Muscle Toning Gym Circuit

02.22.2018 by awellpacedlife // Leave a Comment

Muscle Toning Gym Circuit

I LOVE circuit training, because 1) I’m impatient, so this works well for me 2) It prevents me from standing around waiting for my next set 3) I’m burning more calories/fat by continuously moving onto the next exercise. When I say Circuit, it means doing a bicep exercise, then moving directly to a lower body exercise, then immediately going to a back exercise, for instance. I’ve found that switching to circuit training, my body responds better to it and I have noticed more of a change than traditional weight training of doing 3-4 sets of 1 exercise with rest in between. This might not be for everyone, because all of our bodies respond differently. I also will typically switch things up on occasion, because our bodies get used to certain things and that’s where you can stop seeing changes in your physique. It’s good to switch up a routine every 5-6 weeks, so you’re always challenging your muscles & heart! Watch my muscle toning gym circuit, below.

The Breakdown:

The Circuit: Do 12-15 reps for 3 sets

Landmine Crossovers

Landmine Hand Catches

Squat with bicep curl to Shoulder Press

Behind head lateral raises

Weighted Oblique Twists

BONUS!!!

I am giving you 2 bonus exercises below that are also some of my top kinds of exercises, compound exercises. A compound exercise is doing more than one exercise in one single flowing move. For instance, the first move below is doing an upright row, moving right into a back row. The second compound move is a hammer curl, moving into a shoulder press, along with a reverse lunge.

Thank you so much for watching!

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The Living Room Workout

01.26.2018 by awellpacedlife // 6 Comments

The Living Room Workout

This is for all my people who dont have a gym membership and need a good solid workout that they can do at home! Workout with me and do the living room workout! All you need is a jump rope/or a towel and if you happen to have 2 or 3lb weights, you can use them as an extra fat burning method. This was a fun one and I got creative at the end! If your goal is to lose some weight, do this workout 3 times a week, and try to incorporate a couple days of cardio(if you dont have a cardio machine at home, go for a walk)! Put on some tunes and enjoy the fresh air(I use these earbuds for my workouts and LOVE them). Exercise is so therapeutic for the soul!!!

Do each exercise 3-4 sets and 12-15 reps

-Long Jump w/ backward bunny hops

-Front and lateral Raises(I’d go 5-7lb weight)

-Elbow to Knee Crossovers

-Side Walk Planks

-Side toe taps with plank lunges

-Jump Rope knees w/ twist

-Jump Rope side bends

-Jump Rope Hopovers

-Superman Crawls

It’s time to punch it out!!!!

-Squat punches(do this for 30 seconds), w/ 5 jumping jacks consecutively

*For a more intense move, you can hold 2-3lb weights while you punch it out!!

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8 things that are bringing your metabolism down

08.15.2017 by awellpacedlife // 4 Comments

If you dont know already, a healthy metabolism is essential for getting in shape. Having a fast metabolism can help aid in losing weight. Nutrition and exercise is the key to a healthy metabolism. Here are 8 things that are binging your metabolism down.

8 things that are bringing your metabolism down

1) Too many carbohydrates/sugar- Carbohydrates, if not burned, break down into sugar. Thats why I link these together. So many people think White Bread, cereal,juice/yogurt/fruit are healthy, when in fact they are extremely high in sugar & carbs. Be sure to check the label on things you buy. This is one of the first things I always check on a label. Opt for water with a squeeze of lemon if you like juice, and choose Fage or Oikos plain yogurt(it has the lowest sugar content and highest protein in them)

2) Soda-one of the worst things you can put in your body! Soda contains the evil twins: Sucralose(splenda) and Aspartame, which are artificial sweeteners! These are major killers of metabolism and can actually cause you to crave carbohydrates! It also contains corn syrup, sugar, caffeine, and is very acidic. Soda also dehydrates you and can cause a build up of plaque in your teeth, causing cavities. Try switching to sparkling flavored water such as La Croix instead! Green tea is also a well known metabolism booster, and you can pour it over ice or drink it hot!

3) Too little protein in your diet-Protein is essential for building muscle. All day long your body is going through protein turnover, which is basically breaking down its own muscle tissue. This also is why protein is important in exercising because if you dont have enough of it, the muscles will deteriorate. (see more on #8) This is also one of the other things I always check on a food label!

4)Not eating often enough– When you begin to view and think of food as “fuel”, you can begin to see why eating every 3-4 hours is important. Eat more, small meals throughout the day will prevent your metabolism from dropping, as well as preventing you from getting overly hungry, causing you to binge eat the wrong foods! Nutrition is so much of a cause and effect cycle. Why people think in order to lose weight they need to starve themselves and hardly eat is absurd. You are actually causing the opposite to happen and your metabolism will shut down, and in the long run you’ll just put back on any weight you’ve lost and then some! Thats why yo-yo dieting never worked!

5) Fats– Believe it or not, not all fats are bad for you and you actually SHOULD have plenty of the right fats in your daily diet! Consuming the wrong types of fats can interfere with hormone production, digestion and appetite regulation, which all link back to your metabolism. I would say 95% of the time, I cook with unrefined organic coconut oil. Its easy to supplement into a recipe as well. Coconut oil promotes CLA(conjugated linoleic acid), and MCT(multi chained triglycerides), and is a saturated fat. This is the one I use and highly recommend. I put this MCT oil in my coffee every morning, which helps give me an extra boost in my metabolism! You see all these foods labeled “low-fat” when in actuality, full fat is very beneficial. Putting Avocado on your toast each morning is a great option as well. Sprinkle with a little garlic salt and pepper and it will soon become your new go-to breakfast! Having plenty of fat in eat meal helps satiate your stomach as well, leaving you less likely to binge eat the wrong kinds of foods.6) Pretzels/chips/crackers/granola– You might think pretzels are good for you, simply because they’re low in fat, however the carbohydrate content is outrageous, which if you remember reading above, if carbohydrates arent burned off, they set in your body and turn to sugar, sugar then turns into fat(its an evil cycle) Healthier choices would be snacking on nuts, or soybeans(edamame). Granola used to be labeled as really healthy, til you break it down and see that there’s so much sugar in it! If you like the taste and texture of it, try Maria Emmerich’s healthy granola, below, instead!

7) Your thyroid- If you’re feeling sluggish, and gaining weight no matter what you eat or how much you exercise, check with your Dr and they can order a thyroid panel to make sure its performing properly. You could be dealing with hypothyroidism-when your thyroid is making too little hormones.

Increase your metabolism

8) Your exercising wrong/or not at all– Any movement is better than none. Simply walking 3 times a week for at least 45 minutes each time can improve your metabolism. If you want to turn your body into a fat burning machine, weight train first and then walk/some form of cardio for a minimum of 20 mins afterwards can really boost your metabolism. Remember the more muscle your body has, the more calories its going to burn. The reason why I love doing high intensity interval training is because it burns the most fat & Calories in the shortest amount of time! Essentially, h.i.i.t is doing short bursts of intense exercises for 30 seconds or 1 minute at a time with 30 seconds or 1 minute of rest period. This form of exercising can really skyrocket your metabolism.

Hopefully, I’ve given you some insight as to what will help boost your metabolism. Be mindful of what you eat and drink… eat often, read the labels on your food, & get off the couch and exercise. If you start getting into a routine of doing those 4 things, your metabolism will be burning like a furnace before long! If you dont belong to a gym, check out my fitness must-haves below for great products you can use at home!

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Hyperthyroidism, how it affected my life

07.10.2017 by awellpacedlife // Leave a Comment

Almost two years ago, I was working out consistently, as I had during my pregnancies and after each baby. I was in a workout group at the gym strength training and doing metabolic work three times a week and doing a little cardio on my own to times a week. This time, after my third baby, I knew it was our last and I was extremely focused on gaining muscle mass while getting lean. By eating extremely clean, low carb, lots of protein, and was documenting my daily food intake on the Myfitness pal app. I was focused on getting at least 30 grams of protein pre-workouts, with the correct(or what I thought at least) post workout meals. With eating every 3 hours, my body began to really tell me automatically that it was needing some fuel. I wasn’t really losing weight perse’, but was gaining muscle, after all,my goal wasn’t about how much I weighed, but leaning out and gaining muscle mass.

In my workout class, we measured our body composition each month and weighed ourselves. It wasn’t until I stepped on the scale before class one day and noticed I had lost about 8 pounds since the month before and really just chalked it up to things finally reaching fat burning stage instead of the sugar burner stage. I still didn’t pay too much attention to the scale, but then began noticing things like shortness of breath during a simple conversation, my heartbeat much faster than normal, after one set of an exercise, I would have to bend over and be completely out of breath. I then started noticing that instead of getting stronger, I was in fact getting weaker! At home, I remember my husband telling me that I was beginning to get really thin and started noticing my shoulder bones sticking out and again, I was just thinking that my clean eating and working out had made my body a fat burning powerhouse. I even began noticing that I was more irritated with the kids than normal, and was having what I call “cardiac attacks”, where for about 10 seconds my heart would beat insanely fast! I would about 1 or 2 of these daily. A few weeks later in class I was trying to do a single tricep press and couldn’t even do 7.5lbs! About this time frame, I also began eating like a horse, I seriously ate more than my husband, but seemed hungry all of the time.

Cervical spine issues

About this same time, I was having neck pain and started seeing my chiropractor for weekly adjustment visits. There was one visit I recall that during the adjustment I felt a sharp pain/twinge go down my left arm and into my fingertips. I then began having severe shoulder pain, and even numbness in 3 of my fingers, and even more muscle weakness. I knew I couldn’t live with this much longer. After all, I had 3 young children I was taking care of all day/everyday, and they needed constant attention, lifting, fixing food, cleaned up, etc. I decided to visit an Orthopedic Dr. specializing in the cervical spine. They ordered an MRI and the results showed a 2 level disc rupture/pinched nerve. What was even scarier was seeing one of those ruptures pressing into my spinal column, that the Dr said could eventually cause mobility issues. The only fix was a 2 level discectomy. To shorten the story, I was scheduled for surgery for a month later and filled out on the form, that I was having some heart issues, and would probably be seeing my cardiologist. The Orthopedist said to just let them know the outcome and that yes, I needed to get that figured out before I could have surgery. With not just having the stress of having to have surgery on my cervical spine, but dealing with what I thought was my heart, and also say goodbye to my days of heavy weight training. If you know me, this was like a punch to the gut, hearing that. I am one of those freak people who loves to exercise! I’ve done it my entire life and its my calm, its my therapy, it just makes me happy!

My visit to the cardiologist came and they ran an EKG, and ECG and that came back with being normal, so they decided to do a blood work panel on me and would call me once that came in. The cardiologist said he wanted to check my thyroid levels. The worst thing in a time like this, when you are having serious health issues, is having to wait. Sure enough, Monday morning I received a call saying my thyroid levels were extremely high and I would need to have further testing, but had diagnosed me with hyperthyroidism. In the meantime, the Cardiologist started me on beta blocker medicine to lower my heart rate(of which never worked). Being the research queen that I am, I began to read up on everything about the thyroid. Causes, treatment options, etc. It then made sense of most of my symptoms that I was having was related back to hyperthyroidism. After having a few more scheduled tests, a thyroid scan, I was then referred to an Endocrinologist to discuss a treatment plan and more details.

Hyperthyroid treatment options

I met with the Endocrinologist,and upon her asking my family history of thyroid problems I was just assuming it was hereditary, since both my parents had to have part of their thyroid or parathyroid removed due to complications. I chalked it up to having a good long run of a healthy thyroid, but that it was my time to begin having issues with mine. The Endocrinologist basically gave me 3 options, none of which I was pleased to hear. 1) Take medication for the rest of my life, every single day to keep my thyroid levels steady, 2) have a thyroidectomy(take it completely out), or 3) take a medication that would basically kill the thyroid. She mentioned that hyperthyroidism could be caused from having a baby even up to 18 months post par-tum, which put me in that time-frame, because our third child was within that. I explained to her that I ate extremely clean, worked out, etc. and had wondered if I could have caused this, myself, from eating too low carb? She wavered a little bit and simply gave me a maybe,but not likely. So she told me to think about my options and we set up a follow-up appointment. I then casually asked if I was still OK to have cervical spine surgery in a couple of weeks, and she immediately said absolutely not. She said that the anesthetic I would have for the surgery, could easily counteract with me and cause a heart attack right there in surgery! OK, so next thing I knew I was cancelling my spinal surgery asap. I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had I not of asked the Endocrinologist if it was OK to have spinal surgery. Was becoming hyperthyroid a way of telling me that I wasn’t supposed to have spine surgery?

After this time frame I had lost about 20lbs within about 2-3 months, I had tremors in my hands, I was noticing I just couldn’t concentrate and remember like I used to, and all of my clothes looked loose and baggy and none of them were fitting. I was also starting to see my temples sinking in from such extreme weight loss and my hair thinning . At 5’8 weighing 118 lbs is not good at all,plus all of my muscle was just about depleted! I would be laying in bed trying to sleep and my hr was running about 180 bpm(beats per minute). I had so much energy it was crazy, I couldn’t hardly sleep because of my hr, & I was eating like a maniac and still losing weight! People were telling me that I was way too thin and I just didn’t look well, and think I was taking dieting to an extreme. I will be the first person to tell you that I can’t stand the word diet, I don’t believe in them, and if you want to lose weight you do it the smart way and make it a lifestyle change. So, I didn’t like any of the 3 options the Endocrinologist gave me so I pretty much decided I was going to try to cure myself, I was going to give it a shot and if try everything I could on my own, and if It didn’t work then I would cross that bridge when I got there. I cant stand that a Dr’s first instinct is to put you on medication and treat the symptom vs find out the cause and go from there. I couldn’t stand the thought of taking a medication everyday, the rest of my life!

From there, I decided to give my neck a break from my weekly chiropractic visits and just see if that possibly was causing inflammation, and pressing on my thyroid. After all, the thyroid and cervical spine and very close together. I gradually kept adding more carbs into my daily food intake, & stopped counting macros. I really stepped back from weight training and would just do low impact cardio, and was really giving my body a break. Then, after about a month, something began to happen. My neck was slowly getting better and I started getting the feeling back in my fingertips, the pain in my shoulder was dissipating, and the symptoms of my hyperthyroidism were diminishing. I even stopped taking the beta blockers(even though I know you’re not advised to without Dr’s orders). I began gaining weight back on after a few months and feeling like my old self again. Approximately six months later I decided to get a thyroid panel done from my O.B. and the tests all came back normal. So my inevitable question is: Did frequent visits to the chiropractor cause a pinched nerve which in result inflamed my thyroid, or did my brief stint of hyperthyroidism cause inflammation in a nerve that compressed onto my spine, creating the pain in my left shoulder and numbness in my fingers? That’s the million dollar question. Do you think hyperthyroidism is curable? Has it ever gone away on its own? I’d love to hear your feedback on this.

Here I am almost 2 years later at a healthy weight, no thyroid problems whatsoever, and no spine issues right now either(that’s not to say I wont inevitably have to have a double disc replacement), I’ve gained my lost muscle back and gained a lot more as well, and all of my symptoms are gone. I honestly feel great, and I am so happy I never went on medication that I would have been taking the rest of my life, if I didn’t necessarily need to. Do your research, trust your instincts. Dr’s aren’t always 100% right on everything. I’m not saying, however, not to listen to your Dr. and these 3 treatment options aren’t right for you. There are certain cases of hyperthyroidism that are different from mine, most definitely.

I wanted to reference this article I found on “The Hormonal Nightmare” about a spinal misalignment and the thyroid gland. I think this may be spot on and speculating that this is what happened to me.

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Simple and healthy weight loss tips

06.10.2017 by awellpacedlife // 2 Comments

Weight loss is something that a lot of people don’t know how to achieve. They either don’t know the right ways to go about it, where to start, they might desire an easy, quick route, or need motivation to even try. I don’t think its any secret that obesity is an epidemic in America. I think we are making great strides to living healthier lives, but have a long ways to go. I am listing simple and healthy weight loss tips, that you can implement into your daily lives and start today!

First, ask yourself why are you wanting to lose weight? Are you severely overweight and needing to lose some pounds for the benefit of your health? Are you going on vacation soon and will need to fit into your favorite swimsuit? Or……have you recently looked at a Victoria Secret magazine wondering how you too can be a size zero????? Maybe you’re wanting to get back into your favorite pair of jeans you’ve been tucking away in your closet for several years and you need a boost in your confidence. Whatever the reason, make sure its not for the wrong reasons. Meaning, if you are 5’7 wanting to be 100 pounds, you are asking for a host of health problems and wouldn’t be healthy!

So many people don’t have the energy to lose weight because they’ve already decided in their head that its hard and they cant do it. Certainly not true! A person can do anything they set their mind to, and if you let your thoughts determine what you can and cant do, then the problem is your mental state, and you need to work on that first before wanting to lose weight. Get a checkup at your physician to make sure you don’t have any underlying health issues like hypothyroidism or heart concerns, inform them you are going to take these steps to lose weight and get the thumbs up approval from him/her. If you’re like a lot of people that see a commercial or article in a magazine about a quick weight loss 100% effective drug, you’ll be greatly unsatisfied with not only wasting your money but risking your health along with your time! THEY DON’T WORK and YOU WASTE YOUR MONEY. Simply put. If they promise to help you lose 5 pounds or 10 pounds the first week, or have ephedrine in them, that should be a big red flag for disaster. The faster you lose weight, the quicker it can come back on-causing a yo yo effect. Bad ingredients such as ephedrine increase the heart rate which HELLO, can cause a heart attack!

Starving yourself doesn’t work either because not only does it shut down your metabolism(which is the powerhouse to burning fat and extra calories), but you’ll only end up binge eating later. Plus the weight will come back even faster, causing that yo yo effect yet again, its becomes a vicious cycle.

Here are some simple and easy ways to kick start your weight loss:

STOP drinking soda and choose to drink your weight in oz of h20. If that’s still too hard, simply switch to a better option like green tea or La Croix sparkling drink
STOP USING OLIVE OIL and start using organic unrefined coconut oil to cook with. I use this one and really like it. Coconut oil is a healthy fat. There’s so many benefits of using coconut oil that I will get into more details with a later post. So many people try to cut fat out of their diet, when certain fats are beneficial, plus they satiate your stomach and help you feel full longer.
SWEETS, BREADS, Alcohol-if its difficult for you to give up all 3 at once, just choose one and drop another one a month later. So many foods break down and turn to sugar in your body and then in turn create fat, if you don’t burn them off with exercise (this doesn’t mean eat a lot of fruits either because fruits are very high in sugar). Alcohol can really pack on the weight-hence the good ol “beer belly” Even if you have the mindset that a vodka soda with a splash of lime is low in carbs and you can get away with it…..that’s not so.
EXERCISE– before or after work, start walking for 30 minutes 3 times a week. This is a very achievable goal and trust me on this one, if you cant/wont do the other things I’ve mentioned, do this one!!!!! Exercise is sooooooooo important!!! I don’t care if you have a newborn, toddlers, stay at home parent, working parent, you can schedule 30 minutes to simply go walk at least 3 times a week. One of the ways I helped keep myself sane through the newborn stages with my children was getting outside and walking. Since I stay at home with them, that meant they had to come along with me. Put them in a stroller, wear your baby(which will only lead to burning more calories), and get moving. The fresh air ALWAYS helps you. If your toddlers are driving you crazy, get em outside for a walk. If your teen is driving you crazy, a walk can help you bond and spend some probably much needed 1 on 1 time with them, or if your family as a whole is driving you crazy and you need some alone time, out the door you go! Get up earlier before you start getting ready for work, its amazing how serene and quiet it can be outside, early in the morning, or walk 30 minutes after dinner(in hopes that your significant other has cleaned up the kitchen by the time you return). If you don’t have much time to spend with your girlfriends, ask them to walk with you and catch up on things and make it a weekly event, this is a good way to be held accountable. If you are hesitant to walk one day, you’d feel bad letting your friend down you were scheduled to meet, so you should just GO!!! Exercise increases blood flow, increases your metabolism, strengthens your body, there’s just a multitude of reasons to exercise. Can you tell I’m very passionate about it? Get yourself some cool workout outfits to help you feel good burning off some of that weight. I got these shoes last year and absolutely love them and one of my favorite high impact sports bras I always wear and I have multiple pairs of these shorts because they don’t give you muffin top and have built in brief, work well for all kinds of workouts and come in a ton of colors. Once you have stuck with walking for a while, move on to incorporating weight training into your routine. Remember, skinny is not sexy, a toned body is! Look for upcoming posts on workouts.
PROTEIN– I consider protein to be one of the most important categories of food that we need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Lean protein such as chicken, fish, beef, turkey, and tofu are all great options to eat daily. You can bake, grill, use in a stir-fry, crock pot, just stay away from deep frying. Since I do a lot of weight training and H.I.I.T workouts each week, I try to average at least 30 grams of protein each meal. Typically a person not training that much should shoot for 20 grams of protein each meal. Start looking at your labels, is an item packed with carbs/sugars? If its hard for you to get in your protein, you can always supplement with protein powder. I really like this plant protein or garden of life also tastes great because they don’t cause bloating and tastes just as good as whey.
EAT OFTEN-meaning eat at least every 3 hours. Much longer than that and your metabolism slows down causing you not to lose weight. By eating every 3 hours, this helps increase and keep your metabolism revved so you actually in turn burn more calories. Now when I say eat every 3 hours, that doesn’t mean eating chips, candy bars, or fried chicken. Maybe that will be my next post-healthy snack ideas!
Portion size-anything larger than the size of your fist is too much. Focus on the amount of your portions

I promise if you start with these simple tips you’ll be setting yourself up for success. You’ll be smiling as you hold up your jeans you’ve been dying to get into for so long, giving them a pep talk saying ” I WILL be able to not only get you past my thighs, but you WILL button this time for me” Don’t rush it, give yourself positive affirmations and take baby steps. If you think of weight loss as a race, you’ll be in a race you’ll never win. A commitment takes time. Losing weight slowly is being smart. Don’t be hard on yourself, but be honest with yourself. Tell your inner self that YOU CAN DO THIS. Your body will thank you, your over all health will thank you and as a result, you’ll have more confidence in yourself.

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