1 May 2012
After I wrote the post on creating your own home boot camp, I realized you all could still participate in MY boot camp! Read on to find out how.
I’m so excited to announce the first-ever virtual Healthista Boot Camp! For the month of May, you can take part in a virtual boot camp class and share your experience on the Healthista Facebook page. At the end of the month, I’m giving away an awesome prize!
Here’s how it works:
- Head over to the Healthista Facebook page and make sure you Like it so you can get the workouts each week.
- Decide you want to do a free home boot camp by yourself or with friends! You’ll need a mat and at least one set of dumbbells (5-8 pounds will work for most people).
- Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, a new boot camp-style workout will be posted. Once you complete the workout (a modified version is fine!), all you have to do is comment on the Facebook post to let me know you completed it before the next workout is posted. That means you have two days to complete Tuesday workouts and five days to complete Thursday workouts. Every workout will be totally different, so get ready for three months of mixing it up.
- If you do all 8 workouts (the last week of May will be a recovery week) and comment to let me know you did, you’ll automatically be entered however many times you did the workouts to win a cool fitness-related prize. The prize is one of my favorite yoga mats, the Aurorae classic, in whatever color you want.
- Today’s workout is already up, so let’s get this thing rolling! I’ll also be posting nutrition tips and goals each week here and on the Facebook page.
If you have any questions about any of the workouts posted, just leave a comment on the Facebook post or email me! Need extra support, accountability, and food guidelines? Consider signing up for a Your Healthista Consulting plan!
Disclaimer: I’m not a certified personal trainer, so please consult your healthcare professional before embarking on any new workout plan.
12 April 2012
I’ve been to so many workout classes and been trained by so many people that almost no type of exercise or workout is new to me anymore. Even so, I like to get my butt kicked by someone else every once in a while.
This month, I signed up for a twice weekly boot camp class. I went to two classes and immediately decided it wasn’t worth my time or money. The instructor wasn’t so interested in making sure participants were getting a good workout (or checking anyone’s form at all!), and the whole class just fell flat, from the music to the moves to the participants. I kept thinking, “I could lead a better boot camp class for sure.”
And then I wondered — Why don’t I lead my own boot camp class for friends? It would help keep me accountable, provide a free way for my friends to work out together, and be a million times better/more fun than the class I paid money to take.
Well, for starters, I don’t have a big enough area in my house. I have enough space to work out myself, but inviting other people would make things tight.
But then I realized that the weather is perfect for outdoor workouts right now. 50-60 degree temps are just right to exercise outside. I have a small backyard, and there’s a park down the street.
I was also worried about equipment. One thing the class had that I don’t have is plenty of dumbbells, kettle bells, and mats. But all you really need to get a good workout is a set of dumbbells and maybe a mat. Most people have those items, and I have a few extras.
With nothing else in my way, I invited a few friends to come over and planned the workout. If you want to create your own home boot camp class for your friends, click through to see what I recommend. I’m also sharing the specific workout we did so you can use it to get started with friends or on your own!
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9 April 2012
I realized I haven’t talked about my consulting service, Your Healthista Consulting (formerly Your Nutritionista Consulting), on the blog in a really long time. Since I’ve gotten quite a few new readers since then (heyyyy!), I thought I’d do a little FAQ.
Q: What is Your Healthista Consulting?
A: YHC is a food + fitness consulting service I started nearly two years ago. I’ve worked with over 50 clients one-on-one to provide prospective, support, and accountability. Learn more about exactly what you get with YHC here.
Q: Why did you start YHC?
A: After I’d been blogging about food, nutrition, and fitness for about a year, I was getting tons of questions each week from readers about what to eat to lose weight, get healthy, and improve fitness. It was increasingly tough for me to answer those questions without finding out a lot more about the asker. I wanted to hear the person’s back story, find out exactly what they were eating and how they were moving, and get to know their lifestyle a little better. I also wanted to make sure I answered questions thoughtfully and correctly, which sometimes required consultation with other experts. Establishing YHC allowed me to talk to each client on the phone one-on-one, learn their story, make meaningful recommendations, and follow up to make sure everything is working on all levels.
I’m so proud of the work I’ve done with my clients (mostly I’m proud of them!). Here’s one story. Here’s another.
Q: So you must have some kind of degree in nutrition, right?
A: Nope. On the YHC staff, there’s an RN, a certified wellness coach with nutrition credentials, and a personal trainer. I feel like we’re pretty covered in the “expertise” department. If you sign up for YHC, you’re getting the experience of someone who’s guided clients to their weight loss, health, and fitness goals (testimonials here), and someone who’s figured out the whole “what to eat if you want to lose weight, get healthy, and be satisified” thang. I’m happy to put you in touch with past clients if you want to hear about their experience from their perspective.
Also, the most important things I offer are accountability and support, which a nutrition degree wouldn’t help me do better anyway.
Q: Why don’t you just get a degree?
A: There are a couple reasons. I actually planned on getting one in the past. I was accepted into NYU’s Community Nutrition program and planned to go, but the timing didn’t work out. The blog took off, and then the consulting component was a natural and necessary next step (see above).
I’m very transparent about the fact that I don’t have a degree, but my clients mostly just want support and guidance finding an eating and exercise plans that work for them. I believe I have more than enough knowledge to provide this. When I don’t know something, I’m very quick to let clients know they need to consult a medical or mental health professional. Believe it or not, I’ve turned down clients I knew I wasn’t qualified to help for various reasons.
I also find most nutrition/RD programs to be pretty antiquated. It’s hard to change Conventional Wisdom, so it makes sense that most traditional programs out there still follow it to a tee. That’s not to say every program is like that, but I haven’t found one that I thought could add value to my blog or my consulting service just yet.
Q: Why should I sign up for YHC instead of using a free or cheap online service?
A: Don’t even think about Weight Watchers (read my thoughts on it). So many of my clients are Weight Watchers veterans who turned to me because WW stopped working for them.
Online calorie counters can work, but it’s not exactly fun to count every calorie, and I truly believe there’s a better way to lose weight and reach optimal health/fitness.
Even more important, what these online services lack is the personal, one-on-one attention I can offer. I talk to my clients once a week on the phone and email back and forth as much as necessary. If you’re a YHC client, I’m going to get to know you pretty well. I’m going to find out how you operate, what motivates you, and where your weak spots are. You’re just not going to get that kind of support from any kind of online weight loss site.
Q: Will I get a daily meal and exercise plan with YHC?
A: No. I don’t believe in teaching people how to follow a meal plan, since that’s not sustainable. I believe in teaching people how to eat and how to move in a way that’s sustainable forever — something that eventually becomes second nature. You know, that whole “give a man a fish/teach a man to fish” thing. You WILL get pretty specific guidelines for how to eat, what kinds of things to seek out, and workouts to follow (if you want them). You’ll also get recipes, general meal ideas, and a basic grocery list. My goal is to set you up to eat well and exercise efficiently for life, not just the amount of time you’re signed up for YHC.
Q: Okay, so where do I sign up?
A: You can take the first step here! Don’t worry, there’s no obligation to sign up if you fill out the form. I’ll just email you and let you know what the next steps are, and you can ask any specific questions you have.
Trust me, I’m not about the hard sell. I’ve actually convinced clients not to sign up for another month of YHC because I truly felt they should try doing it on their own! Think of me as a mother goose trying to get her ducklings out of the nest. I want to make sure you’re as prepared as you need to be to venture out on your own. Yeah, that was a pretty bad analogy, but you get the idea. If you have any questions about this whole thing, please feel free to email me.
29 March 2012
I wrote about my first experience with Zumba back in September, and I’m happy to say I’ve gone pretty regularly once a week or twice a week since then. I found a teacher I’m in love with (so in love that I hired her to teach a birthday Zumba class for me!) and I just can’t get enough of her energy, enthusiasm, or booty shaking.
I keep seeing Zumba Toning on the class schedule at the studio I go to, and I’m always intrigued. Google told me that Zumba Toning is pretty similar to regular Zumba, but you use these very light (two pounds, I think, though they have heavier ones) maracas-style weights that remind me a little bit of Shake Weights in appearance… so they were obviously hilarious.
I mean, the fact that you use weights that are MARACAS is kind of hilarious. But the ridiculousness of a workout never deterred me in the past… I did a class called Body Attack in Argentina that involved lots of jazz hands and can-can kicks (yes, the name of the class was quite misleading except for the fact that it was actually HARD). So I was absolutely up for a workout class accompanied by a little Shake Weight/maracas action.
I convinced my dear friend Bri to join me (she’s pretty much the best because she’s always willing to try all my weird workouts), and we embarked on the journey that is Zumba Toning.
Actually, Zumba Toning is a LOT like regular Zumba — we even did some of the same songs. But dang, you don’t realize how hard it is to hold two pound weights over your head for 45 minutes! As much as I believe in lifting heavy weights, I have to say, my arms were sore after one song, and Bri was giving me the evil eye after the second song (“I knew I was going to regret coming to this…”). I was definitely feeling it the next day, in the best way.
I loved how Zumba Toning was Zumba, but on steroids, and I loved the new songs and different pacing. I know Zumba Toning can’t replace lifting heavy weights, but I’m making it a regular part of my rotation. It’s the music, y’all. It’s the music.
27 March 2012
Why Walking Will Make You Superhuman 
I love this. I think walking is the most underrated form of physical activity, and this post makes me want to commit to doing it as often as I can.
livingsuperhuman:
Earlier today, I went for a walk.
It wasn’t a very long walk.
I didn’t set any records or break any personal bests.
I can’t brag to others about how far I walked or how many calories I “burned”.
I didn’t finish out of breath and barely even broke a sweat.
All I did was go outside, listen to some music, and walk.
And it was amazing!
My whole life I thought walking was for dogs, babies, and old people. I overlooked walking as a form of exercise and thought that I was above it. Walking was for people who were too physically or mentally weak to run fast or lift heavy.
At least that’s what I thought.
Then, at the end of last year, I spent three months in Europe without a car. I was forced to walk everywhere, and walking became a way of life for me. At that point, I still didn’t consider walking a very effective form of exercise, but I started to notice how much I enjoyed the basic activity of just walking.
I noticed that no matter how short or long I walked, I almost always returned home feeling better than when I had left. Walking seemed to improve my mood and my thinking. It helped me come up with ideas for articles I wanted to write, and it helped me put problems or issues I was having into perspective. It seemed to improve my digestion and made me feel better after big meals. It gave me quality time with my girlfriend, and quality time with myself. I even felt like I could get away with an extra dessert or cheat meal without feeling the weight gain and sluggishness the next day.
I was amazed to feel all these positive benefits from something as simple as walking, something I had disregarded for most of my life.
But maybe all this walking business was just in my head. Could I really be experiencing all of these positive outcomes or was it just a placebo effect?
Well, it turns out that there might actually be some science behind this walking phenomenon. Study after study has shown the incredible benefits of walking. Here are just a few examples:
A small increase in walking was associated with meaningful overall health benefits.
Periodic walking improved glucose and insulin responses.
Walking may improve your memory.
Walking could help you live longer.
Walking can improve thinking and cognitive function.
Walking was shown to improve arthritis symptoms.
Walking improves well-being even more than high-intensity exercise.
Post-meal walking improves blood glucose after a carbohydrate rich meal.
These all sound like good things to me!
Based on my personal experience and the studies I found, it seems pretty clear to me that walking is a Superhuman activity. How many things in life are so easy (and free) to do, have so many positive benefits, and almost no negative side effects?
I think walking stands alone in this regard.
Which makes me wonder….if walking is so great, why did I spend most of my life avoiding it?
I think the biggest reason that I overlooked walking for so long is because common sense and conventional wisdom convinced me that the goal of exercise is to burn calories. If I could burn 100 calories from walking for 30 minutes, then I could double or triple that by jogging or lifting weights for that same amount of time. If some is good, then more must be better.
But as I have researched and experimented with different diets and exercise programs in my own life, it has become clear that there is more to this simplified model then just calories-in versus calories-out. Activities like walking, sleeping, and spending time outside don’t work because they burn more calories, they work because they improve the function and hormonal output of your entire body. Weight loss just happens to be a pretty nice side effect of a properly functioning body.
Sometimes the greatest benefits can be had from the simplest activities. Don’t make the same mistakes and assumptions that I did. Make walking an important part of your life and I guarantee you will feel better.
