Heart Smart Physical Activity

With the Toronto Waterfront Marathon recently behind us, I thought I’d talk about heart health. Our hearts are versatile and strong and endures allot, including heartache from the loss a loved one. However, we must take care of this all important organ.

Did you know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in North America, with over a half a million North Americans dying every year because of it?

So what can we do to prevent heart disease? There are many factors that effect our heart health. Achieving a healthy weight, including making heart healthy food choices, is a great step toward reducing your risk of heart disease, but incorporating heart-smart physical activity into your daily routine is also essential.

Being more physically active not only helps shed those unwanted pounds and inches but also can make your heart stronger. And a stronger heart is a more efficient heart. What do I mean by a more efficient heart? Well, a strong, conditioned heart can pump the same amount of blood in 50 beats as the heart of an inactive person does in 75 beats. When the heart is strong it beats slower and can meet the body's needs with less effort.

Heart-smart physical activity, also known as aerobic or "cardio" exercise, is the type of activity performed at moderate but increasing levels of intensity for an extended period of time. The word "aerobic" means "with oxygen" and refers to the use of oxygen by the body throughout the activity.

Cardio exercises are aimed at increasing your heart rate and effectively burning calories. They also help strengthen your respiratory muscles improving your breathing as well as help tone muscles in all parts of the body, resulting in improved blood circulation and reduced blood pressure. Cardio exercises also increase the number of red blood cells in your body, which improves oxygen transport to all body tissues.

Looking for heart-smart activities that also burn a lot of calories? Here's a list of five cardio exercises that burn a lot of calories in 30 minutes.

1. Step aerobics – women especially love step aerobics. It not only burns up to 400 calories in 30 minutes, but also targets your legs, hips and butt muscles.

2. Biking – whether you're on a stationary bike at the gym or on your own bike outdoors, biking has the potential to burn anywhere from 250–500 calories in 30 minutes depending on resistance and speed.

3. Swimming – a great form of cardio activity that works the entire body. If you swim using the breast stroke you can burn close to 400 calories in 30 minutes.

4. Cross-country skiing – outdoor in the snow, or again using a cross country ski machine in the gym, is an excellent form of cardio exercise. You'll work both your upper and lower body, and the average 145 lb. person can burn approximately 300 calories in 30 minutes.

5. Running – All you need is a good pair of running shoes, and you're ready to go! Burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes.

So, do your heart a favour and engage in some heart-smart physical activity. The key is to choose activities you enjoy and try to exercise for 30 minutes most days of the week. If you need to, divide up the time into three 10-minute sessions instead of one 30-minute session and don't forget to warm up and stretch before you get started. And lastly, if you have a pre-existing medical condition, like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or joint and muscle problems, consult your doctor or other health care provider before starting an exercise program.

If you need any additional guidance or are interested in learning about our weight management program, contact Nadia at 647-405-4471 or 1-877-405-4471.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight loss partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

Fall Fitness for you and your Family

So it’s the first day of Fall and the air will be getting cooler and crisper. The leaves will be turning incredible colours, like burnt orange, bright red and golden yellow.

But before you feel like you want to hibernate for the winter, take advantage of this wonderful time of year to renew your exercise goals, establish a new routine and start creating good habits for the upcoming winter.

With shorter amounts of daylight and cooler temperatures, finding new ways to stay fit might be in order. Here are 12 great Fall fitness ideas for you and your family:

1. Fall is a great time for a walk in the woods. Gather leaves of all shapes and sizes and whenyou're done making a collage, frame it, and display it on your mantel.

2. Venture out for a walk to a city park.

3. If it's too chilly, rainy, or too dark, walk in your local mall.

4. Go for a hike together as a family.

5. Bundle up and visit your local beach and go for a walk. Collect shells, play frisbee.

6. Football season is here so gather up some family and friends for a game of catch or touch football.

7. Buy a new exercise video or dvd. Use it as a backup when it's too cold to exercise outdoors.

8. Join the YMCA or a local gym. Take advantage of indoor exercise equipment, group exercise classes. Try something new like pilates, yoga or my personal favourite Zumba.

9. Rake leaves. Raking leaves for 30 minutes burns about 100 calories. Make a big pile and let your kids jump in them. Better yet, you jump in them. Then you'll have to re-rake them up, and will burn a few more calories!

