What does soda (or “pop” as it is called in the Midwest) offer?

1. Empty calories

2. Aspartame

3. Sugar

4. Phosphoric Acid

More in detail:

“Non-diet sodas contain sugar, derived either from corn or from beets or sugarcane. Refined sugar spikes blood sugar levels for a short time, increasing energy, followed by a sugar “hangover” which can sap energy. Refined sugar  spikes insulin levels in the body which have been connected to heart disease and high blood pressure. Insulin levels also affect how the body processes carbohydrates and determine whether food energy is burned or stored.

Diet sodas contain aspartame rather than sugar. Studies continue to discover new health issues related to aspartame intake and it should be avoided in an emergency situation.The phosphoric acid content in most sodas can prevent the body from storing calcium and cause osteoporosis over long periods of time. It also changes the acid composition of the stomach which can lead to digestive difficulties.”

More:

Prevent Disease, The Real Dangers of Soda to you and Your Children

HFCS - YUk!

What does High Fructose Corn Syrup offer? Some links to answer the question:

Fructose: Sweet, But Dangerous

What are the Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup?

Avoid HFCS

Personally…eliminating both diet and regular soda along with HFCS(High Fructose Corn Syrup) from my diet has made a HUGE impact, positively in my mental, emotional and physical well being.

What do you think?

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”
- La Rochefoucauld

Two solid core exercises:

Bicycle Crunches – Fit in 4 one minute sets and the burn will set in!

Planks -  work in 3 or 4 one minute holds!

Do a few sets during the commercials …time to work the core!

Is it all a bunch of coincidences, or possibly an increase in core activity is part of a healthy solution!

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A typical week might look like this:

Mon- 20/20/20 (20 min. cardio, 20 min. body exercise, 20 min. cardio)

Tue- One hour swim along with some core

Wed. Boot Camp -

Thurs. One hour spin class, along with some core and

Fri. Total Conditioning- One hour full body work out with HR in zone 3 and 4

Sat. Rest?

Sun. One hour spin followed by one hour of swim

I do modify Wed and Friday keeping it low impact.

Some lessons I have learned (AGAIN) recently:

-More often much growth comes from setbacks…I try to take them as learning experiences.

-Don’t knock it until you try it!

A quote to sum it up…

“I don’t really think in terms of obstacles. My biggest obstacle is always myself.”
-Steve Earle

Dr. J will see you now: Original weight now reduced

Blake -Kitchen Fun

Cathy – A Life Less Sweet

The Jungle of Life

FatFighter

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Thanks for stopping by…Keep the journey moving forward!

Holiday Thoughts

• Prioritize the activities-no need to “do it all.”
• Set aside a specific time to process sad and lonely feelings. Don’t let the feelings control you..YOU decide to move onto the positive thoughts, take control.
• Maintain the healthy habits
• Set a budget and stick with it
• Don’t dwell in the past, use those experiences to keep the journey moving forward with strong resolve!
• Do something for someone else…maybe volunteering some time to help.
• Try something new…make a snowman, snow fort. No  snow? Make a sandcastle
• Always schedule time for yourself-read a book, movie etc.
• Keep up the fitness routine or start a new one.

Maybe a useful thought or two?  What do the holidays do for you? How do you celebrate?

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Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living! -Bradley

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To help me keep active,  I usually turn towards my Cardio Friends to get the burn on.  Some friends over a long winter…

Do you like to spin? A 60 minute high resistance for some solid muscle endurance.

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The Stepmill? Low impact,  nice lower body exercise, 20-60 minutes does the trick!

How about the Elliptical? Full body, I will occasionally hit this one for a light low zone workout for about 60 minutes.

A Treadmill is always a solid burn! I visit this one regularly. Sprints and/or long slow runs!

The Rowing machine is one of my favorites for a full body burn. Try this for 30 minutes…results!

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Often I will mix it up with some variety.  A good solid burn could be to tackle two or three machines at 10-30 minutes each.

Keep it interesting. Call on your Cardio Friends for help…don’t let the cold stop you!

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.“Above all challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish.” -Cecile Springer

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The task is a light, higher rep routine to keep it simple. The Sunday Approach:

Squat Thrusts-3 sets of 20

.Wall Pushups-3 sets of 20

Bicycle Crunches- 3 sets of 20

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Rest and recovery are always important but occasionally a soft Sunday approach works for me !

. Decide what you want .. believe you can have it, believe you deserve it, believe it’s possible for you. -Byrne

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As children we are reminded to drink our milk, and I did do just that until adulthood. A few months back I started to drink milk regularly again. Not only did I include milk into my regular diet it has also become a favorite post work out refreshment. If my workout is a high intensity, with lots of sugar burned …I might make it a glass of Chocolate milk . Of course I do still enjoy a cold protein shake as well, but a glass of milk does the job nicely.

Why Milk?

Milk has Vitamin D and Calcium:

Vitamin D – plays a crucial role in maintaining bone health. When blood levels of calcium drop, the body responds in several ways. It promotes the conversion of vitamin D into its active form, which then travels to the intestines (to encourage greater calcium absorption into the blood) and to the kidneys (to minimize calcium loss in the urine).For bone health, an adequate intake of vitamin D is very important.

Calcium – Despite the debates involving milk & calcium, one thing is very clear: adequate calcium – both for bone development and for non-bone functions is key to reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Also reportedly helps reduce the incidence of tooth decay.

Is a glass of milk more beneficial for recovery than a sports drink?

Some say yes…

“The results found that, when consumed immediately after resistance-based muscle damaging exercise, both semi-skimmed milk and milk-based CHO-P helped to preserve more muscle than either the sports drink or water,” reports the Dairy Council.

“This study supports the growing volume of literature which suggests that milk is a powerful post exercise recovery aid,” said Dr Judith Bryans, a registered nutritionist and director of The Dairy Council in the UK.

Some options to consider if you have Lactose Intolerance.

My perspective:  Obviously there are other options for one to get similar benefits as milk but I do appreciate the fact that milk is a less expensive alternative than most and does seem to be working very well with me.

Maybe a glass of milk will work for you?

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Sources: Effects of Drinking Milk Following Exercise, Harvard School of Public Health

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Head over to Healing with (Raw) Juices, a fantastic guest post -> Onions-A Pungent Surprise of Natural Healing.

Blake shares in Food for Thought…a proud daddy as well!

Audra putting it into perspective in The Setup.

The Happy Runner gives us a recent snapshot of  her journey with Five things Friday, ep. 4.

Check out Sunshine Day and BSI Ricotta Cheese! with Biz.

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What and why is there so much made about Friday the 13th? The history behind Friday the 13th.

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Thanks for the visit! Keep moving forward along the journey!

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Ectomorphs are generally tall and thin. They have difficulty gaining weight and muscle no matter how much they eat or how hard they train, because their metabolisms are geared to burn calories rather than convert them into fat or muscle.

Mesomorphs are generally muscular and shorter. They are strong and gain muscle mass easily when they do strength training. They may find it difficult to lose weight, but they may not have that much excess fat even though their weight is higher than average for their height.

Endomorphs naturally carry more body fat even at their ideal weight. Their bodies may resist losing weight even when they limit calories; endomorphs don’t necessarily eat more, they just store more calories as fat.

While you’ll always have characteristics of a certain body type, everybody can lose weight and become more fit. What differs from person to person is the number of calories your body uses each day. For example, Ectomorphs burn more calories than everyone else just by sitting around, but it’s still important for Ectomorphs to make healthy food choices and exercise regularly for the health and fitness benefits; Mesomorphs, thanks to their extra muscle, have a fast metabolic rate that boosts their calorie burning during vigorous activity; and Endomorphs benefit from eating smaller, more frequent meals to minimize the opportunity to store extra calories as fat.

Very few individuals fall into one category, most of us have some characteristics of all three. The important thing to know is that losing weight is not going to change your basic body type or shape; you store a certain amount of fat between your skin and the muscles underneath, you aren’t going to see those six-pack abs no matter how many crunches you do. But your body type doesn’t doom you to chronic weight problems, either. When you focus on what you can change, you avoid the frustration that comes with unrealistic weight or appearance goals. Your body is unique to you, and so is your ideal weight.  And because it involves many factors, most weight loss programs will say your ideal body weight is more than a number on the scale. Again, the more you know about your body type, the easier it is to set realistic goals and expectations for your weight loss journey. Makes sense to me, what do you think?

Check out- Lindora’s Weight Loss Programs

More on how genetics play a role : Somatotype and Constitutional Psychology, Body Types,  Body Types for Training,

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