Category: Health and Fitness Articles

Fast and Easy Weight Loss in San Jose?

Jan 04, 2018

Happy New Year!

So, here we are at a the beginning of a new year.  I hear LOTS of talk of weight loss, “getting in shape”, and dieting.

Yikes.

As a personal trainer here in San Jose, I kind of cringe inside when I hear people say they’re….

-starting a diet tomorrow

-totally eliminating 17 things from their diet and never eating them again

or

– that they’re going to go the gym every single day of the week.

 

Wow.  Those kinds of activities are hard to maintain over the long haul!

Will this lead to fast weight loss?  Yeah, perhaps.

Will it be easy?  Probably not.  Might be downright miserable.

Here’s my take:  You can do it fast.  Or you can do it easy.  You can’t have both at the same time.

I’d like to suggest a different approach because I don’t think that the “all or nothing” approach works for most people over the long haul.

And lasting results are what we truly want, right?

Sure, there will be temporary results from “dieting”.  But the “diet” stops at some point.  After the diet stops, well, eventually you’ll be back where you started.

Or worse off.

I suggest you push the “easy” button.  Now, what I’m about to suggest might not be easy every day, but it will be something that won’t turn your life upside down.  It will be something you can live with.  It will likely create lasting change for you.

I’ve recorded a short (less than 4 minutes!) video to give you my tips for how to approach your health and fitness goals for 2018.  Whether your goal is weight loss, to be in less pain, to improve your overall health or even to complete a road race (5k, 10k, etc.) , my suggestion will help you get there.

I suggest you take what we at lifeSport Fitness call the lifestyle approach.

Listen in here……

 

 

Let’s make 2018 your best year yet with regard to your health and fitness!

One. Step. At.A.Time  😉

Exercise Habits: 5 Tips to Make Exercise Stick!

May 30, 2016

Are you one of those people who has a really hard time creating exercise habits that stick?

You’re not alone. Long work hours here in the Silicon Valley combined with multiple after-school activities for kids as well as volunteer and social commitments really eat up the hours in our days.

It’s common knowledge that regular exercise helps us maintain a healthy weight, manage stress and decrease our risk for some diseases. Even with the knowledge of how important regular exercise is to our well-being, we often don’t do it.

Becoming a regular exerciser really comes down to making physical activity a habit. Over time, your habits become part of who you are. As a San Jose personal trainer, I work with my clients on activities and behaviors that will help instill a habit of regular exercise into their lifestyle. It’s not easy, but will repeated practice, you really can become a regular exerciser. You’ll actually feel the need to exercise because you feel better when you do and worse when you don’t!

Here are my top 5 tips for making exercise a regular habit:

1) Pick an activity you enjoy

If you can’t stand doing it—you’re going to find every excuse in the book NOT to do it! If you hate swimming, just don’t even think about starting a swim program. If you really think you hate ALL forms of exercise, pick the least objectionable activity 😉 . Keep an open mind as to what the term “exercise” encompasses. You might need to move away from the concept of a regimented “workout” (say, a group exercise class) towards something we might define more as “physical activity” (perhaps a hike or a pick-up basketball game).

2) Get some social commitment

When someone else is involved—you tend to show up. Get yourself an exercise buddy. And don’t choose a flakey friend! When you have an accountability partner, you’re MUCH more likely to stick to your program. Also, because your activity involves a social component, you’ll likely enjoy it more.

3) Make it a priority

This can be really hard, but I really want you to try it. Think of your exercise program as an appointment you keep with yourself. Just like you keep a dentist appointment—schedule your exercise and SHOW UP. See #2 for a way to make it more likely that you’ll show up (get that friend or co-worker committed to you!).

4) Log your activity

Pedometers are great for counting steps and measuring your activity as are all the activity trackers out there (Jawbone, FitBit, etc). Sometimes just to get a few more steps in, you’ll take the stairs or park your car further away at the mall. I also ask my personal training clients to log how they feel while they exercise. When they look back over past months, they see how far they’ve come and how much their fitness has improved. I’ve found logging activity to be extremely motivational for many of my clients.

5) Reward yourself

Set yourself up for little challenges and rewards. For instance, if you do some sort of physical activity for X days this month, you’ll reward yourself with a trip to a sporting goods store for new gear, or perhaps you’ll gift yourself with a massage. Only reward yourself if you reach the goal you set for yourself.

Good exercise habits take time to develop. Be patient, be consistent and keep repeating these 5 steps to become a regular exerciser who absolutely, positively makes time for exercise because its just part of WHO YOU ARE!

Committed to your success,

Becky

6 Tips To Improve Your Sleep

May 13, 2016

A good night’s sleep can be elusive to many people. The bad news is—lack of sleep may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts!

