More Inspirations will be coming in the future, so stay tuned for those.

Please leave any suggestions or thoughts about this new feature in the comments below. Have a great healthy day!

When you first visit the Exercise Diary you’ll see a daily template of 16 hours rest and 8 hours of exercise. This basically assumes no activity whatsoever. The goal is to make sure that your entire 24 hour day is accounted for. It’s best to start with the number of hours you slept that day and then start adding all of your activity. To add an activity you choose the activity from the list, enter the amount of time you spent doing that activity, and choose an activity (probably sleep or rest) to remove the time from. A typical day will probably have several different entries totaling up to 24 hours.

As you enter activities you’ll notice that each activity yields a different amount of calories burned, and some activities (like calisthenics) have multiple intensity levels. The diary is not an exact calculator, so just estimate your efforts and get as close as you can.

1. Consult your physician. Always speak with your family physician before undertaking an exercise program, just to make sure that you’re health enough to exercise. They can also provide you with other valuable information to help you get started.
2. Decide whether or not to join a gym. This is probably the biggest decision to make. If you can afford a gym and can work it into your schedule then it’s definitely the way to go. If you can afford a personal trainer then you’ll see even better results. Working out at home can be effective, but the lack of equipment might possibly slow your progress.
3. Plan your program. Any program should include cardiovascular training, strength training, and even flexibility conditioning. Whether at home or at the gym you need to include all three phases into your workouts. Always start and finish your workouts by stretching. Warmup with cardio training and then move on to strength training.

About.com also has a great directory of information for beginning your training program.

Just knowing your body weight can be a deceptive measurement of your overall health. For example, an athlete may way 225 pounds but have 15% body fat. An average person may weigh 225 pounds but have 25% body fat. Clearly there is a difference in the physical fitness and health of the two. Just having them stand on a scale wouldn’t reveal the difference though.

Taking part in a fitness program that involves both diet and exercise will help reduce your body fat percentage. Losing weight typically involves losing both lean mass and fat mass, so be sure to add strength training to your regimen to build back the muscle mass.

1. Whole Grains. It’s always a good idea to try and eat only whole grain breads and pastas, and holiday meals are no exception.
2. Skinless Chicken and Turkey. Much of the fat and calories in poultry is found in the skin, so removing it before cooking can substantially improve it’s healthiness.
3. Low Fat Products. Reduced fat cream cheese, shredded cheese, milk, cream, and sour cream are all great ways to reduce the fat in your meals without greatly changing the flavor.
4. Less Carbs, More Veggies. Try making (or eating) one less carb-loaded dish and replacing it with a vegetable. Beans instead of mashed potatoes, for example.

Try these simple substitutions and let us know how it goes. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Protein

Protein is always essential, but making sure that you keep up your protein intake when you have the flu will help give you the energy you need to fight off the infection.

Immune System Aids

Several vitamins and minerals, such as the B-vitamins (B6 & B12), selenium, and zinc are immune-system boosters that help fight off the flu and other infections. Lean meats, fruits, nuts, milk, and fish are full of these vitamins. Orange juice is always a great idea when you’re sick because of the amount of vitamin C it contains, which is a powerful immune system booster itself that also speeds up recovery.

Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is a very popular food when you’re sick. Chicken soup has the effect of actually making you feel better because it has anti-inflammatory properties.

Nausea and Diarrhea

Hydration is key when you have the flu. If you’re feeling nauseous or have diarrhea then you’re most likely not going to feel like eating, so be sure to keep sipping liquids to stay hydrated. Something else to consider is ginger, which helps to settle your stomach. Toast and bananas are mild foods that can also help.

WebMD has a great slideshow featuring several foods to consider when you have the flu (or any sickness really).

You can participate in #fitblog by visitng FitBlogChats.com or by just following the #fitblog hashtag in your Twitter client. Each week is moderated by a volunteer, who leads discussion and has a few topics for the group.

We encourage all of our users who are looking for some community and inspiration to participate in #fitblog. It may just be the push you need to help you on your weight-loss journey.

The core muscle group surrounds your torso and is responsible for helping to stabilize your pelvis and spine. Together, these muscles are what allow you to stand upright and walk on two feet. Improving the conditioning of your core will give you a greater range of motion in your torso and, more importantly, give you more stability and strength around your spine. Poor core conditioning will result in poor mobility and stability.

Any fitness program should focus heavily on core training, rather than just abdominal exercises. About.com has a great article on some of the more common and effective core training exercises.

The show has received a lot of criticism for the very same reasons. The weight loss that the contestants experience is completely unrealistic for the average overweight person. Contestants on the show have 24/7 access to some of the best fitness professionals in the world as well as the fact they can spend their entire week exercising. I’ve heard a few different reports saying that contestants spend upwards of 6 hours per day exercising, which is out of the question for most people with jobs and families. Another criticism is that some of the contestants end up putting back on some of the weight after the competition. As their lives return back to normal, i.e. no more 6-hour daily workouts, their bodies will naturally adjust and weight will certainly be gained.

There are, however, still many things that we can learn from “The Biggest Loser”. First and foremost, losing a significant amount of weight requires commitment and hard work. If you’ve ever watched the show then you know just how hard the contestants are working. They aren’t in the gym just going through the motions, the trainers are constantly pushing them. There is a big difference in the benefit of pushing yourself in the gym versus just doing the exercises.

A second important learning is that reaching your goals takes time. It’s not going to happen overnight. Depending on how much weight you need to lose to reach your goals, it may take up to a year or more to actually achieve your desired weight. Contestants on the show don’t reach their desired weights in 2-3 weeks. Even in the fast-forward atmosphere of the reality competition it still takes them a few months of extremely hard work. Realizing that weight-loss is a marathon and not a sprint is important. It’s more about making lifestyle changes than fad diets, and more about long-term dedication than short-lived inspiration.

• Personal training will continue to grow in popularity. Licensing programs for trainers will help improve the quality of training, which will in turn reduce injuries and encourage more people to hire the services of a personal trainer.
• Employer sponsored training program and on-site health programs for business will continue to increase in popularity. Businesses are increasingly taking notice of the benefits of having a healthier workforce.
• Exercise, weight-loss, and childhood obesity prevention continue to be important trends.
• Pilates is not on the list for the first time in years, perhaps indicating that it was just a fad.

You can find the full list of fitness trends for 2011 at WebMD.

Common Superfoods

• Beans
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Oranges
• Pumpkin
• Salmon
• Soy
• Spinach
• Tea (green & black)
• Tomatoes
• Turkey
• Walnuts
• Yogurt

• Keep fruits and vegetables around; they will keep you feeling full with a relatively small number of calories.
• Nuts and seeds provide you protein which will keep you feeling fuller longer. They are higher in calories so make sure you eat them in small quantities.
• Whole grains which are full of fiber which will give you energy. Look for crackers and bread and other snacks that are whole grain.
• Low-fat dairy products such as cheese and yogurt are good sources of protein and calcium.  Dairy products are typically high in fat so make sure you opt for the low fat options.

If you became a free customer before the Premium trial change then just let us know and we’ll get you a 30 day trial of the premium features as well.

According to the Mayo Clinic a plateau occurs because your metabolism slows as you lose lean tissue (muscle). When you lose weight, you lose both fat and lean tissue.  Your weight-loss efforts result in a new equilibrium with your now slower metabolism. This means that in order to lose more weight, you need to increase activity or decrease the calories you eat. Using the same approach that worked initially will maintain your weight loss, but it won’t lead to more weight loss.

There are several things you can do to overcome the plateau:

1. Take a Look Back – Look back at your Food and Exercise journal, make sure you have been progressing with your exercise like you should and that you haven’t started eating larger portions of food or snacking when you should not be.
2. Reduce Calories – Reduce your caloric intake by a couple hundred calories. Just make sure that does not put you below 1200 calories.
3. Intensify Your Workout - Increase the amount of time and intensity of your workout.
4. Add More Physical Activity – Be more aware of your physical activity throughout the day and try to find more ways to work more activity into your day.

