May 12th, 2010
Article continued 20 fat loss tips
15. Keep track….of what you eat; what you drink; quantity and exercise. If you got to write it down, you are more apt to stay on track.
16. Be prepared for a rough ride. Stresses piling up? The comfort of French fries calling to you? Stressful moments can easily trigger a return to bad habits, especially within the first 6 to 12 months of successful weight loss. You need strategy! Take a walk, work in the garden, call a friend. ANYTHING which does not involve eating. Remember! You are trying to break bad habits.
17. Stay positive. After weeks of progress your weight has slowly crept up one or two pounds. Don’t worry; simply make a few small adjustments. Skip dessert, pass on that second glass of wine, and walk a couple of extra blocks.
18. Stay consistent. Weekends are for relaxing, but it does not bean you can let yourself go. Remain good eating habits every day of the week.
19. Realize your goals now. Sometimes people will say that as soon as they lose weight, they will start doing this or that. Do the things you want to do now.
And finally…
20. It is going to get easier. The longer you keep the weight off, the longer it will stay off and the easier it will be. You will have replaced life’s bad habits with new and healthy good habits.
Ok, that was 20 fat loss tips taken from a pamphlet I had saved. Now I am sure you out there have your fat loss and exercise tips that keeps you on track. E-mail me your ideas at simpleefit@yahoo.com or you can check out my website and post your ideas there. I shall gather them all together and do this again!
Laurie Jones
Offering in home personal fitness training
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Posted in Diet and Nutrition, Exercise and Training, General Health and Fitness, Goal Achievment | No Comments »
May 6th, 2010
Article continued from last week…..20 TRIED AND TESTED RULES FOR PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS.
6. Whenever possible, always limit bad carbs, those with a high glycemic index, when consuming foods with a high fat or protein content in the same meal.
7. Use olive oil in place of butter, margarine and vegetable oils. Olive oil is the staple of the Mediterranean diet where none of the inhabitants of Crete suffer from obesity or diabetes. They do not suffer from cardiovascular problems, hypertension or high cholesterol. They are also the healthiest people in the world. They consume more than 20 times as much olive oil as other western Europeans.
8. Avoid these foods:
· Foods with white sugar such as cakes, pies and doughnuts.
· Soda….one can has 10 teaspoons of sugar!
· Fried foods. (Unless we are frying in olive oil????)
· White breads.
· Beer. It contains maltose.
· Over-processed foods. The longer the list of ingredients or ones you cannot pronounce don’t touch!
9. Check out the labels. Every year portions seem to get bigger. 20 years ago, a bottle of soda pop was 8 oz. Now there are 20 oz bottles. This is why people are getting fatter.
10. Eat small portions often throughout the day. This will keep you from starving and over indulging.
11. Eat with your wrong hand or chop-sticks. (Well, that would surly slow you down)
12. Treat yourself every now and again. (Remember! Now and again)
13. Brush your teeth after you eat. (After you eat your reasonable portion)
14. Put a “Before” picture of yourself on the fridge. Seeing yourself before you changed your ways will remind you of never wanting to be in that place again! It’s like remembering a bad relationship that makes you think “Run for your life!”
Article to be continued
Laurie Jones offering in home personal training
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Posted in Diet and Nutrition, General Health and Fitness, Goal Achievment | No Comments »
April 30th, 2010
Good morning Mirror readers!
For our fitness and health articles I will be listing 20 tried-and-tested rules for permanent weight-loss” which I found in a pamphlet.
1. 45-60 minute cardiovascular work at least 3 times a week. This will speed up weight and fat loss. Walking, speed-walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing and any exercise that gets your heart beating and your brow sweating.
2. Weight training at least twice a week. You’re not going to grow huge muscles ladies. Weight training will increase your strength, muscle tone and endurance. This will help maintain lean body mass. One pound of muscle burns between 30-50 calories per day while one pound of fat burns 2. All you need to get started and power-boost your metabolism is a simple set of dumbbells and a few exercises.
3. Keep moving as much as you can during the day. Small, everyday movements add up (just like small everyday bites of empty calories). No remotes; park in the farthest parking space; use the stairs.
4. Never skip breakfast. (Hmmmm. Not sure what to say about this one since I always skip breakfast unless I didn’t eat the night before which in turn makes me hungry in the morning. My personal practice…I eat when I’m hungry, not by the clock.
