Lose Your Health, Lose Your Mojo

Last year around this time I took a serious hit for several weeks with whatever mutant illness was plaguing the planet. I learned that “Without your health, you have nothing.”

While being sick, there were several things I wasn’t able to do:

• workout
• eat entirely the way I should
• spend time with friends and family
• focus
• work

The result:

• gained weight
• lost muscle
• less energy
• lost motivation
• no income
• no new blogs/business progress
• lost mental clarity
• cancelled client sessions
• less confidence
• lost voice so I couldn’t really talk to anyone
• less family/friend interaction
• etc.

I was pretty much a foggy-brained, productive-less couch potato. I completely lost my mojo in every area of my life…and once I started to feel better it took a little extra hard work to get it back and find my routine again. I’ll be honest, square one sucks, but I also know this is a great time to re-evaluate and set new goals (find the positive in everything)! That’s exciting, right?!

With that said, here are 8 preventative measures you can take to help secure your health:

1. workout – Weights, cardio, and flexibility are crucial here. Don’t skip any of these three components because they serve each other and function together. Weights build muscle which helps burn fat and keeps your metabolism up, makes you stronger, and protects! Cardio helps keep the health of your heart, lungs, veins, and arteries, etc., in tip-top shape! Flexibility helps improve your range of motion and keeps you safe while you’re doing both cardio and weight training. It’s also great for relaxation and a boost for your mental health.
2. eat clean – What you put into your body, you’ll get out of your body. Put in crap and your body will treat you like crap. Put in wholesome, nutrient-rich foods and your body will work for you, not against you! You’ll have more energy, a lower body fat percentage, and a stronger immune system (among several other things)!
3. drink lots of water – Your body is mostly water! Did you know that? It creeps around in every cell of your body and serves a useful purpose in every bodily function, so it’s important to keep a fresh supply running through at all times. Water is also how your body helps flush some toxins and other crud out of your system.
4. wash your hands – Always wash your hands when you’ve been out and about, touch lots of items and people, and before you eat. And always keep a travel hand sanitizer with you. We touch our faces a lot without much thought, and that’s one of the biggest ways we absorb germs that cause illness.
5. schedule a break – Our bodies need rest. If we’re always on the go-go-go and pushing ourselves every waking moment (which is easy to do since we all lead busy lives), our bodies become stressed. Make sure you schedule a rest day in your workout routine or plan something that puts you at ease and makes you purely happy. Read, have a power nap, get a pedicure or massage, have date night with your significant other, or do some yoga.
6. get enough sleep – This pairs well with #5 above. Our bodies do most of their repair work and recharging at night, so make sure you get 7-9 hours of quality REM sleep every night.
7. laugh – I’ve always believed the best medicine for just about anything is laughter. Stay positive, surround yourself with people that make you laugh, kick back with your favorite comedy, or buy a dog (seriously!)! You can’t help but feel good when you’re laughing.
8. regular check-ups – There are a lot of people who neglect their regular check-ups (I’m guilty)…whether it be dental, physical, optic, chiropractic, etc. It’s a good idea since some of the health issues that develop we can’t necessarily see or notice on our own. If anything, it’ll be a great little ego boost when the doc tells you you’re so stinkin’ healthy he/she can’t believe it (if you’re doing all of the above)!

Bottom line? Lose your health, lose your mojo. Find your health, find your mojo.

Yours in Health,

Tanya

I’m Sick! Can I Still Workout?

‘Tis the season for colds and influenza! When you’re on track towards a particular goal, it definitely puts an unwanted halt in your momentum and progress. A couple of scenarios usually play out: 1) you have the drive and dedication to try and push through your workouts anyway; or 2) you take a break entirely until you’re feeling well again. You know what these two scenarios have in common? They could both place you back at square one! Unfortunate, right? Pushing through your workout could end up prolonging the duration of your illness leading to very little gains towards your goals, and waiting until you’re completely well again could cause you to risk losing some of the muscle you’ve built and fitness level you’ve gained. It’s amazing how long it can take to build and how fast it can fade. Kind of feels like a lose-lose situation no matter what you do, right? So what DO you do?

