Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Stretching Will Keep You Flexible and Safe From Injury

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You’ve probably heard that you should stretch before and after exercising And you may even be thinking that stretching takes too much time. But by not giving your muscles time to stretch you could be setting yourself up for injury.

Stretching before exercising helps to warm your muscles and keeps them flexible throughout your workout.

When you exercise, your muscles naturally respond by tightening, causing your joints to feel stiff. Once the stiffness sets in, it becomes difficult to exercise or even move about. But don’t sit still and wait for the discomfort to go away. The secret is to stretch your muscles before and immediately after an exercise routine or activity.

Stretching after a workout helps to speed the removal of toxins and waste, reducing the muscle soreness that is sometimes experienced after exercising. It helps the blood flow through your muscles for better flexibility.

Relieve stress and alleviate back pain by gently stretching the muscles in your torso, neck and shoulders. Stretch the muscles in your feet prior to walking to reduce heel pain.

So, whether you need to relax, going for a power walk or just completed a resistance-training workout … be sure to stretch, stretch, stretch to provide flexibility and maintain healthy muscles and joints. I can’t say this enough. So please, stretch¬–I don’t want you to get hurt.

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Spaghetti Squash

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You don’t just have to get your spaghetti from pasta. Try this wonderful autumn to winter vegetable that’s perfect with turkey meatballs.

1 spaghetti squash
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Boil squash in large pot for 30 minutes.
2. Allow to cool.
3. Cut squash in half.
4. With fork, separate and unthread the spaghetti pulp from the skin and place in serving dish.
5. Sprinkle with seasoning and oil, toss lightly.

Health Benefits
Low in fat and sodium, this vegetable dish is deliciously nutrient rich. An excellent source of carotenes that have been found to protect against certain cancers.

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Does She or Doesn’t She? Only Her Journal Knows For Sure

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Does she work out regularly? Does she cheat on her diet? Is she really keeping all of her notes in that journal that she carries? Only her fitness journal knows for sure. If she’s been keeping it up, it should bare witness to her entire fitness plan and more.

The Diet Fibber
I knew a girl who always bragged about the incredibly low amount of calories that she consumed every day. I knew I had seen her snack on candy quite regularly and I wondered why she felt it necessary to fabricate the facts as they pertained to what she was eating. There are lots of people who aren’t completely truthful when it comes to what they eat or drink. It’s just peculiar that they choose to make up stories about strict calorie counting or over the top exercise routines or aerobic activities. I mean really, who cares?

There is no logical reason to lie about the food you eat or the activity that you do. If you are wise enough to keep a fitness journal then I sincerely hope that you keep your entries accurate and truthful. Lying to your journal only hurts you and makes it impossible to determine what works best for you.

The Truth About Journals
Fitness4Her is all about successful weight loss and fitness for life. It incorporates a sensible and balanced diet that you can stick to, an exercise plan that is fun and easy to follow and the recommendation of a journal to show your results. I urge you to keep track of everything you eat and drink and all the activity that you do for at least the first 90 days. That’s the secret to making it work. Stick to the program for 90 days and you’ll wonder why it took you so long to get started.

Some people start out keeping a journal but after a while they forget to bring it with them, don’t have time in the evening to write in it and before long, too many days have passed by. It does take discipline to maintain a journal, but it also takes discipline to stick to an exercise plan and a healthy diet.

The thing is…the journal can be the difference between a diet that works and one that doesn’t. You know this is true. You know that if you take the time to write down what you eat and then have to look at those words written there, it will make a big impact on the way that you eat. The same is true for the exercise, when you log in how far you walk and compare them to other days that you have walked, you’ll find yourself aiming for the longer distance. You’ll set the bar for yourself. But if you don’t keep records, it will be impossible to remember your distance over several days.

Achieve Goals with a Journal
Keeping the journal just makes everything so much easier. Although it will take getting used to, once you make a habit of writing in your journal, you’ll see the incredible difference.

You see, successful people go about achieving their goals in much the same way. Many of them use journals too. That’s because writing something on paper engages the brain to accept the idea and treat it as a command.

In earlier posts I talked about how the brain works to process information and to make and break habits. How it was influenced by the constant messages that your body sends to it. Therefore it is easy to control the way that you think and the urges and cravings that you have. It starts with affirmations and is cemented by the presence of the journal.

I can’t stress enough to you, how important I believe the journal is to ensuring a successful weight loss program. It is a wonderful tool that will offer insight into your eating habits including when and why you eat, in addition to what you eat.

When you begin keeping account of what you eat, be sure to include every drink that you consume. Lots of calories are in soft drinks and other processed drinks. You’ll need to monitor the number of teaspoons or sugar packets that you add to otherwise unsweetened drinks like tea. If you leave out this important information, you could sabotage your fitness program.

Accuracy and Accountability
A journal can only be as good as the information that you write in it. Be as accurate as possible, because the journal will be a valuable tool to help you now and well into the future. You’ll want to keep it close to you, so you can write down how you feel before each meal; what time of day you started feeling hungry; and how you felt after your meal.

I suggest eating five small meals instead of eating three larger meals. Food is easier to digest this way and the constant meals keep sugar levels from dropping, which can make you munchy for some junk food. You shouldn’t feel famished with this frequent five-meal plan.

That’s why I urge you to keep the journal close by. If you adapt to the five-meal per day plan, you’ll be writing in your journal more frequently. Keeping it in a convenient place so you can easily refer to it will make it much easier. Remember, it’s important that each snack be accounted for, just like your regular meals.

Journal Your Fitness Fun
We’ve talked a lot about writing everything you eat and drink, making sure to include all of your snacks too. But the other part of the equation to a successful weight loss program is the fitness and boy is my program fun! It consists of 30 minutes of exercise each day. Now, you can exercise longer if you like, some people like to go for 45 minutes to an hour, but you must engage in activity six out of the seven days of the week.

Three days of the week will be for resistance training and the journal will be a great place to record your reps and sets and to determine when you are ready to take the exercise to the next level. Every other day instead of resistance training, you get to play for 30 minutes a day. These play days are reserved for aerobic activities and I encourage you to mix them up for variety and vitality.

Your journal will make it easy to anticipate your aerobic fun day and your resistance-training day. Recording the intensity of the exercises, and how they affected you (exhausted, sore, painful, easy) will help train your body and your mind to make physical fitness a permanent part of your life for a healthier you.

So when you leave them wondering, “does she or doesn’t she,” the proof will lie in the journal.

Visit my Women’s Fitness Blog on top of this page for more on Journaling your way to success!

Sassy Salsa Turkey Grill

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Kick up the flavor of grilled turkey when you top it with this sassy little salsa that you prepare yourself and have complete control over the sugar and sodium. Do the pre-prep early in the day so the chicken can marinate while you take on the day. The rest is quick and easy and you will have dinner prepared in less than 30 minutes. This recipe makes 4 servings, adjust as needed.

2 chili pepper, chopped
2 garlic clove, minced
Zest of 2 limes
16 oz skinless, boneless turkey breast filets

Salsa:
4 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
2 avocado, diced
4 Tbsp finely diced red onion
4 Tbsp diced tomato
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp lime juice
Cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper, optional to taste

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix together chili, garlic and lime zest.
2. Pour mixture over turkey and let marinade in refrigerator for at least one hour. I suggest prepping this the night before or early in the morning for the evening’s dinner.
3. Mix salsa ingredients and set aside.
4. Grill turkey breast until done.
5. Spoon salsa over each breast or serve salsa on the side.
6. A great accompaniment to this dish is Spanish rice.
7. Enjoy!

Health Benefits:
A lean source of protein, turkey us also a good source of Vitamin B6, zinc and selenium. It’s low in saturated fat, low in cholesterol, low in sodium, low in sugar and low in calories. Avocado contains monounsaturated fatty acids that have been shown to reduce belly fat. Considered MUFA rich, a slice or two of avocado is a tasty treat that packs a bounty of benefits.

Be Kind To Your Body With Kale

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If you are always looking for a new healthy food to add to your menu, look no further than the beautiful, leafy kale. When eaten steamed, kale can fortify a woman’s body against many health conditions. The reason steaming is best is because that process allows the fiber in the kale to be easily absorbed in the body. While raw kale is still healthy, steamed kale offers the best benefits.

Eating steamed kale will help to lower cholesterol levels and many of the risks associated with at least 5 different cancers. These include breast, bladder, colon, ovary and prostate cancer. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale are responsible for all of these benefits including helping women detoxify their bodies.

Vitamins K, A, C, B2, B1, beta carotene, fiber, calcium, potassium, iron, protein, magnesium and other nutrients are all present in a 36 calorie serving. When chewed, the sulphorane in kale helps to generate enzymes from your liver that actually detoxify cancer-causing chemicals.

The following benefits can be attributed to steamed kale:

• Lowers cholesterol
• Protects from the risk of 5 different types of cancer
• Natural detoxification
• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory

Now that you realize how beneficial this wonderful leafy vegetable is for your health. You might be interested in making some for yourself or your family.

To prepare steamed kale you will need:

11/2 pounds of kale
2 cloves of garlic
2-3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ¼ lemon
½ cup of vegetable stock or water
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Mince or chop garlic and set aside. You can remove the spines of the kale or leave intact. Chop coarsely into bite sized pieces. In a sauce pan, sauté garlic until tender, but before its color changes. Squeeze kale with lemon juice and add to sauce pan along with vegetable stock. Cover and cook on high heat for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Serve with any main dish of chicken, beef, or pork. You can also use it in soups, salads or anything you like, just let your imagination soar.