You must eat to loose weight!

You may not believe me when I say you must eat in order to loose weight. Specifically, you must eat the right foods at the right time. Feeding your body before and after every workout is essential for burning the most calories, staying energized, and losing weight.

After doing research, I found that the body will burn the same amount of fat whether you eat or don't eat before exercise. However, you can lose muscle if you work out on an empty stomach. The reason for this: When you're hungry, your body will go in to survival mode and will take the protein your muscles have stored. When your body does this you lose muscle mass, slowing your metabolism and making it harder for you to lose weight.

The best pre-workout meals:

• Brown rice (½ cup) with black beans (½ cup)
• Small sweet potato with steamed or lightly salted broccoli in olive oil (1 cup)
• Banana with almond butter (2 Tbsp)
• Multi-grain crackers (10) with hummus (3 Tbsp)
• Oatmeal (½ cup) with berries (1 cup), sweetened with stevia or agave
• Apple and walnuts (¼ cup)

During exercise your body will use the fuel it has stored in your muscles. Eating (or drinking) something that combines both protein and carbs 30 minutes to an hour after your workout to refil those energy stores. By doing this you are helping build and repair your muscles that were used.

The sooner you start refueling your body the better off you'll be. Here are some great post-workout  meals:

• Protein shake made with half of a banana, one scoop of protein powder, almond milk, and hemp seeds (excellent protein source)
• Salad with roasted chickpeas (½ cup), light olive oil and vinegar
• Sautéed or steamed vegetables (1 cup) with non-GMO tofu (½ cup)
• Quinoa bowl (1 cup) with black berries (1 cup) and pecans (1/4 cup)
• Multi-grain bread (2 slices) with raw peanut butter (2 Tbsp) and agave nectar
• Burrito with beans (½ cup), brown rice (½ cup), guacamole (2 Tbsp), and salsa

 I suggest planning ahead and possibly bringing something with you to the gym to eat when you're finished.

Enjoy your Tuesday!!!!

xoxo,
Bharris

Teach me how to.... read a nutrition label...teach teach me how to read...

Darlings,
Everyone knows they should make smart choices when it comes to what to put on your plate. Like everything that has to do with fitness, it's easier said than done. Nutrition fact labels will make the decision a little bit easier. You want to look for foods high in the nutrients your body needs and low in the nutrients that can be harmful (Fiber GOOD Sodium BAD). This information does you no good, however, if you don’t know how to interpret it….

First think you need to look for is Serving Size.
Serving Size tells you how much is in one serving, and how many servings are in the package. All the information on the label is based on one serving, so if you eat three servings, you must multiply all those number values by three to find out how much you are actually consuming...that's the easy part.

The next thing to look for is how many Calories are in each serving/package.  Calories are a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of that food. Eating foods that are packed with nutrients without being too high in calories means it is a nutrient-dense food—and a good choice.

Fat is something you need to look at when reading your label. Fat should not be avoided, but it is important to not consume tons of it. Fat provides essential fatty acids, which are not made by the body and help to control inflammation, blood clotting and brain development. Fat serves as the storage unit for extra calories. There are three types of fat- Unsaturated fat GOOD Saturated Fat OK in moderation Trans Fat BAD!!!!

Sodium is next.
You should limit your sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day. If you suffer from high blood pressure you should keep it closer to 1,500 mg per day.

The last fact I feel you should pay close attention to is Sugar.
It is recommended that women limit sugar intake to 100 calories, 24 grams or 6 teaspoons and men to 150 calories, 36 grams or 9 teaspoons.

So next time you're grocery shopping make sure you check out those labels and make the fit decision.

xoxo,
Fit girl

Its Friday, Friday, everybody work out on Friday!

HAPPY FRIDAY DARLINGS!

We have officially made it a week! I hope you have found this blog not only entertaining but useful. I'd like to congratulate my best friend Kristen on winning her second weigh in. I'm so proud and excited for her. I'd also like to thank Lindsay for all the great feed back. She's my inspiration! 

Anyway.... now to the fun stuff.... WEEKEND CHALLENGE!!! I challenge each of you to preform this challenge everyday this weekend ( or a total of three times )

50 jumping jacks

40 squats

30 second plank

20 standing calf raises

10 push ups

10 lunges (10 on each leg )

Those of you who want a fit bottom... do two sets of squats and two sets of lunges ;)

Remember cut back on the soda and implement some new fruit into your diet.

xoxo,

fit bottomed girl...boots with the furrrrrr

Attention Diet Coke Addics

Hello darlings!

I have many wonderful people in my life who are addicted to diet coke.  One in particular is participating in a family weight loss competition. When she came to me for advise one of the first things I told her was to cut the diet coke out. I know it's much easier than said trust me. My poison is Mountain Dew. There is just something about that green liquid I find ohhh soooo yummy. When I go to Taco Bell (once in a blue moon... or else I wouldn't be a fit bottomed girl haha) I always get a small mt. dew....when I go to the movies.... small mt. dew, but other than that I fortunately have never been a soda drinker. Even when I go out I've never been a rum and coke or vodka soda gal... its Vodka Tonics for this fit bottomed girl.

Why is soda so bad.... it spikes your blood sugar! This causes your body to produce lots of insulin. Your poor liver wants to rid your blood of all the excess sugar so it turns it into FAT!!!! Soda also raises your blood pressure. Your poor liver wants to help again so it dumps sugar back into your blood stream.... see the dangerous cycle?

