New Blog

Well, I finally created a new family only blog. Now the Tough Girl blog is all about fitness, training, nutrition, successes, tips, setbacks, ideas, and other health related items. But if you still want to read about my crazy family you can at Tink and Taz.

Tip of the Day--POTATOES

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax. Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks. (I'm at this level). Then try50-lb. potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.

After you feel confident at that level, start putting some potatoes in the sacks.

Have a great day!

Thanks Meghan for this "tip of the day"!!

Tip of the Day--CALORIES

Exercise is only half the battle against the bulge. Actually it is less than half....about 20%. The other 80% is nutrition (or the lack thereof). So not only should you be exercising daily (yes! daily) you need to get the nutrition part under control.

Now you know that I am no expert on nutrition, but I have read enough about it to know the basics. First and foremost you need to calculate the amount of calories your body needs to maintain your weight. And then, if you are trying to lose weight you can deduct 500 calories per day from that amount. Oh, and you should also be eating the right things to fill your suggested daily caloric intake.

If it were that easy everyone would be fit and trim. But it's not so simple. If you are lucky enough to figure out that magic number (daily calories needed) you still need to count your calories and keep a journal, running total, or whatever works for you. There are plenty of sites online to help you figure out calories in almost ALL foods. My favorites are http://calorieking.com/ and http://dietfacts.com/. At Calorie King you can figure out calories in a lot of fresh and packaged foods. Also some restaurant information is found on this site. Diet Facts has a huge array of restaurant nutrition facts. Even more than looking up individual restaurant websites.

So you are probably asking yourself, how do I figure out the magic number? This is the best site I have found for daily caloric needs: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm. Just enter your information and try the suggested daily calorie number. It is not always cut and dry...you are going to have to play with those numbers a bit and find out what works. Easy? Nope. Worth it? Yep!

Good luck!

Tip of the Day--SORE

If you haven't noticed, the "tip of the day" is my new thing. I will try to add a small fitness or nutrition related tip to the blog everyday. So here is today's tip....Make sure you are always sore after a weight training workout. This quote comes straight from Cammie, a fellow blogger and a new client, after just one workout...

"[Also], I mentioned that I was sore. But I forgot to say HOW sore. Holy crap. There are parts of my lower body that I didn't even know could hurt."

This picture is of Cammie and her sister Bethany who just started training last week. Hopefully they can be sore every time...sorry, I don't have any sympathy! I am excited for you.

This is how you should feel every time the day after a weight workout. If you are not a little (or a lot) sore you are not pushing yourself hard enough.

Tip of the Day--CRUNCHES

If you do crunches/ab work on an exercise ball take note. Studies show that the placement of the ball makes a big difference in effectiveness. Do you work your abs on the ball with it closer to your shoulders or lower down on your back? The study showed the lower position was twice as effective than with it up near your shoulders. The study also proved (with electromyographic activity) that doing a stability ball crunch with the ball positioned near your shoulders was even less effective than doing a standard crunch on the floor.

Healthy Eating...

I am doin' better! Just thought I would let you all know. I've got my binging under control now...yay!! So, I decided to do what I do with my clients. I took my measurements, changed my exercise routine, and am focusing on good nutrition...with room for little errors. Because one bad day is NOT the end of the world. If I focus on the good things happening in my life it is easier to treat myself the way that I deserve. I that includes not binging or closet eating. I figured out how many calories I want to eat then zig zagged them. That just means that if I want to eat about 1750 calories daily then instead of eating the same amount day in and day out I change up the numbers while still getting the equivalent of that number for the week. It's hard to explain but this is how it goes:

Monday-1750 calories

Tuesday-1400

Wednesday-2100

Thursday-1750

Friday-1600

Saturday-1950

Sunday-1750

This way my body doesn't get used to the calories consumed and start burning less. Same thing happens with exercise. You do the same exercise every day and eventually your body gets more efficient and starts burning less calories during that exercise. So with the zig zagged calorie count, 6 different workouts per week, and a new goal in site I am on the road to controlling my little problem.

My Crazy Daughter

I am not sure you can see it very well in this picture but there is a huge goose egg on her forehead with scratches on it. Her face is scrunched up and ornery because she didn't want me to take a picture of it. How does this happen to a very coordinated little girl? That is what I wanted to know when she came in from playing outside (with no tears in site) this weekend. This is how the conversations goes.

"Belle, what happened to your head?"

"Oh, I just fell off the tramp"

"How did that happen?"

"I was trying a double front flip and went flying off and landed on my face on the ice blocks" (this is the hardened, jagged left over snow that surrounds part of the tramp)

"Oh! Why were you trying a double front flip on the tramp?"

"I dunno, I thought I could do it"

"Does it hurt?"

"A little bit, only when you touch it"

"Lets only try single front flips for now on, okay?"

"Oh, okay...can I go back outside to play?"

Aahh yes, this is my TOUGH GIRL. This is what I have to look forward to all of her childhood, teenage years, and probably adulthood. If she didn't remind me so much of myself I might be a little upset. But I have to admit that I am a little proud. What 5 year old thinks she can do these things.....my crazy daughter!!