Guest Blogger Post:

One of the biggest areas of debate with fitness experts is the type of cardio which is best for weight loss. You’ll hear some trainers advocating steady-state aerobic routines while others insist high-intensity interval training is the only way to go. So which type of cardio training really is best for weight loss? The answer is both! While people love to make an argument for one method being superior to the other, the reality is no one way for cardio would be optimal to do all the time. As it is with fitness in general, variety is the real secret to achieving maximum results.

The pitfall that a lot of exercisers get into is staying stuck with doing one type of cardio. A perfect example would be doing repetitive bouts of long-slow-distance, steady state routines on a treadmill or elliptical trainer. The idea is that the longer you go, the more calories you’ll burn and therefore it’s best for fat loss. This isn’t necessarily true over the long-haul. While lower-intensity aerobic routines will burn more calories during the workout, they don’t have the ability to stimulate a hormonal response like high-intensity interval training routines.

The edge that high-intensity, short-duration interval training workouts have is the release in powerful fat burning catalysts like growth hormone, adrenaline, and nor-adrenaline. When the central nervous system is stimulated with short bursts of all-out effort it triggers these hormonal responses.  This means your ability to burn fat post-workout is significantly increased.

As a certified Charleston personal trainer, I’m a big proponent of interval training routines for fat loss. But I’ll be the first to admit, it’s merely a piece of the puzzle and not the total answer. For starters, it would be extremely counter-productive to attempt high intensity interval training any more than 2-3 times a week. To do interval training correctly requires the exerciser to push him or herself with maximum effort. Recovery time would not be adequate to do interval training every day and cortisol levels would quickly rise in an over-trained state. Increased cortisol levels would negate all the benefits of interval training and bring fat loss to a halt.

Secondly, for optimal results you want to work the body across all the energy systems. There are three distinct energy systems the body uses to support physical activity: aerobic, anaerobic, and glycolytic. Without boring you with the details the body adjusts to using different energy systems depending on the intensity and length of the activity. When the body is able to bring in enough oxygen to support energy production it uses the aerobic energy system. When it can’t bring in oxygen fast enough, it uses the anaerobic or glycolytic energy systems.

The ideal cardio training routine would incorporate workouts that work all the above mentioned energy systems. This simply means you’d want to combine longer duration, steady-state aerobic routines with shorter, high-intensity interval routines. You’ll get the best of both worlds and avoid over-training or adapting to one particular workout routine.

For maximum results a balanced fitness routine would include resistance training, steady-state aerobic work, high-intensity interval training, and stretching/flexibility training.  Mix up your routines and don’t get bogged down doing the same workouts over and over. Incorporate variety and I ensure you that you won’t be disappointed with the results.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. He specializes in helping middle age adults transform their bodies using his “Lean Code Method” fitness and nutrition strategies. 

WithAmyMac.com

I wanted to see how healthy they were for you so I went in to their site and found the option to calculate YOUR sandwich on the nutrition pages. I love this! You never think about it but when you pick your bread, add cheese, condiments and maybe even bacon, the calories and fat can really go up and then your healthy option turns in to a not so healthy option. I encourage you to take a look at their site and calculate your sandwich to make sure you are making the right choices when you order! Plus, be careful about over-adding to your meal – chips, cookies and soda can all add up. Thanks to Subway for the gift cards to try their new sandwiches. You should check them out or ask them yourself!

• Subway Nutrition
• Subway Twitter: @subwayfreshbuzz

WithAmyMac.com health and fitness tips and videos.

Vote EverydayBetter.com for Best Membership site! 

Thank you! ~amy

WithAmyMac.com

Where:  Evbe Facebook Page

When: TODAY – 2pm ET/ 1pm CT

What: Topic is Holiday Weight and Winter Workout Tips

Who: Everyone is welcome! I will try to answer your questions as fast as I can!

Prizes:

• FREE evbe 10 Pound Cut Down 30 day memberships
• $10 Subway Gift Card
• $250 Human Trainer – home workout system
• and… surprises!

WithAmyMac.com

Now. My vegetable juicing journey.

I’ve been drinking ONLY vegetable juice for the past 5 days and I’m hoping to go another 5… we’ll see. Many people do it to lose weight and others use it to give their bodies a break from all the processed, pre-packaged or difficult to digest foods (dairy, meat) that we typically ingest. Yes, many people call it ‘detoxing’ but it’s not that your body is getting rid of toxins, it’s that you aren’t taking them in during this time. Therefore, your system can take a breather and get realigned. Let’s call it a’Reset’ instead of ‘cleansing’ or ‘detoxing’ because those terms are overused. The idea behind juicing is that you are only consuming raw vegetables and some fruits in its simplest form so that the body can absorb all the available nutrients as quickly as possible.

I did this whole crazy experiment because 1) some friends wanted to try it for weight loss and I was curious and 2) I watched the documentary “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” and was curious. After doing lots of research and purchasing an affordable kickass juicer, we set out on our journey.

The Goal: 5-10 days of only vegetable juice.

According to what we’ve read, your body is adjusting for the first 5 days and then in tip-top shape for the last 5 days. Everyone seems to struggle with Day 3. The claims are weight loss, mental clarity, better skin, more energy, happy digestive system, etc.

My Experience:

Pre-Juice: Instead of easing into the juicing thing, I went out with a bang eating everything I wanted because I knew I’d be deprived for 10 days. This was probably not my best idea because it made Day 1 harder. However, it did cause me to gain weight, which was then easily lost in the first couple of days – a mental boost!

Day 1: This was an OK day. No, I was not running to the bathroom, but I didn’t feel awesome either. I was extremely tired (maybe just a tough weekend?) and then became light-headed and very yucky. We later attributed this to taking all of my usual allergy and asthma medications on an essentially empty stomach. I slept most of the afternoon and then felt better. Weight: 109 (usually 105-6 but thinking the junk food and carb-alicious weekend did me in!)

Day 2: Felt a little flu-ish. Might just be the lack of allergy medication in my system (plus the withdrawal of meds and hot tea)! Every time I was hungry, I drank a juice. They really seemed to taste like lawn clippings on this day. Ugh. 10 days is a long time but somehow I felt good at the same time. Weird. (Don’t stop taking your meds unless you speak to your Dr. first!) Weight: 105.6

Day 3: I was expecting to be yucky on this day. However, surprised to find that I felt pretty good. Of course, I did end up sleeping for 10 hours the night before, crazy! My body needed the rest, I guess! Not hungry. Pretty energized. Did manual labor for a few hours and this was better than having to think. My brain does seem to have adjusted though and the flu symptoms have subsided. This isn’t so bad after all. The biggest thing is that it’s annoying not to eat food. I’m not tempted to cheat, I just want to eat very specific, fresh, delicious foods. Weight: 104.8

Day 4: I’ve been working out pretty hard this week and yes, was able to even on juice alone! However, I was hungry on this day. I thought I was drinking enough but at the last count, I didn’t take in enough, especially for as much as I was burning. Thinking I need to do a schedule instead of waiting to be hungry. My brain is back to working although I do go in and out of focus with the hunger. Weight: 103.8

Day 5: Might’ve been the worst day yet. Woke up hungry and whenever that happens, I can never catch up, especially on juice alone! Felt light-headed and almost caved in at lunchtime but had a stalk of celery with peanut butter and it helped immensely. Yes, it’s cheating but it wasn’t a burger and fries- it was a STALK OF CELERY WITH PEANUT BUTTER! Was still hungry most of the day. Been complaining a lot today and I’m sure everyone is tired of hearing it but I really didn’t feel awesome today. However, the one thing that kept me from bailing was the when I had some juice, I did feel awesome. So once again, we are thinking that I’m not drinking enough juice or water. Ugh, so still my fault. It’s so weird. I want to bail and yet, when I feel good, I feel REALLY GOOD. I skipped a workout today just because I think my body is repairing and doesn’t need any additional stress. Weight: 104

I won’t do another day like today. If I feel the same tomorrow, I’m done. However, maybe I’m really close to getting to the good stuff?! I don’t know but I do know that I’ll cave if I think it’s an actual health problem and not just my mental state dealing with my apparent food addiction! I’ve always said, “I eat to live, not live to eat.” After this week, I think that I’ve been lying to myself for a couple of years. I use to eat plain, boring, healthy foods to survive, but in the last few years, I’ve enjoyed excellent cuisine and gourmet ingredients and have really grown to appreciate them.

Everyone else seems to be feeling about the same. Some weight loss, some flu-ish symptoms, highs and lows for sure. I would strongly recommend teaming up for an experiment like this because the accountability is ridiculously awesome! We have an ongoing group text that has kept me off the ledge a few times!

Here’s my take so far:

I think juicing is powerful and awesome. I think that incorporating it into my daily life will up my energy, make me look and feel better and maybe even help me focus without caffeine. I might even juice all day for a day or 2 every now and then to reset myself and maybe drop a couple of pounds (holiday weight – never again!).  It would also be great before a photo shoot or special event! I’ll keep you posted on the rest of our journey. Now, someone cue Bon Jovi!

Update:

Day 6: It was a Saturday and I never realized how much eating has to do with our weekend! We had plans for dinner, a hockey game, after game drinks… and we were juicing. Depending on how you look at it, we cracked. Or maybe we just decided to live life, who knows. But, we decided to take 24 hrs off from the juice and enjoy our plans. It turns out, when you juice all the time, food tastes absolutely amazing. We had SMALL portions of everything, savored every bite and it was a complete win. We decided that we enjoyed juicing so much that we were going to do juices all day (when we can) and then eat a light dinner. I’m also having a small lunch. Then, when we eat out or have plans, it’s no big deal. We enjoy it and then get back to the plan.  Weight: 102.4

Day 10: While our house cracked on Day 6, our amazingly hardcore friends made it to Day 10 and we had the healthiest splurge meal I’ve ever seen to celebrate! Fish, kale salad, salad and tabouleh, with delicious energy bite no bakes for dessert. Everything was amazingly fresh and delicious. Weight: 104

Today is almost a week after our 1st splurge and I’m amazed at how we’ve incorporated ‘the vuice’ into our daily lives and yet still aren’t those weird people that can’t be social… you know who I’m talking about! :) We’ve continued our 2x day workouts, we’ve been eating a bit of food, me more than Nik because he really wants to lose more weight. I made an amazing vegan chili and we even broke down and ordered a pizza one night after a very thought-intensive brainstorming day! Overall, though, our bodies are nutrient happy and the lack of calories has Nik losing weight and me holding pretty steady at 102.6 – lower than I’ve been in years without being hungry! It’s just crazy. I think we are really going to just keep on with this as a lifestyle and I’m sure we’ll drop off for a week or two every now and then and have to reset ourselves so we can get back on track but we feel better, look better, sleep better and all food smells and tastes better so I just can’t find anything wrong with this scenario!

Find more health and fitness tips at WithAmyMac.com

We can all name the things we know we should or shouldn’t be doing, but creating a list of 50 items you want to accomplish this week in an effort to be healthy is simply not going to help.  It takes 21 days to make a habit, so it would seem like the best way to get on track would be to pick one item each month and focus on making sure you do it!

How to Beat the Fitness Slump:

Health and Fitness Tips at WithAmyMac.com

Use the pants o’meter!

Unbuttoning the top button of your pants might be ok on Thanksgiving day but on any occasion… um, no. However, when your pants start feeling snug, stop eating! When people push food your way, you can honestly say “I’m stuffed” and be convincing about it! Honesty is the best policy so trust your jeans, pencil skirt and belted dress to keep you in check!

• Fight Holiday Weight Gain Tip #1
• Fight Holiday Weight Gain Tip #2

WithAmyMac.com

WithAmyMac.com

Turn Away the Crazy Coffee and Hot Cocoa Drinks!

Fancy drinks are loaded with empty calories that will do you no favors when it comes to fitting in to your holiday party dress! I’m all about warm drinks but stick with hot tea and regular coffee because these will warm you up and not plump you up! Of course, you can have the occasional treat but make sure to pick and choose because you want to savor that treat and feel that the calories were worth it!

Did you miss Avoid Holiday Weight Gain Tip #1? Click here!

WithAmyMac.com

Here is one of my favorite ways to fight holiday weight gain OR any other diet sabotaging pitch-ins, parties, cookouts, etc…

Take a dish that is healthy!

This means that you will have something to eat AND most likely, everyone else will be glad to have a healthy option. (I’ve never brought home leftover fruit salad!)

It doesn’t have to be something that takes hours to prepare, you can throw together a quick salad, take a veggie tray, a fruit salad for dessert or even a simple broth-based soup! Making sure there is something healthy that you can eat, helps to give you control in these situations. Yes, of course you can sample a couple of other dishes, but make sure to make a loop around the table before filling your plate. You want to use those calories on the best dishes only! :)

WithAmyMac.com

Top Pick for Fitness Gifts:

iPod Shuffle at Amazon

Price is $49.99 and you can pick a color that matches their personality!

Fit Links:

• Fitness Gifts to Avoid! – Fitness Magazine

Health and fitness tips and exercise videos at WithAmyMac.com

Here is the press release explaining everything about our online workout DVD program and how to sign up for FREE!

Press Release
Giveaway Signup

When I found a Living Social deal for pole dancing classes, I was excited. I talked a friend in to joining me and we had 2 classes in which we got to do sexy walks, spins and oh, right, work out. Pole dancing fitness is a trend and I think it’s becoming pretty popular. Carmen Electra brought Striptease fitness to the world a few years ago and since then, being sexy and getting fit have gone hand in hand.

Does it count?
I always tell people to have fun with fitness, try new trends, learn a new skill or just find something that doesn’t feel like exercise! This logic applies to pole dancing fitness! I was curious as to how the classes would measure up from a fitness perspective. I’d put them as a 3-4 on a 10 point scale because I wasn’t sweating during or sore afterwards. However, the 2nd class was much more intense than the first, which makes me think that the better you are, the harder the work out. The upper body was the most worked because you are swinging and holding on to the pole. I wouldn’t use this is a kickboxing class replacement but if you are looking to have fun, learn some sexy moves and burn a few calories, then sign up!!

Sexy Factor
I think there is something awesome about being “forced” to be sexy. We all signed up for the class so we clearly wanted to be sexy doing sexy moves. But then, the lights go out, the music starts and everyone is suddenly shy about wiggling their hips and running their hands over their body. As a former hip hop dancer, I had an advantage because I can commit no matter what (even though many times, it’s not pretty!). It was nice to see people relax, loosen up and after being instructed and reminded on ways to be sexy, everyone starting to get in to it. I think being able to take that step over the line of shyness and be comfortable with your body is a must, no matter what your age, size or fitness level.

Class Layout:
20 minutes of stretching, pushups, crunches and warming up
25 minutes of learning spins and moves – we learned 4 spins per class (none upside down- damn!)
5 minutes of free-styling to sexy music and strobe lights.

Overall, I had fun. I want to sign up for more classes. I secretly want to be able to spin upside down on the pole. I’m not sure anyone outside of class will ever witness these new-found skills but I like it, I’m good at it, I was challenged and I got a work out. Sounds like the perfect activity to me!

Moral of the story: Grab a friend or 2, your favorite booty shorts and sign up the next time you see a Groupon, Living Social, etc deal.

As we roll into the holidays, we all worry about 2 things:

• Spending TOO MUCH MONEY
• Gaining TOO MUCH WEIGHT

So we decided to flip the script and give away $15,000 in product AND help you lose 10 pounds!

We were planning on rolling out our newest exercise program, the 10 Pound Cut Down, on January 1st but we are toooo excited and in the spirit of the season, we decided to give away 500 memberships (that’s over $15,000 in product) to our online personal training program!

