Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Imagine a Slimmer You

By

Most women who are trying to lose weight have an idea of how they want their body to look. They imagine themselves as a slimmer version. This visualization helps to define how they want to change their body and sets a goal for the brain to follow. The more a person engages in this type of visualization, the better chance they have for reaching their goals.

Imagine a slimmer you and keep your imagination stimulated with lots of visual aides. If you have old photographs of yourself in a slimmer body, put them in frames and place them in areas where you will see them often. If you don’t have photos of yourself, choose images of women who have figures that you admire. These visual reminders will help to keep your imagination vivid.

When top athletes enter the ring, many of them use visualization. Either, due to the fact that they have been there before or because they have totally imagined the scenario and practiced their reactions, the act of visualization allows these athletes to perform under pressure with spectacular results. The same can apply for women who want to take their workout to the next level. Imagine the exercise, visualize the muscle groups that will be engaged and plan your reaction to the resistance of the challenge.

For the brain, this act of visualization is almost the same as if you had actually done this task before. You imagine the exercise and the muscles being used and you see yourself doing all of the reps and sets suggested. If you visualize each step before actually executing these moves, your success rate will soar.

There are so many possibilities when you practice visualization. It can boost your ability to achieve many of your goals, help you to reduce stress and benefit your relationships with others. Any ideas you have must first start with visualization.

Along with imagining a slimmer you, you will want to visualize living a healthier, more active lifestyle. You will want to focus on eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. Women’s fitness requires much more than imagination. It requires the commitment, dedication and perseverance to make positive lifelong changes in diet and exercise.

Why I Love To Exercise

By

I asked ten ladies about their relationship with exercise and got some interesting and motivating responses. The ladies I chose to interview all participated in exercise to some degree. Most of them exercised every day or every other day, while a couple of them only exercised a few of times a month.

Exercise gave many of these women a sense of satisfaction in every aspect of their lives. Not only did they gain confidence as they accomplished difficult exercise moves, they felt confident in relationships in both their personal lives as well as their careers.

Some reported a spiritual awakening from exercise. As if becoming one with the universe, these women confessed that exercise felt like the right thing to do. They said that they owed it to their body to give it what it so desperately needed and as they fulfilled that obligation they felt at peace with themselves.

Weight loss or weight management was high on the list of why many of the women exercised. For many of them, exercise was combined with their diets for optimum weight loss, while others revealed that exercise allowed them to eat some of their favorite foods without the guilt.

One woman said that regular exercise helped her rest better at night. She has trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. When she started exercising, she began to fall asleep earlier and rest better throughout the night. A word of caution here, exercise a few hours before bedtime, exercising too close to bedtime may make it more difficult to fall asleep.

The women who only exercised a few times a month, said they enjoyed exercise, were aware of the benefits, but unfortunately lacked the time. When they did find the time to exercise, they felt elated afterwards and had a strong desire to make exercise a regular part of their lives. However, they were still trapped by the elusion that they didn’t have enough time to exercise.

With all the benefits that exercise has to offer, I cannot understand how women can still say they don’t have time to exercise. And it’s not just the benefits that are important. Not exercising and leading a sedentary life is extremely bad for your heart. Studies are showing that inactivity is one of the worse things you can do for your heart.

Exercise is good for the body, mind and spirit. As I listened to these women talk about their relationship with exercise I felt inspired and motivated to share their stories with all of you. I want you to love your body, get excited about exercise and share your accomplishments.

Peruvian Tastes – The Newest Superfoods

By

Get supercharged with the latest superfoods from Peru. South American foods are trending at many upscale restaurants that are featuring these tasty delights. Popular for their versatility, these healthy foods are high in vitamins and nutrients. Great sources of antioxidants and vegetable protein, these superfoods will boost your metabolism, fight infection, reduce inflammation and keep you energized. Here’s just a sampling in the latest superfoods from Peru.

Kiwicha also known as amaranth, is a small whole grain that is gluten-free. This miniature quinoa is known for its dense nutritional content. Famed in Peru for over 4,000 years, Kiwicha is considered an anti-aging food. It contains all 10 essential amino acids, and makes a great plant protein for vegetarians. High in fiber, iron, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc and manganese.

Lucuma is a Peruvian fruit that tastes like maple, caramel and pumpkin all combined together. With orange/yellow colored flesh, it has the texture of a hard boiled egg yolk. Cultivated since 200 A.D. this fruit was known as the “Gold of the Incas.” High in carotene, fiber, iron and niacin, the fruit is not available locally, but the Lucuma powder is available at many health food and vitamin stores.

Maca helps to balance hormones, boost energy, improve fertility and provides health benefits to beautify skin, hair and nails. A tuber root of Peru, most commonly referred to as Peruvian Ginseng. It is high in these minerals: calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc and up to 20 essential fatty acids, lipids, fiber, carbohydrates, protein, and amino acids.

Pichuberry a small, smooth berry also known as the Inca berry. From Peru, it is as small as a cherry, but comes wrapped in a thin, papery green shell making it look more like a tomatillo. The pichuberry has a low glycemic index (25-28) coupled with a high concentration of vitamin C and carotenoids meaning that it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Quinoa, though not new to menus, is still one of the top superfoods and deserves to be mentioned. Quinoa contains more vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants than any other grain. Vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, potassium, and riboflavin, plus minerals like copper, zinc, magnesium, and folate, as well as the antioxidants phytonutrients quercetin and kaempferol, which lend anti-inflammatory and disease-fighting prowess to each bowl consumed.

Look for these superfoods at your health food store or grocery store, as well as finer dining restaurants. Many menus feature these superfoods in sauces, salads or garnishes. Expand your taste and give these Peruvian flavors a try.