EXERCISE

No More Flabby Arms (Wall Push-ups)

Face a sturdy wall. Step backwards heel to toe 31/2 feet. Place hands in front of the face on the wall with thumbs and index fingers together, forming a triangle. Keeping body stiff, lean into the wall lowering yourself until your nose touches the wall, keep elbows out to the side like a crab.

No time for Cardio? Think again!

Remember, three ten minute sessions per day have the accumulative effect of one 30 minute session.

Shapely Glutes (rear end)

Get on the floor on all fours, elbows and knees. Bend one leg in a 90 degree angle, push heal toward the ceiling squeezing the glutes the entire time (make sure knee is higher than the hips). Repeat 20-25 reps, and then switch legs.

Squatting for Firmer Thighs

Open a sturdy door and straddle the door between your feet with your toes at the front edge of the door. Grasp the door knobs with both hands, straighten your arms. Squat to a sitting position while holding on to the door knobs (arms length from the door), then stand back up and repeat 20-25 times.

Lower Abdominals

Lay flat on your back. Place your hands under your buttocks. Your legs are straight, toes are pointed. Keep legs straight and raise legs until your feet are 18 inches off the floor. Pause for a 1 count and lower until feet are two inches off floor, pause for 1 count. Repeat until you have done 25 – 35 repetitions.

Upper Abdominals

Place a mat or thick towel under your buttocks. Put your feet under the edge of your bed or sofa. Keep knees bent at all times. Place your hands across your shoulders in the front. Come to a full sit up position, then lower your upper body backwards about ¾ of the way to the floor (don’t touch the floor). Return to upright position. Repeat 25 – 35 repetitions.

Intercostals (abdominal muscles on your side)

Lay on your right side. Knees are bent. Place your right hand on your left side. Place your left hand on the left side of your head, now using the intercostals muscles on your side; pull the shoulder toward the hip. Come up as far as possible (two to three inches). Repeat for 50 repetitions. Turn over to the left side and repeat.

Outer Oblique (love handles)

Lay on left side. Straighten entire body in a straight line. With right hand reaching overhead, grab hold of a strong table or chair leg. Keep feet together. Raise both legs up at the same time, about four to five inches. Pause for 1 count, then lower legs to about one inch from the floor, pause for a 1 count. Repeat 35 to 50 times. Then turn over on your right side and do the same thing.

Lumbar Spine (lower back)

Lay face down on the floor. Place both hand behind your lower back. Raise chest and thighs up off the floor as high as you can. Be careful not to jerk up. It should be a nice, smooth motion. (and back like a bow). Pause for 1 count. Lower chest and thighs to one inch from floor. Pause for 1 count. Repeat 20 to 30 times.

Finding Your Cardiovascular Training Zone

Take the universal number 220 and subtract your age. Take this number and multiply times 65%. For your lower figure. Then with the same number you got when you subtracted your age from 220, multiply times 85% for your upper figure. This is your training zone. When doing cardiovascular exercise (walking, riding a bike, getting on the treadmill or stepper). Your heart rate should be between the upper and lower numbers in order to reach your maximum fat burning potential. You can take your pulse on your wrist or neck. Count the number of times your heart beats in one minute. Check to see if you are within your training zone.

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Walk for Exercise, Don’t Jog

Brisk walking is just as effective for weight loss as jogging; however walking is much safer for the ankles, knees, hip joints and the lower back. The body never leaves the ground while walking, unlike jogging, in which the body leaves the ground for a fraction of a second with every step, which means when your foot comes down it jars the body every time.

Take the Stairs

Doctors have proven that there are benefits to the cardiovascular system from short spurts of exercise which elevate the heart rate. So get off the elevators and escalators and take the stairs. The thighs are a large muscle group which requires a large amount of oxygen. This will cause the heart and lungs to get a real pump. You will also burn more calories, which will help you to lose weight.

Stretching is Important

It is a good idea to spend 8 to 10 minutes stretching before beginning an exercise session. This will get the tendons, cartilage and muscles warmed up, and will help to prevent injury. This also improves the blood flow which gets oxygen to the muscles. You should also spend three to five minutes stretching after a workout session as part of your cool down.

HEALTHY EATING

Preparing Meals

Bake it, broil it, or grill it, but never fry your food. Remember grease clogs 2 inch drain lines in sinks. What effect will it have on your body?

Healthy Choices when Eating Out

In a restaurant, never take a menu and say “what do I want”. “I want” can get you in trouble. Instead, look over the menu and ask yourself “what are healthy choices and the least harmful to my body”.

On the Side, Please

When ordering a salad in a restaurant, always ask for the dressing on the side. That way you are in control of how much is put on your salad. Use as little dressing as possible. Remember, a salad isn’t healthy if it is drenched in a high fat dressing.

Nutritional Tip

It is better to eat four to five saucer size portions of food per day, then to eat one or two large portion meals. Smaller portions more frequently will speed up your metabolism, so that the body burns fat for energy. When you don’t eat all day long, and then end the day with one large meal, the body thinks you are starving and its natural defense mechanism is to turn the food into fat and store it throughout the cells of the body as fat. So remember, eat four to five small meals per day (high in protein, low in carbs), rather than one to two large meals.

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Drink Plenty of Water

At least eight glasses per day. The over weight person needs another glass per 15 to 25 pounds that they wish to lose. For example – to lose 50 pounds they would need to drink 10 to 11 glasses of water per day. Remember muscles can not contract without water. Water suppresses the appetite naturally, it helps maintain proper muscle tone, it helps rid the body of waste and drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. The more water you drink the less water you retain. So if you want to lose weight, drink plenty of water.

Get Off the Grease

Stop frying your foods. We have all seen grease clog a sink. The drain in a sink is up to two inches in diameter. If grease can clog a two inch pipe, imagine what it can do to you veins and arteries. Come on! Let’s stop the madness! Stick to baking, broiling, or grilling your foods.

Reduce the Amount of Red Meat You Eat

Red meat takes more than 24 hours to completely digest. In the mean time it is in your stomach sitting at 98.6 degrees F, sending poisons and toxins through your body. Instead, stick to more fish, chicken and turkey. These foods digest in under three hours, and then are passed to the intestines where your body can get rid of the waste.

Drink Distilled Water

We have all heard the terms hard water and soft water. The way to determine how hard or how soft water is is by putting a sample of the water in a Dissolved Solid Meter, which determines how much rock is in the water. The more rock present, the harder the water. The less rock present the softer the water. Even if you have a water softener you are still getting minute amounts of broken down rock in your water. These inorganic minerals can build up in the body over a period of months and years to contribute to gall stones, cataracts and many other health problems. The body can not utilize inorganic minerals. So, be sure and drink distilled water which is totally free from inorganic minerals.

Don’t Fry Your Foods

You should bake, broil or grill your meats, and whenever possible take the skin off prior to cooking your meat. There is a layer of fat which lays right beneath the skin, which when left on can soak into the meat. So keep it lean! Get rid of the skin and bake, broil or grill.

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