10 Secrets Every Women Should Know

1.HOW TO DROP 30 POUNDS IN 1 YEAR EFFORTLESSLY
Millions of people drink an average of 2 regular soft drinks or juice drinks a day, which is a total of 300 calories. When you add up these extra 300 calories over a year, they result in over 30lbs of weight gain! Sooo, say no to soft drinks and say goodbye to your unwanted pounds.

2. PUMP SOME IRON
Did you know that 1 lb of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day, while 1 lb of fat only burns about 9 calories per day? The more muscle your body contains the more calories you burn each day. Resistance training has been called the fountain of youth – and it really is!

3. STAY FREE OF THE FAT-FREE
Fat free foods, when eaten in excess, will still be stored as fat! Fat free cookies and crackers are made up of a whole lot of SUGAR! Yep, the secret is out. Sugar is just as fattening of a substance as fat itself, when eaten in excess.

4. THE SCIENCE OF MORNING WORKOUTS
A great way to burn off excess fat is to walk or jog for as little as 15-20 minutes first thing in the morning. Performing a calorie burning activity right when you wake up is more effective since your body is depleted of calories, and is forced to pull energy from fat stores. A personal fitness trainer (like me) can help you identify your ideal target heart rate for maximum fat burn.

5. NO MUNCHIES NEAR BEADTIME
The easiest way to effortlessly lose weight is to not eat three hours before bed. It has been proven that not eating three hours before bed reduces fat storage throughout the night.

6. EL COROZON, BABY
Make sure that you are exercising in your “Fat Burn Zone“during cardiovascular workouts by checking to see if you can hold a conversation without breathlessness. Your body needs oxygen to aide in fat burn so make sure you are breathing deeply. If you can hold a conversation without choking on the words then you need to ramp it up a bit. Otherwise you are just going through the motions.

7. WHY BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL
Eating right when you wake up is vital to breaking the fast(get it? BreakFast?) your body goes into every night. 2- 3 hours after you eat your body shuts down your metabolism and acts as if it needs to store food. In order to communicate with your body that it is healthy, well fed, and not in need of extra fat storage you need to start your day off with a small meal and continue to eat small meals every 2-3 hours.

8. VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE
Your body needs a variety of nutrients to function at its peak and burn fat. Find new, healthy alternatives to your daily meals, and substitute them frequently. Bringing food to work pre-made ensures that you will eat the healthiest and allows you to avoid last minute fast food choices. Make sure that you are eating 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, of different colors.

9. BORED at the GYM? GET OUTSIDE!
Losing patience with exercise? The key to weight loss and fitness gains is to consistently give your body new challenges. Mix up your workouts every few weeks, and don't be afraid to try something new! Look into program’s that can help you add new excitement to your fitness routine. Rollerblade, hike in Central Park, ride your bike, jog to a playground and use the jungle gym or a rock as your gym equipment. Exercise doesn’t have to be a drag!

10. SWITCH TO THE AM for CONSISTENCY
Consistency breads results. When you see results you become hooked. When you set a goal to go to the gym at night,although you may have the best intentions, things usually come up. Dinners, meetings, kids have practice, 1 day sale. Do you remember why your last quest to “loose weight” failed? I bet I can tell you…lack of consistency. Enter the AM workout! NOTHING, I mean nothing comes in the way of an AM workout, except for being a little sleepy. You finally want to make that change in your body you have been dreaming about? Then, become consistent by switching to the mornings. Your body will thank you. (PS - Adventure Boot Camp starts at 5:30 am!)

Central Park Boot Campers Flex Their Muscles

So, it is Friday at 6:30am. Temperature 80 and the sun is fully up by now. It takes real DEDICATION and real DEVOTION to drag yourself out of bed to go to work every day. Imagine what it is like to drag yourself to the park for a workout.

Well, if you have ever wondered then take a look at the faces of the 4 ladies in this picture. Red and sweaty you say. I know, that is a given though. I am asking you to look at how happy they are. Some of that glee is the fact that it is Friday and the week is over, no doubt. I can assure you that the other half is the fact that they have each burned about 800 calories before most people have even thought about which pants to wear today (let alone which exercises to do to make those pants look better). They have each taken one step closer to their weight loss and fitness goals.

These women are part of this months weight loss and fitness boot camp in Central Park. On this particular day the women have played ultimate frisbee, ran 1/2 a mile, performed yoga, used their dumbbells to tone and tighten their arms, and ran an obstacle course.

We design each day to be completely different from the last so that no one is ever board and no one knows what we will throw at them next. I know that most women share the common feeling that "pumping iron" in the gym is not only boring but fails to stimulate any desire to repeat the workout the next day. What is the point to that I ask you? We alleviate all of this by putting a unique spin on exercise....we make it FUN (a brand new concept in exercise ladies, I know:)

RELATIONSHIPS: How they effect your BODY and MIND

By now you know the rules of getting and staying in shape....Eat Right, Exercise, and Stay Positive. So why is it so hard keep that up while you are in a relationship? I am not talking about the "staying positive" part, but the rest. Why do relationships both romantic and platonic wreak so much havoc when it comes to our body?


You know the scenario. You are focused on your workouts, never skipping a day. You are bringing your healthy lunch to work without fail. Each night you get 8+ hours of sleep and drink alcohol only moderately. Then....BAM! Out of nowhere you meet someone. All of a sudden your world is turned up side down. You are gladly drinking during the weeknights, skipping morning workouts, eating buffalo wings and drinking Bloody Marys on Sunday morning.

What happens is that affairs of the heart can mess with our focus. In the beginning you don't mind skipping your health and wellness routine because in exchange you get to spend hours staring into the eyes of your new crush. But in the end the devotion of all of your free time to this person leads to neglect. I am talking about the neglect of your own personal needs both physical and most often emotional.

The lesson to be learned is two fold. No matter how great the other person makes you feel, no matter how far into the clouds your head may be, realize that in the beginning and in the end you always must be aware of the proverbial me, myself, and I. We tend to only try to "pull ourselves together" in the end when things start to go wrong.

Side note: Realize too that sometimes you can do all that you can to maintain your focus while in a relationship. But, despite your best efforts, things don't work out. You break up, your heart gets ripped out of your chest. A break up can be the quickest way to loose 5 lbs. (Yet, a most unhealthy method, emotionally draining, and therefore not endorsed by me OK? OK.)

Ladies, the summation of all of this is that we need to keep in mind that all we have is ourselves to make us happy. Momentary crushes, loves, best friends, new cloths, food etc. all have the potential to fill us up. Enjoy them, indulge them, experience them in the present with all of your consciousness. But please, just don't loose sight of one important fact. REAL, LASTING, emotional and internal happiness can be generated by only one thing in this world....YOU.