Is Your Thinking Holding You Back?

How many diets have you tried? Can you count them on more than one hand? If so, there might be more to the problem than just the unrealistic eating schedule they put you on that can never last. (That's why you do something like I talked here!) But here is another hint...your mind has to be ready to diet just like your body does. Even further, just like you need to hit the gym every day and exercise your body, you need to work your mind to be at it's peak to lose the weight. The key? Think like a thin person.
Everyone can admit to starting a diet and then having those thoughts such as "I can't diet when I'm stressed" or "I know I shouldn't eat this, but it's my birthday/Thanksgiving/Groundhog Day/fill-in-the-blank day". Then the diet quickly goes down the drain.

The first trick is to get the idea out of your head that once you are off the diet, you can eat whatever you want. Talk to anyone that has gone through a diet, and for it to be affective it must be a life style change. You might be able to cheat a bit more as long as you take more time in the gym, but never will you be able to go back to your ways prior to losing the weight. Thin people are aware of what they eat at all times, not in an obsessive way, but a way that keeps them in check of not eating too much of the wrong things.

The second trick is to learn to allow yourself to be hungry. Nothing will happen if you don't eat right when you feel hungry. In fact, drink a big glass of water to make sure it is hunger and not thirst. Then wait a bit, plan in your head what healthy snack you will eat once you have spent some time being hungry. This will help distinguish between cravings and real hunger.

Finally, an initial trick when starting a diet involves creating a plan for the first week or two and not changing it AT ALL. Eat exactly what you planned, with the exact number of calories you should eat and the times you should eat. This is when a personal trainer comes in handy to help figure out the number of calories needed and how to get the right calories.

Everyone has the ability to change their life. It is just getting all aspects of the process in line...the body and mind need to be ready and need to work for your benefit. Good luck!

Oh Those Gym-less Days

Let's face it, there are days we just can't make it into the gym for our full workout that we need. That being said, don't just allow yourself to not do anything! Go for a long walk, play outside with your kids or take a bike ride around the neighborhood to get your heart pumping. In addition to that, here are some toning exercises you can do every day right inside your home. Do them whenever you have a second!

For your arms, try push-ups. Everyone cringes at that word, but they aren't too bad. If you can't do them on your toes, move to your knees. Remember though, that if you are on your knees, you need to be going deep into the push-up to get the most out of it. But mix up where your arms are...try some wide arms, standard width and then in close. All of those tone different parts of your arm. Try to do as many as you can for 3 reps.
Chair dips work the triceps on the back of the upper arms. They can be done with one or two chairs, depending on your level. To make it harder, try a chair under your arms and your feet. For beginners, just one chair under your arms. Stand in front of one chair with the other in front of you. Bend down and place your hands on the sides of the chair while propping your heels up on the other chair. Slowly lower and raise your body by bending your elbows. Without two chairs, do the same but with your feet on the ground.

As for your legs...here are a few to try! A leg pull front is an exercise that targets the thighs, back and abs. It is usually seen in Pilates. Sit on the 

floor with your legs straight, hands by your hips and fingers facing forward. Slowly lift your hips off the floor and form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Keeping your arms fully extended, lift your right leg as high as possible and hold for three to five seconds. Slowly lower your leg, repeat with your left leg and alternate back and forth.

Squats and lunges work the quads and hamstrings and glutes, all major muscles in your legs. To do squats, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lower and lift your body by bending your knees. Lunges work the same leg muscles as squats, except they are done with your feet in a split stance. Lower yourself down until both knees form 90-degree angles, stand up and repeat. To make these more challenging, add some hand weights. Try to do about three sets of 10-15

Last of all, here are some ab exercises. At home you can do things such as the bicycle maneuvers, scissor kicks, reverse crunches, long lever crunches and crunch ups. To do crunch ups, lie on your back with your legs lifted straight in the air and arms parallel to your legs. Steadily lift your shoulders off the floor, reach for your toes and squeeze your abs forcefully. Slowly lower yourself back down and repeat. With abs, do as many as you can until you think you need to stop, and then do 5 more. Take a rest, and try again.

Shin Splint Help

Running is one of the best calorie burners in the realm of exercise. It gets your heart beating fast and gets your body moving. However, it is also very common to get injured running. A frequent complaint among runners, especially those who have just started running after a break or are just beginning, are shin splints. Shin splints occur when the muscles and tendons in the lower leg cause stress and trauma to the tibia bone after extensive running, overuse or exercising on hard surfaces. Here are some tips on how to avoid painful shin splints:
1. Make sure you are running in good shoes. No matter what type of feet you have, if your shoes are old or not supporting your arch the right way, shin splints are inevitable.
2. Always try to warm up your leg muscles a bit before running. This can be done by a light jog or brisk walk for five minutes before your run. Getting blood flow to your legs will help decrease the impact from running.
3. Stretch! If you want to stretch before a run, make sure to do it after a light warm up. The most important time to stretch is after your run. Your muscles are nice and warm, but by stopping quickly after running, your muscles can tighten up quickly.
4. Strengthening your calve muscle and the muscles in front of your leg. You can do this by doing calve raises on stairs. To strengthen the muscles in the front of your lower leg, have a friend hold down your feet and then lift your toes into the air against this resistance
5. Be sure to minimize impact on your legs as much as you can. If you have the option to do your long runs on a surface other than concrete, try to do that. Asphalt is even a better option than concrete. Also, don't increase mileage too fast, and be sure to do cross-training on your days off of running. Mixing up how you use your leg muscles will help increase strength overall.