Life Style Changes | Juliet Deane

Posts Tagged ‘life style changes’

5 Diet & Exercise Disasters- 1 Smart Solution!

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

1. STARTING SMART: It can be a bit overwhelming to build all new healthy habits in order to sculpt the body you really want. Where you need to start completely depends on where you are right now and what your habits are on a regular basis. The only way to prioritize which eating and activity habits you need to change first, is to see what your doing on paper. That’s right. The simple act of journaling what you eat and what, if any, activity you did that day, will show you where you really need the most work and pronto! Some big no no’s to watch out for are:

Skipping breakfast
Eating fried or processed food (they ruin your skin anyway)
Not drinking enough water (shoot for 8 glasses to start)
Drinking your calories (soda, juice & calorie bomb coffee drinks) and…
SUGAR! Yes, even the “fat free” kind. Sugar is sugar period.

What about your activity levels? If you weren’t active today-drop and give me 20! Well…maybe that’s a bit much. If you don’t have much experience in exercising, it would be best to get your first workout by hiking to your local trainer for some professional help. You’ll get a big return on the investment in your figure. If you’re on a very limited budget, bodyweight exercises in your own home is a great place to start.

2. EMOTIONAL EXTREMES: This is a BIG one. Food is not the solution to your problem. A sleeve of cookies won’t fix your relationship, eggplant parmesan won’t help you nail that interview and no- sucking down fancy cocktails doesn’t give you a body like Sarah Jessica Parker on Sex In The City. The real solution? Start journaling. Clear your mind. If you’re not sure what’s wrong or why your self- sabotaging your fitness goals, you need to find out ASAP. The only way to do that is by doing a bit of soul searching. So get out of the danger zone (aka back away from the fridge) and find a quiet spot to vent on paper. Instead of eating everything, you’re much more likely to find out what’s eating you.

3. FAT FAUX PAS: Gasp! The “F bomb”! If Fat is a dirty word in your diet lingo, you’ve got it all wrong. Healthy fats keep your hair shiny, eyes bright, skin smooth and waistline trim. Grandma was right when she said all things in moderation. Either way, too much junk fat like saturated fats in pizza, or too little fats like the blubber blasting omegas in salmon, and you’re slowing your results. How do you know what you’re eating? You got it. A journal. One day you might eat NO fat and another day you might eat way too much of the wrong kind. Start journaling what you put in your mouth and ask a professional. If you’re afraid of eating fat, it’s likely because you’ve been misinformed for some time now. How can you start small? Take 2 omega 3 fish oil caps at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

4. THE STRESS EFFECT: It’s not just hype. Stress can do horrible things to your body. For one, it can cause your body to pump out hormones like cortisol. Cortisol regulates blood sugar, inflammation, your immune system and your energy levels. One of the results of elevated cortisol levels is the storage of extra body fat especially around your midriff. Bummer. How can you combat the onslaught of stored belly fat with fear, worry and stress on the job? Exercise! Breaking a good sweat, whether at home or at the gym can help relieve stress by pumping out feel good chemicals called endorphins. The science of endorphins is controversial because some pros believe the positive feeling you get is from meeting a physical challenge, not the exertion itself- BUT, whatever the direct cause of the endorphin pump, exercise has been proven to enhance mood! So journal down your start mood, get in a quickie workout and head back to your journal to record some new adjectives to describe your post workout mood. You’ll not only be pleasantly surprised by the immediate results but journaling will help remind you that it’s a really beneficial habit to keep.

5. CONSITENCY=SUCCESS: On the wagon, off the wagon, back on the wagon…only to fall off again. Can someone please show me where this dreaded colony- sized wagon is so I can burn the thing! Believe me when I tell you …RUN from the proverbial wagon because apparently everyone falls off this darn thing! Your best bet is not to set unrealistic goals that set you up for failure. If you try to workout 7 days a week, you not only risk injury but you set yourself up for big disappointment in yourself. Plan to begin exercising 3 days a week and go from there. Don’t set a consistent exercise goal of 4 days a week until you’ve accomplished the first goal of 3 days a week for at least a month or two. Similarly, don’t go overboard with a super strict diet. Start by following the guidelines above and don’t make it more complicated until you have those mastered.

If you take nothing else from this blog, please remember the small ,healthy changes you make really do count in the long haul. If you make a mistake, don’t blow the day, week or month. Just get up, dust the donut powder off, and log your journey to fitness success. Staying consistent with your nutrition and exercise is key, and keeping a journal for yourself is your only feedback you have for what’s working and what’s not. So, 5 diet and exercise disasters greatly improved with 1 smart solution- keep a journal and keep at it!

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Tags: body weight workout, boost your mood, coping with stress, depression, diet, diet pitfalls, diet planning, diet program, Eat right, exercise, fat loss, fat loss goals, fat loss results, Fitness, fitness goals, healthy life style, life style changes, Nutrition, personal trainer, training, weight loss
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Your At Home Solution to Muscle Soreness!

Friday, June 5th, 2009

We know how hard all of you dedicated members are working during your training sessions and metabolic condition classes. We also know that when your pushing yourself that hard, occasional muscle soreness will remind you for 1 or 2 days just how hard you worked. Where muscle soreness is natural and nothing to be concerned about, the worst thing you could do that next day or two is to “take it easy” or hit the sofa to rest up. Being sedentary will contribute to, and lengthen the duration of your stiff muscles. The best thing you can do for fast relief is get up and move it! Now I am not giving you permission to over train and do strenuous exercise everyday, but I am reminding you that the best solution for relieving muscle aches is healthy blood flow to the sore spots and throughout your whole body. That blood flow will warm and ease your muscles while supplying them with the nutrients they need to feel relief.

Some key reminders for you to feel better fast:

Do not HOLD stretches while your body is stiff and you have not warmed yourself up. Holding stretches are known as Static Stretches. These are best left to the end of your training sessions or after engaging in enough movement activity to break a light sweat. You’re muscles will not be as willing to “give” and stretch if they have not received adequate blood flow.

Do not bounce (ballistic stretching) or force a movement that your body is not ready to give. A good indicator of this is if a stretch causes you pain, causes you to break the form of the movement or makes you grimace in a face of true discomfort. More importantly, stay within your current range of motion and continue the movements as you steadily increase that range of motion allowing healthy blood flow to the achy area.

Keep it moving! Don’t change your movements to cater to your soreness. Move through regular steps and reaches so that you don’t avoid using the areas that need to be loosened up.

Follow this at home solution to muscle soreness for a full body treatment after another great Training Studio Session!

- Walking Warm Ups 1 to 2 lengths each
- Stiff Kicks 15 reps each side
- Seal Jumping Jacks 15 reps
- Prisoner Goodmornings 15 reps
- Arm Circles small to big 20 forward then 20 backward
- Spiderman Hip Stretches 12 to 16 total reps

*Each rep and round increase the range of motion through each movement while taking minimal rest, creating optimal body heat to warm muscles and feel relief fast
*Repeat 2-3 total rounds through and start feeling more flexible!

Lastly, if an ache or pain persists longer than 3 days, inform your trainer! Open lines of communication are key in achieving the best results for your body. Let us help you feel your best!

Tags: aches and pains, at home mobility workout, at home workout, back pain, body weight workout, chronic pain, done for you workout, exercise, family health, fat loss, fat loss results, Fitness, fitness goals, flexibility, healthy life style, life style changes, mobility, muscle soreness, personal trainer, recovery, sports recovery, streching, training, weight loss
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The ABC’s of making a change

Monday, February 16th, 2009

We are now a month and a half into the new year. Are you seeing the health and fitness results that you set out to achieve? Sometimes we can be too drastic with our health and fitness goals which makes it very difficult and even seemingly impossible to keep them. The following are basic but super effective methods at making progressive changes to keep you on point with your goals. I call them the ABC’s of making change.

Attainable-Something realistic and achievable. It makes no sense to set yourself up for failure with drastic and over the top goals, especially when your just getting started. Short term goals will keep you fresh and inspired by guess who….you! Seeing yourself succeed is exactly what the doctor ordered to help you feel in control and motivated!

Believable-If you don’t actually think your capable of achieving what you set out to do, then The Mission IS Impossible. Do you feel as though you’ve failed yourself time and time again? Do you think you will be fat or out of shape forever? Well you’re not destined to failure. It’s much more likely that you just aren’t setting proper goals. If you want REAL RESULTS for a LIFETIME, you need to start off by conquering simple goals one by one until you build your self esteem. Along the way you will be moving closer and closer to the lifelong results you’re looking for at a pace that keeps you feeling in control and motivated.

Clear- Now this is important. Your goals MUST be clear and measurable. Share them with your personal trainer, family and friends so they can keep you accountable. A good example of a clear goal would be eating a healthy breakfast consistent with your diet plan every single day. Another example would be to add 20 minutes of cardio after every strength training session for this upcoming week. Both goals are basic, simple and measurable.

The ABC’s of Goal Setting are applicable to EVERYONE. No matter what your fitness level or training/nutrition experience-every journey big or small, begins with a single step. So stop wishing for change and get started!

Tags: family fitness, fat loss, fat loss goals, Fit Families, Fitness, getting healthy, getting motivated, getting results, goal setting, healthy lifestyle, life style changes, staying motivated, training, training goals, weight loss, weight loss goals
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Be Better Than Yourself-Competition Review

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

So if you haven’t heard the news yet, the Big Day has come and gone and I walked away as the 2nd Place Figure Competitor at the INBF World’s 2008. There were 30 figure girl’s that came from far and wide- Costa Rica, London, Cayman Islands…the clickety clack of six inch heals could be heard from every direction. It was a very exciting and nerve wracking experience and I’m proud of myself for hanging in there through the 12 hour competition day. Though second place is an achievement, my inner competitor could easily find a way to be hard on myself for not being top spot. In this situation I imagine the kind words I would give a client in the same position… “Snap out of it already!!!”

In reality there’s a much bigger picture than the trophy shot in glittery suits. I worked a quarter-actually almost a third of a year- on trying to be better and different than I was last competition. Seeminly so simple, all of us can get caught up on what we think works best for us and our bodies when despite our own beliefs, the body needs something different. a new method, a better strategy and an open mind.

My last competition I did well, so why change anything? Because I wasn’t looking to keep doing “well”. Believe me, it’s not always easy to be open minded and give your all to diet and training strategies that you haven’t used in the past. But with with the right education, progression and support, change can be more fantastic than scary.

Even though I did not win first place, I was prepared. I was more poised, had a better stage presence and was much leaner and conditioned for the experience. So can you really count that as a loss? Placing second at the World’s isn’t the main achievement, it’s in doing whatever it took to be a “better me”. I’m proud of the changes I dared to make to be a better competitor, athlete and trainer. If you learn anything from my experience, it’s that being open minded, focused and driven will ultimately allow you to be a better you year after year because in the end your true competition is only yourself

Tags: Figure, Figure Coach, figure competing, figure competition, figure competition review, figure show, Fitness, fitness goal setting, fitness goals, How To Improve Yourself, INBF, INBF Figure competition, INBF Figure Show, Juliet Deane, life style changes, my first figure show, self improvement, training
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Back To School Special!

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Going away to college, whether an hour from home or across the country, is a big step in becoming independent. As if maintaining your course schedule wasn’t enough, you have to learn how to manage your health and fitness in a new environment with added distraction and even stress. Eating right and exercising will help your energy levels, focus, sleep patterns and immune defense against winter colds and flus. Whether your a first year student, a soon to be grad, or even a teacher…everyone can use a little support in getting adjusted to a new lifestyle. I put together a few basic but highly effective tips so that you can make the most of your year at school.

Tip #1 Never Skip Breakfast! -Grandma was right. Breakfast is hands down the most important meal of the day. Have options ready for regular mornings and days that you may wake up late and have to run out the door. Enjoy eggs and fruit or Old Fashioned Oatmeal with a scoop of vanilla protein powder. If your in a rush have a protein shake and grab an apple and some almonds to go!

Tip #2 Snack Attack- Don’t wait until your absolutely starving to eat something because your so much less likely to choose the right foods. Easy to pack snacks for long class schedules could be an apple and small handful of almonds & walnuts or a quality protein bar.

Tip #3 Walk It Off- Whether it’s that first accounting exam, an overwhelming course load or your roommates really annoying music taste….walk it off! Stress can lead to overeating for no other reason but distraction so take a hike! Throw on a hoodie and walk the campus. Chances are you’ll meet some new people, relax and be more healthy because it.

Tip #4 Put Yourself To Bed - Yeah, I’m sure you don’t want to hear it but the amount of sleep you get directly effects your TOTAL health. Sleep balances the hormones in your body that control a normal appetite. Lose too much sleep on a regular basis and you’ll be grabbing for junk foods that your body doesn’t really want or need. Sleep also will keep your immune system pumping to fight off classmate cooties AND if that isn’t enough, proper sleep also regulates your mood so your roommate doesn’t get the urge to dip your toothbrush in the toilet.

Tip #5 Easy On The Booze- Let’s face the obvious. You have new found personal freedom and there is no shortage of parties. Alchohol consumption leads to sloppy judgement calls in every area of your life. If your drunk or even just “buzzed” your putting yourself at risk. If your health and safety isn’t enough reason to avoid drinking, let it be know that alchohol is major contributer to that unfortunate “Freshman 15″.

Well off to school you go now! Take care of your body and your body will take care of you. Feel free to email me through my website with any questions or topics of interest that you would like me to blog about.

Tags: Back to school special, boost your mood, College fitness, college nutrition, coping with stress, Eat right, energy levels, exercise, family fitness, family health, First year fitness, First year student, focus, freshman 15, Freshman in College, health, healthy life style, healthy teens, immune defense, lack of sleep, life style changes, mood, Nutrition, sleep disorder, stress, total health, wellness
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