If you are interested in:

• Looking Better
• Feeling Better
• Rocking Your Skinny Jeans
• Preventing Holiday Weight Gain
• AND Getting A Jump on your New Year’s Resolution

ALL before the new year rolls in, then enter your email below and get on the list so your spot is guaranteed!

Enter your email and you’re on the list to get the 10 Pound Cut Down FREE!

Name:

Email:

We respect your email privacy

Limited to 500 spots. Reserve your spot now!

We only have 500 spots and we expect them to go quickly!

Sign up now and fight holiday weight before it hits first!

 

What is the 10 Pound Cut Down?

It’s a workout program that brings you personalized coaching from a personal trainer with all the convenience of a workout DVD. The workout videos are 10 minutes and you work out less than 1 hour per week. This means you have to work hard, but if you are up for it – then you will see results and in a fraction of the time of all your friends’ workouts! Learn more at EverydayBetter.com

 

WithAmyMac.com Health and Fitness Tips

1 – Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes

You can go crazy and have a tofu turkey but that won’t cut it with me. I want the real deal, I just want it lighter!
In my house, we:

• use chicken broth and a bit of garlic to make the mashed potatoes instead of milk, butter, sour cream.

Lighter Mashed Potatoes:

• • Cook the potatoes in chicken broth.
  • Then add garlic and maybe more broth when mashing. Delicious!

• make our pumpkin pies from scratch – SO EASY! Grab a pie pumpkin at the Farmer’s Market or grocery store and you are good to go!
  • Pumpkin Pie Recipe
  • How to make homemade pumpkin pie!
• make an alternate pumpkin pie that is lighter and a HUGE hit! Creamy 2-Layer Pumpkin Pie

This year, I’m going to try a couple of recipes from Clean Eating magazine and I’m very excited! I’ll let you know how they turn out! Also don’t forget that depending on how traditional you want to be, you can branch out and make a different delicious, healthy meal or sides to go with that turkey.

Other healthy Thanksgiving dinner recipes:

• Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes: Eating Well – The pear, prosciutto and hazelnut stuffing looks amazing!
• Healthy Thanksgiving Receips: Food Network – Ellie’s sweet potato-pecan casserole sounds delicious!

2 – Get Moving

There are several events happening over the long weekend, some even on Thanksgiving day! I love the idea of a morning turkey trot with the family!

Here’s a list of just the Turkey Trots on Active.com – you can refine the search and see what’s going on in your city. Also remember to keep your ears open because many events aren’t listed here or named the same. This is a great way to get moving, spend time with the family and most events support a charity.

3 – Proactive and then Reactive

You know that you are going to eat too much over the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s going to happen so you can plan ahead by eating lighter the week before, adding 5 extra minutes to your fitness sessions and then doing the same for the week after. (Keep this regimen up through the holidays if you have lots of food and parties surrounding you.) It’s much easier to take control of your food and fitness during the normal days so you can relax and enjoy the holidays and events.

These are just a few tips on how to have a healthier Thanksgiving. Most of them, I do personally to keep myself and my family healthier through the holidays. I hope you find them helpful, try some of the amazing recipe links and enjoy the upcoming holidays. One last note: The one thing I do on Thanksgiving day is simply only eat 1 plate of food with dinner (+ pie!). I don’t overstuff myself because I ate being miserably full. When I’m hungry a few hours later, I enjoy the leftovers. We even get a really nice loaf of bread for sandwiches and that’s when the cranberry dressing really gets used as a spread! There’s no reason to overeat at the actual meal because the leftovers are so delicious. If you are going somewhere or people are only staying for dinner, get the disposable tupperware dishes and either dish up leftovers for people or ask for leftovers – the host will think it’s a great idea!  Happy Thanksgiving!  ~amy

Remember, you can always sign up for our 10 Pound Cut Down workout program and work out less than an hour a week!

Find all your health and fitness tips at WithAmyMac.com