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The Simple Benefits Of Stretching

The Simple Benefits Of Stretching

Published by on February 25, 2022 | Leave a response

Whether you close up your office for the day or finish a grueling day of physical labor, stretching seems to help get rid of the stress built up in your body. It brings a feeling of relief and when accompanied by a yawn, can help you relax or get your blood flowing to boost your cognitive functioning. There are other benefits of stretching. It’s the body’s natural reaction to relax tense muscles and prepare it for the next action.

Cats know just what to do.

Anyone who owns a cat, or rather is owned by a cat, knows they stretch a lot before they move. They reach out and stretch every part of their body. Why do they do that? It’s a natural reaction that helps get blood flowing to the extremities and boost circulation. If you’re prone to muscle injuries, take a lesson from cats. Stretch before you exert yourself to warm your muscles. Stretching also helps eliminate waste products from the muscle tissues. That’s why stretching is a natural reaction when you first wake up.

Protect your muscles from injury by increasing your range of motion.

If you lack a big range of motion, the potential for sprains and strains increases. How do you increase that range? Stretching the muscles. The more you stretch the muscles, the more flexible you become and the less potential you have for muscle strains or tears. With a limited range of motion, simple tasks like bending over to pick up something on the floor can leave you debilitated for weeks. Working on maintaining or achieving flexibility is important and the best way to do that is by stretching.

Your posture plays a role in body aches and pain. Stretching improves your posture.

Poor posture is responsible for a wide range of conditions, which include headaches, poor balance, breathing difficulties, constipation, heartburn and even incontinence. It can affect mood, sleep, jaw alignment and cause fatigue. While overall fitness improves posture, part of that includes stretching to increase range of motion. Improved posture also helps you look thinner, reduces back pain and allows you to breathe deeper.

  • As mentioned before, stretching increases your range of motion. That increase to a full range of motion can help you improve your balance, which reduces the number of falls. The older you are, the more important stretching becomes.
  • There are several types of stretching, but the two most often used are static and dynamic stretching. Stretch and hold exercises, like touching your toes or a calf stretch are considered static stretching. Dynamic stretching involves movement, such as lunges.
  • Dynamic stretching is good for a warm up, static stretching isn’t necessarily as good. Dynamic stretches get the blood flowing to the muscles, while static stretching relaxes the muscles which can impede performance.
  • People who have a sedentary job should get up and stretch every hour. It helps reduce the potential for lower back pain and can even help reduce pain if you already have a problem.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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What Are The Healthiest Leafy Greens?

What Are The Healthiest Leafy Greens?

Published by on February 10, 2022 | Leave a response

If you use the personal training services of Biofit Performance in Oviedo, FL, or come to the group classes, you know we emphasize both diet and exercise to improve fitness. While all types of fruits and vegetables are important, greens are at the top of the list. Many people fail to get adequate amounts. They consume a salad that contains mostly iceberg lettuce and think they’ve had their greens for the day. While there’s nothing wrong with including iceberg lettuce in your diet, it’s not one of the healthiest leafy greens. With that said, don’t remove it, since it still is a valuable source of nutrients. Just add a few other leafy greens to ensure you get all the nutrients your body needs.

Kale is one of the most popular greens for healthy eating.

Kale is like the new kid on the nutritional block. It’s highly praised and has made its way to salads in higher end restaurants due to that new-found popularity. There’s good reason. Kale is filled with nutrients. Just one cup of raw kale has 684% of your daily value for vitamin K, 134% of the daily value of vitamin C and 206% of the daily value for vitamin A. It’s high in antioxidants, too. While you can eat kale both cooked and raw, it’s more nutrient-dense when consumed raw, since cooking reduces the amount of nutrients available.

Baby greens vs microgreens vs sprouts, what’s the difference?

Microgreens, sprouts and baby greens are all immature plants and all nutrient dense. The nutritional profile depends on the type of plant. However, microgreens are harvested far earlier, at about two weeks and baby greens are harvested at about four weeks. Sprouts are harvested even earlier than that, at about one week. Microgreens are more flavorful and taste more like the mature plant, while baby greens are actually more nutritious. Microgreens and sprouts have 40 times more nutrition than their full-grown brothers and sisters, yet baby greens still outperform them in the nutrient area. Sprouts tend to have the highest nutrient content. All three are good additions to salads, but the baby greens, since they provide more volume, can be the entire salad, not just sprinkled on for flavor.

Collard greens and spinach make the list of top nutrient-dense greens.

