Bridal Boot Camp

Here it is!! the get ready for your big day workout. This plan was designed by trainer Tommy Europe, fitness coach on FLN's Bulging Brides who has helped dozens of women get it right and tight for the big white dress. Its a total body workout.

Start with Cardio for 15-20 minutes

Then do 8-12 reps for 3 set of the following

1. Bent over row and Kick back - back, triceps, abs, legs

2. Dumbell Chop - shoulders, abs, obliques, butt, legs

3. russian twist - shoulders, abs, obliques

4. Hip raise - hips, butt

5.Lunge shoulder press - shoulders, butt, legs

Then cool down with a walk for 5 min.

Do this 2-3 times a week. You may also use 5-15 pound dumbells for more intensity. Remember keep those portions small to a single size, eat balanced meals, and stay consistent.

Readers Questions

Please ask me anything!

And don't forget to check out my sidebars for more great information, polls, and health tips. Thanks for reading!!

I Run Everyday

When The Numbers Jump Up Unexpectedly

You've been doing good eating a balanced diet, exercising consistently, and staying motivated. Then you step on the scale and it says you gained weight....What happened??!

Before you get discouraged, angry, quit working out, or eat those chips you've been missing because you've gained anyway, think about the many causes of sudden weight gain.

1. Are you within 2 weeks of your period starting? weight can go up 2-10lbs in the weeks before your period and during due to water retention.

2. Do you have IBS? Eating foods high in acid and gasey foods will cause sudden weight gain due to gas build up.

3. You might have gained muscle. Have you been doing lots of strength training? Check your measurements, if they are going down, congrats you've gain muscle which is a good thing.

4. Are you eating enough? If you are not eating enough calories your body goes into "starvation mode" and will keep the fat it has stored.

5. There may be an underlying medical problem that you didn't know was there. If the weight keeps going up and you are still excercising and eating right check with your doctor.

Do any of these sound like you? Great that's good news because it wont last. Just as fast as those pounds showed up they will soon disappear and you can get back to bringing your sexy back :)


You are doing a GREAT job keep it up!

How To Begin Fitness Program

Weather you are a beginner or returning after a long period of not being active the first thing to do before you start any fitness program is to see your doctor and get medically cleared. You may have unknown health issues that can cause serious injuries while exercising, or you may know of health problems but are not sure if you can exercise, and also living a unhealthy life style may have caused problems since your last check up.

After you get cleared to start exercising the next thing you should do is sit down with a pen and paper and write down your goals. Short term, long term and how committed you are to getting there. Then write down what you eat, how much and how often.

This allows you to see where you need to change. Most often it will be the protion size of your food and cutting back on processed foods, sugars and fats. The next thing you should do is see what is availble to you. Do you have access to a gym? Do you want to do it alone or with a buddy and do you want a personal trainer? Get the best start possible, the better your start the higher your chances of success.

Above all have fun and use a program that you enjoy. Health and fitness is about gaining health, strength, wellness and reducing stress!!

Enjoy and Love Food The Healthy Way

There are thousands of foods we can be eating that are delicious as well as filling for a total of 1500 or less calories a day. I'm so happy and greatful for Bally Total Fitness Nutrition plans I wanted to share a few of my favorties so that people can see that I'm eating real food and still losing weight.

(I'm unsure if I can post Bally's info here because you have to buy the book, still kinda new at the blog thing :) but here are the names)

Breakfast: Breakfast Bacon Burrito only 300 calories

Lunch: Crilled Cheese and Chicken Noodle Soup only 350 calories

Dinner: BBQ Pork (OMG! :-D ) only 500 calories

Snack: Jamaican Rice and Peas only 100 calories

Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake only 100 calories

I'm so happy for this book Thank You Bally Total Fitness!!

Thank you!!!

I cannot say THANK YOU! enough to all the HUNDREDS of people in 10 different countries for supporting me in my weight loss journey and making this very easy because I want to keep you all proud, inspired, and motivated. Please spread the word I'm sooooo serious about helping people become healthier mentally and physically. If you are in the Denver, CO area and are looking for a Personal Trainer or if you are ANY where and have questions PLEASE don't hesitate to comment or email me.


THANK YOU SO MUCH

There is Always Time

Dozens of times a week people ask me where do I find the time to do all the things I do with 4 kids especially when my husband is deployed or off training.

My answer is.......

You only need  1 hour a day to workout

There are 168 hours in a week. I use a weekly calendar to track what I have to do and when. Out of the 168 hours it breaks down like this:

Sleep: 56

Work: 40

Eating: less than 5

House Work: 10

Kids: (Newborn to 6 months) 50 (6 months to 12 months) 45 (toddler to 3) 40 and (school age) 35
(based on my kids)

Hours left to exercise: 7

Earrands: are not ran everyday, do them on your "rest" days

Some people are in school and the hours for class and or homework vary I am unable to calculate that. (the bulk of the school work can be done on rest days)

What about Moms with kids who don't go to school?
Keep them busy while you work out. My kids love to sing and dance I turn on music and they go at it. I also make the best out of the time they are busy playing even if its for 5-10 mins. I have a 1 and 2 year old home all day. When they are eating I'm working out, when they are sleeping I'm working out, if they are playing quietly with their paper and crayons I'm working out. I set a schedule so they know when and what I'm doing. My 2 year old says "mom its exercise time" because he understands. Talk to them they are very smart say things like "its time for snack while mommy exercises" or "its nap and exercise time". You can take them to the park and while they run around you can do lunges, squats, play tag and chase them. be creative!

For the most part workout 45-60 minutes 3-5 days a week depending on your schedule and you will have time to do all your business and get in shape. Other things you can do is calf raises in your chair at your desk, flex your biceps while carrying things at work, take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away, walk or bike to work, and take a healthy lunch. Every little thing helps. You have to be 100% committed to getting healthy and you will find the time. Good Luck! you CAN do it

Workout Routines

What is your workout routine? Is it designed to give you the proper workout for your goals and health? What are your goals and how are you tracking your progress to see improvement? These are four important questions to think about when exercising.

The first question is most important having the right routine decreases the risk of injury and gives you results. Your workout routine should include 1. warm-up to wake up and warm up your muslces, 2. cardio for atleast 20 minutes to build cardiorespiratory strength, to burn fat and calories, 3. strength training to strengthen your skeletal muscles, and always end with a cool-down to calm, cool, and relax the body to its normal functioning state. Here is an example of a workout routine for a beginner.

Warm-up
Light jogging for 5 minutes
Aerobics (cardio)
Outdoor run for 20 minutes
Strength training
Bicep and leg curls using 5 pound wiehgts 25 reps each
Cool down
Walking for 5 minutes

To answer my second queston, fitness goals keep you focused on where you want to go. Some people have short-term goals, long-term goals or both. Keeping your goals realistic and laying out a timeline to achieve them will set you up for success.

Short-term goals my include improving flexibility, to exercise 20 minutes three times per week or losing 1-2 pounds per week. Long-term goals may include to maintain a healthy diet, to improve strength and endurance, or paticipate in a marathon.

How and when do you know that all your hard work is paying off? By using a fitness program log. It's an easy way to track how you are progressing, it lets you know when goals can or should be modified and may pinpoint any problems. I've tracked my progress using a simple pen and paper taped to my wall with my currents stats at the top i.e. height, wiehgt along with my goal. Then down the sheet of paper I list the date I worked out, the time and distance of the activity, and the number of reps for flexibility and weight taining.

There is nothing to lose when using the right workout program but unwanted pounds. You CAN do it! Good Luck.

Nutrition

Do you have healthy eating habits?

I learn during my CPT course that what you eat, the pace that you eat, and how much you eat is the key to weight loss.



To function and handle daily routines and activites your body needs, good carbs, good fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. Making sure you get enough of eat is the best and healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off.

