1. Buy a Reusable Water Bottle and Use It!

According to the American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, the average adult loses about two and a half quarts or about 10 cups of water daily. This needs to be replaced to maintain your body’s fluid balance. Another interesting statistic, 37 percent of the population has such a weakened thirst response that symptoms of dehydration are routinely mistaken for hunger.

Experts recommend that women drink between 8 and 9 8oz glasses of water a day. It’s a whole lot easier to make sure you’re getting your recommend amount if you’re carrying a water bottle with you at all times. Plus, if you keep it at your desk at work, it gives you an excuse to get up once in awhile and move around.

2. Stock up on HEALTHY Snacks.

Are you a nibbler? Are you ever tempted by that vending machine at work? Or the cookies at the deli up the street? There’s no harm in snacking, as long as you go healthy and do it in moderation. So the next time you’re at the grocery store pick up some portable snacks such as baby carrots, nuts, fresh fruit and veggies. You’ll satisfy your hunger needs, and stay healthy doing it.

3. Take a Walk.

Even you get your work out in at Healthy Fit a couple of times a week, the time you spend sitting during the day can still be detrimental to your health. As a recent New York Times article pointed out:

“Exercise only slightly lessened the health risks of sitting. People in the study who exercised for seven hours or more a week but spent at least seven hours a day in front of the television were more likely to die prematurely than the small group who worked out seven hours a week and watched less than an hour of TV a day.”

Try setting a timer that goes off every 30 minutes to remind yourself to get up and walk around for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Need more reasons to get up and walk, check out this video.

4. Find a Way to De-stress.

One study found that overweight women who performed daily relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, or even writing in a diary for 20 minutes, lost an average of 10 pounds after 18 months — without consciously dieting.

5. Get to Bed Early Tonight. 

Some studies show that people who sleep less are more likely to be overweight  Check out our tips for getting better sleep here.

• Stay Hydrated. When your body isn’t getting enough fluids, your cells aren’t either and everything gets slowed down. Keep a reusable water bottle with you through out the day to make sure you’re drinking the recommended 6-8 glasses (about 8oz/glass) a day.

• Try Something New. Research show that when you try something new, the brain releases a dopamine, a chemical that’s responsible for (among many other things) motivation. Try it out today by joining us in a class at Healthy Fit that you haven’t tried yet!

• Stretch. When you’re stressed out, you have a tendency to tighten up your muscles. In turn, your body uses energy to keep those muscles tense! Take a few minutes to stretch and relax. Check out these 10 Basic Stretches from the Mayo Clinic for ideas.

• Get some Pep with Peppermint. The next time you’re at the drug store, think about picking up some peppermint lotion or lip gloss. Researchers at West Virginia’s Wheeling Jesuit University found that sniffing peppermint immediately improves both athletes’ running speed and office workers’ typing speed.

• Munch On Some Raw Veggies. Raw veggies and fruits are full of of energy-enhancing nutrients. So reach for a bag of baby carrots for your 3 PM snack instead of that cookie, which can cause a sugar crash.

Consistency
Getting to the gym is half the battle. We know that sometimes it’s raining out, you didn’t sleep well last night, or there’s something you’d like to watch on TV. Don’t think of the gym as a chore, think of it as something you are doing for yourself. You work, you clean up after your kids, you volunteer, these are all things you do for other people. But gym time is YOUR time, so make a point to schedule it in. Once it’s part of your weekly routine, it will become second nature to you to just get up and go. Kind of like brushing your teeth.

Reward Yourself for Smaller Steps
Even if you don’t see the results your looking for immediately, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reward yourself for all the good you’re doing. Set smaller goals, like “I’ll get to the gym 3 times every week for a month.” Then buy yourself a new pair of running shoes at the end of the month! Rewarding yourself for these smaller steps toward your ultimate goal will help keep you focused.

Stay Positive
You know that little voice inside your head? Sometimes she can be a real Negative Nancy. Instead of letting those negative words and thoughts come into your head about you haven’t gone down a dress size, or how you haven’t run a mile yet, think of all successes you have had. Your energy has increased! You made it a quarter mile this week! You tried a new class! You’re a strong woman!

Tell Your Friends about Your Goals
In most cases, when you tell friends and family about your goals, they’ll want to help you achieve them. Staying positive is much easier when you’re surrounded by positive people. And even better, some of them may want to join in and get healthier too!

Keep a Journal
Grab that pen and paper (or that keyboard) and write down your thoughts and progress on a weekly or daily basis. That way, when you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, you can look back to just a couple of months ago and see how far you’ve really come along!

Fitocracy is a Website (with a newly released iPhone App) where you can track your workouts. Though there are many different sites and apps that promote this feature, Fitocracy seems to  have a much more comprehensive list when comes to the list of the exercises it lets you track. We’re talking everything from running, yoga, to squats and Zumba.

It’s more than just a tracking tool too, it’s like playing game! Fitocracy users earn points with every workout, complete challenges and quests, and follow other members’ progress. With Fitocracy’s point system, challenges and quests, you strive to work harder to “get to the next level.” Plus, it offers that instant gratification and reward for all your hard work!

Fitocracy is also very social. You can chat in group forums with those who have like-minded goals and receive “props” from other users for waking up early to get to Pilates or perhaps losing 5 pounds.  When you find yourself among so many others making health and wellness a priority, it’s likely to encourage you to do the same.

To try it out for yourself, check out Fitocracy here.

So you can imagine how disappointed we are to read about a new study that found several cancers linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are on the rise.

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, which came out Wednesday, found that overall the rate of new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. declined between 199 and 2008. A lot of which they are attributing to improved screening and a significant decline in smoking. However, cancers of the kidney, pancreas, lower esophagus and uterus ( all of which are associated with being overweight or obese,) actually increased.

“In the United States, 2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese and fewer than half get enough physical activity,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, in a press release. “Between children and youth, 1 in 3 is overweight or obese, and fewer than 1 in 4 high school students get recommended levels of physical activity. Obesity and physical inactivity are critical problems facing all states. For people who do not smoke, excess weight and lack of sufficient physical activity may be among the most important risk factors for cancer.”

OK ladies. Now get of your computer, grab a friend, and come join us for a class and fight against obesity!

Listen up Healthy Fit members: Sleep is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Besides experiencing less energy, without enough sleep you…

• could get sick
• could feel depressed
• could affect your decision-making abilities
• and you could even gain an unhealthy amount of weight.

As a matter of fact, a in a study involving 9,000 people between 1982 and 1984, researchers found that people who averaged six hours of sleep per night were 27 percent more likely to be overweight than their seven-to-nine hour counterparts; and those averaging five hours of sleep per night were 73 percent more likely to be overweight.

What’s the Right Amount of Sleep?

Good question. According to the National Sleep Foundation, there is no “magic number.”

“Each one of us has a unique sleep requirement. Our sleep need depends upon genetic and physiological factors and also varies by age, sex, and previous sleep amounts. However, a simple definition of sufficient sleep is a sleep duration that is followed by a spontaneous awakening and leaves one feeling refreshed and alert for the day.”

A general consensus though, is somewhere between 7 and 9 hours.

How to Get Better Sleep

The National Sleep Foundation offers the following tips on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website:

1. Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning.
2. Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, dark, and relaxing environment, which is neither too hot or too cold.
3. Make sure your bed is comfortable and use it only for sleeping and not for other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or listening to music. Remove all TVs, computers, and other “gadgets” from the bedroom.
4. Physical activity may help promote sleep, but not within a few hours of bedtime.
5. Avoid large meals before bedtime.

Now… Go to bed!

Don’t Save Your Calories for the Evening Hours. 

Chances are, there’s more than one of you reading this right now who skips breakfast, eats a small salad for lunch, and then comes home and eats a large dinner, dessert, and possibly another snack before bed.  You know why you’re blowing your control when you get home? Because of you’re hungry!  Studies have  shown when people ate three meals a day only 13% binged. When people skipped breakfast, 24% binged and when people skipped breakfast and lunch, 60% binged. Solution: Eat smaller meals, more balanced meals all day long. For example 5 or 6 300-400 calorie meals.

Fat is not always a bad thing.

Yes, there is such a thing as “healthy fats.” Healthy fats, or unsaturated fats, actually have several benefits:

• They provide energy in the form of calories.
• They help our bodies absorb importune vitamins such as A, D, and E.
• They make food more favorable.
• They help us feel full.
• They help children’s growth and development.

Healthy fats are found in fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. Eaten in the right amounts, these fats can be good for you. What we don’t need in our diet is saturated fats or trans fats. These types of fats can be found in butter, shortening, and deep fried foods, among others Also, be cautious of all those “Fat Free” products out there. Many times, just because that carton of ice cream is fat free, doesn’t mean it’s not full of empty calories.

You don’t have to cut out all carbs.

For years, due to popular diet fads like Atkins and The South Beach diet, many of us have been led to believe that all carbs are evil. Much like fat, the good carbs have been lumped in with the bad. As a matter of fact, carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function.

The general rule to follow is to avoid carbs stemming from sugar and starches, but you have don’t cut out fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains (in proper portions).  One more tip, with whole grain breads, pasta and rice, make sure that whole wheat or another whole grain is the first ingredient listed.

Indulge a little, once in awhile.

Eating healthier doesn’t mean making yourself miserable, Indulging every once in a while can actually satiate cravings. Just make sure you’re not eating brownies and drinking a couple of glasses of wine every day. Set a limit, stick to that limit, and give yourself a small treat once in awhile.

Some general tips to avoid binging while treating yourself:

• Never eat directly from the bag, carton, etc. Instead, take out a serving and put it in a bowl.
• Savor it. Try to take your time between each small bite.

You can go out to eat.

