Fit Mom Makeover

Do you think that because you had a baby or two or even three that you can’t lose your baby fat?

I have to be honest with you, I have three girls whom I all love to death and wouldn’t change for anything but it does take a toll on the body. Be pregnant changed my body in ways I couldn’t have dreamed. Did you know that your feet can change permanently while pregnant? Along with my feet I saw changes in my hips, but even though I saw some changes in my body after having children, I didn’t allow having children become an excuse. I didn’t allow it to become an excuse to eat anything I want or not to exercise because I’m too busy. I have to admit, I had to become a little more creative with my workouts but I always get them in-even if it’s only 10 min.

I was recently reading an article about 4 moms who worked hard and lost their baby fat ( I like to be inspired as well) and it confirmed to me what I already know, but it’s nice to read about people having great success after going through one of the most challenging things a body can do. It also proved to me once more that with hard work and determination anyone can get the results they want.

I know first hand what having a baby can do to your body, but I also know that after my second daughter who I gained 10 more pounds with than my first, I was also in the best shape of my life after 12 weeks of hard work.

How To Lose Your Baby Fat.

1) Don’t wait too long to start getting back into shape. Of course make sure you have the green light from your doctor, but if you keep putting it off it will only get harder.

2)No Excuses. Now that you have a baby in your life, life will never be the same again. Time will never be just yours and you have someone else to think about, but that doesn’t mean you get to completely ignore yourself. The best thing about babies is that they will sleep anywhere (most of the time). Take them out in the stroller and do your exercises outside. Join a stroller class. Not only will you get out, you will meet other moms with the same goal as yourself.

3) Workout at Home. The great thing with workouts is that you don’t need to go to the gym to get a great workout in. You can invest in some simple inexpensive equipment like dumbbells, a stability ball and some tubes and you have everything you need for a challenging workout in your living room.

4) Just Get Started. Don’t wait for the perfect time because it will never come. You will always be tired, and you will always have laundry to do. If you wait for a better time it will never come and you could end up spending years waiting. If you have 10 min. then get it in then. I have do power workouts before and believe me when I say that you can pack in alot in 10 min.

My favourite do anywhere exercises:

1. interval training for cardio. You can walk or run (when you are ready). You can do it outside or on a treadmill or bike.

2. Lunges. As you know, this is my favourite all time exercise. It targets the entire lower body.

3. Burpees. You can do these anywhere and it gets your heart rate really going.

4. Push Ups- A great over all upper body exercise.

5. Bicycle Abs.

Don’t give in to the excuses. Just because you have a baby doesn’t mean you have to look like you have a baby. You determine what you are going to look like not your baby. Set your goals, be consistent and you will see great results.

Committed to your fitness success,
Kelly Parker
www.fitmommakeover.net

I always joke with my mom and thank her for giving me her legs. They look exactly like hers and the one part of me I really don’t like. I work very hard at my legs. Although clearly I have inherited my mothers genes, it doesn’t mean I doomed with unattractive legs.

As with any part of your body, if you want to see a change, you need to eat well, do cardio and incorporate some killer exercises to shed the fat and build up that muscle.

The following are some of my favourite exercises and must haves in your routine if you want to have killer legs and stop traffic this summer:)

Squats

I always perform some sort of squat. One variation is to use dumbbells. This is great for beginners , and can be intensified with adding heavier weights. Start with your feet shoulder width apart, belly button pulled in, you want your back straight, not rounding forward. Sit back as if you were sitting on a chair, and exhale as you come up. Be sure to push up through the heels of your feet.

Lunges

This as many of you know is my absolute favourite. I love all variations of lunges. The most important part of a lunge is to not glide forward over your toe but to drop your hips down and make a 90 degree angle with the front leg. Then as you push up, push up through the front heel keeping little pressure on the back leg. You should feel your butt and hamstring (back of your leg) in the forward leg.

Deadlifts

There are a couple of types of deadlifts. I like to do a bent leg deadlift as opposed to a straight legged deadlift. The most important thing with these is to pull your belly button in, keep your back straight, chest out. Do not round your back, and exhale as you come up. You are going to slide the weights down infront of your legs bending your knees slightly and pop up into standing position. Start out with a lighter weight until you get the feel of it, then increase the weight.

Leg Extension

This one I use only to change things up a bit, or if I really want to feel a good burn. This is my least favourite only because you are sitting working only your quads (front of your leg). I prefer the others because they work more than one muscle at a time hence burning more calories, but for a super set or a bit of a change, it’s a great one to throw in.

When lifting your legs you want to control the movement. Don’t go too fast. Squeeze the muscle at the top of the lift and slowly lower back to start. Exhale as you come up and still keep your abs contracted.

Start out with trying 12-15 reps of each exercise and see how you feel. Work your way up to 4-5 sets, and remember to give yourself a great stretch after.

Committed to your fitness success.
Kelly Parker
www.bestfitbodybootcamp.com

Working with a stability ball is not only fun but can be extremely challenging. Taking traditional exercises and doing them on the ball, not only changes up the same old exercises but it adds the element of balance.

There are several different sizes of stability balls, so before you rush out to buy one, be sure to get the right size. If you are trying them out at the store, when you are sitting on it your hips should be slightly higher than your knees.  There are some guidelines to height as well.  Use the following guide to help you.

55 cm – 4’11″ – 5’4″
65 cm – 5’5″ – 5’11″
75 cm – 6’0″ – 6′ 7″

I would recommend using a good quality ball.  You can find these at fitness stores.

Try some of my favourite ball exercises to get a great total body workout:

Chest Press

Keep your hips up, belly button pulled in.  Drop your arms until they are 90 degrees and push the weight back up squeezing your chest muscles together.

Push Up

If you are just trying this exercise for the first time, then you will want to start with the ball closer to your thighs. The more body you have on the ball, the easier it will make your push up. To give yourself the ultimate challenge, hang one leg off the ball.  Be sure to keep your back in proper alignment and your belly button pulled in tight.  Exhale as you push yourself up away from the floor.

Crunch

Keep your low back pressed into the ball, and lift your butt up (pelvic tilt). Maintain that position and lift your shoulders up squeezing your abs.

Ab Roll In

It’s very important to pull your belly button in tight, so you don’t feel any pain in your low back.  Draw your knees in towards your chest. When you think you can’t go anymore, try and squeeze out another inch.

There are dozens of exercises that you can do on the ball, these are some of the ones that I like.  You can literally take any exercise that you would do on the floor or bench and take it to the ball.  You will challenge your core and many other muscles as well.  Try performing 10 reps 2 times to start and work your way up to 3-4 sets of 15-20.

Committed to your fitness success,

Kelly Parker

www.bestfitbodybootcamp.com

This is something I can definitely relate to, in fact I’m suffering from it right now.  It has been a frustrating experience and I’m still trying to get rid of it.

First, what is it?

Through overuse and overpronation it can cause micro-tearing and inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia runs from the heel to the toes.  If you have pain in the arch area and up towards your heel, chances are you have plantar fasicits.  My biggest struggle with this is getting it to heal.

I have tried physio, icing it, stretching it, orthotics and new shoes.  End Result….

Nada… Unbelievably frustrating.

The one thing that has helped more than anything for me is shock wave therapy.

What is Shock Wave? It is focused sound waves that break up scar tissue and encourage collagen production, which helps heal the area

I have to admit the first time I tried this I thought I would die (well not really) but it was pretty uncomfortable but after 2 treatments I did notice a difference.  It is still there but it’s not as bad and I’m hoping that it will heal up real soon.

If you have just noticed some pain in your foot first try stretching. Stretch the entire lower body, focusing on your calves. Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds and do it at least twice.

Next ice your foot.  Instead of using an ice pack, get a bottle of water, put it in the freezer, and once frozen you can get it right in the arch and actually roll it up and down your foot while applying a decent amount of pressure.  If those don’t work, then you might need to go to physio or even give the shock wave a try.

Committed to your fitness success,

Kelly Parker

www.bestfitbodybootcamp.com

When my husband and I were in California last year for our annual business trip, we went out for dinner (a few times).  One of the restaurants we went to was the Olive Garden. I see their adds all the time on T.V and it definitely looks yummy.

We were seated quickly and our waiter fantastic.  While looking over the menus I was completely stuck.  As a rule, I never have anything in a white sauce, I know I would be asking for trouble. So many white sauces. Salads were tricky too.  I was trying to find something not battered.  Against my strong suggestion, my husband ordered a Fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp. White sauce-not happy with him.  I had really only one option I could see. I ordered the grilled chicken with veggies in a I think some sort of sweet sauce.

While waiting for our dinner our waiter came by, I asked for water only and was questioning him on the calorie and fat content of some things I saw in the menu.  He was so kind and brought me a book filled with all the items on the menu and their calorie and fat content.  So I quickly looked up meal, and was pleased by my decision of chicken. It was only 320 calories and under 10 grams of fat.  Good pick.

I then looked up my husbands meal-Ouch! 1,120 calories and 62 grams of fat! In one meal. I couldn’t believe it. I knew it was going to be high but I was shocked.  We very rarely eat out.  Mostly because I know there is hidden fat and calories in most meals, even when you think you are eating well, and second my kids are so picky, it doesn’t pay for us to go out.

The following are a couple of recipes I found that are a “slimmed down” version of some favourites.

The better version of Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp:

8oz whole wheat fettuccine

3/4 pound lg. shrimp (peeled and deveined, tails removed) ,       2 tsp cornstarch

1 cup frozen peas,                                                                                    2 grates of a nutmeg

1 tsp unsalted butter,                                                                              3/4 cup of low fat, low sodium chicken broth

3 garlic cloves, minced,                                                                          1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

3/4 cup 2 %  Greek Yogurt,                                                                   salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook according to directions. In the last few minutes, add the shrimp and peas and cook until the shrimp is pink. Drain.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large non stick saute pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes.

Combine cornstarch and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Pour mixture into the saute pan, raise heat and bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking occasionally.  Whisk in 1/4 cup of the cheese until it has melted.  Remove pan from heat an whisk in yogurt until sauce is smooth.

In a large bowl, toss fettuccine, shrimp and peas with sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Top pasta with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and serve

Serves 4. Protein 34 g, Carbs 43 g, Cal. 374 g, Fat 8g

Traditional Brownies can be up to 430 calories and 23 g of Fat. Here is a lighter version.

Brownies

non-stick cooking spray,                                                            2 Tbsp low calorie sugar free chocolate syrup

1 1/2 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained,            2 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder,                                       1 Tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 cup egg substitute,                                                               8Tbsp granulated Splenda (I never use sweetners, try 4-5 tbsp of agave nectar instead)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine beans, cocoa powder, and egg substitute in bowl of food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth, about 2 mins.

Add chocolate syrup, sour cream, butter, splenda or agave nectar and vanilla. Process until all ingredients are combined, about 1 min.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 28-30 minutes, turning the dish halfway through the baking time.  When they’re done, a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with a little soft batter clinging to it.

Let brownies cool in the baking dish on a wire rack. Cut into 12 squares and serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Cal. 53, Fat 1.6 g, Protein 4 g, Carbs 8 g

Is there a secret formula or is it just plain luck that you can end up living to a nice old age? Maintaining your youth has been sought after since the beginning of time.  There have been countless movies that have portrayed the possibilities of the “fountain of youth”, and then there is the cosmetic and plastic surgery industries that are multi billion dollar a year industries….but I think that the secret to longevity isn’t necessarily the same thing as looking youthful.

We all age.  Unfortunately unless you are a vampire frozen in time (and I do wish to be frozen in time if I could be with Stefan and Damon-lol) we will continue to get older.  The question is how do we do it.  Age gracefully with purpose and meaning, or cut short our lives based on environment and personal decisions we all make??

Each and every one of us has the ability to make decisions that will affect our lives for either both good or bad.  Our environment is a little bit different.  Dan Buettner wrote a book called “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest”.  He went around the world to different areas where people lived measurably longer than the rest of the world.  He definitely found similarities.

The Blue Zone examples he studied in his book were Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California.  So what do these Blue Zones do different than we do?  In Costa Rica per capita, they spend only about 15% of what America does on health care but they live longer than anyone else in the world.  People who are living to one hundred and more, have a strong sense of purpose, family and community. They have worked hard their entire lives and eat light dinners and a traditional diet of corn and beans.

“People in the blue zones live rewardingly inconvenient lives.  They walk to the store, to church and to their friends’ homes.  They do their own yard work, hand-knead their own bread dough”

Obviously most of us don’t live in a Blue Zone area and our lives have been conformed to the often face paced, very convenient sort of life style.  With that being said even we can make small changes in our lives to make our own little personal “blue zone” to promote health and longevity.  Making small changes to eat better, move more, finding a purpose to your life and having more social connections will all improve the quality and quanity of your life.

The following were common habits among the Blue Zones visited:

9 Tips for Longevity

1.  Make regular activity intrinsic to your daily routines.

2. Have a “Plan de Vida” (mission or purpose that gives meaning to your life)

3. Take your life out of the fast lane: work less, slow down, rest and take vacations.

4. Eat less by following the 80% rule. (Stop eating when you are 80% full)

5. Shift your diet to more vegetable and fruits, less protein and fewer processed foods.

6. Drink red wine in moderation.

7. Create a healthy social network.

8. Cultivate spiritual or religious beliefs and participation.

9. Make family a priority.

Buettner says, “We see from the blue zones and aging research in general that these behaviours are associated with longer life-and the same things that can help get you to a healthy 90 or 100 can get you there better.  They don’t just add years; they’re vital, enriching years”.

If you would like to have more information on the blue zones check out www.bluezones.com

Committed to your fitness success,

Kelly Parker

www.bestfitbodybootcamp.com

I get a lot of questions on how to lose fat on certain body parts and one of the most common questions is how to lose fat on the triceps. I know that women are concerned about the excess flab that hangs under their arms. I have had many clients refer to it as their “bat wings”, and “queens wave”, but when it comes down to it, it’s all excess fat and how do you get rid of it.
Some of my favourite tricep exercises can be done anywhere.
-tricep pushups
-tricep dips
-overhead extensions
-TRX triceps

Tricep Push Ups:

If you are first trying these, start on your knees. Keep your belly button pulled in tight and exhale as you come up. The trick is to keep your elbows glued to your body. Don’t let them flare out. This is a challenging exercise, so don’t worry if you can’t get down all the way. Start even with a little dip in the elbows and work up to getting your nose down to the floor:)

Tricep Dips:

The trick with this exercise is to keep your back close to the bench or chair, and keep the weight off your legs. Use your arms to lift your body and you will definitely feel your triceps.

Overhead Extensions:

Keep a slight bend in your knees and tuck your bum under, this helps to protect your back. Keep your elbows glued to your ears and use a weight heavy enough to feel your triceps.

TRX Tricep Extensions:

If you are lucking enough to have access to this amazing piece of equipment–it is my absolute favourite. Most gyms now have the TRX and if you are looking for a piece to add to your home gym–it’s a must:)

As always to lose body fat, you need to tweak the diet. You will not have the sizzling triceps you want while eating fast food and cookies day in and day out, so throw out the junk and load up on your fruits and veggies. Increase your cardio and you are on your way to sexy tri’s.

Give this little workout a try:

After you have warmed up for about 4-5 minutes get right into it.
1. Push ups-40 sec to 1 min (it you are just starting begin at 40 sec. If you need a challenge do 1 min.)
2. Bicycle Abs- 1 min
3. Tricep Push ups- 1min

Cardio: 1 1/2 min:
30 sec-mountain climbers
30 sec.-jumping jacks
30 sec- side shuffle

4. Tricep Dips- 1 min
5. Quick Squats- 1 min
6. Over head Tricep Extension- 1min

Repeat Cardio

7. TRX tricep extension (if you have it)- 1min
8. Crunches- 1 min
9. Reverse Curls- 1 min.

Repeat for as long as you want.

Committed to your fitness success,

Kelly Parker
www.bestfitbodybootcamp.com

 
Tighten up all your Trouble Spots for Your Big Day!

Making sure your wedding is absolutely perfect takes a lot of time and planning. You are meticulous right down to your thank yous. Since you’ve taken a lot of time to pick out the best dress, you definitely want to look your best in the dress, so what do you do now….

Since time is of the essence, you give yourself the best most effective workout in the least amount of time. Unfortunately you can’t spot reduce, what that means is that if you want to lose some inches off your triceps or trim up your tummy and legs, you can’t simply do 1000 sit ups every day or hundreds of tricep push downs and expect the inches to disappear. You will need to work your entire body to get you in wedding perfect shape!

Here is a sample workout to get you started. The trick is to keep your heart rate up and do exercises that use lots of muscles at once.

Do a warm up for about 5 minutes before hand to make sure your muscles are warm and then begin your workout.

Start out with 30 seconds of each of the next 7 exercises. Move from one to the other with no rest.
1. Jumping Jacks
2. High Knees (run on the spot lifting your knees as high as you can)
3. Push ups (on your knees)
4. Mountain Climbers (go into a plank position and drive your knees into your chest quickly)
5. Crunches
6. Bicycle
7. Plank

Squat with a Shoulder Press- 1 min
Be sure to hold your belly button in and exhale as you come up and press up.

Twists- 1 min (keep your belly button pulled in)
Rotate to each side

Lunge with a Bicep Curl- 1 min
Be sure to press up through the heel of
the front leg, and keep the pressure off the back leg.

Push Ups- 1 min
If you are just starting out, start on your knees. Keep your belly button
pulled in. This helps to protect your back.

Tricep Overhead Extension

The trick is to use a weight that is heavy enough for you to really feel your shoulders, biceps and triceps. Push yourself hard and you will get awesome results. You are going to repeat starting with the jacks at least three times. Don’t rest until you finish your triceps, then take a drink and little break and get right back into round number 2:)

Of course with any program, if you want to see the best results, make sure you are eating well. You can’t work out hard and eat crap and expect a great looking body. Take out the refined sugar, processed foods and you are off to a good start.

Add some interval training 2-3 times a week with this weight workout 3 times a week and you will be smoking hot in your beautiful dress.

Committed to your fitness success,

Kelly Parker
www.fitmommakeover.net