Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Make it Count


Every single person has a different body type I've learned. Therefore leaving it hard to see what works the best with and for your body when it comes to working out. Some people love running and see the best results from that. Some people run for miles and miles and don't lose a pound. Some stick only to weight lifting and get a little huskier than planned, and some tone down to only bone and muscle from lifting weights. Some love aerobic and some never see results.

So how can you get the most of your workout when you're not familiar with what your body needs in able to lose the fat?

I'm here to tell you, you do a combination of aerobic and resistance training. You need both in able to lose the weight. For awhile now I've been doing circuit stations in my classes along with my step classes that include cardio and weight training. I've seen the best results no matter the body type. And this is doing it only 2 times a week. Imagine if you did this every day.

I came across this study and it just confirmed what I witness with my classes when it comes to cardio fitness along side resistance training. So you can imagine how thrilled I was thrilled to find out how much circuit really does work not only with weight loss, but with your blood sugar levels as well.

Researches studied how various forms of exercise affected the blood glucose levels in nearly 300 sedentary people with type 2 diabetes. After the nine-month trial, people who had done both aerobic and resistance exercise lowered their A1C, on average, more than participants in a non exercise group. But the people who did only aerobic exercise or resistance training didn't lower their average A1C significantly compared with the sedentary group.

(Source: Journal of the American Medical Association)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Motivational Quotes

This week has been hard for me to get excited about exercise for some reason. I'm sure it's this never-ending snow storm weather we have.
My teaching has been awful because of my attitude. And believe me, when my attitude is bad, the whole class feels that heavy weight too and makes them not want to exercise.
I'm sick of dreading my workouts this week, and I'm sick of not wanting to exercise. I want to change my attitude right now and finish the rest of the week excited about a healthy lifestyle and motivating myself to exercise.
I looked online for some uplifting quotes and it really did help me. It inspired me and got me wanting to workout and enjoy having a body that works with me and is able to do everything I physically want to do. I thought I would share these great quotes with you and hope it helps just as much:).
And yes, I even printed some out and taped them to my computer.

"Those who think they have no time for healthy eating, will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” – Edward Stanley

…“Today, more than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise.” – Mike Adams, author, investigative journalist, educator

...“Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.” – Hippocrates

"You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."-unknown author

Benjamin Franklin- "You may delay, but time will not."

Winston Churchill- "Never, never, never, never give up."

"Living a healthy lifestyle will only deprive you of poor health, lethargy, and fat."
-Jill Johnson-

Friday, March 4, 2011

Strawberry Whip Parfait

It would be a sad world if you went without some sort of dessert or treat throughout your week. That's my opinion anyways.
So as a diabetic, you have to find the best of both worlds.
Healthy and sweet.
With this new recipe that I found,
I feel like I've truly found the best of both.
I came across this recipe in the Diabetic Forecast and after making it I haven't been able to get my mind off of it. It's delicious, light, and again...extremely easy/fast to make.
Naturally, I wanted to share the yumminess with all of you!

Strawberry Whip Parfait
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 cups fat-free whipped topping
4 (1 oz.) slices of angel food cake (I made my own and used Splenda)

Directions:
Place sliced strawberries in an electric blender. Cover and blend until smooth, stopping once to scrape the sides. Fold the strawberry puree into the whipped topping. Tear the angel food cake into pieces and fold into the strawberry mixture. Spoon into parfait glasses, cover, and serve chilled.