10 Tips To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

We are full swing into Holiday mode with Thanksgiving only a couple weeks away, followed quickly this year by Christmas. It's a great time of year with family, friends and food.... lots of food. You don't want to gain a ton of weight, but being left out of the festivities isn't fun either. Here are some tips to help you have both.

Happy Holidays!

Why Am I Always Hungry?!

Ever wonder why you can eat 2,000 calories throughout the day and still be hungry all of the time? You pound the calories but never feel satisfied, or you are full only to be starving again an hour or two later. Then, to rub salt into the wound, your health-nut coworker eats like a bird and never seems to lose control with ravenous hunger pains come 3:00. There is an answer to this mystery and I am here to shed some light on this for you. 

10 Insights For Weight Loss

I have always said that weigh loss, health, fitness and nutrition are different for each of us. We are all different: have different likes, tolerances, body composition and lifestyles. However, just like I mentioned in my post Top 5 Nutritional Musts, there are some basic rules that should be followed when it comes to nutrition. The same is true for weight loss. The National Weight Control Registry, a database that tracks more than 5,000 people who have lost at least 30 pounds and maintained the loss for at least one year, has uncovered an abundance of tried-and-true tips to help people lose weight and keep it off.

5 Reasons Diets Don't Work!

There are a few things that I get very passionate about. I try not to get on soap boxes very often, because I know people are completely turned off by someone standing on one, but I am very short and sometimes I need to stand on something to be able to look people in the eyes when I talk with them. Though it is a small one, I am standing on my soap box at the moment because I feel I really would like to be heard. DIETS. DON'T. WORK: Atkins. The Zone. Cabbage Soup. Detoxing. And my new favorite - The Paleo Diet. There are a million of them and we have all wondered if we should try one. I am here to tell you no, you shouldn't, and why I feel that way.If diets worked we would all be skinny.

Women, One Word: LIFT!

Ladies, it is important for you to understand the importance of weight training. Too many of you don't do it because you are afraid of bulking up, and look at the free-weight area of a gym as the "men's section". When you think of weight training the image comes to mind of the hulking man with veins popping out, carrying around a gallon jug of water perfecting his barbaric yelp. Though there are a few of these characters lurking around the free-weight area, most are just regular people, men and women alike. Let me put your fears to rest and tell you why weight training is possibly one of the most important things you can do for your health, now and for many years to come.

Decide Before You Go

I am going to be heading out tonight to meet some friends for dinner. I love to go out to eat, and I love being with my friends even more. I am what you would call a social eater. I don't eat when I am depressed, or sad, or bored.... nope, I tend to eat too much when I am being social. I feel left out if I don't get to be a part of what everyone else is doing. Here is a little trick I do when going out to eat to ensure I stay within my calorie balance for the day. You can have your cake and eat it too!

The Mathematics of Weight Loss

Math has an answer for everything. It took us to the moon, can tell us the probability of being able to get a date, and without it I couldn't post this article. Most math is well beyond my comprehension: algorithms and computations can be left to the mathematicians, it's not for me. It can, in a more simple form however, help you with your weight loss. I will teach you how to crunch the numbers to be able to reach your goals.

The Trifecta of Fitness

There's a common little term that we trainers use - "Great abs are created in the kitchen, not the gym". There is a misconception that all you have to do is diet to loose weight, or run 10 miles to look great. What is not understood however, is that you have to have a trifecta of key ingredients to make it all work, and you can't really have one without the others to be effective .

No, It's NOT Easy!

I can't tell you how many times I get comments like these:

"You're lucky, because you are in good shape"

"You don't understand, because you don't know what it's like to be fat."

or my favorite: "It must be so easy for you."

You. Have. No. Clue! I am here to tell you that I was BORN fat! It's in my genes, runs in the family, and I have to fight it off every single day. No, I am not lucky, I work hard. NO, it is NOT easy for me, and I have to think about it every single day. And, yes, I totally understand!

I have a picture of me, weighing in at about 170 pounds (please remember that I am a petite 5'2")  It is too embarrassing to post front and center here, but if you continue reading, you will have the delight in seeing it........... or your horror, whichever. The point I will be trying to make here is, it is not easy for any of us. I totally get it. I know how hard it is, I have been there.

The Reality of Calories In vs Calories Out

While it is possible to burn more calories than you consume, you have to do an awful lot more exercise than most people realize to burn the amount of calories in a typical American diet. Calories add up fast! It's easy to down 1,000 calories in one sitting - the span of only a half an hour - but will take you hours of exercise to burn it off. Here is a rundown of some of our favorite foods, and what you would realistically have to do to burn that food off. You will probably be surprised.

Portion Distortion - 10 Things To Keep Calories In Check

We live in a world of Super Size. If we get served a normal serving of food we feel like we are not getting our money's worth and will hunt out the place that will give us the most for the least. Take a look at the average statistics from the last 20 years:

2 slices of pizza from 500 calories to 850

Cup of Coffee from 45 calories to 330

Movie Popcorn from 270 calories to 630

Cheeseburger from 333 calories to 590

Our portions are becoming out of control, and unfortunately so are our waistlines. Here are a few simple things we can do to get back on track.