vitamins

Exercise and Injury

Posted on October 11, 2018 by LetlerFit

If you’re new to exercise, I always say better too little than too much to start. As starting with too much leaves new exercisers more prone to muscle strains, muscle tears, and/or bone fractures.⠀
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And if you’ve been exercising for quite some time and find yourself constantly with aches and pains resulting from your exercise. The problem is YOUR TRAINING….it’s poorly programmed…sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But you are not a badass for getting hurt all of the time and pushing through it.

Are you ready to move better and stop getting injured? DM me now!⠀

Learn more about the best online fitness program which includes comprehensive programs focused on shifting towards healthier eating habits, staying fit, and building a better booty. You’ll also find a variety of fitness apparel to help get you that extra motivation to take your goals to another level. Contact me today to learn more about the best fitness programs available to get your body in gear.

My Fitness Journey Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2018 by LetlerFit

4 Years of my journey, each year my goals, training, and diet changed causing my body to adapt accordingly in order to achieve those goals. ⠀
2014 and 145lbs: Compared to now I really had no idea what I was doing exercise wise, but I did know about food, hence my lack of muscle tone, but slender body. ⠀
2015 and 150 pounds: I was eating the same, but started crossfit, which started the beginning of my weight training. You can see that the weights started to pack on a small amount of mass especially in my quads, although that particular picture does no justice. Still was focused more on how i looked vs what my body could do. ⠀
April 2016 and 153 pounds: I had shifted over to powerlifting and had recently cut weight for a meet, but you can see that training specifically for strength added a substantial amount of mass, but because It wasn’t your hypertrophy/body building training I didn’t have that shredded physique the whole world is after for whatever reason.⠀
November 2016 and 165 pounds: I was dealing with an injury and hand surgery and had gone from lifting weights 5-6 times a week to nothing, but with the same appetite so there came the fluff. However I was still considered healthy and that was important to me! ⠀
2017 and 158 pounds: I came back from 2016 100% geared towards functional fitness, stopped caring about looks and started focusing on being able to go up the stairs, fixing my anterior displacement of my gleno-humeral joint, and balancing out my quad:hamstring strength. When your quads are too strong relative to your hamstrings as you age (80s) you become more susceptible to falling forward.⠀
2018: Completely focused on movement proficiency and a healthy diet, while living a little on the weekend.⠀
If you want to talk aesthetics, my favorite is 2018 because I no longer am dealing with back pain, I have substantially corrected my shoulder imbalance, and I can go up the stairs without huffing and puffing.⠀
Moral: Aesthetics will follow training modality. When you start to focus on movement and being functional, you’ll not only start to FEEL better, but look better. MOVEMENT FIRST, aesthetics after.⠀

What is EBP? Why is it important?

Posted on April 10, 2018 by LetlerFit

Let’s talk about Evidence Based Practice (EBP). What is it? EBP “is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual client. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research.”⠀
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How does this pertain to fitness? Somewhere a long the line genetically gifted people who have no issues putting aside their moral beliefs for a nice pay check decided to say fuck EBP and go with whatever is going to make larger sums of money despite the harm it could potentially cause the people who fall for the gimmicks. I get it, business is business, but there really ought to be a line people are willing to not cross, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the human body. Whether you realize it or not exercise greatly affects our body, not just in our external physical appearance, but internally as well. You go to a doctor because they have a medical degree, you see a physical therapist because they have their DPT, so why do you go to a “personal trainer” who just has genetics going for them and doesn’t even have a CPT. Just because something works for that person does NOT mean it’s going to work for you. We are all DIFFERENT in our own ways, those differences should be tackled in a way that REAL science (fuck bro science) supports, in a way that’s not going to have you pulling muscles left and right, constantly feeling beat up, creating hormonal imbalances, and the list goes on. Next time you seek fitness advice, I challenge you to find out about their level of education about the human body and how it responds to exercise.⠀

New Year, No Bloat

Posted on January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 by LetlerFit

Last Monday was January 1st, however most people I know were still on holiday mode and officially started their “new years resolutions” today!

So if you started working towards those fitness goals today, feeling that holiday bloat, this post is for you! I for one went up exactly 8.8 lbs last month..oops! Already dropped 4.6, working on that last bit to get back to normal this week. How did I do this without cutting calories drastically?

I typically drink 1 gallon of water a day because that’s what my body asks for. During the holidays however, I felt myself getting dehydrated because I was barely hitting half a gallon of water a day. So this passed week I over did the water with 2 gallons every day. Flavored it with lemon because blehhh I need flavor in my life. Peed my life away, got re-energized, got rid of a lot of the bloat! This week I am back to my regular 1 gallon a day
I worked out!!
I cut out all the processed junk and ridiculous amounts of sugar. Basically went back to my whole foods, healthy diet. Overdosed on antioxidants (fruits and veggies galore).
I caught up on my sleep. Ironically, I didn’t get much rest during the holidays. Catching up on sleep helps reduce internal stress levels. When your body is less stressed it’s more inclined to get rid of weight.
Started my 21 Day Cleanse

Was the 8.8 lbs all fat? Definitely not! Last week the weight was honestly just bloat, water retention, backed up plumbing. The weight I tackle this week to get back to my normal weight is more than likely going to contain some fat, and therefore may not come off as quickly.

Good Luck with the post holiday de-bloating and remember I am always here to help you!

10 Simple Diet Mistakes that make your Calorie Counting to be far Less Effective

Posted on November 21, 2017 by LetlerFit

Mistake #1: Calories are not created equally. 200 calories in chocolate is not nearly as dense as 200 calories in a colorful salad with protein. We need more good quality calories that bad quality calories in order to lose weight
Mistake #2: You are forgetting about macronutrients. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins make up calories. Carbs and protein yield 4 calories per gram while fats yield 9 calories per gram. The goal is to eat the correct amount of each eating 1400 calories out of your 1800 calorie day in just one macronutrient is not good. Each macronutrient has a purpose and requirement in our body.
Mistake #3: You are forgetting about Micronutrients. While a donut does contain carbs, fat, and protein (usually 1-2g), the calories are empty. When you consume food the goal is to look at food and think “What kind of energy is this going to give me? and what kinds of vitamins and minerals will it give me?” Vitamins and Minerals are equally as important as macronutrients….the good news is they do NOT directly add to the calorie count.
Mistake #4: Consuming too many calories. Trying to lose weight? At the end of the day weight loss is having less calories in versus calories out. Meaning we need to eat less than what our body burns in activities each day.
Mistake #5: Not consuming enough calories. Trying to gain weight? You need to be consuming more than what your body burns in activities each day.
Mistake #6: Most people do not know how many calories they should even be consuming. Advice: My fitness pal does a decent job at giving you calorie needs based on goals and activity.
Mistake #7: Overestimating calories burned while exercising. The calories the machine tells you, is wayyyyyyyy more than reality because it goes off of the machines RPM and not your body’s work.
Mistake #8: Assuming all lasagna at a restaurant is the same. Luckily most restaurants are registered with my fitness pal and give you calorie, macronutrient, and micronutrient breakdown. However, when a food from a menu does not pop up, it’s hard to find an exact match as recipe and portion size really make a difference.
Mistake #9: No Plan. Meal prepping is a must!! I know my entire week’s menu before it has even started…helps me stay focused and organized. Plus i control what goes into my food and then it becomes easier to track if need be.
Mistake #10: Drinking calories. Most people have no necessity for juices. Skip the liquid calories and go for water!

Eat Pretty: A Book Review

Posted on November 17, 2017November 17, 2017 by LetlerFit

I just got done reading this book by Jolene Hart, entitled Eat Pretty. I definitely give this one an A in the category of educating those who have no formal education in nutrition.

We are always taught that choosing healthy foods leads to weight loss and overall a more “attractive” physique. Some people are lucky enough to get taught that good nutrition helps prevent or control diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Very few people are actually taught how the foods we eat affect our complexion.

This book does an excellent job at classifying the foods that give acne, skin rashes, and more as beauty betrayers, while those those that promote a healthy complexion are deemed beauty foods. The other great job the other did was classifying the foods by season, because as most of us know, not all foods are available year round.

The other also dedicated a section to non-nutritional factors that may affect our weight and complexion like stress, sleep, water, and hormone function. Factors many people tend to look.

My favorite part about this book is how the author goes into how she perceives balance, which to me is the most important. So many books stress restriction and don’t that they miss the overall point of a balanced lifestyle.

If you are interested in learning what foods and how they contribute to our radiant skin, I definitely recommend you Buy the book here, you won’t regret it!

