Best Fitness Blog

...Travis Webb

The human muscle system is a continuous network of muscle throughout your entire body. There are muscles of different sizes, shapes and functions. All of which allowing us to move from place to place and perform daily functions. Your metabolism is greatly affected by how much muscle you have and how active you are being.

A simple way of thinking about how muscle works is this. Muscles are made up of cells, these cells need fuel to function. If you have a lot of fuel (body fat) in your body you need more muscle in order to burn that fuel. The more you move around, the more fuel the muscle cells need to keep you moving. Therefore the more muscle you have and the more you move the more fuel you will burn.

To gain muscle throughout your body evenly it’s important to develop a full body workout routine that can be performed throughout the week. Each muscle group should be worked on a regular basis to promote balance and even strength gains. This will also allow for more body fat reduction in problem areas such as your mid section. Weight training will help to promote muscle growth or maintenance. Cardio will ask your existing muscle to function more. Do your best to make a balance of both and you will see more results from your metabolism.

... By Karli Taylor

Believe it or not, many people fail to lose weight because their diet is too strict! If you vow not to eat chocolate or snack after 7 p.m, it may be time for you to lighten up.  We tend to set rules that are too hard to stick to, and in doing so we set ourselves up for failure.  When we look at our food choices as “good” or “bad”, we tend forget any gray area in the middle.  Let’s look at a few common diet rules that you’d be better off breaking.

Rule to break #1: Don’t eat after dinner.   Contrary to popular belief, your body does not automatically store any late night calories as fat.  If you work out at night or are awake for more than 3 hours after you eat dinner, you are actually doing yourself a disservice by not eating. The reason that late night snacking often adds up to extra pounds is because we tend to make poor choices at that time of day. If you eat a healthy snack because you are hungry, you are keeping your metabolism running efficiently and you will be less likely to binge eat in the morning.

Rule to break #2: Don’t give into cravings.  Go ahead and indulge yourself—in moderation.  If you try to substitute “healthy foods” for that brownie that you are craving, you’ll probably end up consuming more calories than if you had simply enjoyed a small brownie.  Chances are, you will have 5 other “healthy” snacks, still be left unsatisfied, and then eat the brownie anyway. If you put it off for days and the craving still lingers, you will probably eat a whole tray of brownies before you feel better.  Because we are tempted by things that we label as “bad”, the longer we avoid that craving, the worse it is going to be when we actually give in.

Rule to break #3:  Drink light beer at happy hour.  Be careful with this one.  The term light isn't regulated and can be misleading. It means only that the item has fewer calories than the company's regular brand. At 110 calories, a 12-ounce bottle of Bud Light has a mere 35 fewer calories than a 12-ounce bottle of regular Bud.  Because these light beers are less filling, you are more likely to drink one or two more than you would of the regular variety.  Chances are, you'll be more satisfied with just one beer that you truly enjoy rather than two or more of the watered-down version.

Rule to break #4: Eat fat free to be fat free.  Your body needs fat to break down and absorb nutrients like vitamins A, E and K. It helps lubricate your joints and keep your skin, hair and nails from getting dry and brittle.  Instead of avoiding fats,  you should focus on healthy fats -- the unsaturated mono, poly, and omega-3s in fish, nuts, seeds, and olive oil.  Fat also helps satisfy your hunger. If you choose only fat free foods, you are more likely to overdo the calories from carbohydrates in order to feel full.

...By Karli Tayor

Losing weight can be overwhelming. Even losing that last 5 pounds can seem like a daunting task that requires hard work and sacrifice. I’m not about to tell you that there is a quick fix to drop pounds, but I will tell you a few little things that you can do that will really add up to some big drops on the scale.

• Drink Water. Not only will drinking more water make you feel fuller for longer, but water is essential to keeping your body running efficiently. If you don’t drink enough water, your kidney function slows down. As a result, your kidneys pass off the unfinished work to your liver. What does that have to do with weight loss? Well, one of your liver's functions is to help your body burn stored fat for energy- it can't perform that job fully if it has to do the kidney's job also. By not drinking water you put your liver on double duty, decreasing its fat burning potential and causing you to store more fat.
• Do NOT drink soda, even diet soda. Since regular soda is basically liquid sugar loaded with useless calories. Did you know that if you replaced 2 bottles of soda with 2 bottles of water, you could lose up to 2 pounds a week? Some studies now link consumption of diet soda with weight gain because even though diet sodas have 0 calories, the artificial sweeteners increase your cravings for sugars and other foods that make you gain weight.
• Don't sit down for more than 4 hours. Studies show that sitting down or being virtually inactive for longer than 4 hours slows down your metabolism making it easier for you to store fat. To prevent this from happening, try standing up for at least 10 minutes within every 4 hours that you are awake. Easy enough right?
• CHEW your food longer and lose weight faster. Your grandmother wasn’t completely nuts for telling you to chew everything 20 times. You should chew everything you eat at least 8-12 times. Eat slowly. Your body doesn't realize that you've had enough to eat until several minutes after you've had it. If you chew your food more than usual, not only will you eat more slowly, but also you'll trick your body into thinking it's had more to eat

Try adding these simple habits to your day and watch the number on the scale get closer to that goal.

... By Karli Taylor

What did you have for breakfast today - coffee? Most mornings, we barely have time to glance at the kitchen. Though fixing breakfast can take up a few minutes that are  in short supply, there is a great deal of evidence that breakfast really may be the most important meal of the day!

Did you know that the simple act of eating breakfast every day is a big part of a successful weight loss plan?

People skip breakfast thinking they're cutting calories, but by mid-morning and lunch, the hunger takes over and most people eat more calories than they would have had they eaten a sensible breakfast.  Breakfast skippers tend to replace calories during the day with mindless nibbling and overeating at lunch and dinner.

A study conducted on individuals who have lost and kept off more than 30 pounds for over a year reported that 78% of the participants ate breakfast every day, and almost 90% reported eating breakfast at least five days a week.
Another research group analyzed government data on 4,200 adults.

They found that regular breakfast eaters were more likely to exercise regularly. Perhaps starting your morning off in a healthy way sets the tone for the rest of the day!

The same study showed that women who ate breakfast regularly tended to eat fewer calories overall during the day, and men and women who ate breakfast had lower overall daily fat intake than non-breakfast eaters.
 It makes sense. Eating early in the day keeps us from overeating and making poor food choices  later in the day.  But that’s not all! Eating breakfast also jump-starts your metabolism allowing your calorie burning furnace to start earlier- the longer your furnace is active, the more total calories you burn in a day.

So what’s for breakfast?