Ingredients:
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
vegetable oil
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together paprika, salt, cayenne, cumin, thyme, pepper and onion powder. Coat side of chicken with mixture. Heat oil in skillet until very hot. Add chicken seasoned side down, and cook for 1 minute. Turn, and cook 1 minute on other side, this is the "blackening" step. Place chicken on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside and juices are clear.
You can also use this rub mixture on pork, turkey, and other meats. It's especially great when grilling.
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The math is pretty simple. One pound of fat equals 3500 calories. Want to lose a pound a week? Then you need to consume 3500 calories less per week than you use. That's about 500 calories a day. By cutting out 500 calories a day from your normal daily diet, while keeping your activity level the same, you can lose approximately one pound a week.
All right - that doesn't sound like much, especially if you're more than 25 pounds overweight. Study after study has shown, though, that those people who lose weight gradually - at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week -are far more likely to keep the weight off and maintain a normal weight for a lifetime.
So how much exactly IS 500 calories? If you're going to reduce your daily intake by 500 calories, it helps to know what you need to cut out, right? Here's how easy it is to lose 500 calories a day:
* Use milk instead of cream in your coffee. Savings? 50 calories per cup.
* Skip the butter on your baked potato. Savings? 100 calories
* Drink fruit-flavored water instead of a 16 ounce soda. Savings? 200 calories
* Skip the Big Mac and have a salad instead. A Big Mac weighs in at a whopping 460 calories. A fresh salad with a light dressing? Less than 100! Savings? 360 calories
* Pass by the bag of potato chips. An average snack size bag of chips has over 300 calories. Savings? 300 calories
* Eat your corn on the ear. A 1 cup serving of canned corn has 165 calories. An ear of corn has 85. Savings? 80 calories.
* Switch to low-fat cream cheese on your bagel. Savings? 90 calories per ounce.
* Love those fries and can't give them up? Swap the skinny fries out for thick steak-cut ones. Thin French fries absorb more oil than the thicker, meatier ones. Savings? 50 calories per 4 ounce serving
If you'd rather look at losing weight from an exercise perspective, you can also lose one pound a week by upping your activity level by 500 calories a day. How easy is that to do? Take a look:
* Take a half-hour walk around the park. Aim for a pace that's a little faster than a stroll, but not fast enough to be breathless. Burn: 160 calories.
* Get out your bike and take a ride. Tackle a few moderate hills and aim for about five miles total. Burn: 250 calories
* Go dancing - and really DANCE. The longer you're out on the floor instead of at the table drinking up high-calorie drinks, the more you'll get out of it. Dancing that makes you breathless and warms up your body will net you a nice calorie savings. Burn: 400 calories for one hour
* Swimming is great for you, and a lot of fun, too. The water resistance means you burn more calories, and you avoid the stress impact on joints from aerobics, dancing or walking. Do a few laps at a slow crawl - if you can get up to an hour you'll be doing great! Burn: 510 calories
* Get out into your garden. An hour of gardening tasks that includes bending and stretching can burn up to as many calories as a brisk walk. Burn: 250 calories.
* Play a game of tennis. Hook up with a friend for a weekly tennis game and you'll be amazed at the difference. One hour of vigorous tennis is one of the best calorie burners around. Burn: 800 calories
It’s important to keep in mind that all exercise/calorie numbers are based on a woman weighing 130 pounds. If you weigh more, you'll burn more. Want an added bonus to burning calories through exercise? When you exercise, you build muscle by converting it from fat. Three guesses which kind of body tissue burns more calories - even when you're not exercising. You got it - your body uses more energy to maintain and feed muscle than it does fat.
For best results, mix and match food savings with exercises that burn calories. Do keep in mind that eating less than 1000 calories a day for more than a few days will convince your body that it's starving and slow your metabolism. Keep calorie ranges reasonable, and consult a doctor if you want a quicker, more drastic weight loss.
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Exercise gives us fitness along with four other major things: flexibility, strength, muscle endurance, and cardiovascular health. Dieting alone is not going to be able to give you all of these health benefits. A bad diet can affect the way that your fitness training goes even if you follow the best type of exercise plan that you can. You need to put a healthy diet and a lot of exercise together to stay as healthy as you can!
A common question that many people ask is "How long do you need to exercise to keep as healthy as you can?"