While eating all these healthy delicious foods you need to eat slowly give your body time to register what you are eating so it will feel staisfied this way you wont over eat.

Keep your portions to a single serving. Don't eat more than you need when you think you are very hungry but don't eat less then you need or you wont give your body enough. Meat servings should be around the size of a deck of cards and your plate should be divied into thirds: 1/3 for veggies, 1/3 for carbs and 1/3 for proteins.

Know the difference between hunger and appetite. Hunger is the basic physical response to the need for fuel and appetite is non physical, eating based on your mood or the time of day. This is a big problem in weight gain. For example eating when you are bored or having a night time snack. Cut back on the non physical response to eating and you are sure to lose weight.

Good Luck!

Mind Over Matter...Be Mentally Strong.

The hardest thing about losing weight is the mental part. If you keep saying things like " I can't, This is hard, I'm too hungry, I don't have time, etc You will NEVER reach your goals. You have to stay positive and have a great support system Its MIND OVER MATTER. Find something or someone that motivates you.



What I did:

I bought a outfit very cute that was size small and I will work my way into it. I'm currently down 16 pounds from May 8 2011 to June 24 2011 and I can put that outfit on. Its still small and kind of snug but I can put it on so I'm very happy.



Good things to do to keep your mind busy when you are hungry, tired, or non motivated:

Watch weight loss shows

- Biggest Loser

- Extreme Make over Weight Loss Edition

-All most anything on Fit TV



Hang out with friends

Go To The park

Don't sit in the house bored is the number one reason for eating just because.

Go to the gym make friends and have a work out buddy

Watch Youtube and some of those weight loss journeys they are amazing very motivating.



GOOD LUCK you CAN do it!!

Have you seen my 30 lbs?!

Nope because I lost it! :)
I will post pics of my weigh in next week when I hope to be down 33-35 lbs total. Its been a very busy month I'm doing so good with my weight loss journey that I decided to help other people and become a personal trainer. Soon I will be a NCSF certified personal trainer. Thank you for all your support and motivatioin.

How I'm succeeding in my weight loss journey

Back in Aug - Nov 2009 losing that 24 pounds was the hardest thing I had done I was very proud of myself and determined but on Thanksgiving 2009 I found out I was pregnant with my daughter all that hard work went to waste but it was fine because I loved her more and I knew how to do it right the first time next time.

I Offically stated this journey May 8 2011 My daughter was ten months I had stopped breastfeeding and I was tired of still wearing my maternity clothes. I was 180 5/8 This morning 6/20 I weighed in at 166.4 ( I know I was suppose to wait until saturday but I'm very impatient :D) That is 13 pounds and I couldn't be happier. I did tons of research about how the body works during exercise what to eat and how to do it. My favortie sites  are http://www.weightlosswars.com/, http://www.aheathlyme.epnet.com/, and http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness#/video/all, http://www.calorieking.com/ (the best. it tells you how many calories is in food and how long to exercise to burn that food.) On these sites I use the calulators to see what my healthy weight should be for my age and height, to see how many calories I should eat and burn a day and the best excerises to do. I also spent a lot of time in GNC talking to the employees and reading every box in there. I came across this all natural vitamins for weight loss. Pay attention I said VITAMINS and not WEIGHT LOSS PILLS these are no Hydroxycut, Hoodia, Slimquick or Alli there are NO chemicals or ingredients that are harmful. I take them in the morning every morning like I did my prenatals. They are great I feel better I have more energy and they do help me burn more calories hence the pics. Also when I don't take them because I have no money or something my body has no effects.










                                         This is my routine. This is what I did back in 2009 and What I'm doing now:

Morning I wake up at 6 that when the day starts in my house kids off to school and we go to work. take my Be Hot and I exercise for about a hour some times more when I have more time. I researched that working out first thing in the morning burns more fat and carbs because your body is on a 8 hour fast from not eating all night while you slept. If you eat first you are just burning what you recently ate.
Breakfast I eat hot cereal ( oatmeal, farina grits etc.) with a piece of fruit

Snack vaires from day to day and what I'm in the mood for. It could be a fat free low calorie pudding or Weight Watchers snack or Lean Cuisine snack

Afternoon I work out again for about a hour If I'm not going by time I aim for 1500 three times a day.
Lunch I eat a Lean Cuisine with salad Fresh Express Garden Salad with the Wish Bone salad spritzers no salad dressing.

Snack vaires from day to day and what I'm in the mood for. It could be a fat free low calorie pudding or Weight Watchers snack or Lean Cuisine snack

Evening I workout again depending on what I accomplished in the other two work outs I work out for a hour or until I've reached my total calorie burn for the day.   
Dinner I may eat small portions of what I cooked for dinner for the kids or another Lean Cuisine with fruit and salad.

In total I don't eat more than 1200 calories a day while also watching my grams of fat, protein and carb grams intake and I aim for burning 4500. How much you will need depends on the weight you are trying to use, your current weight, age, height and the time frame to lose. You can find that here http://weightlosswars.com/calculators scroll down to the bottom but also check out the other calculators too.

Weight Loss Basics

Have no fear weight loss help is here. Been working out with little change, yo-yo dieting, confused, or just don't know what you are doing??? Here are the basics and some of the most important weight loss info.



Calories- A calorie is a measure of energy, just as a volt is a measure of electricity, a pound is a measure of weight and a mile is a measure of distance. The body needs energy “calories” to do anything.



To lose weight burn more calories then you eat. Eating atleast 1200. To maintain weight eat the medically recommended 2000-3000 depending on the person a day.





Exercise- Activity that requires physical or mental exertion to develp or maintain fitness.



Cardio- exercise that raises your heart beat. this burns calories and boosts metabolism

Strength training- is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build strength.

Flexibility- stretching keeps you from becoming tight and stiff and prevents injury.





Protein- Helps you lose fat without losing muscle. can be increased in diet or by supplement used before, and after exercise.





Carbs- Give the body energy to function stored in the muscles. You need healthy carbs with lossing weight like whole grains fresh fruit and veggies. Bad carbs are processed foods that are not in its natural state that have no nurtitional value like candy, baked goods, soads.



Controlling Portion Sizes- This is most important eating balanced diet is good but keeping the sizes small is best. If you don't have a scale or measduring cups and spoons which most people use to cook with I measure by what is the same size as a deck cards.



Junk food and eating out- Cutting these 100% will drive you crazy and could cause you to quit your journey. When eating out eat off the Healty menu hundreds of places have theses posted or you can ask. Fast Food and resturants. Weight Watchers has great snacks you can also buy baked chips instead of fried chips. Nibisco has reduced fat cookies and Dyrers ice cream is 1/2 the fat and 1/3 less the calories the normal. Eat this in moderation no more then 3 times a month and only eat the seving size listed on the box.



OTher Info:

Keep track take pictures and write things down. It feels good to look back and say I did it.



Read all your nutrition labels the less ingridents the better keep an eye on the fat grams anything over 10 is a bit much. Pay attention to what is in the food i.e. potassium, sodium, cholesterol, vitamins etc.



Working out when your body is overally tired or not getting enough energy is worse then over eating. You should have two rest days in your week.



Having a variety of workouts is best. Alternate each day i.e do cardio and abs one day then run next day. Yoga and Pilates are low aerobic but very effective.



Supplements are okay if you are healthy enough and they are natural GNC has two sections dietary supplements where you can find the hydroxycuts, Alli, and chemically enhanced products and a nurtition where you can find vitamins that give your more energy and help loss fat or block bad carbs.





Cool Tools:

http://weightlosswars.com/calculators

http://ahealthyme.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=c0a17ee7-2798-4d5... Click Health Calulators on the left in the blue.

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

www.calorieking.com (you don't have to so sign up to use the food database)