Ok, I don’t want to be annoying and tell you the obvious, but I have to write at least one post about smoking and exercise. You see, I used to be a smoker. This is before I started working out though. I have friends, however, who have started working out but took their smoking vice along for the ride. I wondered, what effect does the smoking have on their exercise regime? Do the two balance each other out, or does one outweigh the other?

After doing some research, I’ve learned that it doesn’t really work that way. Smoking is much more serious than a lack of exercise. And while working out is great for your cardiovascular health, cigarette smoke is so toxic that it will hurt you in the long run anyway.  In fact, because of what it does to your heart and lungs, it increases the stress that is put on your body when you hit the gym, and therefore raises the chances of a medical emergency occurring. Additionally, puffing away before and/or after the gym will prevent you from achieving any kind of optimal workout.

To put it another way, if you’re a smoker who works out…focus on quitting smoking NOW. Put all of your energies into this, as it is impossible to be healthy and smoking. A strong exercise regime may help you achieve this feat (I know how difficult it can be!) by keeping your mind off the butts, and giving you an adrenaline rush as reinforcement for your good behavior.

Let’s go over some of the ways in which smoking effects your workout regime:

• Decrease in Endurance: we all know that working out is difficult, that’s why it’s called a WORK out! When you smoke, it puts an additional burden on your body, decreasing your endurance by about 10 percent. It can also make your workout FEEL a lot more difficult, causing you to become frustrated and quit working out altogether!
• Cardiac Issues: Smoking and exercise puts an extra burden on your heart. When you do cardio, and when you smoke, less oxygen is reaching your bodily issues. This causes your heart to beat faster in order to keep your body supplied with oxygen. When you smoke AND exercise, this can be too much for your heart to handle, and can cause cardiac arrest!
• Decrease in Gains: The prevention of appropriate oxygen replenishment to your tissues (caused by the carbon monoxide in smoking) can decrease your ability to gain muscle! If your muscle tissue is not repaired quickly after a workout, this has negative effects on your ability to build muscle.

In terms of quitting smoking, I think it’s safe to say that the positives GROSSLY outweigh the negatives. If you quit now, your body will work quickly to reverse the damage you’ve done to it. You will notice a positive difference in endurance and post-workout recovery only a week after quitting! So no matter what your age, remember it’s never to late to make the right choice and kick the habit forever!

Have you quit smoking recently? Let us know how you did it by commenting on this blog post!

One of my favorite foods in the world is oatmeal; cup of this stuff for breakfast and I’m set for the day! I know, it sounds BORING, and something your grandmother would eat every morning. But trust me, when you try having this for breakfast for a week straight, you won’t go back to anything else!

Here’s the deal: breakfast, as I hope most of you know, is the most important meal of the day. Why? Because the food you have first thing in the morning really affect your mood and energy for the rest of the day! This is why you do not want to start the day off with greasy bacon, or even worse, without eating anything. Oatmeal is extremely nutritious and satisfying, meaning you will feel satiated for at least a few hours after eating it. And for those of you who are stove-top phobic out there, no fear! It’s extremely easy to make, in fact, if you get instant oatmeal, then all you do is add boiling water to the mix.

Here are some important health benefits of this super-food:

Excellent source of fiber: We’re supposed to be getting 25 grams of fiber daily. Most Americans do not get enough of it a day, and this leads to higher cholesterol, increase in risk of heart disease, and constipation. One serving of oatmeal provides 20 percent of the recommended requirement!

Source of antioxidants: Oats are a source of avenanthramides, which work to help prevent cholesterol oxidation (which often leads to plaque formation in the arteries- which in turn increases risk of developing heart disease).

Boosts immunity: Beta-glucans, found in oatmeal, have been shown to reduce infection and help fight off bacteria and viruses. Additionally, this type of polysaccharide also has cancer-fighting properties. Thus, remember to start the day off with a hot bowl of oatmeal in the winter, especially during flu season!

I like to enjoy my morning fix with a good helping of fresh berries (raspberries and/or blueberries), a third of a cup of craisins, 2 tablespoons of crushed walnuts and/or almond slices, a tablespoon of wheat germ, and a tablespoon of ground flax seed. Mmm, just writing this post is making me hungry! Just remember not to sabotage your healthy breakfast with any sugar (that’s what the fruit is for), or processed, sweetened oatmeal brands.

Do you have a favorite oatmeal recipe?  It doesn’t have to be breakfast, let me know what it is by commenting!

If you ever doubted the benefits of aerobics, trust me, you were wrong to do so. I find that many people hear aerobics and think tacky 80′s workout classes. But this type of exercise doesn’t just mean taking part in a gym class by this name! The actual definition of aerobics is working the same muscle groups for at least 15 minutes, all while keeping up your heart rate at 60-80% of it’s capacity. This can include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, running…basically anything you can do for at least 15mintues at a time,  that isn’t too intensive. Anaerobic exercise includes activities that you perform for a short amount of time, but at a higher intensity level. This means sports like football, baseball, sprinting, skiing, etc. A good way to test whether you’re doing aerobic or anaerobic exercise is to check  if you can hold a quick conversation with someone while doing it. If you can speak without gasping for air, then it’s aerobic exercise, if not then it’s anaerobic.

If you’re not getting aerobic exercise on a regular basis, start to! Not only does it help keep you fit and looking great, but it also helps prevent various diseases. It doesn’t have to be anything in particular. Think of something you like doing, like walking your dog, or dancing, and try to keep it up for at least 15 minutes, while maintaining 60% of your heart rate (that means walking your dog briskly).

The most important benefits of this type of exercise include:

• Weight control
• Lowers your chance of developing heart diseases
• Decreases chance of developing diabetes
• Increases good cholesterol levels, while decreasing bad cholesterol
• Increases endorphins (natural workout drug that makes you feel great!)
• Improves lung capacity
• Improves body strength and flexibility
• Helps prevent insomnia
• Gives you more energy during the day
• Helps fight stress and anxiety
• Can help prevent certain kinds of cancer

My favorite part about aerobics is that it makes me feel amazing. I always have to force myself to get to the gym for my run, but after I’m done, I feel great for the rest of the day. I’ve even found that I don’t have to drink as much coffee as my non-exercising friends do! And if I ever have a terrible day, I know that, for the most part, a good workout will usually help me heal faster. In order to keep it interesting, I try to mix it up a bit. For instance, I will take a spin class one day, a dance class another, and then run the rest of the week. When I travel and don’t have access to a gym, I try to find things I can do in the area (ex. when I was in Egypt, I jogged around my hotel grounds everyday).

Ok folks, now that you know how great aerobics is for you, get out there and start moving! And don’t forget to follow the Five Components of Fitness! What’s your favorite aerobic activity? Comment and let me know!

I don’t know about you, but I like to work hard & play hard; hence why I’m providing you with information on the ultimate low calorie cocktail. I hate the idea of hitting up the gym and eating right all week long, but then having it all negated by a Saturday night dinner party. I allow myself to eat less healthy once a week, but I used to avoid thinking about how many calories each mixed drink contains. Finally, I forced myself to research the facts and find out which drinks, if any, are ‘safe’ to have if you’re trying to stay fit and slim.

While a lot of us treat fast food and baked goods like they’re the plague, we don’t think about how much damage our weekly happy hour fests may have on our health regimes. Some drinks are so calorie-laden, that they’re really just not worth it! And to make matters worse, it’s not just the calories you have to worry about, but an excess of carbohydrates as well… I’m talking drinks that are more fattening than a Big Mac, people! So if you enjoy knocking back a few drinks once in a while, and you’re trying to get fit, read on and learn which drinks are o.k. and which ones aren’t!

Drinks to avoid:

• Long Island Ice Tea (10 oz.: 1.5oz. rum, 1.5 oz. tequila, 1.5 oz. gin, 1.5 oz. vodka, 1.5 oz. triple sec2 oz. sweet and sour, .5oz coke) – approx. 543 calories
• Piña Colada (12oz: 3 oz. cococunt cream, 3 oz. rum, 6 oz. pineapple juice) – approximately 586 calories
• Margarita (10oz: 4 oz. margarita mix, 4 oz. tequila, 2 oz. triple sec, 2 oz. lime juice, 1 teaspoon sugar)- approx. 550 calories
• Mai Tai (9 oz: 2 oz. dark rum, 3 oz. light rum, 1 oz. cream of almond, 1 oz. triple sec, 1 oz. sweet and sour mix, 1 oz. pineapple juice)
• Mud Slide (6 oz: 1.5 oz. kahlua, 1.5 oz. vodka, 1.5 oz. bailey’s, 1.5 oz. half-and-half cream) – approx. 556 calories.

Low Calorie Cocktails you can enjoy:

• Champagne (4 oz.) – approx. 85 calories
• Gin and Tonic (4 oz.: 1 oz. gin, 3 oz. tonic) – approx. 103 calories
• Vodka & Sprite Zero (4 oz.: 1 oz. vodka, 3 oz. Sprite Zero) – approx. 75 calories
• Appletini (4 oz.: 2 oz. sour mix, 1 oz. vodka, 1 oz. sour apple liquer) – approx. 160 calories
• Mojito (1.5 oz. light rum, 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice, 2 tsps. brown sugar, fresh mint, 3 oz. club soda) -approx. 160 calories

My personal favorite is a Mojito, when it’s done right anyway. I’ve had some pretty disgusting Mojitos before, so beware! Make sure you make yours without any fake Mojito mixes, stick with the ingredients I listed above. When you go out to a bar, it’s hit or miss…but a good restaurant usually serves the real thing. I also recommend trying flavored Mojitos (e.g. Pomegranate!).

So if you’re looking forward to a night out this week, don’t feel guilty afterwards because of an excess of fattening drinks, stick to the low calorie cocktails I’ve listed above and keep slim! What’s your favorite low-calorie cocktail? Comment and let me know…