POST #7 IN THE FITNESS FRIDAY SERIES

Don’t panic!  Just because Thanksgiving is around the corner, doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to gaining weight!  I’ve asked Rachel to put together some words of wisdom to address the holiday weight gain debacle.

Worried?  Stressed about an over abundance of food on Thanksgiving?  Here are a few tips for managing that Thanksgiving buffet:

• Eat as you normally would prior to dinner. Don’t “save up” your calories as this could backfire leading to overeating.

• Focus on lean protein and veggies. The protein and fiber will keep you feeling fuller, longer.Fill your plate with 2/3 veggies and 1/3 protein.

• Control your portion sizes. Skip that second helping.

• Eat slowly. Put your fork down between bites and really enjoy your food.

• Go easy on the alcohol. One drink for women, two drinks for men.

• Ditto for desserts. Pumpkin pie is lower in sugar, fat, and calories than pecan pie. Plus, you’ll get an extra dose of fiber and vitamin A. Limit yourself to one slice and, if you must, top sparingly with light whipped cream.

• Get moving. Sign up for a 5k Turkey Trot or take a walk with your family in the morning.Take another walk about an hour after eating.

• Be realistic. For those of us trying to lose weight, shifting the focus to weight maintenance may be more reasonable. As if it isn’t tough enough to lose weight any other time of year, the holidays can be particularly challenging.

First and foremost, remember what Thanksgiving is all about: family and friends. Don’t let food be your focus– choose wisely and you won’t feel deprived.

ABOUT RACHEL: Rachel Swartz-Hartje is an NASM certified personal trainer and is currently completing her degree in community health promotion. She enjoys running, bodybuilding and torturing her clients (and friends) into submission. She is definitely a bad-ass. Don’t let her nice profile picture fool you. Her mantra? “Discipline is the Bridge Between Goals and Accomplishments.” Oh yeah, she also used to be in the Navy. Don’t. Mess. With. Her.

POST #6 IN THE FITNESS FRIDAY SERIES

Another fabulous recipe for Fitness Friday.  This is yummy clean eating, folks!

“CHERRY BOMBS”

1lb Lean Ground Sirloin
12 Cherry Tomatoes
2 Egg whites
3/4 Cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 sup skim milk
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp parsley

In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except meat and tomatoes.  Add mixture to ground sirloin and minx well.  Shape 1/4 cup of the mixture evenly around each tomato so that the tomato is hidden inside the meatball.  Spray a baking dish with Pam.  Place meatballs in baking dish and bake at 375 deg F. for 25 to 30 minutes.

Calories:104
Fat:9g
Carbs:4g
Protein:10g

Serve with Brown Rice

ABOUT RACHEL: Rachel Swartz-Hartje is an NASM certified personal trainer and is currently completing her degree in community health promotion. She enjoRachel ys running, bodybuilding and torturing her clients (and friends) into submission. She is definitely a bad-ass. Don’t let her nice profile picture fool you. Her mantra? “Discipline is the Bridge Between Goals and Accomplishments.” Oh yeah, she also used to be in the Navy. Don’t. Mess. With. Her.

Tags: clean eating recipe, fitness friday

POST #3 IN THE FITNESS FRIDAYS SERIES
Yes, I realize it is Thursday but in the interest of timing,
I wanted to get it out STAT!

(RACHEL’S) EMERGENCY TIPS FOR SURVIVING HALLOWEEN CANDY DELUGE

BUY CANDY LATE: Don’t bring it into the house before October 31

BUY CANDY YOU DON”T LIKE: You’ll have less temptation to cope with

DITCH THE SENSE OF OCCASION: Remind yourself that you can buy candy any time of the year; there’s no need to load up on candy on October 31 when you can have it anytime.

KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE: Don’t assume you can’t enjoy even a single treat, especially since deprivation is a dieting tactic that often backfires

MAKE SMARTER CHOICES: If you know that there’s no chance you’ll nibble a couple of Starbursts without tearing through the whole pack, it may be best to avoid them altogether. Keep healthier alternatives such as fruit or Jell-O on hand.

ABOUT RACHEL: Rachel Swartz-Hartje is an NASM certified personal trainer and is currently completing her degree in community health promotion.  She enjoys running, bodybuilding and torturing her clients (and friends) into submission.  She is definitely a bad-ass.  Don’t let her nice profile picture fool you. Her mantra? “Discipline is the Bridge Between Goals and Accomplishments.” Oh yeah, she also used to be in the Navy.  Don’t. Mess. With. Her.

Tags: candy, emergency tips for surviving Halloween

POST #3 IN THE FITNESS FRIDAYS SERIES

As you may have noticed, last week I took a one week break from the Fitness Friday schedule to post my interview with Uma Thurman.  Seemed like an okay substitution, although some have asked if I was planning on bringing little Ms. Rachel back…. Well, of course I am!

And because I am a selfish-type blogger I kept this week’s post to something that I could benefit from – exercises you can do at work, specifically for the lower body!  Hope you enjoy and pass it along…..

Here are a few easy lower-body exercises for squeezing fitness into your day at work.Whenever you have a few minutes choose one exercise and complete the recommended number of reps and sets.  Remember to always warm-up prior to beginning any physical activity. You can do this by taking a quick 3-5 minute walk through your office.

Note: Maintaining good posture throughout the entire range of motion is critical to prevent injury and get the most out of the exercise. This means abs drawn in, chest up, shoulders drawn back and down, chin parallel to the floor, and hips tucked.  Breathing is also very important.Typically you should inhale on the first phase of the exercise and exhale as you exert force.For example, this means inhaling as you sit into a squat and exhaling as you stand up. Be sure to remove your shoes if you work in heels before performing these exercises!

Squats: Stand in front of a chair with feet hip-width apart, abs in and back straight. Keeping your chest up, slowly bend your knees and lower your butt until it just touches the chair. Pause for 2-3 seconds and, pressing through the heels, return to standing position. Repeat for 12-15 reps, 2-3 sets.

Lunges: Stand with your feet together, hands on hips. Take a step forward with your right leg, bending both knees and lower into a lunge, keeping the front knee behind the toe.  Do not allow the knee to touch the ground. Press through the heel to push back up to standing. Repeat for 10-15 reps, 2-3 sets each leg,

Hip abduction: Stand sideways to a chair or wall for support and lift one leg out to the side, foot flexed and hips, knees, and feet in alignment. Repeat for 12-15 reps, 2-3 sets each leg.

Hip extension: Stand facing the back of a stable chair or wall for support and extend right leg straight out behind you, squeezing your butt to lift leg. Pause while continuing to squeeze glutes, then lower.Be sure to keep your hips level throughout the entire range of motion.Repeat for 12-15 reps, 2-3 sets each leg.

Calf raises: Standing with your feet close together and lightly holding onto a chair or wall for support, rise up onto your tiptoes.Pause and lower. Maintain erect body posture.Repeat for 12-15 reps, 2-3 sets.This can also be done on stairs with the heels hanging off the step. *If you wear heels all day I would skip this one since the calf muscles are in a constantly contracted state. Instead, be sure to stretch your calves.

Wall sit: Stand in front of a wall and lean against it.  Slide down until the thighs are parallel to the floor (or higher for an easier version) and hold for 20-60 seconds. Your head, shoulders, and back should maintain contact with the wall.Do not hold your breath!

Throw in a few 5-10 minute walks (walking stairs is a good option too), some stretches, and you’re on your way!

ABOUT RACHEL: Rachel Swartz-Hartje is an NASM certified personal trainer and is currently completing her degree in community health promotion.  She enjoys running, bodybuilding and torturing her clients (and friends) into submission.  She is definitely a bad-ass.  Don’t let her nice profile picture fool you. Her mantra? “Discipline is the Bridge Between Goals and Accomplishments.” Oh yeah, she also used to be in the Navy.  Don’t. Mess. With. Her.

Tags: 6 easy lower body exercises to do at work, fitness friday, hip abduction, hip extension, lunges, squats, Trainer Rachel, wall sit

POST #2 IN THE FITNESS FRIDAYS SERIES

Read the first post here.

Evil Jillian is back for Fitness Fridays!  Err…. I mean Rachel. Nice, kind, sweet personal trainer Rachel who can hurt me if I don’t behave.  Yeah!  Anyway….

This past week I reached out to folks via Twitter to discover what they would like Rachel to address in this week’s Fitness Friday post.  I got some good suggestions and a wide range of topics.  Many thanks to you all!

Let’s get down to business, shall we?

Q. What’s the most reliable way to measure body fat? Any recommended devices to do so? (Submitted by @cgcumber)

A. The most reliable way to measure body fat is hydrostatic, or underwater, weighing. However, it is not the most practical.The most reliable AND practical way of estimating body fat is by using skin-fold calipers (aka, “the Pinch Test”) which have a standard margin of error of about 3-4%.Calipers measure skin-fold thickness in millimeters at several areas of your body (anywhere from 3-10 sites).

I recommend having a skilled professional test your body fat with calibrated calipers as results are likely to be more accurate. Also make sure the same person tests your body fat each time since results can vary from tester to tester.

A number of Twitter folks asked for a recipe or two. Love this one! Rachel got me addicted to this last year.  At first I thought she was crazy because of the weird mixture of ingredients but it is truly one of my favorite things to eat now.  (I make one small adjustment – I add jalapenos to the recipe. Spicy!)

Fiber Bomb

• One small baked sweet potato or yam, about 6 oz

• ½ cup cannellini (white kidney) beans

• 2 tablespoons salsa

• 1 tablespoon 2% shredded cheddar cheese

Add beans to baked sweet potato and microwave for about 1 minute on high. Top with salsa and cheese. Enjoy!

Nutrition info: Calories 282 / Fat 2 g / Saturated Fat 1 g / Carbohydrates 55 g / Fiber 10.5 g / Protein 12 g / Vitamin A 236% RDA

And finally, I got a couple of more questions about water consumption.  Most people want to know HOW MUCH.  We are all pretty much clueless on this one.

ONE LAST NOTE ON HYDRATION: We all know how important water is to sustain life. But do we know just how much we should have on a daily basis? Experts recommend consuming a minimum of 64 ounces of water each day. You can meet this up to half of this requirement through a variety of healthy fluids and foods such as fruits, vegetables, low-sodium soups, smoothies, coffee, and tea.

If you are physically active, staying properly hydrated during your workout is essential to performing your best.

Before exercise:
Drink 16-20 ounces of water two hours prior to exercise.
Drink 8-10 ounces of water about 10-15 minutes prior to exercise.

During exercise:
Drink 8-10 ounces of water every 10-20 minutes during exercise.
If exercising longer than 90 minutes it is okay to drink a sports drink (but not juice or soda)
8-10 ounces every 15-30 minutes to replenish electrolytes and carbohydrates.

After exercise:
Drink 16-24 ounces of water for every pound of body weight lost after exercise.

If you are exercising in hot or humid weather, you should drink more water to replace the fluid lost through increased perspiration.

Remember, don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink!

ABOUT RACHEL: Rachel Swartz-Hartje is an NASM certified personal trainer and is currently completing her degree in community health promotion.  She enjoys running, bodybuilding and torturing her clients (and friends) into submission.  She is definitely a bad-ass.  Don’t let her nice profile picture fool you. Her mantra? “Discipline is the Bridge Between Goals and Accomplishments.” Oh yeah, she also used to be in the Navy.  Don’t. Mess. With. Her.

Tags: fiber bomb, Fitness Fridays, measuring body fat, Water Consumption