There are two common types of illnesses to look out for: colds and influenza. We’ve all experienced both at some time or another. The two are quite different so your reaction to them as far as activity goes should be different, as well. Colds typically effect the upper part of the body in the chest, neck, and head while influenza typically effects the lower regions of the body in the intestines, tummy, and chest. Below are two lists of symptoms that are categorized as “Go get ’em, Tiger” and “Slow down, Rockstar.” The first list consists of symptoms that are typically associated with colds while the second list consists of symptoms that are typically associated with the flu.

Go get ’em, Tiger!

• stuffy nose
• light-moderate headache
• light chest congestion
• light coughing
• light-moderate sore throat
• sneezing
• light fatigue

Slow down, Rockstar!

• fever
• heavy chest congestion
• throwing up
• heavy coughing
• diarrhea
• upset stomach
• aching body/muscles
• heavy fatigue
• heavy coughing

When you’re experiencing severe cold or flu-like symptoms, it’s always a good idea to take a break. Don’t worry about losing any progress you’ve made up until this point. Your job is to get better as quickly as possible so you can get back in the saddle! Oftentimes when you have the flu you are unable to feed your body normally. When you can’t fuel your body properly for working out, you absolutely should not be trying to kill it in the gym! Lay low until you’re better! Your body needs to focus its energy on killing bacteria/viruses and healing itself. When you workout with high intensity while you’re sick your body starts trying to put its energy elsewhere to build and recover muscle tissue, etc., which can prolong your recovery. Even if you do feel well enough to workout, take it down a notch or two to a low or moderate intensity. This will help reserve enough energy for getting better without causing you to sacrifice all your previous efforts in the gym. Also make sure you get lots of sleep! Your body does most of its repair and recovery while it’s resting…this includes sickness/illness.

Keep in mind I am no doctor and this is just my opinion based on my personal experience and fitness knowledge. As always, consult your doctor and take their advice!

Yours in Health,

Tanya

Top 8 Fitness & Nutrition Apps

As technology continues to grow, there are a number of fitness, health, wellness, and nutrition apps that we can download to our mobile devices to help us log our food, track our workouts, set goals, meditate, connect with other like-minded fitness enthusiasts, get inspired and motivated, stay accountable, try new recipes, find close-by health food, etc. If you’re looking for anything health and wellness related, as they say, there is probably “an app for that.” I’ve decided to collect and share with you some of my personal top 8 favorite apps with you. Give them a try or search out your own to motivate and guide you through your healthy lifestyle!

LoseIt

LoseIt is a really seamless nutrition logging application and website. It allows you to set a calorie budget for the day, track food, input exercise, and stay motivated with peer support and friendships. There is a premium membership and free membership based on your preference or level of desired features. You can also connect devices and accounts like a fitbit tracker, fitbit aria, Facebook, Twitter, Run Keeper, Nike, etc. I prefer this app over the more popular Myfitnesspal below because of its ease of use, simplicity, and the way they set up inputting your food and selection of portions.

Myfitnesspal

This is the most well-known and universal nutrition tracking app. This platform contains a much larger community of people, so if community is what you’re looking for, this app might be your choice. However, the set-up and features are slightly more complex than LoseIt, but you get very similar types of features from both platforms. Additionally, if you have other apps, accounts, and devices you’d like to connect, Myfitnesspal syncs with a greater amount of these than does LoseIt.

Pact

Want to make money from your fitness and nutrition commitments? This is your app! Pact allows you to create, well, a PACT with the app for a weekly commitment to fruits/veggies, nutrition logging, and/or workouts. Complete your workouts? Get paid by the community from those who didn’t adhere to their pact. Don’t complete your workouts? You pay what you wager per missed activity. The motivation to get sh!t done is really high when money is involved!

Lift

If you’re aware, goal-setting is one of the best ways to help boost your achievement in any area of your life – including fitness and health. Lift helps you succeed with coaching, community, and data. So you can get guidance, encouragement, and set up reminders, learn from users and experts, and track your goals progress to keep you moving forward.

Instagram

I know that Instagram is not specifically a health and wellness application, BUT the usefulness of this app for health and wellness purposes is HUGE – at least in my opinion. The community of fitness and health people here is so big that you can find inspiration and motivation for the development and continuation of your own lifestyle in seconds. (come find me! @tanyathurnau)

Fitlist

I used to track my workouts (sets/reps/time/etc.) the good old fashioned way up until VERY recently. I seriously think I was the only one carrying around a notebook or binder and pen around the gym with me. Then it hit me – there’s probably an “app for that.” Duh!! I ran across this little gem, fitlist. It allows you to save your workouts (sets, reps, and all) for future use. You can add your own exercises, as well. It’s so simple that it’s easy and fast to use DURING your workout so you never skip a beat. You can see past workouts with a quick calendar swipe or even plan future workouts.

Calm

The mind is just as important as the body in a healthy lifestyle. If you’ve never made meditation a daily practice (even 5 short minutes), I highly recommend it. Calm is great and has categories for different types of subject-centered focus and has times ranging from 2-30 minutes.

Guided Mind

Guided Mind is another meditation app similar to Calm. There are 8 Guide Experts, 20 guided meditations, option to download your meditations so you can listen without an internet connection, TONS of premium meditations you can buy, 5, 15, and 30 minute meditations, and a variety of meditation topics to choose from.

Yours in Health,

Tanya

Benefits of Yoga

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a yogi and I don’t do yoga as much as I know I should. I do, however, understand the benefits and am striving to make it a larger part of my fitness routine. Despite my lack-of-a-relationship with yoga in the past, I’m here to tell you why you should strive to include it in your routine, too.

1. STRESS

Our days are busy. We ALL become extremely absorbed in our schedules and the crazy lives we live. We hardly take the time to stop and take a deep breath. If we don’t learn to manage the stress we build on a daily basis, it can have a negative impact on our health – emotionally, mentally, and physically. Yoga is an incredible way to quiet our minds, relax our bodies, and relieve built up stress…even if just performed one day per week.

2. FLEXIBILITY

Stretching and improving flexibility is often one of the most neglected components of fitness. Working to improve flexibility improves our weightlifting and cardio workouts, but also helps to prevent injury through better range of motion and form. Yoga stretches both muscles and soft tissues of the body like tendons and ligaments.

3. BLOOD FLOW & OXYGEN

Yoga is as much about breath as it is about moving through fluid asanas and balance postures. Blood flow and oxygen intake contribute to nutrient transportation and nitric oxide in the blood. Oxygen leads to nitric oxide leads to the opening of blood vessels leads to better blood flow leads to better transportation of nutrients throughout the body leads to better health, better workouts, and better cardiovascular health. Got it? Good!

4. POSTURE

Yoga formations are specific…very specific…and difficult (but modifiable)…and worth it! A lot of formations involve tipping at the hip while keeping everything straight up through the top of the head. Through learning how to stack your body properly, you improve posture significantly. Not just for workouts, but naturally for everyday life.

5. STRENGTH

Yoga involves some rather awkward and unnatural movements that are either held or put together in a fluid sequence of motion. Your body weight is your resistance. You’re not only working many of the larger muscles within the body, but the small stabilizer muscles, as well. The result? Overall strength and improved balance!

One final thought…the lower back is one of the most injured and problematic parts of the body for many many people. Yoga has the power to create an incredibly strong lower back through engagement of the entire core (very important). A healthy lower back and core is a result of all of the benefits of yoga put together, which leads to improvement in almost every aspect of a healthy and fit body.

These are just a few benefits of yoga. Let me know how your yoga session(s) go and share all the additional benefits you discover on your own!

Yours in Health,

Tanya

9 Most Common Workout Mistakes

You work really hard to keep yourself on a good workout schedule and eating right, but there are a couple things you could be doing that may have a significant impact on getting you and your fitness goals. These are mistakes even the most disciplined and devoted fitness addicts can make. Let’s fine-tune your workouts!

1) Not fueling up after your workout session.
Food is SO important. 80% of your results is food and how your fuel your body. This includes pre and post workout meals. After you’ve worked your body, you have a small time-slot of about 45 minutes (optimize in 45!) to provide your body with the much needed nutrition it requires. When you fuel up after a workout, the calories, carbs, and protein you consume get right to work on repairing and rejuvenating your muscles.

2) Allowing gravity to do all of your work for you.
How are you suppose to get the most out of your weight workouts if you let gravity drop your weight? The negative movement (bringing the weight down) is just as important as the positive movement (bringing the weight up). If you don’t resist the weight coming down, you’re missing out on half of the exercise and not getting the most out of your rep. If you’re going to make the decision to get into the gym, don’t you want your work to go to good use? So take your time and slow down the movement to build that lean, beautiful muscle that’s going to be burning tons of fat!

3) Not getting in enough resistance training.
Resistance training isn’t just for bodybuilders…and neither is HEAVY resistance training. I lift heavy all the time and have never become bulky. Cardio definitely helps you burn fat, but it will do nothing to shape those muscles. And when you build muscle, it will burn fat ALL the time…even when you’re sleeping! I know I’d love to burn more fat when I’m not working to burn it!

4) Not lifting heavy enough.
If you want to change the way you look, you have to challenge your muscles…and in order to challenge your muscles, you have to lift heavier. If you’re not struggling with your last three reps, you’re not making significant changes in your body. When you can complete a set of reps with the current weight you’re using, increase your weight!

5) Not drinking enough water.
Water is a necessity! It is responsible in aiding so much of what are bodies do on a regular basis! It helps build muscles, keeps your metabolism up, aids in digestion and losing weight, keeps your organs running smoothly, and flushes your system. Aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces a day! And the first thing that should go into your mouth before anything else in the morning is a glass of water.  If you think water is extremely boring, try adding some cucumber, lemon/lime, herbs/mint, or frozen fruit to infuse your water and add a hint of flavor.

6) Focusing too much on the short term.
Our bodies are extremely smart, but takes time to be trained to run the proper way through food and exercise. So be patient to see the results. Our bodies also adapt very quickly to workout routines, so be sure to change up your schedule every 3-4 weeks to keep from plateau-ing. And it doesn’t have to be anything really drastic…think about changing the sequence of your workouts or the angle at which you’re lifting your weight.

7) Not allowing yourself enough rest time.
Your body needs rest. Especially between resistance training sessions. Try to wait at least 48 hours when training the same muscle group. This will give it time to develop, heal, and grow for your next session. In any workout, whether it’s cardio or strength training, the muscle fibers tear, which causes the soreness you experience. It’s important to allow your body to mend itself back together. Additionally, it’s critical to get between 7-9 hours of sleep at night.

8) Not eating enough.
If you’re not eating enough, your body will not improve. When you’re working your body, it needs more fuel to support it. The more you work, the more fuel it needs. When you work hard and eat often your body will consume and use those calories – they don’t sit and store as fat like everyone expects they will. If you aren’t seeing the kinds of results you’re looking for, the problem usually lies in how or what you’re eating, so keep yourself aware and track when you need to. There are great online and mobile apps like LoseIt and myfitnesspal you can use.

9) Not creating enough variety in your cardio.
Variety is the spice of life…and in workout land as well! For example, if you’re running the same pace on the treadmill over and over again, your body will adapt and you will plateau. You won’t be challenged anymore. Try interval training instead and run at a higher intensity for a little while, then a lower intensity…then try bringing up the incline and work your legs at a slightly different angle….play around with it and you’ll have a much more effective session.