Collard greens are considered one of the highest in nutritional value. These loose-leaf greens are a bit bitter, so are traditionally cooked, rather than eaten raw. They’re close relatives to cabbage and kale and one of the best sources for vitamin K in the family of greens. Spinach is another popular vegetable and consuming baby spinach raw has become quite popular. It also has a high nutrient value, particularly when served raw. It contains almost 200% of the daily value for vitamin K, over half the daily value needed for vitamin A and 13% of the daily value for manganese. It also contains folate, which is important for pregnant mothers to prevent the birth defect, spinal bifida.

  • Whether white, green or purple, cabbage is nutritious. It’s in the same family as kale and Brussels sprouts. When you ferment cabbage to make sauerkraut, it boosts the nutrition with the probiotic benefits it contains.
  • While beets are considered a super food, beet greens are also packed with nutrition. They’re filled with antioxidants, vitamin A, K and fiber. You can add them to salads, sauté them or put them in soups.
  • If you’ve ever seen a leafy green with a red, white or yellow vein, it’s probably Swiss chard. It is high in minerals and vitamins A, C and K. It also contains syringic acid, a flavonoid, that may help to control blood sugar levels.
  • Bok choy, sometimes called Chinese cabbage, is a good source of selenium. Selenium is important for cognitive functioning, your immune system, thyroid functioning and may even help prevent cancer.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Go Green - Get Your Veggies In!

Go Green – Get Your Veggies In!

Published by on January 25, 2022 | Leave a response

Do you want to be successful with your weight loss program? You need to get your veggies or add more to your diet if you’re already eating them. Vegetables are high in fiber, so they’re extremely filling, yet still have a lower calorie count. You’ll feel fuller because you’re eating more volume and much of that volume, besides fiber, is water. Think of a juicy tomato or cucumber. Veggies are also lower in calories, so even if you do eat more of them, it’s not a problem. However, you need more than just green vegetables to be your healthiest.

Sure, potatoes are a vegetable…but….

Potatoes are considered a starch instead of a vegetable. So, the answer is, no, you can’t count potato chips or fries as extra vegetables. Other vegetables considered starches are chickpeas, lentils, peas, kidney, pinto, navy, black beans and corn should be considered starches, rather than vegetables. They tend to be higher in calories, so you should limit them in your diet. Beans and other legumes are also high in protein.

Vegetables are good for more than just weight loss.

Tomatoes, for example, are filled with benefits. They can help your body naturally produce a sunscreen for protection. While scientifically, tomatoes are a fruit, just as cucumbers, sweet peppers, green beans, corn and many other vegetables are, it’s used as a vegetable and fits that classification when talking about diet. Tomatoes help you have beautiful skin by providing antioxidants that boost collagen levels. Edamame, immature soy bean pods, are also good for preventing wrinkly skin.

Make your vegetable plate colorful.

Vegetables contain phytonutrients. These are nutrients only found in plants. The dietary recommendation hasn’t been established, since they aren’t necessary to keep you alive, but are beneficial. There are over 2500 different phytonutrients, with six major categories being important. These include: carotenoids, ellagic acid, flavonoids, resveratrol, glycosylates and phytoestrogens. Some give fruits and vegetables their color, such as lycopene, a carotenoid, that gives tomatoes it’s red color. It also protects against prostate cancer and eye problems, like cataracts.

  • You’ve probably heard you need a colorful plate of vegetables. That’s because you get different nutrients in each. Orange comes from alpha and beta-carotene, beta cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and hesperidan. It helps protect the eyes and immune functioning and more.
  • Purple and blue fruits and vegetables are good for the heart and brain. The phytonutrients also fight cancer and aging. White ones are important for heart health, strong bones and fights cancer.
  • Greens are particularly important for many functions. They support heart, lung, liver and cell health. Aid in wound healing and even help gums to be healthier.
  • Including more veggies and fruit, especially greens, not only can help you lose weight, they provide micronutrients everyone requires to be healthy and phytonutrients to improve overall health. Make sure your plate is a rainbow of colors.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Strive For Progress Over Perfection

Strive For Progress Over Perfection

Published by on January 10, 2022 | Leave a response

At BioFit Performance in Oviedo, FL, I hear the frustration of people all the time. They’ve worked out for a few months, and yet they don’t have the body they imagined when they started. That doesn’t mean that they don’t look better. In fact, in many cases, the difference quite impressive. The problem they’re having is focusing too much on perfection, without noticing how far they’ve come. If that describes you, you need to focus on progress over perfection.

