midlifejourney.com

Author: Jane J Doe

Live to eat, or eat to live, which one do we live by. We should eat to live, but most of us live to eat. I am one of those that live to eat. I love food, I love the look, the smell and the taste of food. I like to eat out all the time, and having dinner parties with lots of yummy food and drinks. Therefore I am also part of the hugely overweight population of the world. I have been struggling for years to lose unwanted weight fast.

I write this to share with you today a very important secret many of us don’t know about, and don’t use. This works wonders, and I have had success with this very small habit the last few months. I am not yet at the point where I can say that I have reduced all my unwanted weight, yet. But one thing is for sure, I see and feel results and I am getting there. I will be at my ideal weight in no time at all.

So, what is the secret you ask. Well, it’s all about portion size. The average person’s stomach is supposed to be as big as your two fists put together. That is the amount of food your body needs to generate enough energy for your everyday tasks. The ideal eating habit is to eat just that amount of healthy food at least six times a day, and you will have more energy and less fat.

What I have done, that works wonders is cutting down on my portions per meal. I take breakfast, lunch and supper with healthy snacks in between meals, spread out over a three hour period. The idea is to have smaller meals more often throughout the day. Keeping in mind not to eat after sun down as well, the food we eat during the day should be burnt as energy while we are active, after sundown we generally get less active, therefor less energy is burns from what we eat, and it is naturally stored as fat.

The cutting of my portions works as follows, I started first by taking my big plate I usually had and cut it by a third for the first week. Then every week thereafter I cut my portion with a third again. It took me a total of about two months to get down to the size of my meal being as much as my two fists put together. If you work it out you’ll see that I was actually eating a lot of unnecessary food that my body did not need and could not transform it all into energy until the next big meal, therefor my body stored everything into unwanted fat.

By cutting my portions with the initial result being to reduce unwanted weight, I have actually done a few very good things for my body. I loose unwanted fat fast, my metabolism speeds up, my energy levels are higher and I just feel great.

Any diet that tells you to eat as much as you like and you will still lose unwanted fat fast, is lying to you. You need to eat less more often.

About the Author:
I am an expert research writer, that spends most of my time doing research on all the many things in the world that I find appealing and interesting. I am passionate about giving my views, opinions and advice to people who can use my findings to improve their lifestyle. STRIP THAT FAT !!! FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS !!!

Article Source

Author: Kathy Ekdahl, Personal Best Personal Training

In my 20 years of experience in the fitness industry, I have never, note NEVER, met anyone who could not lose weight no matter how hard they tried. Unfailingly, clients who could not lose weight were making crucial mistakes that were preventing them from success. Unfortunately, many people are in such denial about their exercise, eating and lifestyle habits, that they convince themselves they are doing everything they can to lose weight, while deep inside (deep inside) they know this is not the truth.

Continue Reading »

Author: Kathy Ekdahl

Fall has always been my favorite time of year. To me, it signals a new start, a new season, the end of the lazy days of summer. Cool crisp air, beautiful foliage, fresh pencils, organized notebooks, new school clothes! These are the things I think of when I think of fall!

Summer can be a time of vacations and overindulgences, which are welcome after the long winter, but summer can also be a time of too much sun, too much food and drink and lots of lazing around at the beach. I feel we are so lucky to have the seasons here in Massachusetts, as each season can end, and a new season can start, giving us opportunities for change and forward movement. Fall is the perfect time to get back to our goals and our regimens as we redefine our self commitment and our schedules.

I ask all of you to take the time over the next two weeks to put in writing your goals and self-promises for the fall. Your goals could be related to:

• frequency of exercise,
• weight loss,
• trying something new,
• giving up soda!

All are valid and inspirational. Goals should be achievable and realistic, and it is also essential to create long and short term goals. Be specific! Make sure that your goal sheet also includes HOW you are going to achieve the goals. What actions will you take to be successful? This means putting thought into scheduling and planning- the action stage- which is essential for forward movement. Merely dreaming of your goals is only the first step! You must write them down and then take specific actions to achieve them.

Post your goal sheet where it is visible and use it as a tool for self accountability. You’d be surprised how motivating it is to see your own promises written down each and every day. They will serve as a reminder of the commitment you have made to your self improvement.
Have a wonderful fall!

About Kathy Ekdahl

Just read an article in the latest Good Housekeeping of all things… about MCI… Mild Cognitive Impairment!!! Apparently, we are all prone to get it… forgetting keys, forgetting appointments, forgetting names…. happens to all of us… more to some than others.

The interesting thing… men are more likely to get it as they age. Which is not surprising. All the middle aged men I know are constantly forgetting something, or relying on the women in their lives to remember!

So what to do? According to research, highlighted in the article - exercise on a regular basis really cuts back on the likelihood that MCI will kick in as you age.

So get out there people. Run, walk, kick ass… attack that memory loss potential straight on…. I think that’s the core of the message… or, um… am i forgetting something???

Registered Dietician And Author Gives Advice On Staying Healthy

Author: Kevin Gianni
This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s The Healthiest Year of Your Life. In this excerpt, Jill Fleming shares on listening to your body and staying healthy.

The Healthiest Year of Your Life with Jill Fleming, a registered dietician and author of Thin People Don’t Clean Their Plates.

Kevin: Jill I want to thank you so much for being on this call, as we’ve just heard you have this incredible line up of talents and things that you’ve done, so why don’t you just start?

Jill: Okay. Thanks, Kevin. Thanks for having me on today. My story starts back when I was 16 years old and I had food allergies and I started reading labels and just became very fascinated with nutrition. Everything I would pick up I would did, you know, this was in your food and just became very aware of what I was putting in to my body. So I went on to study dietetics and got two degrees in nutrition and during the time that I was studying I gained 40 pounds.

I realized that it wasn’t just knowing what you should do, but also applying that information to your life, so as soon as I finished college and started teaching weight loss classes which I knew was the area I wanted to focus on, I started to lose my weight almost instantly. As I was teaching people how to do it and how to fit the healthy choices into their lives I was doing it as well. During college I had a lot of stress and there were too many other things going on to focus on what I should have been doing for my health.

Continue Reading »

At 41, a lot of us midlifers are hanging up our sports togs… We know we shouldn’t. That we don’t have to. But the aches and pains that are an occasional reminder that we aren’t kids anymore, keep our sneakers on the floor of the closet.

Not so with Dara Torres. This woman is defying all expectations by swimming to a place on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Swim Team! Her fifth time to be on such a team. It’s astonishing what passion in one’s life can achieve.

She knows this achievement is special. “In some ways, I’m like all the other swimmers here, because I still feel the passion for what I do,” Torres said. “In some ways I’m like none of them, because I’ve lived their lives twice.”

There are some critics who claim it’s just not possible for a 41 year old to achieve these outstanding results. They suspect drugs are somehow involved. Torres doesn’t shy away from the confrontation.
“I said, ‘Look, I want to be an open book,’ ” Torres said. “DNA test me. Blood test me. Urine test me. Whatever you want to do. Just test me because I want people to know that I am doing this right.”

And in response to the doping test she has undergone: “It’s a pain,” she said. “It’s a real pain. But I asked for this and I want to prove that I’m clean, so to me it’s worth it.”

Her husband added his two cents to the discussion: “It’s a sad world when I can’t watch the trials with my 6-year-old daughter without the commentators addressing the drug issue,” he said. “And while we all want to have a stamp of cleanliness, at the end of day, the only thing you can trust is that our athletes are being held to the highest standards available today.”

Torres added, “When I first started, people said I was an inspiration,” she said. “But I think it’s been a complete 180 turn. I have so many people coming up to me now and telling me about their stories and what’s changed in their lives and I feel like I’m getting inspiration from other people.

“Age is just a number. I have great people around me and I’m able to recover and, at my age, it’s all about recovery.”

“Unfortunately, there have been athletes in the past who’ve sat there and looked everyone in the eyes and said, ‘I have not taken drugs,’ and now they’re either in jail or being indicted,” Torres said. “You are now guilty until proven innocent.”

I say let us take her at her word and support this truly remarkable athlete. An inspiration to all us midlifers.

- - - - -

Author: Kathy Ekdahl, CSCS, ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Personal Best Personal Training

Research has proven time and time again that keeping a food log increases weight loss success by 60-70%. Unless you know your successes, your pitfalls, your weaknesses, or just plain old bad habits- it’s hard to change them. Seeing your food detailed throughout the day gives you a great picture of what you need to work on, right? Then why do so many people balk at keeping logs

Unfortunately, one of the biggest issues my clients have in keeping logs is finding the time to do them. Yes, I know, excuses, excuses. But some may be valid- as keeping a detailed food log takes time and planning, and doing a log for weeks on end can be challenging. So, in an effort to find easier ways for my clients to be successful in journaling, and to offset excuses, excuses, I sometimes will ask the client to tailor the log to their specific issues.

Initially, I always ask them to do whole day, detailed logs for three days to one week to assess the problems. Then, once problems are identified, we tailor the logs more specifically. For example, if day time eating has been shown to be healthy, but night time is problematic, I will ask my clients to do a food log just from 4pm on. This is so much more doable- and lessens the likelihood of finding an excuse not to do it. Or, if unconscious snacking is a problem, but meals are not, I ask the client to write down every snack they eat that is not during a meal. This simplifies and amplifies things, as seeing just the problematic eating really hits home.

If you are having problems keeping food logs, try this, and see if it eliminates your excuses!

Author: PMullaly

I am a golfer. Not a good one. And getting the body torque and swing to work together is a challenge. It’s all about that subtle shift of weight, the turn at the hips that gives the swing it’s power. It’s not about strength… it’s about power. Big difference. If you ain’t got that swing, your game got no bling! (As in winning!)

I spend hours each week working out at the gym, trying to make the mind-body connection, focusing on muscles I never knew I had. The obliquus externus abdominis is such a muscle. There are two of them, one on each side of the torso, and they come into play when you twist and turn through your golf swing. Too stiff, and there is no swing, too loose? Sorry, don’t know of a too loose muscle! at least not on this body… no wait! There is that bit of flesh on my arms… triceps? They could use a little tone! And those abs… they really are a little too loose… come to think of it, most of my body is loose muscle.

This morning I spent 15 minutes with a personal trainer trying to isolate the obliques. I do have them, but my mind had a wild time trying to fixate on the actual spot. Takes time. Slowly, slowly… my mind is reconnecting to my body. Not easy.

Author: Pat Mullaly

I used to laugh when my grandmother told me, “As long as you have your health, you have everything.” I was young and foolish—a teenager and I thought I would be healthy forever. To my mind, being healthy was natural, a fact of life. Many more things: boyfriends, money, freedom to do what ever I wanted was far more important than my health. I never worried about it.

Now that I am in my “middle-years” I realize how right she was. I took my health for granted and looking back now, know I did not take the very best care of this body of mine. I’m beginning to ache in all the wrong places. Glucosamine Chrodroitin (a vitamin that lubricates joints) is becoming my friend! And they tell me that nagging pain in my shoulder is arthritis. Oh joy!

But all is not lost. It is not too late. I have discovered if I give my body the time and exercise it deserves, I can actually grow stronger, improve my health and well-being, sleep more soundly and live longer.

I am only just beginning this journey back to my body center, and realize how disconnected my life and work have made me. It’s time to listen and take action.

There’s a great article by Kathy Ekdahl of Personal Best Personal Training under “Keeping Fit” on this blog. Read it. It’s worth the extra minute or two.

All the best to you!

Author: Kathy Ekdahl, CSCS, ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Personal Best Personal Training

Looking for a fun effective way to enhance your workout? Interval training may just be the way. Interval training is defined as alternating bouts of work and rest. Unlike a sustained bout of cardiovascular exercise where the participant deliberately maintains a steady pace, intervals are about working at high intensity for short periods of time. Alternating very hard work and rest periods will expend significant calories while also increasing your cardiovascular work capacity, and the workout is doable because of the mandated rest period.

There are various types of intervals some of which use time as the determining factor, for example: work 1 minute, rest one minute, or work 2 minutes, rest one minute. You can also use a heart rate monitor to assist in knowing how much work is enough, and when to rest. If you are familiar with using a heart rate monitor, you can determine a desired exercise heart rate (usually 85% of max), and then try and achieve that heart rate during the work interval, without time dependency. If it takes you one minute to achieve the desired heart rate, that’s fine! If it takes two minutes, that’s fine too- it just means you are fitter. The rest period is merely as long as it takes to get your heart rate below 60% of your training zone max. Of course, these heart rate numbers and percentages are approximate, as very few people have exercise heart rates that actually concur with predicted values. Intervals that use heart rate monitoring as the interval parameter are tough, but the percentages can be accommodated to any fitness level. I also do an interval workout that alternates intense cardio activity with strength training exercises. The “rest” is the strength work- not a true rest, but a lot easier than intense cardio!

If you are new to interval training, please contact a certified fitness professional to help you create a safe and effective program. Intervals are fun and challenging, but you will need advice on how to proceed.