So be aware and keep an eye on some of these things. Make some changes, even small ones, where you need to and you’ll be surprised at how much of a difference they’ll make!

Yours in Health,

Tanya

Nix The Negativity!

Are you experiencing negativity from loved ones, friends, or acquaintances? I find sometimes that some of the people closest to me are surrounding me with unexpected negative reactions to living a fit and healthy lifestyle. Maybe you experience some of the same reactions I do like ,”You’re starting to look like a man!” “When do you plan on quitting your diet?” “Skip your workout. You don’t need it! Hang out with us!” or “What, are you on a diet or something?” You can learn how to handle these sticky situations. By enhancing how you visualize success, you can trump the criticism and feel proud of your kick-butt achievements!

I have friends and family that try and offer me junk food all the time. I worked for YEARS in an industry where I served junk food. When I turn down eating this stuff I know isn’t what I want my body consuming, I get responses sometimes where the “offerer” goes on and on about how working out and being fit is vain, and eating healthy and exercising is for anyone who….(fill in the blank). It’s upsetting and discouraging sometimes because you want to feel like you’re setting a good example for others and encouraging people to live healthier, but that’s just not always the case because of the kinds of habits we’ve become used to and the “norm” that has gradually been set in place.

And, personally, as a woman, I think we’re sometimes made to feel guilty about doing anything for ourselves. Anytime we put our needs in front of someone else’s, the chance of getting criticized for it increases. But I feel like anytime we ARE doing something for ourselves we’re increasing our potential to be a better person for those we care about and those surrounding us!

The first step to overcoming this negative criticism has really nothing to do with family or friends or acquaintances, but with what you decide to tell yourself! People who think positive and believe in what they are doing perform better than those who don’t believe in positive thinking or engage in negative thinking. Visualize how you’ll handle the negative obstacles and give yourself the power to stay positive throughout the encounter. Visualize yourself succeeding!

After you’ve succeeded in visualizing and maintaining your positive attitude, show and tell what you’re after and what’s important to you. It’s, however, also important to note that saying too much will provoke an even more negative response, but just let the other person know your workouts are important and you enjoy eating healthy. The main impact you will make is after you SHOW them what your efforts are doing to your body and your health. Let people see the progress you make – trust me, they’ll notice – and you’ll have more than enough proof for them to see without overstepping your boundaries. Sometimes people don’t always know how important something is to you. The more they see and hear and notice, the greater your chance of support from them.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference!” ~Winston Churchill

Yours in Health,

Tanya

Food Prep Tips For Success!

I often follow the simple mantra, “Fail to plan and plan to fail.” Prepping your food can allow you more time in your week to spend doing the things you’d REALLY like to be doing, help you avoid grabbing for the foods that lead you in the direction opposite of your goals, take the guesswork out of your week, and help you stress less! It can take you just 1-2 hours on a Sunday afternoon to take care your meals for the week. And then you just toss your pre-made meals into a cooler or tote and you’re set for the day! Easy Peasy!

Here are 8 Tips for Weekly Meal Prepping Success:

1. Grocery shopping requires a list!

Make a quick list of the things you’ll need for the week. I usually throw recipes out the window and just wing it. Unless you’ve got a little extra time or the recipe is super simple, it’s hard to screw up a meal. With a list, stick to it and don’t go “off roading” at the store. You’ll be in and out much faster.

2. “Keep it simple, stupid!”

The simple and basic foods are the foods that will typically cost you less time to make and less money to buy. Two things we’re always thrilled about, right? These items include veggies, chicken, eggs, fruit, seeds/nuts/nut butters, rice, oatmeal, etc.

3. Make sure you have appropriate containers to put your meals into!

What good are your pre-made meals if you don’t have anything appropriate to store them in? I’m not one to fight the battle on glass over plastic. Just buy various sized containers that are perfect for the meals and snacks you’re preparing.

4. Cook in bulk!

Don’t make your meals meal by meal. If you’re gonna make chicken, bake in bulk for the entire week. If you’re gonna steam rice or roast broccoli, again, make a giant batch for the week.

5. While your bulk items are cooking, prep the details!

While your chicken is baking and your rice is steaming, fill containers or baggies with your non-cooking items like nuts, nut butters, seeds, rice cakes, and protein powder, etc..

6. Create an assembly line!

I lay out all my containers for the week and have my measuring cups and food scale ready! When your rice is done, plop a portion into each container. When your broccoli is ready, plop a portion into each container. When your chicken is ready…well, you get the idea.

7. Steam Bags rock!

These are another battle I don’t bother to fight. I love steam bags. These things are brilliant. You can either buy the ones in the storage aisle or just buy the frozen Steamfresh or generic brand items. These bags usually contain between 2-4 servings each and only cook up in about 4 minutes. They’ll save you loads of time compared to waiting for that giant pot of water to boil on stove!

8. Meal replacement bars or shakes!

These can have their place in our diets and can help save you even more time in the kitchen. I don’t really recommend consuming more than 2 servings/day and making sure your varieties  contain a healthy balance of all of your macronutrients (carbs, protein, fats) and contain an actual meals worth of calories (none of this 100-calorie diet mumbo jumbo). Also try to avoid soy, artificial sweeteners, and an ingredient list 10x longer than the grocery list you brought with you. So, read your labels!

I hope these tips help you rock your weekly food prep!

Yours in Health,

Tanya

Spring Clean Your Body

Spring has sprung! One of the first things I associate with Spring (and I’m sure many other people do, too) is Spring cleaning. The list is a long one! We all clean out our garages, donate the clothes we don’t wear anymore, move the couches and clean under the furniture, wash and clean out the cars, have garage sales to lighten our household loads, wash the windows, spray down the siding on the house, clean out or rearrange the cupboards and closets, and start planting or prepping the garden, etc. We focus so much on cleaning and organizing everything else around us, but you know what other thing we should really put on our list that could also use some serious Spring cleaning? Our bodies!!

Think about it for a second. We’ve been hibernating for several months. During those hibernation months we encounter some of the most indulgent, food-focused holidays and celebrating of the year. This is followed by the much anticipated New Year. Yeah, we claim our weightloss resolutions for the 1st of the year, but by Spring we’ve all but forgotten or lost motivation for our health and fitness goals. It’s really not surprising, if you think about it. A fresh, new year is exciting, but there’s not a whole lot to propel most of us forward after the initial excitement has passed. The Winter months (at least in Minnesota) are gloomy and snowy and the days are shorter with darkness settling in around 5PM. Not to mention, seasonal depression takes over bigtime the longer winter lingers. Let’s face it, with all of this going on we’re more likely to snuggle on the couch with a warm blanket, mindlessly snack on potato chips and comfort food, and watch hours of TV rather than head to the gym and prepare healthy meals after a long day at work.

Spring is a time of  birth/rebirth, growth, renewal, and a fresh new start! Everything around us is going through some kind of transformation, so why not take this time to transform yourself!?

Here are some Spring cleaning items you may want to add to the checklist for your body:

• Find a workout routine you love that incorporates all the elements: cardio, weights, and flexibility.
• Get yourself some fun new fitness toys to play with like training equipment (weights, resistance bands, a jump rope, etc.), a fitness tracker, or other fitness goodies.
• Clean out the refrigerator and cupboards, toss everything that’s not clean, and replace it with lean protein, complex carbs, fruits, veggies, and whole foods.
• Drink more water…at least a gallon daily.
• Go on a shopping spree and find a super-cute new pair of sneakers and a hot new workout outfit to get you excited about being active.
• Rearrange the furniture and create an environment conducive to making good healthy choices for transformation.
• Find a buddy and work on your bodily Spring cleaning together – it’s always more fun with someone else!
• Load up on some new music! Music is motivational and can really help you jam through a good workout!
• Create a dream board and fill it with photos of physiques you admire and quotes that inspire you!
• Subscribe to a fitness magazine or buy a new book to read. The more you educate yourself about health and fitness the more likely you are to live a healthy lifestyle.
• Buy yourself a cute new summer dress or swim suit in your goal size to help motivate you during your transformation.

I hope you decide to do some bodily Spring cleaning and add as many of these items to your personal list as possible! These are just some of the ideas I came up with, but if you think of anything else you’d like to add to this list, please share and comment below! The more ideas, the better! Happy Spring cleaning!

Yours in Health,

Tanya

8 Signs You Could Be Overtraining

More doesn’t mean better results. It’s important to balance work and rest in order to lose weight and repair precious muscle tissue for optimal results physically and mentally. When you’re in danger of overtraining, you are in danger of several factors that affect your health. Here are 8 important signs and symptoms of overtraining you should be looking out for.

SIGN 1: Illness/Sickness

Illness is a normal part of life, but what if you’re becoming ill more often or have symptoms of illness returning on a more frequent or daily basis? When we overtrain, our bodies are under an increased level of stress. With higher levels of bodily stress comes weakness in the immune system.

SIGN 2: Fatigue/Tiredness

One of the greatest benefits of living a healthy lifestyle is that it helps to increase and balance your energy levels so you have more stamina and mental clarity/focus throughout the day, but when you begin feeling chronically fatigued, that’s definitely a red flag for overtraining.

SIGN 3: Aches/Pains/Injury

As you’re probably aware, aches and pains come with the territory of working out. It’s called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and it starts to make itself known about 24-48 hours after a workout. This type of ache and pain in the muscle is normal and it’s a good thing. It means change and growth and shape of the muscle fibers. However, if you’re feeling a massive pain in your knee with every step of your run or incessant popping and crackling of a joint during an exercise, then it’s time to pull back on the reigns, modify your training, or have it checked out. Another concern with overtraining is that you could be slowly shifting into improper form during your workouts, which could also be causing skeletal problems and alignment issues that lead to imbalances, pain, discomfort, and injury.

SIGN 4: Loss of Motivation

Although it can sometimes be tough to initially start a fitness and health routine and there are definitely days you’ll encounter where you “just don’t feel like it,” this lifestyle should, in general, be motivating and enjoyable once you get the habits down and find the workouts you really look forward to. So if, all of a sudden, you’re struggling on a daily basis to workout when it’s normally not such a struggle to get up and get moving, then take a look at how much you’ve been training lately.

SIGN 5: Extreme Change in Appetite

In relationship to overtraining you can notice either a loss or increase in appetite. If you’re experiencing a loss in appetite it is due to physical exhaustion as well as an increase in the release of appetite-suppressing hormones. If you’re experiencing an increase in appetite it is due to your body searching for extra calories for recovery and replenishment of your glyogen stores.

SIGN 6: Plateau/Lack of Progress

You’ve probably heard the phrase related to weight loss that says it’s all about “calories in versus calories out.” So since 3500 calories = 1 pound, then MORE calories out during your workouts daily means more weight lost in a week, right? WRONG! There really is more to losing weight than calories in versus calories out. There’s a fine line you don’t want to cross. Your body needs calories for energy. In fact, the word calorie literally means energy. If you overtrain, you’re sending your body a signal and it progressively doesn’t have the resources to properly take care of itself. Its first priority is survival mode, so your goals of weight loss or muscle gain (or insert goal) get put on the back burner as far as your body’s priorities are concerned.

SIGN 7: Changes in Sleep

In addition to feeling chronically fatigued, you can actually suffer from the opposite, as well. You can feel over-excited, restless, and have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep at night. This happens especially if you’re overtraining at really high intensity levels (cardio or weightlifting like HIIT or Power Lifting). What happens is your Sympathetic Nervous System (responsible for “fight or flight”) gets excitable and your heart rate has a hard time coming down. This is also known as Sympathetic Overtraining. The ability of your body to enter into quality sleep and recovery mode is critical for health and physical progress.

SIGN 8: Difficulty Completing Workouts

As a general rule, you should be lifting to failure on your exercises in order to build and grow your muscles, add strength, get lean, rev your metabolism, etc., but when you try to progressively move through your workout routine from week to week and notice you’re not able to lift as much or perform as many reps as you did the previous week, then that could mean you’re working out too much.

In general, all of these signs and symptoms stem from high stress levels in the body. What happens when you overtrain is that your body deals with an increased level of stress. When your body is stressed the CNS (Central Nervous System) kicks in and the brain sends help to the receptors of the body where it is needed. Additionally, during stress high levels of cortisol are released from the adrenal glands. This can then lead to adrenal fatigue. Your body is such a dynamic, smart, and interconnected system that responds appropriately based on the signals we repeatedly send it. So if you’re noticing any of the signs above, it may be time to look at your current workout routine and make some adjustments. More time in the gym absolutely does not equal better results. You need to strike a livable and realistic balance between life and workouts that allows for optimal results AND the ability to be a rockstar in all the other areas of your life.

Yours in Health,

Tanya

Cellulite: How Do I get Rid of It?

We’re all far too familiar with the term cellulite…and we dislike it, right? In fact, “dislike” might not be a strong enough word. I frequently get questions about cellulite – most of which ask me how in the world you can get rid of it. Well, I’ve decided to create a blog to answer all the most common questions regarding cellulite – including what it is, who gets it, why we get it, and what we can do about it. Here goes!

What is cellulite?

Cellulite is the term that describes the dimpled appearance of skin often found on the legs, butt, and even the abdomen. We often use terms such as cottage cheese, orange peel, and hail damage to describe the “unsightly” appearance of cellulite. The reason the skin looks dimpled is because there are uneven fat deposits that push through connective tissue just below the surface of the skin.

Who gets cellulite?

One common myth is that only overweight or obese women get cellulite. In reality, though, very skinny women also have cellulite. And not just women get cellulite, but men, as well. Cellulite is much more common on women, though, because of our higher percentage of body fat, which collects mostly in the lower regions of the body. I’ve seen women who are overweight have very smooth and dimple-free legs and booties while other, skinnier women have quite a serious case of cellulite. Cellulite absolutely does not discriminate!

Why do we get cellulite?

There are several things that may contribute to why we have cellulite. Most of them being gender, genetics, race, body composition (how much fat you have on your body versus lean muscle), age, circulation, hormones, the thickness of your skin, how well you eat, how active you are, and how much water you drink.

The burning question: How do we get rid of it?

There are a lot of creams, potions, and treatments out there claiming to be a cure for cellulite, but realistically, they’re not much good and aren’t well proven to work. Cellulite is pretty much something you either have or don’t and your best bet is to minimize it using the following three techniques (which work quite well, if you go for it!):

1. Eat well – What you put into your body definitely shows on the outside. The cleaner your diet is, the more youthful and smooth your skin looks. A clean diet also helps lower your body fat percentage, which helps shrink fat cells and minimizes the deposits under your skin.
2. Train hard – Combine both weights and cardio. Most people skip the weight portion of this equation. Lifting weights is what helps build a leaner body and changes the SHAPE of your body. When you build shape through lean, strong, and rock hard muscle tissue, you can help smooth out the dimply appearance of cellulite.
3. Drink plenty of water – Water works to naturally flush the body of toxins and excess water and helps to hydrate your skin from the inside out. Not drinking enough water and retaining water can contribute to cellulite being more noticeable. Aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces or 1 gallon.

I hope these tips help you out. Just like anything else, there isn’t a quick fix or magic solution for cellulite, but if you follow these suggestions and be patient and consistent, you should see an improvement.

Yours in Health,

Tanya