When you focus on progress, you’ll be happier and more motivated to continue.

Everyone wants to look like a model or movie star, but it simply isn’t going to happen in a few weeks. If you started out as a five-foot four, 180 pound potbellied person with a goal of losing 60 pounds and after 20 weeks, lost 40 pounds, while putting on muscle and losing that potbelly, you’ve made a lot of progress and probably look great, but not perfect. Should you be sad or happy. The answer is happy…in fact, you should be elated and proud.

If you’re focused only on perfection, you won’t get the happiness that progress can bring.

One way to avoid the pitfall of looking only toward perfection is to set your big goal and then break it down to smaller ones. You’ll be able to see your accomplishments along the way. If you’re focused on shedding 60 pounds, break it down to losing 2-pounds a week or 8-pounds a month. Each week you’ll be able to check off the box when you lost your two pounds of weight. You can even focus on ten pounds at a time, so you’ll be limited to six celebrations, but it’s still motivating and encouraging.

Striving toward perfection can be a disappointment.

Maybe it isn’t a weight goal that drives you, maybe it’s a look you want. Let’s face it, even celebrities aren’t perfect. Many of the images you see are air brushed and photoshopped, with a make-up artist improving their appearance even before the picture is taken. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard and strive to be the best you that you can be. The more you push toward perfection, especially early on in your workout program, the more discouraged you’re apt to be.

  • That doesn’t mean you can’t strive to your perfection. Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” It means you’ll always be chasing perfection, since it’s unattainable, but can celebrate your progress along the way.
  • Learning how to eat healthier is also important. Again, perfection isn’t necessary. If you eat healthy most of the time, but slip and eat a cookie, it’s not a problem. You already made huge progress in changing your eating habits. Just don’t eat the whole box.
  • There is one place where perfection counts and that’s form. When you exercise, your form should be perfect so you maximize your benefits and minimize the potential for injury.
  • At BioFit Performance, we can help you reach your goals and keep you motivated along the way. Just sticking to the program can help make excellent progress, exactly where everyone should have their focus.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Best Exercises To Relieve Stress

Best Exercises To Relieve Stress

Published by on December 25, 2021 | Leave a response

One thing you’ll notice at BioFit Performance in Oviedo, FL, is that everyone is working on his or her own personal program. Not everyone needs to lose weight, or wants to gain bulging muscles, some people just want to feel better and have more energy. Exercise can help you do that. One of the best things it does is to bring down your stress level. People who choose exercises to relieve stress get extra benefits, like better health and a great looking body. Unlike some of the side effects from medications, they’re ones you’ll be glad to experience.

The stress response is necessary, but can also be counterproductive.

The fight or flight response to stress kept early man alive. Whether it was a wild animal or hostile tribe that provoked the fear, the body prepared to run or fight, increasing the chances of man’s survival. The sympathetic nervous system triggers changes, sending hormones as messengers to make the changes. Blood flows to the body’s extremities and away from processes that aren’t necessary for either running or fighting, like digestion. The heart beats faster. Breathing rate increases and blood pressure rises.

There are few instances today when the stress response is suitable.

If your boss is screaming at you, you may feel like running or fighting, but it’s not appropriate. Running isn’t appropriate if the wash machine broke, or you’re running late for work, but stress occurs and the response kicks into action. You’re left with your heart rate higher, blood pressure elevated and that sick to your stomach feeling. How do you get rid of it? One way is to follow through and run. Run up and down the stairs. Run down the block or just walk briskly for a while until you calm down. Why do you think pacing is so popular when people are under stress? People have learned it made them feel better.

Many active exercises can help, but so can some more subtle ones.

When you think of exercise, you think sweat and exertion, but there are some stress relievers that don’t require that. The gentle stretching of yoga can help, but the breathing exercises from yoga can help even more. Slowly take a deep breath in, pushing your stomach out to open the diaphragm. Hold. Then exhale as you mentally feel all muscles relaxing. Repeat about five times as you focus on your breath. Other Eastern relaxation techniques, like meditation, are also excellent for relaxation.