In general, preparing your meals at home is healthier, because you have total control over all of the ingredients and how much you put on your plate. However, this doesn’t mean you can go out to dinner with friends either. A few things to do before you go though:

• Check out the restaurant’s Website and  their menu first, so you can decide what to get before you go. A lot of times, you can also do a search for the nutritional facts for each dish to help you make the right choice. Even for those restaurants who don’t list their nutritional information, you can often find the “average” amount of calories, fat, carbs, etc in a chicken salad sandwich, or whatever you’re ordering.
• If the restaurant serves large portions,  ask for half of it to be boxed before it’s served.
• Don’t be afraid to ask the server how a meal is prepared. For example, some veggie sides seem healthy, but may actually be smothered in butter. If so, ask them to refrain from doing so, and add touch of salt and pepper instead.

For 22 years, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health tracked nearly 43,000 male participants, ages 40-75 in a health  They also collected blood samples from more than 18,000 men who were demographically similar to the other participants.

Just 12 ounces of regular soda, fruit drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages daily was associated with a higher risk of heart disease, even after controlling other cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol use and a family history of heart disease.

The news isn’t much better for women either. Another study from 2009 found that women who drank one or less than two sugary drinks per day had a 23 percent increased risk of a heart attack.

“This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health,” said Frank B. Hu, M.D., Ph.D., study lead author and professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health, in a press release.  “Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugary beverage consumption among patients, and more importantly, in the general population.”

To stay on the safe side, The American Heart Association recommends no more than half of discretionary calories (calories left in your “energy allowance” after consuming the recommended types and amounts of foods to meet all daily nutrient requirements) come from added sugars. For the average American man, that means no more than 150 calories a day, and for the average woman — 100 calories a day.

Want to learn more about all the other daily nutrition risks that may affect your health? Check out our Weight Loss Program here at Healthy Fit.

Knowledge is Power
There are a lot of innocent looking meals and snacks out there with some serious diet-crushing ingredients. For instance,  did you know that just one cup of Honey Nut Cheerios contains more sugar than 3 Chips Ahoy! cookies? Not only is it important to check out the nutrition labels of everything you buy, check out the portion sizes too! A lot of times serving sizes are a lot smaller than you may think. Another example, you know those tall green Arizona Green Tea cans? That’s actually 3 servings, not 1!

Pick Up Some Weights
We all know we love shake our butt off in Zumba or sweat it off in Spin class, but don’t forget how important strength training is to losing weight. If there’s one rumor we’d love to squash, it’s that strength training makes you “bulky.” In reality, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. The bodybuilding women you see on television and magazine covers are eating a lot more calories and spending hours a day and years and years at the gym to achieve those results. Plus, adding muscle makes you faster, and when done correctly helps you prevent injuries. Want to learn more about strength training? Talk to one of our personal trainers.

Eat Your Veggies (and Fruit)
As you probably know, when it comes to weight loss cutting back on calories is usually key, but doesn’t have to mean you’ll go hungry! The water and fiber in fruits and vegetables will will help you feel full, and they’re naturally lower in calories so you can use more to bulk up your meal.   Plus, they arel full of all kinds of good vitamins and can even reduce risks fro certain types of cancer and disease.

Bust Out Those Pots and Pans
Many of you probably know the dangers of fast food. However, fine dining can be just as dangerous, where portion sizes are enough to feed more than one, and who knows how much butter they just poured all over your broccoli. Cooking allows you to keep of exactly what and how much, you are consuming.

Set Goals
Keep your eyes on the prize as they say. Setting concrete goals will you give you a clear idea of what you working toward, will help drive you forward, and will help hold you accountable. Once you have a big goal in mind, start thinking about smaller steps you’ll take along the way and develop a plan.

Keep it Fun
Remember when running around as a kid was the most fun you could have? Well working out can be just great! Try mixing it up with a couple of different classes a week to keep it interesting. Check out our class schedule here, we have something for everyone! Plus, different classes, workouts and strength routines will help you work different muscles each day! Or perhaps get one of your friends to sign up. What’s more fun than hanging out with your best friend, and getting a workout in too?

For more information about setting weight loss goals, and reaching those those goals (!) check out our Weight Loss Program here at Healthy Fit for Women! Sign up for your FREE Weight Loss Consultation here.

You can check it out here: Healthy Fit for Women on Google+

For those of you unfamiliar with Google+, it is Google’s social networking platform. Many people refer to it as the anti-Facebook or the Facebook alternative. It’s a way of sharing information, photos, links, and more with friends, family, and colleagues. Many are also using it to connect with people with similar interests to them, such as history or… Fitness!

The major difference between Google+ and Facebook really lies in a couple of interesting features. One feature is something they refer to as “Circles.” Circles allow you to share things with different people. For instance, you can have a circle just for friends, another for family, one for work, and yet another for a particular interest. So say you want to share a photo album with just your friends and family, Google+’s circles allow you to do just that.

Another unique feature for Google+ is something called “Hangouts.” With hangouts you can video chat with up to 9 people at at time. As recently as January, President Obama actually used this feature to answer questions about his State of the Union address.

For more information about Google+ and how to join, just visit Google’s Overview. It’s really easy, especially if you already have a Gmail address. However, you don’t need to be a Google+ member to check in on Healthy Fit’s page, you can visit the page without being member.