∆ Here, you will find a consistent Motivation for Fitness. Whether your choice in fitness involves weights, dance, gymnastics, pole, cycling, running, yoga, silks, swim, HIIT, contortion, cheer, crossfit or anything in between; you'll find it here. 
I think many of you know I have an absolute love affair with my Merrell Bare Access Arcs… (if you didn’t know this, now you do.) I abandoned my long-term relationship with ASICS in favor of these babies and never looked back. They are an absolute sex-tiger of foot-love every time I put them on. Roar and meow.
But… my favorite is certainly not everyone’s favorite. I favor minimal and barefoot style running shoes. Someone else may hate them!
I just got a fan mail from a lovely follower who asked me for a running shoe recommendation and I thought I would open up the floor to you, my super awesome followers.
What is your favorite running shoe and WHY (that part is important.)
Adipose. Known by the English speaking world as: fat. So, let us learn a little bit about it and then learn how to reduce it on our bodies.
Adipose is stored by our bodies in times of excess to ensure our survival in times of need. An overweight person is more likely to survive long medical therapies like chemotherapy thanks to the excess of energy stored by adipose cells.
As a general rule, fat cells do not increase or decrease in number (note: it’s not impossible for either of these to happen, it’s just not common) instead they just grow or shrink in size. They are given excess sugar to store as energy by insulin and energy is removed for use in the body by glucagon (both produced by the pancreas.)
So, why the run down? I think it’s important (and super fun… because I’m a geek) to know a little bit about your body part of interest before you change it. :D
Since we now know that sugar is what is most commonly stored as fat, we can make a pretty good assumption on how to control our level of fat.
- Reduce your sugar intake. (No… NOT FRUIT!!! Fruit is fine thanks to all that fiber!) But other sugars should be reduced (they don’t have to be removed completely!) This includes white sugar, brown sugar, sugar in the raw, honey, maple syrup and agave nectar.
- Have a reasonable carbohydrate intake. Carbs break down into glucose and glucose is sugar. Now, don’t go all psycho on me and play the low/no carb game. That’s what we call a fad diet and as soon as you start eating carbs again, you’ll bloat up. Patience and moderation is needed when it comes to changing your body! Reduce your carbs to about 55% of your daily calorie intake. America is a carb loving country and many people do eat too many carbs… but it’s not an all or nothing system! (YAY!) So have your carbs, but learn to eat them throughout the day and try to not have it as the main course of your meal.
- Make sure you’re getting enough fat. Wait… what? Yup… fat. Eat it! Healthy fats. The unsaturated fats are your new friend, say hello! Olive oil, fish oil, nut and seed oils… you need essential fatty acids (EFA’s or the Omega 6 and Omega 3) to help you lose fat. Crazy, right? Well… not really, when you think about it. EFA’s aid in digestion, in the function of your thyroid gland, liver, kidneys and helps lower cholesterol. Your brain is 60% fat. Whoa! Ha ha, fat head. No, totally true. Your entire nervous system depends heavily on EFA’s. EFA’s cannot be synthesized by the body and must be found by way of a dietary source. Please don’t skip out on your fats!!! I actually take a supplement since some fats are only available from meat and dairy (like CLA.) Make sure you’re getting your fat!!!
- Exercise! Cardio is not the devil (okay, maybe it is… for some of you) but it’s not going to eat your muscles unless you do it to excess. Cardio is great for keeping your heart and lungs strong, and when done with the right intensity and for the right amount of time (this will vary greatly by person and fitness level) you will help kick the unwanted layers of adipose. Also ensure you are doing strength training. Muscle has a high energy demand and will help you to burn fat. So, what does that actually mean? your resting metabolic rate will increase over time and your body will eat up adipose easier.
Hope this helps my awesome anon who asked!
Cheers,
~Bonnie
To all my wonderful fitblr followers:
Is there anything you would like to see more of? I love finding original and unique things to post but sometimes I’m a deer-in-the-headlights when I look at the blinking cursor in Google Images.
So, help me out! What do you want to see more of (or any of for that matter?) I know I’ve had people mention they are glad for the dancers I post, which I guess is something some fitblrs neglect… but I know there’s more. What sort of fitness related things do you want to see pictures of or write-ups on?
Snowboarding, gymnastics, swimming… let me know and I’ll go on the prowl for the most magnificent and incredible pictures I can find. It’s what I do. ;)
Don’t worry, my content isn’t going to change. There will still be the same fitness motivation there has always been, but I would like to cover more than just weightlifting, running, dancing and pole pole fitness.
I know there are some amazing hobbies out there that require incredible dexterity and strength… point me to them!!
Cheers,
~Bonnie
approximately 24% of every serving of ketchup is sugar (4g per 17g serving.) This is a sneaky sugar intake source because many people don’t think of ketchup as a sweet food item. And really… who only uses 1 Tbsp? No, me neither.
Instead of ketchup, try using salsa instead. It’s amazing on eggs and sandwiches, gives it some extra flavor and texture and provides you with a better vegetable intake. Plus, there are all different varieties of salsa for you to use! Yay for variety! :D
If salsa texture isn’t your bag, try looking for sugar free or reduced sugar ketchup… some companies substitute with Splenda or Aspartame and others eliminate it all together. (Splenda and Aspartame are not as bad for you as you have been led to believe. Blah blah blah they turn into formaldehyde in your stomach… yeah, so does apple juice and 99% of any other juice you drink. And they do it in much larger amounts that aspartame does, so ease up on the panic button.)
So take this thought with you to your supermarket and to your cook outs and in your lunch room cafeteria. You may find salsa to be your new favorite condiment!
For those who like to make it at home (It gives you better control over the amount of oil in it) here is one of my favorite substitutions: instead of cracked wheat use equal parts quinoa. It gives it more nutritional value by volume and it’s the only grain to contain “complete” protein.
(And I also like to use red onions in mine instead of green onions. I love red onions!!!)
Feel like you need to up the ante during your workouts? Don’t forget about ankle and wrist weights!! They will really amp up your training and once you put them on you don’t need to think about them again since they stay in place very nicely. Add them to an exercise you feel may have gotten just a little too easy. Or add them to an exercise that you’re not ready to do with a heavy sand bag yet (like jump squats or jumping lunges) but still want to make more intense.