  • Not only does exercise burn off hormones of stress, it triggers the creation of hormones that make you feel good, like dopamine and endorphins. These are Mother Nature’s natural pain killers, which could also help if you’re injured in an attack.
  • Exercise is so effective, it’s now being used as adjunct therapy for anxiety, addiction and depression instead of medication. It only takes 45 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week to feel the difference.
  • Any type of aerobic exercise that gets your heart rate up can be a stress buster. It can be something fun like playing basketball, hiking or kickboxing or as simple as doing calisthenics.
  • Consider HIIT—high intensity interval training or circuit training. HIIT isn’t an exercise, but a method of doing any exercise. You modify the intensity, alternating intervals from high intensity to a recovery pace for an equal or longer time, then continue to repeat the process.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Is BMI A Good Measure Of Your Health?

Is BMI A Good Measure Of Your Health?

Published by on December 10, 2021 | Leave a response

Your BMI is one measure of your health that some doctors and even insurance companies use, but it’s not the ultimate measure. It uses a ratio of height to weight to assess whether you’re underweight, average, overweight or obese. It’s definitely not the final verdict on your overall health, just one indicator. It does not consider whether excess weight comes from lean muscle tissue or fat or whether you’ve always been naturally thin or lost a lot of weight recently without trying.

How does the height to weight ratio of the BMI work?

Consider someone that weighs 150 pounds. They might be extremely fit, but then again, could be too heavy or thin. It’s all about how tall you are and your gender. A woman that’s barely topping out 4’10” would probably be overweight, while a man that’s 6’8″ would be too thin. That’s why the BMI chart was created. The doctor could quickly find the patient’s weight at the top and height at the side, using the appropriate chart for a male, female or child. The place where they intersect is the BMI number. As a quick reference, the doctor could see if the patient was underweight, overweight, average or obese. Most of the charts are color coded to make it even easier. It’s not the final answer, but a starting point.

What are the problems with just using the BMI as a guide to health?

People are all built differently. Some have larger bone structures, which affect their weight and give them a higher BMI, even though they may not be overweight. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does. Two people may be 5’7″ and weigh 160 pounds, but the muscular person will be thinner. The muscular person with better dimensions could be considered overweight, even though he or she may not be. Recent studies also show that BMI is not a good indicator of heart issues.

Noting the BMI each time can help assess the patient’s health.

Even the first glance at a BMI, especially if the patient is sitting in front of the doctor, can give a peak into the health issues faced by the person. If they’re classed as obese, there’s a potential for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and sleep apnea. The doctor might draw blood to check glucose levels or ask about weight related diseases. Watching that number change quickly, such as going from a 25, which is overweight, to a 15, which is underweight, could indicate a serious disease.

  • There are other measurements that are equally simple and can give even more information. Waist circumference, for instance, is a critical measurement, particularly if the BMI indicates obesity. A waist size bigger than 34.6″ for women and 40.2″ for men indicates a bigger chance for health issues.
  • Another measurements that is a good indicator is the relative fat mass index—FMI. It’s calculated for men using 64 – (20 x height/waist circumference) and for women 76 – (20 x height/waist circumference).
  • The role of BMI is to judge how much fat tissue individuals have. There are better ways to find that, like an MRI scan and underwater weighing, but those are extremely costly by comparison.
  • If you want to track your own fitness progress, use your waist measurement as your guide. It will help you track the loss of visceral fat, which is the most dangerous type of fat.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Benefits Of Eating Less Meat

Benefits Of Eating Less Meat

Published by on November 25, 2021 | Leave a response

You don’t have to become a vegan or vegetarian to benefit from eating less meat. You can have a meatless Monday or go meatless a couple of times a week. It’s even healthier, particularly if the meat you’re skipping is red meat. It’s also far cheaper. A serving of sirloin steak runs about $8-9 per pound, so one serving of 3-ounces with 25 grams of protein is approximately $1.50-1.68. You can get approximately 24 grams of protein from an entire can of black beans, which only costs about $1.00, plus you’ll have more fiber and other nutrients. Just think of how much you’d save by using reconstituted dried beans.

Going meatless has some benefits for your health.

The plant based protein comes with extra benefits, like fiber. There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. The insoluble adds bulk to your stool to make it easier to go. The soluble fiber feeds your beneficial microbes in your digestive tract, and they help keep you healthier. Meat, particularly beef, is also harder to digest than plant protein, since it’s entirely protein and fat.

Going meatless does provide some health benefits.

Soluble fiber not only keeps your microbiome healthy, providing food for the beneficial ones, it also helps slow the absorption of carbohydrates. By slowing that absorption, it helps keep your blood glucose level. That means you won’t face a rush of insulin, which can increase the risk of developing insulin resistance that leads to diabetes. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to get the benefits of meatless days. It lowers the risk of colon cancer, type 2 diabetes and may even help you live longer than people who eat meat daily.

