A Weight-Loss Secret Revealed!

womenshealthmagazine.com

I’ll be honest, I am not a nutrition or a fitness expert.

I am, however, really good at keeping off those few extra holiday pounds (you know, the ones that inevitably find their way to your hips and thighs) and maintaing a constant healthy weight. I used to always find my weight uncontrollable. Like one minute I was feeling great and 3 days later I was bloated and 8 lb. heavier.  Over the past 3 or so years, I’ve tried every fad diet on the planet. Whether it’s the Master Cleanse, the South Beach Diet or radically cutting out all carbohydrates, you name it, I’ve done it.

I will tell you right now, diets do not work. Whatever you do, stop with the interval dieting. It’s not good for you and in the long run, it slows down your metabolism and makes weight-loss even harder. You need to change your lifestyle and one of those lifestyle changes needs to be to incorporate a lot of protein into your diet.

Every time I start eating a diet with foods containing a high level of protein, I seem to lose weight, have amazing energy and look better than ever. Surprisingly, you actually need more protein than you think. Research suggests you should actually be eating HALF your body weight in grams of protein every single day. That means if you weight 120 lb., you should be eating 60 grams of protein.

To put things into prospective, I wanted to provide a list of 10, high protein foods that can help you increase the amount you are eating every day.

1) Eggs: 6 grams per

2) Cottage Cheese: 13 grams per half a cup. I like to mix cottage cheese with a little whole wheat pasta. Sounds weird, but it’s amazing.

3) Quinoa: 8 grams per one cup cooked. Check out this protein packed recipe.

4) Greek Yogurt: 15 grams per 6 oz container

5) Peanut Butter: 4 grams per tablespoon

6) Beef Jerky: 10 grams per ounce

7) Chicken breast: 30 grams per 3.5 oz serving

8) Cheese: 6-10 grams per oz depending on type

9) Tofu: 20 grams of protein for a half a cup

10) Tuna: 40 grams for a 6oz can

In order to eat half your body weight in grams of protein, you need to start early! This means a protein packed breakfast.

Here is an example of a good protein meal day for most women:

Start the day off 2 scrambled eggs (12 grams) with cheese (10 grams). For lunch, have a salad with chicken breast (30 grams) and for dinner, some quinoa (8 grams) stir-fry with tofu (20 grams) and lots of fresh veggies. That’s about 80 grams right there!

Simply put, kicking up your protein intake isn’t actually too difficult. If you can do that and reduce the amount of sugar and carbohydrates you eat (and do moderate exercise), you will drastically change your body and energy levels. Also, don’t freak out or feel bad if you eat something bad! I think that is the main reason why people can’t lose weight. They think “oh I just ate a cookie, my whole diet is bad now so I will just eat 3 more”. One cookie is okay! It’s all about moderation.

Maybe this really isn’t a secret to some of you, but for those of you out there who are looking to try something different, I figured I’d share my experience.

Have any of you had a good experience introducing a high level of protein into your diet?

Love always,
Erica

5 of the Best “Workouts” That Won’t Make You Break a Sweat

The title of this post is semi misleading only because I sweat no matter what kind of physical activity I am doing (and yes I consider walking up two flights of stairs to my apartment exercise). However, over the years of trying to find the best way to stay in shape with doing as minimum work as possible, I found these top 5 “workouts” incredible calorie burners that work for me and you won’t even know you are working out:

1) Cleaning your home: Since I am a self-proclaimed work-a-holic, sometimes my house can get pretty messy. This actually works out well because if I don’t feel like going to the gym in the morning, I will get up an extra hour early, put on my favorite old school 50 cent CD, and get to work on my place.

My favorite calorie burners are putting clothes away, making the bed, vacuuming the carpets, and “windexing” (yes this is a verb) the bathroom mirrors. I know it doesn’t sound like a strenuous exercise, but you will be burning calories. Plus, you will tidy up your place before you head off for your day, double bonus! Getting up and moving around is half the battle with AM workouts.

2) Going for a long walk: I know this one seems like a no brainer, but it’s surprising to me how little people take advantage of this. Walking is so good for you and your body. In more recent years I have stopped running almost all together due to bad hips, and have found walking is such a fabulous alternative.

I am lucky enough to live about an eight minute walk to the beach. Therefore, one of my favorite things to do before or after work is to take an hour and go for about a 3-mile walk with my 8lb Maltipoo, Brady (he has more stamina then I do). I have the perfect route that I have been doing for a long time. Check out www.mapmyrun.com to create your own route (no one needs to know it’s for walking)!

3) Spending the day doing errands: When I say errands, I really mean shopping, but I will keep this more general because I know not all of us care to go shopping. I never feel like I have gotten a better work out then when I spend the day out of my house going to the mall, Target, the grocery store, Best Buy (maybe Bed Bath & Beyond…I’m not sure we’ll have time!!) and all those other great places!

Being constantly on the move is not only productive but a good way to get your metabolism fired up. Next time you’re contemplating spending your Sunday in bed watching a movie or running around town, choose the latter then treat yourself to a big Sunday dinner without worrying so much about calories.

4)  Yoga:  By no means do I consider myself a “yogi”, however I have found Yoga to be one of my new favorite ways to get in a low impact workout. Every Saturday, my neighborhood provides free yoga in the park and I have tried my best to take advantage of it.

For me, Yoga has been allowed me to escape all the stresses in my life for that one hour and let me slow down to take a deep breath. On the physical side, Yoga drastically increases flexibility and improves core strength. The part I love most is unless you are practicing hot yoga or outside in the Florida summer (yes I have done this) sweating can be kept to a minimum and you can just enjoy the positions. Again I am not an expert on Yoga, but if you haven’t tried this I suggest you do!

5)  Going to a night club: For some of you I know this is probably totally out of the question, but hear me out! Getting out for a night of dancing, socializing, and moving around the city/town you live in is a great way to burn calories without even knowing it. I’m not going to lie, I have totally broken a sweat at a night club, but you don’t always have to!

Additionally, it is a bonus for us girls that wear heels because it is a great calf workout. If clubs aren’t really your thing, bars are a great place too. Anywhere that is playing music and can inspire you to move just a little. No effort necessary besides having a good time.

I hope this helps inspire you to get moving a little more!

Xoxo,
Melissa

Fitness Tip: Workout for 10-15 Minutes Before Dinner

Tips To Kick-Start a Healthy Life Style

By Guest Blogger: Jaimie DeSantis

Fitness Expert, Jaimie DeSantis

FUN FACT: Doing a quick 10-15 minute workout prior to your last meal of the night is a great way to open your muscles up for nutrition.  Supporting your muscle repair will help with muscle growth and will in turn boost your metabolism in the long run!

This allows the muscles to be able to:

A) Absorb carbohydrates readily

B) Replenish the loss of Glycogen, which is energy stored in your muscles

C)  Replace Amino Acids found in protein, which aids in the repair of the tissue you break down while working out 

Body Weight Workout

Here is a simple 12-minute workout you can do all on your own! Don’t take a break until all 4 exercises in each set are done. You should do each exercise in the set for one minute. After each set, you can take a 1-2 minute break.

Set A

• Burpees
• High Knees (See video for explanation)
• Mountain Climbers (start in a plank position, alternate legs going up and down while staying in plank)
• Jumping Jacks

Set B

• Lunge Jumps (basic lunge alternating legs but jumping into it)
• Squats (butt below knees)
• Up Down Planks (see video for explanation)
• Jump Squats

Set C

• Heel Touches (see video for explanation)
• Plank with Knees to Elbows
•  Single Leg Bridges (see video for explanation)
• Push Ups

If there is any exercise you can’t do, don’t worry! Choose another one in the set and just repeat it 🙂

Good luck!

Xoxo,
Jaimie DeSantis