health

Guest Post: How to Maintain Your Weight During the Holidays

11.19.2013

Happy Tuesday! In case you missed my last post from a totally amazing woman and founder of Burn pilates, I wanted to bring her back for another guest post! This time Lisa Corsello talks about how to get through this holiday season to prevent weight gain and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here she is:

Maintain Your Weight During the Holidays

Fitness Expert Gives Tips to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

The Holiday season has jump-started, which means fun with family and friends are in the near future! Gathering around a table for a feast with our loved ones can be fun, but can also put quite a dent in our efforts to keep a healthy lifestyle.

This season, keep your diet on track! Personal trainer and fitness expert, Lisa Corsello, wants to share these five tips to keep your weight in check during the holidays, while still being able to enjoy the assortment of foods on the dinner table.

1. Weigh Yourself Regularly– Studies show that those who weigh themselves regularly are able to maintain their weight more easily. By being aware of when we start to gain weight, we can make small, manageable adjustments to diet and exercise to maintain weight.

2. Exercise Portion Control– Don’t skip meals or deprive yourself of the foods you love this holiday season. Instead, practice eating only half of what you would normally eat when it comes to dessert and rich side dishes. Load up on the healthier side dishes (high fiber veggies) and leaner cuts of meat (breast) so you’ll stay fuller longer.

3. Stay Active– Try to carve out a bit of time for exercise each day. Not only will regular exercise help maintain your weight, but it’s also a great way to relieve stress and sleep better.

4. Plan Ahead– Go online and research just how many calories are in the foods you normally eat during the holiday season. Being aware of what you’re putting in your body can help you find healthier alternatives. Also, try to stock up on healthy snacks that help ease cravings and satisfy your appetite, such as nuts or plain popcorn.

5. Change it Up– Try a new exercise class, walking/running route, or sport. Trying something different will challenge your body in a new and healthy way, and it will help keep your routine fresh and your mind more engaged.

Tip: Rate your current exercise routine on a scale of 1-10, 1 being something extremely easy and 10 the most challenging. During your next workout, try to increase that number by 1. After a week, if you’re feeling good, increase it again. Being mindful of the quality of your workout will help lead to better, healthier routines with great results.

About Lisa Corsello
Lisa is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, nutrition consultant and group fitness instructor who works with clients to create customized, goal-oriented exercise and nutrition plans. Using her extensive training and fitness background, Lisa has developed a popular new fitness technique called Burn. The 55-minute workout brings the benefits of dynamic individualized workouts to groups using a method that draws upon the best of Pilates, strength and core training for optimal results. Her programs emphasize constant movement using circuits to challenge and improve endurance, agility, balance and strength, with appropriate focus on stressing proper form and method. Each workout incorporates dynamic strength and cardiovascular training with active recovery techniques targeting all major muscle groups. Sessions are intended to be learning experiences that constantly evolve, keeping each one challenging and fresh.

She has successfully adapted and applied her methods to clients with a wide range of abilities and capabilities; absolute beginners needing basic knowledge, enthusiasts who want to increase lean body mass and reduce body fat, people recovering from sports injuries or _serious illness, and professional athletes in training. Lisa, a Lululemon Athletica Ambassador, has been a featured fitness expert onWebMDas well as inMy Family Doctor Magazine, LowCarb Magazine, Current Health Magazine, and Cornell University’s Food & Fitness Advisor newsletter. In fact, Lisa is a regularly featured fitness expert on the KPIX Weekend Morning Show. Lisa is currently a contributing fitness expert on SingleMindedWomen.com.

Thanks for reading! And thanks for the great tips Lisa! 🙂

Holiday Season Thoughts

11.13.2013

The holidays are right around the corner! Scary thought to think that the new year is almost here. This year seemed to fly by for me. Anyways, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New years, what are your thoughts about temptation this time of year? And by temptation I mean, all the sweets, and food galore that the season brings. Well guess what, it doesn’t mean the hard work you’ve put in all year has to go to waste…but beware, it can!

After thinking long and hard about this, I think that now is the time to work harder than ever before! Personally, when the food is in front of me, its hard to resist. Out of sight out of mind, is what I do day to day at home and work. BUT, not so much the case during the holidays. By working hard in the gym and keeping my nutrition on point, I’ll allow myself a little splurge at a family gathering or holiday party. My friend posted on Instagram which I loved: “I prefer my winter coat to be part of my wardrobe, not my body.” (Thanks Chels!)

When you are working hard and putting in all the effort in the world to look and feel your best, the chances to ruin your progress are slim. Also, remember when you eat like crap you feel like crap? Yep, perfect example this weekend after indulging in more ice cream then I deserved- I felt like crap the rest of the day! My point? By putting in 110% into this lifestyle, having a few cocktails, a traditional Thanksgiving meal and piece of pie isn’t going to be a big deal.

So it’s up to you to decide…you can say screw it the next few months, but those splurges will only dig you a little deeper and all that work and results you started to see will be a big waste of time. Let’s not let the traditional New Years resolution “to work out starting January 1^st” be your time to commit. Why not work out all year round?! You will be far ahead of the game!

Don’t feel bad about a treat here or there, don’t over-think it, just keep up the great work and you will be able to enjoy the holidays even more!

How will you be going about your fitness lifestyle this holiday season? Please do share! xo

Michelle Bridges Body Transformation Challenge

10.30.2013

I have some more exciting news! I feel like that’s all I’m writing about these days, but hey that’s not a bad thing! For those of you who follow my Facebook or Instagram are already filled in… but I am so excited to share that I am deep into day 2 of a 4 week preview of Michelle Bridges 12 week body transformation (we will call it “12wbt“). By being a part of a fabulous group called Girls Gone Sporty I was chosen to preview this program before Michelle opens it up to US peeps. Seriously debating at first, as I knew it would be a HUGE commitment to sacrifice the food I love and my regular workout routine. But I am SO glad that I decided to take the plunge!

Michelle is the workout queen of Australia who hosts the Biggest Loser over there as Jillian’s counterpart here in the US. This plan is AWESOME in every way. And trust me, I am not paid to say that! Each meal, snack, drink is planned for my specific needs and each workout (6 days a week) is tailored to suit my goals and fitness ability. I have only gone through 2 workouts so far, and let me tell you…I have never been through a tougher session in my life! And loved every minute of it. That feeling of going to bed with a sense of accomplishment and waking up ready to do it again, is what it’s all about for me.

Some of the “pre-season” tasks included:

Setting goals- doing my personal best, dedicating and committing 100%, seeing my best personal results
Gearing up- mentally and physically
Getting rid of all the junk in the kitchen- out of site out of mind!
Organizing the plans- I have a folder of all the information I need as well as meals posted on my fridge
Measuring and taking a pre season fitness test- testing will be taken throughout the 4 weeks

Check, check and check!! Now onto the workouts, delicious meals (there are so many to choose from) and weekly challenges to get motivated.

This my friends, is going to be it for me. This is what is going to get me 150% dedicated and I cant wait to see the results! There is no way that I will get off track these next 4 weeks. No matter what fitness level, age, or weight, this plan gives you all the tools to succeed. Not to mention, Michelle is a superstar with the best attitude! Stay tuned for much more to come. Can’t wait to share my journey with you guys and keep you posted as to how things are going!

Have you every used an online personal trainer? If so, please do share in the comments!

Keep up with Michelle Bridges: Website / Facebook / Twitter

Disclaimer: I am being compensated for this campaign, however all opinions are my own.

Nike Women’s Half Marathon / Post Marathon Tips

10.21.2013

Yesterday was very special day…it was my 3rd Nike Women’s Marathon. Year after year, I am amazed by this event. Nike does an UNBELIEVABLE job with this extravaganza! Each year they have continued to improve certain aspects of the expo and race day activities. If you are to do any marathon, I highly suggest this be the one. Although a VERY hard course, hilly, foggy and cold… 30-40 thousand people gathering the streets of union square is an amazing sight to see, it gives me chills every time and I am already looking forward to next years experience.

// Photos compliments of NWM Facebook page. //

(Pre marathon selfie @5:3am wowza!)

(And a pretty cool guy waiting for me at the finish ;))

(The blue box gave me a little kick to get my butt to the finish!)

After many trials and tribulations, ie- super longggg tiring runs on the weekends and waking up at the crack of dawn to get in a quickie before work…..I am so over the moon about setting my new PR!!! I ran an 8’37″/mi pace, 1:55! Never regret a workout. Never regret a run. Because when it comes down to it, it was all worth it. This course was insanely hard, but you can truly conquer anything you put your mind to.

You did it!! Now what? Here are some post marathon tips that have worked for me.

Walk it out. Right after the marathon keep walking to reduce stiffness. You want to keep your blood circulating in order to repair damaged muscle tissue. Walk another mile (I know it sounds horrible but worth it) or you can just walk to your car.

Stretch. It’s SO important to stretch post marathon!! Your muscles will be sore and cramping will likely occur. Whether you decide to use a foam roller or not, make sure to make time for lots of stretching to reduce injury and bring length back to fatigued muscles.

Drink lots of fluids. H2O, protein shakes and electrolytes are your best friend. You just lost tons of water and you need to replenish your body. Nourish, nourish, nourish and take care of your body by adding the nutrients back that were lost during your run.

Snack time! After a run, you are depleted of calories and need all the nourishment you can get. This is a good time for carbs! Yippee!

Ice any painful areas. Often knees and feet will need a little attention. Ice 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off that same day after your race to avoid injury. Ice the following day as well if needed.

Continue to recover in the days after your race. Take a few days of rest directly after your marathon. Some people say to take even more than a couple of days off, but I like to run a short 2 miles 2-3 days after the race to relieve soreness.

Most importantly, listen to your body and give it what it needs. There are many different opinions of what your body needs post marathon, but this is what I have found has worked for me and I hope it helps for you!

Now, after the pain subsides, you finally feel a sense of accomplishment. Time to look into finding your next race? You decide. 😉

Marathon Must-Haves

10.17.2013

Marathon season is here! (At least I think so.) I am super excited for all the races coming up. Nike Women’s Marathon, Women’s Health Run10Feed10 10k, possibly the US Half Marathon, then last but certainly not least, the Paris Marathon in April!! I thought I’d put a list together of a couple of my marathon essentials.

1. CEP Compression Sleeves: OMG! These are my new best friend. I have had a lot of knee and ankle pain the past year and these have completely turned things around for me. I honestly don’t think I can run long distance without them. Other than getting new running shoes, these have helped tremendously. They improve blood circulation, stabalize muscles and joints, prevent injury and I have noticed an increase in performance. They also have actual socks as well, which I haven’t tried but wouldn’t be opposed to.

2. iFitness Hydration Belt: I have not tried using a hydration belt, but I just ordered this one after getting a recommendation from a friend. She has used a few others that were not up to par and said this one fits low on your waist, is extremely comfortable and easy to use. Hydration belts are completely based on preference. Some people like to use hand held water bottles, but I’m really looking forward to avoiding the hydration stations and trying a belt.

3. GU Chomps / GU Gel: Wow. I fly with these things. This is what got me through my first marathon. They give you so much energy and stamina to keep going. As soon as you feel like you’re loosing endurance, pop a chomp or some gu gel and you’re on your way. I like the caffeinated options the best and chomps opposed to gel during the race. Pre-race GU gel is okay, but doesn’t taste as good as the chomps. I couldn’t run a marathon without these!!

4. KT Tape: When not wearing a compression sleeve, this is good to wrap your knees with. Make sure to read up about how to apply. I used KT tape during my first marathon and it helped alleviate the pain in my knees. This is also personal preference when choosing to wear a compression sleeve or tape. Both work great.

5. Nike Fuel Band: This thing does it all. In fact, I love all Nike products. The fuel band tracks everyday activity, calories burned, movement and distance traveled using an LED screen. There is a second generation Fuel band coming out soon which also includes a heart rate monitor as well as other improvements including real time syncing, and notifying you when you need to get moving! Love the fuel band as opposed to other regular watches because it converts activity to “Nike Fuel” and allows you to compare activity with friends. This thing is amazing. You can read more about it here.

What’s on your marathon must have list? Do you have any runs coming up?

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