HOW TO: Holiday Health at Home

December 24, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

The holidays are the time of year where it seems that everyone vows to get through the season as healthy and as on track as they can, but as soon as you binge into 5 cookies 3 nights in a row, you teach yourself to accept that this is how the holidays are supposed to be and you will get on track next year.

WHY WAIT?!

If you start your New Year’s Resolutions a year before the new year starts, you are that far ahead of the game and have already subjected yourself to the hardest season to be true to your goals during. If you can get through that you can get through anything! Go into the new year already feeling great about yourself! Feel confident the moment 2016 starts and I guarantee the rest of your year will follow suite. So don’t wait, start now, you still have 1 week left of 2015 and here are some tips to get you through the holidays happy, healthy, and confident!

It’s about control, know it, have it, embrace it

When baking: try to keep track of the calories per delicious cookie, cupcake, etc. If you know the calories before you eat it you will be more likely to eat just one rather than five.
And if you are tempted with something sweet in front of you and are torn over what to do- GRAB the treat! By giving yourself permission to enjoy, and I mean fully enjoy, that treat you will feel more satisfied after-the-fact, and less likely to binge on more later on
Trying to be the healthy person in a room full of 20 unhealthy people is hard. Provide some of the food! Find a healthy recipe that is both nutritious and delicious that can satisfy a sweet tooth or will leave a “salty” lover wanting seconds. You’ll know it’s healthy, they’ll think its delicious- it’s a win/win! (Pinterest is FULL of these kinds of recipes)
People will ask you why– tell them why you are doing it! Everyone commits themselves to something, some people commit themselves to work, to their family, to their wardrobe, commit yourself to your health and be PROUD! Others might respond awkwardly to it, but 9 times out of 10 it is because they don’t know how to respond to health because they don’t know how to be healthy themselves- but wish they could be

It’s about making do with what you have. Try this at home workout:

Home Tabatas: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, complete each exercise 6 times before moving on

Jumprope (real or invisible)
Box jumps or chair step ups
Alternating ski jumpers
Jumping wall taps
High knees
Rapid jumping jacks (shoot for 25-30 in 20 seconds)
Alternating front kicks (add a hop in between to make it harder)
Burpees

And remember: you have one holiDAY to enjoy, it is not, and I hope it has not been a month of holiWEEKS

2016 Fitness Challenge

December 21, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

I believe that your health and fitness is the single most important thing you can invest in, so why don’t more people do so? There are reasons, or “excuses” for everyone who chooses not to work out, eat healthy, go to the doctor regularly.

I am challenging all of my followers, friends, family, clients, passerby-ers to challenge their health and fitness in the new year!

I want to help you reach your goals, which is why I am putting together a 2016 health and fitness challenge group! You might all be on different plans, but you have similar goals. You have 10 days left of 2015 to make this promise to yourself, commit to it before the new year! Ask me about personal training, online personal training, group fitness packages, or Advocare products to help you reach you potential. YOU HAVE POTENTIAL, now go find it!

So tell me, ARE YOU IN?!

For more information on products, packages, or how the challenge will run, email me at carlymae717@gmail.com

To keep up to date on future announcements, follow my blog page or my instagram pages carlymaee7 and commit_fit_carly

Post Exercise Calorie Burn: EPOC

December 18, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

There is a thing in the fitness world, a great thing, called EPOC: Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. The beauty of this body mechanism is that following high intensity workouts, it requires that your body continues to take in more oxygen than normal, keeping your calorie burning efforts elevated.

Research has found that following a workout, your caloric expenditure can be drastically affected, based on the intensity of the workout itself. The higher the intensity, the higher the post-exercise caloric burn. With this mechanism, intensity trumps duration. So if you check your calorie burn following a 20 minute HIIT session and are disappointed that it didn’t reach the same burn of a 60 minute lower intensity session, don’t worry! Following that 20 minute HIIT your body will be working hard to reach normal oxygen consumption levels and return the body and the muscles to a resting state that you will be burning extra calories, even into the next day!

But how? EPOC is a process that restores the body back to its resting state by balancing hormones, replenishing your fuel stores, repairing cellular breakdown, and dissolving the lactic acid built up during exercise. And while all of these processes are working hard at the same time, your metabolism will stay elevated

Higher metabolism=higher caloric burn

No for real, but how? How is it burning that much more? The body burns 5 calories consuming 1 liter of oxygen. On average, a person could consume 10-25L of extra oxygen following exercise, think about that! That is 50-125 extra calories immediately following exercise.

How to make the most out of your EPOC:

Circuit training and/or heavy resistance training with short rest intervals are some of the most effective at elevated oxygen consumption. The most effective? HIIT (high intensity interval training) by adding 6-15% extra energy expenditure to the workout

So get out there! Try out some HIIT training, alternate these high intensity days with lower intensity to prevent over training, and always, always remember the effect of your workout on your body in the hours after!

Where has The Girl Behind the Keyboard been?

December 9, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Hey followers!

Wow am I sorry for my absence! Life and work have taken a crazy hectic turn and as I have been working 50 hours a week I have chosen to use my spare time to be with friends, family, and my dog. I am happy to say that I will be down to 40 hours a week on Monday and will be back to blogging, I miss it!

Next week you can look forward to 2 new blogs! One about EPOC: Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption, and one related to an article ACE Fitness ran about 7 food factors that influence mood.

Happy blogging and I’ll see you next week!

The Power of Protein

October 6, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

“Eat protein to build muscle”

“Protein is the essential workout fuel”

“Get more protein in your diet”

“Sore? Eat more protein”

Chances are you’ve heard one or more of these statements about protein. Okay, okay WE GET IT, protein is important. I’ll go home and eat my “protein bar” that is also packed with sugar and call it a day, deal?

Have you ever wondered why protein is so highly talked about? Or maybe how it can be so important? Better yet, what is the best way to incorporate it into your diet?

Proteins are broken down into 2 main forms: essential and non-essential

Essential proteins: are those that the body cannot make on its own, and therefore we must get it through food sources. Examples of foods that contain these proteins include both animal and plant sources such as eggs, meat, soybeans, and quinoa
Non-essential proteins: are those that our body can make itself, therefore we do not need to try to get it through our food, although we can find these in foods.

Think of it this way: it is essential for us to consume protein foods to get our essential proteins, but it is not essential and not necessary to try to get our non-essential proteins through food sources.

Now as far as how much protein we need depends on the individual person. If a 110 lb female walked up to a 220 lb male and asked how much protein he ate in a day and then tried to match it, it just would not work. She would be trying to consume twice as much protein as needed for her body type, and would also get full much faster, use her calories for protein and miss out on her other macronutrients, and put her body into a basic protein shock. She would start storing protein as fat.

A better way to figure out how much YOU need is to follow the basic “equation”:
1.2-1.7g per kg of body weight OR .36g per 1 lb of body weight

Now for the fun stuff, how and why protein is beneficial:

Promotes muscle growth and maintenance
Supports strong bone health by enhancing strong muscles
Helps in weight maintenance by enhancing the feeling of fullness and/or suppressing appetite

Tips for choosing protein in a healthy diet:

Be aware of portion sizes- read the labels, and portion out the recommended serving onto a separate plate to prevent over-consuming
Be mindful at restaurants- fast food and sit down restaurants often will serve 2-3X the serving size for normal protein dishes (this also goes for carb and fat serving sizes as well). Order one dish to split to prevent overeating and over macronutrient consumption
Remember that although a food might meet your protein needs, it might also be high in fat and calories!
Pair your protein with healthy fats and whole grains for a well rounded, and delicious, meal

Healthy Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Soup

September 15, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Being a chick who loves her crockpot, I thought it was time to venture out from my usual chicken+sweet potatoes, or my crockpot summer chili (since it’s turning fall and all probably a good idea). I’ve always been a fan of chicken noodle soup but couldn’t quite find a recipe that sounded good or looked healthy enough. So what to do? I just started pulling ingredients from my cupboard and this is what I got!

Don’t let the picture fool you, this is actually delicious!

8 oz whole wheat penne pasta dry (I used Barilla)
2 cans 33% reduced sodium Natural Goodness Chicken Broth
1 can Wild Oats Organic pinto beans
12 oz chicken breast (roughly 2-3 breasts)
1 cup canned sweet peas
1 cup canned low sodium green beans
10 sliced baby carrots
1 tsp of each ground cumin, garlic salt, chili powder

Put all ingredients into a slow cooker to cook on low for 8 hours. If cooking for longer than 8 hours or on high, add noodles about halfway through cook time to avoid over cooking

Yields 5 servings

Serving size: 2 1/4 Cup // 235 calories // 24g protein // 30g carb// 2g fat

The Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle- Even if you’re ACTIVE!

September 10, 2015June 10, 2019 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

It has been known for some time now that being sedentary, lazy, inactive, etc. has a negative effect on your health. Sure, it is no secret that everyone needs to exercise and that exercise puts you farther away from health risk, but what about what we do with the rest of our day?

In recent years, research has shown that although you might meet the exercise daily recommendations, if you are sedentary with the rest of your day, you are still at an elevated risk for many health concerns. Think about it, if you meet the recommendations of an hour workout a day, maybe 5 days a week you are only working out 5 hours a week, that is hardly 3% of your week. If you have a desk job, chill on the couch while at home, spend a lot of time traveling in a car, don’t actively think of being well, active, you are spending 97% of your week being inactive. So what to do?

Let’s start with a sedentary definition:

sed·en·tar·y

adjective

(of a person) tending to spend much time seated; somewhat inactive.

synonyms: inactive, sitting, desk-bound.

What are your risks?

Increased risk of cardiovascular death
Quicker rate of bone loss- leading to osteoporosis
Increased rate of all cause premature death
More likely to experience cognitive and mental decline
Increased risk of high blood pressure and triglycerides
Increased risk of stroke
Lower ability to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight

What you can do about it:

Be mindful of getting up to go to the bathroom every hour, half hour is better!
In between bathroom breaks, get up and go get a drink of water
After you complete a task, get up and stretch
Find some personal space to do a few bodyweight exercise during your work day
Stretch upon waking AND before bed
Spend more time on your feet- cook, watch TV standing, stand while working
Clean your house more- it keeps you on your feet!
Instead of crashing on the couch after work- go for a walk!
Park farther away from stores
Use the stairs!!!!

What are your favorite ways to stay active daily?

I'd love to hear them!

Find me on Instagram @lifeofcarlyb_ 

Or email me at lifeofcarlyb@gmail.com

Sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996155/
http://www.nchpad.org/403/2216/Sedentary~Lifestyle~is~Dangerous~to~Your~Health

Chia Vs. Flax Seed

September 1, 2015March 27, 2019 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

You may have heard of these 2 types of seeds before or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you’ve tried adding them to your daily intake due to their “superfood” claim to fame, or maybe you’ve strayed away from them due to an inability to pronounce their names. Regardless of if you are a flax or chia seed fanatic or a health seed newbie, here are some facts that are good to know!

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds:

Known for its healthy fats, Chia is relatively low in fat compared to other seeds of its kind
Speaking of healthy fats, it contains Omega 3’s, which are most commonly found in fish
A good, lean source of protein at about 4g per 2 TBSP
Packs 20% of your daily fiber intake
High in calcium, which supports strong bones
Daily intake can reduce your long term risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease
Easy to digest
Chia can even give you an energy boost due to its antioxidants, protein, vitamins and minerals

Health Benefits of Flax Seed:

Like Chia seed, Flax is a lean source of protein and is also lower in carb than Chia
High in minerals such as magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, and folate
High in vitamins such as B1 which is good for brain power
Also high in fiber and Omega 3’s
Flax has Lignans, which are good for both estrogen and antioxidant qualities and can help protect against cancers
Can help fight against and reduce risk of cancers including breast, prostate, and colon
Highly effective at lowering blood pressure
Can slightly lower blood sugar which is helpful in fighting diabetes
Flax has been studied to show a 57% reduction in hot flashes in menopausal women

So what’s the difference?

When it comes to someone interested in general health, there isn’t a huge difference between the 2. If you’re looking for more vitamin and mineral health, go for Flax, if you need more calcium or fiber, go for Chia. Flax seed is usually less expensive than Chia seeds, but Chia seeds are more versatile since they can be combined with water to form a “gooey” texture. Some studies have shown that flax might not be a good choice for pregnant women, but when it comes to that it is up to your independent research to decide.

Regardless of which you choose, I highly recommend adding these little, healthy seeds into your daily diet!

sources: http://dailynaturalremedies.com/10-health-benefits-of-chia-seeds/3/

http://www.webmd.com/diet/benefits-of-flaxseed?page=3

http://www.prevention.com/content/which-healthier-chia-seeds-or-flax-seeds

My Message to College Freshman

August 24, 2015March 27, 2019 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

As many schools are back to their first day of classes today including my great school (The University of Northern Iowa), I am struck with the bittersweet feeling of the graduated senior, now big girl, who instead of experiencing the first day of classes for the 20th time, will be experiencing the first day at a new job. As I sat on campus yesterday I looked around and saw new, young, excited faces moving into their dorms, making new friends and exploring campus. And I just loved how I could just see the raw eagerness in their faces for the years to come, not knowing what may happen tomorrow, but knowing they are excited for the road ahead. I loved it because I remember the beauty of those moments. Although I will not miss the homework and the stressful headaches of deadlines, I will miss the excitement of going to your first classes to meet your professor and find out who is in the class. Or figuring out which class is going to kick you in the butt and which one will undoubtingly be put on the back burner for the semester. More than that, I know I will miss the personality of campus and the everyday comfort that came out of being home, because I already do.

My message to you incoming freshman is to cherish each and every second of it. You have probably already heard a bajillion times that college is the best 4 years of your life, and I’m here to tell you it IS. You come to college expecting to see a new place, meet some new people, and get an education. But no matter what you expect, you will never be prepared for what you actually get. You’ll see a new place, and it will become a place that you never want to leave. You will meet new people, some of who will turn into your lifelong friends, your separated twin at birth, your other half. And yeah, you’ll get an education, but that won’t even compare to the lessons, the experiences, the trials and triumphs you will see in your 4 years there, all of which having an equal impact on your life.

So freshman, as you go into college look at it like a toddler looks at the world: an open adventure where anything is within reaching limits, you can do anything you want, and you can BE anyone you want. Cherish it, take it by the horns, and run with it, because in 4 years when you are standing on the outside looking in at the new eager freshman faces you won’t remember which night you stayed up too late, which test you failed miserably at, or that moment (or 2) of giving in to eating that extra slice of pizza at 2 in the morning. No you will remember the memories made with your friends while having fun, memories that you didn’t even realize in that moment would become the memories that mold the puzzle pieces of your college reel.

And seniors (because I know you are reading this too). If you haven’t lived according to your plans, your wants, your likes in your last 3 years, take this last year and run with it. No looking back, only looking forward, you better make it count.
Let loose, be smart, but have fun. There’s no sense worrying about if your hair looks perfect, or if your stomach is flat enough for that shirt, how many Instagram likes you are getting, or if you are going to achieve a perfect 4.0. This is college, this is your rehearsal for the curtain call we call adulthood. And unless you do everything you want to do while you have the chance to now, you might be standing at the curtain in 4 years wondering if your show was worth it.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Yogurt

August 17, 2015 LifeOfCarlyBLeave a comment

Here’s a recipe for you to try to satisfy your sweet tooth and also meet your macro needs! This is either tasty mixed together and chilled in the fridge, or frozen in the freezer. Try it out!

Ingredients: