Nutrition & Exercise Journal

If you are a past or current client of mine, you understand the value of making a written commitment on these two things. Putting your plan to paper, as in writing your exercise homework from me (if I didn’t hand it to you), solidifies your intention. It is cause in making you more likely to stick to it.

If you are on a weight management program, you understand the major value of writing on a food log sheet . You understand how seeing it in writing – what you consumed, and jotting your meal plans, helps keep you on track.

There isn’t enough space here for me to emphasize the value of committing to paper what your exercise intention for the week is, nor the value in weight management and well being of putting to paper what you are eating during the week.

Tip for the week: Write it down. Put it on your calendar “take 15 minute walk before work”. You will make time for it this way. Writing in the food log will be a HUGE value and major hindrance to “amnesia eating” and will lead to weight loss.

Take care,

Margo

For those of you looking for an alternative to dumbbells, a weighted body bar can be a nice addition. They vary in weight size from 8 to upwards of 20 lbs.  I use them for shoulders, arms, lower back, thighs, tush, upper back and chest. You can do it all with one single bar! Storage is a snap, as it stands up in a corner taking up no space at all.  I’ll list just a few of many exercises you can do with this body bar:

• Bicep Curls
• Tricep Press
• Dead lifts for lower back and hamstrings
• Squats for thighs and tush
• Chest press (laying down, pressing bar upwards)
• Rowing for lats
• Overhead press for shoulders

These are just a few basics you may recognize; I’m happy to show you other exercises that make for great “muscle confusion”!  (Confusion is what your muscles want to keep things fresh and effective.)

Warm regards,

Margo

As most of you know, one fitness tool I like very much is the Polar brand heart rate watch and chest strap. I prefer this particular model for the watch face number size, its accuracy, and pure ease of use. Simple. No whistles and bells. It reads your pulse/heart rate perpetually, and gives you  your average heart rate when done.  I don’t care for the kind for wrist only (without the chest strap), as they require stillness while you hold a button down; you  don’t have to monkey with the model I prefer at all. It’s automatic; turn it on, and go. Most of you know (if you don’t know, please ask me) what your optimal fat burning, calorie burning, fitness improving cardio heart rate level should be while exercising. 

This tool makes exercise (to me) more fun, more motivating, as you can see exactly where you are while walking, jogging, taking a class, and even at rest, to check out what your heart rate and pulse is. It can make that fat burning workout you do more challenging, since you’ll look at the watch and want to keep it to a certain number for a certain length of time.  If your heart is too high, you can see to bring it down; too low, you can see to amp it up. I’m fine with perceived heart rate, i.e. working at what you think is a 7 or 8 out of 10, but with this toy you can see exactly, if that kind of thing interests you. I recommend Polar brand, model A1 (you can find this older model by googling it) or the newer counterpart, Polar FS1. I have both..I just by the one with free shipping or on sale!!! 

Tick tick tick..Get that Heart moving, and break that sweat!!!

Warm regards,

Margo