We all have to eat to live of course and most people are definitely not able to grow and produce their own foods so we rely heavily on the grocery store. Unfortunately, these stores are mostly concerned with roping you in to make a profit rather than helping you stay and buy healthy products! So these are my top "fat free" shopping tips!!
1) Make a list before you go and stick to it! I've said it before and I will say it again...PLAN PLAN PLAN AHEAD!! This will really help you stay on track! If it isn't in your meal plan for the week do not put it into your cart! Simple!
2) Steer clear of those inner aisles!
"If it can go bad its good for you, if it won't its not." And what do we find in these aisles? JUNK AND PRESERVATIVES! So skip it! Stick to the outer ring produce, dairy, etc.
3) Eat before you go! Chances are the more hungry you are the better all those pastries and sweets will look even better so eat a little snack or piece of fruit before you go!
4) Read your labels...can you pronounce it? If not drop it!
Time to think like a chemist...If it wasn't found in nature/you cannot pronounce it its not something your body needs. Single ingredients are key! Ex: strawberries, apples, chicken
5) Sugar content...keep it in the single digits!Sugar is the serious cause for weight gain in our country so for added sugars...keep it in the single digits!!
6) If it's not in season buy frozen! Frozen foods are picked in the height of the season so these are another great option and can be cheaper in produce too!
7) Skip the end caps- these are the junky foods/sale foods and they are on sale for a reason!!!! BECAUSE THEY ARE NASTY! Avoid!
8) Kids...leave em home or make a game out of it!
It's no surprise these stores/companies are marketing to our kids...sad but true. They put it at eye level!! So don't bring them OR make a game out of finding the healthy foods!! Teaching them how to enjoy these things will teach good habits too :-)
9)Skip the samples! These stores are trying again to get you to buy stuff but also this is increasing your waistline! Just avoid these too!
10) At the checkout counter...they load these areas with sweets and sugars again..nope NOT FOR YOU!!
Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight obviously knows it is easier mentally, to do it with someone, one of the main reasons group exercise classes are very popular! If you have fallen off the fitness bandwagen lately this may be part of the reason! so these are my top tips for creating a support system to help you reach your fitness goals!
1) Tell someone close to you your goals and set a deadline!
This will give you accountability, support, and someone to just plain bug you when you don't hold up your side of the deal!
2) Make a "contract"
Write up rules, regulations, and violations and sign it and have some one witness just like a legal document!! I know it sounds silly but trust me creating another web of accountability is very important!
3) Join a "support group"
Talking to others about where you are and just relating to others can really help keep you pepped up and motivated! Just go to www.beachbodycoach.com/bethsimpler make a free account and start chatting on the message boards!
4) Have a "challenge"
Challenge your spouse or coworkers to go in with you and have some kind of prize at the end of the time period for the person who lost the largest % of weight!
5) Sign up for something with a deadline and pay for it!
Sign up for a local 5k or a competition something with a definite date and costs money...you are less likely to throw money away and more likely to just train for it!
Those are what has worked for me so I really hope that helps you and of course I am here as an accountability/coaching resource as well!
We all have difficult times and days when we just don't feel like eating clean or working out! The most important thing to remember is the 80/20 rule! Eat clean and exercise 80% of the time and the other 20% consider your rest days, cheat meals, and just plain I don't wanna days!
It happens to everyone so the most important thing is to just pick yourself up and keep going!!
Even I have those days but the most important thing is I keep going and you can too!!
Check out this quick video for tips:
http://youtu.be/fOWTIyXC9CE
or for more motivation:
http://youtu.be/HOIfivZzc5I
Have a fantastic Monday!
So it is not any secret that to have a lean and fit body you have to lift weights! What so many people get hung up on is how much to lift and how many reps and then how many sets to do well today we solve the mystery!!
Reps= the amount of times you do a certain exercise or movement.
For endurance lifting or the "sleek" look, 12-15 reps is ideal
For strength lifting or "size/bulk", 6-10 with SUPER HEAVY weights
***DISCLAIMER**** Women who want a toned body should be lifting heavy...YOU WILL NOT BULK UP! You don't have the testosterone to do so!
Sets= group of repetitions performed for different exercise
for most 1-3 sets is ideal depending on your goals and what you are doing! So MANY sets so little time...
Straight Sets
What they are: The usual—a number of repetitions followed by a rest period, then by one or more sets of the same exercise.
Why they're useful: The rest periods and narrow focus of straight sets help add mass and build maximal strength. As long as you rest enough between sets (1 to 3 minutes), your muscle, or group of muscles, will work hard two, three, even five times in a workout.
How to use them: The start of your workout is the best time to do straight sets, regardless of your experience level, Ballantyne says. Your energy and focus are high at the start, so it's the best time to execute difficult moves. Perform three straight sets of six to eight repetitions of a challenging exercise like the bench press, pullup, or squat; aim to do the same number of repetitions in each set, with either the same or increasing amounts of weight.
Supersets
What they are: A set of each of two different exercises performed back-to-back, without rest.
Why they're useful: Supersets save time and burn fat. You can multitask your muscles—for instance, working your chest and back in one superset and legs and shoulders in another. Lifting heavy weights in a short time period increases the rate at which your body breaks down and rebuilds protein. This metabolism boost lasts for hours after you've finished lifting.
How to use them: Insert a superset at any time in your workout. To involve the most muscles, pair compound exercises—moves that work multiple muscles across multiple joints. For example, combine a chest press with a row, or a shoulder press with a deadlift. To save more time, pair noncompeting muscle groups, such as your deltoids and glutes. One muscle group is able to recover while the other works, so you can repeat the set without resting as long.
Trisets
What they are: Three different exercises performed one after another, without any rest in between.
Why they're useful: Trisets save time and raise metabolism. A single triset can be a total-body workout in itself, like our 15-minute workouts.
How to use them: Trisets are a good workout for at home (or in an empty gym), because you need to monopolize equipment for three exercises.
Drop Sets
What they are: Three or four sets of one exercise performed without rest, using a lighter weight for each successive set. Also called descending sets or strip sets.
Why they're useful: Drop sets are a great quick workout, fatiguing your muscles in a short time, getting your heart going, and giving you an impressive postworkout pump as your muscles fill with blood.
How to use them: Use drop sets when you're pressed for time. Don't do them more than three times a week; you'll get so tired you won't be able to accomplish much else. Start with a warmup, using 50 percent of the weight you expect to use in your first set. Now use the heaviest weight you'd use for eight repetitions of that exercise to perform as many repetitions as you can. Drop 10 to 20 percent of the weight and go again. Continue to reduce the weight and go again, always trying to complete the same number of repetitions (even though you won't), until your muscles fail.
Circuit Sets
What they are: A series of exercises (usually six) that you complete one after another without rest, though you can do some cardiovascular work (such as jumping rope) between exercises.
Why they're useful: When you use weights, circuits can be a great total-body workout. But they're most valuable without weights as a warmup of the nervous system, joints, and muscles, Ballantyne says. Because a circuit stresses the entire body, it's more effective than a treadmill jog, which primes only your lower body.
(Men's Health Magazine)
Now that you understand that you can decide what works best for you! ~B
More often than not when we go to the kitchen we are not going to pull out the measuring cups or the food scale to have a snack of prepare dinner. We all are guilty myself included I am much more likely to "guesstimate" how many calories and food is on our plate..."jaws music"....and then it happens the scale goes up or are clothes are tighter and we are left asking why when we are eating clean and exercising?
Enter problem...too much of a good thing is still a bad thing! You could eat fruits or protein or even veggies all day long and if you go over your caloric deficit you will inevitably add more weight on! Sure you can use the tricks of a deck of cards worth of protein, or your thumbs worth of fat, but when you are working so hard to achieve a goal why leave anything to chance?
This has actually helped me out a lot!! I think I was either over estimating how much protein I was taking in and under estimating the calories in my "treats" or in moderation foods! No wonder the scale wasn't moving in the right direction!! So I got an awesome food scale for my birthday (yes I know I eat sleep and breathe health lol) and it has been wonderful ever since and soooo easy to use! Since then it has been a lot easier to get the right amounts of foods into my d
Moral of the story just take the extra few minutes to measure it!
We face will power each and every day, hit the snooze button or get up and workout, have the doughnut at the office or eat the food we brought, and the list goes on. Someone told me that it's not watching what you eat that is difficult it's watching what everyone around you is eating. This could not be more true and what it comes down to is YOU, your choices, your goals, and in the end what kind of life you want to live! Do you want to have a healthy and strong body that can over come any obstacle or do you want to be sick often and limited in mobility due to your inability to say no?
I know we will all have a cheat here or there but consistently cheating is just plain and simple bad eating! Each day is of course just a list of choices and your response to these choices make all the difference in how your life will play out! However, there is a light and shining hope! Research studies show that will power is similar to a muscle, the more you train in the stronger it gets but there is of course the other side too...work it TOO MUCH and you fatigue and give in! So where is the happy medium? You have to find what works best for you by training yourself and strengthening your will power with consistent choices that match YOUR goals and priorities!
So here are some tips that I use to keep me on track!
1) Write it all down! What? Yes, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Keep a food journal, schedule your workouts, etc! This will keep you accountable and it allows you to go back and see where your pitfalls were and how to make them better in the future!
2) Play offense- Plan ahead!! Do not put yourself in stressful or tempting situations that you are likely to cave into your weaknesses! For example, if you know your weakness is bread at the restaurant then ask them to please not bring the bread to the table! So to avoid that binge later in the week, plan your meals, prep them ahead of time so you can just grab them and go!Whatever your down falls are just keep yourself attentive to other things and your plan and you will avoid the problem all together!
3) Pick your poison- Okay so no one is perfect, you cannot control every situation or problem that comes your way! So instead of trying to quit everything or tackle every problem all at once, pick one and stick to it and deal with the others once this task is already accomplished!
4) Reward yourself!! As humans we live for incentives and rewards! So when you do something well or you hit your goal allow yourself to celebrate some! NOT WITH FOOD...counterproductive but maybe going shopping, getting a massage, etc! You deserve it trust me!
5) Accountability partner- what other way to hold yourself true to your words then to find someone to pledge and them to and who will keep you on your toes! This person can be your spouse, a friend, parent, whoever! Just someone to keep pushing you in the directions of your goals! Maybe its a workout buddy, maybe a support group, maybe just someone who you check in and report to each other!
In the end it comes down to you and your why! No one is perfect, we all slip up, we all have issues but the key is to focus on your goals n it's okay to give in and when it's not!
Everyone knows we are getting more and more busy and nutrition seems to always be on the back burner! As a college student and very busy fitness consultant I am on the go A LOT so it is super super important for me to plan ahead or I will be inclined to go for the crap foods! These are my tips and what works for me so I really hope this helps!!
1) Like I said above plan ahead! I always make a meal plan EACH week because uncertainty and time crunch=bad eating (past experience!!)
2) Select one day a week to prepare all of your meals!!
3) Have throw and go/emergency food in your book bag/in your purse/ at your desk/ in your car! Protein bars, almonds, whole wheat crackers, and even an apple (if its not too long) are great options to keep you from grabbing take out/fast food!
4) For busy days here are some quick meal ideas!
~No sugar added plain instant oatmeal, add your own fruit and eat on the go!
~Fat free plain Greek yogurt (again add your own fruit and go!
~Almonds and an apple
~Boca burgers/patties with sandwich thins ~salad and add your own meat **this is my go to on REALLY busy days! quick convenient and delish!
~Microwavable sweet potatoes with some cinnamon (or you can just pre-cook them and go
~Of course shakeology
~ Any fruit
~Steam Fresh veggies just throw in some chicken or protein of your choice and voila!
 My meal prep foods!
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