10. Plant fall bulbs in your flower garden.

11. Visit your local pumpkin patch and walk the entire patch looking for the best pumpkin.

12. Visit a local corn maze and find your way from the entrance to the exit (tip: getting lost burns more calories and leads to more fun!).

Happy exercising!

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight loss partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

Overcoming Weight Loss Plateaus

If you've successfully changed your eating habits and have lost weight steadily for the past several weeks but now notice that your progress has halted, it could be that you've hit a weight loss plateau.

I know there's nothing more frustrating when you've been trying your best and the scale won't budge. But don't give up! Weight loss plateaus happen from time to time. With a little patience and tweaking of your daily routine, you can get the scale moving in the right direction again. And don’t forget to take your measurements because if you do it right, you will lose more inches than weight since muscle mass weighs more than fat.

Jump-start Yourself with a Little Variety

When you do the same thing over and over again, your body becomes very efficient at those particular exercises. Trying something new or different during your workout can challenge your muscles and jump-start your body again to lose more weight. Switching things up can also make physical activity fun again - you'll work a little harder, feel a little more challenged, and burn more calories.

Change the Type of Activity

If you've been doing an aerobic activity such as walking, try running, swimming, or cycling - or a group fitness class like spinning or kickboxing if you really want a good workout.

Change the Duration or Intensity of Activity

Add 10 minutes to your routine or increase the intensity of what you are doing. If you've been walking on a flat surface, try adding a few hills to your routine. Walk at a faster pace for the first half of your walk, or all of it if you can. Alternate your fast and harder workouts with easier ones.

Change Your Strength-Training Routine

If you've been working out at the gym on machines, try moving to free weights. If you've been doing free weights, try the machines or experiment with resistance bands. If you've been exercising the same muscle groups, try some different machines or exercises that work other muscle groups or increase the number of repetitions you do for a particular exercise.

If you try all these changes and you are still struggling with your plateau, give us a call and we’ll help you achieve your ideal weight.

To your health,
Nadia
Your weight loss partner
1-877-405-4471
healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com
http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

Is your Kitchen the culprit?

The best way to get off on the right foot when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle is to ensure your kitchen is stocked with healthy meals and snacks. This will keep you on track, even when late-night cravings strike. On the other hand, a kitchen filled with unhealthy snacks will derail your weight loss/management efforts.

So if you are truly committed to yourself and your healthy weight efforts, grab a garbage bag and dump the no no’s out!

Let’s first take a look in your fridge. If you have any of these items in it, go ahead and throw them out!:

Drinks with high fructose corn syrup or sugar. Drinking calories is one of the quickest ways to gain weight. Replace these with properly filtered water. This is the best drink to keep you hydrated and to keep you from gaining unnecessary weight!

Dairy products like high-fat cheese, milk and yogurt from your kitchen. Replace with almond milk and fresh veggies. For example, avocados are a great replacement for yogurt or sour cream. Veggies are crucial to a healthy lifestyle with all the fiber, vitamins and minerals they contain, there should be more veggies than anything else in the fridge!

Fatty meats. If you choose to eat meat, be very selective about it. Although chicken is a great source of protein but that does not mean fried chicken is okay. If you eat fried chicken the benefit of the protein will be lost in all the extra fat calories. Baked grain feed chicken or turkey on the other hand is a good source of protein. Legumes and other vegetarian forms of protein are also a great source.

Now, how about the freezer? What do you have in there? Let’s do the same and throw out the less favourable freezer items and replace them:

Ice cream. Get rid of your pint of ice cream and replace it with frozen fruit. Whether you pick them at the farm yourself and freeze them or just put a portion of your fruit in the freezer every week, freeze your favourites. Then when you are craving something cold and sweet, toss it into the blender and voila, you have yourself a smoothie!

Frozen Pizza. I know it’s easy to grab one out of the freezer and heat it up when your in a pinch for time but why not put tomato paste, low fat cheese and some veggies on a whole grain pita and heat it up for a home made version? It’s just as quick and easy to make, without the excess calories.

I’d also like to tackle the pantry with the garbage bag in hand. This is probably going to be the hardest one to do.

Cereal. If sugar or high fructose corn syrup are listed as ingredients on your cereal box, it's got to go. Unfortunately, some so called healthier cereals are just as bad so read the labels carefully. Whole grain rolled Oats are a good replacement but be sure to get the regular not quick cook version. The preservatives in the quick cook makes it a questionable option.

White Breads, Rice and Pastas. These highly processed products promote weight gain among other issues. Replace these with kamut, millet or spelt and wild or brown rice.

Crackers. Just like chips, crackers are not a good snack if you are health conscious. Replace this with almonds or seeds but never eat more than a palmful of nuts.

Cookies. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you these aren’t good for you unless of course it is home-made with oats, seeds and perhaps coconuts. If you really need something sweet, reach for fruit or make a fruit smoothie!

So I know this has been a difficult cleansing process but if you were there with me and you make the changes necessary, you can enjoy your food and not feel guilty about adding the inches and pounds on! And if you should fall off the wagon, do this exercise again to get yourself back on track. A tip for when you go grocery shopping, don’t go on an empty stomach. You’ll end up buying junk!

Of course, support is always important so enlist your family to participate in the same changes. DO NOT buy ice cream “for the kids” for example. Because if you are honest with yourself, you will likely end up indulging.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to stop eating all the foods you enjoy. I’m only suggesting that it should be removed from your home. You can always go out for an ice cream once in awhile but if it is stocked at home, chances are you will enjoy it more often.

Weight loss and healthy weight management comes from healthy eating habits and consistent exercise. If you need some help getting yourself on track, call or email us today.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight loss partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

http://healthyweightdancingfeet.com

The Hidden Dangers of Belly Fat

Having a wide girth unfortunately is more than uncomfortable and unsightly. A beer belly or an apple-shaped figure may mean you have large amounts of deep-hidden belly fat around your internal organs. This fat, also known as visceral fat, may in fact be the most dangerous fat you can have. It has been linked to high cholesterol, high insulin, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and other health problems. The more belly fat you have, the higher your risk is for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some types of cancer, or for having a stroke.

There's also new research indicating that having an apple-shaped figure may actually be more deadly. A study appearing in The New England Journal of Medicine reported some very disturbing news. Researchers followed about 360,000 Europeans who participated in one of the largest and longest health studies in the world. They found that people with the most belly fat had about double the risk of dying prematurely compared with people with the least amount of belly fat. Men and women with the largest waist circumference (more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women) had roughly double the risk of premature death as men and women with the smallest waist circumference (less than 34 inches for men and 28 for women). And with every 2-inch increase in waist circumference, there was an associated increase in mortality—17% in men and 13% in women.

What makes belly fat so dangerous? Well, it seems to be the type of fat that goes straight to the liver to be metabolized into cholesterol. LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood and contributes to the development of arterial plaque and narrowing of the arteries. Visceral fat also produces more inflammation in the body than fat found in other areas of the body. And inflammation is thought to play a key role in heart disease and a host of other chronic diseases. New research also suggests that the body's production of adiponectin, a hormone secreted by fat cells, decreases as we gain belly fat. This reduction in adiponectin production has been found to promote insulin resistance, a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and a potential precursor to type-2 diabetes. And finally, studies have shown that belly fat cells produce more fibrinogen and plasminogen, two chemicals in the body that promote blood clotting. Visceral fat also produces more angiotensin, a hormone that causes blood vessels to constrict. Here again lies the connection between too much belly fat and an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.

So if you or someone you know is carrying excess weight around the abdomen, losing that belly fat is important to a healthier, higher quality of life. The first all important step is to change your lifestyle. Start being more active in your daily activities. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator, whenever possible. Go for a walk or run during your lunch break. Another important lifestyle change is to change the way you eat - that is what you eat, how you eat it and when you eat! If you need additional support, there are many places to go for this but it's important to have support from your family. You cannot do this without them! Then if you still need additional support, Healthy Weight Dancing Feet (HWDF) offers a unique support system. Contact Nadia at HWDF to learn more.

To your health,

Nadia

Your weight loss partner

1-877-405-4471

healthyweightdancingfeet@gmail.com

www.healthyweightdancingfeet.com