@FitnessHeroics.

Break the Junk Food Addiction

February 25, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Are you addicted to junk food ? Is it slowly controlling your life?? You start off the beginning of the week strong. But slowly you start to add in foods that are not as nutritionally dense as you would like and by Friday you are already in full “cheat” mode.Even though I don’t like using the word cheat it sometimes turns into a bad spiral of events. Number one thing to do is define your goals and look at your behaviors.

Do you find a common trend? Do you eat unhealthy foods when stressed or bored ? Does your day dictate your food choices? You can’t just throw everything away and start over. You need to start to develop behavior patterns that will help you to accomplish your goals. First thing is to eat for performance if you want to have a “reason” to eat good foods. You will not get to the results you want by trying to out train a bad diet. The basic and easiest concept is to eat foods that are higher in carbs right around your training times and keep fats towards the end of the day !

Learn to plan your meals ahead of time ! Think about taking Sunday for cooking in bulk. Make your rice, quinoa, and veggies a head of time along with your protein sources. Find the spots in your diet that you find difficult. Such as if breakfast is hard to eat, make meals ahead of time such as breakfast muffins or baked oatmeal. Same thing goes for snacks if that is something you struggle with. Planning gives you NO EXCUSE !

You can also make sure that you are getting the supplements that will enhance your life overall. Taking a good multiviatmin, fish oil and vitamin D is important in overall health. You might also want to look into using magnesium supplement before bed to help your brain and nerve function.

The best advice I can give is to be consistent in your choices and to create a lifestyle you can maintain for a long time not just a short diet fad. Learn that healthy foods are good if you take the time to cook and enjoy what you are eating because you understand the physiological benefits of why your eating for your goals!

Beauty benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

February 23, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Apple Cider vinegar beauty hacks! It’s one of the most raw, poten live foods you can consume, rich in enzymes, potassium and other minerals, and filled with pre-biotics to support digestion. This has been linked to better health, clearer skin, and a cleansed system.

It’s really simple to use apple cider vinegar at home to improve your beauty routine. Here are some ideas to use apple cider vinegar to keep you and your body balanced and healthy:

Apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, a property that helps the body break down fat. When taken regularly, a daily serving of apple cider vinegar can boost your metabolism, increase energy levels, detoxify the body, and aid in weight loss. Consider adding anywhere from one teaspoon to two tablespoon to your morning routine to reap the rewards for yourself. Apple cider vinegar can be taken straight, but can also be diluted with water or added to your favorite juice or smoothie.

Thanks to its antibacterial properties, apple cider vinegar can help keep breakouts and skin issues under control. Use topically to trouble areas or dilute with water and replace it with your regular face wash once a day. Additionally, many apple cider vinegar converts notice a reduction in skin blotchiness and redness as well as improvements in the overall texture of their skin.

Dilute apple cider vinegar in half with filtered water and apply it directly to the scalp. Allow the vinegar to soak in for at least 15 minutes before rinsing and follow up with your favorite conditioner or hair oil for the ultimate pampering treatment. The acidity in the vinegar helps to balance out the body’s pH levels, often correcting skin flaking issues. It can also be used in place of shampoo for an ultra-cleansing experience.

Have you added apple cider vinegar to your beauty routine yet?

If not what are you waiting for?

Eat an Inflammation healthy Diet !

February 18, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Inflammation is known to be the root cause of multiple forms of disease, ranging from heart disease to diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and many digestive disorders. It’s also one of the most overlooked causes of the weight problems. Weight loss diets will come and go, and while some may work temporarily to lower the number on the scale, many create larger problems over time due to the fact they rob the body of nutrients and contribute to inflammation.

The Key to a Healthy, Happy Body-Nutritional Balance!

When it comes to managing your weight, nutritional balance and consistency are important. Various ups and downs throughout the years aren’t healthy for the body, not to mention confusing. Extremely low (or high) calorie diets are naturally inflammatory to the body; they put a strain on the cells and major organs. They can also interfere with other processes of the body ranging from heart, digestive, blood, and other functions. These problems alone also lead to inflammation, repeating a vicious cycle.

The best way to end the cycle and achieve health is to eat a diet that both treats and prevents inflammation, an in return, disease. Most people don’t consider the way this leads to a healthy weight, but it’s actually the easiest and most powerful way to stay at a lose weight and manage a healthy weight for a longer period of time. The simple answer? Eat an anti-inflammatory diet based off of whole, plant-based foods.

A healthy weight is hard to achieve if your heart isn’t in good health because the heart controls multiple aspects of metabolism and energy levels. A healthy heart can also help prevent inflammation that leads to diabetes and/or chronic inflammation that leads to heart disease. It’s also more important to focus on heart-healthy foods rather than just how many calories a food has. Some of the best heart-healthy foods include vegetables, nuts, seeds, greens, fruits, beans, legumes, and low-glycemic grains.

An anti-inflammatory diet puts more attention on healthy foods and includes no restriction on calories—when the body receives nutrients it needs, it will naturally let you know when you’re full.An anti-inflammatory diet also includes plenty of herbs, spices, and teas which are potent in their abilities to not only reduce inflammation, but also satisfy the appetite and palate naturally. Some can even reduce inflammation themselves, such as turmeric, green tea, cilantro, and parsley.

Blood sugar levels are also supported naturally through anti-inflammatory foods; some of the best are natural sources of protein such as hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, chia, flax, broccoli, spinach, kale, lentils, and chickpeas. Most all nuts, seeds, greens, vegetables, beans, and legumes support blood sugar levels. While fruits and grains may (and sometimes should) be limited to support blood sugar levels, most people who embrace moderate servings of them still experience better blood sugar levels than excessive amounts of insulin-raising animal proteins.

An anti-inflammatory diet is also balanced. It does not emphasize one food group over another, but embraces healthy fats, anti-inflammatory proteins, and low-glycemic, fiber rich choices of natural carbohydrates. Different amounts of these foods will work differently for each individual, but a balance much easier to reach when you focus on eating a variety of anti-inflammatory plant-based choices and working them in throughout the day.

What is holding YOU back ?

February 16, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

What is REALLY holding you back ? You are the making of your own destiny. You have the ability to become and do anything you want. So why does it seem like accomplishing a BIG goal seems so hard to do? Sometimes when it comes to fitness you need to stop thinking “general” and start doing SPECIALIZED training to fit the needs and goals you have and what you want to accomplish!

All training fits into four broad categories. In order, these are:

Body composition
Flexibility/Range of movement
Strength
Conditioning

There are many ways to individualize and tailor your training within each group. But the categories remain the same.. Body composition comes first for one simple reason: being overweight has an adverse relationship with health and fitness, as well as your mental state.

How you can perform is directly correlated to how you can move. If you have extra weight, movement is harder to do at any level. You should have a clear understanding of what your BMI (body mass index) is and how that affects your health. The number on the scale is not as accurate as one would believe it to be due to muscle weighing more than fat does so use BMI as a guage but not the definite answer to overall health.

In order to find out your body composition, use BMI, your waist measurement, and body fat scales to figure out where you should be. For reference, an athletic male should have between 6-13 percent body fat, while a female should have 14-20 percent. This study1 found body fat was closely linked to BMI measurements greater than 30. In other words, if your BMI is 30 or more, you are likely to have a corresponding body fat percentage.

This might be an eye opener for many of you and that’s a good thing. Knowing where your body is in composition just gives trainers and coaches a better understanding of what you need to make forward progression.My goal is to have your body composition at an optimal level for your health and wellness. Your first step is food tracking. Food tracking becomes a large part of this process, as does the effort to create new habits and educate you about what your currently eating, how much of it your eating and where you have habits that we can change and adapt.

Second, workout harder not longer.Did you know that the difference between a steady-state workout and an interval workout is 7 percent? When it comes to training for fat loss, the decision is simple. Pick the workout that burns the most calories in the most sustainable way.

All this is is determined by eating well. None of it will make any difference if you’re snacking on pizza every night and eating M&M’s.Rule one is that your training, including the associated diet, should make you better and healthier. If you’re trying to eat your way into a bigger deadlift but you don’t compete in a lifting sport, you will probably make things worse for yourself in the long run. Get your eating under control this year and watch how easy it is to nail down your other health and fitness goals

Use Coconut for good health !

February 11, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

Fears surrounding coconut oil’s fats stemmed from the old belief that all saturated fats are bad. It is saturated fat, however, that produces hormones in the body via cholesterol. We actually need a certain amount of cholesterol in our bodies for our hormones to function optimally.

One of the best benefits of using coconut oil, coconut butter (or coconut meat), and coconut shreds is the anti-bacterial and immune-boosting properties these forms have. Coconut oil contains lauric acid and certain MCT fats that fight yeasts, parasites, common viruses, even the cold, and bacterial overgrowth in the body.

But that’s not all. Coconut can also benefit the brain, liver, and digestive system too. In fact, it can heal these parts of the body in some simple ways:

Our brains need fat plain and simple. All fats will give you a mood boost, but coconut is one of the best fats linked to preventing depression, memory loss, and aiding in stress management. One of the reasons is due to the MCT fats in coconut which bypass digestion and are immediately absorbed. Your brain can turn these into ketones for fuel which your mood benefits from as a result. These fats also enhance focus, ward off mental fatigue, and can help stabilize your blood sugar which also boosts your mood in a whole other way. Coconut’s fats and amino acids fuel neurotransmitters in the brain that boost serotonin levels to stabilize your mood and hormones.

Coconut’s MCT fats help the liver detoxify from waste and allow the liver to use it for immediate energy, not storage. While an excess of anything may lead to fat storage, mild to moderate intake of coconut can be used for detoxification and energy without the need for supplements and over-the-counter drugs. Due to coconut’s anti-viral benefits, it also has the ability to reduce toxins that back up in the bloodstream and lead to a sluggish liver.

A new way that coconut is being used in the health spectrum is for digestive health. Because of the unique way it is digested, coconut does not cause digestive upset; it can, in fact, help with IBS, slow motility, inflammation, poor nutrient absorption, regularity, and can help seal the lining of the digestive tract that may be inflamed from leaky gut syndrome, inflammation, or other gastrointestinal problems.

Choose the right kind:

1.Always buy organic. Due to the popularity of coconut products, it may be sourced from an unreliable company that uses pesticides or chemicals, or may be processed in a way that damages the nutritional value. Look for the USDA certified seal, not just the word organic.

2. For coconut oil, coconut flour, or coconut butter (manna, spread), only buy extra-virgin, cold pressed, and/or raw.This ensures the coconut was processed at low heat and that you’re purchasing the freshest, most quality form of coconut possible. If you buy coconut shreds, always buy unsweetened and raw if you can (not the flaked coconut you grew up eating in cakes and pies by baking brands).

3. Optional, but beneficial: choose GMO-free brands. Most that are organic are today, however, not all brands are. Though this is optional, it’s an added security that you know you’re paying for the best possible.

5 yoga moves for better living !

February 9, 2016 by @FitnessHeroics.

If you move, workout, train, or just need to feel more flexible, practicing the art of yoga will help you accomplish all of those things. Over time, if you fail to move your body without proper mobility and stretching, it can lead to imbalances in the body resulting in sprains, pains, and injuries. Yoga is a wonderful tool to help mobilize and stretch tough spots where we need more mobility.

Benefits of a Consistent Yoga Practice

Improved Performance
Reduced Risk of Injury
Faster Recovery
Improved Balance and Agility
Improved Focus and Concentration for Competition
Increased Strength and Flexibility
Prevention of Sports Related Injuries
Greater Range of Motion
Improved Circulation
5 poses to do at least 3 times a week!

Downward-Facing Dog
Bring the hands shoulder width apart and feet hip with apart. Press your hands and feet down into the floor. Lengthen through your spine and release the shoulders down the back. Stretch your heels down into the floor. Press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor.

Seated Pigeon Pose
In a seated position cross the right left over the left, placing your left foot down on the floor flat. Your hands should be behind your body and pressing gently through the floor. Open your chest and extending up through the the spine. Repeat on the opposite side.

Crescent Lunge
Step your right leg through into a low lunge pose. Place your hands on floor finding a deep lunge as you release your back knee down into the floor. Extend the arms upward to take the stretch in the upper body. Repeat on the opposite side.

Standing Forward Bend
Start in a standing position the right leg should be at the top of your mat and the left leg behind you. Keeping your feet about hip distance apart and ground all four corners of the feet to the mat for balance and stability. Fold down over the front leg in a forward bend. Keep your neck relaxed by looking down towards the floor as you go deeper into the forward bend. Repeat on the opposite side.

Pigeon Pose
Begin to heel toe the right foot over in the front of your mat. Your back left leg should extend straight out from the hip behind you and rotate slightly inward. Gently drape your body over the right leg. You can also try reaching the arms upward to stretch through the chest and spine. Repeat on the opposite side.

Take your time and be patient when starting a new yoga practice. Build your yoga practice slowly over time. At first many athletes especially runners, will find many of the poses challenging due to tight musculature. Try to find a local yoga class or yoga teacher, look at your form and give you any modifications.

@FitnessHeroics.

contact us today