FOR LADIES ONLY - STRONG IS THE NEW SEXY

Like many working women my day starts early. It begins at 4 AM and it ends, give or take, around 10 PM and like most of you, I don’t have much wiggle room in between. I enjoy my life. No day is ever the same. To help my day go smoothly and to be able to have the life I want, I plan everything, from what I wear to what I eat. Things may not always go as planned but planning at least helps keep my life balanced.

Same goes for my workouts; I plan my workouts so there is a good balance between cardio and strength training. This along with clean healthy eating is my recipe for being fit and healthy and having the body that I want.

You see I am not trying to be model skinny. I want a tight toned strong body. Think Angela Bassett arms, Beyonce abs, and Tina Turner legs.

Now I could do all cardio and I would probably lose a good amount of weight but would I consider myself fit? No. Would this give me that tight toned body? No. Do I even think this is sustainable long term? No. This is because while yes I would lose fat, without strength training I am losing a good amount of muscle along with it. That would get me skinny, which is not quite the look I am going for, weak because of all the muscle loss, and tired from putting so much wear and tear on my body. I know because I have done this in the past.

Most women think that the only way to lose weight is to do a lot of cardio. This is not the case. Actually muscle burns more calories than fat. For every pound of muscle you burn roughly 6 calories per day versus a pound of fat which burns roughly two calories per pound per day.

So ladies for your overall fitness, permanent weight loss, and to transform your body, balance your workouts between cardio and weight training. And of course you can’t outwork a poor diet.

If you need help with your fitness goals, then call me at 770-845-0527.   Let's work together to transform your body and your life.

Nancy

NASM CPT

CF-L1

Bfit Athletic Club LLC

www.bfitathleticclub.com

A DIARY FOR SUCCESS

I’ve never kept a personal diary.  The idea of my deepest and darkest thoughts being discovered in the hands of someone else just does not appeal to me.  But as I struggled to lose those last 10 pounds of dead weight, a friend suggested that I keep a food diary to track my eating habits.  I figured this at least should be painless.  Who else would want to read about the chicken noodle soup I ate for lunch?  So I gave it a try and it worked!  My food diary is what helped me overcome my weight loss plateau.  Logging my food made me aware of what I was eating and sometimes even why, it motivated me to plan my meals ahead of time and it kept me disciplined and on track.

 

Just by writing on a piece of paper (those were the days before all of the fitness apps), I saw where my weak areas were.  Like the stress eating for example.  Until I began to log my food I was not aware of all the mindless munching I did after arriving home from rush hour.  No wonder my weight wouldn’t budge.  But then something else happened.  Instead of just logging what I ate I began planning and preparing what I ate too.  Keeping a food diary caused me to want more control over everything I was putting into my mouth. Once my meals and snacks were prepared it was much easier for me to stick to my plan.  No more wasting time deciding on what and where to eat for lunch and no more crazed midday vending machine snack attacks.

If you are struggling with losing weight a food diary could be just what you need.  Start with just two weeks and see what you discover about your habits.  You, like myself, may just be surprised at what you find.  I like the good old-fashioned pen and paper but there are many great apps for your smartphone that can assist you with not only tracking, but also planning and calorie counting too.   Whichever way you decide to go, plan for success.

Join the MOVEment and make a commitment to yourself to be strong, be healthy, Bfit.  We offer morning and evening classes and all fitness levels are welcome.

Come join our team.  www.bfitathleticclub.com

Nancy

NASM CPT

CF-L1

Bfit Athletic Club LLC

PIMP MY WATER

The month of January we focused on drinking water.  There are many different suggestions and theories on how much to drink and the best thing to do is to listen to your body to learn what it needs, but as a general easy to remember rule we said minimum 8, 8 ounce glasses each day.  I think we all understand by now the importance of water in our bodies, but let me just recap some of the benefits:

RESTORATION – Water is roughly 60% of our body weight.  We are constantly losing water through breathing, sweating, etc.  Drinking water regularly helps to restore what’s lost and keep our body in balance. Water helps transport nutrients throughout the body, aids in digestion, and helps regulate body temperature.

LOOK BETTER – water helps flush toxins out of the body so skin looks younger clearer with less wrinkles.

WEIGHT CONTROL –drinking adequate amounts of water helps you feel full thus eating less.

ENERGY – fatigue is one of the first signs of dehydration.  Drinking water helps to keep you hydrated and energetic.

SO NOW THAT WE ARE IN THE HABIT OF DRINKING WATER REGULARLY, IT’S TIME TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.  LET’S PIMP IT UP AND GIVE IT SOME FLAVA!

There are so many different spices, herbs, teas and fruits that can be added to water for a variety of tastes and additional health benefits.  Remember this is WITHOUT ADDED SUGAR.   The possibilities are endless.  These are only a few ideas so feel free to add your suggestions in comments.

Here are a few of my faves:  

• LEMON – Adding fresh squeezed lemon juice to water not only tastes great but also has several health benefits. According to the Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/03/17/lemon-water-benefits_n_4980265.html, lemon water helps with:  

               Constipation Help
               Stop UTIs
               Battle Breath
               Weight Loss
               Freshen Your Skin
               Pump Up The Immune System
               Recover From A Workout
               Helps With Aches And Pains
               Reduces Phlegm
               Strengthens The Brain
               Cleanses The Liver

• GREEN TEA – Green tea is my favorite additive to water. I drink it everyday and for good reason. Green tea has a high catechin content. According to WebMD, http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea, catechins are antioxidants that fight and may even prevent cell damage. Green tea is not processed much before it's poured in your cup, so it's rich in catechins. 

• HERBAL TEA – If you go to any supermarket you can see the wide variety of added herbs and spices that are available in teas.  How about trying some fresh herbs instead.  My favorite is mint because it freshens breath and according to organicfacts.net, https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-mint.html, it aids in digestion:  Mint is a great appetizer or palate cleanser, and it promotes digestion. It also soothes stomachs in cases of indigestion or inflammation. When you feel sick to your stomach, drinking a cup of mint tea can give you relief. Also, if you are someone who travels long distances via plane or boat, the menthol oil derived from mint can be very soothing for nausea and related motion sickness. As with trying anything new, make sure you do your homework and research the herb before adding it blindly to your water as some may have side effects or interfere with other medicines you may be taking.

• CUCUMBERS – You walk into any fancy hotel nowadays and you will see the table setup with the fruity and/or cucumber water.  Cucumbers taste good so you are more likely to drink up.  According to Livestrong.com, http://www.livestrong.com/article/482916-why-drink-cucumber-water/, they provide vitamin K:  Adding cucumber to your water also helps you consume more vitamin K, as long as you use unpeeled cucumber and eat the cucumber slices along with the water. Vitamin K promotes healthy blood flow and helps you heal after injury, because it allows you to form blood clots essential to the healing process. Adding vitamin K to your diet also benefits bone health, because the vitamin activates proteins essential for healthy bone tissue.

• SPICES - TUMERIC, GINGER & CINNAMON – These spices taste great and with their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may help to fight off inflammation and illness.

Now these are just some of my favorites and many of these can be mixed together for a 1-2 punch (no pun intended).  What are some of yours? 

Raise your cup and drink up.

If you are thinking about getting back in shape we are here to help.  Take the first step and COMMIT TO BFIT.   Call me at 770-845-0527.  Check us out at www.bfitathleticclub.com.

Nancy

NASM CPT

CF L1

ADD ME TO YOUR FAVORITES!

Hats off to team member Crystal Hishaw for going that extra mile and holding her workout partners accountable.

If you haven't seen your accountability partner in awhile then you should be calling them to find out what's up.  Don't let them slack off. One of you has to be the bigger person.

If you don't have an accountability partner then contact me, but be ready to add me to your favorites! 

I GOT YOU! 

Come join the MOVEment.  COMMIT TO BFIT 

Call me about our new member special, 770-845-0527.