Hopefully these simple tips will help you move beyond your weight-loss plateau and continue on the road to your desired weight.

Shrinking – Losing Weight is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

Here’s where we are. I have lost about 4.4% and Jason has lost 3.03%. I’m definitely in the lead at the moment, but anything can happen in the last 3 weeks. We’re both really excited with our progress and hope to see those number keep improving.

You can follow us both on Twitter and we appreciate any encouragement you can give us. Our Twitter accounts are @jimlast and @i_am_hardy.

1. Contest starts today, May 25, and ends on July 31.
2. Highest percentage weight-lost between the dates is the winner.
3. Winner receives an awesome prize (to be determined).

We will post progress updates every couple of weeks. We need all of the encouragement and help that we can get, and we’ll be using Shrinking to track our progress every step of the way. So feel free to contact us and give us support, ask questions, or anything else you want to talk with us about.

Please visit our new page to learn more about our new Food and Exercise Calorie Counter.

Serious weight-loss requires keeping a keen eye on what you eat and how many calories you burn throughout the day. Our new Diary feature is the perfect solution for doing that. It allows you to keep track of everything you eat and all of your activity.

Here are some screenshots of the key features in the diary. You can click on the images to see larger versions.

The new Food and Exercise Diary will allow you to keep track of the food you consume and automatically calculates how many calories and how much fat you are consuming.

Clicking on an individual food item gives you the complete nutritional details.

The Exercise tab in the Diary allows you to enter your daily activities and will calculated an estimated number of calories burned, based on your weight.

The Calendar tab will show you the overall picture. It tells you the calories consumed and burned and gives you the all important Net calorie calculation, which is critical in a serious weight-loss plan.

The Food and Exercise Diary is a Premium plan feature and will be available to all Premium account holders immediately. If you are not a Premium account holder then you can easily upgrade by clicking on the Food Diary tab and following the instructions for upgrading. The Shrinking Premium plan is $3/month and gives you access to the Food & Exercise Diary, Notes, and the BMI Analyzer.

The Food and Exercise Diary is powered by the application that the cool kids over at FatSecret have created. They have one of the best API’s that we’ve ever worked with. Well done FatSecret team.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

Since many factors can affect your metabolism (e.g. age, overall health), it can actually slow down without you making any lifestyle changes. The good news is that aerobic exercise is an ideal way to increase your metabolism and combat weight gain.

Aging in particular has a noticeable impact on your metabolism, due to changes in hormone balance. That doesn’t mean aging makes weight gain inevitable. A 2001 study by the USDA Agricultural Research Service showed that older people can significantly improve their metabolism and fend of weight gain by participating in strength training (using weights or other resistance) exercise. The reason both exercise and strength training can improve your metabolism? Muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat; the more muscle you have in relation to your body fat, the higher your metabolism will be.

Metabolism is an important part of the weight-loss formula. It’s important to burn as many calories as possible when trying to lose weight, and metabolism plays right into that.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier

Small changes can lead to a big difference when it comes to lowering your cholesterol. According to the mayo clinic here are 5 lifestyle changes that may help to reduce your cholesterol.

1. Lose Excess Weight. This goes without saying. Even losing as little as 5 or 10 pounds will reduce your LDL levels

2. Eat Heart Healthy Foods. Making smart choices for your regular diet, such as whole grains and lots of fruits and veggies, can help lower your cholesterol.

3. Get Some Daily Exercise. Small things such as short walks and taking the stairs can help you lose weight, which can only help the cholesterol battle.

4. Quit Smoking. Smokers tend to have higher cholesterol and overall risk of heart disease.

5. Drink Alcohol Only In Moderation. If you drink, you should only drink in moderation to control your cholesterol. If you don’t drink there isn’t enough benefit in terms of cholesterol improvement to warrant starting.

The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier