The Truth about the Good and the Ugly: Health and Fitness Tips

If you have a fitness and/or health goal in mind, and you aren’t quite reaching it, then read on, and see if any of these topics apply to you. If you see something that sounds a little like you, then STOP it! Today, your trainer is about to give you some tough love, with the truth about the good and the ugly!

Portion Distortion

It’s no secret that people are larger today than ever. When you walk into the workroom or a bar how many can you count that are not overweight? How many people do you know who are on their way to obesity? Are you the minority or the majority?  Obesity is on the rise for the simple truth; people eat too many calories, and do not exercise enough. So, keep in mind that in addition to exercise, portion control is essential for losing weight.

Think to yourself when you sit down in front of your plate, do you eat until you are stuffed full or do you eat until you are satisfied? Do you walk away from the table feeling guilty for eating way too much, and beat yourself up for it? STOP the old voice in your head from your mother when she said, “Now remember to clean your plate,” and realize you are doing yourself a favor each time you walk away from your plate feeling satisfied and not stuffed.

Also, the next time you sit down to eat, notice if you are the one stuffing your face full of food. Yes, you might be on the go and time is money, but you always consume more food –hence more calories--when you are eating fast and furious. You need to take a chill pill and slow down to chew your food.

Now, think about how many servings you tend to place on your plate? Does your favorite restaurant serve up huge portions? What you need to do is cut your portions in half.  Too many portions on your plate can really hinder your fitness goals. The good thing is that you can always make a positive change if you are the one with this guilty pleasure.

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Caffeine Crazy

Whether it’s the love of coffee or soda-- how caffeine crazy are you? I’ll even point the finger at myself a little. Now, I don’t drink coffee at all. I have never been a coffee drinker, but I do enjoy Coke. I also have to be aware of how much I consume, because I know the risks with drinking it. Here’s the truth on caffeine. It is a stimulant for the body’s central nervous system and it’s quickly absorbed into the body. How many ounces of caffeine do you think you consume daily? Is it about three, eight ounce glasses? If so, then that’s about average and okay, but if your caffeine consumption is about ten eight-ounce glasses then you are absorbing way too much caffeine. This amount of caffeine is excessive and unhealthy to your body. Keep in mind that misuse of caffeine can result in irregular heart beat, nausea, vomiting, anxiety, lack of sleep, and empty calories. If you feel you are consuming too much caffeine then cut back slowly on it to save yourself from risks down the line.

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Smoking Sucks

How long have you been lighting your cigarette? Why do you smoke? Stress, boredom, to consume fewer calories? All those reasons suck, and I want you to understand why. The plain truth is that smoking hinders performance. When you light up, smoking reduces oxygen availability in the lungs as this leads to low energy production. So, what you are actually doing is allowing nasty carbon monoxide production into your body’s system, allowing less oxygen into your blood. Tar is tar, no matter what your favorite cigarette brand is, and it likes to set itself into the inner lining of your lungs, again preventing oxygen from getting in to reach your blood stream.

Nicotine increases heart rate and blood pressure.  The tar in the cigarette can cause distorted perception, visual impairment, and coughing and phlegm. Generally, smoking makes the heart work harder due to the airway resistance and secondly due to the effects from the carbon monoxide in the blood stream. It leads to fatigue since the heart and the circulatory system have to work overtime, thus making smokers less likely to keep up in regular exercise routines. Can’t keep up on the treadmill or on a jog next to your non smoker gal pal? There’s a reason, smoking sucks!

Tough love maybe difficult to hear, but the truth about the good and ugly don’t lie! So, take control of your own health by quitting nasty habits and educating yourself on the good ones!

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