8 Amazing Spices To Give Your Favorite Foods A Low-Calorie Kick

Posted on November 1, 2017November 1, 2017 by LetlerFit

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be bland! It can actually be delicious! Seasoning also does not have to be bad, you can add herbs and spices to kick p the flavor and it adds only 1 or 2, sometimes even 0 calories! Not only do they provide added flavor at viturally no added calories, but they are all packed with vitamins and minerals aka your micronutrients.

Ginger
Cinnamon
Cayenne
Turmeric
Cilantro
Oregano
Cumin
Rosemary

7 Plant Based Foods That Help Promote Healthy Bones

Posted on October 26, 2017October 26, 2017 by LetlerFit

Research has found that diets rich in whole foods, specifically potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, high quality protein, and calcium make for healthier bones. With the plant based diet gaining more popularity I’d thought I’d share 7 foods that are great for healthy bones and vegan! Building strong bones doesn’t just come from milk and cheese!

Spinach
Fortified Cereal
Collard Greens
Bok Choy
Sweet Potato
Grape Fruit
Figs

7 Food Myths That Stop Your Diet From Being Healthy

Posted on October 24, 2017 by LetlerFit

Sometimes I seriously wonder where some of these health coaches get their facts, do they not stay up to date with the latest research? I’ve heard some ridiculously false advice from people that actually keep them from having a healthier diet.

“Egg yolks are bad for you because they raise your cholesterol. So you should only eat the egg white.” Research now shows us that eggs have nothing to do with raising your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Eggs whites are a great source of protein and egg YOLKS are a great source of zinc, iron, vitamin D, and choline. Eat the WHOLE egg, unless you’re allergic, like me, then skip them.
“Everyone should eat gluten free.” Unless your gluten intolerant there is no need because your body is able to digest gluten…it’s just another type of protein that some people just happen to be intolerant to.
“Nuts are bad for you because they are high in fat.” Nuts are a great source of HEALTHY fats packed with nutrients. Like with anything, too many nuts can be bad, however research has shown that eating proper servings of nuts can actually help protect you against heart disease.
“Carbohydrates make you fat.” False. Too much carbphydrates, just like too much protein, and too much fat, make you fat….aka caloric surplus. Carbs give us energy, help our brains think, and feed our muscles.
“The label says low fat, so it has to be good for me.” Eat the whole fat. With whole fat you can simply use the fat grams as part of your daily fat consumption assuming you do not over do it. The problem with low fat is that they need to replace the fat, which is what add the good taste, with something else so that it is not bland. What they end up using as a replacer is sugar! Without knowing, you are consuming extra sugar that you may not have accounted for.
“Organic food is always healthy.” Definitely not! Especially deceiving when the organic label is placed on the packaging. Read the ingredients! Most of the time if it’s on a box you’re better off saving the money on the inorganic version because it’s the same exact thing.
“When eating out, always choose the salad.” False. Sometimes the salad can become the most calorically enriched plate because of the hidden sugars used to preserve the salad or the salad dressings.

6 Habits That Destroy Your Otherwise Healthy Lifestyle

Posted on October 23, 2017 by LetlerFit

Creating a healthy lifestyle is all about habit. Just like good habits, there are also bad habits. Some of them are killing your healthy lifestyle journey, and you may not even realize it.

Lack of Sleep: Sometimes, life requires you to lose sleep, and that’s ok. The problem is not a few nights of lack of sleep, the problem becomes too many nights without adequate sleep. Sleep is so crucial. I know we all know how awful it feels after consistent sleep deprivation. What many people may not know is that lack of sleep triggers an increase of cortisol hormone to be released in our bodies, which may cause us to bloat and have difficulty losing weight. Without Sleep our bodies cannot properly repair the muscles we just worked out.
Restriction: Leading a restrictive diet, leads to binges and constant yo-yoing and that’s not what we want. I’ve said time and time again it’s about establishing a balance of consuming more health foods than junk foods.
No Exercise or No clean foods: Sometimes eating clean is the easiest part of the nutrition and fitness equation. For others exercise is the easy part! But they go hand in hand! Not exercising or not eating clean but doing the other is only half of it and yields not so great results.
Alcohol: Going ham on the drinks during the weekend, EVERY weekend, is KILLER to your healthy lifestyle.
Not reading nutrition labels: Never go by the front of the packaging, read the label and pay attention to the ingredients!
Not Meal Prepping: Buying “healthy” foods from restaurants is no where near as good as prepping and cooking your own foods where YOU control everything. Sometimes the cleaner options are still loaded with hidden salt or sugar.