Winter Shred Contest!

It's 5:20am and I am just getting up to make breakfast (egg whites and oat filled pancakes with a banana on top for my pre workout meal) before hitting the gym in about an hour or so!  This is absolutely not usual for me, at least not lately! It's Friday and I should still be sleeping haha However, I have recently joined an 8 week contest with 16 others and they have been giving me the motivation I need to keep pushing myself!

How it works- 16 competitors, 8 weeks, 100 bucks. Winners walk away with 1000 or 500 in the end.  The way you win is based on a points system.  25 points per pound loss, 50 points per body fat percent loss, overall points for best before/after photos for 3 winners and then the final overall points determines who the 1st and 2nd winners will be!  Throughout the competition there will also be challenges for you to gain points, such as completing a certain amount of minutes on the bike in a week, etc.

Sound a little steep for a student? Well if you think about how much a personal trainer is, or a nutritionist, or even joining a weight loss program like Weight Watchers, over 2 months 100 bucks is cheap!  Not to mention the amount of money you save from the things you limit yourself on such as alcohol, eating out or treats at the movies.

We have formed a little community through a Facebook and BBM group (yes, surprisingly the majority of us have not switched to the iPhone.. come on BB10) where we share our meals, workout plans and just update each other on what is working for us and what isn't! Part of the rules of the competition are that we actually have to, if asked, let people know what we are doing each day as far as nutrition and exercise but most of us are putting that info up anyway.  Which leads me to this morning and why I am up so early! The other day, one of the competitors posted in the group about how much energy she feels after working out in the morning.  I had forgotten that feeling, lately I have just been working out at night and then wondering why I'm having a hard time getting to sleep until I read her post! She missed one morning workout and found herself to be less productive, sluggish and because of that actually went for a jog on her lunchbreak to get that energy she was used to for the day!

Most people, I think anyway, don't realize how much energy you really get from being active! You don't need to spend hours in the gym, but getting yourself up and moving has so many benefits to your everyday life that that should be motivation enough, not to mention the results you'll see in return on your body!  As she mentioned in our group, your body releases endorphins that give you a natural high, especially from cardiovascular training.

Why do you want to produce more endorphins? For students especially, these are important in helping manage stress.  They are commonly referred to as the body's natural pain medication and are known to improve your mood after just 20 to 30 minutes of exercising! I'm not a scientist and I can't go into the details of how they work in much more depth than this, but I have noticed a huge difference in my mood, energy and productiveness these past few weeks.  Next time you're stressed about an assignment and don't think you have the time to get all of your tedious chapter reading in, set aside 20 minutes, go for a run or a jog and see how focused it can make you! We all have the time to be healthy, we just need to make it!

If you aren't ready to dish out 100 dollars, which I'll admit I was even a bit hesitant at first, find other ways to motivate yourself and be accountable for your workout habits! Find a gym partner, or a few friends and help to inspire one another!  Being accountable to more than just myself has been my biggest motivation this past week.  Sure, winning 1000 bucks would be amazing, but knowing that I have a network of people that are striving for the same goals as myself pushes me further every day!

Don't have a group of friends that have similar goals?  There are other networks, such as bodybuilding.com where you can sign up (for FREE) and find bodyspace groups that can help inspire you.  Their database of nutrition articles, step by step exercises and training programs is unlimited! Don't let the name "bodybuilding" throw you off, there are exercises and information for all types of athletes and body types!

Well I need to eat and head to the gym, happy Friday everyone!!

MyFitnessPal= MyNewBestFriend

So I just got in from the gym and as I was recording my meals for tomorrow I decided I wanted to share my new discovery with all of you- MyFitnessPal. 

The best way I can keep on track with my diet is by recording it.  I've used different apps on my blackberry, mac, or good old paper and pen! But the BEST app by far that I have found is MyFitnessPal!

I would recommend it to anyone.  It is simple, connects the app from your phone to your computer and it's food database is unbelievable! You can find basically any brand of food you're looking for.

This is not just another calorie counter, it is your gym partner, nutritionalist and motivator!  This app is very handy on your phones (Blackberry's too ;) ) and syncs with your computer when you log in!

Some of the amazing benefits:

1.Input your goal and it will help you reach that by determining your caloric intake for the day in order to lose a certain amount of weight (in a healthy time period).

2. As mentioned before, this is not just another calorie counting app.  It breaks down for you what your body needs including protein, fat, carbs and vitamins.  When you input your food into your diary it categorizes it. This is great if you want to minimize carb intake, check on your fat and not to mention your calories!

* This is a screen shot of someone's MyFitnessPal's account. Great layout, and again FREE! :)

3. If you don't have the nutritional information for something, their database more than likely has it! That is one major benefit with this app compared to it's competitions which I found very limiting.

4. Stay away from "I don't have time". I used to be like that and some of my friends say the same thing, but what has helped me is inputting your food the night before on your computer. This way you are ready for the next day, can adjust your meals accordingly so that by the end of the day you don't have to go over or even worse, starve! Plus, if you need to make alterations you can on your phone :) For those of you who still think you don't have time, this takes minutes! Especially once you start to build your own database of foods you frequently eat.

5. It keeps you on track with your goals. Not only does it give you what you need to eat in order to meet your goals, but at the end of each day you can click on " complete this entry" at the bottom of your diary and it tells you how much you will lose if "every day is like today" in 5 weeks! This for me is a major motivational tool.  I know what I want to lose and where I want to be in a few weeks, but to have a daily reminder that I am on track with my progress is amazing!

6. You exercise, MyFitnessPal rewards you! Input what you did at the gym or on your own and it will automatically alter your caloric intake, carbs, protein, etc for the day depending on what you exerted!

7. It's FREE! Maybe not all of you reading this are students, but for those of you who are and even those who aren't, this should appeal to your budget.  Even as an app on your phone, you don't pay a dime! I was quite surprised at how great the app works on my phone considering it's a freebie, I would have expected to pay for this one.

So what's stopping you? As I'm writing this I feel like I work for MyFitnessPal haha. I can assure you I don't but I am definitely addicted to it! If anything, it can open your eyes to how much you really are eating and how much fat and calories are in your food. 

School and work can take a lot out of us and it is so easy to let yourself fall into a slump.  There are many inspirational tools out there to help you, and MyFitnessPal is just one of them!

Get started tonight ;) and PLEASE comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the app! www.myfitnesspal.com 

Finding the motivation to be healthy-- on a student budget and timetable!

Finding the motivation to be healthy-- on a student budget and timetable!

I’m not a nutritionist, or a personal trainer (although I see that in the near future).  I’m 24, a student and a part time server.  I recently went back to school and took all of the motivation I used to put in to being active and healthy into schoolwork!  I’ve noticed this trend among many of my peers.  It’s also very clear that they would be healthy but don’t have the time, or know what to do, etc.  I was making these excuses too, until 3 weeks ago when I decided to stop and do something about it!

I was sick of seeing fitness models, actors, friends with the body types that I know I can achieve, but have been, quite simply, too lazy to get!  Once I realized that although school and work are time consuming priorities, fitness and your health should be priorities as well!

What motivated me?  One night I was thinking about the how much time I spend on the internet.  In between homework, before work, before bed, basically too much time! The amount of time I was spending watching marathons of Breaking Bad and Californication or browsing websites and wishing I looked like some of the bikini models was, well, a little sad and beyond time consuming!!  I could be utilizing this time to get myself back in to shape, instead of wishing I was and doing nothing about it.

The first step was getting to the gym.   I’ve worked out at home before but since being away from exercise for so long, I found myself giving up halfway through a workout.  If I go to the gym I don’t have to stay, but the effort it takes to go there, go in and get changed pushes you want to stay at least a bit longer than 10 minutes! I had gained a few pounds, alright maybe 10 if I’m being honest, so going straight to the weights was a little intimidating.  My first day back I went to the cardio machines, did a quick ab workout and got out of there.  I was a little discouraged with myself; my noticeable muscle and endurance loss, that I didn’t get to lift any weights that day, but I forgot about the feeling of energy you get after working out!  I love and missed that feeling, which was an added motivator for me!

Next came my diet.  I’ve always been a healthy eater, but I do tend to splurge every so often on treats or a nice dinner out!  Many students are worried that eating healthy will cost too much, but there are tons of ways to eat healthy on a student budget!  Of course McDonald’s and fast food places are cheap, but I never feel good after and there is basically no nutritional value to their food!  I’ve been making and prepping all of my meals, as easy and quickly as I can since I do have a hectic life.

If you aren’t used to eating well, just start of slow.  If you overwhelm yourself with cutting out everything “bad” from your diet right away you will give up, trust me I’ve done it!  Eliminate your vices and see what that does for you.  Things like cutting out drinks filled with calories, junk food or that one staple in your diet that you know is bad for you, but you just love it! Try changing up a couple of things for a week  (drinking lots of water is essential) and you’ll notice a difference in energy levels and maybe even on the scale!  Your diet makes up about 70 percent of your overall weightloss, so don’t think that just by going to the gym you can eat everything you want!

Now that I’ve mentioned the dreaded scale, I need to give you my opinion on it.  Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t change, or if it does but you’ve added a pound or so! The scale can be a great tool to keep you motivated and accountable, but the best judge is your mirror and your clothes!  Keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat.  By adding any kind of weights or workouts to your diet you will gain muscle!

I hope I can help inspire others to find the balance of school, work and reaching your fitness goals as I strive to do the same J