Be kind to your liver. All it wants to do is help and all we continue to do is abuse the poor thing!

I don't suggest cutting soda out of your diet all at once. If you are addicted to soda you are going to experience terrible withdraw headaches and shakes. If you are a 6 a day person start by cutting that in half for a few days... its important to slowly ween yourself off or else you'll feel so crummy you will give up.

Instead of soda... maybe have a glass of water with a few lemons in it ;)

xoxo,

fitgirl

Lets hear it for the boys!

Happy Monday Darlings!
I hope your weekend treated you well. Haven't heard any feedback yet from the weekend challenge. I'll just assume that everyone who read actually completed it as well ;)

My challenge for you this week is to try at least one fruit that you have always wanted to but may have been afraid of. I'm talking about exotic fruit. They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, imagine what a passion fruit could do!? Those of you who are not as adventurous, try a grapefruit. Grapefruits are full of many nutrients. I am personally not a fan, but a girl I work with suggested I take a grapefruit cut it in half, sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake it for a few minutes. I think I'm going to have to give grapefruits a second chance!

One of my twitter followers suggested I blog about the age old question: Can you build muscle AND burn fat???? So I did my research and here is what I found....

No guy wants to reduce calories and give up muscle just to have better abs. If you follow these guidelines you can build muscle while you simultaneously burn fat. It requires discipline and hard work and most importantly a healthy diet, but I believe you can do it!

You need to eat the right amounts of the right things! PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATES, AND FATS! Protein is the main source for building muscle. You should take in around 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of height..... 180-270 grams for a 180 pound individual. Excellent sources of protein are chicken, LEAN steak, fish, eggs, and Greek yogurt. Carbohydrates are muscle-sparing energy sources. The types of carbs you should be eating include BROWN rice, sweet potatoes, WHOLE WHEAT bread, WHEAT pasta, and vegetables. Certain fats are essential regarding maintaining hormones, and increasing fat burning. Good sources of the fat I'm talking about include avocado, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, peanut butter or sunflower seeds.

Here is a link with a sample Muscle-Building Fat-Torching Diet:

Muscle Building/Fat Tourching Diet!

Continue to let me know what you are interested in. It could be anything from how to get a six pack, to proper running shoes. 

xoxo,

B Harris

Weekend Challange

Hey darlings!
Thank you to all those who have given me such positive feedback already. I truly appreciate it. I have had many requests that I post recipes and fitness challenges. Your wish is my command.

I challenge each of you to complete the following workout twice this weekend:
10 push ups
20 sit ups
25 squats
20 lunges (each leg)
80 jumping jacks
60 second wall sit

Once you've completed this challenge leave a comment below on how it went!
Fun fact- if you eat an orange before your workout you will experience less soreness

The recipe I choose to feature is called Grilled Vegetable Salad with Feta. I know one of my close friends loves feta so this is for you boo boo!

What cha need:

• 1 red bell pepper cored and cut into 4 pieces
• 1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut across into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces each), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese  

What cha need to do:

Arrange the vegetables in a single layer on a tray or work surface. Lightly spray both sides with olive oil cooking spray. Preheat a grill or grill pan over a medium-high heat. Grill the vegetables in batches until both sides are nicely charred and the vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes for the pepper, about 8 minutes for the eggplant and onion, and about 6 minutes for the zucchini. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and oregano. Pour over the vegetables and toss. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Gently stir in the tomatoes and mint. Divide the salad between 4 plates and sprinkle with the feta.

Per serving this dish is only 275 calories and is an excellent source of Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Protein, and Calcium!

xoxo,
B.Harris

Got that lemon in my cup

Those of you who have ever gone out to grab a bite to eat with me or work with me know that I loooooove putting lemons in my water. By love I mean obsessed. Not only will I put my lemon in my water but when you're not looking I'll steal yours too. It bugs me when the server forgets to give me a lemon or when I ask for a refill and they don't bring me a new lemon (tip decreases immediately! haha). Some of my friends are grossed out by lemons because they say "their hands have been all over those lemons when they cut them" ...I say if you're that picky about how your food is prepared you should probably not eat out... unless it's The Big Pickle Food Bar in St. Michaels, MD....anyway where was I? Oh, right why I put lemons in my water....

Lemons are high in Vitamin C and potassium so by putting a lemon in your water you are boosting your immune system, stimulating nerve function and even helping control your blood pressure!

Lemons are high in pectin fiber. What the hell is that you ask? Well Pectin fiber helps fight hunger cravings. Therefore, adding a lemon to your water could help you loose weight!

Lemon juice acts as a gentle, natural diuretic. Adding lemon to water will help flush out unwanted materials because lemons increase the rate of urination in the body.

The Vitamin C I talked about earlier also helps decreases wrinkles and blemishes (that's why my skins always so fresh... well one of the reasons can't tell all my secrets!)

So next time your struggling to drink your 8 glasses of water try adding a slice of lemon or in my case multiple slices. Not only will it taste delicious but you'll reap multiple benefits!!!

xoxo,
lemon lover

All things fit!

Hello darlings!

This is my first official blog! The idea of creating a fitness blog came to me on the first day of my internship. My friends always come to me when looking for encouragement or motivation to work out, so I thought what better way to get everyone active than to create a blog about health and fitness.

By creating this blog I hope to not only motivate people to live a healthier life but to share my wisdom on all things fit!

I'm very new to the world of blogging so I apologize in advance.

xoxo,

B. Harris