Using Yohimbine to Boost Fat Loss

There are boat loads of supplements and other products on the market that are boasting extreme claims of expediting the process of weight loss. Unfortunately, many of these products are ultimately scams to get your money based on questionable research. Some products even come with dangerous side effects. Even though Dr. Oz might be touting garbage products like garcinia cambogia, the research does not back these up. (2)

I’ve personally tried a medley of supplements on the market in hopes of burning stubborn body fat. Most of them made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack and failed to elicit any favorable changes in my body composition.

After doing a good bit of research on the topic, I have only managed to find a small handful of

supplements that actually work for me. The one fat burning product that I use with great success, and recommend to my clients is yohimbine.

What is Yohimbine?

Yohimbine is an alkaloid that is sourced from Pausinystalia yohimbe trees in the lowland forests of west and central Africa. The substance has been found to improve thermogenesis (the metabolic process that creates heat in the body).

There are several speculations of how Yohimbine results in fat loss, though it is not fully

understood. The principal hypothesis is that it may work by facilitating the secretion of adrenaline by inhibiting adrenergic receptors—this ultimately results in an increase in heart rate which will stimulate metabolic function.

What does the research say?

A study done on male soccer players who were already quite lean (<11% body fat) found that Yohimbine supplementation decreased fat mass in a 21 day period. (4) All of the participants (control and experimental subjects) were placed on a standardized diet of 55% of their daily calories coming from carbohydrates, 25% from fat, and 20% from protein.

The group taking yohimbine lost an average of 2.2% body fat, whereas the men in the placebo group actually gained an average of 0.3% body fat during the study.

What’s fascinating is that the population in this study had a very low amount of body fat to start, and many of the research studies on different fat burning supplements are only done on obese populations. If you’re looking to lose that last bit of stubborn body fat to get better definition, Yohimbine may be a great option for you.

Another study tested for the efficacy of topical cream to spot reduce body fat from the thigh in female participants. (1) Every participant received a topical yohimbine cream on one thigh and a placebo cream on the other thigh to measure differences between one side and the other. The researchers hypothesized that the yohimbine cream would counteract the alpha2-adrenergic activity and thus result in regional fat loss. Their results seemed to affirm that hypothesis as all 4 women lost more girl in the thigh that was treated with the yohimbine cream compared with the thigh that received the placebo cream. The population size was obviously quite small, but these findings suggest that topical use of yohimbine may be effective in facilitating spot reduction (even though the currently accepted literature shuns the concept of spot reducing fat). Surely more research needs to be done in this area, but the potential implications are quite fascinating.

How much should you take?

The dosage can vary, like with anything else. I suggest taking a smaller dose of only 2.5 mg to 5 mg initially to see how you respond to it. Once you’ve gotten an understanding of how your

body reacts to Yohimbine, you can increase the dosage gradually. Many of the studies done on Yohimbine have used ~0.2 mg per kg of bodyweight. This means that someone like me who weighs about 58 kg should consume about 11-12 mg of Yohimbine. In the previously mentioned study on soccer players the men took 20 mg daily.

Precautions

I don’t recommend taking Yohimbine before aerobic exercise, as it can elevate your heart rate

significantly. I made that mistake originally where I took it about an hour before exercise and

struggled to catch my breath. After that, I started taking it in the morning (about 3-4 hours prior to training) and had no issues with managing my heart rate.

If you have any type of anxiety disorder, you may also want to be careful in taking Yohimbine as it can exacerbate feelings of anxiety. As with any supplement, make sure that you consult with a physician before using Yohimbine, especially if you have a heart condition or take other medications to make sure you won’t have any adverse reactions.

1. Greenway, Frank L., and George A. Bray. "Regional fat loss from the thigh in obese women after adrenergic modulation." Clin Ther 9.6 (1987): 663-9.
   Heymsfield, Steven B., et al. "Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesity agent: a randomized controlled trial." Jama 280.18 (1998): 1596-1600.
2. McCarty, Mark F. "Pre-exercise administration of yohimbine may enhance the efficacy of exercise training as a fat loss strategy by boosting lipolysis." Medical hypotheses 58.6 (2002): 491-495.

3. Ostojic, Sergej M. "Yohimbine: the effects on body composition and exercise performance in soccer players." Research in Sports Medicine 14.4 (2006): 289-299.

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6 Reasons You Aren't Meeting Your Weight-loss Goals

If I had a dime for every time someone asked me how they could lose X number of pounds in X number of time, I could probably make enough money to earn myself a spot in the Shark Tank cast. Everyone seems to have extra weight they want to lose, but yet very few of those people actually want to do something about it. Interesting.

Why aren't you meeting your weight loss goals? Here are couple possibilities as to why:

1. You're not tracking your intake. There are a million and-a-half different diets and cleanses on the market. The one thing that virtually all have in common is that maintaining a caloric deficit is paramount. To lose weight, you must be consuming less than you are expending. That's it. It's pretty simple! People say you shouldn't eat carbs, you shouldn't eat fat, you should eat carbs after dark, you should carb cycle, you should eliminate sugar/gluten/dairy/etc., you should drink lemonade everyday for a week, blah blah blah. I could continue. None of that is necessary. Just measure how much you're eating and make sure you're moving a lot. You wouldn't load an arbitrary weight on the bar and try to squat it, right? So why would you neglect to keep track of how much food you're consuming? Weigh your food portions, track everything in a food tracker (I use My Fitness Pal), and find out what a good amount of food is for you to start losing weight.
2. You're inconsistent. You eat "clean" or you track your intake Monday through Friday, and then you go hard and go out drinking and eat whole pies of pizza (guilty as charged) on the weekends. I admire your 5 days of dedication, but you're absolutely destroying all of your hard work over the course of those two days. If you feel inclined to have a day where you don't want to track your calories and just have fun, try to make sure it's not twice-a-week, every week. Make those days fewer and farther between so that you're not sabotaging your progress on the weekends.
3. You're stressed and/or sleep deprived. Adequate sleep and relaxation are underrated as methods of improving bodily composition. If your body is operating in the sympathetic, "fight or flight" nervous system, as it would in someone who is sleep-deprived and/or overworked, you are constantly in survival mode. Your body is going to instinctually hold on to excess fat (or possibly store more food as fat out of fear) if you are in a constant state of stress! 
4. You aren't moving enough outside of the gym. Your NEAT is your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or the calories you're expending during your other hours of the day. If you work out for 1-2 hours a day and spend the rest of the day sitting at work, your NEAT is going to be pretty low. If you have a physically demanding job or you go on walks/runs during the day, your NEAT is significantly higher. What you do during the rest of your day is important! Now, I understand that not everyone has the option to go on a 3 hour hike during the day, and people do work desk jobs, but try to move whenever you can! Even if it means getting up and walking around your office every half an hour. Maybe you can walk or bike to work. Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator. Play with your kids outside when you have time. Just move whenever you have the chance and increase your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)!
5. You aren't eating enough of your micronutrients. This is one huge mistake I made. I was carefully tracking my macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat), but I was forgetting about the micronutrients: my fiber intake, calcium, iron, potassium, Vitamin A, etc. Some of these numbers were much lower than I'd expected. It wasn't until I started monitoring all of this on MFP that I was able to increase my intake. A lot of people aren't hitting these numbers, and the foods they consume are nutritionally devoid. More nutritionally dense foods will keep you full for a longer period of time and they will help improve overall bodily function so you can go crush your workouts.



My Fitness Pal has a large database, and it's easy to use.

6. You're not working hard enough. It would be fantastic if we could just take a bunch of magic pills and maybe workout once every week for 20 minutes and miraculously have the body of a Victoria's Secret Angel or Brad Pitt in "Fight Club," but unfortunately I'm going to have to pop your bubble: weight loss doesn't work that way. No pill can substitute hours, weeks, months and years of grinding at the gym. No expensive shake is going to allow you to eat a double bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and still look like an Adonis. Hard work is the only solution to your weight loss woes. Go to the gym as often as your schedule allows and put in the time. Dedication will help you become stronger, faster and leaner (if that is what you desire).

If you're serious about getting in shape, stop talking about tomorrow or next month. Quit making excuses and finding reasons not to do it. The truth is, none of this is easy. I'm not going to sugar-coat it. Some days I'm absolutely exhausted. There are times when people offer me free donuts or candy. Life is a constant struggle filled with temptation. Sometimes I choose to indulge, but often I just tell myself to quit whining and go to the gym anyway. This type of mental strength is the only way to see progress and achieve a lifestyle of health.

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The Most Effective Types of Cardio

I have 30 pounds left to lose until I am finally at my fitness goal. It has been a long 11 months of work, but I am ecstatic to have made such huge changes in my life. However, over the past 2 months or so, my weight loss journey my loss has been stagnant. I had other issues that needed my attention so I had to shift my focus for a bit. That is how it goes though; that's life. We are going to face immense ups and downs along the way, but no matter what, one must keep trying; one must keep pushing on. Giving up is never, ever an option. 

As I dedicate myself back to the way I need to train and eat, it is important to make the most out of every single workout I have. I usually do 45 minutes of cardio a day with my specific workout. Since I engage in cardio everyday, as most people do, it can be easy to get bored with it and not push myself as hard. Today I wanted to share a few of the different types of cardio training I engage in.

High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T) is also referred to as "sprint intervals". This type of cardio training is an exercise strategy that alternates periods of short intense intervals with less intense recovery intervals. Basically, you push yourself to the limit for X amount of time, then rest (while still exercising) for an even shorter amount, then repeat. This is without a doubt one of the best types of cardio training to burn fat and lose weight. You not only improve your body, but your heart. Because intervals are alternated so rapidly, the heart is in a constant state of work and pumping, which causes it to strengthen. This type of training also improves a persons metabolism and because of the intensity, a long duration of exercise is not necessary. 

Examples (20 minute durations):

--Stairmill: 2 minutes work: 130 SPM (Steps-per-minute) then 1 minute rest: 60 SPM. Repeat

--Inclined walk: 2 minutes work: 3.5 speed with 10 incline, then 1 minute rest: 3.4 speed with no incline. Repeat 

--Running: 1 minute of sprinting as fast as you can then 1 minute slow walk

You can also engage in H.I.I.T by doing mountain climbers, jumping jacks, jump squats, etc. for X amount of time then a slow walk for the rest period. Equipment is not always necessary, therefore this training can be done anywhere! 

Endurance training is a great way to improve strength and overall stamina. This is not just for people who want to run marathons; this is a great type of cardio training for anyone, as overall improved stamina helps with everything health and fitness related. Endurance allows people to work out at a certain intensity or for an extended amount of time. The better a persons endurance is, the longer they can exercise without stopping and slowing down. This type of cardio training should be challenging, but not to the point of maxing out your heart rate like a sprint would. This type of cardio is done for a longer period of time, with the heart rate staying at a certain rate. This is hard because after a certain amount of time, you will become tired and want to slow, but don't as that is how one builds their body's endurance; by pushing through at staying at the same rate of work, even though the body is growing tired. 

Examples:

--For me, on the Elliptical, resistance is hard me at level 13. It's tough for me to keep my usual speed at that level. Therefore when I endurance train, I would set the resistance at 13 (where it starts to get tough for me) and ensure I keep my speed at a good pace to where the entire workout is a challenge. I will not change my speed or resistance this entire training. This duration could vary from 30-60 minutes.

--I can swiftly run for about 30 minutes straight without feeling tired or out of breath. To challenge myself and build endurance, I would set my workout for a 40 minute run, then gradually increase the pace of the run as well as the time as my body and system strengthens. 

This type of cardio is a low intensity type of training done for a long period of time. It is slow, easy, and long, and one should be able to converse comfortably during. It is ideal for someone who is just beginning to exercise on a regular basis, recovering from a sickness and/or surgery, or someone who is obese and/or severely overweight. It can provide a reasonable amount of caloric and fat loss, but will not aid  as effective in a "total body transformation" such as building muscle.

Examples:

--1+ hour walk in a park or beach

--Afternoon bike ride

Cross-training involves alternating pieces of cardio equipment within different periods of time. This is a great way to keep variety in your cardio workout: the time generally seems to go by fast and since you are alternating equipment and not on one machine for a prolonged period of time, it is essentially easier to keep endurance up and push hard. Cross training cardio is effective for boosting metabolism, burning fat, and building endurance. This workout should be moderately challenging for the entire duration. When I do cross-training, I do the hardest piece of cardio first and the easiest last; that way I have the most energy for the first one and get the most out of my training. 

Example:

--4 different pieces of equipment for 10 minutes each. 

My favorite combination:

Incline walk: 3.5 speed, 7 incline

StairMill: 70 SPM

Jog: 7.0 speed

Elliptical: 10 resistance, 9 incline

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Trying to get Fit! AllyFitness's Tips on the so called "HEALTHY" foods you should avoid!

 'healthy' foods you should not eat

It's frustrating when your body won't change.When those extra inches won't go away.

If you're exercising regularly and still not seeing results then it's time that you look closely at what you are eating.  I tell my clients at AllyFitness all the time, you cannot out exercise a bad diet.

One of the biggest obstacles that prevents you from losing fat and getting into awesome shape is processed food  - plain and simple.  You need eat as much real food as possible every day.

The way more and more processed foods are being marketed as healthy, even the health savvy are being fooled.

Take a walk through the local natural foods market and you'll see nearly every form of junk food that you'd find at the supermarket – only with things like 'gluten free', 'organic' and 'zero trans fats' on the packages. THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS HEALTHY, LOW CALORIE OR GOOD FOR YOU!

Being gluten free, organic and trans fats free are all great.  However, if it is a cookie, it is still a cookie.  It is empty calories.

Fresh, organic veggies, fruits and meats are also gluten free, organic and trans fats free.  You don't see that on their labels though.  When those words are stamped on a package of cookies, chips or the like, then eating them is going to seriously slow your fitness results. Gluten free or not. Like I said earlier, it is still empty calories.

Here are the top so called 'healthy' processed foods that you may be eating that are stopping your results and keeping you from attaining your goals:

"Healthy" Cereal
Have you seen the cereal aisle at the natural foods market? Its shelves are lined with dozens of cereal boxes, all with bold health claims. There are gluten free cereals, cereals with no corn syrup, cereals with heart healthy grains, cereals with whole grains and even cereals with added vitamins.

Those all sound healthy, right? Well, sure those cereals are technically not as harmful as the brightly colored cereals from the supermarket, but as far as your fat loss results are concerned, the two are really about the same.

Cereal is a dense source of calories, which means it's almost impossible not to overdo it when enjoying a bowl. If your goal is to lose fat, then cereal, even organic, gluten free cereal, should stay off your daily menu. Most all cereals are highly processed and calorie dense.

"Healthy" Packaged Snacks
There is a brand of 'healthy' popcorn that literally has fit in its name. With branding like that it's no wonder people are confused and eating food that sabotage their fitness results.

Popcorn, and other crunchy, packaged 'health' food snacks are filled with carbohydrates and calories. Two things that you should be cutting back on when working towards a fitness goal. These snack items are habit forming, so you may tell yourself that it's just a once-in-awhile treat, but soon it becomes a daily occurrence. You need to be snacking on REAL FOOD, veggies, fruits and nuts.

Here's the simple, unchanging fact about packaged snack foods: No matter what benefits are broadcasted on the package, it's always going to promote fat storage. Yes, even if it has fit right in its name.

"Healthy" Energy Bars
The energy bar aisle at the health food store is a colorful, wonderland of beautifully packaged, seemingly healthful snacks. The bars contain nuts, fruits, protein and even goji berries. What's not to love?

All that sugar, for starters. Manufacturers are clever enough to call sugar 'evaporated can juice' or 'natural cane sugar' or even 'rice syrup' but that sugar reacts in your body just the same as any other sugar. It encourages fat storage. Also, most energy or protein bars use very low quality protein and it is most likely soy isolate, which should be avoided.

The next time that you reach for an energy bar, consider all of the calories and sugars. Look for bars that are low in sugars and high in protein, and if you're eating it in between meals consider eating just half the bar. And the bars should be for emergencies only, when you cannot get to REAL FOOD.

"Healthy" Bread
Have you ever spent time in the bread aisle, reading labels and trying to figure out which is the healthiest? It can be pretty confusing. There's wheat, whole wheat, gluten free, and sprouted grain. How can you tell what's the healthiest?

The unfortunate news, for all you bread lovers, is that when it comes to losing inches all bread is a problem. You see, gluten free bread is filled with just as many calories and carbohydrates as wheat bread or sprouted grain bread. Carbs cause your blood sugar to spike and then your body has to release insulin, which promotes fat storage.  Remember from a previous blog, I wrote that in order to lose weight and or inches, you have to control your insulin and your cortisol.

Never take a packaged food item based on the claims and benefits printed on the labels. When you're looking to transform your body, you must guard what goes into your mouth. Packaged foods, even those from the health store, are going to derail your results ever single time.

Speed your fitness results by becoming one of my clients. I'd love to get you to your goals using my results-driven method.

Simply call or email me today to set up your first workout.  

The Way Nature Intended

Food that's untouched and unprocessed is always going to be the healthiest. See how many real, whole foods you can fit into your diet, while cutting out the packaged foods. You'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly your body transforms when you eat food prepared the way nature intended.

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Fat Loss and Strength Training – for Busy Women!

“I don't want to bulk up.”  I hear that from many women that strength train. While it’s true that the main effect of weight training is building muscle, research shows that moderately heavy, low repetition training increases a woman's metabolic rate more than light weight, high-repetition training.  All women need some form of resistance training in their workout program.   Women need to train at a high intensity so they can get the metabolism boosting benefits without the fear of developing the dreaded “bulk.”   Lifting light weights for 100’s of reps is not going to get you where you want to be.

So what’s a girl to do?  How do you maximize your workout efforts to get the most body sculpting benefits?

A well-rounded fitness and fat loss program avoids the old school one to two body parts per day with long, slow cardio sessions and includes the following:

·    High intensity total body weight training sessions - Use weights to build small amounts of muscle and burn lots of calories. I prefer to structure the workouts in supersets of non-competing exercises so that you never waste time resting. You will do one lower body exercise and immediately move to the upper body or core.

·    Bodyweight training – Bodyweight exercises can be used in traditional strength training supersets or in a series to create circuits to burn calories, boost metabolism and improve your overall fitness.

·    Interval training – The best results to get lean are achieved by high intensity cardio intervals.  Avoid the lower intensity, longer duration exercise sessions. You will notice how much leaner you get and you will save time!

·    Frequently changing your training variables will constantly demand your body to change, helping you get maximum results in minimum time.

·    Use bodyweight exercises - There are dozens of exercise variations you can do for lunges, push ups, bodyweight rows and chin ups.   Use the Stability ball for single leg exercises, and yes of course, abdominal exercises.

With my training and research, I have concluded the most effective training schedule for women wanting to sculpt muscle and get lean is workouts consisting of weight training and bodyweight exercises.  Three sessions per week is optimal while focusing on total body during each workout.  Punt the old school body-part training workouts - the ones where you do chest on Monday, back on Tuesday and so on.   Focus on a total body workout three times per week and zero in on what I call the FAB FOUR multi-joint exercises. You can add more exercises as time permits.

The FAB FOUR multi-joint, multi-muscle exercises that address the following movements: 

Pushing, pulling, squatting and hamstring hip hinge type of movement.  An example would be a push up, body weight row, over head squat and a dead lift of hip hinge.  These exercises all activate the core indirectly.  Planks and stabilization moves are best to strengthen the core and avoid stress on the discs that traditional sit ups can cause.

For more information on how to maximize your workout time and get fit, contact AllyFitness for a complementary consultation.

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Substitute High Glycemic Carbs with Better Carbs!

Too many of the wrong kinds of carbs can spike insulin levels and make it more difficult to shed body fat. The key is to replace processed carbohydrates with high-fiber carbs from whole foods. This is as simple as making substitutions.

Cut Back on White Potatoes

If you crave a baked potato, make it a sweet potato instead. Sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index and are more nutritious than white potatoes. They don’t raise insulin levels and they are rich in heart healthy antioxidants that have anti-cancer benefits. Have a hankering for French fries? Slice sweet potatoes into wedges, toss lightly in either olive oil or coconut oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 425 until brown on bottom, them broil to brown the top. 

Substitute for Pasta

A steaming plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce is a filling and satisfying.  Try replacing the pasta with one of these options:

1. Spaghetti squash at any supermarket and bake it in the oven for an hour at 375 - open it up, and remove the pulp and seeds. Run a fork along the inside to separate out your “pasta” strands.
2. Try one of the new healthier pasta varieties, like Barilla Plus. They have added protein and other Omega 3 fatty acids to lower the glycemic index to make it healthier.
3. Use a metal grater to shred zucchini squash into spaghetti strands. Sautee and add tomato sauce and garlic.

Lower Carb Bread Alternatives

Always choose high-fiber or whole grain bread and enjoy it in moderate amounts.  If you are trying to slim down, try eating your sandwiches open-faced.  You can also try the high fiber, low-carb wraps like the La Tortilla Factory to lighten up a sandwich.

Carb-Cutting Tips for Snacks

Go NUTS!  Nuts won’t send your insulin levels soaring and they contain healthy fats that make them filling and heart-healthy. A recent study showed that up to 15% of the fat in nuts like pistachios isn’t absorbed, so you’re getting free calories when you snack on nuts. People who eat a handful of nuts on most days reduce their risk of death from heart disease by 30-50% while prescription drugs only lower your risk by 20-30%.

Give these carb-cutting tips a try if you’re trying to slim down. They’re more waistline friendly.

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Are you Suffering from Portion Distortion?

Most people gain weight because they are eating the wrong foods.  Portion size plays a bigger role in weight gain and weight maintenance.  People in today’s society have lost touch with what a portion size really looks like. This is partially because restaurants are now serving super sized portions and have servings large enough to share.  A large French Fry order at McDonalds in France is the size of a medium ordered here in the United States.  Even packaged foods have distorted portions. According to the CDC, portion sizes of ready-to-eat foods have slowly ballooned in size over the past 40 years.

Research has shown that when people are served large portions, they eat more.  Here are some tips to help you control your serving sizes.

Use Portion Control Plates
Portion control plates take the guesswork out of how much to put on your plate. Each plate is partitioned into slots. There are two slots for protein and starch and a larger slot for vegetables. A study carried out at the University of Calgary showed that people who used these plates lost significant amounts of weight. They’re a good tool for familiarizing yourself with portion sizes and how much you should put on your plate. In addition, they help you make better decisions about the composition of what you eat.  It takes practice and training your eye to learn the proper portion sizes.

Weigh Your Food

If you are not sure what a serving size is or looks like, get a kitchen scale and weigh your food before eating it. Over time, this will teach you to recognize what a portion size really looks like. Doing  this consistently for a few weeks will help you recognize when you’re eating an over-sized portion. Use the scale to fine tune your ability to eyeball portion sizes.

Become Skilled at Reading Labels

Food labels are tricky. When you buy a beverage or a snack, you might think you’re getting a single serving, but this isn’t always the case. Always check the number of servings before eating a “single-serving” snack. In some cases, there are two or even three servings in the bag or bottle. If this is the case, when you eat the entire bag you’re getting two to three times the calories listed on the label. Be a savvy label reader and know how much is in the package before tossing it in your mouth.

Always plate your food, even snacks!

When you eat a snack, remove an appropriate portion from the bag or box, and put the remainder away. If you eat from the container, you’ll end up eating more especially if you’re snacking while working on the computer or watching television. Do this with fruit as well. 

Control Portions When Eating Out

• Ask the server to box up half of your meal to take home before you even start eating, or see if you can order a half-portion instead.
• Be more portion savvy when you’re dining out or eating at home and you’ll have fewer problems controlling your weight.

