weight loss – Page 10

Confessions of an “Over Trainer”

May 6, 2012 4 Comments

Last weekend I missed my 2 Hour Saturday Detox because of a very fun brunch event. In reality it wasn’t that big of a deal, but all week I found myself trying to make up for that 1 workout (don’t judge, I already told you guys about my neurotic tendencies) . In all seriousness, I felt really out of shape and had this weird need work out really hard for the next few days to make up for it. Fortunately, my friend/work out buddy provided a rescuing voice of reason after our Turbo Kick class on Wednesday. She just sent me an email that said “You aren’t out of shape, you are over training.” And that’s when it hit me, I needed to CHILL OUT. I was seriously showing signs of an “Over Trainer” …

As you guys know by now, I’m strong advocate of pushing your body and mind to get the fitness and health results you desire. However, there IS such thing as “over training” and I know this because I struggle with it. Like all things in life, too much of any thing ultimately becomes a bad thing. If your body doesn’t get adequate recovery time, your workouts could do your body more harm than good and put you at serious risk for injury – keeping you from working out altogether! Mental and psychological risks of too much exercise also exist. For instance, feeling depressed, fat or out of shape without long, intense regular workouts and sacrificing your personal commitments and relationships to hit the gym are just a couple.

I’m all about getting your sweat on, but if you think you are over training, def chill out for a bit and talk to your doctor about it!

Legs

Tummy and Thighs and Booty…OH MY!

May 3, 2012 10 Comments

Here is a workout I put together to zap our problem areas – yes, the tummy, thighs and booty! Reality is, these areas are the hardest to transform because it takes a lot of GRIT. The workout is hard but you CAN do it! Dig deep and don’t give up. Enjoy 🙂

Workout: TTBOM by Brit
Duration: 45 minutes
Calories burned: 400-600

Instructions: Do the following circuit 4X. In between each round, jump rope or run in place with high knees for 2 minutes WITHOUT stopping. Burn it out and get it RIGHT!

Inspiration & Motivation, Workout Reviews & Ratings

Real talk about personal trainers…

May 1, 2012 1 Comment

work out buddy — Seek a Personal Trainer who INSPIRES you!

So, I’ve received several requests for my thoughts on qualities you should seek in a personal trainer. Let’s face it, PT is NOT cheap so we gotta make sure you get your money’s worth – AMEN? I had a personal trainer for 1 year and he really helped me get back into shape after b-school. BUT, before I found my trainer I ran into a few duds. Here are the top 5 qualities my PT had that helped me reach my goals – hopefully these come in handy when selecting your own – enjoy 🙂

Inspiration & Motivation

Fit chics eat breakfast…and make more money

April 18, 2012 1 Comment

morning run — Reese Witherspoon getting her early morning jog in

Happy “hump” day – I hope your week is going well! I had a 5am conference call today which I was NOT thrilled about. Oddly enough, I don’t feel that bad. This got me thinking, “What would my life be like if I started EVERY day at 5am?” I’ve heard it time and time again, “The early bird catches the worm.” Well, turns out it’s true! Establishing the habit of waking up early not only helps us manage our weight it also makes us more effective people. Here are 5 key reasons I think we should all get some GRIT and try to become EARLY RISERS:

More likely to eat breakfast – I can’t say this enough, “Eating a hearty, protein-rich breakfast is CRITICAL for weight management.” Most of us who continuously struggle with our weight usually don’t eat until 2-3 hours AFTER we wake up…real talk.
Less late night snacking – Most binge eating happens late at night. Instead of late night snacking, just go to bed so you can be refreshed for your early morning start! You’re an early bird now 🙂
Get more sleep – Sleep deprivation is linked to weight gain! By waking up early, hopefully you are more likely to go to bed early as well. An early rise means a longer day, so you should be more tired in the evening and ready to pass out!
Morning workouts – Morning workouts are more effective for weight loss because you aren’t burning the food that you have consumed during the day. Instead, you are burning the carbs and fat that your body has stored over night.
Overall more effective person – “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously

Just for Fun

Are you getting short changed in spin class?

