The Ultimate Post-Workout Drink

Biggest Loser Winner, Danny Cahill for www.whymilk.com

Are you stumped about what to drink after a vigorous workout? You may be surprised to learn that experts in sports nutrition are now recommending milk over various commercial sports drinks. Milk is a high quality source of protein and amino acids, a necessity for building and maintaining muscle mass. "Several recent studies suggest milk after exercise can help increase lean muscle, improve body composition and reduce muscle damage from exercise."*

Even low-fat chocolate milk has been given the thumbs up by researchers at Indiana University. When endurance-training cyclists were given low-fat chocolate milk after an exhaustive stretch of cycling, the athletes were capable of performing longer and more robustly than when the same subjects were given a commercially available carbohydrate replacement drink. The study concluded that the combination of carbs and protein in the low-fat chocolate milk was effective in allowing athletes to recover quicker after a vigorous training session. When a similar study was performed in the U.K., participants were able to cycle 43%-51% longer after consuming chocolate milk than a carbohydrate replacement beverage containing the same amount of calories and fluid.

If milk could give me abs like Dara Torres, I'd buy a cow!

Further studies regarding milk as a post-workout drink have concluded the following:

-Protein metabolism is aided through the consumption of milk (Medical Science in Sports and Exercise)

-Fat-free milk may be more effective than soy milk or beverages containing only carbohydrates for people desiring to lose fat and gain muscle. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

-Low-fat milk is effective in repairing muscle damage caused by strenuous exercise. (Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism)

-Milk is equal to, if not superior to many sports drinks as a means of replacing fluids and electrolytes lost through exercise due to it's energy density. "Energy dense liquids empty from the stomach at a slower rate than water and sports drinks, which may affect the overall fluid balance."**

-Rigorous exercise may cause calcium to be lost through sweat.(Calcium loss is associated with bone loss and can lead to stress fractures. (Journal of Bone and Mineral Research)

Biggest Loser Winner, Ali Vincent for www.whymilk.com

With so much scientific data to back up milk as a post-workout drink, I plan to drink some after my next training session at American Mobile Fitness. My trainer, Gregg, mentioned that he likes to drink milk pre-workout too. It definitely beats the taste of some of the sports drinks on the market.

What do you like to drink after a hard workout?

*www.whymilk.com

**European Journal of Applied Physiology

RICE Therapy

If you have read the profile on the side of my blog then you know that I am a Licensed Massage Therapist. During my training, one of the most valuable things that I learned was something called "RICE Therapy". RICE Therapy is a form of first aid used in treating injuries. It is a basic, effective form of therapy in many situations and involves four main components:

Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

RICE therapy is helpful in decreasing the swelling that occurs when a body part is injured and it came in very handy this week when I went a little overboard with a workout the day after Christmas. You see, I was trying to overcompensate for the fact that I didn't workout Wednesday-Friday. I also broke one of my cardinal rules-I didn't stretch out my triceps after performing many sets of push-ups. I also tried a few advanced moves using the medicine ball that my fabulous husband bought me as a Christmas gift. The result: a very sore elbow.

Come Tuesday morning, my elbow was still a little sore. Fortunately, my trainer, Gregg, was able to help me get a killer workout without further stressing the elbow. When I mentioned that I had been performing push-ups with one hand on the medicine ball and the other on the floor, he suggested (very tactfully) that I may need to work up to that if I want to avoid an injury like this again.

Lessons learned: Don't skip work outs-Don't overdo it-Stretch after every workout-Don't try advanced moves until absolutely, positively ready!

All in the Family: Working Out with Your Children

Last week I offered to babysit for my two nephews while my sister-in-law ran some last minute holiday errands. The boys, 4 and 5, are a pleasure and I enjoyed spending time with them. Since my own children are teenagers, however, I forgot how much energy is needed to keep up with preschoolers. As a matter of fact, I didn't have it in me to workout that evening as I had planned. This got me thinking back to the days when my children were small and my husband was often traveling for work. What was that like? In a nutshell, it was exhausting!

As mothers, women tend to put everyone's needs before their own. Often the first area of our lives that suffer is our fitness needs. But what kind of message is this sending our children? If we want our children to lead healthy lives, we need to be good role models. As my children were growing up, this was often a challenge because my husband routinely had to meet with out-of-town clients and wouldn't return home until the kids were in bed for the night. When they were down for the night, I wanted nothing more than to collapse on the sofa and relax for a while. The best way that I found to balance fitness with child care was to make it a family affair.

