Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Lifting the Myths about Weights

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Are you taking an active role in your health? Eating right? Daily aerobics? Drinking plenty of water and getting your required amount of vitamins and nutrients? Yes?

So, you’re lifting weights too then, right?

Why not? Weight lifting can be just as important to your health as aerobics! But most women shy away from weight lifting because they are afraid they will bulk up too much and appear too masculine. This is simply not the case. Weight lifting can help you tone and can only add to your appearance and femininity. There’s no danger of becoming too muscle bound unless you are injecting yourself with testosterone.

So, assuming that you’re not taking testosterone, adding weight lifting into your exercise routine can help dramatically increase your metabolism, tone and sculpt your body, and strengthen your bones. It can also help you lose weight faster than just exercise alone.

Studies show that the average woman who does weight training two to three times a week, for two months will lose 31/2 pounds of fat… all without cutting a single calorie. That’s because the more muscle you build the more calories you lose throughout the day even when you are resting. Women who lift weights burn 100 more calories throughout the day than women who don’t lift weights.

Weight lifting can also help prevent osteoporosis. Just weight lifting alone can improve your bone mineral density by 13 percent in only 6 months! High blood pressure and high cholesterol can also be combated by weight lifting thereby decreasing your risks of heart disease.

Some things to consider before you begin a weight lifting routine. Make sure you are using the right lifting technique. If you are using a machine at a gym, see if a professional trainer can help show you the right way to lift. If you are using free weights, make sure you use weights that are appropriate for you. Too light, and you won’t get a great workout. Too heavy, and you could injure yourself. How can you tell? A good rule of thumb is to assess how you feel the following day after a workout. Your muscles may feel tight and a little bit sore but your bones and joints should not ache.

By adding weight lifting into your exercise routine, you’ll be able to feel and see the benefits quickly, by losing weight, gaining muscle, and toning and sculpting until you get the body you’ve always wanted.

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Sole Dijon

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A marvelous restaurant quality dish that is sure to please everyone in your family. The mustard adds a zesty flavor and the mayonnaise keeps the sole moist and flaky.

1 lb filet of sole
1 Tbsp reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 lemon
1 Tbsp chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika to taste

Directions
1. Spray baking dish with PAM and place filets in dish.
2. Mix all ingredients in small bowl, lemon juice, mayo, mustard and chives.
3. Spread mixture lightly over fish.
4. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
5. Sprinkle with parsley.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until golden at edges, about 20 to 25 minutes.
7. When fish is done, it should flake easily with fork.

Health Benefits
An excellent source of protein with the added benefit of being low in fat, sugar, sodium and cholesterol. Fish should be enjoyed a couple of times a week to ensure your women’s fitness diet is supplying you with all the nutrients you need for a busy and productive lifestyle.

What do you think of this recipe?  Share your thoughts with us and our readers in the comment space below:

How to Avoid the Seesaw Diet

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Are you the kind of person that commits to a diet once a year as your New Year’s Resolution? You lose the weight, and then as soon as you stop dieting, you gain it all back again? If so, then you’re like thousands of other women out there. You are a seesaw dieter.

As a seesaw dieter, you may drop 15 pounds in a month or two. You starve yourself, push yourself to exercise, and do everything you can possible do to fit into that dress. Usually you have a motivating factor such as a school reunion or a wedding to attend and you want to look your best for people you see once every 10 years. Does this make sense? Shouldn’t you want to look your best all the time?

But you still do it. And then once the event is over, you go back to the life you lived before and say hello to those 15 pounds once again. Why? What is missing in your life that you allow this to happen? The answer is motivation. What motivates you to lose weight? You want to look good for an event… but you could look good all of the time.

Setting yourself goals or rewards can help you lose the weight and keep it off for good. By using this same motivation, you can look great for yourself and the people you see every day! The key is to start out slow. Don’t crash diet. Don’t start running 5 miles a day. This will quickly wear you down and have you back on that seesaw in no time.

Take is slow. Set yourself monthly goals. Take the time to eat right with a diet that you can maintain as a lifestyle, not just a fad. Eating healthy isn’t just a great way to lose weight, it’s a great way to stay fit and healthy and feel good about yourself.

Reward yourself. Try to stay away from food rewards, but if you crave ice cream, it’s ok to indulge yourself at the end of the month… IF you reached your goal. And just because you indulged does not mean your diet is ruined. Too many people give up once they fall off the wagon and give into temptation. Treat each day like a new day to eat right. What you ate yesterday doesn’t matter. What you eat today does.

Promise yourself a shopping trip or a weekend getaway if you reach your goal this month. Treat yourself to a day at the beach or dinner with friends. What do you like to do that you never get to do? If it means spending money, then maybe if you cut out the extra cup of $5 coffee you have every day, you can have some extra cash to burn.

Whatever it is, the key to successful dieting is to find what motivates you, and use that to reward yourself.

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Quick Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry

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When you don’t have much time, but still want to serve your family a nutritious and delicious meal, toss this together and relax and enjoy.

1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup shelled frozen peas
12 oz cooked shrimp
2 cups brown rice

Directions
1. Heat oil in pan or wok.
2. Add garlic, carrots, onions, mushrooms.
3. Sauté 5 minutes.
4. Stir in chicken broth and soy sauce.
5. Bring to simmer and add shrimp and peas.
6. Cook 5 minutes and stir.
7. Add 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken sauce if desired.
8. Serve over cooked rice.

Health Benefits
Low in fat and sodium, shrimp is a great source of protein. The garlic, carrots, onions and mushrooms add antioxidants and nutrients that are easily digestible and add the much needed fiber for a diet aimed at benefitting women’s fitness and health.

Have another awesome seafood recipe?  Please share it with us and our readers in the comment space below:

Does Your Weight Affect Your Self-Esteem?

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Low self-esteem is a problem that affects many women and men, too. Sometimes it is surprising to find that people whom you might have considered confident and self- assured, actually suffer from some self-esteem issues. The problem with low self-esteem is that it can impact and compromise your quality of life, affecting everything from personal relationships to work performance.
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Many times a person’s body image impacts their self-esteem. Even people who otherwise feel happy and confident with who they are, cringe when they see a photo of themselves or catch a glimpse in a full length mirror. Since our mind does not have eyes to see, it is easy to “forget” about our weight until we see the proof of a paunchy belly or an expanding waistline.

Physical activity is one of the best ways to improve a woman’s self-esteem. Self-esteem — the opinion we have of our own worth — is crucial to a healthy lifestyle. A positive self-image helps us to exhibit greater social effectiveness and to accept others as they are. The key to self-esteem is developing self-acceptance and feelings of competence. Physical activity is instrumental in developing both.

To develop Self-Acceptance:
• Learn to accept your body and love it just the way it is.
• Don’t compare yourself to others, instead focus on one physical activity that you want to do better.
• Write down one thing that you are great at and carry it around in your pocket or purse, and read it often. Rotate it with your other affirmations.

To develop Feelings of Competence:
• Set a simple, achievable goal for a physical activity, like learning to play tennis, or walking two miles instead of one.
• Determine how you will find time to accomplish your goal, set short-term and long-term goals.
• Have a back-up plan if you can’t get out and walk or bike ride. Have indoor exercises that you can fall back on in case something happens.
• Enjoy the feelings of competence and confidence that you get from goal setting and achievement.

Does your weight affect your self-esteem? Are you conscious of your weight at all times or only when you see yourself compared to others, like in a photo or in a room full of slimmer bodies? How do you feel when you step on the scale? Do you hesitate hopping on that tattletale of a scale, even when you are the only one in the room? If you answered yes, then ask yourself what is the effect that your weight plays on your self worth?

Do you feel somehow less of a person because of your weight? Do you lack the confidence needed to walk into a crowded room or hallway because of your size? This feeling of being too big can affect many people of different sizes, even those people who are slightly overweight.

If your weight is affecting your self-esteem, can you identify your feelings? Why do you think being overweight is reason for a drop in your self-acceptance? Perhaps guilt is the culprit. You feel guilty that you have not mastered eating correctly for your body type. There, it’s out of the bag—the only reason your self-esteem is affected by your weight is because you feel guilty about how your weight is portrayed on your body and what others think of you because of your weight.

Now, once the latter thought has taken hold, you become paralyzed at the thought of physical activity in front of others for fear that everyone will be looking at your fat. You become obsessed with the fat that others will see and try to hide out, not taking part in activities and hiding your body under a layer of clothes that represent a walking tent.

Healthy self-esteem means you have a positive view of your self-image and you project an atmosphere of confidence wherever you go. Regardless of your size, you love your body and if you decide to lose weight it is more about safeguarding your health and wearing cute clothes than it is about comparing yourself to others. People with healthy self-esteem aren’t dependent on others for acceptance, they are happy and contented with who they are.

However, even happy, contented people, with no self-esteem issues, find that participating in physical activity boosts their confidence to a whole new level. Exercise is an empowering force that anyone can take advantage of. Physical challenges like sports and exercise help us in our day-to-day confrontations.

Physical activities, especially sports, require quick thinking and fluid movements—both attributes of regular exercise. This is just another way that the mind and body align and unite.

There are so many advantages to regular exercise, from weight loss to improved self-esteem, to quicker thinking, to reducing stress, to conquering guilt…exercise is the top choice for bringing about positive change in your life.

Because self-image plays such an important role in self-esteem, your weight can affect the way that you perceive yourself. One way to help you identify and crush these false images is to begin a fitness journal at the same time that you start your exercise program.

Believe me when I tell you, the fitness journal will be your key to success. The journal acts as a liaison between your body and your mind. You record your goals from your mind and compare them to the achievements of your body. By writing everything down and accepting accountability for what you eat and drink and how much activity that you do, you send a message to the brain to evaluate and deliver.

Your mind, so attuned to the written word, will work hard guiding you towards your goals. That’s why it is important to be as detailed in your journal as possible. Write down how you feel each day, too. If you are tired, upset or depressed, write it in your journal and be truthful about everything you eat. You can compare your feelings with your eating habits each day—determine if you consume more when you are having a bad day or a good day. Do you eat when you are happy, excited or frightened? Do any of these feelings cause you to snack all day?

The journal will help to keep your self-esteem intact. If your confidence is shaky, or your exercise program has hit a plateau, the fitness journal will be your written proof of all you have accomplished and will provide clues to kick start your program back into gear.

We would love to hear about your journaling ideas.  Please leave a comment below: