You Lift Like a Girl

"Already!?!" Yes, ladies...Spring has sprung! Whether its 5lbs or 20lbs...we can totally reach those goals by June 1st!! But we can't delay another day! And if you have more that 20lbs to shed, just think of it as a benchmark!! WOW! What an amazing start to your total body TrAnSfOrMaTiOn!!! If you'd heard me say it once, you've heard it 100 times, NUTRITION IS KEY! It will take time and discipline, but you MUST PREPARE! Six meals a day - prepare them ahead of time. Busy week? You can prepare for few days at a time and imagine the time and money you'll save, not to mention the bod we're working on! ;) Don't know where to start? Call me or email me today.  Charisse_Fruge@yahoo.com Personal Training & Nutritional Counseling Y ou L ift L ike AG irl.com

Here are 6 tips that give you the top recommendations to decrease cortisol levels and thus catabolic metabolism while you increase anabolic metabolism and experience optimal health. 1. Eliminate caffeine from your diet. It’s the quickest way to reduce cortisol production and elevate the production of DHEA, the leading anabolic youth hormone. 200 mg of caffeine (one 12 oz mug of coffee) increases blood cortisol levels by 30% in one hour! Cortisol can remain elevated for up to 18 hours in the blood. This is the easiest step to decrease your catabolic metabolism and increase your anabolic metabolism. 2. Sleep deeper and longer. The average 50 year old has nighttime cortisol levels more than 30 times higher than the average 30 year old. Try taking melatonin, a natural hormone produced at night that helps regulate sleep/wake cycles, before going to sleep to boost your own melatonin production that also decreases with age. I prefer Source Natural Sublingual Melatonin and I alwa...

Lose that belly fat! You exercise, you eat right, but you still have a pooch. Here's the surprising reason why—and how to fix it. We crunch. We Ab Blast. We eschew carbs. Heck, we'll even go under the knife to get rid of ab flab. Unfortunately, recent research shows that you can crunch until you crumble and diet till you're drained of energy, but if your days are full of stress, the perfect six-pack--or even a flatter midsection--will continue to elude you. That's because fat in the abdominal area functions differently than fat elsewhere in the body. It has a greater blood supply as well as more receptors for cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol levels rise and fall throughout the day, but when you're under constant stress, the amount of the hormone you produce remains elevated. With high stress and, consequently, high cortisol levels, more fat is deposited in the abdominal area since there are more cortisol receptors there. But ab flab is not the only pri...

Almonds , 7-8 grams of protein per serving Pistachios 7 grams of protein per serving Pumpkin Seeds 11 grams of protein per serving Sunflower Seeds 8 grams of protein per serving Hempseeds 11 grams of protein per serving Almond Butter 8 grams of protein per serving Peanut Butter 8 grams of protein per serving (many people are allergic to peanut butter and it can cause inflammation. When in doubt, stick with almond butter) Black Beans 8 grams of protein per serving Lentils 8 grams of protein per serving Garbanzo Beans 7 grams of protein per serving Navy Beans 8 grams of protein per serving Kidney Beans 7 grams of protein per serving Pinto Beans 7 grams of protein per serving **************************************************** Recommended Vegan Sources for DHA (essential fatty acid) NuTru's Omega-Zen-3 Udo's Oil With DHA

1. Build Muscle! Every pound of muscle uses about 6 calories a day just to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only 2 calories daily. That small difference can add up over time. In addition, after a bout of resistance training, muscles are activated all over your body, increasing your average daily metabolic rate. 2.Kick Your Workout Up a Notch Aerobic exercise may not build big muscles, but it can rev up your metabolism in the hours after a workout. The key is to push yourself. High-intensity exercise delivers a bigger, longer increase in resting metabolic rate than low- or moderate workouts. To get the benefits, try a more intense class at the gym or include short bursts of jogging during your regular walk. 3. Drink More Water The body needs water to process calories. If you are even mildly dehydrated, your metabolism may slow down. In one study, adults who drank eight or more glasses of water a day burned more calories than those who drank four. To stay hydrated, dr...

Trying to cut back on calories and fat? Use this chart to determine which ingredients can be substituted for healthier options. Instead of: Try: Ground beef : Ground turkey Cream (for everything except whipping) : Evaporated skim milk OR low-fat buttermilk Cream Cheese : Neufchatel OR Light Cream Cheese OR Ricotta Cheese Butter or margarine : Light butter (use less or reduce the liquid elsewhere in the recipe) OR combination of light butter and fat-free cream cheese OR prune puree or baby food prunes OR applesauce 1 egg : 2 egg whites OR egg substitute (amount will vary) Chocolate chips : Mini chocolate chips and reduce amount OR use fewer chips Sour cream : Plain yogurt OR fat-free sour cream Nuts : Use less and toast for added flavor OR crispy rice cereal Peanut butter : Reduced-fat peanut butter (I also like the low sodium!) Whole milk : Evaporated skim milk OR skim or low-fat (1 percent) milk Oil (in baking) : Applesauce OR pumpk...

One of the most frequently-asked questions heard by fitness professionals is, “how can I lose this fat around my belly?” Nobody wants to be thick around the middle — but abdominal fat can be sneaky, accumulating in subtle ways over the years until you suddenly realize you can pinch way more than an inch. Risks of Excess Abdominal Fat 2 Types of Abdominal Fat: Subcutaneous fat lies just below the skin, and is usually easy to grasp. Abdominal or visceral fat lies deep in the abdomen and surrounds internal organs. This type of fat is very damaging and has been associated with many health problems, including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Both types of abdominal fat affect waistline circumference. Fat rolls aren’t just annoying — they’re hazardous. Studies have shown that for men , increased health risks are associated with every 1-inch increase in waist circumference: *Blood pressure increases by 10% *Blood cholesterol level i...