It’s in Silverlake and it’s a pretty cool Yoga Class

Yoga for athletes at YAS click for free coupon

YAS SilverLake

323.913.1991

The great thing about free, is you can try out this form of Pilates (it’s different from Stott Pilates, or other forms), and see how you like it.
It’ll also add something a bit different into your current work out routine. They also have a split Pilates and Spinning class if you are so inclined.

Pilates Plus Brentwood
11755 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 60
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Pilates Plus Venice
1653A Abbott Kinney Blvd.
Venice Beach, CA 90291

I’ve done the class, they KICK your butt. The first time you feel a bit overwhelmed, and it goes pretty fast, but you get an AWESOME work out. Your abs are sore, your side abs are sore, your butt is sore, your thighs are sore, the muscles you didn’t even know you have are sore, and you stand up a bit straighter, and that gut’s not quite as poochy the next day.

Regular practice of Pilates can offer you a number of benefits, including:

• increased lung capacity
• improved circulation
• better balance
• increased body strength
• lean and toned muscles
• better posture
• reduced stress levels (and like I said in my prior post stress makes you gain weight!)

Pilates isn’t necessarily going to burn calories, but the great thing about PilatesPlus is they have Spin classes too.  It’s a nice balance. Personally I’m pretty lo-key with my exercise, and have found PilatesPlus to be just fast enough and intense enough of a workout to have the “burn” factor. But hey, I’m not going to stop you from getting a bit more “burn” for your buck.

If you decide you love it, well I can get you a deal for an unlimited pass for $99 a month, just leave me a comment and I’ll get back with you!

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1. Consciously or not, you’re clueless

Not usually clueless… it’s always on my mind, I just enjoy eating a full dinner, then snacking at 10 at Kogi bbq, followed by some Pinkberry.  Seriously though, my portion control is probably a bit bigger than it should be.

2. You skip breakfast

If you don’t eat enough your body slows its metabolism down. That’s why I cannot emphasize how important I think breakfast is.  When I don’t eat, I don’t lose a pound! The hubby of course loses weight, because that’s the irony of life. He calls it the weight lifting anorexia diet.

If you weight lift and barely eat then your body knows it can’t burn muscle since you’re building muscle and burns fat.

Lest I spread false rumors.  Weight lifting only helps you not lose muscle and it’s  not healthy.  That and like I said, my body’s metabolism just shuts down.

3. You eat without thinking

I disagree with MSN here. I ALWAYS know when I’m eating, it’s just why I’m eating. Am I eating to make sure I match my husband’s portions?  Am I eating because I’m bored and my mouth wants to do something? I’ve found that chewing a VERY yummy flavor of gum helps this a lot. Orbit Mint Mojito is my current favorite.  Matching my husband’s portions… well that is not something that I have psychologically been able to get past, so I’ll let you know when I do.

4. You drink more calories than you realize

I thankfully don’t drink anything but water, so I don’t have that issue. Although, not drinking enough is just as hazardous to weight gain, as your body retains more water to compensate for you not drinking enough water.  I cannot praise Voss water enough. I buy a bunch of their large glasses as water bottles (I do have some small ones too for convenience). I know 3 a day gets me just enough water, and it’s a great way for me to gauge how much I’ve drunk.  That and unlike plastic it’s not bad for you, and you can easily throw it in the dishwasher.

5. It’s not you, it’s your life

Again I disagree with MSN’s,  Basically, “stop making excuses. ” Excuses are valid, and lives are hard to overcome.  An article that just says stop making excuses doesn’t help me.

Just like all those little excerpts on “do this ab defining move” don’t help me either.. it’s not a clear game plan; it’s just good to know.

Also, do you have a stressful job or life in general? Do you keep your fat in your stomach area more than your hips? Are you a stress eater? Well according to studies, you’re more likely to be releasing more cortisol, which means you’re either over exerting your adrenals (which will damage them and cause even more weight gaining problems), or you’re increasing your insulin and your weight.   Taking stress out of your life isn’t easy. I know from first hand experience.  So yes, your life (or people in your life) can be making you fat.

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I knew I would have to be the woman who exercised fanatically, watched what I ate, and worked hard at it.  Unfortunately, I am definitely not that woman, and I didn’t want to fail at this. So I did what I always do, I called mom.  My mother is one of those “naturals.”  Try being in high school and having a mom who was 118lbs.  She’s now a consultant for a diet plan from Australia called the Ultra Lite diet, and recommended I give it a try.

The plan doesn’t require tons of exercise (a plus on my scale), but does require a pretty rigid diet plan, with protein drinks in between meals. She swears I’ll lose about 10 pounds, have more energy, and have fabulous skin (think Perricone diet).  It’s low salt, low carb, and no sugar.

I’ll blog about the experience weekly. I can’t divulge the whole diet plan,  but I can tell you what I struggled with, what I loved, and how well things go after wards.

From Bace:

As part of the teacher training curriculum one of our apprentices will be teaching a free mat class this Friday July 10th at 5:30pm!

We at BACE feel that in order to create amazing Pilates teachers they must have hands on teaching experience. We pride ourselves in our excellent classes and push our teachers in becoming great group class instructors.

Space is limited so contact the studio today to place yourself on the list for the free mat class.

323.939.6333 info@bacepilates.com

I’m the same way with exercise. I tell myself, I’ll work twice as hard tomorrow…today’s just too busy. After all, between work, general to-do’s, social dinners, and must-see TV, how am I to fit in a workout?

I’d love it if I were one of those peppy (with not to mentioned perfectly sculpted abs) women who could wake up at 5am, pound out a good workout, shower, and get myself ready (and looking decent) before a full day at the office.  Unfortunately, that’s not me. It’s now 9pm and I’m writing my blog. I could be at the gym, but I have prioritized writing about getting fit above actually getting fit. Yes I get the irony.

So the question is, where do I find the time? And where do I find the motivation to actually do a decent work out?

I have a gym downstairs, and paying for a gym membership did nothing for me… well okay it made me a bit poorer.

I bought the Wii fit. That gave my friends some really good video of me hula hooping. And some decently sore thighs, but in the end it was just a game for me, and not quite enough work out.

I also have the P90x DVDs.  Those things kicked my butt, but I’m obviously not doing them right now either. Unlike the Wii, it just wasn’t entertaining enough.

I think my workout plan is probably the mix of the above. I’m like most of today’s generation, a bit of the ADD, and I just can’t seem to be able to be happy sticking to just one.

For now however, as I’ve put into cyberspace that I want to get in shape, I’m making myself get off my butt and do something tonight. I figure in the end that’s the first step- consistency. Inconsistency with ice cream doesn’t make me fat, consistency does.  Same thing with exercise -  inconsistency doesn’t make me thin, consistency does… even if it’s not as fast as a trainer at the gym says she could. At least it’s on my terms.

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Diddy Riese

In the grand scheme of things, for someone who’s working to get healthy, I really should be avoiding foods that make me sick.  I’m lactose intolerant, which means I don’t digest the sugar Lactase very well at all. I’m also carb and sugar junky all the way.  Both are very easy and quick to grab and go, and they taste delicious.  But by the end of a long day at work, I’m either in sugar shock, or just plane exhausted. Sugar definitely is making me sick.

Sure the dentist has always said sugar’s are bad for you, yes I know the calories are empty, but it’s physically hurting me too. I’m exhausting my body, and making it flood my system with insulin, which isn’t good.

An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body’s blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat..

Healing Daily

I also ran across a list by Nancy Appleton of  141 ways sugar hurts your body. The list is pretty eye opening, and as someone who’s trying to get pregnant number 83 really jumped out.

83.  Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance – some hormones become underactive and others become overactive.

And I’m not just talking about white sugar, carbs too Dr. Briffa posted a blog on carbs an infertility:

In a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health in the USA assessed the relationship between intake of dietary carbohydrate in women’s diets and their risk of fertility related to problems with ovulation (ovulatory infertility) [1].

Chavarro JE, et al. A prospective study of dietary carbohydrate quantity and quality in relation to risk of ovulatory infertility. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009;63:78–86

So, today begins my withdrawal from sugar and empty carbs. We’ll see how it goes!

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GET OUT OF BED YOU LAZY PIECE OF CRAP! Why can’t you get out of bed? DO IT!

It kind of worked, after about a month of yelling at myself, I did manage to roll out of bed and do some morning yoga. I also, through a combination of  sheer fear of bad photos and Sex In the City re-runs, managed to get in an evening workout on the treadmill. That was 5 years ago, and unfortunately I no longer have the threat of wedding photos hanging over my head.

I feel partially guilty starting this blog. I’m not supposed to care about my weight. I should be a confident woman and not succumb to the media’s propaganda about what a woman should look like.

A size healthy

Like I said, I am technically not that over weight. But flipping through an old magazine I ran across Queen Latifah’s Jenny Craig’s ad, and it made me think. Almost anyone can be stick skinny, with flat abs and fit into a size 2 jean, but not everyone is really fit, or healthy. Eating carrots and cottage cheese, will definitely accomplish the skinny goal, but at what cost?

I want to be able to enjoy the outdoors, go for a run, finish a 5k and say I accomplished something. I want to come home at the end of the day with energy, not to a bag of peanut M&Ms. I want my shoulders to not ache with stiffness, my back to hunch due to my bad posture and my poor abs, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I want to look like Demi Moore when I’m her age.  So here’s to a happier, healthier, and hotter looking me.  I hope all of you will help keep me motivated, get me off my butt, and hopefully you’ll get to your size healthy too!

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