Exercising as a Couple

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Exercise is known for causing the brain to produce chemicals that reduce stress, evoke feelings of happiness and increase libido. Studies show that couples who exercise regularly report better, and more frequent, sex with their partners. This is a huge motivator!

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Couples recognize that working out together is an effective way to demonstrate a commitment to their wedding vows before they even take them. By taking care of their bodies, they show that they care about being their best for each other and that they’ll do what it takes to stay healthy and strong.

When schedules start getting crazy before the big day, workouts are often among the first things to be let go in a quest for more time. Working out solo becomes increasingly more difficult because it’s much easier to break an appointment when no one is counting on you to be there.

By working out together, and paying a trainer to be there with you, couple have a heightened level of accountability to each other – and to the trainer. This ensures that all of those extra cake-tasting calories don’t go straight to the hips (or tummy) before the wedding.

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The wedding dress may be the #1 motivator for women to work out in the months leading up to their weddings, and oftentimes the men in their lives agree to join them in an effort to be (or at least appear…) supportive. Every bride wants to feel beautiful on her special day, and this often involves making it through a series of dress fittings with the hopes that bare shoulders and toned arms win out in the end.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

No More Fairytales

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At the risk of making it seem as if dedication and consistency are the only routes to successful weight loss, let’s acknowledge that there are exceptions to every rule. There is someone out there who lost weight without the commitment and without putting in the work. We all hate her, but she does exist. And while we’re being up front and honest with ourselves, let’s also agree that while it’s not impossible for the little magic pill to work wonders, it is highly improbable. Fair enough?

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Weight Training

Weight training or strength training refers to the use of equipment that allows variable resistance. This resistance can be in the form of "free weights" like barbells and dumbbells, machines that use cables or pulleys to help you lift the weight or exercises like pull-ups or dips that rely on your own body weight. If you’re new to lifting weights, you should rely on a certified personal trainer to show you the ropes, but here are some general guidelines:

• Complete a minimum of 8 - 10 exercises each time
• Involve major muscle groups
• Lift weights a minimum of 2 times per week
• Do at least 1 set of 8 - 12 repetitions of each exercise
• Use a resistance level that results in near fatigue

Aerobic Activity

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines aerobic exercise as "any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature." This is the kind of exercise that causes your heart and lungs to work harder than they normally work. It is also referred to as cardiovascular activity or “cardio” for short, and jogging, brisk walking, step classes and kickboxing are all great examples. Remember these tips:

• Do cardio 3-5 days per week
• Aim for 40 to 60 minutes of continuous aerobic activity
• Work at a moderate intensity: 60-80% of maximum heart rate (Use a heart rate monitor)

Consistently Good Nutrition

A healthy diet is an integral part of making your workout work for you. Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat intake. In addition:

• Eat foods high in fiber
• Reduce the number of calories in your diet that come from processed sugars
• Choose and prepare foods with less salt
• Drink the daily recommended amount of water: 8 to 10 cups (64 to 80 ounces) of water a day
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, drink them in moderation (no more than one drink per day)

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To lose weight, you don’t need any expensive equipment or fancy diet plans. You just have to do a few simple things and do them consistently. It will require some effort, and you certainly won’t lose the weight overnight, but if you follow these suggestions the weight loss will be much easier to sustain over time. So watch what you eat, weight train, do some type of aerobic activity and leave the little magic pills in Fairytale Land with Cinderella and her girls.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

The Myth of the Little Magic Pill

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I know you’ve heard of it…the little magic pill you can pop to help accelerate fat loss, speed up your metabolism, block carbohydrates from entering your blood stream and trick your mind into thinking that you already ate. It’s not sold on street corners like the illicit drugs of the urban ghetto though. No, this little pill is readily and legally available to all – even hawked in magazines that you find on popular retail shelves. It’s promoted on television by health experts, celebrities and even some doctors. And your best friend’s cousin’s hairdresser even heard about it on Oprah last week. It’s sold in bright-colored little boxes and marketed under various brand names. It comes in different forms – sometimes blended in a shake, crushed into a nutrition bar or soaked into a frozen meal, but at the end of the day one aspect of this little pill is consistent. It always represents a pipe dream.

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It is the desire and expectation to get something for nothing that feeds our $50 billion diet industry. Some people actually believe that the pills, shakes, bars and infomercial exercise products are going to give them a free ticket to “skinny-ness,” but most of us know that these products won’t really get the job done.

So why do we continue to buy them? Because the lure of the little magic pill is sometimes too much to resist. It promises that the pounds will be shed with little to no work on our part, and that is a concept that even the most level-headed of us wants to believe in. However, the fact of the matter remains that if there were a little magic pill, or anything else for that matter, that could safely ensure rapid and permanent weight loss, EVERYONE would be taking it and the average American woman would not wear a size 14 dress.

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Little magic pills aside, there is a surefire road to success when it comes to losing excess weight – weight training, aerobic activity and consistently good nutrition. Any one of these activities taken in isolation may have a moderate effect; the trifecta nearly guarantees the desired results. While this scientifically proven route isn’t as sexy as sitting at home eating pizza and doing nothing while the pounds drop off, it is certainly more effective.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Fitness On a Budget #2

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Many of us have been trained to feel like we're not working out unless we're actually at the gym or using expensive infomercial equipment in our basements. The truth is that you can create your own workout anywhere, at any time.

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You don't necessarily need special equipment like a treadmill or elliptical machine to get a great cardiovascular workout. With a little planning, some of the daily activities you take for granted can become part of your exercise routine:

Get in extra steps whenever & wherever you can. Take a brisk walk every day, whether it's a path through your neighborhood or laps in a local mall. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or make a full workout of climbing the stairs. Sneak in extra steps whenever you can by parking farther away from your destination.

Pick up the pace as you do your household chores. Mow the lawn, weed the garden, rake the leaves or shovel the snow, but make the movements intentional and try to maintain a quick pace while you’re working. Even indoor activities such as vacuuming and scrubbing count as a workout if you increase your heart rate.

Don’t sit on the sidelines. If you have children, don't just watch them play. Join them for a game of tag or kickball. Walk them to the park. Dance. Take a family bike ride.

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Many of my clients are under the impression that an activity doesn't count as a real workout unless they're going for at least an hour. I'm not quite sure where this thought pattern originated, but it's not true. Feel free to break your workout into 15-minute increments throughout the day. Something is ALWAYS better than nothing, so get moving whenever you can.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Fitness On a Budget #1

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The residential real estate market, along with gas prices and the economy in general, is causing savvy consumers to cut back on their "wants" in order to afford their "needs." In these situations, expenses that feel like splurges are oftentimes the first to go. Follow my next few posts to find out how to meet your financial obligations without sacrificing your health.

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Paying for a gym membership and the gas it takes to get there can be expensive, but there are plenty of other options for getting in shape. Here are some low-cost alternatives to help you get fit without breaking your budget:

1. Improvise by using ordinary household items for various upper and lower body exercises.
1. Canned goods. Many canned goods can serve double duty as hand weights.
2. Milk or water jugs. Fill empty milk or water jugs with water or sand and secure the tops with duct tape. To adjust the weights as your fitness level changes, simply add more water or sand. If you wonder how much weight you're lifting, simply weigh the jug on your household scale.
3. Potatoes. A 5- or 10-pound bag of potatoes can provide added resistance for various exercises.
4. A low, sturdy step stool can become exercise equipment if you use it for step training — an aerobic exercise resembling stair climbing.
5. Chair. You can use a chair for many seated exercises with makeshift weights or use the seat as a platform for your hands while doing triceps dips. The back of the chair serves as a good place to hold on for extra balance when doing things like leg lifts.

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These may sound like corny ideas, at first, but remember that it's usually the simplest things that, when done consistently, add up to the biggest results. I've gotten a great reaction from clients who saw me deliver these same tips on Fox 5 Atlanta last month: Watch the TV Clip

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Tips for a Leaner Midsection

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There’s no secret to getting the abs you want.

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A significant chunk of people start working out because they hope to get those movie star-quality abs. Unfortunately, that’s often a lot harder than it sounds, so it’s a good idea to keep these basic tips in mind as you get started.

Don’t Do Endless Reps – Don’t make the mistake of thinking that doing crunches or sit-ups for hours will give you the six pack that you desire. The abdominal muscles are just like any other, and if you can do hundreds of crunches at a time, you may not be challenging them enough to grow. If any ab exercise get too easy for you, you should consider making it more challenging by adding weights. For example, you might hold a dumbbell or medicine ball to your chest while you do crunches. You should also learn how to do other ab exercises beyond the basic crunch. Try bicycle kicks, leg lifts, planks.

Focus on Cardio and Diet - As with anything else, it’s a mistake to think that resistance training alone will get you the tummy that you want. Most people aren’t happy with their abs because they simply have too much fat in that area. Fat around your midsection is typically harder to get rid of than fat from other you parts of your body. And women, because they have a naturally higher body fat percentage than men, might actually find it to be even more challenging. The only way to get rid of that fat is by doing plenty of cardio and watching what you eat.

Stand Up Straight – Most people can improve the appearance of their midsection simply by improving their posture. Standing up straight will naturally cause you to pull your stomach in, and it will also activate more muscles, helping you burn a few extra calories during the course of the day.

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I’ve noticed that the #1 thing people neglect while heading down the path to rockin’ abs is a good diet. All of those commercials on television for ab machines sometimes give the impression that exercising is enough to make your abs visible, but it just isn’t. In order to get your body fat percentage low enough, you need to cut out the sweets and excess junk while making sure that you burn off more calories throughout the day than what you take in.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Get Help From Friends & Family

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It helps to have allies on your fitness journey.

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I’ve met many people who can never quite seem to stick to a healthy eating plan or exercise routine because their relationships with others somehow get in the way, but fortunately it doesn’t have to be that way. With a little effort you can actually help turn those closest to you into partners rather than roadblocks.

Work Out Together - When you work out with a friend or significant other, workout time becomes something more social and fun. Don’t worry if they haven’t yet caught on to the gospel of exercise. You guys don’t have to actually go to the gym. Just spending some time walking around the park together will help you burn calories, but you’ll feel like you are just hanging out.

Ask For Their Help – Well-meaning family and friends can sometimes sabotage your diet plans by constantly offering you terribly fattening food. Usually these people just don’t know any better, and simply telling them that while you appreciate the thought, you are trying to stick to a healthier diet will do the trick. Most people will truly understand, and you may motivate them to even join in with you.

Seek Out Compliments – We all know one or two people who are never shy with a compliment. These people can be key to your overall fitness strategy because hearing “Wow, you look great! Have you been working out?” every once in a while is a good way to give you the extra boost of motivation you need to keep up the hard work.

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Your circle of family and friends can either be your greatest allies or worst enemies when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy. If you are proactive about asking for their support, you can use them as a great way to leverage yourself into the body that you want.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

Overcoming Plateaus

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Always work towards progress.

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When you first started out with your fitness program, you probably found that you made big strides every week. You were always able to lift more weight, run longer and for greater distances, and stretch further than the week before. If you stuck with it, you have probably noticed these advancements becoming less and less pronounced over time. When you get to the point where you stop losing fat (even though you are a few pounds shy of your goal weight), or you don’t notice any improvements in your athletic performance, you have hit a plateau. Here are a few ways to work through it:

Slow Down – Obviously, you aren’t just lifting weight for the sake of the lifting weight. You want to grow stronger and become more toned, so you should lift slowly – making sure that each rep puts as much strain on your muscles as possible. Ideally, take about two seconds to lift the weight and two seconds to lower the weight.

Shake Things Up - If you have been stuck in a rut for a while, considering adding in a few more exercises or completely changing your routine. Your body craves variety, and switching up can totally change how your work your body.

Take a Break – It sounds counterintuitive, but sometimes taking a couple days off might be the best thing you can do for your fitness training. A plateau might be a sign that you are just overtraining. Take a couple days off, and see how you feel when you come back to it.

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I don’t want to advocate never being satisfied with your fitness level or how you look, but at the same time, it is OK to enjoy the satisfaction that comes with continually striving for progress. When you see that you making strides, you are more likely to stick with your fitness program and continue to integrate exercise into your overall lifestyle.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.

How To Fight Cravings

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It’s easy to fight the desire to binge on sweets.

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We all know “that” feeling…where all of a sudden you are overcome with the powerful desire to rip open a bag of potato chips and eat until there is nothing left but crumbs. Cravings can make you feel stressed if you constantly battle with them, and they can ruin your diet if you cave in too often. So what do you do?

Work Up a Sweat - Exercise is a very potent appetite suppressant, so if you feel like you can’t think of anything but devouring ice cream by the spoonful, try going outside for a quick ten minute jog around the block. But the time you return, you will probably find that your cravings are gone.

Get Carb Smart – If you get a sudden craving for cookies, it might actually be a signal from your body that you need more carbs. Instead of immediately heading for the fattening sugary carbs, try eating carbs from a healthier source such as fruit, vegetables, or whole grains. You will probably discover that the cookie craving becomes less prominent after a small snack of good carbs.

Sleep More – A report published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that when you don’t get enough Zs, it reduces the amount of the hormone leptin that your body produces. Leptin is responsible for helping you feel full, so your cravings might be caused by a lack of sleep, not the deliciousness of pancakes and syrup. (Well, maybe it’s a combination of the two)

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Of course, it doesn’t hurt to cave into your cravings a little every once in a while. It might even help to assign a special “cheat meal” where once a week, for one meal, you have what you want. This can actually help fight cravings in more than one way. I know that when some of my clients overindulge on something they’ve been craving for a while on their cheat day, they wind of not wanting to even think of eating that food for weeks.

How to Walk More

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A little more legwork can add up to a lot more weight loss.

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While those super sweaty, high intensity workout sessions you can get in the gym should be an integral part of your overall weight loss strategy, that doesn’t have the be the only way to increase your physical activity. If you can find ways to take extra steps while going about your daily life, you can burn extra calories without exerting much additional effort.

Wear a Pedometer
A report published in 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association by a Stanford University doctor showed that several studies suggested that just wearing a pedometer, a small device that counts your steps, makes people want to walk more. In fact, the journal reported that the average person got twenty seven percent more physical activity while walking an extra mile every day. Walking for a mile at four miles an hour can burn around three hundred calories, depending on your weight.

Park Far Away At the Grocery Store
Instead of fighting for the closest space you can find, go ahead and park way in the back. The parking spots will be more plentiful, plus you will be able to walk an extra distance to the store.

Window Shop
Window shopping at the local mall with your friends can make walking a social experience. Plus, walking indoors means that you don’t have to let bad weather prevent you from getting more exercise.

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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: fitness is a lifestyle. Getting more fit shouldn’t necessarily rule your life, but it’s a mistake to think that a certain time of the week is “fit time.” If you think of health and fitness as something that you weave into your life, you will find getting fit to be a much easier and more natural task.

Why Exercise?

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Exercise can be a powerful way to improve your life.

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Sometimes I’m asked, “Why work out?” To these people, a healthy lifestyle seems like all work and no benefit, a constant struggle for nothing. But of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

So what do you have to gain by working up a sweat?

You Will Be Happier – Exercise will decrease you body’s supply of cortisol, also known as the “stress hormone,” and increase your amount of dopamine, which helps increase your sense of well-being. In fact, some studies have shown that working out just three times a week for half an hour can be just as effective as anti-depressants for relieving the symptoms of depression.

You Will Be Smarter – Scientists used to think that we lose brain cells as we get older, and nothing can be done about it. New research, however, shows that regular exercise can actually grow new brain cells, helping improve memory, concentration, and even intelligence. That sort of puts a new spin on the idea of a “scholar athlete.”

You Will Sleep Better – People who work out spend more time in deep sleep, which allows them to concentrate better throughout the day. Sleeping well can also have a positive effect on stress, making your everyday problems feel that much more manageable.

You Will Have More Energy - You will be able to approach every task at your job with zest, getting more done in less time, and still having plenty of energy to have fun and take care of your responsibilities at home. If you have never experienced it, trust me, it’s a great feeling.

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You might be wondering why I didn’t include “You Will Be Happier With Your Body.” Well, pretty much everyone knows this reason, and let’s be honest, this is the reason most people decide to start working out at all. But it’s important to remember that hopping on the treadmill doesn’t have to be all about slimming your waistline. Fitness can be a major part of improving your life in every way - physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Fitness Advice You Should Avoid

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Be wary of the advice you hear on the internet.

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Bad fitness advice abounds, especially on the internet. While this is not the only advice you should ignore, these things are particularly frustrating for me to hear coming from fitness “experts.”

Cardio Before Breakfast – The idea behind “fasted cardio,” or doing your cardio first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat, is that the exercise will work directly towards burning fat, rather than burning the calories in the meal you just ate. There are a couple problems with this. Firstly, most people don’t have much energy to exercise before eating anything, so it might make the exercise difficult or even painful. Second, doing this might cause you to metabolize muscle, which will slow down your metabolism.

Take This Supplement – Not all supplements are bad. But for every nutritional supplement that might actually be useful, there are a thousand that are total garbage. Besides, who has the money to spend on all those pills and powders? Despite what ads on the internet or television might have you believe, they have yet to invent anything that will help you lose weight and get lean as quickly, safely, and effectively as a smart diet and exercise plan.

Drink A Gallon of Water a Day - Most people need to drink more water, but the actual amount you should be drinking for optimal hydration depends upon your body weight, the amount of physical activity you get, your altitude, and a few other factors. While it’s very difficult to drink too much water, you shouldn’t really be drinking so much that you feel the need to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes. A good hydration measurement is the color of your urine: if it’s clear, you are drinking enough.

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If you ever hear fitness advice that sounds a bit off or just too good to be true, try to seek out a second opinion. There is nothing worse than spending months or years trying something to lose weight, only to discover it is totally ineffective. I certainly don’t like to waste my time like that, and I know my clients don’t either, so I always double check the sources and data on every piece of fitness or diet advice I hear.

Metabolism Boosters

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Burn more calories around the clock.

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Wouldn’t it be nice to burn a ton of calories without lifting a finger? Well, in a way, you actually already do. It’s called your “base metabolic rate,” which is the measure of how efficiently you burn calories while doing nothing but sitting on your rear. Here are a few tips to increase your metabolism and burn fat faster.

Drink Green Tea
Various studies have shown that green tea can help burn calories and increase fat oxidation. It is also associated with a lot of other benefits, such as disease prevention, thanks to the large amount of antioxidants and carotenoids in green tea. To get the really good (and most effective) stuff, go down to your local health food store and buy it loose leaf. The prepackaged tea bags work too, but they usually provide fewer benefits.

Eat Frequently
Like I said in my previous post, snacking lightly throughout the day keeps your metabolism up. So make sure you eat something every two or three hours or so to keep your metabolic fire burning.

Make Sure You Get Enough B Vitamins
B6 and B12 in particular are important for keeping up a strong metabolism. Make sure you eat foods that are rich in B vitamins such as leafy green vegetables, eggs, fish, whole grains, beans and peas.

Spice it up
“Hot” herbs like ginger, cloves, cayenne, coriander, bay leaves and dry mustard have been shown to burn fat. Plus the hot stuff also helps encourage you drink more water, which is a must for any exercise and diet plan.

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Of course, even if you are blessed with the natural metabolism of a Brazilian supermodel and use all of these tips, it won’t take the place of a solid nutritional plan and exercise regimen. In fact, regular exercise works better than all of these tips for getting your metabolism up. Just like everything else in life, there are no shortcuts to fitness. But there are a lot of little things you can do to make your journey to getting fit a lot easier.

Learn to Just Chill

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Learning to relax can be a big step towards weight loss.

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If you seem to have a more difficult time losing weight than your friends, it might not be your genetics. It might actually be your stress level. When you feel frazzled, your body releases cortisol, a nasty hormone that encourages your body to store fat and eats away at muscle. Here are few tips that will hopefully make you feel more Zen, making it a bit easier to lose those last few pounds:

Make Your Diet Easy to Follow - You should plan a diet that strikes a healthy balance between foods that are good for you and foods you love. If you focus too heavily on stuff that’s bland but healthy, you will feel deprived, stressed and irritable. On the other hand, if you indulge too often, all that sugar and saturated fat will inevitably expand your waistline. So if you find yourself craving food too often or get frustrated with your food choices, it’s time to rethink things.

Carve Out Time for Yourself – Aim to have at least an hour of every day where you do nothing but something you truly enjoy. Disconnect the phone and read a nice book, do a crossword puzzle, play a musical instrument or whatever else it is you enjoy most. “Me time” will help you unwind and put everything into perspective.

Recognize Your Stressors and Avoid Them - This one might sound obvious, but a lot of people choose to confront stressful situations and people, even when there is no reason to. If the evening news makes your back tense, turn it off. If a coworker is overly critical of you, try and limit your contact with him. Fewer stress points means less stress.

Get Moving – Study after study has shown that regular exercise works wonders on reducing stress and the effects of depression.

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Love Your Body! The more insecure and self-conscious we feel, the more stressed we become, and the more cortisol your body releases. Given this, a poor self-image is not just emotionally hurtful but physically unhealthy too. The better you feel about yourself, the healthier you become. Visit CafePhysique.com to learn more about LoveYour Body Month and how we’re choosing to celebrate it.

Dealing with Fitness Sabotage

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Don’t let your family and friends lead your fitness plans astray.

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If you are like most people, you've probably cheated on your diet because of your family and friends. Maybe someone from the office brought a batch of homemade cookies and insisted that you try a few because they were so good, or your friends made you miss a workout to go see a new movie. While an occasional treat or missed workout isn’t a big deal, it can become a problem if it happens too often. Here are a few ways to deal with fitness saboteurs:

Assume the best - Your family and friends aren’t doing these things because they are malicious; they probably just don’t understand. Don’t let your fitness plan become a source of stress in your social life, and assume that your loved ones actually have your best intentions at heart.

Just tell them - While not everyone appreciates the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, some might stop pressuring you to ruin your fitness plan if you just tell them how important it is to you.

Meet them halfway - If you're being pulled to a movie, ask if you can see a later showing so you can still spend time on the elliptical. If your co-worker is always bringing in pastries full of saturated fat, just have a little nibble and throw the rest away. And don’t feel bad about wasting food. It’s better in the trash than on your thighs, right?

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Fitness, like any long-term goal, is really just about overcoming a series of obstacles. Sometimes those obstacles come in the form of those closest to you. But at the same time, family and friends can sometimes be a fantastic source of support. If you find that certain people are sabotaging your diet plans, try to surround yourself with a more supportive crew so you can have the confidence you need to achieve your fitness goals.

Getting Protein on a Vegan or Vegetarian Diet

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Build muscle without touching an animal product.

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If you are doing any amount of resistance training, you should definitely keep an eye on your protein intake. Without sufficient protein, it will take a lot longer to build muscle and get that “tone” look you are going for. But if you are a vegan or vegetarian, it can be extra challenging to get enough of this essential macronutrient. Here are few suggestions I usually offer to my vegetarian and vegan clients.

Tofu is a staple of most vegan diets, and it fortunately contains a lot of protein. Tofu comes in a bunch of different textures, including silken, firm, and extra firm. For an extra shot of protein, stick with eating extra firm. It has the highest amount of protein per gram.

Nuts also give you a good protein kick and can be mixed with dried fruit for a healthy and filling snack. Ideally, you shouldn’t eat the heavily salted & roasted nuts you usually find in small packages. This process takes away a lot of the nutritional value and adds a bunch of unnecessary additives. In my opinion, the “king” of the healthy nuts is unprocessed almonds. They have twenty-one grams of protein per serving and tons of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.

Seeds are another great vegetarian protein source. Most varieties give you the protein you need plus a lot of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which can be particularly hard to get with a vegan diet. One of the healthier varieties is the sunflower seed, which has twenty-three grams of protein per serving.

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I have lots of clients who want to get fit but have to work around certain obstacles related to how they can eat or move. Sometimes they are lactose intolerant, have a bum knee, or have chosen to cut meat out of their diet. What I’ve discovered is that every obstacle is minor if the client really wants to lose that weight. Really, healthy eating is a challenge for everyone - vegans and vegetarians just have to be a bit more creative.

Fast Food Isn't Necessarily Evil

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Fast food doesn’t have to equal unhealthy food.

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It’s sometimes very hard to lead a busy lifestyle and eat right at the same time. If you find yourself ordering drive-through more than you’d like but still want to stay true to your fitness plan, stick to these options from some popular fast food eateries.

Hardee’s – Your best bet at Hardee’s is the charbroiled BBQ chicken sandwich. Unlike most fast food chicken sandwiches, the chicken patty isn’t deep-fried and it doesn’t come with cheese, so it only has one gram of saturated fat, plus a full 33 grams of protein.

KFC – It’s hard to find something good for you here (after all, “fried” is in the name), but the tender roast chicken sandwich without sauce is a good way to go. It only has 300 calories and 4.5 grams of total fat. Asking to hold the sauce shaves 80 calories and 8.5 grams of fat from the meal.

McDonald’s – Despite the bad press, it’s possible to eat healthy here too. Just ask for Chicken McGrill without mayonnaise. Again, making the special order is crucial here. It trims the sandwich down to a total of 300 calories and six grams of fat.

Taco Bell – The soft chicken taco has just 170 calories and four grams of total fat. If you want something a bit more substantial to eat, try the soft chicken taco supreme. It bumps the calories up to 350, but that’s still pretty reasonable compared to most fast food fare.

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I think this really illustrates the #1 tool for eating a healthy diet: education. I usually find that the more my clients learn about ways to eat healthy on the run and exercise on tight schedules, the healthier and fitter they become. I think spending time reading up and listening to experts on how to stay fit is just as important as spending time in the gym.

Cardio You Haven't Tried

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Finding new ways to get your heart pumping will make exercise more fun and more effective.

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If you are starting to find the treadmill tedious and the stair stepper to be a snooze, it’s time to add a new cardiovascular exercise to your repertoire. Here are few simple things that you may not have considered.

Jump Rope - This grade school recess favorite can be surprisingly effective at shedding calories. After you’ve mastered the basic “single hop” (where the rope goes under your feet once per rotation) try the more challenging “double rotation,” where the rope has to fly underneath you twice before you touch the ground.

Handball - Sports are always a fantastic way to get your body moving, mostly because it feels more like fun than exercise, and handball works well because all you need is a wall, a ball, and two players. Just be sure to wear goggles or a sturdy pair of glasses while you’re playing to protect your eyes.

Hiking or Rock Climbing - If you haven’t already, check out the parks in your area to see what kind of hiking trails and climbing areas are available. A nice outing on a hiking trial not only lets you engage in a lot of low intensity cardio but also gives you some neat areas to explore. Rock climbing can be a bit more intense, so take it easy if you’ve never done it before.

Rowing - A rowing machine can get you into your target heart rate quickly and work your back at the same time.

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I think that boredom is the number one killer of fitness motivation, so I always have my clients trying out new exercises. Sometimes, like in the case with hiking or rock climbing, it can lead to a lifelong hobby. Try a little bit of everything and eventually you’ll find something you’ll enjoy sticking with.

Make Your New Year's Resolutions Stick

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Make this the year your New Year’s Resolutions stick.

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By now I think it’s common knowledge that that most common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight and get fit. I also think it’s common knowledge that those plans usually sputter out before the end of winter. It’s difficult to watch countless good intentioned people falter when it comes to fitness, so I’ve laid out a few tips that might help you make this the year your fitness plans stick for good.

Have Patience – A good-looking body always goes to the person who is willing to wait for it. No one reaches their fitness goals overnight, and even fitness cover models had to start somewhere. Be consistent, work out every week, and your fitness will steadily improve.

Get a Partner – Chances are you know someone who also wants to make 2008 their most fit year. Team up to encourage each other during workouts and trade dieting tips. Knowing that someone else is working towards their fitness goals alongside you can be a huge motivator.

Variety – Don’t just go for a jog every day and call it a fitness plan. There is a whole world of exercise out there: yoga, pilates, weight lifting, plyometrics, and more. Mixing it up will not just work your body in different ways and help you lose weight faster, it will also help prevent you from getting bored.

Don’t Forget To Diet - Don’t think that if you work extra hard you won’t have to give up pizza and beer. There are just too many calories packed into grease to make it possible to burn it all off, even with an intense fitness plan. Learning to eat smart might seem intimidating, but you will get the hang of it after just a couple weeks.

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The first couple of weeks after our clients start exercising and eating right for the first time in their lives, they usually see really dramatic weight loss. After that, it levels out and they might start losing just half a pound to a pound a week. If this happens to you, don’t get discouraged. It just means your body has caught up to your new lifestyle. Keep at it, and you will be rewarded with a healthy & fit body.

Your New Year’s Guide to Booze

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Drink smart and you can do minimal damage to your diet plan this New Year’s.

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Nothing gets the hooch flowing faster than the start of a New Year’s party. But how do you reconcile having a good time on the thirty-first with your fitness plans?

Avoid Fancy Mixed Drinks – Those complicated, fruity cocktails can weigh in at five hundred calories or more, the equivalent a whole meal.

Eat a Good, Healthy Meal Before the Party - Alcohol has a strong reputation for lowering willpower. That means that even if you are able to resist fatty party food normally, feeling tipsy might be enough to send you on a binge. Eating beforehand will raise your willpower and make you more equipped to make smart decisions about what you eat.

Light Beer Is Better Than Regular Beer – A single beer can have a surprisingly large number of calories, and light beers, while still not that great, are usually better. Your best bets are Budweiser Select, Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, and Milwaukee’s Best Light, all of which have under a hundred calories.

Drink Water in Between Alcoholic Drinks - Consuming water won’t just help prevent you from getting a hangover, it will also encourage you to spend some time with a zero calorie beverage in your hand, which might decrease the amount you drink.

Wine is Fine - With the exception of port and maderia, wines generally have pretty low calorie counts, usually about 100 per glass. One of the lowest calorie wines out there is Sauvignon Blanc, which has a mere 80 calories per glass.

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Some fitness professionals recommend that their clients completely abstain from alcohol, but I like to be a bit more realistic and realize most people trying to get fit (including myself) are real people with real social lives. Still, sometimes people forget that drinks, like soda, alcohol, and juice all have calories too, and you should factor that into your daily calorie count when you are trying to lose weight.