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Nobody loves football more than me and I actually know the strategy of the game more than the average Joe or Jane…..Pittsburgh has the better team and should win but let’s play the game and see what happens…..The New York “Football” Giants proved that last year!

Super Bowl day is a national holiday and with every holiday comes good food and drink….here are a few “nutrition and exercise rules” to follow since deprivation is not the sensible way to go:

1. Stay active during Super Bowl Sunday…try a good ‘ol touch football game or walk as much as possible. Housework always works too!

2. Workout on Saturday and Monday for sure! You need “bookend workouts” around Super Bowl Sunday!

3. Go light on the sauces and dips….they are loaded with calories and fat. The same rule applies to eating desserts.

4) Stick to your normal meal plan as much as possible. Go back to your normal nutrition on Monday! Don’t skip work on Monday

5) This rule always applies to any day—if its fried, let it slide!

6) Alcohol has calories too—7 calories per gram to be exact. Don’t tank it too much!

7) Drink lots of water and you will eat less.

Have fun!

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Her Fitness Hut Blog

Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health field! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!

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We’re about 3 weeks into the New Year and I have seen the following fitness trends in the gyms so far:

1. Some of you are still doing the same poorly designed workouts and getting the same “little or no success results” from your workouts. You’re still throwing your money away at these gyms.

2. Then, there are those who have decided to follow a workout program they found in a fitness magazine…..this is better than you trying to figure it all out on your own but a program found in a magazine is not individualized for your specific fat loss needs and goals.

3. There’s a group of you who have already given up the fight to get fit because you are overwhelmed…..you don’t believe you can really get a “leaned out” body.

4. Some still think they can eat like they always have and just workout longer and harder. The only problem with this tactic is that it does no good to burn 500 calories during a workout and later eat 900 calories of bad food.

5. Some are still wasting money on pills, patches, creams and fat-burner supplements……its the workouts and good nutrition that will get you fit!

6. There’s still a group of you who haven’t figured out that it takes hard, smart workouts to get fit……you need to learn how to workout hard.

7. And, some have gym memberships they still aren’t using.

Whatever the case, it doesn’t have to be that way……don’t underestimate the value of well-designed fitness program put together by a certified personal trainer. It makes all the difference because you get direction, feedback and encouragement from a trainer who is fit and knows what it takes to get fit and stay fit.

Need more exercise and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my weekly Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get the FREE Special Report: “10 ‘Must Know’ Fat Loss Tips,” and FREE 4-week Fat Blaster Workout Book!

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Sports Fitness Hut Blog

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Keeping track of things helps you see where you have been and what you need to change……doing things haphazardly will give you haphazard results…..this definitely applies to what we eat, how much we eat, why we eat and when we eat. SO, START THE NEW YEAR OUT RIGHT BY WRITING DOWN WHAT YOU EAT IN A FOOD JOURNAL……some of you already journal what you do on a daily basis so just add food to your journaling!

Research has proven that you will have a better chance of succeeding with your meal plan and fat loss if you keep a food journal! By logging your actual food choices, you are holding yourself accountable throughout the day. You will also be forced to plan your meals better. It will also help protect you from binge eating and emotional eating if you write down why you eat what you eat!

Don’t underestimate this important step!

Need more exercise and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my weekly Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get the FREE Special Report: “10 ‘Must Know’ Fat Loss Tips,” and FREE 4-week Fat Blaster Workout Book!

Check out my other great blogs:

Sports Fitness Hut Blog

Many of you are pretty much on vacation after today so here’s a few tips to navigate through the “food minefield” until January! I always say, “don’t skip your workouts!” If you skip too many workouts, your “downslide” starts to happen fast and the weight can pile on in a hurry! Don’t let a good year of workouts “go to pot” during this 2 week holiday stretch! You can easily put on 20 pounds if you’re not careful…..or, you could maintain the weight loss and fat loss you’ve worked so hard to attain. Good workouts can cover alot of eating mishaps!

You might need to be creative but there are many things you can do to keep yourself fit during the next 2 weeks:

1. First, keep your normal workout schedule as much as possible. There’s no substitute for doing your workouts.

2. Take advantage of every opportunity to walk instead of ride. This one tip should be used all the time. It makes a huge difference in your fitness. When I used to work on The University of Texas campus, it was not unusual for me to walk up to 2 hours in a day going to different departments….and, there are alot of hills here, so that made the exercise that much better. I didn’t think of it as exercise until I stopped working on campus. I soon realized that I had to take more time for “exercise”…..walk, walk, walk every chance you get.

3. Walk for 30 minutes after meals….another great tip to practice year-round.

4. Bike instead of driving your car. See numbers #2 and #3.

5. Exergaming works just fine. Wii fit games are fun and you can go on for hours without realizing how much time you can spend on these games. I’m sure you know someone with a Wii console!

6. Stick to your normal nutrition plan as much as possible during this 2 week Christmas-New Year’s stretch.

7. You have heard this before: alcohol has calories too—7 calories per gram to be exact. Don’t tank it too much!

8. Don’t spend all of your time eating! Walk around the mall for a couple of hours, walk the pets everyday, play flag football, rake all those leaves in your yard, etc.

9. Drink lots of water and unsweetened tea. No sugary drinks! Sample desserts instead of eating first and second helpings.

Do you need help with meal planning? Don’t wait until January to do something about your eating habits! Start taking steps now!

Take advantage of a FREE Nutrition Assessment and FREE 7-Day Meal Plan to help you reach your fitness goals!

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You don’t have a plan?…..you’d better get one or you could come out on the other side of the holidays not looking or feeling too well….

You see, that’s what it means to make a lifetime commitment to fitness. Fitness just becomes a natural part of your life—no matter what time of year it is! There’s plenty of ways to enjoy the holidays and still “get in” your exercise. And, you can “reasonably follow” your nutrition plan and still eat enough of holiday goodies. Just be creative like:

1) exercise during your favorite T.V. show….each T.V. show is at least 30 minutes,

2) take a brisk 20-30 minute walk at some point during the day,

3) matter of fact, walk as much as you can (Americans definitely ride too much to places they could walk to),

4) take advantage of the holiday season and use heart-healthy spices like cinnamon, peppermint and ginger to flavor food (instead of high-calorie, fattening sauces and dips),

5) hold to your regular workout schedule at least 90% of the time during the holidays,

6) be sure to keep your daily food journal during the holidays—don’t let November and December become one long eating binge,

7) keep in contact with your accountability partner during the holidays,

commit to fitness now—don’t wait until January,

9) exercise while your kid practices her or his team sport (its boring to just sit there anyway), and

10) its not rocket science—just stay active and eat sensibly during the holidays! Come up with your own creative ways to stay fit.

When I played football in college, coaches always came up with exercises (bear crawls to name one) to torture us and make us tougher….we hated those type of exercises….so now, I do those exercises that I like, when I like them. For instance, the other day, my cardio workout consisted of 20 minutes of step ups for interval cardio. Why? Because that’s what I felt like doing that day. And, it was tough but I didn’t hate to do them.

The lesson? You are more likely to stay with your exercise program if you pick exercises that you enjoy. There are tons of exercises out there so you can be creative. If you dread your workouts, then you will quit sooner rather than later.

Check out this comment from my friend Corey (follow her at See Corey Run) also known as Cyberpenguin. She loves to run. So, guess what? She runs alot for exercise and she will run you into the ground!

Hi Mark,

Thank you so much for writing this article! We need more people like yourself, who are strong advocates of moderate, natural, & credible approaches to fitness & nutrition!

Of course, you are absolutely correct that taking superficial shortcuts won’t give us long-lasting health/fitness. Taking this path is almost always counter-productive!

I think the larger issue is that people get so focused on obtaining results by any means necessary, that they forget to enjoy the process itself.

While health & fitness are undoubtedly important, I think that the means are just as important as the ends. It’s so important to find the fun in fitness; yes, it takes effort, but too often people treat the activity like it’s some form of corporal punishment. It doesn’t have to be that way!

It’s ultimately more effective to retrain our brains, refocus our energies, & start thinking about fitness & health in more productive & sensible ways.

Bravo!

-C

Enough said! Now, go have fun and stop dreading your workouts!

Train hard and smart!

No fitness checkup would be complete without taking a look at how and what you eat! Sixty percent to 70% of your fitness success or failure will depend on nutrition! Be ready to make changes to your eating habits!

Here are some nutrition checkup tips:

1. Research has proven that you will have a better chance of succeeding with your nutrition plan and fat loss if you keep a food journal! By logging your actual food choices, you are holding yourself accountable throughout the day. You will also be forced to plan your meals better. It will also help protect you from binge eating and emotional eating if you write down why you eat what you eat!

2. Find out your basal metabolic rate (amount of calories you would burn if you did nothing all day). You will use this rate to set the amount of calories you need each day to maintain a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you consume).

3. Drink water and unsweetened drinks (like tea) most of the time.

4. Add volume to your diet (eating wet). Eat as many foods as you can with high water content/low calories. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables are examples. These types of foods help you to feel fuller (satiety) while eating fewer calories. For instance, grapes with the same caloric amount as raisins will provide more satiety and theoretically help you eat less the rest of the day.
Energy density of food is a key component when trying to add volume to your diet. Energy density (ED) is defined as the amount of calories of a food divided by its weight in grams. Focus on foods with low ED value such as fresh fruits (apples, etc.) and vegetables (such as tomatoes and broccoli) whole grain pastas, rice, whole grain breads and cereals, soups, salads and skinless white chicken/turkey.

5. Don’t starve yourself (severe calorie restriction)! This will only encourage your body to store fat because it thinks you are starving. Eat small meals every 3-4 hours to keep your body energized and to keep your metabolism humming!

6. Forget the quick weight loss gimmicks (they lead to yo-yo dieting and even more weight gain)! There are no quick solutions to permanent fat loss and weight loss. Change your eating habits permanently!

7. Severely limit these foods: fried foods, fast foods, foods in a bag, sugary sodas, candy, cookies, donuts, processed foods, etc. And, watch your alcohol intake! Alcohol has calories too—7 calories per gram to be exact!

I think you get the idea. You have to make changes to your eating habits! If you don’t know what changes to make, then get help!

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University! It is a one-stop site for your fitness needs!

Invest in yourself! That’s a huge part of your fitness checkup! I’m not talking about money….I’m talking about investing in your health and fitness! That will take some commitments from you like:

1. Make the commitment to a lifetime of fitness and not just to a 4-week or 8-week exercise plan.

2. Be honest with yourself (like why your fat loss efforts failed in the past) and set realistic fitness goals.

3. Improve your eating habits.

4. Adjust your lifestyle to “fit in” exercise.

5. Stop looking for a quick solution to fat loss! There are no quick solutions that will lead to permanent fat loss and weight loss!

6. Realize that you need an accountability partner to help you reach your fitness and health goals! Don’t try to go it alone! That partner could be a friend, spouse or personal trainer.

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University! It is a one-stop site for your fitness needs!

Enjoy your cookouts and football tailgates this weekend! High school and college football kickoff this weekend! Love it! And, that includes eating good food! The workouts keep everything in check! Here are some tips to help you navigate through the holiday food minefield:

1) Don’t stop or slack off on your exercise program this Labor Day weekend! And, if you aren’t exercising, then this would be a great time to start. I have a goal of at least trying to maintain my pre-holiday weight during the long weekend.

EXERCISE TIP: FLAG FOOTBALL IS GREAT EXERCISE AND FUN!

2) Go easy on the food condiments and other sauces. They are loaded with calories.

3) Stick to your normal nutrition plan as much as possible during the holiday. Go back to your normal nutrition on Tuesday!

4) This rule always applies to any day—if its fried, let it slide!

5) Alcohol has calories too—7 calories per gram to be exact. Don’t tank it too much!

6) You don’t have to eat until you are stuffed! Just eat enough to satisfy yourself.

7) Don’t spend all of your time eating during the holiday. Walk around the mall for a couple of hours, walk the pets everyday, play flag football, cut the lawn, etc.

Drink lots of water and you will eat less.

9) Allow yourself one dessert a day (or a sample of a few) It’s okay since you are going to exercise tomorrow—-right?

10) Here’s something that also works for the Labor Day holiday: start your day with a workout and toward the end of your day take a long walk in the park or at the lake.

Happy holiday weekend!

Need more exercise and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my weekly Fat Blaster eNewsletter!

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Fitness bootcamps have become popular as a form of group exercise. My question to anyone thinking about participating in a bootcamp is this: What are your fitness goals? Your answer will tell me whether a bootcamp will have long-term benefit for you.

If your bootcamp experience isn’t part of a permanent commitment to a fit and healthy lifestyle, then you are not going to get the permanent fitness results you want (a lean and toned body). Permanent fitness results take longer than any 1 or 2 week bootcamp. The bootcamp will just be a quick fix for you. That sounds harsh but I see the quick fix scenario too much out there.

I don’t do bootcamps because I prefer to work with people 1 on 1. Individualized attention to clients holds them and me accountable for real, lasting results (fat loss and weight loss).
The next time you are thinking about participating in a fitness bootcamp, ask yourself this question: Have I made the commitment to a permanent fit and healthy lifestyle? That is the real question that you need to answer.