How does poor sleep affect weight loss?

If you are sleep deprived, your metabolism will not function properly (your hormones may be out of whack).

The two hormones that are key in this process are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat. When you are sleep-deprived, your body excretes more ghrelin. Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating. When you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin OR you are more resistant to it (researchers aren’t sure). High circulating ghrelin plus a lack of (or resistance to) leptin is a recipe for disaster!

To add to the “hormones out of whack” issue, the more sleep-deprived you are, the more your adrenal glands excrete cortisol. Cortisol stokes your appetite :-(.

Hormones aside, when you’re tired, you’re more likely to make food choices based on whatever is easiest and will make you feel better in that moment.

Hormones that are out of whack combined with a tired brain that can’t make good decisions spells disaster for someone trying to eat better!

So, one thing I tell my San Jose personal training clients is that if they want to have better weight loss results, they MUST take note of their sleep–both quality and quantity.

Here are my top 6 tips for getting better sleep:

1). Support your body’s natural rhythms
-Be careful of napping too long (stick with about 30 minutes)
-Avoid sleeping in too long on weekends
-Attempt to get to bed at the same time each night

2). Control your exposure to light
-Expose yourself to natural light as soon as you can in the morning
-If you work indoors, try to work near natural light
-If you work indoors, get outdoors a few times a day
-Avoid electronic devices right before bed. The LED light interupts melatonin production
-When it is time to sleep, make sure your room is DARK (watch out for LED clocks!)

3). Get regular exercise
-The more vigorous the exercise, the more sleep promoting it is
-Exercise too close to bedtime can interfere with some people’s sleep

4). Be mindful of what you eat and drink
-Be careful about afternoon caffeine
-Avoid big meals late at night
-Figure out if evening alcohol disrupts your sleep in the middle of the night
-Avoid too many liquids in the hour before you go to bed

5). Improve your sleep environment
-Optimal room temperature is 63-67 degrees
-Dim the lights in the 30 minutes leading up to bed
-Keep noise down
-Experiment with pillows, mattress toppers, etc. to find the best bed/pillow combination

6). Wind down/clear your head
-Create bed-time ritual (yoga, stretching, meditation, reading , aromatherapy)
-Create a to-do list for tomorrow…….and then let all the “head chatter” go

If you can improve your sleep/sleep habits over time, you may just start to see excess pounds drop off just a little bit easier!

“I would argue that sleep is probably the most important thing a person can do if they’re ready to lose weight,” –Michael Breus, PhD, sleep specialist

Image credit: www.flickr.com/table4_9

Mind over Matter Boosts Likeability

Oct 22, 2015

If you were one of those people who wasn’t always comfortable with social situations in high school, there’s a good chance the same trouble has followed you into the adult world.

As an adult, there’s no shortage of situations where you’re meeting new people that you’d like to impress or trying to fit into a particular group. In fact, just to get a job you’ll need to not only meet but also impress any hiring manager you speak with. If you land the job, you’ll be back on stage, needing to win over your new coworkers.

If you put your mind to it, there are a few tricks you can use to win people over without them even realizing.

It’s about them

When you’re a newcomer in a social setting, it’s only natural for others to introduce themselves and start asking questions. For example, if you just started a new job, someone might ask you where you worked before or something more personal like whether you’re married and have children.

Instead of cowering and feeling uncomfortable each time you’re approached by someone new. Seek out opportunities to introduce yourself and ask the first questions. This not only takes the pressure of being the new person under a microscope off of you, it also puts the other person in the spotlight. By showing interest in the other person first, they will subconsciously think you must be caring and considerate, and these are traits people instinctively admire.

Listen up

Being a good listener is critical to winning people over. If you’re not paying attention, you’ll surely be caught if they then ask your opinion on what they just said. If that happens, you’ve blown your chance at a good first impression.

Using body language that shows you’re paying attention and find what the other person is saying interesting can make someone feel at ease. Try nodding your head in agreement and using appropriate facial expressions to let them know you’re following along.

Seeing eye to eye

Eye contact can make or break a connection with someone you’ve just met. It’s important to make eye contact when you speak because it shows your sincerity. People that tend to look away when they talk are often thought to be untrustworthy.

However, there’s a fine line between casually catching someone’s gaze during conversation and making someone feel uncomfortable. A good balance can be achieved by also looking upward or outward, as if you’re contemplating the conversation.

Show your weaknesses

Another way to make a connection with people is to ask questions. By asking someone for help with something, you let them know that you’re not one of those people who thinks they know how to do everything better than everyone else. If you ask someone for their advice or a piece of knowledge you know they have, this makes them feel helpful and valuable, and everyone likes to be around people that make them feel good about themselves.

For more articles go to http://lifesportfitness.lifestyleezine.com