You’ll benefit from meatless days, especially if you want to lose weight.

While there are economic reasons for going meatless and even a few of convenience. Quinoa, a plant protein source that’s complete, lasts 2 to 3 years past the use by date. Studies also show that a vegetarian lifestyle may actually help you lose weight. Meals are often lower in calories. A sampling of the population shows that vegetarians tend to have lower BMI—body mass index—and a lower waist-to-hip ratio. That means less belly fat.

  • You can buy up bags of dried beans and other vegetarian sources on sale and keep them on hand for 3-4 years. Brown rice also stores well for up to a year and a half when stored properly.
  • One reason that reducing the red meat in your diet can help reduce the risk of colorectal cancer is that it takes as long as four days to pass through the intestines. That means it’s sitting in your intestines for days. It also has a higher cholesterol and saturated fat content.
  • You don’t have buy special frozen vegetarian meals. Not only are they often more expensive, they’re often not as nutritious. Red beans and rice is one easy to make example of a combination that makes a complete protein.
  • Adding beans, rice, quinoa and other plant protein options to a salad can make a great main dish you can make ahead, so it’s ready to eat when you get home. We offer nutritious meal plans that are easy and delicious that you also may enjoy.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Does Coffee Dehydrate You?

Does Coffee Dehydrate You?

Published by on November 10, 2021 | Leave a response

When you come to BioFit Performance in Oviedo, FL, we focus on all aspects of fitness, including a healthy diet with a meal plan. There are tips our personal trainers offer as well. For instance, did you know that a cup of coffee before working out can actually boost your performance? On the other hand, too much coffee may cause you to dehydrate, particularly if you’re sweating. It’s all about the variables in the situation and when you’re drinking the coffee.

Are you sweating in the gym and need more hydration?

Don’t turn to coffee, turn to water. While coffee on its own won’t dehydrate, it does nothing to hydrate your system. The caffeine in the coffee that can boost your performance in the gym, also acts as a mild diuretic. However, to have that dehydrating effect, you have to drink five or more cups at a time. You won’t lose any more water than you drank, so it’s a relative wash, but you also won’t be able to replace the fluid you lost from the sweaty workout. Stick with water when working out or thirsty.

Coffee may help you burn fat.

The caffeine that enters your bloodstream goes to your brain and blocks adenosine, a neurotransmitter. That boosts the firing of neurons by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine. Not only can it boost brain functioning, it also signals the body to burn more fat by increasing the adrenaline levels. It’s also the reason it boosts gym performance.

Even plain black coffee may add nutrients to your body.

While plain black coffee has no calories, it does have some nutrition. A single cup of coffee has 6% of your vitamin B5 RDI— Referenced Daily Intake. It also has 11% of the vitamin B2 your body needs and 2% of B1 and B3. Coffee also contains 3% of the RDI for potassium and manganese, 2% of the RDI of magnesium and niacin, plus 1% RDI of folate. Studies indicate that it may actually reduce the risk of diabetes by as much as 67%.

  • Unless you’re drinking a lot of coffee or are using it to replace lost fluid in the gym, it can be beneficial if you don’t drink too much or take it with added sugar, cream or flavored syrups.
  • You can get addicted to the caffeine in coffee, which includes withdrawal symptoms when you quit. One of those is a headache. Before you take an over-the-counter pain med, check the label. Some manufacturers add caffeine to get the medication into the system faster.
  • If you’re making coffee, always use a paper filter. A study in the April 22, 2020, European Journal of Preventive Cardiology showed that filtered coffee using a paper filter had health benefits. The filter reduces the amount of diterpenes in the coffee that can raise cholesterol levels.
  • Coffee is far more complex than you may think. It contains more than 1,000 compounds. One of those is Eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide—EHT. In an animal study on Parkinson’s, the results showed that EHT combined with caffeine may help slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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Benefits Of Walking

Benefits Of Walking

Published by on October 25, 2021 | Leave a response

Staying active is good. It improves your health, and we can help boost your potential for that at BioFit Performance in Oviedo, FL. You need more activity in your life to be truly healthy, and while some of it can occur in the gym, increasing your activity level outside the gym is also important. Something as simple as walking can make a difference. There are benefits of walking that people often overlook. Not only do you get outside to soak up some much-needed vitamin D to be your healthiest, you’re giving your body a workout at the same time.

