what you like? Buy a hula-hoop (if you don't know how to hula-hoop, buy one thats filled with heavy sand or a weight, hold it in front of you and lower all the weight to the bottom of the hoop. Put the weighted section against your back, and twirl, and swing your hips in a circle. It makes it SO much easier. Yeah, one of the few things I learned working at Hooters!) Play kickball or softball, go ice skating, roller skating, hiking or surfing (depending on where you live). The best and easiest exercise is one you enjoy; but if you don't like being active, you pretty much have to force your way through it.
Q: I'm not really toning right now. I think I should first lose weight and then tone up. am i doing it right? Because if I tone right now, then i would have a huge flat board for a stomach, right?
A: A common misconception with "toning" your body is that it's possible to "tone-up your fat." It's not. Being toned is having toned muscle definition, and fat and muscle are two completely different things; fat does not "turn into" muscle. To tone your stomach, you MUST lose the fat covering it, but if you don't tone while you're losing weight, the process it going to take SO much longer. If you're toning your muscles as you're losing weight, you're actually helping youself lose the fat. Every pound of muscle in you body burns 35 calories an hour, but every pound of fat only burns 2 calories an hour, so by toning your muscles, you're speeding up your metabolism and losing weight faster. Plus, when you get skinny, your stomach will already be toned.
Q: Can you make vegetarian/vegan meal plans?
A: I'm not a vegan/vegetarian; so I'm going to do some research before I post these, it'll probably be the next post. I just want to make sure I make the healthiest low-calorie meal plans that fit within the constricts of your diet. Be patient with me, I'll probably have them up before the end of the day! :]
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| if you guys have any questions; any topics you would like explored, anything you would like tips on, PLEASE let me know!!
I still have a lot of ideas for posts, but i'd like to know what all of you personally want to see here.
Comment or message with topic ideas or questions ANY time you want,
ill always do my very best to answer your questions.
:] xoxo: ash
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| My recommended meal plans for restriction diets such as the ABC diet (the link is in the right; I'm on it, it works, but i feel slightly uncomfortable recommending it to you if you're just a casual dieter looking to drop a couple pounds). I try to spread the calories for my day as far as possible, and into as many small meals as I can (because its good for your metabolism).
I especially try to incorporate as much protein as possible for three reasons. First, because I do lots of cardio and strength training; the strength training literally tears my muscles, and in order for them to repair (aka: build more muscle) they have to be fed protein. Second, protein is proven to keep you full longer. Third: I don't want to be a "skinny fat person," someone who has starved their way to skinny, but still has a higher than normal percentage of fat because their body has eaten half of their muscles to survive (strength training and eating protein will prevent this).
Also, these are typical meal plans I doing for my current week. You may not like the foods I chose, but you can take either the general idea or some of my meals and rearrange them and incorporate them into your day. I just mainly try to make sure I'm getting fruits, veggies, as much protein as possible, and a few carbs in almost every day. After a week or two of these plans, I switch to new foods. That way, I'm never bored, and my body never gets used to any certain foods (so it doesn't become easier and take less calories to digest).
500 CALORIE DAY MEAL PLANS
one.
B: Half of a Peanut Butter sandwich on wheat bread. 160 calories.
L: *Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request New England Clam Chowder, 1 cup. 120 calories.
D: *Campbell's Chunky Healthy Request New England Clam Chowder, 1 cup. 120 calories.
S: Banana, fresh, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long). 101 calories.
*Just an example; Campbell's make SO many really yummy and filling Chunky (and condensed) soups. I usually split a can of the chunky soup between lunch and dinner on my higher calorie days.
two.
B: Banana. 101 calories.
L: Half of a turkey sandwich: two slices of turkey and one tbsp. Light Miracle Whip on 1 slice of wheat bread. 155 calories.
D: Tuna Salad. 215 calories.
S: Two Sweet Pickles. 35 calories.
three.
B: Half of a turkey sandwich: two slices of turkey and one tbsp. Light Miracle Whip on 1 slice of wheat bread. 155 calories.
L: Banana. 101 calories.
D: Campbell's Condensed Vegetable Soup. 160 calories.
S: Two Sweet Pickles. 35 calories.
400 CALORIE DAY MEAL PLANS
one.
B:Cottage Cheese: 80 calories.
L: Tuna Salad. 215 calories.
D: Three slices Turkey Breast. 60 calories. Three 8" stalks of celery. 19 calories. Total: 79 calories.
S: One slice Turkey Breast. 60 calories. Two 8" stalks of celery. 19 calories. Total: 36 calories.
two.
B: Cottage Cheese: 80 calories.
L: Three slices Turkey Breast. 60 calories. Four 8" stalks of celery. 25 calories. Total: 84 calories.
D: Half of a turkey sandwich: two slices of turkey and one tbsp. Light Miracle Whip on 1 slice of wheat bread. 155 calories.
S: A small green apple. 60 calories.
300 CALORIE DAY MEAL PLAN
B: A small green apple. 60 calories.
L: Half a can of Campbell's Condensed Vegetable Soup. 80 calories.
D: Half a can of Campbell's Condensed Vegetable Soup. 80 calories.
S: Three slices Turkey Breast. 60 calories. Three 8" stalks of celery. 19 calories. Total: 79 calories.
The 100 & 200 calorie days are the hardest; pretty much just find low calorie foods like celery, apples, and turkey breast slices; eat as many of these as your calorie intake will allow.
MY TUNA SALAD RECIPE - 210 calories / 24g protein / 19g carb / 6g fat.
- Low Sodium Tuna (in water): 1 can / 100 calories / 24g protein.
- Sweet Pickles: 2 (2-1/2" long) pickles: 35 calories / 0g protein.
- Kraft Miracle Whip Light Dressing: 4 tbsp / 80 calories / 0g protein.
Drain the tuna, chop the sweet pickles into tiny pieces, and stir it all together with the Miracle Whip. Eat it with a fork! :]
(You can substitute celery for the sweet pickles if you don't like them or if you want to make it lower in calories. Also, cut the Miracle Whip in half if you want it to be lower in calories; because you can also use this on a lower calorie day.)
OTHER LOW CALORIE FOODS:
- Progresso 100 calorie soups.
- Fat-Free Yogurt 50 calories.
- Rice cakes - 35 calories. (make sure you check the sodium. sodium = diet suicide.)
- Bullion cubes to make soup- 5 calories/cube (don't go overboard; they contain salt.)
- Cherry tomatoes (the little baby ones) - 5 calories/tomato.
- Sugar free Jello saves your life when you're PMSing. 60 calories/cup.
- Diet Rite - for when you're craving soda. 0 calories, caffeine, and carbs.
Q&A!!! (i had so much fun doing this!!)
Q:How do you end a fast without binging? What's best to eat when your fast has come to an end? Thanks! XOXO G.
A:To break a fast and gorge on meat, bread or junk food will be a disaster. Jarring the system this intensely, when the digestive system is re-awakening, can cause stomach cramps, nausea and weakness. Breaking a fast is arguably the most important part of your fast. Your metabolism has slowed down to a creeping pace to cope, and your digestive tract has become accustomed to not doing very much work. Also, many of us go through a different type of mental strain and anxiety, including the feeling that we are "losing control." To avoid packing on extra pounds and/or making yourself sick (physically), you need to gradually increase the amount of raw fruits and vegetables in your diet over the course of a day or two, you can also add small amounts of dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese). These are easy for your body to digest, low in calories, and will start to build your metabolism back up. The next day, add cooked vegetables and maybe a piece or two of bread to your diet. You can also incorporate lean meats (fish, turkey, chicken breast). The fourth day, you can return to eating normal foods IN MODERATION. Your metabolism is not back to its prime yet, and will hold on to excess if you eat too much. after about a week, if you're exercising, you can return to your normal diet. If you're trying to maintain weight, make sure you weigh yourself every morning for a week or two to see just how much you can metabolize without gaining.
Q:What's the deal with the MasterCleanse Diet?
A:Okay, I'd never heard of this diet, so before I looked for real people with results, I had to do a little research. First of all, I almost gagged. I'll tell you why in a second. Before I give real feedback from real girls, for those of you that don't know, The MasterCleanse Diet is basically a 10-14 day liquid fast of water, lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. In other words, you are only allowed to drink lemonade about 6-12 times a day, a glass of salt water, and an herbal laxative tea once or twice a day. Now; water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper mixed together is one thing. SALT WATER? All that sodium? I was definitely very skeptical when I read this. Like I said above, sodium is diet suicide. Plus maple syrup is the same as using sugar! But I kept an open mind, thinking maybe it had cleaning properties.
FEEDBACK:
(relevant testimonies found here.)
- "I've tried it a couple of times and as far as gaining weight back...well, duh of course you do because you're going from not eating to eating. but as far as cleansing the body and actually giving your hard-working kidneys a break for some period of time: i believe it's worth it! i've actually seen my skin and nails clear up. it's hard as heck, but it won't kill you."
- "I am currently doing this diet hence my research. Just ended my 3rd day and feeling strong. I have done several fasts, before the end of the day my body will be yearning for food. With this I have not experienced such strong hunger pangs. From how my body feels, I would not say there is anything wrong with this diet. However a friend of mine completed hers and had hyperurecemia from the sudden drop of weight (22 Ibs), other than that she is doing fine and swears by it. Anyway, thanks for your contribution."
- "I recently went on Master Cleanse for 8 days. Not only did I have an amazing amount of energy and concentration, but I felt "clean." I slept very well which is not typical for me when I eat the standard American diet. I did lose weight and gained very little back after. I am now preparing to return to Master Cleanse for a full 10 days. I love it."
My take? Ten days is a short enough period for you to lose water weight; but i did some calorie counting with the exact ingredients used in the "lemonade," and you're consuming 1000-1600 calories per day (mostly from the maple syrup). I know that would up my daily calorie intake by 500-1000 calories!!!! If you're going to try this as a cleanse, great. Go for it. As a diet? Cut out the saltwater and substitute honey for the maple syrup. Just my opinion. | | |
| Things that will help you diet and/or restrict:
- Water. I preach about this, don't dehydrate yourself. Divide your body weight in half, this is the minimal amount of water you should be drinking in a day, no excuses.
- Protein is necessary, particularly if you're exercising. It maintains and repairs our muscles, including heart muscle, which is (last I heard) kind of a requisite for continued survival. Its kind of difficult to find low-calorie foods high in protein, but try low-sodium tuna, turkey breast slices, egg whites (NOT THE YELLOW) and non-fat cottage cheese.
- Caffeine. While caffeine can be an appetite suppressant and can increase your metabolism, it will also act as a diuretic. Drink an extra glass of water for each cup of tea, coffee, or diet soda you have. Again, dehydration is a potentially serious problem.
- Find your binge triggers, be they food or places or people or feelings. Avoid them at all costs. Figure out more acceptable ways of dealing with those triggers than stuffing yourself silly.
- Learn when you tend to eat and why you eat then in particular. Plan to be doing something unrelated to food at those times. Many of us (like me) find night to be the hardest time to avoid food. I take Tylenol PM at night if i'm too hungry to fall asleep.
- DON'T USE LAXATIVES OR DIURETICS. Again with the dehydration I so desperately want you to avoid.
- Use smaller plates and utensils so it takes you longer to eat. It will fill you up faster and seem like you ate more.
- Buy a super cute pair of designer jeans two sizes smaller than you wear.
- Use your lunch money to buy Starbucks (Cafe Americano or Nonfat Sugar-free Vanilla Latte) before you go to school. When people ask why you're not eating, tell them you "can't help your damn Starbucks addiction!" For real, though. Do they put crack in Starbucks or WHAT?!
- Don't eat a lot at once. Spread your food throughout the day. This will help to avoid binging and keep your metabolism going. Eating 100 cals 4 times a day is better than eating a 400 cal meal.
- Never eat in front of the computer, TV, or while you're on the phone. If you have to take time away from your life to eat, you're less likely to binge or snack incessantly.
Ways to distract yourself from eating / overeating / binging.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise. It's good for you, keeps you fit and moving; burning unwanted calories. Plus, after you exercise, you won't wont to eat immediately. It might help you reduce you your overall calorie intake, because after you did all that hard work, why would you want to ruin it by eating?
- Learn HTML (Hypertext Markup Language); its the 'language' you use to make layouts and code websites. Design your own thinspirational or wightloss site, or make a new layout for your myspace using div layers. It's time consuming, super fun and it teaches you a skill. Plus its easier if you use both hands, so you wont have them free for snaking at the computer desk.
- Go shopping; of course, you could go to the mall and buy things, or (i love to do this) make a list of your goals and when you want to have them achieved by. Also make a list of five or six things you really, really want (NOT FOOD; clothes, makeup, that really hot pair of Dior sunglasses, a pedicure); and put them in the oder of least expensive to most expensive. Assign each one of these to your goals, and when it's met, treat yourself. It takes up time, and also makes you REALLY want to meet your goals!
- Download songs/artists you've never heard of or wouldn't think of off the top of your head. On limewire, type in random words such as "acoustic," "cover," "live," or "80s,'" for example. So many songs will come up that you probaly know and love, but never would have thought about. Make playlists or CDs for each word.
- Join SparkPeople.com (I know I keep talking about this site, but i love it)! It has calorie calculators, you can make your meal plans for weeks in advance down to the very last calorie, gram of carbohydrates, protein, and fat! Even specific brand foods and fast foods! You can also track your weightloss goals and fitness goals. Enter in your daily exercise and it'll tell you exactly how much you burned, and how many you should burn for the week.
- Take up a new hobby that keeps your hands busy, like scrapbooking! I recently started a scrapbook and did nothing else (including eat) for three days! Plus after looking at all my pictures of me and my friends from when i was thin, it was extreme motivation to get that skinny again so I can finish the book! Look in the newspaper, every so often your local craft stores will have ALL scrapbooking materials 30%-50% off; I go crazy in the craft store when this happens. Save the money you'd normally spend on food; use it on scrapbooking materials.
- Find thinspo of real girls who are the same height and build as you. This is distracting and EXTREMELY motivating.
- If you're a smoker and hungry, light up a cigarette. It curbs your appetite (please don't start smoking for that reason. Take it from me, its WAY too hard to quit, and quitting will make you gain weight).
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| I have a feeling that MOST people who visit this site fast from time to time, and most of us probably know all of this information. However, I'm going to post it anyway, just in case someone stumbling across here doesn't. So bare with me, but expect a new post from me in about an hour if all of this is old news to you.
Historical records tell us that fasting has been used for health recovery for thousands of years. Hippocrates, Socrates, and Plato all recommended fasting for health recovery. The Bible tells us that Moses and Jesus fasted for 40 days for spiritual renewal. Mahatma Gandhi fasted for 21 days to promote respect and compassion between people with different religions. Fasting provides a period of concentrated physiological rest during which time the body can devote its self-healing mechanisms to repairing and strengthening damaged organs. The process of fasting also allows the body to cleanse cells of accumulated toxins and waste products.
On average, a typical faster loses approximately one pound per day during a water-only fast. Initially, the loss may approach two or even three pounds per day for the first few days if the person is retaining significant sodium and water. This can decrease to approximately half a pound per day in the later stages of a fast. From day two onward, the body begins utilizing fatty tissues for energy, thereby conserving as much muscle tissue as possible, a mechanism called "protein sparing."
In general, fasts should be conducted for no longer than 28 days, with most fasts 21 days or less. Longer fasts (for more than 42 days), are both unnecessary, and potentially dangerous. Many people are confused about fasting, because they don't really know what it is. Fasting is not starvation. During the fast, the body is breaking down the non-essential tissue (Fat) for energy, while conserving essential tissue. It doesn't turn into 'starvation' until the body has used up all it's fat reserves and begins literally digesting your essential tissue, and in extreme cases, your organs. Gross, right?
So let me let you in on doing this the safest way possible.
Drink as much water as you can! I don't think I've made even one post without talking about water. Its probably the most vital thing to your health and survival. Try to drink 2 or 3 liters of water per day. Avoid water straight from the faucet, as it can contain many minerals/toxins y'oure trying to remove from your body; distilled, purified or bottled water is best.
Limit your physical exertion. You do need to consider that you are likely to be limiting or entirely stopping your intake of calories and nutrients. Think about how the proper mix of fasting and (potentially limited) physical activity will make the most sense for your situation. You may feel weak during your fast so if this is the case, be careful of black outs and don't exercise until you've finished the fast. Stick to stretching, light walking and deep breathing. Try to get plenty of sleep. And if you can't stand your stomach growling the first few days, and are so sick of water, take a nap. It's good for your body.
Be prepared for physical and emotional challenges. Feeling hungry and not eating does a lot to you mind, body, and spirit. It may be physically uncomfortable. Headaches, dizziness, and other ailments may arise as a result of detoxification.Many people experience nausea and headaches during fasting and this is often caused by caffeine withdrawal so, if possible, if you are a heavy soda or coffee drinker start tapering off about a week before the start of your fast. Hunger pangs can also manifest themselves in a physical way. You will also discover a lot about how you feel about food and eating through denying yourself food. You can use this as an opportunity to think about how and why you eat.
Breaking your fast. Once your fast is over you can potentially realize more benefits and avoid some discomfort by being aware of a few things. Your body has adjusted to a different state and you should not severely shock it by eating and drinking things that will cause discomfort and physical problems. If your fast has gone longer than a day, there is also a chance that you may experience discomfort that can include diarrhea or other sickness if you eat to heavy or to dense a meal when you break your fast. Try working back in to eating with easy to digest foods. Also Try very hard not to overeat. Fasting slows down your metaboliksm, so the calories you take in directly after your fast will stay with you a lot longer than those acquired when your metabolism is up.
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