Fitness

Prepared Healthy Snacks Can Be A Lifesaver

Published by superadmin on August 10, 2024 | Leave a response

At Revolution Training in Stamford, CT, many clients eat a healthy snack before and after exercise. The snacks help keep their energy high during workouts and start recovery. Snacking is often demonized, but it shouldn’t be. If you have a healthy snack mid-morning or mid-afternoon, it can boost your energy and help keep your hunger under control so you don’t eat more than you should at the next meal. You can make your snacks or opt for ones prepared. Some of the commercial ones are healthy.

If you left your snack at home or didn’t have time to make one, consider this easy option.

Many businesses carry trail mix. Almost all groceries do. You might even find it at your local gas station’s convenience store. Not all of them are healthy. Check for ones without candy unless it’s tiny bits of dark chocolate. Besides nuts, a healthy trail mix can contain dried fruit or seeds, such as pumpkin seeds. It can have popcorn, peanut butter chips, and spices. You can make your own and put it into individual bags for a quick grab-and-go option.

Look for prepared fruit and vegetables.

Buy fruit and vegetables ahead and do any prepping necessary, like washing and cutting fresh vegetables and putting them in plastic bags. Make a bowl of yogurt or hummus dip and divide it into carryout sauce containers with lids. In the morning, before you leave, put a handful of veggies in a bag and take a dip container. You can snack on an apple or banana or purchase prepared snacks like individual-sized fruit packed in its own juice.

Create the fruit yogurt you take.

Take a small container of berries and nuts along with a container of plain Greek yogurt. When you’re ready to snack, mix the two. If you haven’t prepared anything and want a snack at the last minute, choose one commercially prepared. Look for fruit yogurt with only yogurt and fruit as the main ingredients and no sugar. To get the same mix of protein and carbs, consider cottage cheese and unsweetened applesauce.

Another healthy snack option is air-popped popcorn or homemade microwave popcorn. For microwave popcorn, add popcorn kernels to a microwaveable bowl, cover lightly, and microwave it. Make popcorn ahead and store it in bags.
Keep healthy cold treats in the freezer. Fill ice pop molds with yogurt and chopped fruit. You can mix the fruit with the yogurt ahead for a smoother treat. You can also blend fruit and add water for a frozen fruit treat.
A quick snack that takes little effort is sliced apples with peanut butter. Use peanut butter containing only nuts and maybe a little salt, but no sugar.
Hard-boil eggs ahead and store them in the refrigerator. When you’re ready for a snack, chop it and mix it with yogurt, mustard, and a little mayo. Spread it onto crackers or toast, or make deviled eggs ahead and ready to eat.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Is Your Extra Weight Because Of A Hormone Imbalance?

Published by superadmin on July 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Do you have ten pounds that you can’t shake or feel like you gain weight just by looking at donuts? Maybe your weight issues come from a hormone imbalance. Women often experience weight gain during menopause, making it easier to link to hormonal problems. It can occur at other times, too. Losing weight is difficult enough, but these pounds are even more stubborn. Even worse, many of those extra pounds end up around the midsection as visceral fat. It’s the most dangerous type of fat and the hardest to lose.

Women may experience estrogen dominance.

During perimenopause and menopause, your body is going to the next stage in life. The journey isn’t always smooth. Estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone levels all fluctuate during perimenopause and menopause. Yes, women have testosterone. It’s vital for bone density and muscle development. If one of the hormones drops faster than the other, it can cause an imbalance that creates problems. Estrogen dominance occurs if testosterone and progesterone drop faster than estrogen.

Other hormones that aren’t sex hormones can lead to excess pounds.

Many hormones affect weight. Some occur in pairs. One turns on a function, and the other turns it off. Leptin and ghrelin are examples. Hormones that can contribute to weight gain when they’re out of control include insulin, cortisol, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), neuropeptide Y (NPY), Cholecystokinin (CCK), and peptide YY. Some hormones stimulate the appetite or keep you feeling hungry. Ghrelin, NPY, GLP-1, and NYP are examples.

How do you regulate those hormones?

No matter what your age or gender, stress plays a huge factor in weight gain. Cortisol is a stress hormone that may cause weight gain. Ironically, weight gain may also increase cortisol levels. A healthy lifestyle which includes adequate sleep, regular exercise, and a healthy diet can help regulate cortisol levels and most hormonal imbalances. Deep breathing, meditation, and other relaxation techniques also fight cortisol overload.

If insulin levels are high, it can lead to insulin resistance. Cutting out food with added sugar, including fiber in your diet, adequate sleep, and doing HIIT workouts or strength-building exercises can help prevent the problem.
Consuming food high in vitamin B complex, magnesium, and vitamin D3 or taking supplements can help balance hormones. Consume less red meat and avoid sugar and caffeine. Consuming bone broth boosts nutrients and collagen.
Even though strength-building and HIIT are the best exercises for hormone balancing, if you’ve lived a sedentary lifestyle, start by walking. As you get fitter, do a more strenuous workout.
Gut health plays a huge role in hormone balancing. Eat probiotic and prebiotic foods. Probiotic foods include sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchi, and kefir. Probiotic foods include food with fiber, such as asparagus, onions, and bananas.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Fat-Burning Detox Soups

Published by superadmin on July 11, 2024 | Leave a response

It’s hot in Stamford, CT, and the thought of a cup of steaming fat-burning detox soup may not sound enticing, but if you’re trying to lose weight, it might help. Turn up the air conditioner and make a batch or two. You can have it with a salad or a side vegetable. These soups are both delicious and nutritious. They’re filling without containing a lot of calories. You can make a big pot and freeze several containers for meals in the future.

What exactly is a detox soup?

If you’re constantly eating highly processed food that contains sugar and artificial ingredients, it takes a toll on your body. You don’t see or feel the difference immediately. The impact is cumulative. Detox soup helps you start a program of healthy eating. It’s a nutritious soup with plenty of fiber to improve elimination. One study found that if you match calories, choosing soup instead of junk food increases weight loss. These soups help level blood sugar and reduce the potential for overeating.

Make a vegetable bean detox soup to boost nutrition and cut calories.

Every good soup base starts with onions, celery, and vegetable broth. Add mushrooms, chili peppers, bell peppers, tomato paste, garlic, chili powder, turmeric, pinto beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and smoked paprika for this soup. Eat two bowls daily to detox and supplement it with all the fresh or unprocessed fruits and vegetables you want. You’ll feel full but won’t be eating many calories. It is nutritious enough that it can sustain you without causing malnutrition.

Detox soups can be more exotic, containing ingredients most people don’t use.

Fennel should be part of your menu, but for most people, it’s not. It has a light licorice flavor that combines well with other ingredients and contains many health benefits. Combine it with kale, spinach, asparagus, and garlic to get a soup that’s packed with nutrition. Use coconut oil to cook onions and minced garlic first. Don’t forget to let the garlic sit for a minute after you chop it to make it more nutritious. Add chopped asparagus, diced fennel bulb, and celery. After a few minutes, add vegetable stock. Bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer for seven minutes. Add the kale and spinach and blend, mixing in the juice of one lime. If necessary, add more vegetable stock to make it thinner. It makes a great summer soup that detoxes.

Many soups that are filled with fresh vegetables and herbs make good detox soups. Even the famous cabbage soup diet can be good for a few days. If soup contains a lot of vegetables and a protein source, it’s more sustainable.
Soup takes longer to eat and may be why they’re better for weight loss. That extra time gives your stomach time to signal to the brain you’re full.
When making soups, avoid those with a creamy base. Stick with ones that use only broth. You can use vegetable or animal product broth.
The extra fluid in soups helps flush out toxins. Many of the spices added, such as turmeric, are anti-inflammatory or provide plant chemicals that help heal the body to function better.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

How To Stick To Your Diet When No One Is Supporting You

Published by superadmin on June 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Having a reliable support system can help when trying to stick to your diet. If it’s family, they won’t complain if there’s no unhealthy snack food and plan meals out to diet-friendly restaurants. If you have a separate dinner from the rest of the family because they want fried food or high-calorie desserts, you aren’t getting as much support as you should. Sharing the trials and tribulations along the way can make them easier to deal with. That’s why getting support increases the chance of success. A support system can help you through times when you’re ready to quit and praise you for success.

Ask a trusted friend or your life partner for help.

Sometimes, it doesn’t seem like you have anyone because people aren’t sure how they can help. They don’t want to sound like they’re shaming you for eating or will be offending you by saying anything. Be direct with the person you trust and tell them you need their help. Tell them it’s okay to remind you of the diet if you need that type of help. Let them know what to say or do to help you make it through to reach success.

Check support groups online.

You don’t necessarily have to have someone in your household or even someone living close to you. There are online support groups that focus on weight loss struggles and provide encouragement for others. Everyone in the group has the same goal and understands your feelings. They may have faced the same or a similar problem themselves. They can even offer solutions for your problems and cheer for you when you reach a goal.

Join a brick-and-mortar gym.

At Revolution Training Academy, we are like a family. We all help one another become empowered to be the best version of themselves. We provide support for one another. Not all gyms are like this, but there are still some available. Even if the gym isn’t that welcoming, you often can find someone who shares your goals and is also looking for more support. If you want support, go to a place where fitness is everyone’s goal.

If your family wants nothing to do with your plan to eat healthy, don’t be discouraged. Not everyone is ready to change their lifestyle. Use that information to prove them wrong. Your success can change their mind and help them.
Meal planning can help you stick with your diet. Have nutritious snacks ready to eat in case you’re hungry so you don’t eat high-calorie junk food that is there for others.
Find restaurants that serve healthy options and suggest those restaurants when going to dinner or lunch. Eat slower and chew each bit thoroughly so your stomach can message your brain it’s full sooner.
Use the services of a personal trainer to help you learn how to reach your goal faster and become your support system. A trainer holds you accountable and provides positive reinforcement.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Male Eating Disorders

Published by superadmin on June 10, 2024 | Leave a response

When people talk about eating disorders, most people automatically think of females with eating disorders, but there is a rising number of men and boys now suffering from the problem. Male eating disorders occur all over the country, including Stamford, CT. At the gym, we focus on building strength, not just having the perfect body, but it doesn’t mean it can’t occur. You should know the types of disorders and signs. They include anorexia, bulimia, muscle dysmorphia, and binge eating.

It’s not all about having the perfect body, control, and living up to a mental image.

There are many reasons why eating disorders occur. Having a perfect body, maintaining physical control, and mental body image are three. You can’t change some factors. It might be genetic or learned. People who have family members with eating disorders are more at risk. Personality plays a role. People who tend to be more negative, perfectionists, or have an impulsive personality are more at risk.

You can’t be too rich or too thin.

Well actually, you can be too thin or in the case of men with eating disorders, have a body composition with the lowest possible fat percentage. It can be dangerous. Men and boys may see themselves as skinny or underweight and they develop a new dysfunction called muscle dysmorphia. Bodybuilders often have that problem. It causes them to spend hours in the gym, counting calories closely, and consuming food and supplements that build muscles. The most dangerous symptom, besides an extreme diet, is the use of steroids to build.

What are the symptoms of the other eating disorders?

People with anorexia have a strict list of foods they can eat and ones they can’t. They fear gaining weight, even though they already may be dangerously underweight. Bodyweight plays a role in self-esteem. The thinner the person is, the better they feel about themselves. People with anorexia don’t see themselves as underweight even when their weight is dangerously low. People with bulimia eat large amounts of money at one time and then purge it from their system by vomiting or using laxatives. As with anorexia, they fear weight gain, linking their self-esteem to body weight. Binge eating is similar to bulimia but without the purging. During an episode, their food consumption is out of control and they eat even if they’re not hungry.

Of every three people with eating disorders, one of them is male. Most men have muscle dysmorphia and their goal is not to lose weight but to become more muscular and have less fat.
Muscle dysmorphia is associated with orthorexia nervosa. It’s an eating disorder that has an unhealthy obsession with clean eating and eliminating certain food groups to the point of malnutrition. The obsession interferes with their daily life and daily activities.
Depression and mental issues are linked to eating disorders but it’s unknown which came first, the disorder or the depression. People with eating disorders suffer a higher incidence of substance abuse, depression, and anxiety.
Treatment for male eating disorders varies. Each person is unique with their own unique issues and condition level. It’s all about taking healthy weight, healthy eating, or exercise to extremes and neglecting other areas of life.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

What’s Your Inspiration To Get Healthy?

Published by superadmin on May 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Discipline can take you a long way once you get fitter. It takes discipline to be an exceptional athlete and win matches. The best athletes in Stamford, CT, have that, but many didn’t when they initially started. When you begin your journey to becoming healthy, it takes motivation and inspiration to push ahead. It’s all about inertia. A body at rest remains at rest unless there’s a driving force. What inspiration or motivation can you use to start and stay with a fitness program?

Identify what’s important in your life and focus on that.

For many people, family and friends are their motivation. Others have a life mission that gets them out of bed in the morning. It may be helping homeless animals or creating the next outstanding invention that changes people’s lives. Those are the types of things that inspire you to keep moving ahead. If your motivation involves protecting your family, you need to get and stay fit to do that. Focusing on getting fitter to ensure you’re around to watch your children grow or to protect your spouse can help you stay motivated until discipline takes over.

Find ways to keep your motivation in front of you.

Keep your motivation in front of you. Visualize yourself going to your children’s graduation or wedding. Imagine how proud you’ll feel. Picture you and your partner together on a long trip celebrating retirement. Write inspiring phrases on sticky notes that will bolster your motivation. Remember, to do big things, you need energy. That energy comes from fitness. Make fitness a habit by making it an appointment you schedule every day at the same time. It then becomes a habit and habits are hard to break.

Identify the things you need to change and create a plan.

You have to act on your motivation to achieve anything. You have to create a goal and design the steps to achieve that goal. Your goal should be precise, measurable, aligned with your inspiration, achievable, and have a deadline. You should be able to break it down into small steps you can conquer in a few weeks or less to boost the driving force of success. Plan carefully. People don’t plan to fail. They fail to plan.

You may need some help initially. Trainers and gym partners can be beneficial in this area. They hold you accountable when you aren’t motivated. Sharing your journey with a friend helps.
Your inspiration doesn’t have to be noble. Maybe you want to look and feel better. As you get fitter, you’ll notice that your motivation changes. You may also change your goal. It’s okay to find new reasons to get fit.
Exercise is vital for fitness, but so is a healthy diet. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Your body needs nutrients to thrive and a calorie deficit to lose weight.
Track your progress. If you want to lose weight, weigh yourself once a week and record your results. If fat loss is your goal, take measurements. Consistency is key. Record your progress regularly.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Get Rid Of Arm Flab

Published by superadmin on May 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Summer clothing is far more revealing no matter what your gender. Short sleeves, t-shirts, and swimwear replace parkas, long sleeves, and sweaters. Having arms with toned arms is an asset that builds your confidence when you take off your jacket or wear short sleeves. That flabby, batwing appearance can come from excess weight and muscles that need conditioning. Strength training is the way to lose flabby arms and cardio workouts can help you lose weight.

A lot of boxing training helps tone arms.

One thing boxing does better than other exercises is getting rid of arm flab. Shadow-boxing uses the arms primarily. It burns tons of calories and helps replace fat with toned arm muscles. Shadow-boxing is an important part of training. You can boost its effectiveness by holding light dumbbells when you do it. Jumping rope conditions the whole body. It improves coordination and cardio. It conditions the shoulders and arms as it burns layers of belly fat. Your arms will get tired before your legs, showing how much it works the upper body.

Bodyweight exercises can eliminate flabby arms.

You don’t need any equipment using push-ups or planks for toning. Your muscles fight the force of gravity as you lift your body or keep it in a lifted position. You’ll work the upper arms more if you hold your hands closer together and slightly touching. Keeping the hands at shoulder-width works the triceps and small forearm muscles. Other push-up variations like side, shoulder-tap, reverse hand, and forearm push-ups also help eliminate flabby arms. They all work arm muscles in different ways.

Tone your arms at your desk.

You can do arm exercises that bring results if you have a place to sit that doesn’t move. You can do a chair dip. Put your feet on the floor with your legs extended, and both hands gripping the sides of the chair. Lift your bottom off the chair and slide forward as you lower your body, keeping your elbow at a 90-degree angle. Hold and then lift your body and slide back onto the chair seat. Another exercise, an overhead extension, uses a weight. A full water bottle will do. Hold it in both hands and lift it above your head. Lower it slowly behind your head. Then lift and lower it in front of you.

No matter how much you exercise, if excess fat is causing flabby arms, lose weight. Focus on eating a healthy diet that eliminates highly processed food or food with added sugar.
The biceps are in the front of the arm. The triceps are in the back. Batwings, flabby arms, occur when the triceps are weak. Find exercises that tone those muscles, such as tricep dips.
Wall push-ups also work, and you can do them anywhere. Stand at arm’s length and place your hands on the wall with your palms flat. Keep your body straight and lower it toward the wall. Push back up to the starting position.
Simple exercises like arm circles help tone your muscles and eliminate the flab. Start by making small circles. Then do them in reverse. Continue making larger circles each time and then reduce the size.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition

Boost Your Weight Loss With Lifestyle Changes

Published by superadmin on April 25, 2024 | Leave a response

If weight loss is your goal, people in Stamford, CT, say you should start by making lifestyle changes. You don’t have to make dramatic changes or do them all immediately. You can start by changing small things, like snacking on fresh fruit or vegetables and dip instead of candy bars or traditional high-calorie snacks. There’s no need for restrictive diets when you make cumulative small changes.

Dieting isn’t the way.

Diets are often restrictive. They have specific foods you can eat at each meal or for snacks. Sometimes, the ingredients are exotic, or the meals don’t suit your taste. When you make lifestyle changes, you don’t have restrictions. The concept is all about making smarter choices when you select food. Instead of eating white rice, substituting brown rice cuts calories and provides more nutrients, including fiber. Other substitutions you’ll barely notice include using unsweetened applesauce to replace some sugar or oil in baked goods.

Increasing your activity level also makes a difference.

You don’t have to add a traditional workout program to receive weight loss benefits. Changes to increase your physical effort can make a big difference, too. Increasing how much you walk is one of those things. If you have a short distance, walk instead of taking the car. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is another way to increase exercise. Parking further from the store and walking more is another lifestyle change that can make a big difference. Create a short two or three-minute workout and do it. Instead of staring at the microwave when you’re heating food or just talking on the phone, do a few squats, jumping jacks, or lunges.

Drink more water and get more sleep.

Drinking more water can help you lose weight. Studies show that drinking a glass of water before a meal causes people to eat fewer calories. Getting more sleep also helps you shed extra pounds. If you burn the candle at both ends, you may be sabotaging your weight loss and health. When you lack sleep, the body makes more ghrelin—the hunger hormone. It also slows the production of leptin—the hormone that makes you feel full. Lack of sleep can cause you to eat more because you’ll be hungrier.

If you are up for a challenge. Try giving up food with added sugar for two weeks. You’ll notice fruit tastes sweeter and your cravings for junk food diminish.
Start every meal with a big salad. Make healthy salad dressing, like a balsamic-Dijon mustard dressing that uses five ingredients. Balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
If you make lifestyle changes, especially when you eat, you’ll lose weight and keep it from returning. Lifestyle changes last longer than dieting and include other benefits, like looking and feeling better from exercise.
Switching to a healthier diet means you’ll never fail. You can eat a slice of cake occasionally or have a bowl of ice cream. Just make sure you use portion control and don’t make it a habit.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset

Eliminate Chronic Disease

Published by superadmin on April 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Exercise and a healthy diet can help you feel better. Anyone who works out regularly understands that. Did you know that changing your diet, getting more sleep, exercising, and other changes can help eliminate chronic diseases like diabetes, back pain, arthritis, and digestive issues? If you replace highly processed food with whole foods, you’ll immediately notice a difference in how you feel.

One cause or contributor to chronic disease is obesity.

Overweight and obesity is one of the leading cause of preventable death. Excess body fat can cause inflammation. Inflammation can cause chronic disease. While there’s a difference between the two, they both lead to health issues such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, some forms of cancer, and sleep apnea. Excess weight stresses the joints and throws off the center of gravity to create back issues.

Making lifestyle changes like improving your diet and exercising helps.

Cutting out food with added sugar can reduce inflammation. That can help prevent many health issues, which include the ones caused by obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Eating more whole foods increases nutrients that can help prevent disease. Vitamins A, C, E, and D, folate, zinc, selenium, and iron, are well-known immune boosters to help keep you healthier. Regular exercise increases circulation to send nourishment and oxygen to every cell. It lowers blood pressure, improves heart health, and improves cholesterol levels.

Other lifestyle changes, like smoking cessation, make a huge difference.

If you smoke, quit smoking. Some people fear weight gain after they quit. Smoking does boost your metabolism. You can counteract the reduction by exercising. Do all types of exercise, especially ones that build muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the higher your metabolism. You might snack more when you quit smoking to replace the physical movement of smoking. Have healthy, low-calorie snacks like veggies and dip or fresh fruit ready to fill that gap. Avoid abusing controlled substances.

Cut out soft drinks and drink tea and coffee without cream or sugar. Both soft drinks and coffee with additives add extra calories and affect your health. Don’t choose diet soft drinks. Studies show it can increase the fat around your middle.
Increase the activity in your daily life. Even if you exercise regularly, walking more and taking the stairs instead of the elevator helps. Studies show that people who walk faster live longer.
Stress plays a role in disease. Eating healthy foods, exercising, adequate sleep, and practicing relaxation techniques can help. Learn deep breathing and meditation to reduce stress quickly.
Avoid drinking too much alcohol. It’s okay for a woman to have one drink a day and for men to have two. Abusing alcohol can cause weight gain, high blood pressure, digestive issues, stroke, some types of cancer, early dementia, a weakened immune system, and social issues.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset