Ahh after a wonderful and relaxing weekend I am back up and ready to go!! To do list in hand and breakfast in my belly we go! 

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? On my end of things it was just nice to relax! It was just Friday I realized I am constantly working (YAY!) which I love but just sometimes I need a little break! So that was me this weekend :-) 

At any rate as you are probably guessing I am writing this article to get into the science behind our abdominals or better known our abs. The muscles everyone wants to have whether for the beach or just because you want people to see your fitness badge of dedication. Of course it really does take dedication to get there, no fad diet or million sets of crunches will get you there but I can certainly tell you what will...clean eating! Sure exercise plays a role but without lowering the excess layer of fat (yes if you can pinch it is probably fat) around your abs you will not be able to see them.

I'm sure some of you are thinking wait what this chick wants me to eat to lose weight and see my abs? YUP! If you need some clarity on clean eating here you go>http://fitandhealthywithbeth.weebly.com/1/post/2012/02/what-is-clean-eating.html. Essentially we need to meet our bodies nutritional needs and caloric needs. 100 calories of oreos does not equal 100 calories of edammame!! 

Now that we know how to get there let me explain a little bit more of the why, our bodies were not made nor do they understand how to break down the overly complicated compounds in our over processed foods for one and too we just eat way too much junk food and sugar. The result? We store all of those calories as fat. Truth be told an over abundance of anything can really cause fat storage, however, eating foods in their natural form makes it a lot more challenging. 

So back to the why of eating, if you want to see your abs you must lose the extra layer of belly fat "visceral fat" on top of them and how? through clean eating, plenty of rest, and working out hard. 

What foods help lose belly fat? 
~Dark  green veggies
~Whole grains 
~Lean proteins
~Low sugar foods

Best exercises to work your abs?
I personally believe we need to work from our core, especially because all movement comes from there, so I prefer to focus on the whole area. I picture a girdle if you will! 

Planks: 

Reverse crunches 

Bicycle abs:

side bends with weights

V-up

Super mans: 

Ahh Tuesday! So I have really been thinking and honestly, nutrition really is 80% of the battle! Why? Well for a little over a month I couldn't work out...nope not even a little (yes it was tough to go from working out sometimes 3-5x to 0!) but guess what? I LOST BODY FAT AND WATER WEIGHT AND KEPT IT OFF!!!! 7 lbs of water and 3lbs of fat!! Take that any day right?

While I really did miss my work outs, I knew I needed to rest and allow myself to heal so that is exactly what I did and focus on nutrition!  See Resetting My Life

So many people think that they can out exercise a bad diet and then get the results that they want...well it just doesn't work like that. I know we all wish it did sometimes but the reality of it is if we focus on our nutrition that is 80% of the battle! Honestly I used to follow this school of thought too that I could eat what I wanted no matter what as long as I got in a work out but then I would wonder why I had no abs or real definition. So I made a change..sure sometimes they aren't my favorite things to do  but I know for my health and how I want to look and feel they are worth it!

So what should you do?? Well follow the 80/20 rule! 80% of the time focus on clean eating and then the other 20% you get a little wiggle room. No one says you need to be perfect but the key is to be progressing! So maybe one meal a week will be a "treat meal" for me.

How often do you cheat or slip up?

I lol'd at this and it just seemed so fitting!

Unsurprisingly with all the treats and fattening foods this time of the year is notorious for weight gain! How much you may wonder? 7-12 pounds!! Yikes that is as much as a new born child! Now maybe your goal is more maintaining your current weight or maybe it is losing more either way you can still enjoy the holidays and stay focused on these! The key is moderation and knowing the difference between hungry, cravings, emotions, and peer pressure!

Refer to http://fitandhealthywithbeth.weebly.com/1/post/2012/11/cravingshow-do-i-handle-them.html for help with cravings!

As far as the holidays go, you best bet is to have a plan of attack, the holiday parties and events will happen and you will have 2 choices, to indulge or not!

Here is your game plan:

·         Decide what holiday foods are non-negotiable then allow yourself to enjoy just a little! If your gam- gams makes your favorite pie then by all means have a slice, just not the whole pie!!

·         Plan ahead- we all know the types of foods and goodies to expect at family and holiday parties right? Okay so plan your plate, ½ proteins, ¼ veggies, and ¼ carbs and sweets (see just a little not the whole table!!). Why? You can fuel up on healthier options and still enjoy just a touch of your favorites.

·         If there will be absolutely zero healthy options then either bring some or eat before hand!

·         Pack emergency foods- we all get stuck somewhere and rather than starving or giving into junk foods carry some minor foods to hold you over! (EX: almonds/nuts, apples, protein bars)

·         Get your sweat on that day…not only do you burn off calories but you keep cravings subsided.

·         Sit or stand away from foods tables

·         Go easy on booze and sugary drinks

·         Wait a while between different plates…allow yourself to process the food and then go back in for more if you are still hungry.

·         Eat slowly!! Your brain takes about 20 minutes to realize you are full and you could easily over eat otherwise!

·         Don’t beat yourself up over what you ate..move on!

·         Track it…if you are conscientious of what you eat, you are likely to stay on track more easily!

·         Wear clothes that are a little snug…if you are aware of your body and what you are putting into you will be also less likely to over eat!

·         And lastly…just throw the junk food in your house away!

 
So what is your plan of attack?

Lately I have gotten a lot of questions on what I consider a cheat meal (I did a post a few weeks ago on cheats and why they can be good/bad too!) so I am here to show you what that is and how often I allow these!

For me a cheat meal is anything that I do not normally eat in my clean eating lifestyle! You can see some of those "normal foods" on my what I ate Wednesday posts as well! I will start taking some pics and displaying more cheat foods so you can see...I am of course human too!

So cheats/treats that I usually eat are pizza, french fries, Yogi Castle (froyo!), anything with white flour (pasta, bread, cakes etc) or excessive sugar (too much fruit, cakes, cookies, candies, etc). Some people get other cravings some don't but these are what I usually want!

How often? I keep it to a max of 2 things a week!
for example: Last weekend I had a bowl of ice cream and some pizza (2 different days) but those were my cheats and treats for the week!


The key is just getting back up and moving forward--I never feel guilt for these meals because I know a) it's a lifestyle and b) I know how to "damage control" it the next meal or day with healthy foods! I will say though since I cut sugar down to 35g a day (even natural) I get these cravings a lot less and usually during bouts of boredom!

What do you usually crave?

new age cereal!! Pre-workout fuel

1/4 walnuts
1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 c whole strawberries
1/2 banana

PWO shake- 1/2 scoop chocolate shakeology
1/2 scoop vanilla whey
1 T Pb2
1/2 c almond milk
ice and water!

Spinach with romaine lettuce
1/2 T EVOO
1 T balsamic vinaigrette
4 oz grilled chicken
1/2 c whole strawberries

Fat free chobani (6 oz)
with 2 packets of stevia
and 1T pumpkin (YUM!)
with 25 cocoa roasted almonds

Flax breaded tilapia fillets with corn on the cob!