Photo © pawpaw67

Looking to burn fat and keep your muscles? Try this!

Fasted Morning Walks

When you wake up in the morning, make sure you don’t eat any calories (stay fasted). Drink a cup of black coffee, a cup of tea (no cream or sugar), or pop a caffeine / fat burning pill. Then go for a 1 hour walk (don’t run – keeping BPM in the fat burning zone).

Do this as many mornings as you can per week. Don’t change anything else about your daily routine (don’t eat any more calories each day).

WHY FASTED WALK?

Your body goes into ketosis at night (burning fat for energy). Fasted walking after you wake up helps extend and intensifies this fat burning session.

WHY DRINK BLACK COFFEE OR UNSWEETENED TEA?

Both those drinks have caffeine and caffeine have been shown to increase fat burning. You don’t want to consume cream and sugar since it’ll defeat the purpose of your fat burning walk.

WHY NOT RUN?

Fasted high intensity workout will burn muscles in addition to fat, and you don’t want to burn those.

© Magen Petit

If you’re bored with your current cardio routine which includes a long, steady, easy-to-moderate pace on the elliptical, treadmill, or even the bike, and you feel you’ve hit a plateau then it’s time to spice things up a bit!

The next time you hop on the treadmill, try this:

• Interval. Jog for 1 minute and sprint for 30 seconds. Repeat this 10 times. Want something more challenging? Set your incline to 3%. Still not hard enough for you? Sprint for 1 minute instead of 30 seconds or increase your incline – or, do both.

Performing cardio this way will help you burn more calories and continue burning calories even after you’re done exercising.

If you get bored with one machine, try this:

• Mix It Up. Jog and sprint on a treadmill for 10 minutes then get on the elliptical and do the same. Finish off your session with a 10- to 15-minute moderate pace on the StepMill.

Are you looking to add bodyweight exercises into your cardio routine? Try this!

• Interval + Plyometrics. At 1% incline jog for 2 minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, and jog for 1 minute. Hop off and perform 10 jump squats. Increase the incline to 3% and jog for another 2 minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, and jog for 1 minute. Hop off and perform 10 jump lunges on each leg. Increase the incline to 5%, jog for 2 minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, and run for 1 minute. Hop off and perform 20 pop squats. Increase the incline to 9%, jog for 2 minutes, sprint for 30 seconds, and run for 1 minute. Hop off and perform 20 jumping jacks. Keep the incline at 9% and jog for 10 minutes.  

Make sure you’re getting in a solid stretch and warm-up before and a good cool-down and stretch after. Pair this with proper nutrition and hydration and you’ll be on your way to looking fit and trim in no time!

If you’re a newbie, work your way up to these challenges. Start with half the time and half the intensity and increase it every time you are in the gym.

What’s your favorite cardio? Share with me in the comment engine below!

© Magen Petit

If you’re like most Americans you probably skip breakfast and curb your hunger with a big cup – or pot – of coffee, and you likely don’t eat your first meal until lunchtime. You might get a few sips of water in here, or you’ll suck down a diet soda thinking you’re saving yourself calories and being healthy about your choice of beverage.

Here are some excellent tips to help take inches off those thighs and around that belly.

Eat breakfast. Within an hour of waking up, chow down on some oatmeal and egg whites. Don’t forget your serving of fruit, too. Since your body isn’t use to eating properly, it might take a while to build up an appetite for breakfast, but if you start with something small like oatmeal, you’ll have an appetite in no time. Breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism and allows your body to feed off the carbs it’s being given as opposed to your muscles.

Keep your portions small. Eat every 2.5-3 hours and keep the portions on your plate small. Read the labels and abide by the serving sizes. Act as if you’re grazing throughout the day.

Drink water. However much water you’re currently drinking, tack on another 2-3 cups. Continue doing this every couple of weeks or so. Get your body used to wanting and needing to be hydrated. Some people, believe it or not, hate the taste of water. Try infusing it with some cucumbers, mint, or lemon.  

Eat more fruits and vegetables. A good rule of thumb: eat the color of the rainbow (NOT Skittles!). Fill your plate with green peppers, red peppers, tomatoes, spinach, kale, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, etc. Make that your snack after your breakfast. Like hummus? Try dipping your celery or peppers in it. Deliciousness!

Limit starchy carbs. You can eat starchy carbs, but keep them to your morning and lunch meals. Taper them off in the afternoon and replace them with lots of veggies.

Eat protein. Protein helps keep you fuller longer and it builds muscle and muscle burns fat. Genius!  

Eat before you go to bed. It’s probably against everything you’ve ever heard, but if you’re hungry, don’t go to bed starving. Allow yourself something to eat an hour before you doze off. A preferred snack would be egg whites with almonds, or cottage cheese with almonds, or a casein protein shake.

Do you have tips you’d like to share with folks trying to live a healthier lifestyle? Share them below!

© Magen Petit

I’ll be honest; I used to be one of those people who rarely ever stretched before or after her training sessions. Why? I probably avoided it for the same excuses you might have: takes too long, I just want to start my workout already, what’s the point, who cares, etc. Am I right or am I right?

Unfortunately, I was ignorant. I wasn’t properly educated on the importance of stretching until now. Whenever I do a workout, I always start it with some sort of stretching and end it with stretching.

Why Should I Stretch?

Here are some benefits as to why you should be stretching:

• Prevents injury
• Enhances performance
• Improves range of motion (ROM)
• Alleviates muscle soreness
• Improves circulation
• Increases flexibility
• Improves posture
• Decreases your risk of low-back pain
• Helps reduce or manage stress

These listed benefits alone should convert you to start stretching before and after you workout – so, do it, no excuses!

What Do I Do to Stretch BEFORE I Workout?

If I’m sore from a previous workout, the first thing I’ll do is self-myofascial release (SMR), otherwise known as foam rolling. This is literally a roll of foam about 1 to 3 feet in length and about 4 to 6 inches in diameter. There are different sizes and colors out there. The different colors will indicate how hard each foam roller is. Foam rolling can be painful, but it’s worth it. When you foam roll over a sore area, you are releasing that muscle that has become knotted, which could potentially lead to further injury or pain. I highly recommend before doing any sort of SMR that you research it first. According to National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), SMR shouldn’t be used on people with varicose veins, areas of swelling, and people with diabetes, cancer, or arthritis.

After performing SMR, I begin my dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching is active stretching where I use movement and momentum to stretch. Examples of dynamic stretching include: arm circles, wrist circles, elbow circles, ankle circles, walking lunges, pushups, side bends and trunk rotations, walking alternate toe touches, leg swings, etc. Ideally, if you’re performing a full body workout, you want to make sure you do a dynamic stretch of your entire body, or whichever body parts you will be training.

What Do I Do to Stretch AFTER I Workout?

After my workout (weight training and cardio), I’ll stretch again. If I need to do another round of SMR, I will, and I’ll follow that up with static stretching, which means I’ll hold my stretches for about 15 seconds each. If not, I’ll just do static stretching. I’ll repeat each stretch two or three more times. Again, if I’m doing a full body workout, I’ll be sure to stretch my entire body: triceps stretch, arms across chest, shoulder and chest, glute stretch, hamstring, standing quadriceps while bending at hip, calves, etc.

Stretching is good! I have learned to love it only because I am now educated and understand the importance of it. See you out on the mat!

Happy training!

&photo; Magen Petit

These days everyone seems to be on time restraints – a meeting here, a conference call there, a kid’s dance recital, a favorite TV show, a boyfriend’s baseball game, a family outing, etc. Whatever commitment you’re tied down to, there is just not enough time in 24 hours to exercise… are these time restraints or really just excuses?!

Why wouldn’t you want to put aside some time in your day – FOR YOU - to work out and feel better? Release those endorphins and let go of stress and anxiety and be happy – who wouldn’t want that? Have no fear; I might have something that will help with those “commitments” or excuses you may have.

Morning

Your alarm goes off and you do the same thing you’ve done for the past however many weeks, months, or even years – you hit the snooze button. You might repeat this up to five, maybe even 10 times before you drag yourself out of bed. Why do that to yourself? That’s torture, never mind losing precious time in the morning. Then what happens? You find yourself scrambling trying to find your keys and your cell phone, and before you know it, you’re barely at work on time.

Challenge

Tomorrow morning, I challenge you to set your alarm and place it across the room so you’re forced to get out of bed to shut it off. I challenge you, before you have breakfast, (hoping that you do since it’s the most important meal of the day!) to perform the following circuit:

25 jumping jacks
20 bodyweight squats
pushups (however many you can do)
planks (however long you can hold them for)

Repeat this circuit up to three times with no rest in between. If you’re a newbie and can only do one circuit, pat yourself on the back – it’s better than nothing! Set yourself a goal to get up to three circuits over the course of a month.

Didn’t that feel good? It woke you up, didn’t it? Now, go eat your breakfast. (If you’re skipping out on breakfast, you’re skipping out on the most important meal of the day! Try protein pancakes – they are packed with carbs and proteins; it’s a perfect way to jumpstart your day. If you’re curious as to how I make them, let me know and I will share with you the recipe, and even include the nutrition facts. Warning: You may find them addicting!)

Afternoon

You’re busy at work and have no time to leave your desk, let alone grab some lunch! Is this another excuse?! I’m about 99 percent positive you have stairs at your place of work or somewhere near you.

Challenge

Take a 10-minute break (by law you should be taking breaks throughout the day anyway!) and go walk up and down flights of stairs. If you’re a beginner, be sure to walk up the stairs and walk down them. If you can handle more, get a little jog up the stairs, but be sure to walk down them. If you run down the stairs, the force on your knees is exponential and could create problems later on down the road.  If you’re more advanced, try skipping a couple of steps or walking up sideways making sure to switch sides to keep the activity balanced.

Evening

Kids are home from school, dog needs to be walked, husband is home early from work and you need to prepare dinner.

Challenge

I suggest opting to take Fido for a walk outside. You can use this time to get another burst of exercise in! In fact, you could even repeat this morning’s session that you did just after your alarm went off. Don’t have a dog to walk? That’s ok! Get outside for some fresh air and complete the workout, or if the weather is inclement, perform your workout indoors.

Before you know it, you’ve completed a nice little workout in your oh-so-busy day!

Moral of this post: there are no excuses when it comes to working out. Period. Just imagine all the people out there who physically cannot workout – or, better yet, those who have a disability who STILL put themselves through a workout. You are capable. Do it. Feel better. Live happy.

Happy training!

© Magen Petit

I was on a cooking and baking binge last night where I made dinner followed by dessert – Chicken Scampi and protein cookies! Both are low calorie, low carb, low fat, and high protein – and guess what? They taste DELICIOUS!

Chicken Scampi

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1.25lbs chicken (I got boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders)
• ¼ cup white cooking wine
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp parsley
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 cloves garlic

Mix all ingredients in a plastic bag (I used a big freezer bag). Add chicken and let it marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. I actually let it sit for an hour only because I was busy making the cookies, but be careful not to let it marinate too long because the lemon juice could toughen the chicken. Mine ended up being just fine!

Place it in the oven on BROIL for 10-14 minutes (or until all the pink is gone). Make sure you flip the chicken halfway through. I only needed to keep the chicken in the oven for 10 minutes – ovens are different, though. Just keep an eye on it. DEFINITION OF BROIL, ACCORDING TO DICTIONARY.COM: “verb (used with object) To cook by direct heat, as on a gridiron over the heat or in an oven under the heat; grill: to broil a steak.” Some people might not know what broil actually means, hence why I provided the definition. I moved the top rack in the oven on the highest notch it could go and I placed the chicken on the rack. I just set the oven to “Broil” and let it do its thing!

That’s it! How simple is that?! You can add your favorite cup of veggies and a small salad to complete your delicious dinner!

Here are the nutrition facts for 5 servings:

199.8 calories, 6.9g fat, 3.68g carbs, 26.9g protein

Here are the nutrition facts for 4 servings:

249.75 calories, 8.62g fat, 4.6g carbs, 33.6g protein

© Magen Petit

Protein Cookies

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1/3 cup Truvia (Stevia or brown sugar works, too!)
• ½ cup natural applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup oats
• 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 scoops protein (I used Gaspari Nutrition’s Milk Chocolate Myofusion)
• 1 tbsp honey
• ½ cup chocolate chip morsels

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 360 degrees for 10 minutes.

Nutrition facts for one cookie (my batch made a total of about 16 cookies):

114 calories, 4g fat, 11g carbs, 8g protein

The cookie can act as a great snack throughout the day or even as a dessert after a meal. If you try these recipes, let me know how they turn out! Bon appétit!

&photo; Magen Petit

Since the majority of us can’t live without technology, especially our cell phones, I figured I’d blog about how using our phones can help us get fit!

• Your phone has a camera – use it for progress photos. You’d be surprised how motivating photos of yourself can be!
• Find a photo on your phone’s internet and save it. Set it as your wallpaper to inspire you.
• Looking to eat out, but want to stay healthy? Use Yelp to find restaurants nearby.
• Music is extremely motivating! I enjoy creating my own playlists with music I already have stored on my phone, but I really enjoy Pandora Radio, and, most recently, FitRadio.
• Do you love to inspire and help others? Take advantage of Twitter or Instagram to do just that!
• Have trouble sleeping? You might want to check out the incredible app Binaural Beats. Works wonders for me! I love using the Deep Meditation preset. It allows me to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep.
• Use your phone’s alarm clock to wake you up in the morning to get your butt to the gym! If you can’t get up on your alarm’s first ring, set another alarm for five minutes later. On the iPhone alarm you can set it with a personal message. For example, “Wake Up and Get Your Ass to the Gym!” or “No Excuses!”
• Get to know your body better. Find apps that measure your Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a number calculated from your height and weight. It is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.
• Search your app store. I have three folders filled with subfolders relating to health on my iPhone. Is that overkill? Either way, I don’t care, I love my apps! Here are a few I’d suggest checking out:
  • iMuscle – an app to show you all the muscles in your body and gives you exercises to work those muscles.
  • Gymboss – an interval timer for those of you who enjoy doing Tabata or interval workouts!
  • Calorie Counter or Livestrong MyPlate – both great for tracking your caloric intake.
  • iFitness or iPTrainer – these can help you create workouts for the gym

Do you use your phone for any fitness-related reasons? Share them with me in the comment engine below!

My style of training has changed since I began attending classes for a six-month program at National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) to become an advanced certified personal trainer, and I’ve been seeing some great results. (Keep in mind my diet is pretty clean – I have a cheat meal once or twice a week). I want to share with you an example of a workout that I’ve done recently and really enjoyed.

© Magen Petit

I have always trained specific body parts on different days; very rarely did I do whole body workouts. I just felt like I wasn’t getting much out of them… until now. Here’s what a full body workout looked like that I did:

• Squat (super set with single legged hamstring curl)
• Jumping Jacks (20-30)
• Bench Press (super set with push-ups)
• Jumping Rope (20-30 seconds)
• Lat Pull Down (super set with one-arm dumbbell row)
• Jumping Jacks
• Arnold Press
• Jumping Rope
• Dumbbell Bicep Curls
• Jumping Jacks
• Tricep Skullcrushers
• Jumping Rope
• 30-second Planks

I repeated this three times for a total of four sets.

In between every set I performed some sort of interval cardio training – either jumping jacks or jumping rope – so my heart rate stayed elevated throughout my entire workout. Doing a full body workout allowed me to hit every muscle group, and because I did it in this order: legs –> chest –> back –> shoulders –> biceps –> triceps –> core, it allowed my muscles that I just trained ample time to rest until I worked them again. Typically, chest and tris are paired together and back and bis are. By splitting them this way, they were rested enough for me to get a great workout for each muscle group.

The cool thing about training legs is that it will get you a stronger core quickly! If you’re worried about your midsection, the best thing to do is train legs… often! Another great way to burn belly fat after you’ve done some weight training is by walking on a treadmill at an incline for 20 minutes.

Another fun fact I learned – if your workout lasts longer than 90 minutes, and you want to continue burning fat and not muscle, be sure to refuel on food! That’s why it’s so important to eat before you work out so your body is feeding off the carbs you just fed your body and not your muscles, and even more important to feed your body immediately after training. I tend to drink a Gaspari Nutrition protein shake and eat an apple.  

Happy training!

© Magen Petit

Who doesn’t like a good (and fun!) challenge? I know I do, especially when it comes to physical fitness and exercising.

I joined Instagram – the free photo-sharing program and social network – more than a year ago, and at that time I wasn’t aware of how powerful of a networking tool it can be, and how it can help me reach my own fitness goals!

When I made the commitment to compete in my fitness competition in April, I started taking photos of myself to track my progression. I posted a picture here and there on Instagram and started following those who are either in the fitness industry, or just starting out on their own fitness journey, etc. Eventually, I came across some month-long photo “challenges.” These are great opportunities for those who are passionate about fitness or trying to reach their goals and stay motivated. I participated in a couple of them and really liked them. Much to my surprise they actually held me accountable and helped me reach my goals.

Instead of anxiously waiting for another challenge to be posted, I decided to put one together for the month of September. I posted it the last day of August and for it being my first challenge I’d say it’s doing pretty well! I figure if I can help even one person stay on top of their fitness goals and keep them motivated, then it’s a success. I am also taking part in my #septemberfit challenge.

Here’s How It Works

I reached out to a fellow Instagrammer – @itschristina_nicole – and asked if she’d like to be part of this challenge with me. Together, we created 30 different photo challenges, one a day for the 30 days in September. We named it the September Fit Challenge and have Instagrammers tag their photos with the following hashtag: “septemberfit” which ultimately looks like this: #septemberfit. We also have them tag our Instagram names: @magenfit23 and @itschristina_nicole.

The Daily Challenges

Day 1 – “Before” Flexed Photo
Day 2 – Supplements
Day 3 – Labor Day Fun
Day 4 – Favorite Workout Gear
Day 5 – Favorite Cardio Equipment
Day 6 – Gallon of H2O Complete
Day 7 – Non-gym Clothes
Day 8 – Cheat Meal
Day 9 – Stretch It Out
Day 10 – Dumbbells
Day 11 – Let Me See You Sweat
Day 12 – Breakfast
Day 13 – Pre-workout Meal
Day 14 – Post-workout Meal
Day 15 – What’s For Dinner?
Day 16 – Favorite Protein Bar
Day 17 – Favorite Brand of Supplements
Day 18 – Bis/Tris
Day 19 – Abs
Day 20 – Quads
Day 21 – Shoulders
Day 22 – Back
Day 23 – Calves
Day 24 – What’s In Your Gym Bag?
Day 25 – Fitness Buddy
Day 26 – Your Motivation
Day 27 – Gym
Day 28 – Workout Music
Day 29 – What Makes You Happy
Day 30 – “After” Flexed Photo

Example of my submissions for the #septemberfit challenge. © Magen Petit

I love seeing how people interpret each photo challenge and I look forward to seeing them post daily! It’s fun for me and it also helps keep me motivated!

Do you want to give it a shot, too? It’s not too late! Just start with the current date we’re on and go from there, or start from the beginning – it’s up to you! Have fun with it and be creative! You can find phone applications that will allow you to put labels on your photos or put multiple photos in one. I have an iPhone and really enjoy using Camera+ and Instaframe.

Good luck and don’t forget to find me on Instagram – @magenfit23.

If you are looking to lose a little weight or trim off some fat, you probably already know that cutting back on calories can be helpful.  But where the problem lies is if you’re already super conscious about what you eat, you might think there are not many places left to cut back and still enjoy your food. After doing some internet searches on ways to cut 100 calories from your diet and finding the same old, boring advice, I decided to take pen to paper, and share what I came up with when I started thinking about where I could cut back on my already calorie-conscious diet.   Hopefully a few of these innovative tips apply to you and you can use them when trying to follow a lower calorie weight-loss diet.

• Switch to unsweetened almond milk.  If you haven’t tried almond milk yet, go buy some.  At only thirty-forty calories in 8 oz, it is fifty calories less per serving then skim milk and like me; you may actually prefer the taste.  Although it is lower in protein, almond milk actually has more calcium then cow’s milk (since its fortified) and can be helpful when trying to cut back on calories.

• Make the breakfast berry swap.  A lot of people make a healthy choice by adding berries to their cereal, yogurt or oatmeal in the morning.  Save about 100 calories by making what I call the “breakfast berry swap.” For example, instead of having one cup of cereal and a quarter-cup of berries, try having a cup of berries topped with a quarter-cup of cereal.  You’ll end up with the same amount of food, and at least half the calories.

• Choose your cheese wisely.  Simply put, choosing two ounces of feta or ricotta cheese over two ounces of cheddar or parmesan will save you around 100 calories and it’s still the same amount of food.

• Try spaghetti squash.  A spaghetti squash gets its name because when it is cooked and the insides are shredded, you’re left with what looks like strands of cooked spaghetti.  Although it does taste a little different, if you dress it up with your favorite toppings, like marinara sauce, the outcome can be pretty comparable, and quite delicious.  Also, keep in mind that one cup of cooked pasta is roughly 220 calories, while one cup of spaghetti squash in only about forty calories.

• Measure your calorie-dense foods.  Get out your measuring spoon and make sure you are not overdoing it with items like nut butters, oils, and condiments.  Using an extra tsp of olive oil on your veggies and  a tsp more than you think of almond butter on your toast can easily add up to an extra 100 calories each day.  These calorie dense items should be used in smaller quantities for a reason, because you don’t need much to feel satisfied or alter the taste of your food.

• Pass on the croutons.  Sorry, I know this one isn’t really creative but it’s one that I forget to do when I’m out to eat.  Half a cup of croutons adds about 100 calories to your salad, and they’re really just stale bread…no thanks.

• Ice bath veggies.  Shock sliced vegetables like sweet potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant in an ice bath for thirty minutes before you toss them in olive oil and bake.  The shocked cold veggies won’t absorb as much oil and fat but will leave the outside crispy and crunchy once they bake.

• Buy flavored coffee.  Buy a hazelnut or french vanilla roast and add spices like nutmeg and cinnamon to your coffee.  With the natural flavors of the coffee and spices, you’ll only need a splash of milk instead of higher calorie creamers and sugar.

• Leave the last few bites.  Re-evaluate the last few bites left on your plate towards the end of your meal.  Chances are you are already satisfied, and they won’t look as appetizing as when you began eating.

Hope some of these helped.  Mahalo for reading and happy eating!