To Carb or not to Carb!

Too Few Carbs Can Leave You Feeling Tired
If you're tempted to go on one of those low-carbohydrate diets, consider this first. Consuming too few carbs can leave you feeling sapped of energy - both mentally and physically.
Instead of counting carbohydrates, focus on the type of carbs you're eating. Limit simple carbs, which are found in foods like white breads, potatoes and sugary snacks; these carbs can give you a brief energy spike but can also be followed by a crash that leaves you even more depleted than before you ate.
By choosing complex carbohydrates found in whole grains and breads you're giving your body a sustained source of energy that will keep you moving until your next meal or snack.

Visit http://outskirtspress.com/webpage.php?ISBN=9781432741099

Workout Strategies for Busy Parents

It can be challenging for any busy adult to squeeze in exercise. Add children to the mix, and the task seems almost superhuman.
Remember, it's easiest to stick to an exercise plan if you make it an ingrained part of your routine. Maybe one of these strategies can work for you:

• If you have an infant or toddler, bring the little one along. Use a jogging stroller, a child seat for your bike (with child helmet), or a stroller with "all-terrain" wheels for long walks.
• Exchange babysitting services with another parent who wants to maintain a regular exercise schedule.
• With a school age child, look for places where you both can exercise, even though you're at different skill levels. Examples: A swimming pool, a running track, a community fitness center. Instead of chauffeuring your child to routine activities and events (scout meetings, soccer practice, going to or from school), try biking, jogging or walking together.

Want to Stick to Your Exercise Plan? Don't Think about It.

If you have trouble staying motivated to exercise, you might achieve greater success if you make exercise part of your routine; something as ingrained as brushing your teeth, getting showered, or driving to work. The more "automatic" exercise becomes, the less you will have to grapple with how to fit it into your busy schedule.

Here are some suggestions:

• Get It Over With: Exercise in the morning, before your day starts.
• Exercise to Commute: Run,walk, bike or skate to work. No shower or gym facilities at the office? Then keep workout clothes and gear in your office, and exercise for your commute home at the end of the day.
• Have"Power Lunches":Use two or three lunch hours a week to strength-train at a nearby gym. Working with weights, you don't have to worry about the "seat factor," as you do with cardio workouts. You can strength train in less than 30 minutes.
• Don't Go Home First!: If you choose to exercise in the evening after work, go directly to your workout destination. Stopping at home first can present distractions that could interfere with your exercise plans.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questins or comments at nivram1ohio@aol.com

How Hard Should Your Workouts Be?

When doing your cardiovascular workouts, do you "give it your all?" If so, make a point to end your workouts before you hit the exhaustion point.

Even on those days when you push for an extra-challenging workout, you should feel invigorated and strong when you finish. You should NOT feel as though you've depleted all of your energy reserves. If you feel that you've got no "fuel" left, you could be using too much of your body's stored energy - and making it more difficult for your body to recover enough by your next workout.

If you need a personalized workout plan, exercise tips, diet tips, email me at nivram1ohio@aol.com

When Injury Slows You Down, Should You Eat Less?

Injury can lead to a period of inactivity or reduced activity. A broken leg, for example, can put a crimp in your workout routine. And if surgery is needed, you can be out of commission for weeks.
If injury has rendered you more sedentary than usual, it stands to reason that you should eat less...and perhaps even try to lose weight at this time. Right? WRONG.

When you are injured, your body needs a good deal of energy - that is, it needs CALORIES - in order to heal itself. This is not the time to be cutting calories in an effort to lose weight. Without enough calories and the right nutrients (particularly protein), your body's tissues can actually break down at a time when they need to be rebuilding. As a result, your recovery could be much longer than is necessary. If you want to prevent weight gain during your recovery, cut out the junk food and the sweets. Those empty calories you can certainly do without.

As always, for free diet tips, exercise tips, or fitness questions, email me atnivram1ohio@aol.com

A Safer Way To Do Lat Pull-Downs

Do you use the lat pull-down machine in your weight-training workouts? If so, you may want to check (and maybe update) your technique.

"Lat" refers to the latissimus dorsi, the large muscles in the middle of your back. In lat pull-downs, you are sitting down and pulling a horizontal bar from above your head down toward your body.

Traditionally, lat pull-downs entailed bringing the bar down behind your head, to the base of your neck. However, we now know that this movement can put excessive strain on the neck, especially when a lot of weight is used.

The safer alternative: Bring the bar down in front of your face and down to your chest. You'll work the same muscles without the neck strain.

As always, for free diet tips, exercise tips, or fitness questions, email me at nivram1ohio@aol.com

Myht Buster!

There is belief by some that you have to spend hours in the gym in order to achieve maximum results. But research has shown that it is possible to achieve better results from your workout by shortening the amount of time that you spend in the gym. By doing a 15 minute workout, you will be more motivated to keep up with your workout schedule, because you can get in, and get out of the gym.

Keep in mind that you still have to have intensity, but any workout is better than none.