101 Healthy Things to Start the New Year

1.      Drink more water

2.      Clean out your fridge get rid of the unneeded junk

3.      Clean out your pantry and get rid of the junk

4.      Stock your fridge/freezer with lean proteins, veggies, fruits and nuts

5.      Shop the outside aisles of the grocery store only

6.      Carry all of your groceries in a basket instead of pushing a cart

7.      Use the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator

8.      Park further away from your destination

9.      Workout at least 3 times a week

10.  Plan out your meals for the week

11.  Stock your grocery cart with only items that come from an animal, plant, sea or ground

12.  Write out your goals

13.  Make a vision board of how you would like to see yourself!

14.  Drink a cup of green tea twice a week

15.  Break a sweat

16.  Meditate

17.  Try yoga

18.  Stretch 3 times a week

19.  Play with your pet

20.  Play with your kids

21.  Walk to the store

22.  Add more protein to your diet

23.  Eat a lot of vegetables

24.  Try a new fruit

25.  Leave off the sauce

26.  Skip the bread basket

27.  Cook a meal from scratch

28.  Don’t eat any processed foods today

29.  Don’t eat any refined sugar today

30.  Eat a mini meal of natural foods every 3 hours

31.  Don’t stuff yourself

32.  Tell someone you love them

33.  Divorce a negative friend

34.  Quit an unhappy job

35.  Look for a new career

36.  Read motivational stories

37.  Apologize

38.  Read a book

39.  Finish what you started

40.  Be optimistic

41.  Drop the excuses

42.  Find a solution

43.  Be accountable

44.  Make your own luck!

45.  Take a brisk walk

46.  Talk to an inspirational friend

47.  Go to bed earlier and aim for 7-8 hours of sleep

48.  Don’t watch TV

49.  Try some vegetable juice

50.  Cook with coconut oil

51.  Drink some coconut water

52.  Try a vegan dish

53.  Try a new kind of nut

54.  Eat some seeds

55.  Don’t eat anything that has ingredients you can’t define

56.  Volunteer

57.  Donate some time

58.  Donate some money

59.  Hire a trainer

60.  Hire a nutritionist

61.  Try a new workout class

62.  Join a boot camp

63.  Try a new sport

64.  Play tag with your kids (or borrow your friends kids!)

65.  Play fetch with your dog (or borrow a neighbors!)

66.  Walk up a hill

67.  Join a walking, jogging, running or hiking group

68.  Go for a hike

69.  Do 10 jumping jacks

70.  Do 10 push ups

71.  Do 10 situps

72.  Do them again!

73.  Lunge around your house

74.  Hop around your house

75.  Shovel your drive way if there is snow

76.  Rake your lawn if there are leaves!

77.  Mow your own lawn

78.  Take off your shoes before going in your house

79.  Wash your face before you go to bed

80.  Plant your own herbs

81.  Try some new spices

82.  Add sea salt to a new dish

83.  Try a new recipe

84.  Walk to run your errands

85.  Predict your own future by creating it!

86.  Meet a friend for a workout instead of happy hour

87.  Walk on your lunch break

88.  Dust off your blender

89.  Buy a blender if you don’t have one!

90.  Buy a juicer

91.  Watch the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly dead

92.  Watch the documentary Forks over Knives

93.  Watch a funny movie

94.  Laugh

95.  Clean out your closet

96.  Donate clothes that are too big and swear you will never go back to that size!

97.  Skip the butter

98.  Skip the high heels today

99.  Put your gym bag in the car

100. Put motivating music on your music player to pump up your workouts!

101. Read some motivating fitness blogs…

It takes just 7 days for a something to become a habit!

Contact me, Jessy Hamawi, anytime for a more specific help jump starting your weight loss and health look 

Jessy’s Top 10 Ways to Stay Motivated

1.       Make Working Out a Key Part of Your Life

Schedule it in, and put it on your calendar. Make it a real commitment. It is a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix.

2.       Choose a Convenient Gym

Choose a gym or a place to work out that is convenient and close.

3.        Set Attainable Goals

Instead of saying, "I aim to lose 40 lbs" or "gain 10 lbs of muscle," set weekly and monthly goals to increase your reps or weight and/or increase your cardio.

4.       Start Off Slow

 Don't go in and work out so hard that you make yourself too sore to move. Focus on form and getting into the groove.

5.        Vary Your Routine

 Doing the same thing over and over will likely result in a plateau. Try to change your sets, reps, weights and/or rest period between sets at least once a month. 

6.       Keep a Journal

Keep a journal and hold yourself accountable to making improvements. How will you know when you get there if you can't remember where you've been?

7.       Use the Buddy System

Train with a friend to keep up the energy. There is nothing like some friendly competition to spur a good workout.

8.        Hire a Trainer

There will be days when the last thing you’ll want to do is spend time at the gym. A professional knows how to motivate you on those days, and you will be more likely to go when you're paying someone.

9.       Be Patient

Make a promise to yourself to stick with it for at least 3 to 4 months. Consistency is key! Mark your calendar at the 3 or 4 month mark and if you stick to it, reward yourself with a new outfit or a vacation.

10.   Get Enough Sleep

Lack of sleep will derail your trainingprogram faster than anything. You will likely overeat to compensate for energyand/or skip the gym all together.

Home Training for Legs

Dear Jessy,

I have always been rather pear shaped and cannot seem to get rid of the fat in my lower body. I am a mother of two. Sometimes it is very difficult to make it to the gym to train. Can you please suggest some options to workout at home to really target my lower body?

Thanks,

J.W.

Dear J.W.

The lower body is the first place that I accumulate fat when I relax my diet and training routine as well.It is a common concern for many women. Unfortunately, legs typically respond better to more strenuous training. They are a large muscle group; therefore they require more energy to move.

Assuming you are already consuming a clean diet consisting of 5 - 6 small meals a day, try and train legs at least twice a week. It is a good idea to invest in a set of dumbbellsor to fill a milk jug with water or even little pebbles, which can range from 10 - 20 lbs.

Home Training For Legs:

Basic Squat:

Stand in front of a chair or bench with your feet shoulder width apart and weight in each hand, down at your sides. Bend your knees as though you are sitting on the chair, keeping your weight on your heels. When your legs are parallel with the seat of the chair (but not sitting), slowly rise to your original standing position. Perform 3 sets of 15 - 20 repetitions.

Advanced Squat:

Same as above but incorporate a jump at the top of the motion.

Basic Plie Squat:

Take a wide stance with your toes pointing outward. Holding one dumbbell with both hands between your legs, standing upright, slowly bend your knees in the direction of your toes until your knees are 90 degrees. Slowly return to the starting position. Perform 3 sets of 15 - 20 repetitions.

Advanced Plie Squat:

Same as above, only alternate squatting with toes pointed out and then toes pointed front for a double squat for each rep.

Basic Lunge:

With weight in each hand by your side, take a giant step forward with your right leg so your thigh becomes parallel with the floor (no knees going beyond the toe). Pushing backward of the same leg, return to your starting position. Repeat with the left leg. Perform 3 sets of 15 - 20 repetitions, with one rep being the right and then the left leg.

Advanced Lunge:

Stand with dumbbells grasped to sides. Extend one leg back on forefoot. Lower body on other leg by flexing knee and hip of front leg until knee of rear leg is almost in contact with floor. Return to original standing position by extending the hip and knee of the forward leg. Repeat with the left leg.

Wall Sit:

With your back touching the wall, move your feet away from the wall so that the wall is supporting you. Bend your knees so that the legs form a 90 degree angle. Hold as long as you can. Repeat 3 times.

Advanced Wall Sit:

Same as above, only hold a weight in your lap. You may even super set with jump squats. A 5 - 8 lb. medicine ball is perfect for this.

Calf Raises:

Position your toes and balls of feet on a block with arches and heels extending off and resting on the floor. Raise your heels by extending ankles as high as possible. Lower heels by bendingyour ankles until your calves are stretched. Perform 3 sets of 20 - 30 repetitions.

Dumbbell Calf Raises:

Same as above except this time add one dumbbell in each hand and hold at your side.

*Cardio:

For maximum results, perform 30 - 40 minutes of medium intensity cardio at home as well. Choose an activity such as speed walking, jogging, hiking, biking, roller-blading, soccer or tennis. Jumping rope or an exercise video are also great options. Even mowing the lawn with a push mower and cleaning house can be effective cardio. Just be sure to get your heart rate up enough to reach your fat burning zone.

Advice about Calorie Counting

Dear Jessy,

I currently have been working outwith a trainer consistently. My workouts have been intense, combining heavy weights and shorter rest periods. I have seen results, but it is happening slowly as with anything that is worthwhile. My question to you is about dietand nutrition. I have asked people time and time again whether I should be concerned with counting calories or just making sure that I am getting the appropriate macronutrients in every meal. I wanted to get a final answer on this, so any help or advice on this would be appreciated. Currently I am 136 pounds and about 25% body fat which is still high. I would like to see that number come down to about 17, so I know I have my work cut out for me

Thanks,

Jill

Dear Jill,

By now you probably know that it takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound of body fat. It is certainly not an exact science but one rule of thumb that I follow is to multiply my ideal weight (allowing for muscle growth, which weighs more than fat) by 10 to get the number of calories my body needs just to survive on a daily basis.

So, for me, at 5'6", I feel that my ideal weight is around 120. This puts me at 1200 calories. Next you have to figure in the amount of calories needed to fuel your daily activities.

If you have a sedentary lifestyle, sitting at a desk all day, no exercise, you would likely add about 300 calories to come up with your daily total. This would put me at 1500 to keep me from gaining weight with such little activity in my life.

If you are moderately to very active, add between 500 - 800 calories. This would put my daily total between 1700 - 1900 calories. You may need to play with these numbers over time to find your true caloric needs, because all of our metabolisms are different, some slow, some moderate and some quick.

Once you've established your caloric needs, divide that number by 5 or 6, depending on the number of meals you have throughout the day. Smaller, more frequent meals will boost your metabolism and give you quicker results than the usual 3 meals a day that we are all accustomed to.

For example, as of today I am lifting heavier and harder than usual. I have decided to follow a meal plan for 1900 calories, which divided by 6 meals, puts me at 300 calories per meal. I then keep the ratio of macronutrients to about 50% protein, 30% carbohydrates and 20% fat.

I am not typically concerned with keeping this exact. I just try to keep my protein at enough grams to promote muscle growth, so about 1 - 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, so 110 - 160.

I keep my carbs just below those numbers and only incorporate good fats into my diet, remembering that too much fat, good or bad, will ultimately make you fat. However, some fat is necessary to maintain hormones and keep our metabolism running. I typically cut out carbsother than vegetables for my last meal of the day.

This is the formula I follow throughout the year. As competitions and photo shoots approach, that’s a different story. Bottom line, it is all about finding a balance. Too many calories and you will likely gain fat. Too few calories and your metabolism will slow down, kick into preservation mode and once again, likely gain fat. Your body will store anything you eat to protect its organs and keep from starving. Find a balance by paying attention to the numbers if you really want to make a difference in your physique. It is amazing how much eating and/or starving ourselves we tend to do, without even realizing it.