How-To | Health & Wellness | fitGLOSS

Gloss How-To: Workout While Cleaning

With the change of the seasons it’s a good time to clean up your home and get organized. Try cleaning using a special technique – a toning technique from Molly Maid – that will leave your house sparkling and your muscles looking tight.

- Warm Up – Dusting: Dusting works all major muscles, especially quads and glutes. When reaching up to those high, hard-to-reach places, stretch thoroughly to get those muscles working and include a few step-ups on your stairs to get the blood pumping. Alternate your legs; after one minute leading with one, change to lead with the other for one minute.

- Cleaning windows: Clean up and down your windows and incorporate squats to boost the calories burned. Make sure to stretch up to reach the top of your window.

- Polishing windows: Once windows are cleaned with the squat technique, use a dry cloth in each hand to dry and polish the windows. Rotate both hands one way to polish and change direction after 10 rotations.

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Gloss How-To: Curb Late-Night Snacking

latenightsnacking 300x240 Gloss How To: Curb Late Night Snacking Sometimes you just can’t help it — late at night, you creep out of bed and head to the kitchen for a snack. Unfortunately, studies have shown that snacking at night is a major contributor to unwanted pounds and is a sure-fire way to sabotage a diet. With daylight savings just around the corner, it’ll be getting darker sooner and we could find ourselves in ‘hibernation’ mode…making us even more likely to fall victim to late-night snack attacks!

We talked to Atkins Nutritionals nutritionist, Colette Heimowitz, for some quick tips on how to eat smart after dark:

1. Prevent Late-Night Eating Altogether: Eat low-carb meals throughout the day to keep blood sugar steady, thereby reducing cravings and the temptation to nosh on high-carb items like chips or cookies at night.

2. Crunch Away: If you must snack at night choose, crunchy, low-carb foods such as macadamia nuts or celery sticks filled with cream cheese or almond butter. The crunchiness gets your mouth moving, which helps make snacks more satisfying.

3. No Containers on the Couch: Don’t take the food container to the couch. Instead, place your portion on a small plate and bring it with you. That way you’ll eat less and can keep better track of what you’re ingesting.

4. Drink Up! Instead of eating, have something to drink. Hot beverages can help you cut your appetite. Try a mug of herbal tea sweetened with sucralose or stevia, low-carb hot cocoa or some chicken or beef broth. Or for something cool and creamy, have an Atkins Advantage shake.

5. Check the Time: Don’t snack within an hour of going to bed.

6. Keep Your Hands & Mind Busy: Instead of munching in front of the TV, keep your hands occupied and your mind sharp by picking up an engaging pastime, like knitting or making a scrapbook. You can even do the daily crossword puzzle during the ads.

20 Minute Jump-Start: Amp Up Your Walking Routine

walkingworkout 300x300 20 Minute Jump Start: Amp Up Your Walking Routine Add a little oomph to your walking routine with the “20 Minute Jump-Start.” Designed by Rachel Cosgrove, fitness trainer, triathlete and author of The Female Body Breakthrough, this pre-walk workout warms up your muscles and boosts your metabolism, so you burn more calories and get the most out of your workout!

Complete exercises 1-5, performing 10-12 repetitions on each exercise and then repeat starting back with exercise 1. Complete circuit 3 times.

1.) Hip Extension:

Start: Lying on your back on the floor, bend your left leg to 90 degrees, and straighten you right leg. Your arms should be face up at 45 degrees from your body. Lift your entire body up one inch by pushing off your left foot. This is the start position.

Movement: Continue to lift until your entire body is in straight line and your thighs are parallel to each other. The only parts of your body that are in contact with the floor are your arms, upper back, and left foot. Lower to one inch off the floor, pause, and repeat for the prescribed number of repetitions. Be sure to keep your hips in a straight line. Repeat the other side. The extended leg can be bent, weighted with an ankle weight or tucked to your chest as possible variations in this exercise.

2.) Incline Push Ups / Push Ups:

No more “girl push ups”! From now on you do real push ups. Incline push ups are a great way to eventually be able to do push ups on the floor. As you get stronger, lower the incline until you are not the floor. Push ups not only work your upper body including your chest and shoulders, but also area great core stabilization exercise. The reason most women cannot do a push up is that their core is not strong enough, not because they don’t have the upper body strength. Think about it- most women can do “girl” push ups on their knees, it is when we put them on their feet in a plank position using their core that they have trouble.

Start: In a push up position on an incline using a bar, bench or wall to support yourself depending on how strong you are. If you are strong enough, do real push ups on the floor. Other wise, the higher the incline, the easier this will be. Your spine should be in a straight line, with your head, upper back, and tailbone in alignment.

Movement: Lower yourself into a push up, keeping your body in a straight line with your abdominals tight. Lower until your shoulders go just below your elbows and then return to the start position keeping your body in a straight line during the entire movement. If you cannot get the full range of motion with out letting your back arch or without sticking your hips out, then increase the incline.

3.) Body Weight Squat

Start: Feet in a wide stance squat position with your arms reaching over head as high as you can.

Movement: Good morning, good afternoon, good day body! You’ll feel everything waking up by doing this movement! Keep both arms reaching overhead, bend over at the waist to touch the floor between your feet, keeping you legs straight, stretching out the hamstrings. Keeping your hands on the floor, drop your hips down into a squat position. Staying in a full squat position, reach your right arm up so that you are in a full squat position with your arms overhead. From here, stand up to return to the start position and repeat.

4.) Forward Ball Roll

Forget crunches! When it comes to getting a six pack, core stability is where it’s at. This exercise will work your abs like you have never felt before. You will be sore, but you won’t have to do 500 crunches. Sweet!

Start: On your knees with your forearms on a Swiss ball, draw your abs in tight. Your shoulders should make a 90 degree angle with your body and your hips should make a 90 degree angle.

Movement: Rolling the ball forward by slowly extending your hips and arms opening each of those 90 degree angles to eventually stretch out as far as you can go while maintaining a neutral spine and keep your abs tight. Be sure you are extending your hips and extending your arms equal amounts. Do not go further than you can to maintain a stable back. Going to the point where your back is arching is too far.

5.) Rows with Dumbbells

Ladies, we have to look good leaving the room, too! Tall posture and a strong, sexy back say “confidence”. Nothing is sexier than being able to show off a toned, defined back wearing an open back shirt or dress. Performing a dumbbell row will give you the back you can feel confident leaving the room with.

Start: Bent over with your right hand supporting you on a bench and holding dumbbell in your left hand. You feet should be directly under your hips, shoulder width apart and your back should be flat with your head, spine, and tailbone in a straight line. The dumbbell should be hanging straight down from your left arm.

Movement: Row the dumbbell up by squeezing you shoulder blade back, maintaining a neutral spine. Lower the dumbbell and repeat. Do not shrug your shoulder, the movement should all be from you back. Repeat with your right arm.

Guilt Free Cocktail: Mojito

mojito1 300x234 Guilt Free Cocktail: Mojito I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but summer is coming to an end and I’m sure you’re aware that with Fall, comes skinny jeans! I’ve spent quite a bit of time laying on my bed wrestling with the zipper after I managed to squeeze my things into them in seasons past. That being said, as much as I love them, skinny jeans and I are not friends. If you’re in a similar boat, don’t fret you can still enjoy your cocktails.

Try substituting your sugary sangria for a refreshing mojito. Because they’re made with soda water (which has no calories) and fresh ingredients they can almost pass as guilt free.

Mojito Recipe
Ingredients for one serving

1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 lime
3 sprigs mint
1.5 ounces light rum
soda water

It may take a little bit of effort to make, but just think of skinny jeans as your reward. Pour the sugar into a glass and squeeze in the juice from the lime before throwing it in. Next, muddle in the mint sprigs, add the light rum and fill with soda.

Safe Tips for Hot Weather Exercise

hotweatherexercise 300x225 Safe Tips for Hot Weather Exercise Feeling hot, hot, hot? Where I live, August has decided to be as mild as May. It’s a perfect 72 degrees — a welcome reprieve after July’s crazy heat — and I just got back from a mid-afternoon walk. But I’ll stop bragging now because the weather map shows some parts of the country are sweltering. A quick poll of my Facebook friends found weather reports of 85 degrees, 99 and humid, and even an outrageous 109 degrees. If you’re thanking the inventor of the air conditioner right now, don’t forget what you need to do to stay safe and active in hot weather.

Soaring temperatures don’t mean you have to sit on the couch with a fan in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. You can stay active even when the mercury rises. Just keep safety in mind:

- Exercise in the early morning or late evening hours when the sun isn’t at it’s strongest. Temperatures are usually at their highest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

- Drink water before you leave to exercise. Carry a water bottle with you so you can continue to drink while exercising. And replenish lost water weight when you’re finished. Though water is usually your best choice for hydration, if you were sweating profusely or exercised for an extended period of time, consider a zero-calorie sports drink.

- Wear lightweight and light-colored clothing. Consider purchasing workout clothes made from fabric designed to wick moisture away from your body.

- Wear sunscreen and sunglasses.

Want Flat Abs? Add These Foods To Your Diet

tonedabs 300x199 Want Flat Abs? Add These Foods To Your Diet Hoping to tone your abs before you slip into your summer swimsuit?

In addition to regular cardio workouts and exercises that target the muscles in your mid-section, the foods you eat can help get your belly ready for summer too. Check out these six superfoods that are good for you on the inside and on the outside too — add them into your daily diet and you’ll be showing off a toned, flat tummy in no time:

Berries

Blueberries and blackberries are packed with antioxidants — which aren’t only essential for our health overall but they also deliver more oxygen to our muscles, which helps us workout longer and can make exercising easier. Easier, longer workouts = a fitter body!

Avocados

Avocados are packed with monounsaturated fat — the “good” fat. Monounsaturated fats level out blood sugar levels and keep your body from storing fat around you belly.

Green Tea

Another source of antioxidants, green teas also rev up your metabolism and make it easier for your body to burn fat. Drink three cups a day for optimal benefits.

Milk

Fat-free milk — and even better fat-free chocolate milk (yay! a treat too!) — has been shown to aid post-workout muscle recovery better than any sports drink. The super-combo of protein and carbs in low-fat chocolate milk is “just right for refueling weary muscles,” says William Lunn, PhD, an exercise scientist at the University of Connecticut.

Bulgur or Quinoa

Whole grains like bulgur and quinoa pack more fiber than refined grains, which keep sugar levels low, burn fat and actually shrink the fat cells you have.

Yogurt

We know that the probiotics in yogurt help digestion, which helps relieve bloat and fullness than can hide the six-pack underneath! Try to have a cup of yogurt each day to keep your belly full of the good bacteria that banishes the bad bacterias that promote icky bloat.

Gloss How-To: Sculpt Your Legs

0703 curtsey lunge Gloss How To: Sculpt Your Legs Want lean, toned legs? It’s actually quite simple, for most of us, we learned how to do it when we were little girls — all you have to do is curtsy.

Hold a weight in your right hand and curtsy to the right. (Tip: When you bend your right knee, make sure your knee goes directly over your toes and not to the right or left.)
Switch sides and do the same thing on your left side, bringing the weight to your left hand. (Tip: Make sure you keep your back straight and chest up).
Repeat for four sets of eight reps taking 30 second breaks in between.

Not only are you toning your stems from your hips down, but you’ll also look very polite doing so!

Gloss How-To: Lose Weight with the Dukan Diet

ht dukan diet ll 110418 wg 300x168 Gloss How To: Lose Weight with the Dukan Diet The Dukan Diet is the latest diet craze to be buzzed about — especially after it was rumored that Carole Middleton, mom to Kate Middleton, used the plan to slim down for her daughter’s high-profile wedding. Developed by French nutritionist Dr. Pierre Dukan over ten years ago, the Dukan Diet promises to help shed fat by increasing protein intake and cutting carbs. Sound familiar?

The Dukan Diet is broken down into four phases — each of which aim to promote weight loss and maintain lifelong healthy eating habits at an ideal weight.

Dukan Diet Phase One: The Attack Phase

The Dukan Diet’s Attack phase focuses on pure, low-fat proteins to get weight loss started and see dramatic results. During this phase, dieters can eat from a list 68 high-protein foods. Basically, you’re just eating proteins from the list and beverages (water, coffee, tea) during this phase, which is one to ten days, depending on your target weight goal.

Dukan Diet Phase Two: The Cruise Phase

The Dukan Diet’s Cruise phase adds vegetables into the mix. The longest phase of the Dukan Diet, the Cruise phase is calculated by how much weight you want to lose — three days for every pound. During this phase of the Dukan Diet, you alternate pure protein days with protein & vegetable days.

Dukan Diet Phase Three: The Consolidation Phase

The Dukan Diet’s Consolidation phase adds more foods into the diet and aims to ease dieters back into a regular nutritional regime. This is another long one — the Consolidation phase lasts five days for every pound already lost on the Dukan Diet.

Dukan Diet Phase Four: The Stabilization Phase

The Dukan Diet’s Stabilization phase is when you’re pretty much off the Dukan Diet — this is the way of life dieters adopt. Armed with a healthier nutritional profile, the Dukan Diet requires three, non-negotiable rules for the duration:

Consume 3 Tablespoons of oat bran per day.
Choose to take the stairs whenever possible.
Have a pure-protein Thursday (living by the Dukan Diet Attack phase menu for one day a week)

Tell us: have you tried the Dukan Diet? Share your tips and results below!