As summer quickly approaches, I’ve pulled together a few quick, effective prep tips that will help improve your metabolism and tone up your body for summer! Let’s prepare your summer body.
More weights, less cardio:
When the time comes to drop your winter coat, many of us immediately start thinking of the endless hours of sweat we will need to put in on the treadmill. Well, it’s time to change your thinking and switch up your workouts! Adding weight training to your daily fitness routine not only benefits your weight-loss goals, it also provides your body with the strength it needs to fight injury and build a better posture. When we add weight training to our workouts, we can burn up to twice as many calories we would have in a typical cardio workout. Also, the lean muscle your body is building will continue to burn calories for hours after your workout. Check out these fun facts…
- 1 pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories per day and is continually helping your metabolism burn off excess fat and toxins.
- If you’re looking to add lean muscle to your body, without the bulk, stick with 12-15 reps per exercise. The goals are to lift your bum, shape your abs, and define your shoulders.
- If you are looking to train your body for endurance, complete 15-20 reps per exercise using a weight that feels challenging toward the end of your reps. You will find these type of workouts in barre classes, Pilates bootcamps, and full body spin classes.
- Remember to continually switch up your workouts! Take a day off from your typical workout and head to your favourite yoga or spin class. By keeping your body moving you’ll keep your metabolism in high gear.
Avoid crash diets:
These days, many people want a quick fix or magic pill to solve their health needs. The unpopular truth is you’ve actually got to put some work in to get results. Crash diets do not promote healthy balance and have us putting on more pounds than we started with. These diets tend to slow down our metabolism and send our bodies into a fat-preserving survival mode. They also can cause our brains to suffer from a lack of nutrition, causing headaches, foggy thinking, and exhaustion. In most cases you are not detoxing, you are starving! So before you sign up for the next dime-sized diet or spiced water miracle potion, go to your local health food store, and stock up your fridge with whole foods that are actually going to fuel your body. If the task seems overwhelming, we’ve got additional tools and support waiting for you at DailyRoutineFitness.com.
Sample Day of eating:
Breakfast
- Eggs
- Vegetables
- 1 piece of sprouted grain bread
Snack
- 1 apple
- Almonds
Lunch
- Quinoa vegetable salad
- Snack
- Protein shake
Dinner
- Lean protein
- Veggies
- Brown rice or yams sautéed in coconut oil
Snack
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Fresh berries
- Raw nuts
Get more sleep:
Your body is meant to rest and recharge during the night. Lack of sleep can cause our hormones to go crazy and our weight-loss dreams to fail. When we operate under little sleep we cause a hormone called leptin to fluctuate in an unhealthy manner, increasing feelings of depression and anxiety along with increased emotional eating. Our bodies are suffering so they start craving sugar and different types of carbohydrates to keep us going. This is why women who have newborns often crave sweets and will describe it as almost uncontrollable. Thankfully, it is controllable! Put down your phone, get off Pinterest, and nap with your new baby as often as you can. A rested body can figure itself out.
Still having trouble sleeping?
Tips for a more restful sleep:
- Drink warm decaf tea before bed.
- Use lavender essential oils sprayed on your bed to help calm the body.
- Journal – Empty your mind before bed.
Learn more about healthy living from Rachel Doell from Daily Routine Fitness.
