So last week we had a seminar on food and ways to help you eat better to lose weight, held by the Shaping Concepts Health Coach Shelly Hudson, and she gave a lot of great tips. So I wanted to share with you the top 10 tips to weigh leaa and live more.
1. Feed your soul with primary food. Friends and family, physical activity, spirituality, and a satisfying career feed us. Lack of primary foods creates over-reliance on secondary, edible food.
2. Drink water. Most people are chronically dehydrated. We often mistake thirst for hunger. If you feel hungry between meals, drink a glass of water before giving into cravings. Limit liquid calories from soda and juice.
3. Eat a plant-based diet. Plant foods are typically lower in fat and calories and higher in fiber than meat, dairy and processed foods, while providing loads of essential nutrients.
4. Chew you food well. Digestion begins in the mouth. By thoroughly chewing your food, your body will better assimilate nutrients; you will also slow down your eating. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that it is full. By slowing down your eating, you'll feel full and satisfied on less food.
5. Eat real food. Avoid products with high-fructose corn syrup or a long list of unpronouncable ingredients. They tend to be highly processed, lacking the nutrients your body needs, and are often loaded with empty calories.
6. Eat breakfast. skipping meals causes your blood sugar levels to peak and dip, affecting your energy and moods. It can also cause overeating later on because you're so hungry.
7. Eat mindfully. Turn off the TV. Get away from the computer. Sit down and savor the food you are eating with no distractions.
8. Get moving. Do any type of physical activity every day. Find movement or exercise you enjoy.
9. Sleep, rest and relax. When you are sleep deprived or stressed, your body will crave energy, causing cravings for sugary snacks as an energy boost.
10. Schedule fun time. Boredom and stress can lead to overeating. Make sure to take time to laugh, play and participate in activities that bring you joy.
So from my personal daily activites, I know that the biggest problem I have is with number 7. I'm just a very busy person, therefore I don't take the time to sit and enjoy my food. many times I'll eat something fast for 2 minutes in between my clients, or I'll eat in the car. When I get home I'll heat up my food, take it upstairs and eating while giving my kids a bath, cause that's when I mostly get to see them during the week, and I don't want to miss that time. So eating mindfully is definately my biggest issue. How about you? What is your biggest issue according these 10 tips?
Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Goal Setting
In order to get better at something it is always better to start with goals. That especially goes for health and fitness. So what is the best way to set your fitness goals?
First you need to break it down a little...
Do you need more energy? Yes or No?
Do you eat breakfast regularly? Yes or No?
Do you eat small meals throughout the day? Yes or No?
Do you need to drop some inches? Yes or No?
Do you have high Cholesterol? Yes or No?
Are your blood sugar levels in the normal range? Yes or No?
Are you happy with the way you look? Yes or No?
You now have most of your goals taken care of based o your answers. However it does go a little more in depth than that. Answer these as well...
Do you like the way you feel after a workout? Yes or No?
What type of fitness or activity do you like doing?
Do you like exercising in groups or alone?
Are you intimidated by certain gyms?
What's the longest time you want to spend exercising each day?
Answering little questions like these pretty much gives you your goals.
You'll have many goals like these...
I need more energy.
I need to start eating breakfast.
I need to improve all my health numbers, cholesterol, blood sugar.
I need to drop lots of inches.
You also will have goals like these...
I love the way I feel after a workout, so I'm going to workout at least 4 times each week. 4 out of 7 days is pretty good.
I like working one on one with a personal training coach so I'll add that into my 4 days somehow.
I only want to spend about 30 minutes working out, so I'll find a trainer that only trains for 30 minutes.
I definitely don't like "meat head " gyms and I don't want "high intense training", so I'll find a trainer to give me general fitness and overall health, but still pushes me to lose inches and helps me eat right.
That's funny, I just wrote this person to like Shaping Concepts. Ha Ha! Honestly, I didn't mean to do that.
So answer these questions and you'll easily find your goals by the way your answers look.
Email me chad@shapingconcepts.com . I'd love to know what your goals are.
Chad Cannon is the owner of the Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.
First you need to break it down a little...
Do you need more energy? Yes or No?
Do you eat breakfast regularly? Yes or No?
Do you eat small meals throughout the day? Yes or No?
Do you need to drop some inches? Yes or No?
Do you have high Cholesterol? Yes or No?
Are your blood sugar levels in the normal range? Yes or No?
Are you happy with the way you look? Yes or No?
You now have most of your goals taken care of based o your answers. However it does go a little more in depth than that. Answer these as well...
Do you like the way you feel after a workout? Yes or No?
What type of fitness or activity do you like doing?
Do you like exercising in groups or alone?
Are you intimidated by certain gyms?
What's the longest time you want to spend exercising each day?
Answering little questions like these pretty much gives you your goals.
You'll have many goals like these...
I need more energy.
I need to start eating breakfast.
I need to improve all my health numbers, cholesterol, blood sugar.
I need to drop lots of inches.
You also will have goals like these...
I love the way I feel after a workout, so I'm going to workout at least 4 times each week. 4 out of 7 days is pretty good.
I like working one on one with a personal training coach so I'll add that into my 4 days somehow.
I only want to spend about 30 minutes working out, so I'll find a trainer that only trains for 30 minutes.
I definitely don't like "meat head " gyms and I don't want "high intense training", so I'll find a trainer to give me general fitness and overall health, but still pushes me to lose inches and helps me eat right.
That's funny, I just wrote this person to like Shaping Concepts. Ha Ha! Honestly, I didn't mean to do that.
So answer these questions and you'll easily find your goals by the way your answers look.
Email me chad@shapingconcepts.com . I'd love to know what your goals are.
Chad Cannon is the owner of the Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
I have a VOICE! And today is my Birthday!
Today I turned 41 years old, and I couldn't be happier to still be around. Honestly, I am so greatful to be able to see my wife and kids everyday, and to do what I was meant to do on this earth... Speak up and use my voice! Use it to help people become healthier, happier people.Things happen. I completely understand that. I mean most of my family health history forms are filled out with "heart disease". It's almost an easy bet to win to say that I will have a heart attack one day, just because of my family history. Have I done all I can up to this point to try to avoid that from happening? I can honestly say YES, since 1995. That's when I decided to really change my ways of eating. I can honestly say that I have not had one single hamburger, or steak since June of 1995. I have drastically cut my sugar intake. I have increased my fiber and whole grains. I eat more fruits and vegetables than I ever did the first part of my life. And I do my absolute best to never go over three hours without eating something during the day, starting with breakfast. I also don't drink, although that's for other reasons, but that definitely helps in my health as well.
Now if anyone out there thinks that I never cheat, that I don't indulge in bad foods, that I am just a perfect eating machine, you have got to be just crazy, completely out of your mind. Trust me, I plan on eating a lot of my birthday cake. I even made sure I asked for one this year, cause I deserve to eat some. I feel that because I'm still overall pretty darn healthy and still around, I deserve to have that cake. However, I'm still gonna eat every three hours today. I'm still gonna eat fruits and vegges today. I'm still going to take all my vitamins today. I already did my resistance training and ran five miles today. (By the way, I only work out four days a week. I run four days, and do resistance training on three of those four days. So don't think I'm a workout fanatic that works out five hours everyday either.)
The last few days have been quite rough for me. I learned of someone dying, and I've also visited someone in the hospital that had a heart attack and pretty much died and came back to us. And it just brought back a lot of memories for me... not so good memories. And through all this happening, I have come to learn a lot about myself. I 'm hear to use my voice!
I'm hear trying to save as many people as I possibly can. I'm hear to be honest with you, with the nation, with everyone and anyone, about you taking care of your body. 99.99999999....% of people on this planet don't get it. They don't realize the pain we put ourselves through when we lose a loved one to heart disease, or a stroke, or from diabetes, or something that you could have prevented by making better "health related" choices.
I don't know how fast food restaurant owners live with themselves. I really don't. I understand that they are hard working people like the rest of us, and that they are just trying to earn a living too, but do you think they ever lay in bed at night wondering how many people they are killing, or have already killed? I also understand that it's not their fault. It's the people that shove it down their own throats. It's their own fault! There are so many reasons why our nation is the second worse obese nation on the planet, and first in just being overweight.
I personally think we just don't care or don't think something bad can happen to us, until... something drastic happens. Sometimes. I mean my own father had many heart attacks and he never started eating healthy, even after. What does it take for someone to realize that it's time to take care of themselves? If I had that answer I would be a VERY famous, very rich person right now.
All I know is that I have a voice and I need to use it! It's my calling to help people, to share what can make you feel better, live healthier, and longer. It's NOT about what your body looks like at all! However, if you take care of your health to the best of your ability, your body will start looking better and better before you know it.
