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The Weekly Burn

5 Morning Habits for Health and Weight Loss

The Weekly Burn / By
What’s your morning routine like? Are your mornings chaotic, rushed and hectic? Or do you start your days feeling rested, calm and fueled for productivity? Did you know that your answer to that question can have a huge impact on your health and weight loss success (or lack thereof)?

If you’ve been on a healthy path for a while, you’ve probably realized by now that there’s more to being healthy than just working out and eating clean. Truth be told, you can work out religiously and fuel your body with only nutritious foods and still not be at the pinnacle of health.

Here are 5 habits to incorporate into your morning routine that will positively impact your body’s ability to metabolize fat and be healthier and more productive all day long.
Start your day with a huge glass of water – Unless you’re waking during the night to drink, chances are you’ll wake up in the morning in a state of dehydration. After going 6-9 hours with no water, your body needs to be rehydrated to wake your metabolism. It’s been proven that drinking water in the morning will help you burn more fat throughout the day through a process called water-induced thermogenesis.

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A Well Stocked Pantry is Key to Diet Success

The Weekly Burn / By
If you’re trying to eat healthy by making your own nutritious meals, a well-stocked pantry can mean the difference between stress-free and effortless meal prep versus grabbing for the takeout menu again. Take a look in your fridge and cupboards. Do you have what it takes to assemble three healthy and nutritive meals plus snacks that taste good and will keep you satisfied throughout the day? If you’re like many people, the answer is no.
Often what happens in the kitchen is less organized meal preparation and more scrambling to create some semblance of a healthy meal before we crash. And, we all know the food choices we make when we’re hungry will not always be the best. There’s an old adage that says, if you fail to prepare then you prepare to fail. This is certainly very applicable to healthy eating.
Consider the following simple shopping list as a starting point for start stocking your kitchen with all the elements to create wholesome and healthful meals that will line up with your fitness and wellness goals.
With the right ingredients on hand you’ll be able to pull together a solid rotation of dependable breakfast,

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Did Your Diet Explode on July 4th?

The Weekly Burn / By
All across the country people celebrated Independence Day with parties, fireworks and time with friends and family. As fun as they are, holidays like the 4th of July are very common times for people to fall off the wagon when it comes to their diets and fitness routines. But, slipping up (even a few times) over the holiday week doesn’t have to completely unravel all the progress you’ve made.

Here’s what to do if fireworks weren’t the only thing to blow up over this holiday week.

Acknowledge your slip up and move on. What’s done is done. Acknowledge that everyone, including you, is going to slip up once in a while. You’ll only set yourself up for personal disappointment if you expect perfection 100% of the time. If you live a generally healthy lifestyle, a short period of veering off track won’t turn you into an out of shape slug. Beating yourself up and wallowing in guilt will only prolong your episode and put more time and space between you and your overall healthy habits. In fact, a negative mindset has just as detrimental an effect on your body as eating bad food.

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This Simple Thing Will Get You Better Weight Loss Results

The Weekly Burn / By
If there was one simple thing you could do that would almost guarantee you better weight loss results, would you do it? If the answer is yes, then grab a pen and a notebook because that one thing does exist and it is the simple act of keeping a food journal. Not just one, but several studies have shown that keeping a food journal helps people to lose more weight. One study in particular that was published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that people who kept a food diary six days per week lost almost twice as much weight as those who did not!
Keeping a food diary is an excellent tactic for weight loss as it increases two key things: your awareness and accountability for the foods you consume. If you’re diligent and write down everything you eat or drink it can help you see where some of your “hidden calories” may be lurking. It can also reveal patterns such as times of day that you veer off track. And, sometimes just knowing you’ll have to record that late night bowl of ice cream is enough of a deterrent to stop you from having it.

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Yet Another Reason to Get Fit

The Weekly Burn / By
As if you needed yet another reason to stay active, there’s research that shows regular exercise is just as good for your brain as it is for your biceps! As you age, the rate at which your brain regenerates cells slows down and your brain can actually shrink. But, don’t worry. You can combat that by maintaining your fitness through exercise. Studies published by Harvard Medical School say that regular exercise has a positive impact on your memory, your thinking and your reasoning ability.
Consider these brain facts when you think about fitting fitness into your life.
  • Many studies have shown that the prefrontal and medial temporal cortices which control thinking and memory are actually bigger in people who exercise.
  • Engaging in a regular fitness routine over the course of one year can increase the volume of certain parts of your brain. The more you exercise the more brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) your brain creates. This is what stimulates new brain cell growth.
  • For every flight of stairs you climb each day, your brain age decreases by .58 years!

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Are You Addicted to Sugar?

The Weekly Burn / By
Lots of people may find sugary foods hard to resist and for many people their sweet tooth drives them to eat foods that are unhealthy. But there’s a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that sugary foods can be more than just a preference. They can actually be addictive.

Author David Ludwig who wrote Ending the Food Fight, and his group of researchers at Harvard conducted a study that showed that high sugar foods and others such as white flour and refined starch have an especially high glycemic index and trigger the the nucleus accumbens region of the brain. This is the area that is also sparked in response to alcohol, drugs, gambling and other things we think of as addictions. Scientists used brain scans to show that high sugar, high carb foods spurred a brain response similar to that of cocaine! So, it’s easy to see how eating highly processed and sugary foods regularly can lead to a habit that is hard to break.

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar per day for women and 9 teaspoons (38 grams) for men.

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Don’t Gain Weight on Your Summer Vacation!

The Weekly Burn / By
Sticking to a healthy diet can be somewhat challenging in everyday life, but it gets even trickier when you add travel and vacations into the mix. If you think gaining weight on vacation is inevitable, think again. There’s no reason why a break from your regular routine has to mean complete reckless abandon when it comes to your fitness. There are ways to enjoy your time away, even indulge a little and not come back heavier.
  • Stay active – It’s vacation, so you obviously don’t want to (or need to) hit the gym every day but look for opportunities to stay active on your break. If you’re at a vacation destination that is walkable, do just that. Walking to meals or seeing the sights on foot instead of in a tour bus are just a couple of ways to up your steps and activity level. If you’re at a beachy area, walking the coastline or participating in activities like swimming and snorkeling are fun ways to burn calories while enjoying your surroundings. You may even find if you wear an exercise tracker that you are more active on vacation that you are in “real life”

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Engage Your Mind to Change Your Body

The Weekly Burn / By
Have you ever felt like you’re showing up and getting your workouts in but really just going through the motions? Does it sometimes seem like you’re getting it done but not really seeing results? On the other end, have you ever had a workout during which you feel completely connected to your body, where you can feel your muscles working purposefully for each exercise? When it’s over you feel energized instead of drained. The difference is huge and can have a huge impact on the changes you see in your body.

What accounts for the difference is commonly referred to as the mind-body connection. It’s the proven fact that what goes on in our minds (i.e. beliefs, thoughts, attitudes, emotions) can positively or negatively influence what happens to our bodies. In relation to fitness, the mind-body connection begins coming together even before you get into the gym.

Now, we recognize that life nowadays is hectic and you’re pulled in a million different directions with obligations to work and family. And, these make it difficult to find the mental energy to focus on yourself. But mastering the connection can mean the difference between feeling stale and stagnant versus rejuvenated and invigorated by your fitness efforts. 

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A Healthy Approach to BBQ Season

The Weekly Burn / By
After what seemed like an endless winter, we are finally heading into the summer season and prime cookout weather! For those of us who have been sticking to ahealthy diet, navigating cookouts can be tricky since many traditional BBQ dishes are loaded with salt, sugar and unhealthy fats. But, that doesn’t mean you have to decline your invitations to the season’s backyard parties.

Here’s some guidance to help you enjoy the fun in a healthful way that won’t wreck your summer fitness.

  • Don’t show up starving. It’s never a good idea to show up to any event on an empty stomach. If you’re starving, you’re less likely to be able to resist unhealthy foods and make smart food decisions. Instead, have a nutritious snack before you go. Bonus points if you can sneak in a workout too.
  • Bring something of your own. Now, we’re not suggesting you go to a BBQ with your own picnic basket of food. But it’s a good idea to offer to bring a dish and make it something healthy. That way, if your other choices are limited you’ll have at least one nutritious dish to dig into.

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Is Your Diet Bringing You Down?

The Weekly Burn / By
Everyone knows that what you eat affects the way you look and feel physically but what you might not realize is the effect your diet can have on how you feel mentally and emotionally. A study presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Conference in April showed just how closely diet is linked to depression.
Part of the study showed that people whose diets consisted mostly of vegetables, fruit and whole grains and were low in saturated fats and sugar had lower rates of depression. People who followed a more traditional Western diet which is higher in saturated fats and red meats and lacking in vegetables and fruits were more likely to develop depression over time.

A different study published in Nutritional Neuroscience examined the effects eating a Mediterranean-style diet could have on people who are already suffering from depression. Amazingly as these people followed a diet based on vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish and olive oil, their symptoms of depression were drastically reduced. Yet another showed that as patients with moderate to severe depression replaced processed, refined foods, sweets and fried food with whole, natural, nutrient-rich foods over a 12 week period they experienced significantly fewer symptoms of depression.

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