The average person needs at least 20 minutes of exercise three times a week. I know it doesn't sound like much, but this will help to strengthen your cardiovascular health and your overall fitness. Another good idea to keep in mind is that you should burn 3500 calories in a week by doing any sort of physical activity. This will benefit you and your heart as well.
When you start any type of fitness plan it is a good idea to speak to your doctor first to find out what exercise plan is going to be best for you and your body. When you speak with your doctor make sure that you discuss special concerns like blood pressure, hypertension and any special diet needs that you have.
Did you know that you can use diet to control high blood pressure? Studies are finding out that exercise has a role in keeping blood pressure from increasing. With the reduction of sodium into your body, weight loss and limited alcohol use, along with the increased amount of physical activity and a low fat diet, you can control hypertension.
There is also increasing evidence that weight bearing exercises like walking, dancing, running, or sports are very good for good bone health.
I guess the point that I am trying to make is that exercise alone cannot make your body healthy. You need to have a good healthy diet that provides the proper calcium, vitamins and minerals along with the adequate amount of exercise to keep your body working great for the rest of your life.
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Ingredients:
1 ½ C. all-purpose flour
¾ C. sugar substitute
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
¾ C. raisins
½ C. fat-free mayonnaise
¼ C. plain fat-free yogurt
1 C. unsweetened apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter flavored cooking spray
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar substitute, baking soda, and apple pie spice. Stir in raisins. Add mayonnaise, yogurt, apple juice, and vanilla extract. Mix well and spread into baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool and cut into 8 servings. (Serves 8)
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Many women and men around the world seek to get a flat stomach every year when swimsuit season comes around. You know just how frustrating it really can be if you've failed at this in the past,. By following a few tips, getting a flat stomach is possible. Losing weight is never easy, but you don't have to simply live with the extra bulk-it is possible to shed the pounds.
1. Crunches
The crunch can be the fastest and best way to work your abdominal muscles. Many people do not do crunches correctly, and this will therefore prove to be a workout program with no results. Crunches should be fluid and controlled at all times, and if you are unsure if you are doing them correctly ask a professional for help so you don't waste you time or, ever worse, hurt yourself.
2. Balanced Workouts
Another great tip for toning your abs is to work on the rest of your body using balanced workouts. When you do a move that requires controlled stability, you torso acts as that control, which strengthens your core abdominal muscles. It's like getting two workouts in one this way!
3. Posture
Slumping causes your abdominal muscles to weaken and looks sloppy overall. To improve your posture, remember to work out your back muscles. When you have stronger back muscles, you will be more likely to stand up straight, looking immediately thinner as a result. Your doctor should be able to give you tips about improving your posture.
4. Healthly Diet
It is very important to eat a healthy diet if you want to be able to see the muscles that you are building. Changing to low-fat and low-carbohydrates diet choices will help you instantly see results, and this includes skipping the alcohol, which really does cause a beer belly. Also, you should slow down when you eat, leave the carbonation and artificial sweeteners out of your diet. Eating quickly will cause your to swallow air, and certain products cause intestinal gas, which will immediately make you look bloated.
In general, don't worry about what a scale says-simply look in the mirror to see results. Set weight loss goals for yourself and practice a healthy lifestyle and it shouldn't be difficult for you to get a flat stomach in time for the warmer weather.
1. Crunches
The crunch can be the fastest and best way to work your abdominal muscles. Many people do not do crunches correctly, and this will therefore prove to be a workout program with no results. Crunches should be fluid and controlled at all times, and if you are unsure if you are doing them correctly ask a professional for help so you don't waste you time or, ever worse, hurt yourself.
2. Balanced Workouts
Another great tip for toning your abs is to work on the rest of your body using balanced workouts. When you do a move that requires controlled stability, you torso acts as that control, which strengthens your core abdominal muscles. It's like getting two workouts in one this way!
3. Posture
Slumping causes your abdominal muscles to weaken and looks sloppy overall. To improve your posture, remember to work out your back muscles. When you have stronger back muscles, you will be more likely to stand up straight, looking immediately thinner as a result. Your doctor should be able to give you tips about improving your posture.
4. Healthly Diet
It is very important to eat a healthy diet if you want to be able to see the muscles that you are building. Changing to low-fat and low-carbohydrates diet choices will help you instantly see results, and this includes skipping the alcohol, which really does cause a beer belly. Also, you should slow down when you eat, leave the carbonation and artificial sweeteners out of your diet. Eating quickly will cause your to swallow air, and certain products cause intestinal gas, which will immediately make you look bloated.
In general, don't worry about what a scale says-simply look in the mirror to see results. Set weight loss goals for yourself and practice a healthy lifestyle and it shouldn't be difficult for you to get a flat stomach in time for the warmer weather.
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Want a way to get some exercise without feeling like exercising? Try bike riding. You can workout, talk, and take in the scenery all at the same time. What’s more, the kids can enjoy a ride, too.
Busy moms find it hard to find time to exercise. If you are a working mom, childcare may be the issue. If you are a stay at home mother, the reason may be the same. Who will watch the kids while I take the time to exercise?
Don’t worry. There are some physical activities that can be done with the kids along no matter what their age. Younger kids don’t have to pose a problem for moms who want to lose baby weight but didn’t have the means to join a gym.
Invest in a jog stroller. These strollers are designed for physical activity with young children. Moms can walk, jog, or run with the stroller with ease. The design accounts for a runner’s stride and the jerking motions. Kids, especially babies, like motion. Sitting, in a stroller, while mom makes her way around the neighborhood is like extra play time to them. Oftentimes the motion will put a baby right to sleep.
If the kids are school age, buy them a good pair of walking shoes and hit the nearest park. Use the time to discuss your child’s day at school or to answer the millions of questions young kids always seem to ask. As a bonus, you are getting a chance to spend time with your child in a healthy way.
For longer distances, try bike riding. Bike riding works better with children who are at least a year and a half to two years old. They have better motor control to sit up in the carrier seat and can tell you if they have a problem. That just leaves finding a helmet to fit their little heads.
Older kids can ride their own bikes along side of you through the neighborhood. Make sure they have the appropriate pads and helmet in case of accident. Bicycle riding works the muscles of the lower body so mom can get rid of those saddlebags as she spends some time with the kids.
Teenagers may not want to bike through the neighborhood with mom. Introduce them to mountain biking. Both of you will see it as a challenge and the teens won’t mind being seen with you. You may not be able to sit down for the first few days, but it’s all good to get your teen to spend time with you.
Walking and bike riding are two activities that can be done with the kids. They provide much needed exercise for busy moms and kids.
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By Holly Rigsby, CPT
FitYummyMummy.com
Moms have mistakenly believed that resistance training shouldn't be the foundation of their fat loss program. Here are the three most common myths about resistance training and the "truth" about each.
1. Moms believe the answer to Fat Loss lies in CARDIO
Can't blame you, Mom! The fact that we are being bombarded with misleading ads and articles on a daily basis boasting that the best way to burn fat is to simply DO more cardio.
From a Popular Beauty Magazine: "The formula for great abs is crunches + cardio = results. Cardio burns fat, uncovering the incredible abs you'll have thanks to those crunches. So hop on that exercise bike, elliptical or treadmill for 30 to 45 minutes at least three times a week..."
The "cardio burns fat" myth is so rampant, that the very support groups and forums women turn to for answers are littered with faulty advice.
From a Forum: "We do 15 mins on the bike, 15 on the elliptical, 15 on the treadmill, 1000 metres on the rowing machine (we're building that up slowly because we hate it)."
Who has time for this? We are Moms, we are busy, we do not have the time, energy or patience to attempt a fat loss program that is solely based on cardio. And if you "hate" something - how much longer are you going to keep up with it - especially if you are no longer seeing results?!
Cardio is only ONE piece of the Fat Loss puzzle. When it comes to Fat Loss cardio's role is much less important than resistance training. More is simply not better. Cardio does very little to boost your metabolism and extended sessions not only eat up your precious time with little to show for it, but also eat up your lean muscle, slowing your metabolism to a crawl.
2. Moms are scared of "Bulking Up"
Just the mention of the word muscle makes a lot of women cringe. Images of huge bodybuilder-type bodies make them run in the opposite direction. Yet amidst this protest, Moms want to look lean and toned. Well without muscle, it is impossible to attain this desirable physique.
Women simply do not have the ability to bulk up. Men, however, are able to add lots of muscle because:
One - they have the hormones to do so (we do not, well not naturally)
Two - they lift weights in an entirely different fashion
Three - they must eat a tremendous amount of food - muscle need a LOT of calories to grow and get bigger.
So Moms, unless you are taking Testosterone boosting supplements, lifting VERY heavy weights and eating an upwards of 5,000 calories a day - you will NOT bulk up.
3. Moms think Resistance Training is just TOO Complicated!
"It's so much easier." "It is less intimidating." "It's less complicated." These are the very attitudes that lead busy moms to jump on a treadmill and walk or run for 45-60 minutes. The thought of picking up some weights seems complicated and undesirable especially when there are more "mindless" options from which to choose.
Sure, if you are new to the concept of Resistance Training, an introduction to this type of workout can make you throw your hands up in frustration.....what exercise, what weight, set, super sets, repetitions, rests....Oh My!
The best way to begin a resistance training program is to use your own body as weight. No gym membership, no fancy equipment....just a small space and a few minutes of your time.
Movements such as squats, lunges and assisted push ups are great examples of effective bodyweight exercises that any Busy Mom can do. Establishing a place to begin builds confidence, boosts energy levels and in turn increases metabolism. Moms naturally want to do more!
From there it is quite simple to keep your workouts challenging by using equipment many moms already have at home; a stability ball, dumbbells and a medicine ball.
When you have an effective resistance training workout plan, that not only fits your fitness goals, but your lifestyle, your plan becomes a priority and you achieve a lean, fit body before you know it!
Now you understand not only the importance resistance training plays in your fat loss efforts, but also how easily it can be integrated into your routine. It is time to adjust your mindset and your priorities. When you put your time, energy and effort into a resistance training regimen you guarantee yourself a faster metabolism and a toned, tight, energetic body.
Holly Rigsby, CPT, MAT America's #1 Fat Loss Expert for Busy Moms and the author of FitYummyMummy.com. Holly has worked with over 300 Mom's to help them lose the stubborn baby fat, get their pre-baby body back and reclaim their yummy-ness.
Don't miss her Free Report: Top 5 Busy Mom Metabolism Boosters.
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Outdoor exercises are very popular nowadays and just like indoor exercises, you can get a lot of benefits including:
- you can enjoy the fresh air
- you get a lot of sunshine and vitamin D
- you can work out anytime and anywhere
- little or no equipment is needed in order to have a good workout
- no more obnoxious people or crowded gyms
- no need to drive back and forth a fitness facility
- doesn’t require special workout outfit or make-up
Now that you know the benefits, the next step is to learn the different activities fit for the outdoors.
Here are seven of the top outdoor exercises:
1. Lunges
This kind of exercise should be done in perfect form so that all your leg muscles, as well as your buttock muscles will work with every motion. You can also try including some variations like standing lunges, alternative, elevated, walking, and rear lunges.
2. Push ups
This is truly an effective exercise for your upper body. The push up is a productive exercise that doesn’t require any equipment. The basic movements include standard, wide, and close grips. By doing the three basic movements alternately, you can stimulate the muscles on your shoulders, chest, and triceps. You can achieve easier movement by elevating your hands; for harder movement, try elevating your feet. If you're brave enough, you can also try clapping and bounce push ups.
3. Squats
Doing squats the proper way can provide incredible power. You can do variations like one leg, standing, pile, wide-stance, and overhead squat. By doing repetitions, you can feel your legs getting tired which means its taking its effect.
4. Step ups
If you do this exercise properly, then you're doing a brutal exercise. A bench will do as your equipment, and all you have to do is to step up and down. Just make sure that your head is up at all times and your back is in a straight position. This is also a great cardio exercise.
5. Chin ups
Also called pull ups; use a tree branch or any playground equipment that allows you to pull yourelf up and down. You can repeat this exercise as many times as you like.
6. Uphill sprints
Try this exercise only if you can do a 100 meter dash. This is carried out by running uphill. Find a decent-sized hill and run up fast. Then walk right down. Just keep on repeating.
7. Duck walks
Walk like a duck; squat down and stay put, then start walking. Repeat as necessary.
Doing outdoor exercises the right way is hard, but the benefits you can get can't be easily ignored.
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