Fit & Healthy Buffalo- Fitness Success After 40

You want to get into better shape, to drop the fat and to increase your tone and strength. Join the club…most people are actively working toward an elusive fitness goal. So what separates those who end up achieving their goals from the rest of the masses who are trapped in a fruitless struggle? Winston Churchill hit the nail on the head when he said, “Never, never, never, never give up.” The bottom line is that it is possible to achieve any fitness goal when you lock on to it and strive towards it every day. Unfortunately, distractions are everywhere, making it easy to fall off track. This brings us to the classic Henry Ford quote, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” In order to stay the course, it is vital that you keep your eyes on the goal. Here’s how to get to your goal in 5 Steps: Step One: Only One At A Time When you’re feeling motivated and decide to set a goal, it’s tempting to become over-am

  You know how it feels to wake up on Monday morning after a weekend of less-than-healthy eating… Your body is puffy and bloated. Your joints are achy. Your clothes feel tight. Maybe you are feeling that way right now. I’ve outlined the 5 steps below to get you back on the fitness fast track. Step One: Get Focused. Your crazy weekend happened. You ate things from your “never eat these” list, you drank more that you should have, but now it’s over. Draw a line in the sand. The bad eating stops now. If you’re serious about your fitness goals, then this weekend was the exception, and not the rule. Maybe it was your birthday, or your friends and family were gathered for a celebration, and the peer pressure to partake in unhealthy food was too much for you to resist. Don’t beat yourself up for falling off the fitness wagon this once. Simply get back up, dust yourself off and get re-focused. Leave the past, and your slip-ups, in the past. Step Two: Get Hydrate

I know why you’ve been reluctant to jump on the fitness bandwagon, and I’m not blaming you for it. Because fitness is hard. ESPECIALLY after 40. What worked in your 20's and 30's suddenly STOPS working. Its a vicious roller coaster. Want to know just how hard? Here’s a glimpse into the Fit Life: Fit Life Truth #1: Exercise Counts Lace up your shoes and hit the gym instead of getting extra sleep, watching TV or doing whatever else it is that you’d rather be doing. Do this 3-5 times each for 30-60 minutes. Fit Life Truth #2: Nutrition Counts Choose your meals based on nutritional makeup rather than following your taste buds. Limit your intake of simple carbohydrates and get lots of protein and fiber in each meal. Fit Life Truth #3: No Room For Junk Turn down your favorite junk foods –even when you really, really want it. Cut simple sugars and harmful, processed fats out of your diet completely. Fit Life Truth #4: Push Harder Push your body

  Have you ever noticed that foods that aren't exactly “good” for you seem to taste amazing? It’s kind of like Mother Nature is playing a practical joke… but there are a few reasons this happens. Many “crave-worthy” foods are loaded with sugar, salt, fat, and empty calories. Our brains are  hardwired  to crave tasty, high-energy (aka high-calorie) foods because they help us survive when food is scarce. (Except for most of us, food isn’t scarce anymore — so we have to be careful not to overeat these foods.) Manufacturers spend a LOT of time and money making these foods as delicious as possible – and also on ads to entice us. It's no surprise that some of these foods are hard to resist! So if you find yourself craving these foods, that’s by design! I’m sharing this with you because I believe knowledge is power — and keeping this in mind helps me keep my own food choices in check!According to the National Academy of Sciences, people eat too many calories, saturated fats, trans fa

Here’s a trap almost everyone has fallen into at one point or another… Have you ever heard yourself say (maybe only to yourself): “When  [insert anything you are waiting/hoping for]  happens, I’ll start focusing more on my health and fitness”? It could be when … the weekend is over your schedule eases up the seasons change your kids reach a certain age and on and on and on! Author Bill Phillips once said… “If you wait until everything in your life is perfect before you begin something challenging and new, you’ll be waiting forever. The best time is now.” In other words, stop waiting! If you keep waiting for the planets to align to get started — because you think it will be easier or somehow “better” — you are robbing yourself of how good you could feel RIGHT NOW! Remember: It’s not about being perfect. It’s about taking small, imperfect steps in the direction of your goal. What step can you take  today ? Even if it’s someth

  Today’s focus is a biggie because even though you can’t see it, it can have a major effect on your health… And that’s belly fat. There are two basic kinds of belly fat … The “pinch-an-inch” type that’s just under your skin, called subcutaneous fat And the fat deep inside your body that you CAN’T see, called visceral fat   It’s the second type we’re going to talk about today. Having some of that deep visceral fat is healthy because, among other things, it can help protect your organs.  But too much of it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. You can get a buildup of visceral fat because of your genetics and/or lifestyle factors like stress, diet, lack of exercise, poor sleep, etc.  Here’s a quick test to see if you are at risk: Grab a tape measure and measure around your waist. Divide your waist size by your height (using either inches or centimeters for both calculations). A healthy ratio is no more than 0.5 (for both women and men).   If you’re not where you want to be, t