Welcome Summer!

Hooray for summer and Hooray for the renewal of my gym membership!!! It feels really good to make that investment in myself by renewing it. I have really missed working out at the gym. First I thought, “No biggie – I can do so much stuff at home on my own or outside.” And I did….for a little while. I found that working out at home was a lot harder than I thought. There are always other things to do, places to go, people to see, laundry or house cleaning to do….TV to watch…always some excuse, and those excuses I’m sure will still be there, but if I can get there right after work and not stop at home I’ll have it made. Going straight from work is a habit I had gotten into last year so hopefully I’ll be able to swing right back into it and make my time at the gym a priority again. From various sources I’ve heard a great tip for staying accountable with your workouts. If you treat your workout like it’s an appointment you can’t or shouldn’t miss and actually schedule it into your day/week you are less likely to skip out on it. I’m going to put it to the test and see if it works for me. I also picked up several really great summer dieting/exercising tips in my Women’s Health magazine for June. Here they are – hopefully some will work for you too.

1. I will eat it if it grows on a tree, or a bush, stalk or vine. Your goal is to fill your body with as many fat-discouraging nutrients as possible, and the very best source of them are in fruits, vegetables and nuts.
2. I will eat protein with every meal and snack. Muscle growth is triggered by protein-rich foods. In fact, every time you eat 10 to 15 grams of protein, you stimulate a burst of protein synthesis that helps builds muscle. Eat 30 grams and that synthesis can last up to 3 hours. Your goal is to eat between 0.54 and one gram of protein per pound of body weight. So if you want to weigh 150 lbs you should eat between 81 and 150 grams of protein per day.
3. I will eat before and after exercise. Eating a snack of both protein and complex carbohydrates right before and after working out speeds muscle growth and recovery. Your goal is to have a protein and carb snack 30 minutes before you work out and a protein rich meal following.
4. I will become a salad savant. Salads delivery wildly important nutrients that aid weight loss. A prime example is folate. A study found that dieters who ate the most folate lost 8.5 times as much weight as those who didn’t. Your goal is to consumer as many leafy greens as you can. Expand your green palate to include escarole, bok choy, mache, or broccoli rabe. Also add spinach not only to your leafy green salads, but to omelets and quiches as well.
5. I will never have the world’s worst breakfast….NOTHING! When you wake up your body is fuel deprived. If you don’t eat you lower your metabolism and starve your muscles. Skipping breakfast increases your risk for obesity by 450% - yes, that’s right 450%. Your goal is to eat 30-35 percent of your daily calories early. Match proteins with whole grains, produce and healthy fats. If you have absolutely zero interest in eating in the morning at least drink a glass of 1% milk which will give you 8 grams of protein plus fat-burning calcium.
Excerpted from The Women’s Health Diet
Your body is already a fat-burning machine. All you need to do is turn up the furnace so you’re torching even more fat. Here’s how. DON’T STARVE: restricting food kills your metabolism. TURN IN EARLY: people who sleep less and are under more stress may have more visceral (abdominal) fat, which interferes with metabolism. GO ORGANIC: pollutants from pesticides may hinder the energy burning process. STAND UP: breaking up long periods of downtime increases fat burning. KEEP IT CHILLED: drinking six cups of cold water a day can raise your resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily. (That adds up!) GET SPICY: capsaicin, a compound that is found in chili peppers, can fire up your metabolism. SIP COFFEE OR TEA: caffeine can boost your metabolism, but don’t over do it, a little goes a long way. FIGHT FAT WITH FIBER: it can increase fat burning by 30 percent – aim for 25 grams of fiber a day. EAT IRON-RICH FOODS: Iron is essential for carrying the oxygen your muscles need to burn fat.

Minor changes can go a long way and really add up over time. Start your summer off right and try adding a few of these tips to your routine. Your body will be healthier and thank you for it.