Walking increases circulation and is a perfect way for those out of shape to start getting fit.

If you think you have to run to get fit, think again. According to some studies, walking may actually be better for your overall health than running. A study in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology concluded that people who walked received more health benefits than those who ran. You can modify your walk to become a HIIT—high intensity interval training—-workout by adjusting your speed throughout, walking moderately for a while and then at top speed, then returning to a moderate recovery rate. That makes it even more effective.

If you’re intimidated by the gym, walking is a good place to start a fitness regimen.

Some people are intimidated and afraid to go to the gym, because they are extremely out of shape. Personal trainers and gyms were made for people like that, but even though its not logical, it’s what they feel. Rather than give up on exercise entirely, why not start with something simple, like walking. It helps get your body ready for more rigorous exercise. Start by walking a few blocks and build until you can walk a half mile away from your home and return. If you aren’t sure how far you can walk, walk a short distance from your home, turn around and repeat a few times.

When you walk, you help improve your overall health and lower your risk of serious conditions.

Whether it’s diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol or hypertension, walking can help reduce the risk and isn’t as hard on joints as running. It helps improve your mood and builds bone strength, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. It’s a good way to improve your balance and improve your coordination. Just adding walking to your daily regimen can also help you lose weight by increasing the number of calories you burn.

  • Even though walking is an excellent exercise, you still need other types of workouts, such as flexibility and strength training, to be fit. It’s a good start that you can build on later or good on your days out of the gym.
  • If you’re cramped for time or so out of shape a half hour of walking is out of the question, you can break up a walking session into three ten minute walks and will get the same benefits.
  • When you walk, make sure your posture is good. Put your shoulders back, stand tall and try to imagine you’re pushing the top of your head into the clouds. Just like any type of exercise, proper form is important.
  • You don’t need any special clothes for walking, except proper footwear. There are other ways to boost your activity, like taking the stairs. When you walk, make it brisk for the most benefit. Longer strides and more rapid ones are best.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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How To Motivate Yourself To Workout

How To Motivate Yourself To Workout

Published by on October 10, 2021 | Leave a response

Think about it. Why is it so hard to get yourself to exercise? In most cases, it’s because it’s hard work and humans naturally look for ways to make hard work easier. That’s one reason you may have to motivate yourself to workout. While it’s healthy and what our bodies were meant to do, it simply isn’t natural. In order to succeed, finding ways to motivate yourself can help.

Identify your reason for exercising and what you hope to accomplish can help motivate you.

Why did you consider starting a workout program? Was it a health risk that motivated you or was it a look in the mirror or pants that no longer fit? While those might be good reasons, they’re considered negative reasons. Turn around that vision and make a positive one. Visualize yourself running up several flights of stairs without the need to stop or looking fabulous in your skinny jeans. Imagine how your health care professional will congratulate you when he or she looks at the results of your blood pressure test, your new weight or cholesterol tests. Always envision what you want as being real.

Take a picture, it lasts longer.

That taunt that many children use is actually a good one if you want to lose weight. Success breeds success, but changes are slow and your brain adjusts to them, so you often don’t notice it. Rather than just trying to remember, take a picture the day you start your program wearing something that reveals your body to show exactly how it looks. On the same day every month after that, take another picture. Wear the same clothes and have your body in the same spot each time, so you can do an actual comparison. You’ll see the difference in your fitness level.

Get a workout buddy or spend time playing with the kids every day.

Have a family fun hour or half hour in your schedule to do active things. You can hula hoop with the kids, shoot hoops, play tag or turn on the music and dance if you’re inside the house. The kids will love it and you’ll be building bonds, plus they’ll appreciate an active lifestyle more. If you don’t have children or prefer to go to the gym, get a workout buddy. A workout buddy keeps you accountable, since they’ll be ready to workout on days you don’t feel like it and visa versa.

  • Schedule your workout at the same time every day, making it a running appointment. Just like going to a doctor’s appointment, you’ll be more apt to do it. After a few months, it will become a habit.
  • Find other ways to track your progress, rather than just weight. Get a digital blood pressure machine and take it once a day at the same time for comparison or measure your progress by your endurance, such as walking a mile without rest or climbing more flights of stairs.
  • Keep your goals in front of you with sticky notes pasted everywhere, including on the bathroom mirror. Make your messages positive.
  • Check your energy levels and see how much you can accomplish when you workout regularly. The longer you workout, the higher your energy will be, getting more done throughout the day.

For more information, contact us today at BioFit Performance

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