You can exercise 1-2 hours everyday but never lose weight or even gain weight if you are not careful about your diet.

By gaining awareness of the nutritional content of the foods that you consume on a daily basis, you take control of your health and fitness.

Food is meant to fuel your body as a machine and allow it to perform optimally. Yes, you can indulge every once in a while on "not so good for you" food.

The key is to indulge rarely and to commonly eat foods that will give you energy and help your body be at its best.

Here are some great articles about "not so good" foods that are readily available:

• Deadly Fast Food #1
• Deadly Fast Food #2
• Deadly Fast Food #3
• Caloric Foods
  

Remember this => GARBAGE IN = GARBAGE OUT

Stay healthy,

Randy

Have you ever noticed your body is little puffy after eating a salty meal like Enchilada or Sashimi?  Or Ladies, have you ever noticed that your pants fit a little tighter before or during that time of the month? 

Consuming sodium in excess (mmm, yummy nachos) or hormones can cause the body to retain water and make you feel bigger than you really are.  Of course, everyone retains water...we are in fact 60% water. There are also some other causes of water retention: Dehydration, low calorie diets, some medicines and histamines. 

We cannot make our bodies stop retaining water BUT we can minimize the amount of water retention. 

Here are some ways to take to shed excess water from your body:

1. Lower your sodium intake. 
   
2. Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.  Add some lemon juice for a kick.  
3. Consume Diuretic Beverages like Coffee, Green Tea and Cranberry juice.  Why?  I am not a big tea drinker, but with a little lemon and some ice, it is not so bad.  For the last 2 months, I have committed to drinking 2 glasses of green tea a day  I am happy to report that I am seeing a dramatic decrease in the amount of water I am retaining and my ankles do not look like Ms. Piggy's ankles . 
   
4. Consume High Potassium Fruits and Veggies. Some fruits are melons, bananas, lemons, oranges and grapefruits.  Some veggies are leafy greens, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and onions. Potasium helps to keep your fluid levels in balance.
5. Caffeine...in moderation.  Consuming too much caffeine can lead to dehydration and that will cause water retention.
6. Eat small, frequent meals.

Try some of the above for a month and see if you can average out the amount of water you are retaining.   Good luck!

Disclaimer : Talk with your doctor if you feel that you are retaining more water than you think is "normal" for you.

As you have probably heard me say before: Exercise is only half of the equation to maintaining a healthy body weight.  You need to have a good nutrition plan. 

Water

Not only does water help you feel full and keep you from getting the munchies, water helps you get rid of toxins in your body.  Studies have shown that you need to drink about half of your body weight in ounces.  So, if you are 150 lbs, you need to drink about 75 ounces of water per day.  If water does not taste good to you, then try adding a slice of lime or lemon.  Keep a 32 ounce water bottle with you so that you can sip on water throughout the day. 

 Small, Frequent Meals

I know, I know.  It sounds crazy.  In order to lose weight, you eat more often!!!  First, stop thinking that you have to starve in order to lose weight.  This is a myth that has been perpetuated by society and the media.  Actually, if you do not eat on a regular basis (I am talking to the non-breakfast eaters and the 'oh I forgot about lunch crowd'), you are making your body go into starvation mode.  The next time you eat, your body is going to store the food as fat.  The infrequent eating will also cause your glycemic index to fluctuate and your blood sugar to spike which could lead to Type II Diabetes.  Your metabolism will also slow down which is never a good way to burn calories. 

Plan to eat a sensible (i.e. portion control) breakfast, lunch and dinner with a snack between each meal.  A good snack is an apple, walnuts, almonds, avocado wedges, cucumber slices, carrots or yogurt.  Not only will you feel full and not craving candy bars and soda, you will be properly fueling your body.  You will be more effective in the gym and your metabolism will be chewing through the calories.

Randy

http://www.bringfitnessback.com