So today I want to use my voice and tell you to get up off your butt and get active. You must also know that your body is mostly made in the kitchen, not the gym. However, it is very important to get active and preform both resistance training and cardiovascular training, as well as eating an overall healthy diet.
You CAN do it! And don't hesitate to help other people do the same. Trust me, everyone needs a BIG push these days, even if they say they don't.
Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Best Abdominal Exercise EVER!
Barr None, the best abdominal exercise...
is NOT an abdominal exercise at all. If you opened this post looking for that one magical abdominal movement to flatten your stomach I'm guessing you have some unwanted belly fat that you are trying desperately to get rid of.
Well, here's the HONEST truth, You can do Ab exercise after Ab exercise after Ab exercise, but unless you do this one imparticular thing...which is the best exercise for the abs, then flattening your tummy just ain't gonna happen!
So you want to know what this one particular thing is?...
I've called it the Power3. Three of the most powerful, but also most basic steps to blast fat away!
(1) Refueling your body every 3 hours beginning first thing in the morning.
(2) Resistance Training combined with High-Intensity Cardiovascular Training.
(3) Proper Recovery Time.
The first one is so simple a 5 year old could figure it out. Simply start your day with a healthy refueling breakfast, then refuel every 3 hours after until you go to bed again. A refuel is with a handful of a lean protein such as a chicken breast, a handful of a complex carbohydrate such as brown rice, and two handfulls of a fruit and/or vegetable.
What do I mean when I say resistance training combined with high intense cardio training? Three days of resistance training with the major muscle groups...back, chest, shoulders, legs, abs combined with high intense cardio between each exercise. Here's an example:
20 supermans (back extensions)
20 push-ups (can be modified in any way)
20 dumbbell shoulder side raises
20 body weight sqauts
20 reverse crunches
...then 1-2 minutes of intense cardio like jumping jax or step ups, or a sprint, or even walking up & down a stair case.
(repeat this 3-5 times)
The last one is probably the most important one. RECOVERY!!! Yes, it is so important to let your muscles recover after a good workout for at least a day. So ideally a Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout regamin is most effective.
I personally like my recovery days to be "moving recovery", meaning the days after my workouts, I'm walking or jogging at least 20 minutes. This helps all muscle soreness move out of the system much quicker than normal.
The Power3 IS by far the best abdominal exercise out there! Try doing ANY one "magical" abdominal exercise and you won't even come close to getting the same results as you will with the Power3.
Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.
is NOT an abdominal exercise at all. If you opened this post looking for that one magical abdominal movement to flatten your stomach I'm guessing you have some unwanted belly fat that you are trying desperately to get rid of.
Well, here's the HONEST truth, You can do Ab exercise after Ab exercise after Ab exercise, but unless you do this one imparticular thing...which is the best exercise for the abs, then flattening your tummy just ain't gonna happen!
So you want to know what this one particular thing is?...
I've called it the Power3. Three of the most powerful, but also most basic steps to blast fat away!
(1) Refueling your body every 3 hours beginning first thing in the morning.
(2) Resistance Training combined with High-Intensity Cardiovascular Training.
(3) Proper Recovery Time.
The first one is so simple a 5 year old could figure it out. Simply start your day with a healthy refueling breakfast, then refuel every 3 hours after until you go to bed again. A refuel is with a handful of a lean protein such as a chicken breast, a handful of a complex carbohydrate such as brown rice, and two handfulls of a fruit and/or vegetable.
What do I mean when I say resistance training combined with high intense cardio training? Three days of resistance training with the major muscle groups...back, chest, shoulders, legs, abs combined with high intense cardio between each exercise. Here's an example:
20 supermans (back extensions)
20 push-ups (can be modified in any way)
20 dumbbell shoulder side raises
20 body weight sqauts
20 reverse crunches
...then 1-2 minutes of intense cardio like jumping jax or step ups, or a sprint, or even walking up & down a stair case.
(repeat this 3-5 times)
The last one is probably the most important one. RECOVERY!!! Yes, it is so important to let your muscles recover after a good workout for at least a day. So ideally a Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout regamin is most effective.
I personally like my recovery days to be "moving recovery", meaning the days after my workouts, I'm walking or jogging at least 20 minutes. This helps all muscle soreness move out of the system much quicker than normal.
The Power3 IS by far the best abdominal exercise out there! Try doing ANY one "magical" abdominal exercise and you won't even come close to getting the same results as you will with the Power3.
Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.
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