Reference:

Centers for Disease Control. “Do Increased Portion Sizes Affect How Much We Eat?”

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How to Boost your Metabolism!

How to Boost your Metabolism!

Even small amounts of excess body fat can increase your risk of several chronic diseases.  Simple strategies to power up your metabolism can be helpful.  Follow these tips!

1. Have a cup of green tea.  This will boost your immunity, reduce cardiovascular risk and boost your metabolism.

2. Eat – Commit to three meals a day and two snacks to keep hunger at bay.  Skipping meals, especially breakfast, is proven to drain your metabolism and sabotage your efforts.

3. Eat your omega 3’s – Omega-3 fats play a key role in maintaining fat burning potential.  Include oily fish, omega 3 fortified eggs, walnuts and dark leafy greens.

4. Give your metabolic machinery an oil change – Limit saturated fats to once or twice a week.  Cut all trans fats completely.

5. Steer Clear of the Great White Hazards – white flour products, white rice and sugar.  These foods rapidly increase your blood sugar and overwhelm your metabolism.  Over time, these foods basically wear things out causing type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other health issues.

6. Get hot!  Super hot foods like chili peppers, hot mustards and Tabasco are proven to provide a temporary boost to metabolism  as well as mood lift.

7. Move – physical activity helps maintain and even build lean body mass.  The more lean body mass you have, the faster your metabolism.  In fact muscles burns about 70% of the calories you consume.

8. Get your rest!  Sleep deprivation revs up appetite stimulating hormones. 

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No EXCUSES!

You've been doing it for a while now, probably longer than you realize. Again and again, you come up with a reason why you're going to start TOMORROW.

Before you know it, you wake up one morning and you're 5 lbs, 10 lbs, or 15 lbs heavier than you were a few months ago!

Enough is enough. Now is the time to stop making excuses, to stop putting your fitness on hold, and to start working out. 

Don't Let Age Get the Upper Hand

With every year that passes, your body conspires to make getting into shape harder. Your metabolism slows down as you age, adding weight that you'll have a harder time shedding. Your growth hormone production slows down, making it even more of a challenge! What might have been a snap at 20 will take more time and effort at 45 OR BEYOND (believe me, I KNOW).

Here's the good news: You CAN absolutely get fit at ANY age! BUT....the longer you put it off, the harder it will be to make those changes. Your body is more primed to respond to exercise right NOW, than it will be even 6 months from now. And, if you happen to be that person who starts working out today, know that soon enough you'll be fitter than a 20 year old who's sitting around still making excuses!

The Chicken or the Egg?

It could be that you're overweight and think you need to lose a few pounds before you start working out.  So, you've decided that you're going to lose weight by dieting BEFORE you start an exercise program. You've even got a list of groceries to restock your fridge and pantry with and to start you on your way.

It's true that watching what you eat is a huge part of a fitter, trimmer life. But studies show that making the switch to healthier eating is easier when you're already working out regularly.

Exercise will cause you to crave healthier foods, encouraging a fit diet to come more naturally, and the pounds to melt off quicker!

Inactivity Makes You Even More Tired

Maybe you're waiting around until you feel less exhausted and fatigued by work, family, and everything else that goes on.  Chances are, you will ALWAYS have a ton of things going to that will zap up your energy!

More good news:  Exercise will INCREASE your energy throughout the day, so you will have more clarity and be able to get more done during your day You've just got to get the ball rolling!

It's a Mental Game

Fitness is about being proactive mentally AND physically - putting it off will actually psyche you out!  Adding regular exercise isn't necessarily easy. But the longer you wait to begin working our regularly, the more insurmountable a challenge it will seem.

Put the kibosh on negativity before it starts to impact your drive to workout and live healthier!  The little engine that could do did do because he was already doing.

Decide right now to stop your excuses and take the first step. Together we will come up with the perfect personalized fitness plan for you. It will be unique to your lifestyle and get you to your goals quickly.

Call or email TODAY and say goodbye to waiting until tomorrow!  

info@allyfitness.com or 615-491-1615

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