5. Start your meal with a soup. (This is a new one to me). This is a good habit especially when you go out to eat at restaurants. A clear broth soup with vegetables is nutritious and is going to give you the feeling of being full. Even most vegetable cream soups are a healthy alternative. After a bowl of soup you’re going to be less likely to fill up on bread and you’re not going to be compelled to overeat.
To be continued….
Laurie Jones offering in home personal training
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Tags: DIET, fat loss tips, nutrition
Posted in Diet and Nutrition, General Health and Fitness | No Comments »
April 21st, 2010
MAKING IT WORK (PART 2)
Last week I started my article on how to make exercise and eating healthy work when we are so busy. In the article, I wrote about being creative and thinking differently. For example, yesterday I was very busy at my office and knew I would not make it to the gym and would not want to do it at home. I have 12 pound weights at my office and used them for about 20 minutes. You can pick up weights pretty cheaply in the store or bands are great too. Keep this equipment at work and then USE THEM!!!
As for food. There are several things that make you drive up to the fast food window and order.
1. Convenience
2. Quickness (your hungry NOW!!)
3. Cheap
4. Habit
Convenience: cuz you did not take or make the extra time at home to prepare your food and take it with you.
Quickness: cuz now you are sooooo hungry you need something quick! Something fast!! Or you just know for sure you will pass out!!
Cheap: cuz it’s a two for the price of one Friday special! And, you can supersize it for just pennies more!
Habit: cuz it’s what you always do!
If you would have just gotten up a little earlier, you would have conveniently had the food in your purse or bag, and you could have popped it in your mouth with quickness which then you would not have had to dig in your wallet keeping lunch cheap today while creating a new and healthy habit.
Laurie Jones offering in home personal fitness training
Lauriesimplefit.
Tags: Add new tag, BAD HABITS, CONVENIENCE, FAST, FOOD
Posted in Diet and Nutrition, Motivation | No Comments »
April 21st, 2010
So, (you ask) how do I make this work, getting back into shape and eating healthier than I have been doing? I am so busy, how do I find the time? Time and time again I have started, done well for a short amount of time, and before you know it, I’m sucked back into the same old habits saying “What happened THIS time???”
This last year I think I can relate more than anytime else in my life. I have found myself missing workouts like I have never done before. Always something. I make plans to do my work out and then the phone rings and I have to run to the office. Or, personal stuff. Unexpected stuff always popping in that I have to deal with immediately, like hitting a coyote with my car and dealing with insurance and car repairs. So the answer for me that I came up with is a “make it work” plan no matter what. (There are two issues at hand here. Exercise and eating. This article will deal with exercise and will continue through the next weeks and talk about food. )
As for exercise, now I think out my day a day ahead and take one day at a time. Instead of thinking like I used to “I will work out Monday thru Friday”, I now think “I will work out no less than 4 times this week”. My days and times of day for my workout are no longer set in stone. I do it when I can. There also is now no time limit and this is what I mean. In our mindsets, if our workouts usually are 1 hour and we do not have an hour that day, we will simply give in and not do it on the grounds of “there’s not enough time”. Change the way you think and take that ½ hour and do your workout. Make it simple. If you usually go to the gym and run the treadmill, forget the travel time to the gym. Throw your shoes on and do it in your neighborhood. I have been going to the gym in my street clothes for the last couple of months doing my weight training. Because it is only weight training and not cardio, I do not work up a hard sweat and since I am not getting all sweaty, I can return to work when I am finished. If I would have to change into my gym clothes, I would never do it. It was taking too much time. So at this time, this is what is working for me.
Article to be continued
Laurie Jones
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Posted in Exercise and Training, General Health and Fitness, Goal Achievment | No Comments »
April 8th, 2010
I was reading a fitness article the other day. In the article, there were parts that I did not agree with, but then again there were parts that I did. (Who really cares if I agree with them anyway? Everyone has the right to think their thoughts and voice their opinions, right?) Anyway, the article was saying that doing regular type work, like mopping the floor, vacuuming, polishing the furniture is enough work to get your heart rate up and to lose weight. (!?) Yes, I guess polishing the furniture will get your heart rate up, if you have a ton of furniture to polish and you are trying to beat a marathon polishing time!
Every woman, or man out there, who does regular chores, because of modern technology, knows for sure that it is certainly not enough to keep us in shape and to take pounds off of us. However, one thing that I did agree with the article is that if we did do more of this common work ourselves, it would make a difference. For example, having remote controls for EVERYTHING in the house. Or, how about clapping your hands to turn on the lights? A maid if you do not work 40 hours a day? A gardener if you can do the work yourself? Car washes? Mules or golf carts to pick up your mail? In the quest to make life easier, we have become lazy and fat.
By doing some of these chores ourselves also helps the way we feel about ourselves, our accomplishments. I wanted to mow the lawn a few weeks ago, but it was a pull cord and I have never been able to start anything with a pull cord. I tried, and, as I HAD ALREADY THOUGHT IN MY MIND (thing about that) I could not get it started. I called someone for help, at which they replied “You’re a fitness instructor and you can’t start that lawn mower?” I hung up on the person with determination that I would get that thing started! I clamped the handle down, put a giant rock behind the wheel, and pulled that cord with both hands 4 times…and it started! I laughed the whole way mowing the lawn; I was so pleased with myself.
Determination and a strong will…you can do just about anything!
Laurie Jones
Offering in home personal fitness training
Questions or comments: lauriesimplyfit.com
Posted in Exercise and Training, General Health and Fitness | No Comments »
April 1st, 2010
Have you ever tried a couple’s workout?
Some time ago, I wrote an article based around the scenario of a young woman who has had a child and she has trouble losing her weight. She does not like that she is out of shape and has become angry with herself and is convinced that her man is no longer interested in her. She’s grumpy, so he’s grumpy. There is a better way for the both of you. Instead of being grumpy at each other, start getting in shape together! Doing an active sport together is fun and it can bring the both of you closer. Most of you have jobs. You come home from work and most likely start more work at home. Let it go, and go play together. Now, what to do? Your plan is to get fit together, so it has got to be something physical enough to bring up your heart rate. You want to come up with something that the both of you will enjoy. There is bike riding with the right warm gear, walking, Racquetball, tennis, basketball, you know, sports like stuff. There is also the gym. Weight lifting together is very enjoyable. You can challenge each other and push each other harder towards your goals. Doing cardio together is also fun. You can sit next to each other and talk and play games on the equipment to challenge each other. You can become very close doing active things together, and when one of you becomes lazy and just does not feel like working out, the other one can be the encourager.
You can help each other with changing the way you eat. Now, this is a complaint that I hear from the ladies. They say that their guys are not backing them. For example, he gets the munchies late at night and wants to go get a burger. He wants her company, so she goes. She smells the food and naturally, she becomes hungry and eats a bunch of fries! Or, he is sitting around watching TV. and wants her to make him up a batch of brownies. She may say “no” but now the brownies are on her mind. She can’t get them off of her mind, and her mouth starts to water. That’s it! She’s in the kitchen baking, then eating, then gets mad at herself for blowing it, and then mad at him for suggesting it! You can support each other in this area by doing it hand in hand. For a reward, you can give yourselves a day off together, and go to dinner. and lunch…and breakfast!
You are joined together as a couple. Get in shape as a couple. It is fun and it SHOULD bring the both of you closer. (remember, I said should!)
Laurie Jones offering in home personal training
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Tags: Add new tag, couples training, fun
Posted in Exercise and Training, General Health and Fitness, Motivation | No Comments »
March 25th, 2010
Some time ago I watched the documentary “Super size me”. Parts of it were boring, but there were some facts in that movie that cannot be ignored. I need to say that I thought it was unfair to single out Mc. Donald’s since most fast food chains are alike. They should have taken a month of eating from the most popular fast food restaurants instead of one. Even so, based on one chain, what you learn from the movie you can apply to all fast foods.
The man that the experiment was conducted on was checked out by doctors who put him through testing and he was in good health. He put himself on a diet of Mc Donald’s for 30 days. As the days went on his health started to sink to the point that the doctors said if he did not get off of that diet, he was putting his life in danger. He started suffering from depression, and lack of energy. The food was affecting his major organs, and his cholesterol jumped high and fast. At the end of the month he had gained approx. 25 pounds.
The movie showed how much sugar a person consumes in about a week’s worth of super sized soda drinking. They showed what I believe was a quart jar and it was almost filled to the top with sugar. One week’s sodas worth. It blew me away.
They showed a school that was for delinquent kids. In this school, they served only healthy foods to the kids. The kids changed. They were calmer, able to think much more clearly. They were staying out of trouble. Even before seeing this movie, I am personally convinced that what our kids are consuming is causing trouble for them and all those around.
Many have become accustomed to the drive ups, and their taste buds have been polluted. The “so called” foods are highly possessed, leaving nothing good. Parents, when taking your little ones up to the drive thru and getting them fries, think again. The kids are developing a taste for high sugar, salt, and fried foods. When my boys were little, I would take them to lunch out to those places, but at the most once a week. I packed their lunches in grade school.
In conclusion, fast food, processed foods are not food. They are items of poison, poisoning your body, mind and emotions. Experiment on yourself. Stop eating the poison for a month. At the end of 30 days, see how you feel. E-mail me your story, and I will put it in my column.
Laurie Jones
Offering in home personal fitness training/nutritional guidance.
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Tags: Add new tag, FOOD, SUGAR, SUPERSIZE
Posted in Diet and Nutrition | No Comments »
March 11th, 2010
Keeping fit can be fun! Just be a little more creative. Changing your routine is very important so boredom does not set in. One night I felt like going for a little run but did not want to get into the car and drive to the gym. All I wanted to do was put my shoes on and go. The only objective to my GO RIGHT NOW run, well, at least in some peoples’ eyes (like my mother) was that it was a little dark…just a little. I live in a safe enough neighborhood. The only danger that I can foresee is the deer coming out and chasing me! So, I went for a little night time jog. It did get darker, and there are no street lights where I live. Just nice homes with porch lights on and some had those awesome soft light torches around their homes…which I became more thankful as the darkness became darker.
Oh well, it was an adventure. Adventures keep us feeling alive. It was so beautiful outside. The stars and the lighting on the lake. The aroma of people cooking dinner and wood burning stoves was so nice. I was a little worried however with possible ruts and holes in the road that I could not see. Sometimes I did feel like I was kind of lost which added to the adventure! It got so dark I had to run up to the street sign to see what street I was on! Then there was a concerned man who drove up in his truck and asked me if I was really out jogging or was I in trouble. (All dressed in black, I probably looked suspicious!) I told him I was just out for a run which made him bolt thinking I was a wacko! (Thank you anyway, nice man, whoever you are).
Anyway, all this to say that fitness can definitely be fun and adventurous! Change up your routine and think outside of the box and exercise with adventure in mind!
Laurie Jones offering in home personal fitness training
Lauriesimplyfit.com
530-370-8228
Tags: Add new tag, adventure, change, fitness, fun
Posted in Exercise and Training | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2010
I write so much about physical fitness. Yet emotional and mental fitness is just as important. Physical and mental fitness go hand in hand. If you are physically out of shape, your mental outlook will be down. If you’re mentally out of shape, physically you will be down. God has made us a complete being, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. If one part lacks it throws us off center. We are complex creatures.
One of the biggest problems with mental fitness is worry. Think about this. Have you had one day where a single worry has not passed your mind? Probably not. And can we control those little worries that pop into our mind? No. But what we can do is choose to control our thoughts.
When I was 30 years younger I constantly worried. At that time my biggest worry was money. I had a baby and my husband was a hard worker. However, we were poor! Poor, but still had a home to sleep in, food to eat, car to drive, ect. (By golly! Here I was thinking we were poor and yet we were rich!)
I constantly worried, which would cause me not to sleep and not be a very pleasant person to live with. I had to make a choice to start changing the way I was thinking. I started thanking the Lord for every little thing. It was hard, especially since I did not believe it. But a miracle happened and I started to believe and truly became thankful. Worry still was a battle in my life for many years until I really had some heartaches happen to me. From that point I virtually let go and trusted that whatever happens to me in this life, God is truly in control. I belong to Him, and nothing passes by Him without His permission.
Worry can cause havoc on your health and well being. Close your eyes and breathe deep. Then cast all of your cares onto Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5v7)
Laurie Jones personal fitness trainer offering in home training
Lauriesimplyfit.com
Tags: Add new tag, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL, WORRY
Posted in General Health and Fitness | No Comments »
