| Pick a monthly challenge and get started!! Taking on a new challenge each month will put you on track to a healthier you! These are small changes that will help you accomplish your larger, long-term goals. Because so many people revert back to their unhealthy habits, monthly challenges will motivate you to make modifications slowly and most importantly, successfully. So take on a challenge and see what you can accomplish! Be happy and healthy, |
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Can you believe that it's September?! I can't. This means school has started and summer is wrapping up. This also means I have lived in Houston for a whole year (a very good year), which seems crazy to me. This year definitely feels like it flew by. I know how it is to be busy with work or school and to get caught up in the day. Days or weeks end up flying by. Have you ever wondered at the end of the day what you even ate??! When life is happening and you're always on the go, sometimes you (and I) forget to enjoy all those healthy fruits and veggies! SO for this monthly challenge: I challenge you to add color to you day! With fruits and vegetables! Fruits and vegetables are loaded with phytonutrients, which are packed with antioxidants. Phytonutrients = Antioxidants = A healthier you! There are many different phytonutrients, so by eating a colorful diet you will gain many benefits. Aim for eating something red, green, and orange every day. In case the antioxidants aren't enough to convince you. Let me tell you why you should be eating different colored fruits and vegetables every day.... Carotenoids: Carotenoids make up the colors in your red, orange and yellow fruits and veggies. Carrots, bell peppers, leafy greens, tomatoes, and watermelon all provides benefits such as cancer prevention, boosted immune system and eye health. Flavonoids: Found in berries, citrus fruits and green tea- these foods (and drink) will provide many different cancer preventative and fighting properties as well as prevent heart disease. Glucosinolates: These are found in your leafy greens and can help fight cancer development. Leutin: Also found in your leafy greens.. This helps with age related eye health. Resveratrol: This antioxidant and anti-inflamtory is found in grapes. It may help you live longer and also reduce your risk of heart disease. Enjoy some red grapes and red wine!! Ellagic Acid: For all you berry lovers, this phytonutrient is found in many different berries! Ellagic Acid works hard in preventing cancer, preventing development and even killing those bad cells. So now that you know the many health benefits of adding color to your day- I hope, actually I challenge, you to eat more fruits and vegetables each and every day. What fruits and vegetables will you enjoy with this monthly challenge? Let me know :) :) I currently have some red grapes, spinach, grapefruits and bell peppers at the house and will be enjoying all of them today! Be happy and healthy, Sources:
content- http://www.ars.usda.gov/aboutus/docs.htm?docid=4142 & http://www.webmd.com/diet/phytonutrients-faq pictures- Grapes: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vqa7e3IKfO0/T4uX49reltI/AAAAAAAAAJY/1orwM67knlk/s400/red+grapes.jpgKale:http://www.vegkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/kale.jpgBlue: http://visavape.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/blueberry_mint.jpgStrawberry: http://tasty-dishes.com/data_images/encyclopedia/strawberry/strawberry-03.jpgCarrot: http://www.detoxdrinks.info/images/carrots_detox_drinks.jpgBell pepper: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly9nd0cSjM1ro0qa0o1_400.jpgTomato: http://newhealthomdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/red_tomato_02.jpg Maybe you need some extra motivation to workout... and I want to help! With the help of GymPact! Some of the best advice I can give a college student is to get into a habit of working out. And to do so before you get lost in activities, classes and studying. At the beginning of the year, things are a little slow, with school anyway, so start exercising right away and schedule workouts around classes. To give yourself that little extra push.. why not wager 5 bucks? There's really no reason not exercise a few days a week to earn some money! If you meet your set number of days to workout per week then you get a set amount of money! BUT if you don't accomplish your goal, then you lose $5 or what ever you decide to wager. Earning the money can be your motivation!! And, of course, not to miss a workout because then you LOSE money.. which would not be good. So, for this monthly challenge, (I know it's not the beginning of the month but it's the beginning of the semester for students) I dare you to download the app and challenge yourself to complete the workouts. When you do, you'll EARN cash. That's pretty sweet if you ask me. Time to make some money! $$$$ Be happy and healthy,
I was so excited to start this blog, but I'm having such a hard time keeping up with it!! I have a monthly challenge that I think will be great to do for the ENTIRE SUMMER. HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, by the way ;) Time for the beach, vacations, pool parties, the lake.. whatever you do for fun in the summer most likely involves a bathing suit at one time or another. SO in addition to the workouts I've already posted (Your Best Booty and Your Best Arms: Superset).. I've got your Summer Challenge that will challenge your abs and tighten your core and will get you bikini body ready! (And maintained throughout the summer!) I'm going to post Your Best Ab's in the next few days so this challenge can be incorporated into that workout! This is obviously best done in combination with more exercises, whether it be doing abs before your cardio or adding this to the end of you strength training workout. Either way.. once again.. you SHOULD NOT work the same muscles two days in a row. So for your Summer Challenge I've given you two fun options :) 1. Add 25 reps every other day to your ab exercise plan. So for example start today with 100 and then on Sunday you would do 125, Tuesday 150.. etc. See if you can go the whole summer adding 25 every other day! You will, without a doubt, strengthen your core. 2. Add 15 seconds to the clock each time you do a plank exercise. So for example, today you would start at a 1 minute plank, and on Sunday you would do it for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Add 15 seconds every other day for the rest of June, July, and August! This challenge is great for a few reasons. First, this Summer Challenge follows the FITT principle which requires you to change Frequency, Intensity, Time, or Type in order to see changes. (Basically, if you did the same exercises every week without changing anything you would not see any results). So I've made it easy for you- you can do the same exercises whether it be from my Your Best Abs workout or your own favorite ab exercises and as long as you increase the reps or the time (for the plank) you are on your way to your summer bikini body! Another reason why I know this challenge is great is because it is fun!! Every other day you know you've got to challenge yourself a little more by adding more reps or time to the clock. It will be fun (and rewarding) for you to see the reps increase and you may even surprise yourself! Do this challenge with a friend or your spouse and see who can add more time or reps OR who can make it through the whole challenge! And I bet by the time your finished with the Summer Challenge you'll want to continue (1 because you have started a routine and 2 because you will see results). Now that you understand the challenge and why it will be worth it.. how do you know how many reps to start with?! You can give yourself a mini fit test- on the first day do as many as ab exercises as you can (counting reps) or hold the plank for as long as you can. That will be your starting point, so if you could complete 4 different ab exercises at 20 reps.. that is where you will start (80 total) or if you held the plank for 30 seconds then you can add 15 seconds from that point on. A good rule of thumb is that the last few reps (of any exercise you are doing)... or seconds for the plank... should be very difficult to complete. You'll be close to muscle failure, which is what you want!! Breaking your muscles down is how you build them up, so build away your abs! GOOD LUCK WITH THIS SUMMER CHALLENGE! I'm excited to start it myself and I hope you are too!! . Be happy and healthy, This is an exciting day! It's my first post on Healthy by Kelly and the first monthly challenge. It's also April Fools Day and I wish I had a cool prank to tell you about but I was lame and didn't do anything. Anyway, I'm happy to share the first monthly challenge- after doing a lot of research on health behaviors, I have learned that the best way to reach your goals is by creating smaller goals and making gradual changes to reach your goals (2). This is why I want to post monthly challenges. It takes the guess work out of trying to figure out what you can do to be healthier and you've got me to motivate you, so no excuses! FOR APRIL, I CHALLENGE YOU TO TAKE THE STAIRS. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. I know you hear this all the time, but do you do it?? According to a article published in ACSM Health and Fitness Journal you can assume you are burning about 1 calorie for every 5 stairs you climb (1). **What I don't like about putting a specific number of calories to an activity is that everyone is different and the amount of calories you burn depends on a lot of things- but this is a good guideline. AND the more stairs you climb, the more calories you burn! So I wouldn't get caught up on the number, I'd just climb as many stairs as you can! By taking the stairs, you are participating in a small 'exercise' burst. Put simply, climbing stairs sparks a sympathetic response which will trigger the release of hormones, doing a number of things such as increasing your heart rate and you may even experience an elevated mood after. (Hopefully you won't be angry after climbing the stairs but if you are, don't give up! It will get easier the more often you do it.) Participating in exercise bursts throughout the day will help speed up your metabolism and contribute to a healthier heart. Now that I explained why it's beneficial to take the stairs, I hope I inspired you to do so! You'll feel better when you make the healthier option. This month, try to take the stairs as much as you can.. if you're a student, take the stairs to your classroom or to your dorm room. If you work in an office building, take the stairs to your floor. If you're at the mall, take the stairs. If you have the option, take the stairs... I think you got it :) Let me know how many flights of stairs you climb!! Good luck! . Be Happy and Healthy, SOURCES:
(1) Peterson, J. (2006). Take ten: Take-and-save. ACSM'S Health & Fitness Journal, 10(5), 50. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/Fulltext/2006/09000/ Take_Ten__Take_and_Save__10_Practical_Ways_to_Burn.18.aspx (2) Slentz, Cris A.; Houmard, Joseph A.; Kraus, William E. (2007). Modest Exercise Prevents the Progressive Disease Associated with Physical Inactivity. Exercise & Sports Science Reviews, 35(1): 12-23 doi: 10.1249/01.jes.0000240019.07502.01 |