Walk For Whatever Ails You!

I have always loved walking. I walk when I’m feeling off, I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m depressed, I’m worried, I’m frustrated, I’m stuck, I feel tired, I feel off, I feel blaa. Walking is what I do when I don’t know what to do. Walking is the way I clear my head and brighten my mood.  For me, walking is the ultimate therapy for whatever ails me!

I also walk for the sheer pleasure of it. I love feeling the soothing, rhythmic movement of my body and the refreshing air being pulled deeply into my lungs. I revel in the quality of the natural light and shadows and the sights and sounds that surround me as I stroll through the woods. I love the expectation of possibly coming upon a flock of turkey, family of deer, a fox, a beaver or seeing a hawk swoop through the trees.

I’m really lucky because I can walk out my door and be on a whole circuit of trails that go through the woods for miles and miles. There are streams and ponds, hills and fields and an abundance of tumbling down stone walls. A truly delightful potpourri of nature’s landscapes that change with each of the New England seasons.

We humans were designed as walking machines. A healthy, fairly fit body can walk for hours at a moderate pace without fatigue or wear and tear. Unfortunately, this may not be the case for a lot of us these days because of the life sedentary life styles we live. But no matter where you are on the scale with your health and fitness, most people can at least walk for short periods of time. And once you start walking a little, you can increase your time as you build strength and stamina.

There are tremendous health benefits to walking especially if you do it outside. Walking strengthens your heart and lungs; improves your circulation; strengthens your leg and core muscles; improves your balance; strengthens your immune system; moves the lymph fluid through your body; increases your metabolism and can help you lose weight; improves your mood and helps ease depression. There is a saying that says “move a muscle, move a thought” and the steady rhythmic motion of walking is highly conducive to the shift of negative thoughts.

So my advice to you is that if you’re feeling off for whatever reason, put on your sneakers or boots, grab your coat and head out the door! Have you taken your walk today? I have!

Is Your Exercise Routine Making You Fat?

New studies are finding that the way we’ve been told to exercise for the last few decades is totally counter productive to the way our bodies were designed to work. We are still genetically programmed the same way we were during our “Cavemen” days when we lived as Hunter/Gathers. Think about it - Our bodies were designed to move in short bursts of intense exertion, followed by periods of rest and recovery.

Nature has designed your body to adapt to whatever environment you encounter. If you ask it to perform activity, repeatedly and routinely, it will gradually change to meet the challenge more effectively.  Continuous endurance exercise produces unique challenges your body must overcome. It must not run out of fuel, overheat, or be overwhelmed with metabolic wastes. One of the ways your body adapts is by “downsizing” your heart, lungs, blood vessels and muscles so they can efficiently do the job required without wasting energy and using up fuel.

Your body’s marvelous efficiency works against you when it comes to burning fat too. Conventional wisdom tells you that you burn fat during exercise. But this only makes matters worse. This tells your body to make and store more fat so you’ll have something to burn during your next workout. This is why so many people get frustrated when they don’t see results after months of spending hours at the gym. Every time you burn fat during exercise, you body reacts by making more fat.

Studies show that the most reliable way to burn fat is with short, intense exertion periods followed by recovery periods.  The trick is to trigger an “after burn.” This happens when your body burns fat after you stop exercising. Here’s the secret: It’s all about what your body uses for fuel during exercise. During the first minute or two, your body burns ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy. This is your body’s most potent and available source of energy. It’s used for quick bursts of movement, but it doesn’t last long. After a few minutes, your body shifts gears and starts to burn carbs in your muscle tissue. This lasts for 15 to 20 minutes. When you stop exercising during this process, your body will automatically burn fat to replace the carbs you just burned. This “after burn” melts away the fat your body has put “in storage.” You’ll continue to burn fat up to a full day after you finish each Fit Fast session. This is largely due to the boost your metabolism gets from your training. Because your body needs extra calories to repair muscles, replenish energy stores and restore your body to its “normal” state, you continue to burn calories – and fat – long after your workout is over. After a few months of Fit Fast your body stops storing fat because it simply doesn’t need it.

This way of exercising also stimulates HGH Human Growth Hormone which degreases rapidly as we age. HGH is sometimes called the “fountain of youth hormone” as it is responsible for increasing metabolism and lean muscle and slowing down the aging process.

For a Fast, Easy and Effective Workout - Try Fit Fast!

For a Fast, Easy and Effective Workout - Try Fit Fast!

New studies are finding that the way we’ve been told to exercise for the last few decades is totally counter productive to the way our bodies were designed to work. We are still genetically programmed the same way we were during our “Cavemen” days when we lived as Hunter/Gathers. Think about it - Our bodies were designed to move in short bursts of intense exertion, followed by periods of rest and recovery.

The "new science" from the 1960s that promoted jogging was a big mistake. Long-duration aerobic training doesn't work. It isn't natural and your body knows it. Forcing your body to perform the same continuous cardiovascular challenge, by repeating the same movement, at the same rate, thousand of times over, without variation and without rest is unnatural and could have rarely occurred in the daily life of native societies. The one exception to this is walking – you were designed as a veritable “walking machine” and a fit and healthy person can walk for hours without fatigue and without raising their heart rate into the “training zone”.

Nature has designed your body to adapt to whatever environment you encounter. If you ask it to perform activity, repeatedly and routinely, it will gradually change to meet the challenge more effectively.  Continuous endurance exercise produces unique challenges your body must overcome. It must not run out of fuel, overheat, or be overwhelmed with metabolic wastes. One of the ways your body adapts is by “downsizing” your heart, lungs, blood vessels and muscles so they can efficiently do the job required without wasting energy and using up fuel.

Your body’s marvelous efficiency works against you when it comes to burning fat too. Conventional wisdom tells you that you burn fat during exercise. But this only makes matters worse. This tells your body to make and store more fat so you’ll have something to burn during your next workout. This is why so many people get frustrated when they don’t see results after months of spending hours at the gym. Every time you burn fat during exercise, you body reacts by making more fat.

Studies show that the most reliable way to burn fat is with short, intense exertion periods followed by recovery periods.  The trick is to trigger an “after burn.” This happens when your body burns fat after you stop exercising. Here’s the secret: It’s all about what your body uses for fuel during exercise. During the first minute or two, your body burns ATP (adenosine triphosphate) for energy. This is your body’s most potent and available source of energy. It’s used for quick bursts of movement, but it doesn’t last long. After a few minutes, your body shifts gears and starts to burn carbs in your muscle tissue. This lasts for 15 to 20 minutes. When you stop exercising during this process, your body will automatically burn fat to replace the carbs you just burned. This “after burn” melts away the fat your body has put “in storage.” You’ll continue to burn fat up to a full day after you finish each Fit Fast session. This is largely due to the boost your metabolism gets from your training. Because your body needs extra calories to repair muscles, replenish energy stores and restore your body to its “normal” state, you continue to burn calories – and fat – long after your workout is over. After a few months of Fit Fast your body stops storing fat because it simply doesn’t need it.

This way of exercising also stimulates HGH Human Growth Hormone which decreases rapidly as we age. HGH is sometimes called the “fountain of youth hormone” as it is responsible for increasing metabolism and lean muscle and slowing down the aging process.

If you'd like to try a Fit Fast Workout enter your name and email address in the box below to receive your FREE workout.
 

Healthy Protein Balls

Did you know that most commercial protein bars are filled with chemicals and sugars? Even though they might be high in protein they aren't very good for you. If you are looking for a quick and healthy high protein snack that you can make yourself and then bring with you wherever you go. Check out this recipe!

Healthy Protein Balls

1 16 oz jar Natural Peanut butter

2 cups vanilla-flavored whey protein powder

Unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)

Stevia (optional)

Thoroughly combine peanut butter with the protein powder The easiest way to do this is with your hands, adding a bit of the protein powder at a time while you knead. This will make a stiff but somewhat crumbly dough). Roll the dough into 1” balls. You can coat these balls with coconut or chocolate or both! I like to add a little stevia to a mixture of cocoa and coconut and coat the balls with that. A Delicious and healthy snack with 10 grams of protein per ball!

If You Want to Lose Weight, Eat More Lean Protein

If You Want to Lose Weight, Eat More Lean Protein

Did you know that your body creates heat when you eat? It’s called diet-induced thermogenesis, which means the creation of heat/energy by the foods that you eat. A good example of this is when you get a little hot and sweaty eating a big meal like on Thanksgiving day.

This is what happens…

The level of insulin in your body increases when you eat certain foods. This creates energy or heat. And as your body temperature goes up, your metabolism starts to kick into high gear. When that happens, your body starts to use energy stored in fat cells to support this additional output.

The higher the thermic effect of the foods you consume, the easier it is to burn stored fat. For example, fats are easily processed by your body and have little thermic effect. But proteins take longer to process and have a higher thermic effect than other types of foods. So eating a protein-filled diet helps trigger thermogenesis.

The problem is people have a hard time triggering diet-induced thermogenesis in our modern world. We eat processed foods without the proteins and fiber our bodies were designed to eat and very often when we do eat protein it’s high fat or paired with high carbohydrate food which impedes the thermogenic  process.
Lean protein such as white meat turkey, chicken, fish and especially high quality whey protein can raise your metabolism as much as 30%. Whereas, processed foods can decrease it by as much as 50% depending on the food. This means that if you eat 1000 calories of lean protein, 300 calories would be burned during the digestion process. So even though you consumed 1000 calories you only had a net gain of 700 calories. Now that’s what I call a good deal!

Start Your Day With Whey Protein

One of the easiest ways to eat more protein and boost your metabolism all day long, is to start your day with a high quality whey protein shake. Studies show that those who start the day this way lose 30% more weight then those who consume the same amount of daily calories but are eating a typical lowfat, high carb breakfast such as cereal.

More and more nutrition experts are coming to the conclusion, that the best type of diet for weight loss, health and energy, is a diet that's high in lean proteins and fresh vegetables, with moderate amounts of healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and coconut oil. Not only is this diet effective for helping you achieve your weight loss goals but it will leave you feeling satisfied and full of energy!

Give it a try I think you might like the results!

If you’d like some more information about a great program that follows these concepts click here.