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

The Best Supplements For Weight Loss

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

Most people think of supplements as a way to improve health. There are supplements for vision, muscle building, weight loss, and other issues or conditions. Weight loss supplements won’t replace an exercise program and healthy diet but some will help you shed pounds. Each works differently. Some suppress your appetite while others help burn fat. Including a protein supplement can provide the building blocks for muscle, while making you feel full longer.

One study compared people using supplements to those who didn’t.

The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements like it does medications. Supplements don’t require approval. If a supplement is unsafe, it has to issue warnings. Some companies test their supplements for purity, but few studies exist on the benefits provided. That’s why there is very little evidence that they work. One study followed 70 obese adults. All 70 followed low-calorie diets and exercise programs. Half received a placebo. The other half received a supplement containing caffeine, bitter orange, raspberry ketone, garlic, and ginger. Only 45 completed the study. Of those who did, those given the supplements lost 4.2 pounds. That was 3.6 pounds more than those not taking the supplement.

Combination fat burners may help you lose weight.

Fat burners like green tea leaf extract, green coffee bean extract, and capsaicin do it by speeding up metabolism or increasing the thermogenesis hormone to burn more calories. The “magic” ingredient in green tea is catechins. The ingredient in coffee bean extract is caffeine. Capsaicin is what makes hot peppers hot and speeds up your metabolism.

L-theanine helps keep appetite in check.

L-theanine is an amino acid, the building block of protein. Like protein, it can make you feel full and cut your appetite. It can also reduce the potential for stress eating by regulating your mood. Protein powders, whether from whey or a vegetable source like pea protein, do the same. It also helps build muscle tissue that improves weight loss.

Vitamin B-12 is necessary for fat metabolism. There’s a link between a deficiency and fat accumulation and obesity. A deficit in vitamin B-6 can cause fatigue. High vitamin B-6 levels can cause fat to burn more efficiently.
Vitamin D deficiency is linked to obesity. Studies don’t indicate whether vitamin D deficiency caused obesity or obesity caused the deficiency. Supplementing may help weight loss.
Green powders containing a wide variety of plant-based nutrients, including prebiotic fiber, spirulina, wheat grass, and other dried fruits and vegetables, provide a variety of nutrients that aid digestion and absorption.
Probiotics can also boost weight loss if you have an imbalance in your gut. Studies show that obese individuals tend to have less diverse gut bacteria. Consuming probiotics and prebiotics to feed them can aid weight loss.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Nutrition

The Benefits Of Resistance Bands

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

If you can’t always get to the gym in Stamford, CT, due to travel, schedule, or weather, you’ll find a lot of benefits for having resistance bands available as your home gym alternative. They provide an alternative to bodyweight exercises and don’t require an entire gym in your home. If you want an alternative to weights or bodyweight workouts, give resistance bands a try. They’re so inexpensive that if you don’t like them, you can pack them away for just emergency use without feeling guilty.

Resistance bands don’t require an entire room.

These easy-to-store muscle-building giants can be put in a drawer when not in use. They’re easy to pack so you can take them on vacation and workout in your hotel room if there’s no gym. Best of all, resistance bands are inexpensive. They cost less than weights do. You can buy a whole set that includes different resistance levels for the same price as two dumbbells, so they offer more versatility for less money.

You can use resistance bands for more than just strength training.

Resistance bands are also good for flexibility training and warming up. Nineteen studies were included in a meta-analysis that had a total of 649 subjects. Using resistance bands helped athletes warm up, improving their performance. It aided seniors by improving flexibility as well as balance. That helps reduce accidents that can lead to a long recovery and decline in health.

They keep muscles under tension longer.

Using resistance bands in conjunction with bodyweight exercises can boost the benefits you’d otherwise get from the exercise. It can challenge the muscle during all parts of the movement, both during the lengthening and shortening of the muscle. They make your body work harder, so you’ll make faster progress. You can work muscles on all planes, too. The increased resistance on all planes comes from the pull of the bands, not from gravity like dumbbells.

If you have a latex allergy, be more careful when purchasing resistance bands. Shop for the non-latex versions. Always check bands before each use to ensure there are no nicks and tears.
Resistance bands are excellent for functional fitness training, especially for seniors or people recovering from an accident or illness. You can use them seated, lying down, or standing.
The wide variety of resistance in one set of bands allows you to improve your strength gradually at a minimal cost. One set of bands provides workouts for various resistance levels, from the lowest resistance to ones with a lot of resistance.
If you’re using resistance bands as an alternative to the gym occasionally, talk to one of the trainers to get help using them. The trainer can help with exercises and movements for different muscle groups.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Nutrition

Male Eating Disorders Are More Common Than We Think

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

Most people think of young females when they hear about eating disorders, but men also have similar problems. Of every three people with eating disorders, one of them is male. Male eating disorders have been on the rise, in Stamford, CT, and around the country. Body dysmorphia isn’t limited to teenage girls and women, it impacts men at similar rates. Men and boys are far less likely to seek treatment, making it more difficult to assess the extent of the problem. The types of eating disorders include binge eating, anorexia, and bulimia.

It all starts with unrealistic expectations.

Part of the problem stems from the desire to be sexually attractive. If men or boys carry extra weight, it’s not seen as attractive. Just like their female counterparts, those flat abs and the perfect V are the ideal. Some young men suffer from anorexia nervosa where they stop eating, exercise too much, or put strict rules on the consumption of food. Some experience bulimia nervosa where they eat and then purge their body of the food. The final large group of people with eating disorders are those with binge-eating disorders who eat large amounts and then feel guilty about it.

Some male eating disorders involve the desire to be muscular, too.

Men tend to have a unique subtype of eating disorder called muscle dysmorphia. It’s the obsession with bulking up and cutting body fat to dramatically low amounts. Gaining weight can be part of muscle dysmorphia, too. In one study, one-fourth of men and boys of average weight see themselves as underweight. They want to bulk up so people see them as more masculine. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to bulk up, many of these young men are obsessively exercising, taking steroids and supplements, and eating restrictive diets. While it may initially seem like a healthy outlet, it’s taken to extremes, affecting both mental and physical health.

There are many reasons for eating disorders.

There’s no one reason for this issue. Some people are depressed and want to find a way to make themselves more acceptable. Others are trying to control their life and do it by gaining control over what they eat. A large group of people with eating disorders have a distorted view of not only themselves but also what the perfect body should look like.

Some signs of eating disorders are weight fluctuations, dizziness upon standing, digestive complaints, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, and issues with unhealthy skin, teeth, hair, and nails.
It’s harder for men to seek treatment for eating disorders. Most programs are created for women. You can find help by calling the National Eating Disorder Association helpline.
While eating disorders are linked to depression and other mental health issues, further study needs to be made to identify if the eating disorder caused depression or if it was the other way around.
The desire to be perfect is one common need found in most people with eating disorders. The exceptions are people with binge-eating problems. They tend to have impulse control issues.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training

Posted in Fitness, Mindset, Nutrition