In the warm weather, we routinely loaded up the stroller and walked to the park to play. The two mile round trip helped me burn a lot of calories. Once we arrived at the park, I played right along with the kids. Pushing children on the swings, playing tag, and climbing the monkey bars was a workout in itself. At home we played ball and frisbee, rode bikes, skated and jumped on the pogo stick.

Image from pro.corbis.com

The cold weather didn't stop us from being active either. My children loved raking leaves with me and jumping in the piles. Of course this meant more raking, but the kids enjoyed it. When it snowed, the kids had child-sized snow shovels to help me with clearing the driveway. They loved
building snowmen and snow forts and working up a sweat with a snowball fight. On occasion we would visit an indoor playground called "The Discovery Zone". There were tubes to crawl through, ball pits to navigate and the much loved "moon jump". We all needed a nap after a day there! When the weather was too cold to play outside, we turned on the music and danced. My kids were partial to Christmas music. One of my favorite memories is watching my baby girl bobbing up and down to "Sleigh Ride" even though she wasn't yet walking.

Image from www.onthesnow.com

As my children got older, ice skating was a favorite past time. (Remember this post about hosting an ice skating party?) We were fortunate to have an indoor ice skating rink nearby our home that was open year round. Rollerblading, swimming and biking were some other activities that we could do together. Incorporating activity in our daily lives wasn't difficult, it just took a little creativity. I needed to find activities that both of my children enjoyed. An added bonus was that the kids slept so soundly after a fun-filled day of activity.

Image from www.greenecoservices.com

Nowadays, there are workout dvd's created specifically for children. Why not try one of these right along with the kids?

Denise Austins' Fit Kids, find it here for $4.99.

Billy Banks, Tae Bo Kicks, Available at Amazon.com, $12.99.

Including your children in your fitness routine is beneficial for many reasons. Mainly, you are spending quality time together while modeling healthy behavior. Do you make fitness a family activity?

*You may want to check your local public library for fitness DVD's before purchasing. It's always good to try before you buy!

The Holiday Leftovers

Image from sodahead.com


In the weeks leading up to Christmas I was completely mindful of what foods I brought into the house. Not a single sweet passed our doorstep. I vowed that I wouldn't spend time baking cookies that no one in the house needed. As of Christmas Eve I hadn't indulged in a single holiday sweet. No chocolates, no gingerbread boys, no eggnog or sugar cookies. It's really not that difficult to stay away from sweets-just don't bring them home, right?

On Christmas Eve my sister-in-law's family came to dinner. She has two small boys so I felt the need to bake a small batch of peanut butter blossom cookies for them and my own children. One batch of 3 dozen cookies isn't so bad and I planned to serve the leftovers when I hosted my own family on Christmas evening. What I didn't count on was the tray of assorted cookies and fudge that my SIL would bring with her as a hostess gift. To be polite, I ate half of one of the cookies that she brought with her. I revised my plans to include the new sweets with the Christmas buffet. Problem solved.

Image of peanut butter blossom cookies from Flickr.com.

Fast forward to Christmas day. After brunch at my Mom's house, my oldest brother, as is his tradition, gifted us with an enormous bag of treats that included dark chocolate (my favorite), candied nuts, dried fruit, bags of candy and peanuts. I added some of these items to the buffet on Christmas night, but only a small portion was consumed. By Christmas night everyone had had enough of the sweet stuff. My vegetable platter was completely gone by the end of the evening. (I always make a vegetable platter similar to the one pictured below. Presentation is everything!)

Image from www.eddieross.com

The grilled chicken and sun-dried tomato topped whole wheat pizza that I made as an appetizer was just about devoured too. (See comments below.)

Image from The Food Network.

The morning after Christmas my pantry was filled to the brim with all of the leftovers. I froze the cookies that weren't consumed. The nuts and dried fruits were kept to be added to yogurt or on my morning oatmeal, but I'm afraid that some of the chocolates, fudge and other treats met an early demise. We had all had enough. Even my teenage son who has the world's worst dietary habits complained "all we have are carbs!" While I don't like the idea of wasting food, I don't have a problem throwing out junk. When the garbage truck pulled up in front of our house this week, hidden among the cast off wrapping paper and bows that decorated our Christmas gifts, were the remains of the Christmas leftovers.

As I was throwing out the leftovers, I remembered something that an instructor at the massage school I attended used to say:

"There is no such thing as junk food. There is only food and junk."

With 2009 coming to an end and 2010 on the horizon, I choose food over junk.

*The recipe for my pizza appetizers is a revised version of this recipe from Food Network. I use a whole wheat crust and substitute extra chicken in place of most of the cheese. I also use just a small amount of low-fat ricotta cheese instead of the full cup that is recommended. I cut the pizza into small appetizer-sized squares. It is always a hit at parties.

'Twas the Day After Christmas

After months of preparation, Christmas is over. I spent two full days decorating the house for that Norman Rockwell feel. I clocked countless hours at the mall selecting the perfect gifts and almost as much time wrapping each gift. I hosted parties on Christmas Eve and Christmas day complete with appetizers that would make Martha Stewart proud. Was it worth it? Of course! I have wonderful memories of Christmas from my childhood and I enjoy every second of the time I spend creating memories for my children.

During the holidays most of us are forced to come up with creative ways to carve out time for shopping for gifts, wrapping presents, baking cookies, writing Christmas cards and hosting parties. All of this time and work for just one day. However, how often do we complain that we don't have 30-60 minutes to workout? If we put just a fraction of that same energy into our fitness routine, we could get results that would last a lifetime, not just a day. I plan to keep this in mind the next time I think to myself, "I don't have the time or energy to work out today."

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very happy holiday! I'll be back Monday!

Best Fast Food Choices: Part II, Wendys

A few days ago I wrote about some of the best and worst choices for food selection at McDonalds. You can read about it here. Is it just me or does it seem like every food court in every shopping mall has a McDonalds? If there isn't one in the mall, there is likely one right down the street making it very handy to drive through while out shopping. Near busy retail areas you can count on seeing other fast food restaurants as well.

Since it doesn't makes sense to drive home for a healthy meal while I'm out for a day of shopping, I've come up with a few healthy choices that I like to select when fast food is my only option. My first choice is usually Wendys. I usually order a small serving of chili and a side salad. Both of these items are on the $1 menu to boot. $2 for a healthy meal isn't too shabby!

A small serving of Wendy's chili has 190 calories, 6 grams of fat and 14 grams of protein.
Image from glutenfreekatie.blogspot.com

A side salad has just 35 calories. Add an additional 70-90 calories if you choose a fat-free dressing as a topping.

Be careful of some of Wendy's salads. For instance, the Mandarin Chicken salad is listed as having 180 calories and 2 grams of fat, but if you add all of the extras that come with it, crispy noodles, almonds and dressing, you add an additional 370 calories and 23.5 grams of fat.

If you are going to order a burger. Stick with the Jr. hamburger containing 230 calories, 8 grams of fat and 13 grams of protein. You will definitely want to avoid some of the larger sandwiches. Wendy's offers a 3/4 pound triple burger with cheese that contains over 1000 calories and 62 grams of fat!

Wendy's jr. burger with cheese has 270 calories. Doesn't look very appetizing, does it?

Another safe bet is the Grilled Chicken Wrap. If you ask for the wrap without cheese, the calorie count is just 215 and the fat grams are 6. The wrap contains 11 grams of protein.

Wendy's Grilled Chicken To Go Wrap.

The Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich is a safe option with 350 calories, 7 grams of fat and 29 grams of protein, you can be assured that this sandwich will keep you going during a long day of shopping or running holiday errands.

One chicken option that you might want to forego is the Honey BBQ Boneless Wings. At 580 calories and 18 grams of fat, they aren't the best choice on the menu.

Avoid the Wendy's Boneless Wings; your arteries will thank you!

If you are a fan of the Wendy's Frosty you may not think that 160 calories and 4 grams of fat is much for the Jr. sized Frosty. Keep in mind that there are 21 grams of sugar in this item though.

Complete nutritional information for all of Wendy's menu options can be found here. The site allows you to calculate the total calorie count of a meal as well as to personalize your choices. For instance, it you were considering ordering a baked potato you can decide if you want to add extra toppings such as cheese, sour cream or broccoli and recalculate the calorie count. It's a pretty handy tool.

*If you need motivation to quit fast food forever, try reading "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, a behind the scenes look at the fast food industry. I haven't had a fast food burger since reading it!

Another eye opener is the documentary, "Supersize Me", one man's adventure in exclusively eating super-sized meals from fast food restaurants. I won't give away the ending! Both of these should be available at your public library.

Top Ten Motivations for Working Out

Image from ABCnew.com

Lately, I've have really had my head in the game as far as working out is concerned. Even though it is the holiday season, I have plenty of things that motivate me to stay on the right path. I'll count them down for you David Letterman style with a Top Ten List:

10. I'm heading to the Bahamas in February and don't want to be stuck in a swimsuit cover-up for the duration of the trip. Also, I'm very shallow and want to look cute in my jeans.

This chair has my name written all over it!

9. My poor osteo-arthritic knees are begging me for help.

8. My abs look like Jell-o and I can't blame it on giving birth-my baby turned 15 earlier this month!



7. It's snow shoveling season and I need my core to be strong. Being laid up on the sofa with a back ache after every snowfall doesn't sound like my idea of a good time.


6. It just feels so good after the workout is over!

5. I have visions of myself joining a rowing team. Generally, weaklings aren't welcomed with open arms.

4. I finally reached my goal of doing 20 regular push-ups and now have my heart set on doing just one pull-up. That's going to take a whole lot of work.



3. My 45th birthday is approaching. I don't want to be that middle-aged mom who let herself go. (Again, I fully admit that my motivations can be shallow!)


2. I've already lost inches from my waist and thighs. Success is a great motivator.

Image from Midwest Snap

and the Number #1 Motivation for Working out:

I don't want to look like a wimp! I want to be strong (and My trainer claims that he can tell if his clients aren't working out between sessions, so there is the whole accountability factor at work. )


What are your top motivations for working out?

What is You Real Age?

If you watch The Biggest Loser you may recall that contestants routinely visit a physician and are given an estimate of their bodies age based on their physical health, not just their chronological age. Factors such as their weight, body fat and heart rate during physical activity are used to determine this number. Have you ever wanted to know your "real age" ? There is a great site available that can do just that. Realage.com provides you with the tools to approximate your body's true age based on factors such as your diet, relationships, habits and physical activity.

The Real Age Test is designed to ask the questions most pertinent in determining if your body is older or younger than your chronological age. After your results are calculated, you are given a detailed list of suggestions for improving your health habits. You are encouraged to retake the test every six months to gauge how you are progressing.

On my last visit to Real Age, my Real Age was 38.1, 6 years and 6 months younger than my chronological age! However, there were suggestions for improvement. For instance, I haven't had my cholesterol levels checked recently. It is important for me to keep an eye on that level. It was also recommended that I up my intake of vitamins E and D and calcium. My trainer at American Mobil Fitness, Gregg, has suggested that I take a multi-vitamin from a reputable source. He suggested the vitamins that he personally uses from USANA Health Sciences.

Armed with the knowlege I garnered from Real Age, the path on my fitness journey just became a little less bumpy.

What is your Real Age? Why not find out now!

Celebrate, Don't Gain Weight! Host a Skating Party.

From Thanksgiving until New Year's Day there are always a multitude of holiday celebrations to attend. From office Christmas parties to New Year's Day brunches, celebrations generally equal lots of food and, if you aren't careful, lots of added pounds. My plan is to get through the holiday season (and the entire winter for that matter!) without adding weight. My plan? Devise celebrations that don't include a lot of junk but do include some activity.

Instead of hosting a cookie exchange or traditional holiday celebration, have guests meet at a local ice skating rink for a few hours of fun and exercise.

Afterward, head back to the house for a healthy feast. Perhaps you could create a bountiful salad bar and offer lots of vegetables and lean meats as toppings. Be sure to go light on the cheese, croutons and bacon bits!

Image from The Food Network.

After an afternoon of skating, there is nothing like a pot of hot, delicious soup or chili. I found a great recipe for chili at Fit to the Finish.


What skating party is complete without hot chocolate? Make yours with skim milk to slash some of the fat and calories. The Skinnychef.com suggests adding spices like nutmeg, cinnamon or allspice for extra flavor.

If your party ends after dark, why not go Christmas Caroling afterward or just take a stroll through the neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights-a fun ending to your celebration. Celebrations are best when the focus is on enjoying the company of people you care about.

Any ideas for including physical activity into your holiday celebrations?

The Cookie Diet?

Do you have a morning ritual? Mine involves, among other things, decaffeinated coffee and The Today Show. My husband calls it "Fluff News" because of stories like one that was presented a few months back about a new "get thin quick scheme" called The Cookie Diet. No need to have your vision checked, you read that right, I said The Cookie Diet.

If you have never heard of this diet, it's pretty much what you might expect. One Dr. Siegal has concocted this diet as a solution for his patients having difficulty losing weight in the conventional fashion, exercise and portion-controlled healthy eating. The cookies are said to be low in calories, fat and sugar. They are also low in protein and fiber.

I actually chuckled out loud when I read a review of the product. It included this passage:

"The instructions included with the cookies are very simple. 'When hungry, eat a cookie'."

Does anyone else see the problem here? Just a guess, but don't most of us have trouble eating just one cookie when we are hungry? The claim is that most patients consume less than 1000 calories by eating just the cookies and a 300 calorie dinner. Don't get me started!

What do you think? Do you think that people will buy into this idea?

*Typically I include a link to any product, company or business that I mention in a post. However, I do not endorse this product and would caution against the use of this or any similar product.

Putting Together an Affordable Home Gym

What do you think of when you hear the words "home gym"? Does your mental picture look something like this?

Image from Bowflex

If you have ever priced home gyms like the one pictured above, you have probably been faced with sticker shock. Over the years I've spent a small fortune on various workout dvd's, equipment and machines in order to put together a home gym. I wish someone had told me sooner that this wasn't necessary. Had I started working with my trainer, Gregg, years ago, I might have saved myself some major coin. Gregg's philosophy is that it shouldn't cost a lot of money to get and stay fit. He recommends starting out with an inexpensive set of resistance bands and a Bosu Balance Trainer and slowly adding to your home gym as finances allow. Both of these items are available widely at retailers that sell sporting goods. A set of resistance bands can be purchased for as little as $20 and can be used for countless upper and lower body exercises. The Bosu Balance Trainer is a bit more pricey, around $99, but well worth the investment. Gregg has me do lunges, squats, planks and push-ups on the Bosu Balance Trainer. It's a total challenge adding this extra element to the mix.

Resistance Bands

Bosu Balance Trainer

The program that Gregg put together for me to do at home uses both of these pieces as well as some free weights. Much of the work I do involves the use of my body's own weight though and doesn't require any equipment. When I work out one-on-one with Gregg, he often has me work with a weighted ball. These are great for any number of exercises that target the abdominals, arms and legs. Medicine balls start around $25.

Medicine Balls

If you are interested in working on your core strength (and you should be!) a great piece of equipment to own is a stability ball. Much of my training program revolves around strengthening my core so that my balance will improve. I like to use the stability ball for performing crunches. I also sit on the stability ball while doing upper body work like an overhead presses or bicep curls. The instability of sitting on the ball allows the core muscles to engage, giving you more bang for your buck. I've heard people say that they sit on their stability ball while working on their computer. Not a bad idea to kill to birds with one stone! A stability ball can be purchased for $25 and up.

Stability balls

If your New Year's resolution this year is to get in shape and take off those unwanted pounds, there is no reason to waste a lot of your hard-earned money. With a few key pieces of equipment, you will be well on your way to a healthy, fit body in 2010.

*If you are interested in purchasing an entire home gym at once, you can find a great set here for under $250 including tax and shipping.

Best Fast Food Choices: McDonalds

During the holidays it's almost inevitable that I'll be forced to pick up something to eat while out shopping. While fast food is never my first choice, sometimes it is the most convenient, or perhaps, the only option. In the coming days, I'll be covering the best and worst options on the menu at a variety of fast food establishments. First up, McDonalds.

*The Grilled Snack Wraps, available in Honey Mustard, Ranch or Chipotle BBQ, come in at 260-270 calories, 9 grams of fat and 18 grams of protein. A good choice for a snack, but because of it's small size, it might not be the best choice for a meal.






* The Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich has 420 calories, 10 grams of fat and 32 grams of protein. Without the mayonnaise, this might be the best choice.




*McDonalds offers a variety of salad selections. If you avoid those containing crispy chicken, you will also avoid a lot of unnecessary fat and calories. Be mindful that the croutons offered with some of the salads provide 60 extra calories. The best choice for salad dressing are the Low Fat Italian or Balsamic Vinaigrette. Some of the full fat varieties offered contain between 170-190 calories per serving. (Kind of defeats the purpose of ordering a salad, doesn't it?) The salads with grilled chicken provide between 30-33 grams of protein.




*For a healthy side order, avoid the fries which come in at 380 calories and 19 grams of fat for a medium order. Instead, consider the Apple Dippers. Even with the caramel apple dip, the calorie count is just 105 calories. A second option would be the Side Salad that has just 20 calories. Even with a serving of low-fat dressing, the side salad would only clock in at 60-80 calories depending on the dressing you choose.