April 15, 2012 No Comments

GRIT 001 — Me getting ready for ride #2 during cycle instructor training

Happy Sunday – I hope this posting finds you joyous and well! Today was a personal accomplishment because I officially became a certified indoor cycling instructor – woop woop! That said, I learned a lot of useful info about spin classes and calorie burn in general, so I just wanted to share some of these nuggets of wisdom with you guys. Hopefully, these facts will help you get the MOST out of your spin classes in the future 🙂

Turn up the resistance – speed DOES NOT equal calorie burn! In an effective cycle class, your legs should spin between 60-90 rotations per minute. If you are cycling way above this, turn your resistance up! When your legs are flying and your booty is bouncing around in the saddle, the bike is just propelling you and you are getting short changed on calorie burn…not a good look!
Don’t always trust the heart rate monitor. Several factors affect our heart rate including hydration, stress, diet, room temperature, etc. Therefore, just because your heart rate is in a certain zone, doesn’t necessarily mean you are working that hard. In many cases, heart rate monitors over count calories burned and you are deceived : (
Use a breath test. The bottom line is this, the harder you work, the more calories you burn. Therefore, use the breath test to quickly and effectively measure your exertion. Below are the 4 levels you should think about. If you are trying to burn as many calories as possible, strive to spend at least 20-30 minutes of your class in zones 3 and/or 4. You should never be back at Level 1 (breathing regularly) after the warm up.

L1 – Breathing regularly
L2 – Breathing fast, but comfortable
L3 – Breathing heavy, uncomfortable
L4 – Breathing very heavy, very uncomfortable – sucking air!

GRIT 002 — Whole class with our instructor after we got certified (that's me in the back with the shiny forehead, hehe)

Arms, Home Workouts, Workout Reviews & Ratings

Les Mills Body Pump Review: Pump ON = Fat OFF

April 12, 2012 2 Comments

Workout: Body Pump, Les Mills
Duration: 1 hour
Calories Burned: 350-550
Focus: Total body muscle strengthening and toning
What is Body Pump?: A total body weight lifting class using a bar with weighted plates on each side. There are about 8-10 music tracks and each one has a choreographed weight lifting routine to work a specific muscle group (i.e. legs, chest, back, biceps, triceps, etc.). You can also buy the DVDs and equipment to do the class at home.

GRIT — Brit gettin’ her “PUMP” on April 9, 2012

Commentary: I try to go to Body Pump at least once a week and when I do, I always feel tight and toned. The music is okay, def not amazing, but the workout is sick – it’ll get you right. I like this class because it’s an efficient TOTAL body strength workout. I appreciate that I don’t have go searching for a weight lifting routine for each body part, I can get it all at once – 1 hour and done. Also, you do a ton of reps for each muscle group so bulking up is not an issue. Instead, your muscles gain endurance and you even get a good sweat!

The Facts: Building lean muscle mass is not only great for your overall health and fitness, it’s also a great way to speed up your metabolism aka BURN FAT! Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the rate that your body burns calories while at rest. RMR is directly related to your ratio of lean body mass. This means, the more lean body mass you build, the more calories and fat you burn while at rest. So get your PUMP ON and get the FAT OFF 🙂

Resistance training has been perhaps the most under emphasized component of the comprehensive weight loss program. – Paula Besson MEd

Just for Fun

Drinks “weighing” you down?

April 9, 2012 13 Comments

Brit’s beverage epiphany: About this time last year, I had just finished working out and as I was leaving the gym, as usual, I bought a Gatorade. For some reason, this day I read the nutrition facts: 200 CALORIES IN 1 BOTTLE?!?! Geez, I just rode the elliptical for 45 minutes and I burned 450 calories. So drinking this Gatorade basically means I’m going to wipe out almost half of my work out! From that moment on I decided – “I’m OFF Gatorade, yall can keep those.” As a matter of fact, I’m done “drinking” calories. If I have to budget my calories, I’d much rather spend them on eating some good food – AMEN?

The facts: You have to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume to legitimately lose 1 pound. The drinks on my “BAD LIST” carry anywhere from 90-220 calories, so if you consume about 3 a day, you could pack on an extra 600 calories! That equals about 1 whole hour of moderate/high intensity cardio at the gym! Or potentially an extra pound every week, assuming you don’t burn it off. Is it really worth it?

Commentary: Below is a list that I put together for myself to help me weed out “bad drinks.” I kept it realistic and included some alcohol and juice options on the “GOOD LIST” even though they aren’t calorie free. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, “What do I want more, this Dr. Pepper or my long term fitness goals?” Just making simple adjustments to your daily habits, like committing to only “GOOD LIST” drinks, can help you drop quick pounds. Try it out and see for yourself because you work too hard to let your drinks weigh you down 🙂

Cardio, Home Workouts, Total Body

Track Workout: Shout out to my former athletes – still got it?

April 4, 2012 2 Comments

Name: Former Athlete Fix by Brit
Duration: 45 min – 1 hour
Calories Burned: 500-700
Focus: Cardiovascular endurance, athletic conditioning, speed, plyometrics
Commentary: It’s Spring! So you know what that means, let’s get outside and hit that track – what what! I’ve been hanging and chatting with a lot of my old college bball teammates this week in NYC, which inspired me to put a workout together for all of the former athletes out there. Sometimes, it’s fun to prove that we’ve “still got it.” Even if you’ve never played sports, this workout is a great way to SHOCK your body. So grab a buddy, head to the track and go get it in! Make sure to do the full warm up before you start – don’t want you pulling a hammy. Enjoy 🙂

Weight Loss

Top 5 reasons you AREN’T losing weight

April 3, 2012 6 Comments

I know most of you are already hard working, disciplined people who make sure to get your workouts in and stick with a pretty healthy diet. But when it comes to knocking off that last 5-20 pounds, it’s like nothing gives.

Well, I hear your pain. Despite being active in sports and dance since I was 3 years old, I was def a fat kid growing up. I weighed 106 pounds in 3^rd grade…yeah it’s true. I also struggled with my weight throughout middle school. In high school I discovered Slim Fast and dropped about 15 pounds, but then after college I “fluffed up” again after I quit playing basketball. Now, I’ve finally gotten to a place where I’ve figured out my body enough to really be able to drop weight and keep it off.

Even though I worked out a lot and ate relatively healthy, I identified 5 key reasons why I wasn’t losing weight. See if any of these habits apply to you…

I tried to be perfect – I have a super Type A (slightly neurotic) personality and would get really pumped up about a new diet plan or workout regimen. However, if I slipped up even once, I’d beat myself up and end up quitting the plan altogether. Now, I’ve learned to be nicer to myself. Look, there will always be good days and bad days, but weight management is all about balance. If I smash a burger and fries at lunch, that’s cool. It just means I’ll have a small side salad for dinner followed by an extra 30 minutes of cardio. Don’t take everything so seriously! Just keep a mental note of what you are consuming and make sure that you always match your intake with calorie burn.
I needed a reality check – They ONLY way I’m truly able to manage my weight is by weighing myself on a DAILY basis – yes daily! Sometimes, you just need to see the numbers on the scale to give you a reality check. If you actually see that you have gained 5 pounds, you will be more mindful of what you eat. I challenge you to go to Wal-Mart, by a digital scale and weigh yourself every morning. You will thank me later 🙂
I ate too much – Even though I ate healthy food, I ate too much of it. Therefore, it was really hard to burn more calories than I consumed, which is the ONLY way to legitimately lose weight. You’ve heard it before, “eat until you’re satisfied, not until you’re full.” Well it’s true – portion control is just as, if not more, important than food choice.
I ate too late – Unless you are doing a hardcore cardio workout at 8:00pm, your body really doesn’t need that much fuel late at night. Try to eat most of your calories early in the day so that you have all day to burn them off! Think about it this way, everything you eat in the evening just kind of sits on you…not cute. One of my favorite quotes is, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.”
I didn’t drink enough water – So check this, most of the time you think you are “hungry” you are really “thirsty” due to dehydration. Many of us get tricked into eating when our bodies really want WATER! Your metabolism slows down when you are dehydrated. Also dehydration makes you feel lethargic so you crave sugar and other simple carbs that make you fat. Drink up, water is your weight loss friend!

Arms, Home Workouts

Sexy Arms Circuit (without bulk)

April 1, 2012 2 Comments

Name: Sexy Arms Circuit by Brit
Focus: Upper body muscle endurance and toning
Duration: 15-20 minutes
Calories burned: 50 – 150
Commentary: Given my extensive experience evaluating celebrities walk the red carpet in sleeveless dresses, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are 3 keys to sexy toned arms:

Reduce Body FAT – The reality is, the only way to look lean and sculpted is to get rid of excess body fat. You know what that means – eat LESS and move MORE! You can’t show off your sexy arms if excess fat is covering them.
Sculpt Shoulders – The shoulders are the first part of the arms that people usually notice so it’s key to do several exercises that target the front, side and rear shoulder muscles.
Tighten Triceps – The back of your arms are the areas that tend to look the flabbiest. So, always make sure that your arm workouts make your triceps feel strong and tight!

Below is my complete “Sexy Arms Circuit.” I made this workout to tone my arms WITHOUT bulking them up. You need to use light weights during the workout (1-2 pounds in each hand) – soup cans are great for this 😉

Make sure to stand up with your back straight, feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent. Do each exercise in the order below WITHOUT resting between exercises. Repeat the entire circuit 3X, take a about 1-2 minutes of rest in between each circuit. ENJOY and get ready to rock your sleeveless sundress!