Nancy
NASM CPT
CrossFit L1
www.bfitathleticclub.com

THE SIMPLE CHOICE

I am amazed and grateful for all of the choices we have in our country.  Our society is flooded with choices and with the right amount of money we can buy just about anything we want.  We’ve taken our basic needs and through innovation and keen marketing took them to a whole other level.

Take some of the basics, food, shelter and water for example.  For food you can find a restaurant on practically every corner; grocery stores and farmer's markets everywhere. We have gourmet food, fast food, packaged, frozen, and fresh.  For shelter money can procure you in-town living, a nice apartment for rent, a house in the burbs, a million dollar mansion or a doublewide trailer.

Then there is water.  Good old-fashioned water.  In our society we took water, pimped it up and added rims!  You can buy all kinds of flavored water, soda, juices, so-called juices (with 10% juice), Kool-Aid (we still have that stuff), shakes, and energy drinks.  We have purified water, carbonated water, bottled water, carbonated bottled water, mineral water, smart water, smart mineral water, carbonated smart mineral water, and bottled flavored carbonated smart mineral water…ok maybe I’m stretching this a bit but you get the gist.

When you get down to the basics, what our bodies really need is just water. We are made up of approximately 60% water and it is essential for the proper functioning of every cell in our bodies. Read more about the benefits of water and how much you should drink here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256. 

So out of all of the abundance of choices, for my health it’s simple, I still choose plain good old-fashioned water.  The best thing about it is it’s cheap!

If you are looking to get fit and improve your health and need accountability partners, then come join my team.  Make the commitment and we won’t let you down. 

www.bfitathleticclub.com

Nancy

Bfit Athletic Club LLC

NASM CPT

CrossFit L1

770.845.0527

2015 WILL BE THE BEST YEAR OF OUR THIGHS!

2014 had to be the fastest year on record.  Of course it had the same amount of time as any other, but for me it felt like the Lamborghini of years.  It just blew by.  It was a very eventful year too. I decided to leave a job at a great company to pursue my passion in fitness.  Took a leap of faith and started my own business (Check us out! www.bfitathleticclub.com).   It’s been fun, it’s been scary, it’s been exciting, and at times overwhelming.  So many ideas, so many things I want to accomplish and so little time.  Who is my target, what service do they need, where, when, how?   That’s how I felt until one day it occurred to me.  What’s the rush?  Slow down, step back, this is all new; you can’t do everything at once, take it one step at a time. No pressure.

Then it hit me.  This is probably how many clients feel when they first begin their fitness journey.  It’s fun to start something new, It can be scary because you don’t know what to expect, It’s exciting because you are finally taking the leap to better health, and with all the information out there it can become very overwhelming.  Eat this not that, drink more, move more, get this and do it this way.

So this year we are going to take it one step at a time.  Focus on little changes that can have a big impact on your health.  It takes on average 30 days for something to become habit so each month we will focus on just one topic and build on it as we go along:

1. January         Fill your cup and drink up (water that is)
2. February        Track and pack with snacks  (plan, cook and log your meals)
3. March            Stupid simple (ditch the simple carbs)
4. April              Eat the whole thing (whole foods)
5. May               What’s your sleep number?  (all about better sleep)             
6. June              Move it or lose it  (simple ways to get moving more)
7. July               Get uncomfortable (do something different)
8. August           Chillax (all about finding ways to relax)
9. September     I love myself  (self acceptance)
10. October         Twosome (find an accountability partner)
11. November      It’s all good, even when it’s bad (thankfulness)
12. December      Pay it Forward (giving)

We have also revised our blog Dining With Dhana to better serve you!  Dhana’s new and improved blog is called “Ask Dhana”.   Every Friday Dhana will be answering nutrition questions submitted by one of our clients.

So now it is written. 2015 WILL BE THE BEST YEAR OF OUR THIGHS.  You have my commitment now I want yours.  Call me about our BOGO special for new members.  Expires January 15^th.

Nancy

770-845-0527

NASM CPT

CrossFit Level1

www.bfitathleticclub.com