*If you have a sweet tooth, you may be tempted to order a Large Chocolate Triple Thick Shake. I was shocked to learn that the calorie count on the 32 oz. shake is 1160 calories. That doesn't take into account the 27 grams of fat or-wait for it-168 grams of sugar! A better option would be the Apple Dippers mentioned above, a Kiddie Cone with just 45 calories or the Yogurt Parfait. The parfait with granola topping has 160 calories and just 2 grams of fat. However, the yogurt is sweetened and the parfait does include 19 grams of sugar. I have to admit, the parfait is my favorite choice on the entire menu.





Avoid Like the Plague:

*The Angus Bacon and Cheese Burger has a whopping 790 calories and 39 grams of fat.




*The Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich contains 630 calories and 28 grams of fat.




*The Chicken Selects 5 Piece Premium Breast Strips, with 660 calories and 40 grams of fat, is a worse option than the crispy chicken sandwich. These were listed as one of the 20 worst
fast foods in the US by mytoronotoweightloss.com.



While your best choice is to drive past the fast food restaurant, that isn't always a workable solution. It's best to be informed and plan ahead when you have to choose fast food.

*To download a printable complete version of McDonalds nutritional data, go here.

100 Things to do Before I Die

Like most families, we have a junk drawer where we toss things like old receipts, envelopes, Post-it notes and rubber bands. Once in a while I sort through the drawer, throwing out what we no longer need and organizing the rest. The last time I did this chore I came across an old list that I had made just for fun: The Top 100 Things I'm Going to Do Before I Die.

Whenever I used to think of something that I wanted to do for the experience or, simply a challenge that I'd wanted to take on, I would tell my husband that I was going to put that on my list of 100. One day about five years ago, I actually sat down to write that list. As it turned out, there were only 27 items on the list, but I planned to add more. The list got tossed into the drawer and forgotten.

When I pulled the list out that day, it was a little worse for the wear. It was torn and wrinkled, but still legible enough to read what had been written.

#1: Go White Water River Rafting-Check. The year I turned 40 we took our children to West Virginia for just this purpose. I could write an entire post about Matt, our guide!

#9: Learn How to Send a Text Message-You know you're getting old when your list of 100 contains something that the average sixth grader does about 150 times a day.

#19, Go Para Sailing-Ironically, I was able to cross this off my list. Even though my two greatest fears are drowning and falling to my death, both of which could possibly happen while engaging in this activity, I did try this on a trip to Cancun. It was an amazing experience.

#27: Do 20 Regular Push-ups. The last item on the list. Still not quite complete.

When I went for my fitness assessment at American Mobile Fitness, I told my trainer, Gregg, that one of my goals was to do 20 push-ups-and not the girly kind on my hands and knees either! He said that shouldn't take long. I was skeptical. The night before the assessment I tried doing some push-ups. I was able to do just 3. On Wednesday of last week, I did 18! Of course the last couple were pretty challenging, but I did 18, just two short of my goal! It's amazing the amount of progress that I've been able to make since I started working with a personal trainer.

I think I need to add a few new items on my list of 100. Maybe the next few items will look like this:

#28: Do 100 Regular Push-ups

#29: Do 5 Chin-ups

#30: Get Into a Smaller Size Pants

I truly believe that setting quantitative goals is an important step to achieving the level of fitness that we desire. There is nothing quite like the feeling you get when you accomplish a goal that you've set for yourself. Whether it's running a marathon or just walking a mile, goals are wonderful motivators. With the beginning of 2010 upon us, what better time to reassess our goals.

What would you add to your list of 100?

Drink Up!

Image found here.

A couple of weeks ago I was on the elliptical machine at the gym on a Sunday morning. After about 10 minutes my legs started feeling like lead. It took all that I had to churn out 30 minutes of mediocre cardio work. Very disappointing! I slept well the night before and had been eating right, why was this happening? Could it have been that glass of wine I ordered with dinner the night before? It was just one glass.

On Tuesday while I was working out with my trainer, Gregg, I asked him what he thought. Could a single glass of wine effect my workout? His answer: Absolutely. All alcohol can cause dehydration. Our bodies lose additional water when we sweat so keeping our bodies hydrated while exercising is vital. I hadn't asked for a glass of water with my wine. I don't think I drank any water when I returned home and probably hadn't had much to drink before I headed off to the gym the next morning either.

During the holiday season the drinks are flowing. Spiked eggnog, holiday punch and champagne can be expected at most holiday events. While it's better not to indulge at all, if you do, be sure that you drink plenty of water in addition. Some sources suggest a glass before and a glass after every alcoholic beverage that you consume.


*For more information about the effects of dehydration of fitness performance, go here.